In this  news of Nava Jeevana, we wish to share with you the two approaches we have recourse to , towards Rehabilitation , the CBR and the IBR.

News of the Community Based Rehabilitation

These last few weeks were marked by the 100 International Women’s Day Celebration in the villages and also at the Centre.  A chance was given to the women to relax and have fun among them with games and competitions.  Prizes were distributed to the winners at the plenary celebration which brought together about 400 rural women.  It was a networking  between Nave Jeevana and the Bellary Diocese Developmental Society. This same was attended by dignitaries of Bellary and our sisters who encouraged the women to develop their talents and to make their contribution to the families, the village and the society as a whole.  For this unity of minds and hearts is essential.  We have proof of this when they came together to obtain loans with subsidy from the banks for milch animals, petty shops etc.  On the whole the women are very responsible in loan repayment and are looked up to by their husbands and the village folk.   Thanks to the new empowerment, many of the little girls are sent to school and we hope to see the curse of child marriage and child widows disappear as also the unhealthy habit of marriage between close relatives which is the cause of congenital problems  , deformities, visual impairment, mental retardation.  We hope and pray for better future in the days to come. 

At the Nava Jeevana which has the  Institution Based Rehabilitation – 5 of our children (2 girls & 3 boys) who are appearing for the SSLC exams were given a “send off” by the Sisters, the staff and the children.   Some of them  have spent 7 years or more in Nava Jeevana.  At the simple ceremony they lit their lamps from the ‘Kuthuvilaaku’ which stood in a carpet of flowers, shared their experiences, their hopes and dreams and expressed gratitude for all they received in their “Home”.  Going away gifts and souvenirs were given to them.  Their qualities and positive attitudes were thrn shared by the sisters and the staff.  It was indeed very touching to see them with tear stained faces bidding farewell to those who played an important role in their lives in the double motivation  for which Nava Jeevana is known – motivation to education and life and to better mobility.  The visually impaired sensing  the atmosphere  broke into sobs as they knew big brother and big sister w as leaving the “Home”.

At this time of the year Nava Jeevana has a different look, the kids have left for their holidays and few families are here either to accompany their little ones who have had surgery or a parent who needs health care and surgery.  Nava Jeevana remains an “open house” for all feel at home when they drop in for a stay , a meal etc.  Benefactors and well wishers help us in our mission for which we are indeed grateful.                

Summer will come down on us with all its intensity, the temperature group up 48  degree Celsius.  In fact we can already feel it! In Nava Jeevana, we are blessed with a sprawling  garden  with all sorts of trees. I think we have about 17 types of fruit trees or more like mangoes, bananas, coconut, figs, jackfruit, custard apples, papaya, breadfruit, limes etc… A number of shady trees like Banyan, Neem, Almond, Flame of the forest, creepers like Bougainville, Bridal Bouquet, morning glory, medicinal plants , flowers and ornamental plants. An oasis in dry, dusty, drought  prone Bellary …a bit of Paradise. This is the impression of most visitors, and was the appreciation made by the parents who came for a one day meeting. What is special at this time of the year is that under each tree you will find a child, studying for the exams which are on. The shade is most welcome. Five of the kids will be appearing for their School finals and then will leave the Centre which has been their “Home” for 7 to 12 years.

Then comes the Annual Holidays, for most will be in their families in the villages. Sisters and Staff also avail of this time for a holiday or retreats. For others it will be in the Hospitals as 4 boys and 4 girls are due for major orthopedic surgeries. Among them, in a special way remember Kavya a 9 year old who came here for severe rickets and has been found with a kidney that is not functioning and hence will need a major surgery. Also Josua a 6 year old who has dislocation of both hip joints, due to careless handling at birth. We hope and pray for Gods blessing and wish to see them normal for the new academic year in June 2011.We also have requests to open a day care centre for mentally challenged kids.

Most of the kids will return in mid May for a Holiday Camp where they will be given an opportunity to learn music with Tabla and Harmonium, singing, elocution, spoken English, gardening, painting, and have fun with games and cultural evenings. Its time they all love.

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.

Harvest Festival

On the 15th January we gathered together as one big family on the Harvest Festival also known as Pongal or Shankranthi. The earth is decorated for the celebration. New rice is cooked with milk and jaggery in a new earthen ware pot in a small patch that is fairly decorated with garlands of mango leaves, sugarcane and intricate colourful designs known as Rangoli. While the milk and the rice boil over all scream with joy “Pongalo Pongal”. This is then blessed and distributed to all present on banana leaves. The first to be given of this sweet rice with a banana are the milch animals, our buffalos and our goats. They enjoy it as much as the kids and ask for more. A day we thank God for His blessings on the earth and we ask for a bountiful harvest and for God’s protection for the year 2011.

Tripple Celebration

There was a real hub of activity, noise, laughter and excitement in Nava Jeevana, Bellary on the 23^rd and 24^th December 2010.  We had a triple celebration – World Disabled Day (Dec 3) Puttani Sangha Festival (Children’s Festival) and the Christmas Celebration.  We planned to coincide this with the visit of our friend from Germany Martin Gruger and his son Benedikt who wished to celebrate Christmas with us.  The 175 children were invited to new experiences and adventures; one was drawing cash from the Nava Jeevana Bank where Sr. Victoria was the Bank Manager. Their cash and their day was spent in lucky dips, canteen, photo session, games of chance etc.  as twilight fell all gathered around the Holy Family and the live crib made up of our gardener, his wife the cook and their baby Preethi.  The children in spite of their disabilities sang and danced as kings, shepherd, angels, this was thanks to Sr. Leo and her staff who took keen interest to organize this.

Christmas is essentially a story – history of Sharing.  We had taken the theme of SHARING for reflection and action during advent, Sisters, Staff and Children were encouraged to find ways and means to practice ‘sharing’ in its various aspects.  “Sharing a kind word, an appreciation, a smile, an act – The outcome was that our 55 disabled children volunteered to share their “mite” and their goodies that they received to make surprise gifts and organize games for those less fortunate than themselves namely the children of the Daya Kendra (Leprosy Colony) and the neighbouring slums.  It was indeed touching to see our little ones leaning on crutches go over to give out the prizes and surprise gifts with a smile on their faces .Those who gave experienced as much joy or even more than those who received – Miracle of sharing is essential to make the world a better place to live in.    The visit of Catherine Bowman from UK and Xavier Mariadas from PCTC, Karyandhal, Tamilnadu who encouraged us in all what we are doing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011

Dear friends,

lots of love and Greetings from all the Sisters and Children of Nava Jeevana!  May this New Year bring us joy, love and peace in all our endevours.  We are happy to tell you that we have created this blogg to continue to share with the news of  Nava Jeevana.