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2004 SEPTEMBER UPDATE
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September 2004 Update for
Regina Pacis (changing lives since 1952)
Change A Life Program (changing lives since 1998)
http://www.theworldnow.com/cal/
Don't just sit there, Change A Life!
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This update is sent to Sponsors and friends of the Change A Life Program.
This update may be freely distributed if copied in its entirety. It cannot
be printed for public distribution nor emailed commercially without
permission.
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September, 2004
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WELCOME!
Welcome to the 2004/2005 Regina Pacis school year.
The school year is well under way and letters from your
Butterflies should be arriving in the next few weeks if they haven't
already. Monsoon season is over and the girls are preparing for exams and
various holiday celebrations.
Sr. Margaret Fernandes, on behalf of Regina Pacis School
and all the children, sends love and sincere, heart-felt thanks to everyone
supporting their efforts both monetarily and in Spirit.
LETTER FROM SR. MARGARET FERNANDES,
SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
My Dear Sponsors and Friends,
Thank you all for your continued efforts and good
wishes. Here is some news I would like to share with you.
SCHOOL NEWS
Do you know that the Elizabethans, a British charitable
women’s organization located here in Mumbai, are now known as Bombay
Connections. The have brought out a
guide book to Bombay called Namaskar Mumbai (Hello Mumbai). It has been
compiled by four of these ladies and they got a whole lot of sponsors to
fund costs of the book. They decided that all the proceeds from this book
should go to charity and the first charitable organsiation they chose was
us...so on the 6th of this month I went to the launching of this book
and was given a cheque for
Rs.500000/- towards the
reconstruction of our Children's Home. Wasn't that a lovely gesture on the
part of the ladies of the Bombay Connections!
[editor’s note: You may remember that the Regina Pacis
Children’s Home for the girls who do not have proper living situations was
discovered to have cracks in the foundation about four years ago and deemed
unsafe. Since that time all the girls have been sharing one room in the
back of the school and the Sisters have been desperately raising funds to
reconstruct a proper home for them.]
The ladies continue to take great personal interest in
all the children. On the 28th of this month they took some 33 children for
an outing as I had promised the children that those who passed in all the
subjects in the first Unit test would be rewarded with an outing. I
appealed to these ladies to help me to keep my promise. So they came here
with six cars and took these children to a Ten-pin bowling green where they
enjoyed themselves thoroughly. They then treated them to snacks, their
favourites...potato chips and pav-bhaji with Coca-cola.
Now all the children are eager to do better in the first
terminal exam which begins on the 11th of this month. This time I have
included even those who fail in one or two subjects provided the teachers
assure me that they have really tried hard.
SPECIAL NEEDS
Since we are responsible for raising money for all the
work we do, please excuse me for taking an opportunity to appeal for some
badly needed special funding. Do not feel obligated but if you are inspired
to help in any way or know others that are, we and the children would
greatly appreciate it.
With funding for the construction of the Children’s Home
building well under way, we now need to furnish the inside. We plan to put
the children on bunker beds. Each
dormitory will have seven to eight beds so there will be fourteen or sixteen
children in each dormitory. There will be a wall cupboard with little
cubicles for their clothes and a place to hang their school uniforms and a
show rack. Should anyone feel moved to contribute or help raise funds it
would be greatly appreciated.
I also have to find bed linen for 120 beds. Again,
contributions or help raising funds towards this project would be most
welcome.
I also am looking for someone to sponsor one glass of
milk daily for about 20 of our smaller girls who are under the age of 19 as
these small children need the calcium in their diet.
[editor’s note: The Sisters are masters at stretching
the value of donations so every child has as much of the basics as
possible. Staple food items are rice, bulgur, beans and vegetables. Some
food items, basics for us, are much too costly to provide for all the
children, out of reach for not only the Sisters but most Indian families.
Examples of would be dairy products like milk and cheese, fruits and fruit
juices, meats and seafood. The Sisters must rely on personal donations to
provide these items for nutritional benefit. Occasionally restaurants
provide random donations and these are shared evenly among the girls. On a
side note, treats are also too expensive, for example chips or cookies or
soft drinks, so when these items are provided on special occasions by
interested organizations like the ladies of Bombay Connections they are
received as though gold was given!]
THANK YOU
We are having a busy and productive year and your
support is appreciated beyond measure. Thank you again for your continued
support and well wishes.
We always welcome your input and love to hear from you.
I leave you for now and will be with you again in a few
months time with another update.
Yours,
Margaret Mary
R.M.I.
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This update is sent to Sponsors and friends of the
Change A Life Program. This update may be freely distributed if copied in
its entirety. It cannot be printed for public distribution nor emailed
commercially without permission.
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Sent to Sponsors, Supporters and Interested Persons of
the Regina Pacis Change A Life Program in Bombay, India
from Deanna
cal@theworldnow.com
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Your input, suggestions, comments, are always needed and extremely welcome.
If you need information about the program or paperwork or if you have
questions, don't hesitate to reply to this email or send an email to
Deanna
cal@theworldnow.com
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