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ACADEMIC YEAR UPDATE 2006/2007
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ACADEMIC YEAR UPDATE 2006/2007
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Donation Information
Frequently asked questions
Activities with the Children
Ending your Sponsorship
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14th September 2006
Dear Mrs. Zack, My name is Marinha Fernandes and I am a full time social worker at the Vicenta Maria Children's Home [Regina Pacis], Mumbai. I am also Sr. Margaret Fernandes's niece and she has entrusted me with updating you, our well wishers and benefactors with the activities of the boarding for this year.This year we have a total of ninety-three children with thirty-five new children. Some have been transferred from St. Catherine's Home, Bandra [suburb of Mumbai], while others have come from homes where their families are undergoing difficult situations. Some children have been living on the street while others come from poor families who do not have the means to give their child an education. For this academic year, we have planned a series of activities, which do not form part of the school curriculum. The objective of these activities is to give the children an opportunity to discover and develop their creative potential. These activities have also been planned with a view to develop the child's self esteem through the reinforcement of one's skills and talents. After observing the children and their interests the following types activities were put together:
1) Card making In addition to the above, the older girls have been divided into two groups based on the ages of 15 to 19 years and 12 to 14 years. I will be conducting group sessions on various topics with the two groups. So far, the older group has been through two sessions; one on 'Education and the Future' and the other on 'Positive Body Image'. The same sessions will be conducted with the second group as the months' progress. It was observed that the boarding as a whole needed to have a system where by the children would learn basic life skills and the motivation to strive towards better living. For this purpose, we will be introducing the 'Token Economy System', where the groups will be evaluated on a daily and weekly basis. They will be given points based on five sets of criteria, namely, the way the rooms, beds and shelves are kept, the effort taken to decorate their room and lastly, their behaviour. At the end of every week, their points will be totalled to earn them three types of stars; gold, silver and red. The amount of stars received will then in turn earn them a reward like an outing or some extra free time or other incentives. Soft boards, coloured drawing pins and other necessities are in the process of being prepared for the project.Due the nature of the background of these children and their family situations, many of them have been through traumatic events. They experience feelings they sometimes cannot comprehend. To help the children deal with these feelings a clinical psychologist has been employed on a part time basis. The cases that she attends to currently, are of the most urgent nature. The team constantly faces many challenges. Many of the children are at the adolescent age and therefore, a little more difficult to handle. While it is a joy working with the smaller children, their constant needs are difficult to see to. We have a batch of older girls who will be graduating in another year or two. Preparing them for the world outside looms ahead of us.However, no matter how large these challenges may be, we in the team of Sisters, volunteers, the counselor and yours truly, find it very rewarding and fulfilling to be able to give these children the best of ourselves. I hope this update helps makes you feel more aware and therefore more like part of our team in the education of our beloved children. Your support, love and generosity reach out to us and we care for each and every one of you.Yours sincerely, Marinha Fernandes.
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