Voice of Hope

April, 2015

NEWSLETTER OF THE HOPE HOUSE

Rights of every man are diminished when

the rights of one man are threatened.
John F. Kennedy

Gran Transformacin
On day 1 at the Hope House

Often we come across individuals that leave their

fate and future to the destiny without ever realizing
the inner potential in them. It is believed that all of
us are made to be resilient enough to fight to reach
greater heights but only a few tread that path
because it is easier not to.
In this edition of Voice of Hope, we are featuring a
young lady - Radhika, who was put to test at a very
young age to choose between destiny and desire and
she chose the latter. Rest is history.
Radhika was the only child to her illiterate parents
but her father abandoned them when she was a little
girl and she was living with her sickly mother. When
things got tough at home, she decided to do
something to support the family she went to work.
Often she skipped school and began to work at a
construction site carrying bricks. Sometimes she
used to work as a maid in houses only for a square
meal. At times she used to graze her goats. But in
midst of all this, she only thought if only many
times and that day never came, at least thats what
she thought.
Noticing the plight of her family, the school
authorities wanted something more make Radhika
to fish than to give her a fish. They called the Social
Worker of CHAD hospital and sought their help to
find something more concrete for her. Mrs. Gifta
Augustine was the Social Worker who made the

home visit and contacted the Hope House for a

placement.
After all the formalities were
completed, she was admitted to the Hope House
in 2012 while in 9th grade.
Very quickly Radhika learned to make use of the
opportunities and started excelling in studies.
Passed 10th grade with almost 70% marks and
took pure sciences in high school.
Today, apart from excelling in academics,
Radhika can engage in English conversations
and undertake many leadership responsibilities.
She wants to pursue a career in nursing at the
best nursing college in India (ranked # 1)
Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore in
2016.
Every time she goes home for holidays, she
comes back with a heavy heart to see her former
classmates drop out of school and some even
being given away in marriage. She speaks out
against the child labour and wants to do her bit
to the society.
Looking at her confidence today, we can only
marvel at this young ladys great transformation
that is aspiring to make this world a better place
for some, tomorrow.
Credit for her
transformation must be given where it is due
staff and supporters of the Hope House. Write
to Rads and encourage at her email address at
radhika20140619@gmail.com

weltwarts volulnteer from Germany

The word weltwarts in German means towards

the world and it is the name of the program of the
Ministry
of
Economic Cooperation
and
Development (BMZ) of Germany to promote
volunteerism. Under this program youngsters are
encouraged to spend some time in the developing
world volunteering to learn valuable life skills.

ROJA our Child of the Month

Aura of positivity is highly prevalent in the
Hope House. Be it staff encouraging children or
children encouraging each other to do well in
whatever they attempt to do. One such activity
is to recognize a girl each month with an award
called Child of the Month. This recognition is
based on observing the childs activities and the
inputs given by all the staff members before
inviting a guest to give away the prize (a
certificate, citation and Rs. 100/-).
Roja (fondly called by all of us as Rose) is been
recognized as the Child of the Month for the
month of February.

Hope House entered into

an agreement with BMZ
through
their
intermediary (DIZ) and
received
our
first
volunteer (Ms. Larissa
Ahlers) on February 4th.
Thanks Liz for choosing
the Hope House.

What child protection measures do you

follow at the Hope House?
1. All employees must sign child protection
policy document.
2. CCTV camera coverage 24 hours a day
3. Solar power plant to support during the
power outage times in the nights.
4. Security Guard
5. Empowering Children about security using
common sense approaches
6. Monthly Childrens Meetings with no adult
interference to report incidents of abuse
7. Children-Family-Staff meetings every three
months
Read a recent write up about what an
American writer/ poet has to say
about the Hope House here

On March 3rd 2015, we had invited the District

Child
Protection
Officer
of
Vellore
(Mrs. Sivakanthi) to give away the prize but not
before our Social Worker [read the citation] on
Roja describing in detail about all the activities
that helped her to win this coveted prize of the
Hope House. We have taken many [photos]
Many names came up during the staff meeting
to finalize Februarys child of the month. Roja
was described by the staff as Physically Strong
(she is a Kabaddi player and tries to stay fit),
Leader (she is our Green Officer and looks
after the green initiatives of the Hope House)
and Studious (she is a winner of a talent test
conducted by the Government of India that
entitles her for Rs. 500/- each month for the
next 48 months). Above all these, one quality
that set her apart from others and swung the
prize in Rojas favour was her ability to learn
the concept of forgiveness. We are very proud
of Roja because many girls want to follow in her
footsteps now.