New Projects

A new place to live
Santhosha Nanban currently rents all of the properties it uses; there is the endless expense of two rental payments. A monthly rs. 6000/= is paid for the main school building ('centre'), and we need another rs 2000/= per month for housing the girls. This amount equals to 10% of the annual budget. The main building, or 'centre', is based in an old Tamil house near the centre of Pondicherry; it also serves as the boys' hostel and Open School. The crèche and the girls' hostel are nearby in a small house. All of these buildings are inappropriate for their current use; they were built to house families and not to accommodate over 25 children. Moreover, a brief glance at the buildings reveals that they are dilapidated and in urgent need of repair, which the owners have refused to carry out. The buildings have one toilet and a improvised bathing area, even so, there is no recreational space for the children to relax or play. The buildings are inadequate to house the number of children that require our support, but also fail to enable us to fully meet the children's needs.

Evidently, our current location is no longer appropriate to fulfil our mission and our responsibilities to the children we work with. That's why Santhosha Nanban has bought property in a country road, enabling Santhosha Nanban to be independent with regard to funding, food and energy requirements. It is located at 30 minutes of Pondicherry by car, among paddy fields and palm trees and creates a perfect environment for the personal development of the child. At first, it allowed children to have a large playground as a place to relax and play, away from the noise, pollution and danger of the city. The children will go to a traditional school, but they will also have activities such as geography, ecology and agriculture. Santhosha Nanban thinks it is very important for the development of the children and their education. What else will the children do? Planting trees, plants, carrots, learning about chickens, buffaloes, and rabbits and even more. Children that have difficulty with learning or with the activities at school, Santosha Nanban provides the means for them to find a job later on, maybe at Santosha Nanban or somewhere else.

We hope to become as self sufficient as possible; we plan to cultivate our own fruit and vegetables, raise animals and use natural energy sources on the land we purchase. We will consume our own products and additional products will be sold to generate funds for the organisation. This will be done by ecological means; for example, Santhosha Nanban plans to use the children's faeces to produce our own methane gas. We also plan to plant trees for fencing, which will be sold about every four years. The latter will be a very good source of income, and the idea will also create jobs and fits in the local product line. Furthermore, the children will learn about the environment and agriculture; it will be an integral part of their growth and education.

Indian regulations require us to have separate premises for girls and boys, thus our principal buildings will comprise the hostels and school, as well as office and recreational facilities. The buildings will be constructed according to traditional, economical techniques, respectful of the environment.

Now, we have built two huts with the help of local people, that the children use during the weekend. Their own first trees can be planted there, just as they use the place to play.

The construction of land is an essential step for our organisation, which plays a critical role to support children in Pondicherry. Our responsibility extends far beyond providing a roof to homeless children; our mission is to provide a home.