Thank you for bringing light into the lives of so many kids in need. This Diwali, we’d like to share the story of one such kid. Hope this brightens up your Diwali like it did ours!

A crèche in need is a crèche indeed!

Devaki (name changed) was 2.5 years old when her parents brought her to the crèche. Her parents worked as day laborers, cutting stones at the nearby stone quarry. She had worms in her mouth due to eating food that was not cooked properly and lack of personal hygiene. She was severely malnourished and had cracks in her little feet. Her parents were afraid that she might die. 
 
At the Crèche, she was immediately given medical care and put on adequate medicines to free her from the worms that infested her. She was fed nutritious food. With all the care she received, she soon regained her health. She became an energetic little girl and was a very talented dancer. At age 5 she graduated and went on to study at the nearby school. She excelled at studies and won scholarships. After her schooling, she received admission to pursue dental studies and graduated in BDS. She now practices as a dentist at a nearby hospital.
 
The crèche mentioned above is the Grace Kids Crèche that Asha helps fund. It is one of the 5 crèches run by BET in Tamil Nadu, India.  Each Crèche is a school, day care and a health care center. The kids’ parents work as day laborers or farm workers. The crèches ensure that children are not left on the street when both parents go to work. It also provides an indirect yet very important benefit by helping older siblings (typically the elder girls) continue schooling, rather than having to stay back at home to take care of the younger kids.  


 
The kids are provided with 3 nutritious meals during the day – a snack in the morning, lunch and tiffin in the evening before they go home. Preschool education is provided to the kids. This includes counting, writing the Tamil alphabet, memorizing stories, traditional rhymes, dancing to popular music, drawing and playing games. Education is not limited to just the kids. There are periodic parent seminars that deal with health care, clean water, vaccinations and the importance of keeping their kids in school. There are periodic health checkups, organized through volunteer medical organizations.  
 
Overall, the crèches provide a great start in education for the little kids, instills enthusiasm to continue schooling once they graduate from the crèches and creates awareness in parents on the importance of sending children to school. This provides the strength and hope to break the relentless cycle of poverty.