By Bridget Horkan | Project Leader
Sincere gratitude to all our friends around the world whose support and warm wishes have spurred us forward to the next phase for Thamarai Educational Projects, the development of a sports ground and Learning Center. We began with a sweet inauguration ceremony organized by our children with the blessing of the first bricks. The ladies of the village made sweet pongal on an open fire and the children decorated the site, planted trees, sang songs and rounded off with games and sports celebrations.
The inauguration was followed by soil filling and ground leveling then the first sports equipment arrived and now each morning and evening the ground is full of local youth and children happily playing. Kavi, a local youth leader, and skilled cricket player has brought two factional youth groups together in a united team to manage the new sports ground and coach the younger children. In a climate where many youths have alcohol addiction Kavi proudly tells us that his village youth are different and pride themselves with their skill in sports, self-mastery and supporting each other rather than peer pressure.
We are now about to start building our new learning center which we aim to open in June 2020. The children and youth are actively involved in the design and are cocreating micro-projects such as tree house and garden development, water conservation and tree planting. They are also keeping track of fundraising activities and coming up with exciting ideas to generate funds. The building team is all local youth from Annai Nagar and neighboring villages.
We have recently launched the "Happy Sunday " program which is a joyful weekly morning exploration of arts and dance. We have also had the great pleasure of hosting a show with Clowns across Borders. Currently, children are finishing exams but next week it is holiday time so we will run a weeklong camp cocreated with the children which will include many arts, dance and environmental activities including several trips. We feel privileged to have this abundance and each other and look forward to all that this time ahead will unfold, We aspire for full potential and well being for all and hold a space of deep gratitude in our hearts for all of you that share this journey with us.
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