BluArrow Trust
PROJECTS
Shining Light School - Pune
Located just over 100 miles from Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), Pune is an old city that was much favoured by the British in years gone by and to this day it shows clear signs of the extent to which the British military had an establishment in the area.
Funded entirely by charitable donations, Shashi & Neelam Rajan, along with their son Benjamin and his wife Dami, have managed to see an amazing school develop for the children from a nearby slum who otherwise would have no chance of schooling as there is no state education provision available in this city.
Founded in 2011 with just a handful of little children in a nursery project, the need for something bigger and better was pressed upon them. Today there are 215 children currently enrolled in the full time day school and they are receiving a good basic education in English, maths, reading, writing and life skills.
They are also learning Bible stories and singing Christian songs. The children taste the love of Christ and then talk about it to their parents. This has been so well received that we are being urged to ‘grow’ the school to cater to older children. Shashi & Neelam have also conducted four ‘parenting’ classes for mothers with each being attended by at least 60 parents.
At this time, apart from providing some funding, our main contribution is that Janie spends time each year teaching the teachers (she does know what she is doing!). This vital input makes a significant difference to the future prospects of each and every child as they cannot learn what is not being taught. Janie's input is vital for the growth and development of the school and the students and we are thrilled to be able to make this difference every time we go.
The Shelter
Since April 2014, the team has been ‘sheltering’ a number of street children after they had been forced to leave their previous home and on occasions simply abandoned by their parents.
This was a totally unexpected development and the team is now seeking direction as to how to proceed next.
At this time there are 19 children under the care of the project, though it varies between 8 and 20 on a weekly basis.
Some of these children have parents who are unemployed and separated due to the husband’s unfaithfulness. Some make a daily living, occasionally, by selling balloons on the streets of Pune. The rest of the time they beg. Few are able to get work on a daily wage basis and for this reason many just hand the children over and ask for help.
Sadly others wait at the end of the school day but no-one comes to collect them.
