Warming up the little ones, ready for the day at Santhosha Nanban
In Tille Maestry Street, close to ‘Old Busstand’ there is a home for street- and working children, called ‘Santhosha Nanban’. Some 50 children, half of them girls, who were previously living on the pavement with their families in Puducherry or who have run away from home (sometimes from other States), are being assisted to create a new life of their own.
There’s a boys’ and a girls’ hostel and an Open School, where children learn to enjoy education again. Ultimately they will all go to regular school again or join a vocational training program so that they will be able to earn their livelihood and make a living of their own later in life.
Philip Lebois and his Tamil wife Manglorine, started the home some 15 years ago. They shifted once to another location in Puducherry town, had a creche in the former red-light area in ‘Kan Doctor Thoottam’ in Puducherry (behind Ratna Theathre) and are now hosting a ‘mobile tuition center’ for some 25 streetchildren who still live with their caretakers or parents on the Puducherry pavements.
At present a Dutch volunteer is planning to come and work at SN and make a website for them, so that the world at large can witness the good work being done and support them.
I’d be happy to hear about more iniatives like Santhosha Nanban in other cities and publish them here.
Founder Manglorine sits with her kids in the main hall
Filed under: Uncategorized, boys and girls, home, Manglorine, Philip, Santhosha Nanban, streetchildren
