Isn't it about . . . Time

Family Time!

Every evening after dinner we go over to the children's hostels for family time.  We help the children finish homework, but mostly just play with them until it's time for bed.  

At the beginning of the session we were assigned to Gandhimathy's group.  (The "th" in Tamil are separate sounds so it basically makes a "t" sound.)  

There is a girl's side of the hostel and a boys side.  We are in a family of 19 boys (Joseph Stalin is one of them).  

One little boy, Sathish, is in BKG, the same thing as kindergarten.  He is so shy - he isn't as used to the American volunteers as his buddies are and tends to shy away from them.  He finally started warming up to us near the end.  Last Thursday he came and laid down next to me to fall asleep.   Here is a picture of Michael, Aravind and Sathish.  So cute!

The boys all sleep on mats.  The younger boys in one room and the older in the other.  

We love to sing to the children to help them fall asleep!  When we begin, all the younger boys start calming down and falling to sleep.  Tyler started bringing over a guitar for us to sing to and the children absolutely love it.  For the last few nights, "Hallelujah" was requested many times. (Tyler says many times is an understatement  - very true :)

The majority of the children live at the school.  They go home for a month in May (the hottest month) and then 2 weeks in December for Christmas.

Although Rising Star is a wonderful opportunity for these children and their families it makes me sad that they and their families are apart for so long!