The Children’s Home of AHH

To implement the above-mentioned objectives, AHH started a Children’s Home on 19 March 2012 at Adhanur, a village in suburban Chengleput, having a thick population of the Irula tribe, who had no social service centre to care for their welfare and development. The Home is situated in a 10,000 sq. ft. two-storied building, having a surrounding area of 76 cents, all donated by well-meaning sponsors.

The Home began to function in the same year with girl and boys children, drawn from the neighbouring Irula tribal families as well as from surrounding villages. Care is taken to bring in orphan or semi-orphan children, suffering from poverty, destitution, and abandonment.

Children, spanning from six to seventeen years of age, are enrolled in neighbouring schools for their formal education. While those who study I to V standards attend the CSI Primary School at Adhanur (3 kms distance), others who study VI to XII standards attend the Adi Dravida Government Higher Secondary School at Urapakkam, the nearby town situated at a distance of six kms. While the primary school students go walking, the senior students are provided with bicycles to go to school.

The Home takes special care to improve the quality of education given to the children. Besides the time spent in the schools, the children spend morning and evening hours in guided study at the Home. Coaching classes are arranged for subjects in which the children may need special attention. Every child is provided free of cost with notes, books, bags, and all the stationary items needed for school education.

Study hours at the Home are balanced with time for sports and games. Children are provided with necessary materials for sports (indoor and outdoor) and grounds for games. As soon as they return from schools, they are encouraged to spend sufficient time in these activities.

Besides the formal education, the children are given opportunities to develop their talents in various fields. Dance and music are taught by volunteering teachers who visit the home periodically. Yoga classes are held regularly by an expert teacher who resides with them. A small library with books on the arts of writing, public speaking, and general knowledge serves the children to cultivate their talents.

The Home takes care of shelter, food and clothing of the children free of cost. Since the building of Home is 10,000 sq.ft., it is spacious enough to accommodate a good number of children. Presently, the Home has 35 children, out of whom 12 are from 6 to 10 years age, and others from 11 to 18. Everyone gets a space to keep her cloths, a bench+desk for study, and a space to sleep, which is well ventilated. 10 toilets and 10 bathrooms cater to the needs of these children, and they are well connected to water sources. An open well and a bore well with sufficient water source serve Home.

Every child is provided with decent clothes. Besides the school uniform, every child is given new dress during festivities and birthdays.

The school fees of the children (admission fees, exam fees and special fees, etc.,) are taken care of by the Home.

It is a regular feature of the Home to celebrate the birthday of every child. This is to make the children experience affection, dignity, and the family bond. Every child is given new dress on this day, and made to share her joy by cutting cakes and distributing.

Celebrating common festivals like Deepvali, Ramzan, Pongal and Christmas is yet another special feature of the Home. Going beyond religion, the children celebrate these festivals and learn to respect one another’s religious tradition.

The family bonds of the children are fostered very much in the Home. The children are made to feel and experience a family atmosphere in the Home. Relatives of the children, especially their parents or guardians, are encouraged to visit the children often, and they are also allowed to speak to them over the phone and maintain their intimate relationship.

Children in the Home are taught, formally and informally, to keep themselves as well as the environment clean and healthy. Besides periodic lessons on cleanliness and etiquette, the children are personally guided and supervised to keep themselves clean. Since the Home is spacious enough, every child has sufficient space for study, sleep, and to keep her belongings in an orderly manner.

Caring for the sick with personal care is an important feature of the Home. While there is a first-aid facility at the Home, children who fall sick are taken to neighbouring hospitals and given personal care. It is rare that the children fall sick, because they are provided with nutritious food and enabled to live in an atmosphere of joy, freedom and responsibility.

As part of wholesome development, the children are given also spiritual counselling, drawing resources from different religions, especially the religion of each child. Passages from different religious texts are read during the prayer in the morning.