Ranjith Kumar, Date of Birth 15th April 1990
Ranjith is 14 years old. He has two younger brothers. His father is a
very irresponsible man and feels no responsibility for his family. He
is a painter and at the end of the day whatever he earns he spends most
of it on alcohol and gives only a very little amount, maybe a few
rupees to his wife. His mother works as a servant in a big bungalow and
earns a meager amount as salary each month.
They live in a very small one roomed hut house in a dirty slum area
situated near the Cooum river [a very dirty river running through the
city of Madras]. The hut they live in has no proper walls and is
covered with a thatched roof. During the rainy season the family suffer
a lot because the roof leaks very badly and when there is heavy rain
the walls collapse and they suffer a lot with no place to sleep. Their
living conditions are very poor and they just manage to exist each day.
Ranjith is studying in our Bethany school for slum children in the 8th
standard. He is very keen in his studies and is doing very well.
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Jeevaratnam, Date of Birth 31st October 1986
Jeevaratnam is the only daughter of Mr. Gunasekar and Mrs. Ganga
Bhavani. Gunasekar has deserted the family many years ago. Jeevaratnam
is 18 years old. She has been brought up with love and care by her
mother.
Jeevaratnam’s mother is working as a servant in a small hotel. Every
day she washes vessels in the hotel and earns Rs. 600/- per month,
which is less than or equivalent to 14 U.S. dollars. Jeevaratnam’s
cousin too stays along with them. The mother who maintains the entire
family finds it very difficult to run the family with the small amount
she earns. Hence whenever she has free time in the hotel she collects
plastic covers, cardboards and papers and sells it in the shop. She
will be given Rs. 20 which will be sufficient only for one meal.
They all live in a small one-roomed house. The top of the house is
covered with asbestos sheets, which are broken at many places. The
house is very dark because there is no light, fan and ventilation
facilities. At nights the house is lit by two candles.
Jeevaratnam is now studying in 7th standard in our Bethany school for
slum children. Now she has shown a little improvement in her studies.
God has given her a wonderful opportunity to know about the living God
through her education in the Bethany School. Please pray that she may
accept the Lord in her young age and be a blessing to her family, to
her school and be some one the Lord will use in the future.
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Janet Gladys, Date of Birth 17th October 1994
Janet Gladys is 10 years old. She comes from a very poor family. She
has one younger sister and a baby brother, who is one year old. Her
father Joseph is a painter and earns about Rs.80/ per day. He is a
chronic alcoholic. He has now been affected by Tuberculosis. Due to his
ill-health, he is not in a position to take up any job. Now he is
undergoing treatment.
Janets’ mother works in a press and earns Rs.70/- per day. Sometimes
they don’t even have one meal a day. When there is no money for their
needs, they borrow money from their neighbors. They are in deep debts
as they are not able to repay the borrowed money. They cannot afford to
even buy milk for the baby.
They live in a small one-roomed hut with a thatched roof. The hut is
situated on the bank of the Cooum river which is a dirty river running
the city of Chennai. Due to heavy rains and wind the hut has sloped
down in a slanting position. During the rainy seasons, the dirty water
rises in the river, and it is quite possible that their house may sink
and collapse so they are forced to move to a nearby place for refuge.
Janet is faring quite well in her studies. She is very clever and
obedient girl. She is a very friendly person. She attends the
sponsorship meetings held in the CMCT regularly. Her favourite colour
is blue. One of her favorite songs which she sings in her class is –
“If I were a fish in the sea”. |
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