Provide Care for 30 Vulnerable Children in India

Hello friends of Dayspring! With Christmas, the turn of the year and several big Tamil holidays happening in the last three months, busy is an understatement for all that has happened.

The DSH family has grown, with incredible volunteers that devoted time and opened their hearts to both the children and staff. Their bright minds and hard work brought new projects we are excited to share with you. First, our drip irrigation system is back on! Our primary crops this time of year are guava, tomato, eggplant, chili, gooseberry, but with the drip irrigation we are now able to sustain our water source over two more fields that are now growing lady finger and spinach. The children were great helpers installing the system on a sunny Saturday, and have been so excited to see the seeds start to sprout. After several days of rain, the plants doubled in size and we expect harvest soon.

It is a known fact that growing children need nutrient rich foods to fuel their developing minds and bodies. Brother Carter noticed this deficit during his one month stay, which he eagerly addressed by creating the ‘Fruit Fund’ – this program provides fresh fruit to the children three times a week. Through working with local vendors in Virudhunagar, a purchasing schedule has been put in place to ensure consistency, which is a huge influencing factor of this program’s impact. Volunteers have been managing washing, cutting and distribution at DSH and it has been a big HIT! The children are extremely happy to receive a full tumbler of fruit salad, and it is a great feeling knowing it is only benefiting their health. Way to go Carter!

Other notable tackled projects over the last three months have been a complete kitchen revamp with new paint, the construction of an outdoor ‘chula’ or organic matter cook stove  and reorganization of the DSH library. We are incredibly thankful for our volunteers.

Celebrating Christmas with the entire Dayspring family is quite special. 31 children, on-site staff and special guests joined together to share the holiday. Everyone received a new outfit and small gifts from our guest of honor, Judicial Magistrate Mrs. Mumtaz. A three kilo cake was cut by the small children donning Santa Claus masks and the girls danced away like the Bollywood starlets they are. The whole evening a catering team worked diligently outside to prepare a dinner unlike any other. Paratha, idili, fried chicken, curry and several chutneys refueled everyone after such a fun filled day. This is a highlight of the entire year at Dayspring, which was evident from the anticipation amongst the children days before.

Pongal soon followed Christmas. It is one of the most important Tamil celebrations of the entire year. It is normally sustained over three days, recognizing the start of spring and giving prayer for the harvest season. The main activity is cooking Pongal sweet rice on an open flame, surrounded by colorful rangoli art. When it boils over, everyone howls to the sky in excitement and appreciation for the crop. Sugar cane is also associated with the holiday, as the stalks are tied in bundles as decoration around the open fire. After the rice has cooked, everyone enjoys eating the sugar cane throughout the afternoon. The second day gives respect for all livestock, especially the cow. It is called ‘Matu’ (Tamil for cow) Pongal for this very reason. The children decorated all the animals and enjoyed moving the Pongal rice celebration over to the Dayspring farm.

Donors made the celebration of these holidays possible, and our gratitude pours out for ensuring joy filled days for all here at Dayspring. Everyone is preparing for exams in the next month, and then it will be a short summer holiday. All children are busy studying, but their spirits are incredibly high. They are ready to apply all their hard work this past year!