Monday, December 20, 2010

November 2010 The Monsoon Hits With A Vengeance

After 2 years of failed monsoons, its wonderful to finally get some good rains. The well has water for the first time since August 2009. The government has released water into the irrigation channel that runs beside our property. Unfortunately the rain caused flooding and loss of life in some areas and the dirt road into our property has been impassable to vehicles for weeks.







Local farmers came to help with sowing our first rice crop.








Aaron and some of the boys preparing a field for sowing rice.










With the onset of the monsoon, colds and fevers are common because if you get wet in the morning your clothes won't dry in the humid conditions. A local family gave all the boys raincoats to keep them dry when walking to and from school.



October 2010 Karen's Visit Continued



Kenmore Baptist Kid's Church donated money for a TV so the boys could watch DVDs and learn about the world.










Every Saturday Night is now movie night. Here they are watching a video of themselves from one of Karen's previous trips.










We held our second goat day and gave out another 10 pairs of goats. Israel was kept busy with all the paperwork.






Karen with some of the people and their new goats.












Thanks to all those who donated money for the goats.
















Whilst Karen was visiting, the monsoon rains started and the fields began to green up with new growth. With fresh grass to eat, the cow's milk production increased and they were able to start selling milk again. The cow is pregnant and due to give birth around April. If good rains fall over the next 2 months, we'll be able to plant crops and buy more cows.




Karen gave the boys some books and drawing supplies.











They all enjoyed copying pictures from the books and coming up with their own artistic creations.











Israel and Aaron with the boys holding their new pencil cases that Karen's Mum made for them.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

September 2010 Karen's Visit

Karen got to spend 3 weeks visiting the boys in September and October. Below are some of the photos from her visit.


















Due to insufficient irrigation supplies during periods of low rainfall, we realised that the 5 acres of land at Errampatti won't provide enough food and income to care for our targeted 50 children. So we are now looking at buying another 10 acres of land to grow crops and have more cows and goats in another village where land is cheaper and water supply is more consistent. Above is a property we looked at in Anaikarapatti Village. It has 2 deep wells and is in an area of greater rainfall.


















We held the first of our village goat days in Kalikudi Village. 10 pairs of baby goats were distributed to widows, the elderly, unemployed and disabled. The participants will raise the goats for 6 months, then we will give them a breeding pair to keep, and the adult goats will be sold to fund the purchase of the replacement goats and another pair of goats to give to someone else in another village. We hope to give out 20 pairs of goats every 6 months.

















The goats will supply milk and income through breeding. Everyone was very happy to get their new goats.



















Thanks to some fundraising by Kenmore Baptist Church Kid's Church, we were able to take the boys on a 2 day tour. We visited waterfalls and an island just off the most southern point of India.


















Only four of the boys had ever seen the ocean before. They had a great time paddling in the waves.


















Jeremy and Simon donated their old k'nex toys to the boys and they had a wonderful time building all sorts of models.


















The boys have never seen toys like this before and enjoyed playing with them for hours.

July 2010 We need rain

As the heat of summer rose, the lack of water for irrigation continued to negatively effect our attempts to develop the farming activities that will provide income and food for the Home. The wells and bores on many surrounding farms dried up leaving many farmers without crops for income. We lost our banana plants, watermelon crops and the vegetable gardens couldn't be replanted. However with the monsoon months approaching Israel decided to plant a few trees and shrubs.



















Planting shade trees along the fenceline.


















Hand watering some of the new plants.


















The calf has almost doubled in size, but the heat and lack of green grass has greatly reduced the cow's milk production.

June 2010 Holidays and back to school

















The academic year finished in May and all the boys passed their exams, which was great news. They had a few weeks break from their studies and Israel and Aaron took them to a local park for some games and lunch.
















Two of the boys returned to their villages to live with relatives and two new boys joined the group. Welcome Babur (aged 7) and Abinesh (aged 12).

















Getting ready to go back to school with their new school bags.

















The boys in their primary and high school uniforms.





Thursday, April 8, 2010

March 2010 Update

During March, temperatures have been above average (in the 40's) with no real rainfall over most of the district. Unfortunately the continued dry weather and heat were too much for the watermelon plants which started to wilt. Local villagers stole some of the crop and the boys ate those that could be salvaged. We've decided that while water is scarce, we'll concentrate on watering the veggie gardens and plant some areas with cow and goat fodder to ensure there is enough green vegetation to keep the animals well fed.

The cow and calf are going well, producing 14-15 litres of milk a day and generating our first income. Being able to eat the veggies from our gardens has also resulted in savings at the local produce markets. Construction work has continued on the outdoor cooking area, finishing the feeding troughs for the cows, fencing around the well and a shelter for the vehicles.

Israel's been busy with finalising the registration of the home and preparing for our first Indian Audit. A number of Government Departments dropped by for surprise inspections and were very happy with the facilities and the care given to the boys.

Once the registration and auditing are completed, and we get some decent rain, we'll buy our next two cows and calves and some more goats. Around June we aim to start our village goat rearing scheme where we will supply pairs of baby goats to poor village families. They will raise them for 6 months and then the goats will be sold. The family will keep the income from one and the income from the other will be used to buy 2 more goats for another family. So far we've been given enough money to buy our first 29 goats. Our goal is to give out 40 goats every 6 months.

The boys are busy studying for their end of year exams to be held in April. Afterwards they'll have 4 weeks holidays and will relax, help around the farm, and attend a Kid's Holiday Camp with lots of games, stories, singing and craft.


The baby goats were finally born and we now have 2 more boys to add to the number.


Looking down on the roof of the new outdoor cooking area at the rear of the kitchen building.


Fence posts in position ready to improve safety around the well.


The vehicles under the new vehicle shelter.


A large pile of straw was delivered to help feed the animals.


The boys helping to move and re-stack the straw.

Geoff and Karen's February Visit

In February we headed back over to Shalom to see how everything was progressing and make plans for 2010's project development activities. It was great to see the boys again. The night we arrived at Shalom, they greeted us with a firecracker display, and Geoff loved the chance to let off a few bungers himself. The boys were all well, growing taller, studying hard in the mornings and evenings, and helping with jobs around the farm. Their December exam marks showed everyone had passed and 2 of the boys were in the top 5 in their classes, which is a fantastic effort. Their English is improving much faster than our Tamil, and each visit its easier to chat and communicate with them.

The farming side of things is slowly developing. There were lots of chickens everywhere, 6 goats, one due to give birth soon, and one of the dogs had just had 3 puppies. The boys took Karen on a grand tour of the fields and enjoyed pointing out all the different veggies, watermelons and banana plants. During our second week, we went cow shopping and thanks to Kenmore Baptist Church (KBC) Kid's Church we now have our first cow and calf.

Unfortunately the continued drought conditions are inhibiting the full development of the farming activities. The irrigation bore supplies enough water for our current number of animals and about a quarter of the land. However to cultivate the rest of the fields and support 10 cows and 30 goats, we need to get good monsoon rains each year.

Israel continues to do a great job looking after everything and everybody. We discussed plans for expanding the income generating activities and worked on business plans for the cows and goats; visited tailoring businesses; goat breeding farms; and talked with a group of widows in Madurai who we want to help find ways to earn income.


Geoff and Karen with the boys at church in Madurai.


Israel with the boys checking out photos on the laptop.


Karen with some of the boys on the front steps at Shalom.


Saturday afternoon rest time for everyone including Geoff.


Joshua, Potti and Kalimuthu with the irrigation bore and tank.


The veggie gardens. The taller plants are food for the goats.


Irrigating the banana plants.


Every day the gardens produce a fresh batch of veggies.


One of the goats is due to have babies in March.


The new cow and calf arriving from a nearby village.


The baby calf is very cute. When it's full grown it will also supply milk.


The man in blue is Ponnumani's Grandfather, he came to live with the boys and tend to the crops.


The boys showing off the drawings they drew to thank KBC Kid's church for the new cow and calf.


Kalimuthu and Divagar with their drawings.


Meeting with a group of widows in Madurai to discuss ideas to help them find work


Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Current Opportunities To Support The Work Of Shalom Home

We're not big into fundraising and instead prefer to simply share with people what's happening over at Shalom, and then trust God to provide what is needed when it is needed. So far He has been very faithful in His provision and thanks to many generous gifts, we've been able to achieve a great deal since construction started in January 2009.

Many have asked us how they can help support the work of Shalom, so here's a couple of suggestions.

If you'd like to support the work of Shalom Home on a regular basis we are still looking for sponsors for a number of the boys. ($40AUD a month)

We're also planning to start our village goat rearing scheme mid year. $50AUD buys a pair of baby goats which will help a poor village family earn income.

Please contact us if you'd like find out more about either of these ways of supporting the project.