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A July 2022 Update on Angels’ Place

After all of the challenges brought on by the pandemic, Angels’ Place is filled once again with learning and activities and the sound of children’s laughter!

Vocational Training Expands


Last year we launched a program called “Building Digital Natives.” Its name is curious, we know, but it describes an effort to make all interested children “native speakers” of computer language. This initiative is, by far, the most popular of all vocational offerings! Early in 2022, the vocational coordinator of Angels’ Place, Ms. Sangi, formed a group of students to participate in the pilot program. Resources limited the number of students, so Ms. Sangi used a lottery system in order to select the first 40 students. Mr. Siam and Mr. Lian lead the classes, which began with ten contact hours. The goal is to provide computer training to support life and work skills that can help the children after they leave Angels’ Place.

Thanks to the success of the pilot program and the award of two significant grants, we have since purchased 15 additional computers and invested in space modifications to best accommodate the Building Digital Natives program and the increasing number of children who want to learn computer skills. We expect to offer the program throughout the coming years in addition to our other vocational programs.

The second most successful vocational offering is the Tailoring Class. Many girls have taken to designing and constructing clothing for themselves and others. Their teacher is impressed with the skills and talent of several girls! She is confident that there are jobs for them in Churachandpur dress shops when they are finished with school.

doTerra visits Angels’ Place

In early June, representatives of the doTerra company visited Angels’ Place to observe the lemongrass production in the fields and to explore other ways to expand our partnership. doTerra is an American essential oils company that does business throughout the world. It has a unique mission of partnering with the communities where they buy essential oils. They are the major buyer of all the lemongrass oil that the James Connection produces.

Under discussion is the new possibility of growing ginger for doTerra’s use. doTerra also wants to improve the medical services in the town of Churachandpur by donating much-needed diagnositc equipment such as MRI’s and training technicians to operate it. During their visit, the Angels’ Place children performed traditional songs and dances to entertain their guests. Our partnership with doTerra continues to be a valuable opportunity for generating earned revenue to support the orphanage and an increasingly valuable opportunity for the surrounding community.

Students Move Up and Move On

Congratulations are due at Angels’ Place! Nine students who passed the state exam following grade 10 have matriculated into Level 11 of the local Rayburn College High School. Another ten students have completed Level 12 at Rayburn and are now departing Angels’ Place. We are proud of their outstanding achievement. Because of the mission of Angels’ Place and your support, these children can look forward to a much more promising future.

The generosity of James Connection supporters has made possible all of these activities: the Building Digital Natives program, the vocational training in sewing, the cultivation of lemongrass, and the continuing education of the children. We thank you for your support!

To learn more about other ways you can support the James Connection and the work we do, visit our Ways to Help page.

“We are so grateful here!”

Kids smile in gratitude for the gift of new art supplies!

We are pleased to report all children are doing well despite an outbreak in November when 18 children tested positive for Covid-19. These children were immediately isolated, received medical attention, and are now back to enjoying all the opportunities available at Angels' Place. If you want to learn more about the outbreak, read the most recent message from our Executive Director, Jan Swensen.

And now, an update from Miss Sangi, Career Coordinator at Angels' Place...

Greetings from Angels’ Place! We are delighted to share the overall progress and activities that have taken place here in Angels' Place. As we all know, schools and many institutions have been closed due to the pandemic. This situation has affected the learning of the children in many ways, especially for children who can't afford the digital resources to stay connected. We are extremely grateful here that the children at Angels’ Place are able to read, write, learn, and do their assignments with the help of the supervisors. Things are returning to normal slowly. Children in many grades have resumed classes on alternate days, and consultation classes have begun for the children of classes 11 and 12. The schools continue to follow the Covid protocols of masking, using hand sanitizer, and social distancing.

We are delighted to report on a number of activities that are providing enrichment and growth for the children.

Online Painting Class: Mrs Smriti Ahuja, an alumni of National Institute of Design, continues to provide an online painting class called “Healing with paint” for children below the age of 12. They have the class once per week, for two hours every Thursday, where they learn the different techniques of painting. Currently, they are learning to paint different forms and shapes in a flower arrangement, and every week they spend at least one hour painting practicing their flower painting. They enjoy the experience, and at the same time their English vocabulary has increased by learning new words every day through their painting.

Letter Writing: The children received their letter in September, and supervisors helped them while they write their letters responding to their sponsors. The letter writing was organised on different days by class level, to avoid any chaos and mistakes from the children. For the younger children who were unable to read and write, a the supervisors assisted them in translation.

Awareness on Body Safety: Many studies indicate an increase in violent and child sexual abuse during the lockdown. To make sure that the children are aware of their safety rules a session on 'Body safety rules' has been conducted by Ms Sangi on September 15, starting with children from class 6 and below.

Counseling sessions were held for children who need counseling support. The counseling included both one-on-one sessions and, for children who face the same difficulties, group sessions.

Special Learning and Health Opportunities: Angels’ Place hosted a learning event on Anti-Malaria Day, targeting those in class 10 and above, and also a session on alcohol addiction for children ages 13-17.

Sewing/Tailoring: Children who learned sewing were improving day by day. For now, they started learning how to sew simple tops of their own and from this month they will be stitching a dress for children who were above class five under the guidance of their instructor Ms Donnem.

Thank you for everything you do to make this all possible. We could not do it without you.

~ Miss Sangi

A Special Thanksgiving Message

Dear James Connection Community:

In the season of Thanksgiving every year we send this heartfelt thank you to you for supporting the James Connection’s work to provide food, clothing, shelter and Christian love at Angels’ Place – home to 160 orphans in rural, northeast India. Given Covid-19, our thanks abound.

We could not be more proud of the way our staff managed life at Angels’ Place throughout the pandemic. From the time the Indian government closed group homes throughout the country Sanga, Englian, Siam and Sangi stayed in touch with the children, distributed rice and dal to their families, and encouraged them to stay healthy. Because we sustained their salaries, our staff dedicated themselves to learning safety protocols to prepare the campus for the children’s return. With children back but schools still closed, our staff diligently organized enrichment activities and games to keep children busy, and they engaged qualified and vaccinated tutors to conduct classes on our locked-down campus mimicking a routine school day.

As life returns to as-near-normal as possible, there is no better evidence of the quality of our work than this fact – not one person or child at Angels’ Place has caught the virus.

That was then. This is now. Now it is time to look ahead, to set new goals, to reimagine the future our kids will encounter, and to re-evaluate the best way to prepare them for it. Through consultation with local schools, tech companies with international reach, and employment advisors around the world we have uncovered an obvious but alarming gap.

From the start, our children’s future is disadvantaged because the unemployment rate in northeast India is 74%. They are being left further behind and are, therefore, further less employable because they are not learning computer science. Yes, we have some computers at Angels’ Place, but they are used mostly by the older children who have picked up knowledge at local internet cafes; the younger children watch over shoulders and seldom have hands-on experience. No, the area schools do not offer any computer education and cannot afford any computers.

The James Connection board of directors is unanimously committed to meaningfully addressing that gap. We call this initiative Building Digital Natives – a reference to kids whose native speaking language is the language of technology because they have grown up with it, because they have been immersed in it. If we are successful, our children will be better prepared for the workplace – be it a seamstress who starts a cottage industry or a math-whiz who goes to work for an international company. They will be competitively eligible for a job anywhere……. anywhere in India ……. in fact, anywhere in the world.

Thanksgiving is also the time when we ask you to consider a year-end, tax-deductible gift. Gifts of all sizes are critical to our success in raising $110,000 to research, design and implement with equipment, tutors and a qualified director the Building Digital Natives program. Please help us as much as you can. Click here to give now.

On behalf of the board, the exceptional staff, the beautiful children at Angels’ Place, and with gratitude and hope, I am yours truly.

Jan C. Swensen

 

A Message from our Executive Director

2021 presented a host of challenges and we are thankful that we consistently navigated them well. Chief among the challenges was and is Covid. While the remoteness of the region meant that Covid was rare, the virus has finally reached the community and Angels’ Place.

In November, one of the girls who attended school became mildly ill. She was quarantined and tested for Covid which came back positive. The rest of the children and all the staff were tested immediately. Altogether 18 children tested positive for Covid, but only the original child was symptomatic. All 18 were isolated in special quarters at Angels’ Place, none developed symptoms, all returned to normal when they tested negative, and the original child is also fully recovered.

We routinely test all children and staff as the doctors deem necessary. Thanks to protocols and preparedness, our doctors and our staff were successful in preventing a major outbreak at Angels’ Place. They remain vigilant in their ongoing caution and we pray to God that we avoid any further outbreak.

Our work goes on! The newest initiative is an immersive computer education program to prepare kids for the digital world they will join when they leave Angels’ Place no matter what they plan to do. We call it "Building Digital Natives.” Click here for an explanation of Digital Natives Initiative and here for an update on other activities going on at the orphanage.

Every year we have improved the lives of our kids and have improved the facilities at Angels' Place. This new initiative will transform our education program and prepare our children for employment in a very challenging environment. The unemployment rate of Manipur is a staggering 74%. Computer skills will give our kids a realistic chance to compete for jobs in the modern world. It will cost a bunch; we estimate the cost at $110,000. (Surprisingly, computers are more expensive in India!) The kids need this program and, moreover, they want it. We need to provide it for them. With God's help and the help of our generous supporters, we will.

The close of the year reminds us that the health, education and spiritual nurturing of the children at Angels’ Place has always depended on support from our donors - generous, caring people. In the spirit of the Christmas season, I ask you to make an extra gift to the James Connection. With your help, we can continue to support the children and we can continue to explore new opportunities for them. Click here to learn about the different ways you can help.

With humble appreciation of the collective support that has enabled the success of the James Connection, we wish your family good health and blessings in the Christmas season and all through the New Year.

God bless us all,

Jan Swensen