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Saturday FEBUARY 27, 2010
 
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TOP STORY

LOTUS FOUNDATION: REACHING OUT TO POVERTY-STRICKEN CHILDREN IN INDIA

 

By Rattan Mall

 

 

During her stint as a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) intern in 2006 in the south Indian city of Bangalore, Vancouver school teacher Gurpavan Kaur Gill was so staggered by the horrendous conditions that children in state-run shelters lived in that she resolved to create an advanced children's complex there for marginalized youth to serve as a model across the globe.

She recently incorporated a charity, the Lotus Foundation for Children, to raise $3-million to pursue this goal. (Visit http://thelotusfoundationforchildren.blogspot.com)

Based on her experiences, Gill recently published a book titled “Lotus of the Lake:  On the Children of Poverty,” to raise awareness on this issue. The book consists of poetry and prose related to the true lives of children living in very disparate conditions as slum dwellers, migrants, street dwellers and in state-run shelters and "homes."

She told The VOICE the lotus was a kind of metaphor to highlight the difficult conditions in which these children are growing up. She noted: “It’s almost like the lotus seed that grows from the muddy ground and rises above the lake to bloom so beautifully.”

Gill is currently doing her Masters in Human Security and Peacebuilding and will be travelling to Uganda in April for the Masters program.  She will be returning to India in August to continue her work in a children's home and complete a field study for her Masters program. 

Talking about her CIDA experience as an intern with the international NGO called Peace Child India in Bangalore, she recounted: “I worked, for the most part, in a children's facility found in the centre of town.  It was located in a crowded and polluted area of the city and bus access to the school was very limited. 

“During my experience in both the girls' and boys' homes I came to realise that the children were under severe stress and anxiety due to the sub-standard living arrangements in the shelter.  They were undernourished, physically abused and exposed to unhygienic living conditions.  Myself and a few other interns painted a wall mural in the home to improve the environment of the school. 

“They often cried, wanting to go home or enroll in a different school.  At that time, there was very little I could do.  I did try to help a few of the children get admittance into a private school, however, the state home would not allow them to leave without obtaining formal permission from their home state. 

“Two years later (2008), I went back to India to re-assess conditions in the home and determine whether any improvements had been made - there hadn't.  In fact, the situation had worsened.

“I decided at that time to raise awareness about the children's home by writing the stories of the children I met along the way.”

 

Regarding their project goals, the foundation’s website states:

“In helping to secure their futures, we plan to build a Safe Home--a Secure Educational Institute and Home for street kids, neglected and orphaned children, meant to provide children with educational avenues to reach their potential. The Institute will also operate as a site for parent workshops and learning fairs, where parents can get information on child rearing, health education and local job opportunities.

“As its initial project, The LFC will manage and fund the construction of an international children's home and school for Dalits and other oppressed youth in Bangalore, India. As part of the educational complex, we will cultivate farm land, growing sugar cane to produce renewable energy such as bio-fuel and biodegradable plastic products such as, cutlery, utensils and grocery bags to market throughout India and overseas. It is our hope that parents in need of employment will be involved in working on the school's agricultural site while the children attend school. School fees and medical care for families will be paid by LFC through profits from the sales of biodegradable products mentioned above! LFC members also plan to initiate communications with the Indian government to insure project sustainability through inter-governmental cooperation and funding.”

 


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