Dear Members and Friends of Fam. Posielek Foundation,
We at CHAI wish you all the Peace & Joy of Christmas, and a Happy and Healthy New year with Hope.
Thank you for your generous support that we received in 2018.
This academic year (2018 – 2019), we could provide education scholarship to 105 students to pursue higher education. Of these, 75 (71%) are girls, mostly belong to Dalit and other backward communities. We have organized this year advanced training for 23 unmarried girls/young mothers in beauty culture. The two Women Societies, constituted by the mothers of students, and facilitated by the Foundation, could provide scholarship to another 28 students from the small amounts some of the mothers contributed back.
With your generosity, we could support one of our partnering organizations to organize 7 Evening Tuition Centers (ETCs named Akshara meaning Alphabet), attended by 150 children below 10th Std. Five of these ETCs are located in the state of Maharashtra & 2 in the Tribal State of Jharkhand. Most of the children belong to either Dalit or Tribal communities – of very low socio-economic status. Parents of most of these children are illiterate and they cannot help the children in their studies. They return only by evening after their daily coolie work – agricultural labour. Most of the houses are very poor. Many of the families live in single rooms. The ETCs help children in their studies after school hours. The ETC are relevant as most of the children attend the ill-equipped schools with not-so-trained teachers. ETCs help children, especially girls, to be regular in schools, without dropping out. The teams at ETC follow up the children at their own regular schools. They regularly meet the teachers in their own respective schools. The ETCs also make the children and their families aware of health and hygiene issues, rights of the girl children, govt schemes, etc. They groom leadership qualities among the children.
Thank you all. You generosity helps us to sustain the smiles of these children. Through your thoughtfulness, you become ‘Christmas’, give Hope for these children, in the midst of a world wallowing in greed and selfishness. We take this opportunity to specially thank and remember Mr. Joachim and Mrs. Joanna Posielek whose vision urges to move forward. Thank you Achim and Janka!
“Where God is born, hope is born; and where hope is born, persons regain their dignity. Yet even today great numbers of men and women are deprived of their human dignity and, like the child Jesus, suffer cold, poverty, and rejection. May our closeness be felt today by those who are most vulnerable.” Pope Francis
Anto Maliekal, Managing Trustee