Trustee Diana Butchers led a team of eight sponsors to visit the children in August. Besides meeting their own sponsored children, they spent time with the 600 children at the main home in Madurai. They also took the opportunity to visit the rehabilitation work at Vellankani, almost totally destroyed by the tsunami last Christmas.
‘I was heart-broken at the government camps and the way in which survivors are expected to live,’ said one. ‘The camps have no sanitation and are very smelly.’
But thanks to your wonderful donations, John Arul’s Love and Care India (LCI) team have already supplied 19 lorry loads of relief materials, given financial assistance to hundreds of families, donated 5 boats and 2 autorickshaws, and helped five churches re-build.
Furthermore, 55 children are being cared for by 5 staff in a brand new orphanage which opened on 2nd September. Housing blocks are also being built for widows and their children, and any orphans they can manage as well. Each block houses five families, and costs just £5,000. LCI’s target is to build four more.
Mrs Butchers smiled, ‘While we were in Vellankani, we took the Love and Care orphans on a shopping trip to buy new outfits. This caused some disruption in the village as the numbers of children grew and joined the queue for new clothes!’
LCI have also begun a sewing school to give these widows a form or livelihood, and provide tailoring for local needs in the surrounding community, as many clothes are handmade. So far they have 10 machines and 20 trainees. It is hoped
they will become self supporting within 18 months. Exports may result too.
When asked for the most memorable part of the trip, Diana replied, ‘On last year’s trip we had faced the difficult decision to buy either clothes or blankets, both of which were needed. We bought clothes last year. This year, through God’s grace, we were able to buy the 600 blankets needed by the children, this was very exciting and truly wonderful.’
