Provide Care for 30 Vulnerable Children in India

Dear Friends and supporters of the Dayspring Home, 

 Though we are facing uncertain times at this moment, we want to take a moment to thank you for all your kindness, support, and generosity. With your continuous support, we can provide our kids with education, medical check-ups, and nutritious food. We are excited to update our supporters with the progress we have made in the new year so far. However, we are also faced with realities of the current global pandemic, COVID19, which is also affecting our Dayspring Home. 

 New gates

After the new requirements from the government to build a wall around the Dayspring Home, we have finished this project by installing the gates to the Dayspring home. This will provide an additional level of safety for our children. The gates give the option to close Dayspring home during the night and other necessary times.  

International Women’s Day 

International Women’s Day was an amazing day for our kids at Dayspring, since the Department of Computer Science of the local V.H.N Senthikumara Nadar College organised a social function for the kids. The day was filled with fun activities and games for the kids, as well as a great amount of dancing. Moreover, Mercy spoke to the students of the school about the importance of gender equality and we celebrated all women on this day. Lastly, this day was finished with an amazing meal of Biryani for everyone, and gifts for each of the children from the department, after which all the children returned to Dayspring.  

Dayspring Farm

On the Dayspring Farm, we have continued to breed the chickens successfully resulting in many chicks that will be going for sale in the upcoming months. The adult hens are still providing eggs that are used for cooking at the Dayspring Home. As mentioned in our previous report, unfortunately, our cow has mastitis and will no longer be able to provide milk. We have been in the process of raising money for a new cow and we have the prospect of buying a new cow in the upcoming months. Moreover, we have installed an irrigation system in one of our fields which will help to greatly increase the yield of this field. The system follows the idea of harvesting the rainwater and re-use to supply to irrigate the field. 

Rebuilding of the sheds 

The fire of the sheds in 2019 destroyed one of our buildings and injured some of our staff members. However, we are excited to share that we have started with the rebuild of sheds at this moment. We started the work in February and initially hoped to finish the project around April/May 2020. However, due to the current global pandemic, COVID19, we had to stop the work until it is safe for everyone to start working again. 

Exams 

These months are also exam season for some of our children. A few of the older boys already had some of their exams in March, but in the Virudhunagar District, all schools have been closed until further notice due to the global pandemic. 

COVID19  

This period is unfamiliar for everyone, also for our Dayspring children. The schools are no longer open and the children are at the Dayspring home until the situation changes. To ensure the safety of our children, there is limited interaction with people living outside the home and the people inside are asked to stay inside as much as possible. We hope by self-isolation, we can keep the children safe from COVID19 and prevent the infection with the virus. 

Thank you and stay safe!  

We want to thank you once more for your kindness and generosity. Through these reports, we like to engage with our supporters and funders. We hope everyone stays safe during these times of global uncertainty. We are sending our thoughts to everyone who is struggling at the moment and hope that the situation will improve soon. We will continue to keep you informed on how your money is being used and other ongoing activities of Dayspring. 

With best wishes and our sincere gratitude,

Mercy Annapoorani, the Blossom Trust Team & the children of Dayspring Home