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“I see these beautiful girls lost under stars, these daughters and sisters and mothers, these lost women” Food for Life Vrindavan saw them suffering, identified these strengths and gave them a gift…..a Gift of Hope. Food for Life Vrindavan is an organization that puts 95% of every penny that comes their way directly to the cause. You can sponsor a child. You can give them a life; an education, self-belief, confidence and most of all you can give a child a childhood. We’re taking a very hands-on approach to help over 3,000 girls, as well as to build an orphanage within the facility. It’s a big task, an enormous task, and I’m looking for all the support I can get. With their parents out working hard, they had no one to look after them. Most of their families can not even afford to send them to school. Most of the children came to the school illiterate, but they are very eager to learn. The classes cover the usual areas of education: Hindi, English, math, general knowledge, social studies. In addition we give classes in hygiene and good behavior. To help fun We provide the sponsored children nutritious meals of staples such as bread, rice, beans and vegetables. Milk and fruit are also provided, ensuring a complete and well-balanced diet for the children’s growing bodies. The food we take for granted in the West is a luxury for needy village children. We offer medical care and give essential vitamins and food supplements (75% of Indian girls from ages ten to twenty are anaemic, lacking zinc, iron, and vitamin C.) We also provide the sponsored children appropriate clothing for each season including school uniforms and shoes. Sponsor a child today. Hema and her brother and sisters at the temple kitchri distribution (left) and now (right) at Sandipani Muni School. As can be seen by the children’s growth, Hema and her family have been with us since 1999. She now works part time in our grocery store. Today she is a blossoming individual. Maya at temple distribution 1996 and Maya in 2001. Most of her food has come from FFLV. Ratna and Laxmi at their house in 2003 and in 2005 at Sandipani Muni School Kaushalya and Jambawati have been with us for a long time. Ranga, Ganga and Champa used to come to our kitchri distribution before. They are confident and educated girls today. Orphanage Twenty children live at the orphanage. 'Mother', the lady looking after them, is pictured on the leftOrphanage All the children at Sandipani Muni School come from families who struggle to raise them in very difficult circumstances. In a few cases, usually due to the illness or death of one or both parents, families become uncapable of looking after children any longer and they approach the school management to ask them to take over their care. As a solution, a house has been turned into a permanent home for these children. A group of 20 youngsters, aged 5-18, live here at the moment, looked after by a lady they affectionately call ‘Mother’. She is supported by the older girls who help out with the housework and looking after the younger ones, and volunteers visiting Sandipani Muni School also like to come spend time with the children at the home. In a few rare cases, some of the children looked after here have been adopted, but this is an exception – most of them remain at the orphanage until they reach the age of 18. At 18, the young people move out to try to find their own way in the world, but they continue to benefit from a support program designed to make sure they have all the opportunities to complete their schooling and become independent. Talking to Sarita (center) and Anjali (right) A group of children from the home with a Sanipani Muni School staff member. Anjali is on the right, wearing a white top We spoke to two girls, Sarita and Anjali, to find out more about how they came to live in the orphanage and their daily lives and hopes for the future. Sarita is 13 years old. She has lived here with her older sister and younger brother for the last three years. Q: Are you from Vrindavan originally? A: No, my family is from Rajasthan. I only came to Vrindavan with my brother and sister three years ago. Q: So how did it happen that you came to live in Vrindavan? What happened to your parents? A: Our father, who was a policeman, died while on duty several years ago. Our mother suffered from a long-term illness and she passed away in 2008. We came to Vrindavan to stay with our mother’s sister, but she has four children of her own and could not have supported the three of us. She heard about Food for Life and asked if they could take us in. So, just a few days after arriving in Vrindavan, we came to live in the orphanage and joined Sandipani Muni School. Q: Are you still in contact with your mother’s relatives? A: Yes, me and my siblings visit them and stay with them during school holidays, but the children’s home is our real home. We next spoke to Anjali, 11, who shares the home with Sarita, her siblings and sixteen other children. Q: Do you have any brothers or sisters living with you in the orphanage? A: No, I am an only child. My mother passed away after I was born. Q: And what about your father? A: He is a priest who always travels around. Last year he decided that it has become too difficult for him to keep me with him. He left me at the children’s home and comes to visit me sometimes. Q: Do you enjoy living at the children’s home? Sarita and Anjali, answering at the same time: Yes, very much. Q: What do you like most about it? Anjali’s face immediately lights up and she says: ‘Ma’ (she means ‘mother’ or the lady looking after all the children at the home). Sarita adds: ‘I like Mother and the other children.’ Q: With so many children living together, do you have a lot of fights? Sarita and Anjali agreed that they only have a few small fights. When we asked questions about how their days are spent, they told us that after school, the older children help the younger ones with their homework and then they all prepare dinner together. In their free time, they play sport and games with each other or with volunteers from Sandipani Muni School – their favourite games are board games, badminton and hide-and-seek. They also go on trips together to visit different places in Vrindavan. Claudia, a medical student from Germany, spent a few weeks volunteering at Sandipani Muni School. She is pictured with girls from the children's home - Santoshi is on the left wearing a yellow dress We finally talked to Santoshi, 17, who is one of the oldest girls currently living in the orphanage. Q: How long have you been living here? A: I have lived here for the last three years, but I attended Sandipani Muni School for much longer, since I was 9 years old. Q: How did you find out about Sandipani Muni School? A: My family could not afford to send me to school, but I really wanted to study and somebody told me about Sandipani Muni School where you could get free education. When I was 9 years old, I came to the school myself with my younger brother (who was only four at the time) and asked to be admitted. The teachers told me that they had a place for me but not for my brother. However, after I explained that there was nobody else to look after him but me and that I would have to stay at home if he could not come, they admitted him to the kindergarten and I started school. Q: And why is it that you live in the orphanage now? A: My parents are no more and me and my brother used to live with my elderly grandmother, who is disabled, in a very poor and unsafe area of Vrindavan. When my brother became older and did not need me as much any more, I asked the teachers at the school if I could move to the orphanage, because I felt that I would be much safer there and it would be easier for me to concentrate on my studies. Q: Are you still in touch with your grandmother and your brother? A: Yes, they still live in the same place and I visit them sometimes. But I feel very safe and happy here at the children’s home. I really like Mother, and the other children – I have a lot of close friends here. Q: As one of the oldest, you probably help out a lot with the housework and looking after the younger children. How do you feel about that? A: I feel that we all work as a team here and everybody shares the chores; all except the youngest children help with something. The way things are organised here is fair, and if one of us felt it was not, we would have the opportunity to say so. Q: What are your plans for the future? A: I would like to study more, and my goal is to become a doctor – probably a homeopathic doctor. This is what my father used to be, and I know it would have made him very proud to see me becoming a doctor.
Living under the burden of their bodies, constantly suffering the “curse” of being a girl, these innocent angels didn’t realize how much power they behold. One might look at them as poor, weak, unwanted!, but for us they are rich, strong and wanted. What makes them rich is the smile that covers their suffering. We cry over a drop of a hat. They suffer to live and live and suffer, who can be more strong?
We wanted to start a school for them and it became possible when many sponsors and donors came forward. In October 2002, we opened a fully functional school and a kindergarten, the Sandipani Muni School (SMS).
d the school, FFLV started the Gift of Hope program, which allows sponsors to guarantee the children’s future by giving a monthly donation. The program addresses four needs of the children: education, a nutritious diet, medical care, and school uniforms, including warm clothing. We need your help to guarantee the future of each child. A monthly commitment from you would offer a child an opportunity for a better future… a Gift of Hope.
Girija and Ramesh’s family belong to Tikam Garh, a tiny village in the state of Madhya Pradesh. They moved to Vrindavana in 1999. The first photo was taken in April 2003 during prasadam distribution; the second photo shows them at Sandipani Muni School today.
Barsha before & after joining Sandipani Muni School.
Kaushalya, a daily attendee for kitchri distribution now in Sandipani Muni School.
Devaki was born sometime in 2003 in Sunarakh Village, just 3 miles away from Vrindavan town. She is the sixth daughter of Jayadev and Maya. She was found by our doctor in her house, alone and very sick, covered with flies and excrement. The doctor told us that if we did not take her to the hospital she would not live until the next day. We rushed our car to the village and took the girl to the hospital. After five days we took her mother to collect her. When the mother saw that the girl was well she turned to our officer and remarked, “You saved my daughter; now you pay for the dowry.” Devaki attends the Sandipani Muni School Nursery.
Life for Vishakha and her sisters wasn’t easy before she joined Food for Life. Vishakha is doing well in her studies today.
Excelent Work!