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Posts Tagged ‘Heal Children’s Village’

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.

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.”

Diwali brings extra sparkle for Gopi and friends

Friday, November 23rd, 2012

THERE was a great deal of excitement at the HEAL Children’s Village in Guntur as they celebrated the Diwali festival.

Popularly known as the ‘festival of lights’, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year in Andhra Pradesh and is widely celebrated by families, who perform traditional activities together in their homes.

Celebrations include decorating homes with lights, sharing sweets and gifts, as well as worship and religious rituals, but undoubtedly setting off festive fireworks is what the HEAL children look forward to most of all!

Gopi Nayak with his new clothes, thanks to the generosity of his sponsor

This Diwali festival was particularly special for one of the boys at the Village, Gopi Nayak, who received a gift of money from his child sponsor in the UK, Lynn Ashton.

The extra donation not only allowed Gopi to purchase several new items of clothing and some new shoes, but fireworks for him and his friends to join in the Diwali celebrations.

He was so pleased that he wrote a thank-you letter to his sponsor to say how much he and his friends enjoyed the festival.

Gopi's thank-you letter

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.”

Becky and Charlotte’s joy at volunteer visit

Wednesday, October 10th, 2012

TWO medical students who spent 10 days volunteering at the HEAL Children’s Village in Guntur have spoken of the “cherished memories” of their time in India – and have vowed to return to see the children again next year.

Becky Curbishley and Charlotte Boardman, who are halfway through their university medical degree courses, recently returned to the UK and were thrilled to be asked to make a presentation of their trip to hundreds of HEAL supporters at last weekend’s annual HEAL India Night, held to celebrate 20 years of transforming disadvantaged children’s lives through education.

Charlotte and Becky spent their summer break from university travelling to India, and focused their trip on a 10-day stay at the HEAL Village, with the added bonus of being able to take in the new developments of the HEAL Paradise Site.

“As former Guide leaders and medical students at the halfway mark of our degree, we had particular interest in child development and a visit to the HEAL village provided the opportunity to see this and healthcare through the eyes of a different culture,” said Charlotte.

“During our stay we were lucky enough to be fully immersed in the village, taking advantage of the new accommodation situated directly above the children’s cottages.

“This meant that from the moment we stepped out of our door in the morning until we went back to sleep at night, we were immediately involved in all aspects of the daily routine of the children and their house mothers.

Charlotte & Becky pose for a photograph the children at the Heal Village

“With our musical theatre interest we especially enjoyed teaching the children all the songs and dances from our childhood, a lot of which they had never heard before but can now recite on their own.

“A moment we will never forget was the sound of our own voices being played across the school grounds singing all the songs we recorded for the children to continue to learn after our departure.

“As a special treat we took a bag of goodies for the children to enjoy while we were there with them. This included colouring books and pencils, bubbles and yoyos. The excitement we saw from them when we introduced these surprises will never be forgotten.

“We were able to participate in everything from morning grooming to evenings of singing, game playing and storytelling, our favourite time of day.

“However, we feel it was our time spent and the relationships built with them that the children cherished the most.”

The girls were keen to use their medical knowledge for the benefit of the children through basic health checks, through which the children’s development will continue to be monitored.

“We assessed the children’s height, weight, dentition and vision. With limited supplies and experience we could only provide an overview. However, with the results we found it will now be possible to identify any problems at an early stage.

“On the whole we were pleased and encouraged by the health status of the children, but the positive ethos that the village exudes could have told us the children would all be happy and healthy from the outset.

“Our fantastic experience was enhanced by the fact that we were so well looked after. From the moment we stepped off the plane at Vijayawada to our heart-wrenching farewell, we constantly had people around us ensuring our comfort. They even removed all the chillies from the food for us!

“We could not have been made more welcome. The children’s enthusiasm was infectious and meant that from the first minute we gained as much as possible from our time with them. And not only did we help with their skills in English, they also managed to teach us some very basic Telegu.”

Refelcting on their “wonderful experience”, the girls admitted that they cannot wait to go back.

“We made a connection with the children, such that our tearful goodbye was actually just a ‘See you later’,” said Charlotte. “From as little as a few days into our trip we had decided to return and we are currently organising our trip for next summer.”

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.

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

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.

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.

Heal founder recognised for ‘making a difference’

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

HEAL founder Dr Koneru Prasad has been recognised for his work in providing education and healthcare for needy children in India by his inclusion in a new book for schools, The Scientists Behind Medical Advances.

“I believe that education is the best tool to get out of poverty,” says Dr Prasad in the book, where he is featured under the section entitled Doctors Who Make A Difference.
Fittingly, he now finds himself part of the school curriculum in the latest of a series of books aimed at budding young scientists, mentioned alongside some of the greatest names in the history of medical science such as Marie Curie, Paul Ehrlich, Christiaan Barnard, Joseph Lister, Alexander Fleming and Louis Pasteur.
The book, written by Eve Hartman and Wendy Meshbesher, looks at scientists who have made major advances and affected the way we live – men and women, historical and modern, and from a range of cultures.
As the book explains, some of those featured are household names, some deserve much greater recognition and credit than they currently receive, and others have discovered and invented ground-breaking medical treatments.

Dr Prasad is pictured with some of the children from the Heal Village in Guntur under a description of how, 20 years ago, the charity was formed when he donated his family’s house in India to be a home for orphaned children.
Published by Raintree, the 48-page book also focuses on many aspects of medical science, including new drugs, vaccines, surgery, public health, sports medicine and the future of medicine.