Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Photos and news from Feb visit now uploaded

Wow so much is happening at Shalom at the moment.  It's hard to keep up with everything.  It sure is going to be an exciting year.  I've finally finished uploading photos and updates from our recent trip.  They won't all fit on one page, so to continue reading, please click on OLDER POSTS at the bottom of the screen or use the expandable BLOG ARCHIVE list in the right hand column to open previous posts.  I hope you enjoy catching up on all the news.


 













Remember ... Together we can change their future

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

You can now follow Shalom on facebook

Sometimes I think my brain is getting too old to learn new things.  I've just spent most of the day trying to work out how to set up a few things on facebook and my head is spinning.   The good news is we now have our new facebook page up and running.  So if you're a facebook user, please "like" us on facebook and "share" what we're doing with your friends.  To get to our Shalom Home India  facebook page click here.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Update on our girl's buildings

The final room layout of the new girl's buildings has been decided on. Last night, Israel had a meeting with our sustainable design advisor to decide locations of extra windows for cross ventilation and what size solar power system we'll need to put in.  Once these things are sorted, the designers will send me the final plans and elevations.  We've decided on the name Sharmah House which comes from the Hebrew word Shammah which means The Lord is present, while Sharma in the local language means, happiness, shelter, protection, joyous comforter.  The new buildings will include, sleeping rooms, office, infrimary, playroom, study area and bathrooms around a walled garden/courtyard plus a seperate new kitchen and open sided dining hall which will be shared with the boys.  The existing dining hall will be used to accomodate the cook and some widows.  The location of the new buildings have been marked out and excavation of the foundations will start next month.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Grade 10 exam study groups started

Grade 10 exams are due to start in India, at the end of this month.  This can be a very stressful time for students, because every subject must be passed, before they can advance to grade 11 and 12 or gain entry to a certified  technical course.  With rolling power cuts still in force, we decided to set up 2 venues, where grade 10 students from our village can study over the next 4 weeks and receive help from tutors.  The girls meet at the school, while the boys come to Shalom. We weren't sure how many children would come, but so far, every student from grade 10, has turned up for each session.  The teachers also want to lend a hand and have offered to sleep over and help tutor on the nights preceeding their particular subject exams.

The Grade 10 boys studying at Shalom

Friday, March 15, 2013

Well diggers look at our well

We finally tracked down some well diggers who are available to start work on deepening our well.  This is very exciting, because diggers can be hard to find, and only work at certain times of the year.  Presently the well is about 20 foot deep with a large build up of clay which is blocking the spring.  Their proposal is to remove the clay, and then dig down another 20 feet.  If they strike rock, explosive charges will be used.  These will have to be small because of the close proximity of our other buildings.  20 men will be involved in the work, which may take 4 weeks and cost up to $7000AUD.  An expensive project to add to our budget, but if we can regain access to our spring, we'll have enough water to irrigate the rest of our land.  We're praying the spring will be released once the clay is removed, and there'll be no need for deep excavation or explosives.

Climbing down into the well

Measuring the depth

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

New toilets for our village school

I'm not sure if this is a good thing to admit, but today I'm looking into toilets.  Not literally, but on the web. 

The reason why is because OUR VILLAGE SCHOOL DOESN'T HAVE ANY USABLE TOILETS.  So every day, more than 400 students and their teachers go to the toilet in the school grounds, or the empty fields next door.  I've seen it, I've smelt it, and it sure isn't the most pleasant place to study.  You can see in the attached photos the broken toilets and open sewer that runs through the playground.  Not only is it a huge health risk, but research shows teenage girl's in India who attend a school with no working toilets, skip school up to 5 days a month when menstruating.  


Rather than just thinking that's terrible, this year we're going to do something about it.  We're going to build the school some new toilets.  Which is why I'm looking into toilets, to work out how many toilets we need, most water efficient designs, best septic tanks for different soil types, and plans for incinerators to dispose of sanitary items.  Rivetting stuff... but if we do it right, it will have a huge pay off for the children in our village in terms of health and education.  The good news is we already have one school in Brisbane who've offered to help raise funds for the construction of the new toilets.



Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Heavy rains call for quick action

After the rice is harvested, the cut straw, still with the rice husks attached, must be left out in the sun for a few days to dry.  On the 2nd day, everyone woke to find heavy clouds threatening to unleash a torrent of rain that would have ruined the whole crop.  A message was quickly sent to the village to round up workers and then everyone scurried about picking up piles of straw to put under cover.  Just as they brought in the last of the piles the heavens opened and heavy rain fell for the next hour.  The rice was saved, and the rain meant the fields would be ready for ploughing again in a few days which is great news.

Carrying the rice to safety
Bagging the rice

Monday, March 4, 2013

Our Third Rice Harvest Is Underway

It's been a busy week as far as farming activities go.  Fields have been ploughed, 1/2 an acre of cow grass has been planted (the 6ft variety) and harvesting of the rice has began.  The rice is being harvested by hand this year, because no harvesting machine is available in our area.  It's hot and itchy work, being done by people from the village assisted by Prabhu, Radha, Subhu, Sitra, Pastor Daniel and the boys.  Preparations have also been done for planting a field with pawpaw, banana and drumstick plants.

Cutting the rice by hand
A field ready for banana, pawpaw and drumstick plants


Friday, March 1, 2013

Meet the Newest Addition To Our Family

We'd like to introduce Evangeline, the newest member of our Shalom family.  Isn't she beautiful? She's the daughter of Priya and Prakash our tutors.  The plans for our new girl's building - Sharmah House are almost finalised, we're just deciding on how the front elevation will look.   The next stage will be lodging the plans with the local Panchayat office for approval.  Next week we plan to mark out the foundations.  It's very exciting and if all goes to plan, Evangeline will have some other little girls to keep her company by the end of the year. 

Would you like to be one of our Faithful 40?

If you share our heart to help orphans and widows, we're currently looking for more Faithful 40 partners to help provide a regular inflow of funds as we build additional accomodation and facilities for widows, and orphaned and abandoned girls.  Our Faithful 40 partners commit to faithfully give $40 a month for a period of 2 years. If you'd like to find out more about how to become one of our Faithful 40 please email us at hales@shalomhomeindia.org or use the email link in the right side column.  



Our Project is an approved Australian aid and development project, run in partnership with Global Development Group Australia www.globaldevelopment.org.au.  Donations made towards Global Development Group project J514 Shalom Community Development Project (AKA Shalom Home and Shalom Sustainability Farms) are tax deductible.