Nava Jeevana on a day out

News from Nava Jeevana for February

Before the yearly exams in April, we Cluny sisters take all the children and staff for an outing or “tour” for a day or for a weekend. The bigger ones 34 in all had the joy of going to Bangalore from 28 -31 January 2011. Bangalore the “garden City” with its splendid Lal Bagh gardens having as an exhibit a Gopuram in 80,000 roses , the Electronic City the “Silicon Valley” as it is known , the massive flyovers, Bangalore boasts of having the largest flyover in Asia, the children’s eye popped out on seeing the skyscrapers, the malls, the beautiful lakes for boating and the famous Bangalore International airport where every 15 minutes there is a take off or a landing of flights. Is this our India? A visit to the Shrine of Our Lady, the Infant Jesus and the Bull temple and the Planetarium were places to be remembered and where we offered prayers for all our benefactors who made this trip possible, a dream come true. The great adventure is always the train ride   for the disabled who have to balance their calipers, crutches and their bags….

The 12 February was the big day for 45 little ones, the staff and sisters, who kept awake most of the night with excitement, to pile up into 2 van loads to get to the Station and then a Herculean task to get them into the train for Hubli in the early hours of the morning with wheelchairs, calipers, crutches, bags. A long journey but then this was the best part for about 20 had never even seen a train, and so were thrilled when they found the trees and houses running with the train!! Picnic breakfast and snacks and supper on the train was unforgettable. A bus takes them to the Ilikkal Lake for a boat ride, to the park where they could imagine they were on the back of an elephant or a tiger, or peacock thanks to huge statues .A ride on the bus to see the town and then it was back to the Station. Motivation to Education and Mobility are the 2 strong points of Nava Jeevana, the 2 most handicapped girls who are still crawling and need wheelchairs have returned with the conviction that they need to have a major ortho surgery to put them on their feet.

Joy was in our hearts to welcome our dear German friends Ruth and Eva, one coming from Paris and the other from Germany who share their guidance, express their appreciation and encourage us in our mission to the disabled and the marginalized, the women and children   and AIDS affected children  in the Region of North Karnataka.

Considering the appalling Health situation in drought prone North Karnataka, where we still come to see an increasing number of children affected with cerebral palsy, mental retardation and night blindness due to lack of Vitamin A, and lack of hygiene, stunted growth due to malnutrition., we have launched out on a programme of training 10 Village Health Workers who will work side by side with the Community Based Rehabilitation Workers in the Rural areas.

“We shall overcome, someday, for deep in my heart I do believe we shall overcome someday” …so goes a simple song and this is what we sing. For everything is possible when we join hands with our people, our staff, our friends , benefactors and volunteers to build a more human and health society.