Neep's In India

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Laundry day at the school

Each week, every student is required to do their OWN laundry. Yes, parents...children CAN do their own laundry!! Every student has one hour of work built into their schedule each day except Sabbath. Most weeks, there is not enough water coming from the taps for the entire campus to be served with water, so students (and staff) have to either save water in buckets (which we do from Thursday night until Sunday) or get water from an open well and then do their clothes in a bucket. We do our laundry out of a bucket like everyone else, rinse it out and then hang it on the line to dry. With no dryer, you really hope for a lot of sun during the monsoon season.!!

Students at Khunti SDA School

Here is a look at some of our students at Khunti SDA School!! Khunti SDA School is a K-12 school and there are about 1,400 students that attend the school. Of these students, about 800 are boarding students. We have a significant orphan population that live full-time at the school and attend class. Khunti SDA School is a large, but very poor school. There is no lighting in the classrooms and students often have to fetch water from an open well for hygiene and laundry. Although there is playtime built in to their day, the real focus is on education, as education is the real way out of poverty.

Life in India...

Is hard. Over 80% of all Indians live on less than $2.00 per day. With this level of income, most people are living below the poverty line. Indians do whatever it takes to provide for their families survival. From what we have seen, there is little in the way of public assistance. If you don't work, odds are you aren't going to eat. Unemployment is very high, even with the surging economy. With over one billion people in the country, people work where they can whether it is selling leechies, pedaling a bicycle rickshaw or loading a bus.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Lira has no loss of attention from students!

Yes, we DID take our "girls" with us from Roorkee to Khunti!! We wouldn't know what to do without our girls! Lira, our big girl, loves everyone and everyplace is a new party for her! Delilah, on the other hand, has HAD IT with being the "star of India" and is just content to stay home with mom and dad and she isn't real keen on students anymore. She likes to be "homeland security" at the house we have and she leaves the socializing to Lira now. Both of our girls are in India and we miss them!

Going to church on Sabbath..

Tonya and I are dressed and ready to go to our little school campus church. This is our front lawn that we share with the School Principal, Mr. J. Kurju. We live in a very remote area that has a lot of jungle and farmland surrounding the school. Our tiny home (we call it the 3 closet, 1 bath place) is next to the orchard that is behind us in the pic. We have no fridge, no washer/dryer (we wash clothes out of a bucket), no dishwasher (bucket thing again) and no a/c or t.v. We love where we are staying and we are very happy that we are living just like everyone else!!

Thursday, August 16, 2007

We have moved!!

Well, our time in Roorkee has come to an end. We enjoyed our stay and were able to accomplish what we had set out to do at the school, but it was time to move on. We are now at the SDA Secondary School in Khunti, India in the state of Jharkhand that is about 60 kms west of Calcutta. Tonya is still teaching English to children on the campus and Al is now the Librarian of the school. We are located in the hills above Ranchi in a remote jungle area that is very poor and with a high unemployment rate. Above is a picture of the front of the school and we will be adding pics as we go along. We can still be reached at Neeper2@aol.com, but be patient as we have to go 35 kms into Ranchi for Internet use.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Neeps arrival in India

Well everyone, we did make it India!! Things here are great. We have had much time to travel, as we have been buying the necessities of life. The dogs made it through with no problems at all and they seem to love the campus. Tonya is already getting her Resource Room together and I have been placed as the "Admistrative Aide to the President. Big title, but that doesn't matter to me. I have many duties including supervising the boys and girls dorms, the cafeteria and several staff on campus. I usually just fall into bed after the day due to all the walking. Tonya is waiting for our container to come, so she can get started to. Not much travelling yet, as we have had to purchasse a fridge and a microwave. I am in Chicago right now watching him graduate from bootcamp and he has really matured. He should be home for Christmas if he graduates on time which is 12/21/06. Seeing him was wonderful and has liberty all weekend so that will be nice to spend some time with him. He misses our church at home and all of friends too. We are very happy here and just ask that you keep us in your prayers. Sorry that there are no pics this time as Tonya has the laptop. Take care everyone

Al and Tonya

How can I help Khunti School, you ask?

If you feel that God has impressed upon you to make a donation, directions to donate are below. As Tonya and I are firm believers in prayer, we ask that you PRAY for us and the school FIRST. This is what we need the most, so please keep us in your prayers.

Khunti SDA School has about 1,285 students attending the school, of which there are about 800 boarders with about 200 orphans within the boarding population. We are 400 Kms west of Calcutta in the jungle area of Khunti, which is very poor and with high unemployment.

When we first arrived here one year ago, we found that this school had no library, no good water supply and a beaten-up 20Kva generator. So this is what is happening with these projects as we speak:

The new generator and wiring are all installed!! This not only gives us electricity at night, the generator is wired into the three new wells that were drilled. Now the girl's hostel has running water in their bathrooms. Previously, they were getting their water for bathing, clothes washing, etc; at a handpump. A huge thanks goes out to all of donors who made this a reality!!! God is so good!!

Library Project: This is an ongoing fundraising Project. When we arrived at the school in June, 2006, we found that the school had a library building, but not a real library for the students to use. We did two bookdrives in the States and we took those books back to Khunti when we returned in October 2007. We are always in need of funds to purchase books and supplies, some of which are cheaper to get in India than in the States. Total cost: ongoing fund.
Update: As of late July 2008, a book supply company Tonya contacted us sent us to large boxes of books for free!!!!! Of course, this does not mean that the library is "comfortable" financially, so please consider donating to the school library when you think of the needs of the children here.

3. (New update)!!Water Project: There is a serious shortage of clean, reliable water in the Khunti area due to the very deep water table (over 600 feet deep). The school had "water" about 50% of the time and even then, it comes out of the tap looking much clearer. We still boil water to save money. In order to get clean, reliable water for everyone on campus, we have to drill a new 8" bore well, at 600 feet deep. We are seeking to raise the funds to pay for the drilling, a new large overhead water storage tank and the pipes and fittings for the school. Total cost: $32,000 USD. Update: Three new wells were drilled and all of them hit water!!! This was such a surprise as the school has been told many times "there is no water in your area". One of the wells has the capacity to supply water to the local town!!

4. Tractor Project: I decided to embark on this new project as the 35 acre school farm has no tractor. We have two oxen that "plow" at lightning speed :) , so I figured it was time to start on a quest for a tractor. Now, I have an another anonymous donor out there who said he would match donations up to $5,000. Just the other day, a kind couple sent in a check for $2,000, so that means we are now $4,000 closer to purchasing a tractor. We are in the process of pricing them out and I am going to try and get some of the local community leaders to "pitch in" as this school has been a huge part of the Khunti comunity since the 1930's. More info on amount needed to complete project to come..

If you have a desire to further God's work at Khunti School with a donation, here is the way to contribute and get a tax break at the same time:

Send a check to:

General Conference of SDA
c/o Mr. Stanley Ponniah
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
(Place a post-it note on the check stating what the donation is for.) There is no need to write what the donation is for ON the check. This is at the request of the GC.

Example:

Khunti School - Library Fund
Khunti School - Water Project Fund
Khunti School - WSF (or specific child if you know their name) Khunti School - Tractor Fund

In addition, if you would like to ship books or packages (nothing expensive), send them to:

Khunti Seventh-day Adventist Senior Secondary School. P.O. Khunti; Khunti District 835210, Jharkhand; India.
Attn: Principal Kujur

Thank you so much for your interest in our volunteer project at Khunti SDA School!! May God bless you and carry you through your day.. in our ministry as volunteers at Khunti School!! May God Bless you and carry you through your day!!
***I have been getting some interest in sponsoring children at the school. If you wish to do this, please see above as to how to send a check to the General Conference. IF YOU KNOW THE NAME OF THE SPONSORED CHILD, PLACE A POST IT NOTE ON THE CHECK WITH THE CHILD'S NAME AND C/O AL & TONYA NEEP WSF KHUNTI SCHOOL. IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE CHILD'S NAME OR WOULD LIKE US TO FIND A CHILD, PUT A POST IT NOTE ON THE CHECK STATING "C/O AL & TONYA NEEP WSF KHUNTI SCHOOL". DO NOT PLACE THE NAME OF THE CHILD ON THE CHECK ITSELF. THIS IS AT THE REQUEST OF THE GC AND THE SOUTHERN ASIAN DIVISION.

AS ALWAYS, WE CAN BE CONTACTED AT: Neeper2@aol.com if you have any questions.

Yours in Christ,

Al & Tonya Neep