AM VERY VERY EXCITED TO HAVE ANJALI (NAOMI) BACK IN CALCUTTA AND THE NURSERY CLASS OF OUR SCHOOL PROGRAM. ARUN (STAFF) WAS ABLE TO VISIT NAGALAND LAST WEEK TO MEET UP WITH LYDIA AND MARY AND JUNMONI (ESTHER) AND BRING BACK ANJALI! LEAH NOW HAS A PLAYMATE OF ALMOST HER AGE! PLEASE PRAY FOR GRACE AND SAFETY AND HEALTH!

HOME HOME CALCUTTA CHILDREN (AND STAFF'S) DAY-NIGHT OUT!

WE MADE IT! FINALLY! AFTER 6 MONTHS OF TENSION, TEARS, FEARS, ANXIETY, PRAYERS, NEEDS, PEOPLE LEAVING US...WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE THE HOPE HOME CALCUTTA FAMILY TO THE SEA BEACH AT DIGHA (A FOUR HOUR TRAIN RIDE FROM CALCUTTA) ON FRIDAY AND RETURNED ON SATURDAY EVENING. AND MY, HOW EVERYONE ENJOYED...ALL THE PENT UP EMOTIONS WERE RELEASED AS THE KIDS AND GROWN UPS DASHED ONTO THE ROARING WAVES OF THE BAY OF BENGAL! FRIDAY WAS EXCELLENT AND WE WERE ABLE TO GO TO THE WATERS TWICE - BEFORE AND AFTER LUNCH. SATURDAY MORNING WAS HIGH TIDE DUE TO THE FULL MOON AND THE SEA WATERS CAME UP TO THE BOULDERS. THERE WAS A MINOR ACCIDENT...AS DEV, NAMITA (COOK), SUMILA AND RUTH WAS PUSHED AGAINST THE BOULDERS BY ONE OF THE NASTY WAVES WHICH CAME UP SUDDENLY!! JUST SOME MINOR BRUISES BUT THEN, WHO CARES FOR A FEW CUTS AND WOUNDS WHEN COMPARED TO THE JOY THAT THE SEA BROUGHT FOR ALL OF US...AND YES, WE DID ENJOY THE BONDING AND TIME OF DEVOTION WHILE IN DIGHA...

AT THE STATION IN DIGHA

LEAH...HAVING A BLAST IN THE WATER...

ANUPAM, SAMUEL AND SANJAYA...

DEV, ENJOYING THE SERENITY OF THE SEA...

RANJIT, SAMUEL, SANJAYA, ROHIT...

OUR HEART-THROB LEAH...

KEZIA AND MARTHA ENJOYING THE TRAIN RIDE...

GURIA, SLIDING DOWN TO THE WATERS...

SANJAYA AND SAMUEL

SAMUEL...

SWING...

RUTH...AT THE TRAIN ENTRANCE...

THE GIRLS ENJOYING THE WATER...

KEZIA AND LEAH...

HOPE HOME CALCUTTA & OAKTREE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

STUDENTS FROM OAKTREE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL HAVE COMMITTED TO COME OVER  TO THE HOPE HOME CALCUTTA ONCE A WEEK (WEDNESDAYS) TO SPEND TIME WITH OUR CHILDREN AND STUDENTS FROM OUR SCHOOL PROJECT AND HELPING THEM WITH SOFT SKILLS LIKE MUSIC, DRAMA, COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH...IT'S A GREAT BLESSING TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH A WELL-KNOWN INSTITUTION!

BABY'S (AND GROWN-UP'S) DAY OUT...

WE ARE ALL EXCITED FOR OUR SCHEDULED BREAK TO THE SEA-BEACH (A THREE-HOUR TRAIN RIDE FROM CALCUTTA) ON FRIDAY-SATURDAY! THIS WOULD BE THE FIRST OVERNIGHT OUTING FOR THE CHILDREN AND LIVE-IN STAFF OF THE HOPE HOME SINCE 2007! WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR SPONSORS TO COVER COSTS (AROUND $ 40 PER INDIVIDUAL - TRAIN COSTS, HOTEL RESERVATIONS, FOOD ETC.) BUT COME WHAT MAY, WE WOULD MOVE OUT OF OUR PREMISES AND ENJOY THE WATERS...A BIT SAD THOUGH FOR FEW OF THE CHILDREN IN THEIR HOMETOWN CITIES AT PRESENT BUT PLAN TO REPEAT THE OUTING LATER THIS YEAR AFTER THEIR RETURN!

                                           from an earlier visit to the beach in 2007...!!

Tomorrow (31st) is Rachel's Birthday...she'll complete 16! We have been warned several times not to visit her (by members of that particular community-the family wanting her to come back to us notwithstanding), we are planning to visit her and give a birthday surprise to her...! We have bought a nice dress for her and a pair of earrings! We'll pick up the cake on the way!

Rachel was finally able to make it to the Hope Home this evening - albeit only for an hour or so. Her father reached her to the pick up point when the other male members as also the mother was away (the Muslims celebrated the festival of Eid yesterday) and a couple of our staff picked her up and brought her to the Hope Home. She was REALLY, REALLY  happy and so were the rest of the Hope Home Calcutta family. But soon after she left and even before she could reach back home, we started receiving telephone calls - some threatening - that she should not have come over to the Hope Home. Her father DENIED that he ever accompanied her upto the pick up place and everyone was very, very agitated. They have threatened to come over to the Hope Home tomorrow morning. Please pray for Rachel's own safety and protection and also for all of us at the Hope Home Calcutta. Pray that better sense would prevail and she be allowed to resume her stay nearby and also her education in our school program. Would keep all of you posted as and when further developments takes place!

And here they are...Ranjit (Jonah) and Rohit (Noah) who were 'released' from the 'hellish' conditions of the government sponsored 'Home' by the Social Welfare Department last week, finally arrived in Calcutta yesterday morning! They are back in school this morning! Ranjit would resume his violin training next week and Rohit his classical guitar from the coming Sunday. The brothers are planning on writing to the Human Rights Commission detailing their horrid story and the waste of a full school year because of the callousness of the social welfare department. However our joy is ALMOST complete at the Hope Home Calcutta!