1

Dear ASHA-HOPE friends The year is ending again … We have been able to enjoy a beautiful autumn period, but the winter has now started irrevocably! Traditionally, our Christmas and New Year wishes are part of this period! Working visit to INDIA OCTOBER 2017

In the Newsletter (NL) of June 2017 we already announced our working visit to India. We managed to cope with an (overly) full program. The aim was to visit 9 of our 10 projects in India. Because the projects are so far apart, we had to travel for a great distance. Very

often we find them “in the middle of nowhere” and they are difficult to reach. Already from the start of ASHA-HOPE we devoted ourselves to commit to the poorest schools, boarding schools and hostels that needed our support the most and these are often situated in remote places. The visits to all our projects went very smoothly and we are very grateful to our sisters for this. They have followed-up our proposed program very well and helped us to achieve it. Sometimes we had a desire to stay in one place for a little longer, but this was not feasible. The scarce “free” days were days when we travelled by car, by plane, or by night train.

In this NL we will show you pictures and stories about each of these projects. The meetings were impressive and everywhere we were met with a “hearty welcome”. There was dance and singing everywhere. Every performance was announced by a student who spoke to us in perfect English. The sisters told us that this was very important for the pupils and we could easily see how proud they were. We saw that each of our projects had

undergone an evolution. The number of pupils increases, leaving them with too few classrooms. In some places there was already a new building as well as sports fields, but we also saw that in some schools there is still no playground. All schools are very clean. The pupils are made aware of how important this aspect is. We even saw a nice film with the theme “Green India – Clean India”. Compulsory education is now foreseen from 6 to 14 years old and all lessons are given in Hindi or English. We saw that children from 3,5 years old in the kinder garden can already count up to 100 and know the ABC in English. In the school of Barwadih we saw a striking saying on the wall: “What you think, you will become”. The pupils read this every day when they go up the stairs to their classroom. Because the travel report from our trip to India is so extensively discussed, there is no news in this NL about our projects in Sri Lanka. But never mind! This will amply be compensated in the following NL where we will pay sufficient attention to these projects.

MANY THANKS

We repeatedly see that ASHA-HOPE is alive, making it possible for these underprivileged children to follow proper education. There is future and hope for them. Together with our “friends of ASHA-HOPE” we make some difference for them. Our sincere thanks to all our sponsor families. We have met so many children and in their eyes one can see how happy they are to be able to go to school. What is obvious for us, means a world of difference for them. The laughter in their eyes and the gratitude of the parents speak volumes. There are no words for this and this makes us humble and quiet.

Also a warm thanks to those sponsors who gave us extra support. That ‘something extra’ is so important for the further development and growth of the schools and hostels. This makes a big difference and we as a group say: thank you very much!

Enjoy your reading! Sr. Claire, An, Dora, Els, Marleen, Paul

2

OUR CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR’S WISHES

This is our wish for you all … a warm place and people who are worth everything to you a lot of enthusiasm a song in your heart goodness that is answered a path full of quiet happiness and strewn with sparkling stars!

Kris Gelaude

Peaceful Christmas and a New Year filled with hope!

TRAVEL REPORT INDIA 2017 13 - 29/10/2017

In addition to the regular contacts via e-mail and traditional mail, the working group visits a number of projects on site every three years. This is a conscious choice because the members of the working group always finance the trips themselves. This time, they visited 9 of their 10 projects in India.

RANCHI PROVINCE:

• Reghunathpur and Jiapani

• Noadih

• Barwadih

DELHI PROVINCE: • Near Amritsar:

• Vincent de Paul - Tung Bala

• Lahorigate

• Chogawan

• Sidphur

• Bareilly

Below you can read the report of this fascinating project trip!

3

On Friday 13 October 2017, we left at 11am from Brussels for a long flight to Delhi. We had a stopover in Zurich where we could enjoy the beautiful snow peaks in the distance! After a very good flight we arrived in New Delhi at 1,30 pm local time. Sr. Teresa, the provincial superior and sr. Jessy Thomas, the provincial bursar, were waiting for us but it took a long time before we actually met …

First we had to pass the customs and validate our e-visas. An indescribable mass of people were waiting in the hall. Finally, it took more than an hour and a half before we were all through customs. Fortunately, we then quickly got our luggage. With 2 taxis we were brought to the provincialate where we arrived around 3 o'clock in the early morning. It was nice meeting the sisters again. The community was waiting for us with a festive and warm welcome, with garlands, and the complete symbolism that goes with the Indian ritual.

Part I: Visit to the projects in RANCHI Province

SATURDAY 14TH OCTOBER 2017

It was a short stay in Delhi and we explored the typical shopping streets in the neighborhood.

The same day we left with a domestic flight to Ranchi at 5,50 pm. Arrival: 7,35 pm. Sr. Lilly, the provincial superior and sr. Lidwine welcomed us with open arms. At the provincialate we were greeted with singing and here as well, we received a typical Indian welcome.

SUNDAY 15TH OCTOBER 2017

After our flight to Delhi and the next one to Ranchi, we had to tackle the next item of our trip (this was not yet the last part) – all this in order to reach our first destination … After tea-time we left for the station to catch the night train to Dumka. We are happy that sr. Rashmi is travelling with us because it is quit an adventure! Finally our train trip at night went very well and we reached around 7,30 am.

MONDAY 16TH OCTOBER 2017

After a car ride of 1 hour we finally arrived at our first project REGHUNATHPUR. It was the first time we visited this project. This school and boarding school are situated in the middle of the countryside. On the way we noticed an evolution of the road network compared to 4 years ago. More roads have now been paved.

4

But the general street scene has not yet changed. Crossing a village still remains a risky business. One can see people who live on the street, many small shops and stalls. In this region one can still see many animals on the street (this is already forbidden in the big cities). Dogs, goats, cows ... are attracted by the warm asphalt. Nature is green with lots of rice fields, palm trees, and lawns that sometimes cover immeasurable plains.

At the school gate we were warmly welcomed by the children and sr. Sangeet, headmistress of the boarding school. After breakfast we were offered a program of beautiful dances by the toddlers and the pupils of the boarding school. In the boarding school live 71 girls from the poorest villages, sometimes from distant surroundings. They go home only 3 times a year: at Christmas (although they are not all Catholics, but this is a period that

is ‘celebrated‘ in all religions), with the Puja (Hindu festivals) and in the May month for the summer holidays that last until the midst of June. We were allowed to give the prices for the different competitions they had started, including reciting poems, general knowledge, and drawing. Then followed a tour in and around the school so that we could see what they had already realized with the extra money they had received from A-H.

Finally, we held a meeting with sr. Sangeet. A strong woman with vision. The sisters are very dedicated with their teaching and with the care for the poorest children who often come from broken home situations.

In the afternoon our trip continued, to the project of JIAPANI. Again we were welcomed by singing children.

Then we had a meeting with the sisters and we met with the new staff of the school: sr. Nilmani and sr. Roshny and the headmistress of the boarding school, sr. Kanti. In the evening, the children of the boarding school performed a short welcome program. At

the end we were asked to sing a song in our own language. Lots of laughter followed! The boarding school numbers 270 girls and many are being sponsored by ASHA-HOPE. Some of them only go home three times a year, but the parents are allowed to visit during the weekend. Nevertheless, these visits are an awkward undertaking for some parents, due to the expenses for the bus trip.

5

TUESDAY 17TH OCTOBER 2017

The young children and pupils of the boarding school – those who are Catholics – can take part in the Eucharist every morning at 6 am. This is not compulsory but there were about 100 children present this morning. Afterwards they still has another task: household tasks, working in the garden, preparing breakfast, etc. Afterwards

there is some study and then only breakfast at 8 am. The school is situated at the other side of the road facing the boarding school. It is a very big compound. The school is really flourishing and there is a lack of

classrooms. Now they are rebuilding the hall: it is enlarged so that they can construct another floor on top of it for 4 extra classrooms. What really struck us, was that they didn’t even have a playground. Due to the works there is a part that is even not accessible for the moment. Sr. Nilmani told us that they would like to construct a sports field after the renovations.

The pupils were getting ready and were waiting in a long line for the Morning Assembly starting at 9am. We were welcomed with a speech by sr. Nilmani and afterwards sr. Claire also spoke to them shortly. The ASHA-HOPE children gathered in a classroom where they danced for us.

Our meeting with the pupils was really a warm meeting. Afterwards there was still some time to meet the teachers and we felt that there was a good atmosphere. Together with the 2 young enthusiastic headmistresses they all formed a closely-knit team who could offer a lot. Finally, we got a guided tour in

the school as well as the renovation works. Normally, the 4 new rooms should be ready within 6 months. After lunch we brought a short visit to a small near-by state hospital in Anapara. From the outside, we, being people from the West, we couldn’t even see that it was a hospital. Nowhere we could find any indication in English. At the entrance we saw a small ambulance. Inside there was a ward for 10 patients but only 8 were present. There was 1 doctor but he was sitting in his office. There was an enormous difference with Belgian hospitals, but there was no alternative and the children of the school were also brought there. We said goodbye around 4 pm and the children of the boarding school cheered us. There was joy and loud acclamation when we left. After the car drive we took again a night train at 5 pm but now we went in the opposite direction: from Dumka to Ranchi. We shared one compartment and had received a pick nick with chapatti (local flat bread), egg, cheese, fruit, etc. We had all we needed and it was very cozy. It was just as hectic when we were surprised in the early morning when the train stopped at the end station of Ranchi at 4.50am. None of us had the idea that we had already arrived. So, there was no time to loose before getting off the train as quickly as possible and thus, we managed to be ready for the next day.

6

WEDNESDAY 18TH OCTOBER 2017

A day of travelling. On the way we visited a number of communities. Our last visit for that day was Bichana where we stayed for the night. This is a formation community where young aspirants and postulants receive their formation to become a Sister of Charity of J.M. A marvellous group of 25 young people brought us a nice evening programme with lovely dances!

THURSDAY 19TH OCTOBER 2017

From Bichana we left at 6am with the car for our visit to our next project BARWADIH. We arrived around 8am and again we were warmly welcomed. To some of us this was a happy meeting again because the eldest pupils recognized us!

Today they celebrate “Diwali” (feast of light) everywhere in India and some schools are closed for three days – as was the case with the school in Barwadih. But sr. Mary Davies, the superior, had made sure that all ASHA-HOPE children were present nevertheless, so that we could meet them. They were all waiting for us: the children of the boarding school in their colourful dresses and the day pupils in their school uniform. Together they sang: "Hearty welcome".

They expressed their gratitude because we support them and saying goodbye to them took quite a while. They didn’t like us to leave. We visited the boarding school and the renovated playground.

The boarders had prepared a short program.

This was followed by a tour around the new building that was still being constructed during our first visit.

It had become a very nice building with a big hall on the ground floor and classrooms

above. On top of all this they are still constructing another floor. The Barwadih School now numbers 600 pupils, 200 students more than 4 years ago.

At 1 pm we had to leave because a long trip by car was awaiting us – it would take us about 5 hours towards the north, back to Chianki, and part of it was to send us through the Hill Forest. Around 6.30 pm we arrived on the spot and there we could do some work on our administration.

We spent the night in Chianki so as to continue to our next project Noadih.

7

FRIDAY 20TH OCTOBER 2017

After breakfast we said goodbye to Chianki and left by car to NOADIH. The road towards this place had changed a lot. 10 years ago it was still a dusty, bending path but now it has been repaired with asphalt. Our move went really smoothly and we reached after a bit more than half an hour. We were warmly welcomed by the 8 sisters of the community. Sr. Asha is the superior and the headmistress of the school. Here as well there was no school because of the Diwali feast. The sisters had asked the ASHA-HOPE children to come to the school, and almost all of them had come, beautifully dressed in their uniform. At 9am we were welcomed by the children under a bright shining sun. A boy spoke to us in English and gave a speech about the evolution of the school. This was followed by a speech in Hindi. Finally, there was also some witnessing of a former ASHA-HOPE sponsor child Prem Kumar. He got 84,6% for his national exam and now he continues his studies in Daltonganj. He and the headmistress stressed the importance of studying for their future. It was a moving moment and this strengthens our conviction that whatever we do, it will make a real difference for many young people.

To conclude, the children sang a welcome song for us and we were covered with garlands made by the children themselves.

Sr. Asha asked Claire to say thank you and also the other members of the group talked to them. The sister translated everything in Hindi. What struck us was the fact that the teachers were so committed. Although it was a holiday for them as well, they were still present at school. We continued to chat a bit afterwards and we heard that the school numbered already more than 1000 pupils and offers education until the '10th standard'. The headmistress and teachers are very proud of this – as they should be. During the tour they showed us the new benches in the school, bought in 2016 and 2017 with the extra money they received from A-H. Now they are still searching for sponsoring for the construction of 2 computer classrooms, a library, and 2 labs. In front of the school buildings there is a very large compound and the would like to organise some sport field which they are lacking there.

8

At 2.30 pm we returned to Ranchi, it took us about 4 hours. After the first week we experienced a lot of gratitude for our 4 projects!

SATURDAY 21ST OCTOBER 2017

This was our last day in the Ranchi Province. After breakfast we had a meeting with sr. Lilly, the provincial superior, to evaluate our projects. The general conclusion was that the 4 projects we had visited here were well followed-up. There were no problems. We said goodbye to the sisters in Ranchi and thanked them for the nice welcome, accommodation, and the warm hospitality. We left around 11am to go to the airport for our flight to Amritsar (Punjab) with a stop-over in Delhi. We could

spend some time at the airport of Ranchi because our flight was delayed with one hour and therefore only scheduled for 2.40pm. The result was that our transfer in Delhi was going to be very narrow to catch our plane. Fortunately, somebody was waiting for us to get our transfer to Amritsar. He went in front of us and guided us along the 'staff only' traject to the security control and the gate. No time to look left or right. It took about half an hour before we arrived at the gate and could get in, but we had managed!

At 6.15 pm we arrived in Amritsar and sr. Teresa, the provincial superior, was waiting for us. She brought us to the community of Amritsar where we entered in the middle of a feast. It was the last day of the festivities in honour of 'Our Lady of the Rosary'. This was concluded with a candlelight procession where more than 400 parishioners took part. This was followed by a meal for everybody (a so-called “lungar” = communal meal / free food) organised by the parish in the playground of St. Mary's school.

SUNDAY 22ND OCTOBER 2017

A free day to recover and to enjoy some rest. We started our day with a Eucharist in Punjabi. We didn’t understand a single thing of that language, but it was a joyful celebration with lots of music and singing. The weather was fine and we really enjoyed it. Today we also scheduled a meeting to discuss the next 5 projects that were put on our agenda.

9

Part II: Visit to the projects in the Delhi province

MONDAY 23RD OCTOBER 2017

Visit to the project in AMRITSAR – VINCENT DE PAUL. A 9 a.m. we were welcomed by the directress Sr. Zita and her community member sr. Roja. The children were waiting for us and were thrilled with our visit. This was expressed in beautiful dancing, in song and poem recitation… from small age up to the eldest ones! The school is evolving well. We noticed this when one of the older pupils welcomed us in English. The number of students has now reached 310 students, but due to the lack of space it can hardly expand, unless building another floor.

A great asset for this school is that the sisters know their target population very well. Sr. Zita did visit all the families of the children that attend the school. She knows that it is important to know the family backgrounds and the needs.

In the discussion that followed we came to know that education is very thorough. Sisters work very hard so as to promote values and form good attitudes in collaboration with the teachers.

Following this discussion, we visited briefly a number of classes.

We are aware that this visit was too short while it was so enriching and fascinating.

That same morning we had scheduled another visit, namely to the school at LAHORIGATE near Amritsar. We were welcomed heartily by a large group of children and teachers. They performed a beautiful and sparkling program. We were most impressed by the dance of the three year old children.

The elder ones spokes to us in good and well pronounced English. We could sense the teachers’ efforts. Here too the number of students has increased. The school now counts 400 students. They are taught mainly in English.

Their uniforms are very cute. They wear a polo shirt in different colours: green, red, orange and blue with the name of the school printed on the back of the shirts.

10

With the extra money provided by ASHA-HOPE they undertook a full renovation of the drinking water facilities. The children can now drink fresh water while being protected from the sun by a shelter. Really a beautiful outcome. We visited a number of classrooms and then it happened to be 2 pm: time for lunch!

The community quarters are situated in the school premises. There are four sisters in the community: Sr. Margaret who is the superior and the headmistress of the school. Srs. Martha and Juhi teach English and music and sr. Vinay who has already reached retirement age helps out in the school. We then returned to Amritsar to the community of Sacred Heart School where we had taken our abode since Saturday.

TUESDAY, 24TH OCTOBER 2017

At 9 am we were expected to visit CHOGAWAN. It is an English Medium School headed by Sr. Elsy Thomas. The number of students: boys and girls is 630. The school is working very hard so as to achieve a high standard and the screening of the social backgrounds is done thoroughly. There is a social centre attached to the school where girls from the

neighbourhood can learn to sew and become computer literate. We were welcomed by Sr. Elsy Thomas who led us to the playground where all the students had gathered. A warm welcome was equally extended to us by one of the students who did so in perfect English. We were hosted to watch a wonderful program of dance and music, performed by all.

That day the students had put on their multi-coloured uniforms which was very pretty. The teachers also have their own uniform dresses. The extra money we had provided had been spent so as to whitewash the classrooms and part of the façade of the school. Students, especially the younger ones come from the immediate environment and it is noticeably that many come from poor backgrounds.

11

Afterwards we had a meeting with sr. Elsy Thomas regarding the Education system in India. Thus we came to know that some students change their family name at completion of the secondary school. Some names explicitly refer to the religious background. By changing the name into a more neutral name, they thus have better chances to get admittance for higher education or to get a job.

In the afternoon we proceeded to Sidhpur, our next stage on our itinerary. We took about 5 hours with a short stopover. At arrival we were warmly welcomed by the community. Sr. Mary Scaria who is now the superior and some others were happy to meet us again. We had met in 2003.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 25TH 2017

SIDPHUR has two schools rum by the SCJM: the Sacred Heart School on the one hand and the St. Mary’s school on the other. There is also a dispensary.

We only sponsor the St. Mary’s School and our visit was scheduled at 9 a.m. Before that we had an encounter with Sr. Molly, directress of the Sacred Heart School who had invited us to assist at the Morning Assembly at 7:30 am. This school is a very modern one, where we do not sponsor any students. There are 2400 students who all line up on the huge playground. The weather was fine and we had a beautiful sight on the Himalaya, though this time there was hardly any snow on the

mountain tops. The assembly started with a prayer and an address by sr. Molly and Sr. Claire. We had the honour of handing over the 1st. prize, gained by a student in the national badminton competition. The assembly closed with the National Anthem. Afterwards we visited the kindergarten with Sr. Anita (children between 3 and 5 years) As from the age of three the children are taught to write and count up to a 100. These small ones had prepared a dance and some song. Nice to watch them!

At 9 am we proceeded to the St. Mary’s School, an English Medium School. The building underwent a spectacular face lift and a new building was added as well. Since our previous visit in 2007, the school has grown tremendously. There are now 1020 students. Sr. Cecily is the directress and Sr. Prema is the vice-principal. A group of 8 boys, dressed up beautifully were awaiting us and led us to the auditorium where all the students and teachers

were expecting us. It was a hearty welcome and here too a beautiful program was prepared. First an address in

12

English by one of the students, followed by a beautiful ‘prayer-dance’ performed by the eldest students. A younger student read out a prayer after which a group of boys from 5th up to 10th standard performed a dance. Sr. Claire was invited to speak to the audience.

The final item was a beautiful “tableau vivant” staging ‘Canaän’ and a dance entitled: “Celebrating Jesus”. The final address was made by Sr. Mary. We were touched to see that the students were given responsibility so as to

announce the items and to see that everything would move smoothly. We hardly recognize the St. Mary’s school as compared to 10 years ago. Then the ‘light blue’ school; now the kindergarten. They have a separate playground. The new building was opened only at the start of the new school year in April 2017. A number of lessons are given in English. The children

learn Hindi, English and even Sanscrit, an old language akin to Latin. This is imposed by the State.

We met an enthusiastic group of 35 teachers.. In the end we were invited to see the “second hand generator”, bought with the extra money provided by ASHA-HOPE. We experienced a warm encounter which made a great impression on us. We were so happy to

see the changes achieved in 10 years’ time. Late afternoon there was some time to visit the DISPENSARY. Two sisters serve there: Sr. Justina and Sr. Nirmala.

They see about 40 to 50 patients with different ailments. Pregnant women are accompanied. Should there be a problem they can call on the hospital, some 4km from the dispensary. At certain days a doctors-specialists and a dentist are available. As from November onwards an Ayurvedic physician will consult daily. The dispensary also takes care of children from the St. Mary’s school, should they fall sick during school hours. Sr. Nirmala

is seeing students from the Sacred Heart School, every morning during 2 hours. She sees what needs to done for children who attend school while being ill or that fall ill during school time. She sees what can be done and even refers them to the dispensary.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 26TH 2017

We take leave of Sidhpur. We travel from Sidhpur by car to the airport at Dharamsala to catch a flight to Delhi and from there we proceed by car to Bareilly, our last stop. Early morning at 5:45 am we woke up with Indian music. It happened to be Sr. Mary Scaria’s birthday which started by morning prayer and a beautiful Eucharistic celebration. After breakfast the sisters sang : “Happy Birthday” in Punjabi and we followed with ‘Lang zal ze leven’ in Dutch.

13

Before our departure to the airport we visited the Norbulingka Institute, a Tibetan crafts centre which is at walking distance from the convent. Our luggage gave us some headaches and we needed to keep cool-headed: at arrival in Delhi we would immediately proceed to Bareilly and therefore we had to put whatever we needed at Bareilly in our hand luggage. The rest would be sent to the provincial house in Delhi and be kept there.

But… on an internal flights only 15kg are allowed! Nevertheless we managed. At arrival in the airport we came to know that our flight was delayed by 1 hour. Meanwhile the sisters were already waiting for us in Delhi! The experience was very exciting. At arrival a car was waiting to take our luggage and Sr. Jessy Thomas was in charge for taking this to the provincial house. Sr. Lissy, the superior of the provincial house was waiting in another car so as to take us with our hand luggage to Bareilly. The journey proved to be very long: over 6 hours. Luckily Sr. Lissy had provided a picnic. Finally we reached Bareilly at about 9:45 p.m. The sisters were awaiting us with a hearty welcome and a warm meal. The superior is Sr. Carmel and the principal of the school and the in-charge of the boarding is sr. Divya. That night we did not meet her as she sleeps in the boarding with the children. At arrival we were shown to our rooms and still continued to prepare for the next days. So far our “free day”

FRIDAY OCTOBER 27TH 2017

The last project to be visited was BAREILLY. The Sacred Heart School is an English Medium School that has grown into a school counting 1400 students: from kindergarten up to the age of 16. The directress Sr. Divya is seconded by a very good team of teachers. Bareilly happens to be a poor area, so that many children originate from poor families. There is a small boarding school, where at present seven

Christian children, from very poor backgrounds are taken care of. Most have lost one or both parents. Sr. Divya endeavours to give them besides schooling and a “home situation.

From toddlers to the higher grades, all students were assembled on the large playground around a stage, awaiting the performances. After the welcome address by one of the students we were invited to light the traditional lamp. One of the students presented the different items on the program and this in fluent English. The elder students performed an oriental dance. A six year old boy recited a poem and children in the age group of 6-7 years danced.

14

A play dealt with the issue of equality between men and women. The program continued with the school choir accompanied with keyboard and guitar. The theme of “Clean India, Green India” was touched on in a dance. The apotheosis was an ode to India brought by the school band. They had had rehearsals even during the school holidays.

We got the impression that here too the future of the students is being prepared. After these performances, Sr. Claire was asked to address the students. She mentioned that she had been touched by seeing the biblical quotations on the school walls. One of these texts was very appealing to her: “The success of every one is in the hands of God”. During the encounter we had with the directress, we came to know that 50% of the students cannot afford the cost for their schooling. The sisters therefore try to make end meet. With the “extra money” provided by Asha-Hope 200 chairs have been acquired. These will surely be used at the “Annual Function” and at “Parents’ Day’. The water cooler acquired in 2016 could be installed somewhat later and is now functional.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”

Nelson Mandela

Next to the school, on the same premises, the “training Centre “ is to be found. It caters for young women who had no opportunity of schooling. We visited the beauty salon, a tailor workshop and a computer class. After finishing the program the trainees receive a certificate awarded by the government, giving them good chances for work.

At 2 pm it was time to say good bye and to return to Delhi. After a long trip we arrived roundabout 8 pm at the Provincial House. This happened to be the final accord of our visit to the nine projects. We ignore how many kilometres we have travelled, but we look back with some pride! Tomorrow is our last day in India …

15

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29TH 2018 Time for packing! The trick is to get everything in the suitcases and to take aboard even the items that needed to be taken to Brussels and which were entrusted to us by the sisters. Even a full bag with garlands managed to reach Belgium. In the afternoon we managed a visit to Rajgat, the burial place of the Gandhi family: Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Indira Ghandi and Rajiv Ghandi.

For this last day, Sr. Lissy had baked a special cake. At 9 pm the time chimed for taking leave after two very intensive weeks. Sr. Teresa and sr. Jessy Thomas accompanied us to the airport.

Our flight was at 01:50 hours. We flew from Delhi Brussels via München. We safely arrived on Sunday October 29th roundabout 12:30. We are grateful for these unforgettable encounters with so many ASHA-HOPE children, the meetings with so many sisters, the friendship, the manifold dialogues we had on the way and the fine collaboration. Everywhere we could sense that ASHA-HOPE lives and truly gives a future and hope, which is so promising!

POSTSCRIPTUM In general we can state that our Sisters’ schools for the poor have progressed in so many domains: increased numbers of students, a better command of Hindi and English, the fact that children that have been helped by ASHA-HOPE are in higher education, the very clean buildings, the improvement of the accommodation for the children, attention given to burning issues such as the warming up of our planet, equality between men and women etc… All this is first and foremost tribute to the material and immaterial investments made by the congregation, but also to the investments made by ASHA-HOPE that have also created added value.

We remember the drive of sisters and teaching teams. Lay teachers work alongside with the religious and get increased responsibilities in the follow up of ASHA-HOPE children. This is a finding which could be verified in many a place. We definitely applaud this collaboration. The poor’s plight is disastrous. There is an ever growing gap between the rich and the poor. There were the crops

16

that failed, leaving families without an income and leading to the fact that parents can offer very poor perspectives for the future to their children. Happily enough ever more children attend school and thus receive some education. Though schooling is made compulsory, control on attendance of the schools is lacking. Thus it happens that children are employed at home or in other places or just err in the streets.

Most schools have students between the ages of three and sixteen (up to 10th standard). Some smaller schools in Punjab such as the Vincent de Paul school and Lahorigate, both close to Amritsar, give education only up to 5th standard (12 years of age). All religions are represented in the schools. Religion as such is not subject. Mostly Hindi is the language for education. All schools have some hours of teaching English.

The present government wishes to address ‘minorities’ in the sense that in their minds India needs to become a Hindu state by 2023. Therefore catholic sisters are apprehensive for the 2019 elections! More specifically for the Ranchi Province we see that though the state is very poor and that the population consists mainly of illiterate Tribals, school children and hostel children like to go to school. We could ascertain that the Sisters of Charity schools are having very good standards. We do not only hear this from the sisters, but could also hear this in encounters we had with third parties, parents, people we met while travelling…and we could see for ourselves, especially while attending the programs presented to us. These were all of very good levels: speeches, dances, music, singing, acting. In the Delhi Province, mainly situated in Northern India, we see very successful schools: many students, all decently dressed, coming to school smilingly. Here too we witnessed performances at very high standards. Due to the fact that many Muslim children attend these schools, we heard that parents often put restrictions on participation of girls in dances and the like.

17

MEETING WITH OUR SISTERS FROM OVERSEA

30 JULY 2017

This summer we held a General Chapter in the Congregation of the SCJM – this event takes place every 6 years. This year the Chapter took place in St. Bavo Gent. There were a number of Sisters of every continent, and therefore also from India and Sri Lanka where we have our projects. The members of the ASHA-HOPE group, met with these Sisters on July 30th, 2017 at the foundation house De Bron in Lovendegem where the Congregation started in 1803.

It was a very happy reunion and we could also share some ideas about the projects.

The sisters expressed their gratitude for our commitment and for you, “friends of ASHA-HOPE”, because your support and involvement is so important for the future of these underprivileged children. Your support offers them new opportunities. In addition, it is encouraging that they can count on a ‘little extra’ every year, an extra gift for their schools and hostels.

It was a heart-warming meeting, hopeful for our future functioning. Being able to experience and seeing the necessity that we need each other and should continue to support each other is so enriching.

Then you experience that even being far away is no longer an issue when you share the same concern. This is precisely why solidarity is so strong.

18

EVENTS

Dodentocht ( = long distance walking tour of 100 km)

11th August 2017

ASHA-HOPE-sponsor János Blanckaert, son of Paul and Marleen of our

workgroup, did a marvelous job and walked the full 100 kms of the “death

tour”. We thank everybody for the generous contribution in sponsoring

him. In total, the lottery sale provided us with 1.377 euros.

The drawing of the winning tickets for the two balloon trips took place

under the watchful eye of Geert Leloup, owner of the balloon.

Emese and Tamas, the children of János, drew the winning lots:

• lot no. 022: A. DHOOGHE

• lot no. 301: H. CUYPERS

Congratulations to the winners. They were contacted for further practical

agreements.

Herbakkers Festival – World Market | Eeklo – August 13th, 2017

Charity Fair | Eeklo - November 26th, 2017

Announcement !!

On May 6th 2018 the GENT’S MADRIGAL CHOIR will sing a concert for the benefit of ASHA-HOPE in the Parish church St. Martinus Lovendegem

Please, make a note of this in your agenda. You will receive more information about it later!

19

During the “Warmest Week” (= a national event of solidarity organized by a popular radio

station), Christmas cards and cookies were sold in the atrium of AZ Alma hospital in Eeklo and in

other places in aid of ASHA-HOPE.

The members of Jong CD&V Eeklo (political party) joined us and sold

typical Cuberdon sweets (“candy noses”) for the benefit of ASHA-

HOPE!

Schoenen Torfs (shoe store chain with more than 75 stores in Belgium) commit them-

selves to spending €250 000 annually on charities. In addition to structural partnerships,

they appealed to all customers and collaborators to submit projects themselves in order to

claim a share of the 100.000 euros from this Torfsfonds. ASHA-HOPE was also made

a candidate. Out of the 500 submitted projects we were selected together with 149 other

projects for the final round. The number of votes was to determine whether we would ac-

tually be supported by the Torfsfonds, so it was important to get as many votes as possible. ASHA-HOPE closed the

balot with 587 votes.

In the next NL you can read whether we were actually successful or not!

Volunteers get “a pat on their shoulder” in Kaprijke!

The city council of Kaprijke thanked all volunteers who spontaneously commit-

ted themselves to a certain charity.

Alderman Coppejans gave the floor to representatives to speak about their

specific charity. Also ASHA-HOPE, represented by Paul and Dora, were hon-

ored and appeared in the newspaper.