Since we live in the Boys Hostel, we spend most of our evenings having a group of the older boys (6th, 7th and 8th Standard) with us for study time. They usually come shortly after 7:00p.m. and stay until nearly 9:00. For many, calling it study time is a very loose term, but they start right after they get home from school, knocking on the door to ask if tonight "they come for study." I guess they say, "We come for study tonight?" Two of the older boys who come are on the verge of being sent home, for incorrigible behavior, but when they come for study time, they are great. Wish we could convert the behavior in our house, to their behavior with their house mothers and their peers. It's a sweet time, so when we spend nights in Chennai, they miss it, and so do we. One added bonus has been that they get to spend some time on the computer, which they adore. We are still waiting for our desk top computers to arrive, and the number of laptops that we use in the computer class is small, so time on Grandpa's laptop is frosting on the cake.
I am including pictures of several of them, and since I haven't figured out how to put names on them, I will identify them. Unfortunately, I'm missing pictures of a couple of them--later I will include those. Boy reading magazine is Deepenraj, Rajesh has basketball, and Grandpa is shown with Madanraj and lots of little friends. Arulraj is second down on the right and Shankar is busy coloring. Krishnamoorthy is behind two of his pals on the playground (center).
Our 8th Standard boys are Kartik and Satish. Satish is pictured above by the vegetables, getting some out for the cooks. He is nearly 16, very handsome and extremely sweet. He is so good with the younger boys, and has flourished with the attention he gets from us. He is way behind where he needs to be in his studies, but he tries hard--we have a difficult time getting the older boys caught up: there is too much ground to cover. Kartik is the youngest son of one of our long-time employees Mani. Mani's home is in Chennai, and he is always our driver when we are here. He is also the land manager, so he directs the work of all our men that work on the land. Kartik had a major hip surgery this year, and consequently got even further behind in his 8th grade work. His reading in both English and Tamil is poor, but he comes to "study" faithfully every night. He is thoughtful and kind-- a little on the heavy side, so he's a big boy. Truly a gentle giant. Kartik is 14. He is pictured in upper left.
7th Standard includes Rajesh and Shankar. They are both darling boys, loving, friendly and great athletes. They both excel in school, particularly Shankar. Unfortunately, Shankar is one of our boys that spends a lot of time with the General Manager, for behavior unbecoming to a Rising Star! He's got such potential--can it be channeled? His father is very crippled with leprosy, and lives in Delhi. His mother lives nearer in one of the colonies. Rajesh is a leader of boys. His mother is one of our house mothers, and his father is dead. He is a baptized member of the church, and next week will give a talk in Primary, which he volunteered for. Rajesh has a younger brother, Vignesh, and older sister, Priya who live here. Shankar is 13, and Rajesh is 11.
In the 6th Standard we have a wide range of ages, sizes, and abilities in the boys. There are two brothers, who are new to Rising Star this year--Modanraj and Deepanraj. They are struggling to keep up, but Modanraj (age 14) has taken to working hard, and really trying to excel. The younger brother, Deepanraj (12 years old), has quite good English (they both do), but would rather play, talk, look at story books or do anything other than work or study. The boys mother died about 4 years ago, and Modanraj always carries her picture. The father is very interested in the boys progress, and I think comes down quite hard when they are not doing well.
The other two boys that are 6th Standard, are young, and in the case of Arulraj on the edge of finding a new home. We are working hard with him, but school is not high on his priority list, nor is following the rules. He has a sad life at home--father gone, and mother very crippled. We keep hoping he will see the value in what is being offered to him here at Rising Star Outreach.
Krishnamoorthy, also 6th Standard, is just the opposite from Arulraj. He is a stellar student, and while being one of the youngest in his class, is a solid citizen all round. He is so kind and causes no problems anywhere. We love having him around. He shows for a lot of love from his family; you can really see what their home life is when you see how they behave. Both of these boys are 12 years old.
It is a joy to get to know these young men. They are like children everywhere: the individual time spent with them is invaluable. They truly thrive with the personal attention. We insist that when they are in our house that they speak only English, so there are a couple of them, except when they forget, who are pretty silent. We have high hopes that each can rise higher, than they might otherwise have. We thank each of you that support a child--what a great gift that is.
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