shampoos, hair oils and more of the same

The last few days have been spent getting the children outfitted and ready for the big day. Yes they all leave for school on Monday the 6th as all fees have been paid! (will upload receipts later) and a big car booked.

Shampoos and hair oils, shopping for shoes and , getting hair cuts. we have all been incredibly busy. The children are really excited and so are we.

babli's first impressions of school

Babli is back from school for her first break. She is very happy and loves her new school. She had made many friends. She plays football and loves the food particularly the samosas and patties!

Her results are expected on the 6th but she says she has done well and somehow I know she has!

Power to you girl!

a very special day

Today Babli and Utpal came back home for a short break. We wait with bated breath for Babli's first impression of her new school and also for her results.

Today is also the day when we complete the admission formalities of Aditya, Vicky and Nikhil. This was made possible thanks to a small windfall that came our way. I am jumping with joy as I must admit I spent many sleepless nights wondering how we would come up with the whopping amount needed to complete the admission.

Thank you all for being there with us on this incredible and beautiful journey of hope.

why fantastic five

You may all wonder why the blog is entitled fantastic five and not fabulous four! Well though there are four children in the foster care progrmme - Babli, Nikhil, Vicky and Aditya - there is one already studying in school - our little Utpal. Together they make pwhy's fantastic five...

where do we stand today - the ides of March

A quisk update on where we stand today:

Babli is in school. Her admission and fisrt term fees have been paid. She has been outfitted, her uniforms and books bought. The total cost came to 83 250 Rs.



We need to pay her next term on April 2nd.

Till date we have received 48K Rupees from Asha Canada, 20K Megha and saurabh and 50K from sabrina.

The boys - Aditya, Nikhil, Vicky - still need to be admitted. We are expecting a one time donation that would enable us to meet part of the payment.

more than just school fees...

The great news of knowing that the three boys have found a sponsor for their school fees is truly huge. Yet there is still a long way to go as keeping a child in school as we all know necessitates a lot more. For the past three years little Utpal has been in school in we have learnt the ropes and know how much more than school fees is needed.

Often these get overlooked and ignored but they remain nevertheless essential. There are some costs that one may call unavoidable: uniforms, shoes, clothes etc and there are some that may look non essential but are those that ensure that every child is given his right to be a child: the pizza on PTM day or the tuck carefully doled out by the housemother.

So in spite of the fact that we need not worry about school fees we still need to ensure that all the add ons are on sched!

This is how it looks:

Books and uniforms: ~ 10 000 Rs
Home clothes for week ends (summer and winter) ~ 5000
Shoes twice a year as they seem to out grow them (school shoes, white PT shoes, bathroom slippers, week end shoes _ sports or floaters) ~ 1500
Undergarments summer and winter: 1500
Toiletries (soap, shampoo, cream, hair oil) 1000
Tuck (biscuits, etc) 1000

Over and above this there is transport component as we have to fetch and drop them several times:
april(term begins) may (summer holiday) july (term begins) august (2) (rakhee) october (2) (dusserah) november(2) (diwali) (2)december (xams) january (term begins)plus a couple of PTMs where we have to go. Each trip costs about 800 Rs and thus the transport cost is about
15 000 or 3000 per child.

On PTMs we take the kids out for the day to the local market at dwarka and the popular demand is Pizza and Pepsi: another 200 per kid

So all in all the add ons would come to about 25 K per kid per
year....

some incredible news

Wow.. I got some incredible news.... Dr Dagmar Berg, a kind lady from Koln in Germany has decided to pay the school fees of three of our foster care children... This is absolutely fantastic.. It now means that what we need to raise on a sustained basis is money for all the add ons: books,uniforms, week end clothes, goodies and treats that make life special and transport.. and of course the one time that hung till yesterday on my head like a Damocles sword.

When we began the journey I wondered how we would manage to complete it year after year till the kids graduated... I prayed hard and the prayers were answered..
Next week we will complete the admission procedure and on April 2 the children will begin their school year. I am overwhelmed!
It would not have been possible without each one of you
bless you
anou

a quick update

Dear All
Here is a quick update..
Babli is doing great in school.. I spoke to her yesterday and she was
very happy
We are now working towards getting the other 4 admitted. As you know there is a big one time to be paid for ach kid - about 1K US - ! But as always there is always a miracle maker for pwhy kids and we have a donor who has promised a big amount to us and we are waiting for it to arrive to enable us to get Nikhil, Vicky and Aditya in school. Once that is done things will be on an even course. Will keep everyone posted.
anou

babli in school 2

Babli is in school.. It is a huge moment... We all drove this morning to drop her and as I watched her little determined face I realised that I was witnessing something incredible.. a life being
transformed..
here are a few pictures:

babli and utpal in school


babli in her dorm

ps: the first step has been taken.. and though the road is long and arduous I know we will overcome!

a mom's folly

aditya went home for the week end and came back with a gajhini haircut... his mom who works in a parlour decided to make him look like a star. poor boy! mom do the darnest things sometimes!

babli is in school

Babli is in school.. you can see her hear waiting in line with Utpal for their morning refreshment. It was indeed a very special moment that I have shared here
We paid the admission dues, the first term and the uniform charges. It came to 75 K rupees.. a whopping amount but most of it is one time!
The reason why babli has been admitted before the others is because the school felt that she could join in class II and then sit for the exams and be promoted. This way we gained a year!

We will now be doing the same for the three others as and when we get the funds!

I will post the receipts as soon as I get them

The journey has begun

anou

republic day

On January 23rd the kids celebrated Republic day in their school. Here they are all set and ready to go!

testing times

On Sunday our incredible4 - a great name for them - went to their new choll for the dreaded entrance test cum interview. They were accompanied by Prabin their house master. We had requested that bablu be given a class III admission test as she has lost many years on the way. She did appear for the test and the school principal felt that maybe we should send her to school now so that she can join class II and sit for the finals in march.

We are still debating the issue and I intend making a visit to the school to discuss the matter personally.

The children will be admitted to the following classes:

Aditya : prep

Vicky: class I

Nikhil: class II

Babli class III??

Fingers crossed

You can read an account of the testing day here.

Dear All

Welcome to the project why fantastic five blog

The idea of this group is to share with all those who have reached out to help four extremely vulnerable children break the circle of poverty and get the best education possible the day-to day activities and special moments of the journey these four incredible kids are embarking on. They fill join little Utpal and thus become project why's fantastic five

First of all I need to thank all of you for having believed in this project and for having found it in your hearts to support it.

This project was not one we had envisaged or one we planned. It came to be after a set of unforeseen events that did seem a bit incomprehensible when they happened but in hindsight it was perhaps the God of lesser beings that was opening doors for these four children.

here are some blogs that retrace the genesis of this project

New vistas, new dreams

tiny pioneers

everything is a great question

breakfast at tiffanys

it tolls for thee

There is a new world waiting

butter would not melt

wondrous are his ways

a unique ptm

to the manner born

You can find out more about the children here

babli

a tiny woman of substance

three steps forward

vicky

life in a 1000 rupees

aditya

salt sugar and...