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Shepherd boy escapes poverty trap to shine as a student

Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

FROM a very young age, Koteswara Nayak worked as a shepherd boy, helping his father in the fields of rural Andhra Pradesh.

Coming from a very poor tribal family, he was expected to help his parents and, like many children from such impoverished backgrounds, Koteswara Nayak and his sister did not attend school.

But when his parents found they could no longer afford to feed him, they reluctantly agreed to allow HEAL to place him at their Children’s Village in Guntur where he would receive not only shelter and health care, but an all-important education – the key to youngsters from such poor family backgrounds escaping India’s grim poverty trap.

Koteswara Nayak never looked back and when 13 HEAL children recently completed their Junior Inter Public Examinations, all passing with good marks, the former child labourer stood second in Guntur City with a stunning 98% pass mark.

HEAL Junior Inter students, including Koteswara Nayak, pictured centre alongside Mrs Marudwathi

Studying maths, physics and chemistry, the one-time shepherd boy achieved a remarkable 461 marks out of 470 and is being hailed as an inspiration for the other children under HEAL’s care.

“Mr Nayak’s success has become a great motivating factor for all the HEAL children,” said Children’s Village administrator Mrs Marudwathi. “When his parents were unable to feed him, HEAL took him under its wing and after that he gained a lot of confidence and did not look back for anything.

“This kind and timely support brought a wonderful change in his life and he has expressed his grateful thanks to HEAL and his generous sponsor from the UK. And it should not be forgotten that 13 more children from the Village appeared for Junior Inter and passed with good marks.”

In the case of Koteswara Nayak, and many others, it can be seen how the poorest children’s lives are being transformed by the teachers and carers of HEAL in India, and by the generosity of sponsors in the UK and elsewhere.

Economic deprivation and an inadequate education infrastructure mean sending a child out to work from a young as five or six is an all-too-acceptable option for rural families in particular. More than half the children in Andhra Pradesh drop out of school before finishing seventh grade.

Child labour in rural India

Many stay at home to help their parents make ends meet by performing manual labour, while others are often exploited, lured away with promises of good pay, only to find themselves trapped in big-city sweatshops working 12 to 16 hours a day and living in filthy, cramped conditions.

Laws to protect children and ban the use of young workers are largely ineffective, but HEAL continues to offer help to hundreds of needy children and a new safe haven called Paradise Village is currently under construction near Vijayawada. The school there will open this summer and is designed with the aim of helping up to 10,000 children escape the crippling Indian poverty trap by 2020.

Even simple HEAL initiatives such as free books, bags and equipment for primary age children, a free mid-day meal and the provision of shoes are found to pay huge dividends in improving school attendance in underprivileged rural areas such as Guntur, Kanuru and Bhadrachalam, where parents often cannot afford to send their children to school.

HEAL founder Dr Satya Prasad Koneru handing out school bags to schoolchildren in Andhra Pradesh

And it is hoped that success stories like those of Koteswara Nayak and his friends will continue to inspire more sponsors to come forward and give these children the chance to reach their true potential in life for the benfit of them, their families and their communities.

To find out how you can sponsor a child from as little as £11 a month, please visit our website at: www.heal.co.uk/sponsor-a-child.html

Posted in bala kuteer school, Child Sponsorship India, children poverty india, Children's Stories, Childrens Achievements, Further Education, Heal Children's Village, Heal india, News from the Village, Poverty Trap, Sponsor-A-Child India | No Comments »

HEAL children see their dreams become reality

Thursday, February 21st, 2013

THERE has been much excitement at the HEAL Children’s Village in Guntur recently.

The Annual Day Celebrations at Sri Venkateswara Bala Kuteer were greatly enjoyed as usual, with many HEAL children receiving prizes and participating in cultural programmes.

Annual Day Celebrations

Last year Mrs Rohini Kakani and Mr Srikanth, former students at the school, instituted cash awards for students finishing top of their class at the HEAL Village. Each of the award winners was presented with Rs1,000.

“We feel proud of our children,” said HEAL Village co-ordinator
Mrs Marudwathi. “Following our Annual Day Celebrations we had news of more susccess to share as we celebrated the birthday of HEAL founder Dr Satya Prasad in a joyful atmosphere.

Prizewinners with their awards

“Miss Mamatha, the first child at HEAL Village, is completing B.Tech within a few months with good scores.

“Miss Yasaswini, in her second year at Polytechnic studying electronics and communication engineering, stood at the top of her class for the second year running with 90% pass rate.

First HEAL child Mamatha

“Yasaswini came to HEAL along with her little sister after the death of their father. All through her studies she has been first in the class and scored 100% in maths in her 10th Board examinations. Her younger sister Sri Latha, who is completing 9th class this year, is also first in her class.

“Mr Harsha Vardhan came to HEAL along with his younger sister and widowed mother. He, also, has been first throughout his school study. We admitted him into a three-year civil engineering course at Polytechnic.

Successful student Harsha with Mrs Muradwathi and HEAL children

“He has been first in class in each of the three years – a wonderful achievement. He appeared for ECET (entrance into engineering) and got qualified with a good ranking.

“He gained admission into second year B.Tech in a reputed engineering college and at the end of his first semester he stood top with 93.7% among all the branches of his class in the college.

Yasaswini, who is top of her class in college

“We feel so proud of our kids. They tell us that their dreams have become a reality just because of the support of HEAL.

“And no doubt their successes will inspire all the HEAL children to dream for a brighter future and work hard to reach their goals.”

To learn more about how to bring hope and change to a child living in poverty by helping them achieve their full potential, please visit the Sponsor a Child page on the HEAL website.

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Festive fun at the HEAL Children’s Village

Friday, January 4th, 2013

THERE was a joyful atmosphere at the HEAL Children’s Village in Guntur as
Christmas and the New Year were celebrated in style.

Mrs Manga Devi delivers a Christmas message

The children had fun putting on a special nativity play as part of the Sri Venkateswara Bala Kuteer school celebrations.

As well as their drama depicting the birth of Jesus, the HEAL children sang hymns
at a special service at which Dr Manga Devi delivered a Christmas message.

The festive period is a particularly exciting time for the children, who cut
cakes, lit lamps and enjoyed ice creams, sweets and a festive dinner. There was
even a visit from Santa!

“There was a festive atmosphere everywhere,” said Children’s Village co-ordinator
Mrs Marudwathi. “We would like to thank the sponsors, supporters and everyone
associated with HEAL for showering such love and concern all these years. We wish
you all a very happy, prosperous and peaceful new year.”

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Posted in bala kuteer school, Charity Sponsors, Child Sponsorship India, Children's Stories, Childrens Achievements, Heal Children's Village, News from the Village | No Comments »

HEAL children raise a glass to village choir

Thursday, November 8th, 2012

CHILDREN at the HEAL Village in Guntur are able to enjoy refreshing drinks from a newly-
installed water cooler, thanks to the generosity of a small village choir in Hampshire.

When the United Voices Choir, from Sandleheath, near Fordingbridge, raised £350 from their
first public performance in May, they contacted HEAL to ask how the money could best be
used for the benefit of the children at the Village.

Children at the HEAL Village in Guntur line up for a drink from their new water cooler

“We had already decided to give the proceeds to HEAL as one of our members had taken part
in Cycle India and it seemed such a good cause,” said choir spokeswoman Valerie Allpress.
“We wanted to know if there was some specific purpose which this money could be used for.”

HEAL sponsorship secretary Steve Sargent got to work and asked Children’s Village co-
ordinator Mrs Marudwathi how the money could best be spent for the comfort of the
children. She consulted with staff and a new water cooler was agreed upon.

The United Voices Choir perform at their fund-raising concert for HEAL

“The machine which was installed by a previous donor many years ago had been defunct for a
long time, so refreshingly cold drinks were not available,” said Steve. “Between April and
July the midday temperatures often reach 40 to 45 degrees so this item will be a real
benefit to the children and make their lives more comfortable.

“The smiling faces of the children lining up for a glass of cold water say it all. You
cannot imagine what a luxury this is for them. The chance of a drink of clean water,
cooled by the machine which the choir has kindly donated is a dream come true.”

Having started out with just a handful of singers and a pianist, the United Voices Choir
has grown over the past year and now has members of all ages, including mothers with young
children, grandparents and one great-grandmother.

After deciding to give a public performance on the eve of the Queen’s Jubilee, the choir
were joined by a local group of handbell ringers, while friends served cream teas and
cakes afterwards.

“To our amazement the church was packed and we raised £350 and, what’s more, everyone was
very complimentary,” said Valerie. “As it was just before the Jubilee, we finished our
concert with Rule Britannia with lots of flag waving.

A message of thanks from the children at HEAL Village to the United Voices Choir

“When we started the choir, we did not anticipate what a happy group it was going to be.
We have all made new friends and enjoy each other’s company.

“The choir have seen the photos of the children lining up at the water cooler and we are
all delighted that our singing has brought about an improvement in their lives.”

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Srinivas success story rewards sponsors’ generosity

Monday, August 6th, 2012

HEAL’s mission to offer hope and support to orphaned and poverty-stricken children in India has always been based upon the need for education.

At the core of HEAL’s work with under-privileged children in Andhra Pradesh is the belief that education is the key to emancipate those people struggling at the bottom of the social order.

So what better way to celebrate 20 years as a charity than to hear reports of a string of success stories from students at the HEAL Children’s Village in Guntur?

Veena Agarwal meets up with her family's sponsor child Srinivas Mande, acompanied by her friend Charlotte and HEAL administrator Mrs Marudwathi

Senior administrator at the Village, Mrs Marudwathi, has already delivered the excellent news that all HEAL children
passed the 10th public board examinations with good grades – music to the ears of Dr Satya Prasad Koneru, who founded the charity back in 1992.

But the real reward for long-term child sponsors has been to see children who arrived into HEAL’s care years ago, often from extremely distressing backgrounds, developing into strong, independant young adults with bright futures ahead of them.

Veena Agarwal, a medical student in the UK and the daughter of child sponsors Rita and Arun, recently spent five days visiting the HEAL Children’s Village along with her friend Charlotte, and got to meet up with Srinivas Mande, who has matured into a fine young man with the help of her family’s support.

“It’s amazing to see the difference this community can make to transform the lives of these underprivileged children and especially how many of them are going on to higher education,” said Veena.

“The children are fun, loving, enthusiastic and hard-working and we had so much fun playing with them and teaching. Ms Manga Devi, Mrs Marudwathi and Dr Satya Prasad are an inspiration to us all.

“They and all the staff volunteers show us what kindness, dedication and sacrifices have been made for the children. The beautiful gardens and playground and inspiring quotes create a lovely environment to live in. It’s exciting, too, to see the progress at HEAL Paradise and how many more children will benefit.

“I had the exciting opportunity to finally meet my family’s sponsor child Srinivas and to hear his success story and big ambitions for the future which I have no doubt he will achieve!”

Successful HEAL student Srinivas Mande

Srinivas Mande was taken under HEAL’s wing when his parents, who worked in a stone quarry, were no longer able to send him to school after his father became ill.

“I faced a lot of problems in childhood, but at the same time God had blessed me with people to encourage me in the tough times,” says Srinivas.

“I was admitted into Nandana, a free Telugu Medium school, run by Sri Venkateswara Bala Kuteer. By that time my father’s health was spoiled and he could not even feed the family.

“Then I was taken into the lap of Heal, and after that I found no need to look back for anything. Our teachers encouraged me in every aspect.

“I stood 1st in the school in the 10th Board Examination and I got admission into one of the best government junior residential colleges at Nagarjuna Sagar where I completed my Intermediate (+2) with good marks.

“I have since completed a three years Commerce Bachelor Degree in Sattenapalli, a place 25kms away from Guntur. I have written an entrance test into M.B.A. and now want to do a part-time job to continue my further education.”

Veena and Srinivas at the HEAL Children's Village

Expressing his gratitude for the support he has received over the years, Srinivas added that he plans to put something back into his community in the future.

“When my school gave me strength to stand firmly with good foundation, HEAL helped me to build a strong, career-orientated future.

“Now I am in a self-reliant position and I strongly hope I can help some of the needy children who are struggling hard in life. Thanks to my school, HEAL and my kind sponsors Aunt Rita and Uncle Arun.”

To read more recent success stories from the HEAL Children’s Village, visit our Child Poverty page at www.heal.co.uk/child-poverty and click on the Case Studies button. For more information on sponsoring a child, please go to www.heal.co.uk/sponsor-a-child and find out how you can make a difference.

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HEAL students facing a rosier future

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

LONG-TERM sponsors of children at the HEAL Village in Guntur are seeing some remarkable results from their generosity and dedication to providing needy children with an education.

Children from some of the poorest backgrounds imaginable continue to demonstrate through HEAL that poverty is no barrier to achieving success if they are only given the chance to show what they can do.

HEAL is dedicated to providing schooling to as many severely underprivileged children as possible in order to give them the tools in life to build a stronger future not only for themselves, but for their families and their communities.

Many HEAL sponsors have supported their allocated youngsters right through from primary school age and are now reaping the rewards as they see them entering adulthood with every hope of a bright and prosperous future.

Many of these children came to the HEAL Village having lost one or both parents at a very early age, others were abandoned by mothers trapped in poverty and unable to cope, and all were facing the bleakest of futures.

But those same children now have a far rosier outlook after being given shelter, healthcare and an all-important education, and many are now ready to go on to further education where they will continue to be supported by the HEAL family.

The latest round of exam results out of Bala Kuteer School are a tribute not only to the hard-working children, but to the dedicated team of adminstrators of the HEAL Village, including teachers and house mothers.

Senior administrator at the Village, Mrs Marudwathi, was proud to announce that all HEAL children passed the 10th public board examinations with good grades – and could not wait to inform HEAL founder Dr Satya Prasad Koneru back in the UK.

“Immediately after the 10th results were announced I shared the exciting and happy news of these good results with Dr Satya Prasad and other members of the HEAL family,” she said.

“This year the Government abolished the system of giving marks to avoid unnecessary tensions and unhealthy competition. Instead it has given grade points and I am delighted to say that all HEAL Children passed the examination with good grade points.

“A special mention should go to Koteswara Naik, a Residential child, and Ramya, a Poverty Trap child, who each got 9.8 grade points, on a par with an English medium paid school. We feel very proud of them.”

Mrs Marudwathi was also keen to highlight the exam successes of children from very poor local rural families, supported through HEAL’s Poverty Trap scheme.

“HEAL is supporting 200 more children studying in our Nandana Rural School under the Poverty Trap scheme,” she said. “All these children are from the surrounding stone quarries, jinning mills, spinning mills etc and some of them used to work in the fields at a very young age. I am very happy to share the news of their wonderful success in the 10th public board examination also.”

Nandana is a Rural Free School where 450 children are given free education, books, clothes and a midday meal.

Many of them would never have had the opportunity to receive an education without the financial support of HEAL and the charity is urgently seeking more sponsors to support this and other poverty trap projects.

To see how you can help, please contact HEAL UK via the home page of our website at heal.co.uk

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Volunteers’ joy at meeting their sponsored child

Friday, June 15th, 2012

HEAL relies upon individual sponsors to help give severely disadvantaged children the shelter, education and healthcare they need for a proper start in life.

Such sponsorship is a wonderful way to bring hope and lasting change to a child living in poverty.

Some supporters are content to make regular donations, happy in the knowledge that HEAL’s dedicated team of volunteers will see to it that their money is put to the best possible use in helping needy children.

Others stay in regular contact with the children they support and take the opportunity to develop a lasting relationship, often from primary school age through to further education and beyond.

And a few sponsors even spend time volunteering at the HEAL Children’s Village in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, getting to see first-hand the difference their money makes.

The children love nothing more than the excitement of having visitors to their school and many volunteers at the Village have been moved to tears by the joyous welcome they have received.

Some are long-time sponsors who have the added joy of finally getting to meet the child they support in person.

One of these is JAZ BUSHELL, who, after sponsoring a child at the HEAL Children’s Village for 15 years, finally had the unforgettable experience of meeting Jyoti face-to-face when she spent a week volunteering at Guntur.

On her return home to London, Jaz posted her feelings on the HEAL facebook page, where she wrote: “I had a wonderful, emotional and very memorable six-day stay at HEAL.

“It was great to finally meet Jyoti after 15 years of sponsoring her, and all the other children at HEAL.

“The village is run so well by Marudwathi and all the house mothers. I am so pleased that I have been supporting such a great charity.”

ANDREW QUERNMORE also visited the Village earlier this year and wrote an online blog about his experiences in Andhra Pradesh.

“I’ve been sponsoring Amala, one of the hundreds of orphaned and abandoned children that HEAL has brought into its family, and it was great to be able to check on her progress and spend a little time with her and the other children,” said Andrew.

“The village provides a stable family environment for destitute children whose early life has been marked by the most unimaginable suffering. In this poor cotton and chilli-growing area there is no support net when parents are killed or die in tragic circumstances; and any surviving family is likely to be too poor to feed another mouth.

“That’s where HEAL comes in; each child becomes part of a new family unit at the beautifully landscaped village. The children are nurtured by individual house mothers. HEAL knows that these children can have a better life and ensures that their health and emotional needs are met and that they get a fantastic education.

“It is an incredibly happy place and the children take such delight in learning that many of them are now top of their classes. They are really proud of each other’s achievements and so supportive of one another.

“In addition to the family units where the children live there is a school, a rural poverty outreach service, a health centre, and many other facilities all set in beautiful gardens.

“I chose to support HEAL because it is a small and efficient charity; there are no paid workers, big advertising budgets, chuggers or fancy offices in the West – everything here is done by volunteers – so practically all of the money goes directly to meet the children’s needs.

“I’ve been visiting India for 20 years for work and holidays and it is great to be able to give something back, especially when HEAL is so keen that people visit and see exactly how the money is spent.

“It is marvellous to have that personal relationship with your sponsor children and to follow their progress as they are transformed from despair into thriving, well-balanced, young people with a bright future.

“Amala is now 16 and her future is looking good. She is hoping to go to university to study engineering in a couple of years time and is working hard to ensure that there will be stability in her adult life and also for her younger brother, Sai, who also is part of the HEAL family. HEAL ensures that all of its children are supported into adulthood.

“The original HEAL Village has proven such a success that a much larger version, Paradise Village, is now being constructed a few miles away.

“Visiting HEAL makes you realise that really valuable changes can be made in young people’s lives with just a bit of financial support from us and the dedication of its fantastic team.

“The children at the village are some of the finest young people you could ever hope to meet; positive, enthusiastic, caring and determined to make a success of their lives, and they show incredible gratitude for the support they receive.”

HEAL volunteer AMANDA SMITH, who took part in Cycle India 2012 to help raise funds for the charity, went on a fact-finding mission to India last year and was humbled by her visits to some of the HEAL projects.

As always, the children were excited to have visitors and made an incredible fuss of schoolteacher Amanda, something she found hard to come to terms with.

“In many ways I found it very difficult to be treated in such awe. After all, who am I? I am merely a person like anyone else here,” wrote Amanda in a moving account after receiving the warmest of welcomes by the HEAL children.

“The only difference is that I had the great fortune to be born into a life free from poverty. I deserve no plaudits, I’m not worthy of being put on the pedestal these children put me on. If anyone deserves this, it is the teachers who work here every day, it is the children who smile and laugh in the face of adversity.

“But to these children, they do not see that, they just see in people like me, that someone ‘out there’ in the big wide world cares enough about them to want to make their lives better.

“All we are when we visit schools like this is a symbol of that giving and a symbol of hope. In material things the children here have so very little but in heart and spirit they are rich beyond measure and I am honoured to have spent this day with them.”

To find out more about child sponsorship or supporting other HEAL projects please visit our home page at heal.co.uk.

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Posted in bala kuteer school, Charity Sponsors, Child Sponsorship India, children poverty india, Cycle India 2010, Cycle India 2012, Heal Children's Village, Heal Paradise Village, Heal UK, News from the Village, Sponsor-A-Child India, Volunteers | No Comments »

Bala Kuteer library’s welcome gift

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

THE new Bala Kuteer School library used by pupils at the Heal Children’s Village added another title to its shelves during the recent Cycle India visit to Guntur.

Welsh author Cathy Farr, who sponsored her friend Jem King, one the UK cyclists on the fundraising visit to India, asked him to personally deliver signed copies of her children’s fantasy novel Moon Chase during the trip.

Librarian Lalitha, right, and 15-year-old student Anusha with the signed copies of Moon Chase

Jem was delighted to hand over the books to librarian Lalitha and 15-year-old student Anusha Vajja, the child Jem sponsors at the Heal Village, on Cathy’s behalf. Lalitha said that she was particularly pleased to receive the gift as the library was in need of more story books to fire the children’s imaginations.

“I know Cathy is keen to promote reading whenever and wherever she can, so I was happy to take some new reading material along with me,” said Jem.

“They have a magnificent new library at the Village and it was a pleasure to be shown around by Lalitha. They have a good selection of books for younger children in particular, but I understand they are still in need of more story books so I will be looking to see if I can help with that.”

Cathy, who, like Jem, hails from the Vale of Glamorgan, is currently finishing off her second novel loosely based on her Irish wolfhound, Finn.

“Moon Chase is a fantasy adventure about the Fellhounds of Thesk, aimed at teenage readers, although I enjoyed it too,” added Jem.

“I’m looking forward to Cathy’s second book in the series and I’m sure we will be certain to send a few copies off to the Heal Children’s Village once it’s published to help keep their library up to date.”

The new library on opening day

The library, given the name Deepthi (bright flame), was donated to the Chetana Charitable Trust in memory of Mrs Pramila K Tummala, who worked as a librarian for more than 20 years at the Kansas State University in Manhattan, USA.
The new building was officially opened by Prof Krishna Kumar Tummala on New year’s Day, two years to the day after his wife’s passing.

Mrs Tummala had been unable to fulfill her dream of returning to India to work with Dr Manga Devi at Chetana following her retirement, so her husband and children decided it would be fitting to donate the library in her name.

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For two decades HEAL has committed itself to providing shelter, support, education and healthcare for needy children

Monday, July 25th, 2011

Visitors to the HEAL Children’s Village in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, are frequently amazed at the loving, caring environment provided for the youngsters, who greet outsiders with unbridled delight and a sea of smiles. The key element always underpinning the charity’s work in the region is education and, if recent results coming out of the Village are anything to go by, the benefits to the children are growing year on year.

The improvements brought about not only by the dedication and hard work of the children, their teachers and house mothers, but through continued support from HEAL sponsors, are there for all to see.

No fewer than 16 senior children at the Village have recently won Polytechnic placements to engineering courses, double the number achieved last year, and four times the number in 2009!

Eleven of the placements were in electronics & communication, another in electrical & electronics engineering and two each in computers and mechanical engineering.

In addition to those 16, another 22 children successfully qualified in Intermediate, IT, nursing and other vocational courses, demonstrating the wide range of skills being developed.

These are just the latest positive results to come out of the school following excellent academic performances by the children in science, mathematics and languages, all of which pays tribute to the
educators within the Village.

Many pupils point to the 10th class as being a pivotal time in their lives and HEAL supporters can feel proud that no fewer than 38 children at the Village passed their 10th class examinations this year. And the message coming out of the Village is that it is the support of HEAL and its generous sponsors which inspires the school to set, and continually achieve, higher and higher goals. A growing number of children in HEAL’s care are now going on to become promising young students, some entering further education to help secure their future.

Teachers within the Children’s Village school assess those pupils who they believe are capable of going on to successfully further their education. And through its further education budget, HEAL is committed to helping these bright young adults, who it is hoped will be able to not only go on to achieve their ambitions in life, but to one day be able to put something back into their local communities. This is vitally important for the future development of the region and is seen as an important and expanding area of the charity’s work in Andhra Pradesh.

In addition to HEAL residential and poverty trap sponsors, we are therefore seeking vital financial backing for these higher education students. For £48 per month, it is possible to sponsor a student’s
education for between one and three years at a higher educational facility.

It is crucial that the children who grow up in the HEAL Village are not forgotten once they head out into the world. They need our support more than ever at a time when they are just beginning
to engage successfully with the future. HEAL aims to gradually increase its funding for those leaving the school to ensure these children can go on to fulfill their true potential.

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Volunteers from US provide music and arts training at Heal

Friday, May 14th, 2010

It has been hard for me to effectively write about my experience at Chetana and with HEAL for quite some time, as I almost feel like I am still there in a way.  I was only able to stay for a week, but I have been ardently planning my return to the point that feels like I am on vacation in America!  In any case, my experiences were absolutely incredible, and I am proud to be among the first American volunteers to ever work with Chetana. 

I was very excited to come to Guntur, as I study Carnatic music and my guru is from Vijayawada, and grew up in and around Guntur.  In this regard it was exciting for me to experience where he came from in a more tangible way, but it became even more exciting upon our arrival at Chetana.  Before coming to India, we are under the impression that all of the HEAL projects were in separate areas of Guntur, so one can imagine our surprise when we awoke to 500+ children at our door step!  It was so incredible to be able to work with so many kids, and to see how perfect everything and everyone works together to make the Chetana community flourish.  

Before arriving, we had hashed out several ideas of possible methods of teaching music to the children, and ultimately decided that the best approach would be to simply spend time with the children and see what happens.  At first this was a bit chaotic, as the kids were just getting used to us, and were really just interested in having fun and making noise, but over the course of the week, many of the children became more and more interested in learning music, and began coming to us demanding practice at all hours of the day.  This was perfect, as it was exactly what I had hoped to instill in the children; a curiousity and interest for music, and furthermore, a desire for personal expression. 

I find that this desire not only leads to artistic creativity, but greater sense of personal creativity in all aspects of life.  This is especially evident in the improvised ensemble situation which we created with a small group of the HEAL kids.  Even though many of them have never had any form of music training, they realized that if they worked together with what they had (in this case drums and percussion), they could create music that worked together rhythmically and melodically, and ultimately create coherent music.  I feel like this extends beyond music though, as this seems to be the way that the children approach all situations in life at Chetana, and I feel that music and arts training can only make this better than it already is.

Writing this right now is already getting me excited about coming back, and generating so many new ideas.  I am hoping to come back very soon, and already spreading the word as much as possible here in the States, so that more Americans have they chance to experience such an amazing community, and an even more amazing group of kids!  Next time I promise I will stay longer!

Taylor Burton

Posted in bala kuteer school, News from the Village | 1 Comment »

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