One issue we are working on at the moment is the family's ownership of six acres of land not far from their current home (their current home is provided for them by the government). This land comes from the father's side of the family, but the family has not had access to the land for several reasons. This situation has lasted for quite some time now (before our involvement in the family). We are currently looking into applying to the municipality to get this matter sorted, but it is a delicate situation that must be handled with care - so this will take time to solve. Still; access to this land is important for the family's future and as this is rightfully theirs, it should be available to them.
Early on we found work for the oldest son, but he had to turn it down since he was illiterate. We were hoping to change this, but his progress is slow and he is often not motivated for literacy class. Our cooperation with him has been a bit difficult for several reasons, but it is important that we listen to what he wants for himself. He wants to work, and to get married, so we will yet again try to find him a job in the area even if he is not really literate yet (he has tried to find work by himself without much success). He will still have the opportunity to come to literacy classes if we wants to. Getting married is of course not a good idea for him, but these kinds of life choices must be his own. We can just hope that he waits a bit longer before finding a wife, given his situation. Finding work for him is a challenge though. After all - being unemployed is more common than being employed where he lives. But we don't give up that easily!
The eldest daugther still attends sewing school, but we are a bit worried that the quality of her classes isn't good enough after they changed the teacher. She will get extra tuition from Vijay's aunt to make sure she learns what she needs, and she will also be given the opportunity to particiate in the cloth bag project from now on. Her education is part of our plan to give the family an income, together with the sewing machine she got from us back in February.
Several of the children in the family are doing great in school/literacy class, and if this continues there is a chance for some of them to continue to 9th grade/go back to school from July 2018. One of the boys is particulary good at his studies. He participates in our classes in Tikri, but also attends English classes at the Different School. During the day he also studies on his own. There might be a whole different path for him in the future and we will be happy to support him through it all.
There has been some health issues with the children during the summer, but this has been dealt with. Now we are worried about the general health of the mother. We have tried to convince her to go to the doctor's for a check-up for some time, and she has finally agreed (but has to help her brother with the harvest first....). Anyway - this has made us look into health insuranse for the family, as there are some schemes available for BPL-families in India (BPL=Below Poverty Line).
There are also some practical issues with their living conditions we have to tend to - and we will over time. All in all we are happy with the development in this project. The goal is for the family to be able to support themselves - and to give the children an education. This takes time of course, but we see things moving in the right direction.
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