Next was Kothagudem Hostel, which is located in one of the largest cities within the Dornakal Diocese area of work. The CSI compound here is large and contains a girl’s hostel supported by Children Incorporated, another hostel for boys supported by another organization, a large church, a school, and other facilities within the largest compound area, perhaps as big as where the Diocese office is located.
We were told that the church is the largest and biggest contributor to the Diocese in terms of offerings and parish members. For this reason, the girls’ hostel, run by the pastor, Rev. Jhonson Jesudas, with the direct involvement of the former coordinator at St. Paul’s Home, Mrs. Lalitha Samson, is perhaps one of the best facilities for the children. St. Paul was transferred to this location because the local government demanded that all private hostels needed to have a school facility for the children to attend within their compounds.
St. Paul’s didn’t, so the program was transferred to this facility, which is not far from the original town. During the transfer, we lost some of the original children, but some were able to transfer to this new facility. They had an old dorm here at Kothagudem, and during the transfer, it was fully upgraded. This new facility has a new construction, with toilets and rooms in great shape and covered with tile and modern construction. The cots provided by Children Incorporated some years back were refurbished, and an additional area for schoolwork was added. The children are supported well here.
The entire support from Children Incorporatedsponsorship here is utilized to provide food, shelter, education, and all other basic needs for the children. The local community has been very supportive of the girls’ hostel, and when a need for maintenance arises, or any other need that cannot be covered with Children Incorporated support appears, they are willing to provide it. This is the reason this home looks better than the others. Ms. Lalitha has given us a few issues, but we have been able to address those. Some of the older children are kept on the program to go to higher education without notifying our Children Incorporated office, and some children needed recent updates, but we strongly address this issue, and others regarding the maintenance of the program, and Ms. Lalitha is willing to follow up on it.
After discussing financial reports and the importance of having them on time, as well as other aspects of the program, we had a short meeting with the local community leaders and coordinator, where we thanked them for the additional support they give the children. They thank us for the permanent support to the children and for education, as they see this as the only way to have a decent life in India after the pandemic. They indicated that the children will be good providers to their families in the future, instead of people depending on the community. We proceeded to go back to our quarters after that.