BIANNUAL NEWSLETTER JUNE 2021
community centre
We are excited to report that our new 4500 sq ft community centre building within the Chak Jalal Din community is now open for business.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
- Community Center P 2
- Children Learning P 3 & 4
We Have Moved!
OHG community Center building is now functional with the basic structure complete and an electricity connection. We physically moved into the new building in March this year. The children are loving the spacious new clean space. The hope is that now having our own space we would be able to run many useful programs for children and youth of the community. We have started with computer classes and have already equipped the place with 5 refurbished computers to get things started.
The building still needs to be equipped with a kitchen, blinds, furniture and of course our memory wall, a tribute to our donors! The anticipated time for completion of all remaining items is by end of 2021.
The best view comes after the hardest climb!
Children are Learning
Open Hands Global envisions that all children grow to their fullest potential with pride, a sense of self worth, and a love for living and learning.
Children Artwork
Teachers showcased the children artwork in the new community centre.
Kids Curriculum
The after-school program is now being run on a defined curriculum for different age groups. For school- going children, teachers spend two hours everyday to support them to complete their homework. The additional two hours are used to review fundamentals in Math, English and computers through videos, worksheets and hands on activities. Volunteer teachers from Canada conduct 30 minute sessions every week on whats-app video calls directly with small groups of 4-5 children to improve their English communication and verbal skills.
True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, it’s the refusal to acquire it..
RONISH GETS A NEW BIKE!
Ronish, one of our beneficiary children who has been with us for 4 years just got a new bike from Open Hands Global. The reason, his family moved away to a nearby community and it was taking Ronish 45 mins to walk to the after-school program. He was super excited and thankful for such an unexpected gift!
HEALTHY MEALS and Snacks at Kadlathia Site
LUNCH & HEALTHY SNACKS
At the Kadlathia site we now have 70 children in the program. Of these, 28 children are attending an English medium school, Rumi Academy. These children are provided with lunch everyday when they come directly to their after- school program. Sana, our driver’s wife prepares and serves the meals. All other children in the program get a healthy snack 3 times a week. Thank you to our donors who are supporting these meals and snacks. The children love to try the different seasonal fruits and get especially excited the days they get cookies!
SECURITY ISSUES AT KADLATHIA SITE
THE SITE IS SECURED WITH AN ARMED DAY AND NIGHT GUARD, RAZOR WIRE AROUND THE OUTER PERIPHERY, HIDDEN CAMERAS, ADDITIONAL LIGHTING AND FRONT GATE SPIKES
We are saddened to share that our Kadlathia site got robbed at gun point last month in May. This happened at night when there were no children or teacher staff but our driver and his young family that stays on site. They took the UPS and batteries, LED tv, microwave, 2 cell phones, a lot of the stationary in the office and all the bulk food in the kitchen that was there for the children lunches. We are thankful to God that no physical harm came to our driver or his family although they were traumatized and are slowly normalizing. We believe this was a wake up call for us and to be conscious and aware of our surroundings at all times. Immediate measures have been taken to secure the place with cameras, additional lights on the outside, a barbed wire around the periphery wall and all locks have been changed. Strict SOPs are implemented for all who enter and nightly checks to ensure all doors are locked and standard procedures are in place in case of an intruder or emergency. The day and night armed guards have been essential to maintain the staff and ensure that children and parents feel safe coming to the site. The expense of securing this site has added an additional $300 to our monthly expense and we believe that our donors will come through for us. We now rate security as a top challenge and threat when working in these impoverished communities where we want to bring the best for children but there would always be people whose children will not be included in the program.
SPONSOR A STUDENT
A FULL SPONSORSHIP FOR A STUDENT OF $50/MONTH ($600/YEAR) WILL COVER ENGLISH-MEDIUM SCHOOL FEE, TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM SCHOOL, 2 SETS OF UNIFORMS, OXFORD CURRICULUM TEXT BOOKS, STATIONARY AND COPIES