Monsoon season will be coming to an end soon in Northeast India. I spoke with our H4C partner, Moa Jamir, recently and asked him about the amount of rainfall this year. “Oh, too much rain, Sarah!” Moa emphatically responded. Heavy rainfall usually exerts a heavy toll on the health of the population of the Nagaland Children’s Residential School, our H4C supported enterprise in Mokokchung, Nagaland. However, this year the school’s health report card scores an “A”. No sickness occurred among the students living in the hostel. This was music to my ears!

The educational complex boasts two fifteen foot high water reservoirs which “harvest” the rain from the sky. I love this choice of words. Water is viewed as something to be gathered and stored for the inevitable four- month dry season. Last year one of the reservoirs evidenced signs of distress – a fissure with obvious leakage. Not good. Moa gave us an estimate for repair of the crack. We passed along the need to Hope for Change supporters. The money came in, was sent to Mokokchung, and the reservoir was repaired during the school’s recess. Today the repaired reservoir and its twin are nearly full.

The staff and maintenance crew wisely placed mounting of railings on the top of this year’s list of safety measures for the children and teachers. Since the school is located in the Naga Hills which are the foothills of the Himalayas there are flights of steps everywhere. Roofs are flat and are used for activities. To get up there you must use steps and once you are up there you will not find walls. One example of this is the newly completed Nursery Play Park on the open-air level of one of the classroom buildings. Pillars have been erected, bathrooms ready to go, and play equipment situated. Safety railings along roof perimeter added the final touch. Voila! A roof becomes a useful and secure space for children to play.

When I first visited Nagaland Children’s Residential School in October, 2008 the main classroom building consisted of two levels. Today four levels exist and have met requirements of the Indian Building Code. Twice as many rooms are fully utilized for classroom instruction. A second boy’s dormitory has been built. Administrative offices have been renovated. The computer lab has received newer computers.

Current enrollment at the school is 394 children. This is lower than in 2010. I do not know why yet but I will ask Moa and Sentila the next time I call Mokokchung, Nagaland. The students continue to score not only adequately but high on annual proficiency tests. The administration and teachers are dedicated to providing excellent education. The students work diligently. I have been privileged to meet most of them during my project evaluation trips in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

While on last year’s trip to the subcontinent of India I spent fourteen days in Nagaland. For decades the Indian Government has required a “Restricted Area Permit” for tourists coming to Nagaland. Fourteen days was the maximum number of days granted with each initial application. Patty Tiernan, from Kingston, NY, accompanied me and Patty was a terrific travel partner! While there Patty and I took hundreds of photographs. Some of them have been included in my blog articles on www.Mbele.org and the best of the best have been posted within my Facebook photo albums. The snap below shows Pursen on the left and Asanla on the right. My friend, Tia, has taken them into her heart and home to provide a safe place to live, receive schooling, and inspiration for their future. There have been other children in Tia’s home before Pursen and Asanla.

I’m happy to report that the number of people sponsoring students has grown this year, although there still remains a number of students in the sponsorship program that do not have sponsors. The highlight for me when I travel to the Philippines is the time I am able to spend visiting the students. This year one visit was especially meaningful for me. When I visited Regina Grace, one of our sponsored high school students, I found out that she had gotten ill during her exams and was not able to make the tests. Her teacher was very accommodating and told her she could make it up by doing a project instead. That was good news, except Regina did not have the money to buy the supplies she needed. I made arrangements with one of the staff to take her out to get everything she needed. As we headed out on our shopping trip I could see both excitement and hesitation in Regina. She told me all she really needed was a dictionar y and I didn’t need to get her any supplies. Having traveled to the Philippines for over 20 years, I know Filipinos can be “shy” about expressing their needs and I knew she needed more than just a dictionary. When we got to the mall we discovered this was her first trip to any mall (hard to believe at 15 years old, can you imagine an American 15 year old girl not ever going to a mall?). After finding her dictionary, I told her I knew she needed much more than that and I wanted her to get whatever she needed. She fought back tears when I told her that and at first she was very hesitant, but gradually she expressed her needs and we got everything she needed. During that process I watched a shy, quiet, defeated girl blossom into an excited student who kept thanking me and hugging me through the whole shopping event. I’ll tell you, there is no substitute for that kind of interaction. I was honored to be there to help th is girl as she works to trade her hopelessness into dreams. The first time I met Regina she was hesitant to tell me her plans for the future. Her response was, “it’s unattainable”. You see, Regina had been abandoned by both parents and was living with an aunt in one of the housing unit near the dump site. There are 9 people living in a space that is smaller than some master bedrooms here in the states.

In recent weeks the Philippines has been hit hard by to typhoons. The typhoons caused major damage to the Daycare Center run by our partner in Manila which serves the people of the Smokey Mountain garbage dump community. The cost to repair the building is about $2000 (U.S. Dollars). We hope you would consider helping. Thanks again to all our sponsors, you are truly bringing Hope For Change!