Send a Child to School in India for a Year

Milestones

The 2022/2023 school year is over and it was another successful year for the kids. Our youngest is now 16 and a year away from deciding where they will go to college. Exam time is stressful and busy so we try to take the time to recognize their efforts as they prepare for year-end exams, which will play a huge role in placements for college. Several of the kids in 9^th and 10^th grade were given achievement awards from their school. Several kids will graduate from college this year and are already planning for the future, looking for jobs and will move out.  

Our family is changing, as we send more kids out into the world it is both a celebration and a bittersweet time as all the kids grow older and plan for the rest of their lives. It is a priviledge to be a part of their lives and see the accomplishments that come with many years of hard work.

Links:

• website

Like most girls in India, marriage has been a long-desired dream for Christu. On December 30, 2022 she married a lovely young man named Gattigundla Sunil – G. Sunil for short.

When Christu came to us, she was a small, scared girl who was unsure about where she had landed, who would be caring for her and what to expect. Her parents had died and she was living in a children’s home in the southern city of Guntur. When the home discovered she was HIV-positve, they called us and asked if we had room for her as they were unable to provide for her due to her HIV status.

The answer was a resounding yes, and Christu became a part of our growing family. A shy girl, it took some time to adjust to her new surroundings and new siblings, but as time passed, she became a sister creating deep bonds as she grew up.

It was an extraordinary show of love and excitement as her sisters helped her prepare for the ceremony, decorating the room where the ceremony would take place, blowing up all of the balloons, fixing her hair and helping her into her new sari – a symbol of a soon to be wedded woman. The men of the house took great care to make sure everything was ready, the food prepared and Christus new family felt welcome.

It is with tremendous love, elation and pride that we introduce Sunil and Christu to the world. A young couple who has overcome the challenges life can bring who decided to share a future together.

Sunils life has been shaped by his HIV status much like Christu. His father passed away, his mother is HIV-positive and Sunil has been treating the disease all his life. Sunil and his family filed into the home entering a gloriously decorated room to share in the traditional engagement ceremony where gifts are exchanged between families and between the intended bride and groom. 

It was an evening filled with joy, laughter, love and blessings as we all celebrated the young couple together as a family and community. 

We are so grateful for every single person who has given to Hope Now and continues to support us as we continue to support our kids. This moment is filled with a sense of accomplishment, dreams realized and a confirmation that what we are doing every single day is paving the way for each of our kids to choose a life filled with possibility.

Links:

• website

We have been a family for nearly 15 years now and the kids never stop amazing us. Two of our kids have bee chosen by their peers to be a part of the School Cabinet. An honor for any student. A double honor for our kids because it reinforces what we have been saying all along, "They are just like every other child in school and can do whatever they set their mind to."

Shashank and Sandhya were elected Vice Captains from grade 9 to be a part of the School Cabinet at Word and Deed High School. Surrounded by the student body and all of their brothers and sisters who attend the same school, the honor of being chosen was a wonderful ceremony and time to be recognized by students, teachers and the prinicpal.

We spend a lot of time talking about goals, dreams and wishes and the work it takes to see our goals come to life. As you well know, we have particular challenges in the public sphere due to our HIV status. Even more important than the fact the kids chose to run for these positions in student government, is the fact that their peers chose them to lead. 

A humble and exciting reminder that goals matter, planning and discussing our future is an important conversation we are always having with the kids. As more of our kids move into higher education, these ground breaking moments and experiences will only enhance what they choose to do in college and how they meet the challenges to come.

We are so proud of Shashank and Sandhya and wish them a successful year at school.

Links:

• website

From the very beginning it has been our goal to educate every one of our kids through college or a vocational school. This past year we have seen 8 of our kids graduate from college, find good jobs and move out into their own place. 

David had additional goals. He worked hard and studied to enter an MBA program at Osmania University in the area of Finance. He scored so high he got a full scholarship. He is now studying for his finals and will graduate later this summer. This additional degree will allow him to pursue a managerial job and earn more as he progresses in his career.

We are so proud of him and all he has accomplished. We all continue to support him, visit him in his flat and occasionally sit down for a family meal together.

Every dollar donated goes directly to our kids and their education. We are so grateful for all of you who have supported us over the years. This is precisely the success we hope for as our kids get older, pursue a higher education and build an adult life. 

Congratulations David - a job well done.

Links:

• website

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year from our family to yours. If 2021 taught us anything, it is that family truly is safe harbor in rough waters.

We made it through 2021 and learned some valuable lessons along the way such as resilience, the art of a grateful heart when life seems too overwhelming to bear and the idea that we really can do anything if we set our minds to it, one day at a time.

After the early spring COVID restrictions and the virus burning its way through the home, we all recovered and made the best of our six-week summer holiday. We play a lot of sports, added to to our growing garden, orchards and built up our cooking skills.

For the start of the new school year we were all back in the classroom, a welcome change after 18+ months of “remote” learning, which is a challenge for any kids, especially when you have to share a computer. But, we made it through and all of the kids had a great first half of the school year. 

Eight of our kids moved out in 2021 after graduating and finding a job. We are so very proud of all of them, but we miss them. They still come home for Sunday dinners, cricket matches and some family time. It is a joy to see them thriving in their own apartments and planning for their future.

For 2022, we now have more kids in vocational school and college than K-12 for the first time. A lot of teenagers, homework and planning for what comes next. Unfortunately, this past week the government decided to return to remote learning until the end of March. A bit disappointing, but we have perfected our rotating school schedule in the computer lab and time with the tutors so the kids keep up with their studies. 

We look forward to another successful year in the classroom and beyond. 

With so much of life still so unpredictable right now, we are focused on what really matters, that we take care of each other and get through whatever the world throws our way. Valuable life lessons that will resonate far beyond our walls.

We wish you a year filled with blessings in abundance.

Thank you for all of your support over the past year. We are so grateful for you.

Links:

• website