Spring 2021 Update
Gnana Deepam, India Update
We have children back at the home.
At Gnana Deepam school things are starting to move in the right direction. Finally, after many months of an almost empty campus, there are children returning to the school!
Around 30 of the older children have returned to the home with the younger children hopefully returning shortly once the school has permission.
The older children have returned to school
We are absolutely delighted to have the older children back at school. They have been greatly missed by all the staff and have really enjoyed catching up with each other. Fortunately, exams have been cancelled meaning that these older children will not be penalised for their time away from school, although we are still waiting to find out how they will be assessed.
At the moment, the plan is that the younger children will return to school in June, after the summer break, which starts mid-April.
Even in this rural spot, vaccination has begun and some teachers and staff have already been vaccinated which is great news.
Nepal School Update
The children are back at school
All the families of children who attend the slum school in Nepal are really grateful for Child Link’s continued support during the pandemic. The children are back to attending school regularly now. All the teachers at the school are from the slum community with many teaching their younger siblings as a result. They are really enthused by their work and love spending time with the children!
In Kathmandu in general, people are starting to gather back on the streets, in markets and restaurants and the return to work or job hunting has begun. All schools and colleges are open.
The government has recently issued a notice to say that the number of cases is on the rise in neighbouring India and that this could impact Nepal. Therefore they are looking to restrict big gatherings and the use of masks and hand sanitisers is compulsory.
Supporting
Girls Education in India
Girls from poor, rural Indian families are not always given the same educational opportunities as their male siblings. Despite the Indian constitution encouraging equal opportunity for boys and girls, poverty often dictates that sons will be adequately educated but daughters will not. Child-Link is seeking to redress the balance in one Southern Indian community by specifically funding girls through the Gnana Deepam Matriculation School in the state of Tamil Nadu.
a month will provide schooling and clothing for a girl in Tamil Nadu, India
Supporting
School Lunches in Nepal
Pastor Daniel runs a school in the Balkhu slum in Kathmandu. He has 61 children aged 3-7 years enrolled in the school at present. They are provided with a hot lunch every day funded by Child Link – probably the only hot meal they receive and a key factor in securing their regular attendance at the school.
a month will provide a hot meal every school day for a child in Nepal