Newsletter # 5            21st Dec 2009

Dear friends,

 As John Lennon would sing   "and so it is Christmas"   and what have we done, another year older and a new one.............. "lets hope its a good one"

The Emporium Cafe in Sth Grafton has a monthly open mic night which allows local musicians to perform. All door and raffle takings are for the charity of the night, OGH was the charity of August and raised $520. Thank you Peter & Anni @ The Emporium and to all that attended and donated.

The OGH bank account has been rising due to many wonderful people and we thank you all very much for your generosity and look forward to a special year ahead.

                           "We are all friends here "

Three new needy children have already been sponsored for 2010 which makes a total of 12. The school is very happy that people have been so helpful towards the LPA.

Katharina and Sebastian from Austria spent a memorable time at LPA,   Some words from them:-

-We arrived here - in the middle of nowhere - with a jeep a little bit more than 5 weeks ago and tomorrow we will leave this peaceful place again. Looking back I’m a bit sad to leave these children who that I was teaching behind and also the family I lived with.

The children here study in a way which is different from the one we’re used to back in Austria. Here, they learn everything by heart, so I was a bit frustrated at the beginning that the children could not answer my questions but when you start asking them stuff, they are interested in, for example cricket or soccer, and then go back to your teaching material, they are much more motivated to try something different.. and they will reward you for the effort you put into it.

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year from all at Little Paradise Academy and Oz Guiding Hands.

Anna, Catherine, David, Jim & Peter
         

 Newsletter # 3          24th Dec 2008

Dear friends,

We hope this finds you all well and that everyone is gearing up for a wonderful festive season.

Another year has ended and the winter holidays start at Little Paradise Academy after the final exams for 2008, so the hills of Pashok will be full of lots of playing and laughter.

Gail Roots from Grafton visited LPA in October and below is an email she sent to OGH: -

Namaste OGH, yesterday was wonderful. It included a brief but memorable visit to LPA, Pashok. Initially I was nervous about meeting Ria, my sponsor child but as the day progressed my nerves were settled.
The 2nd October celebrates Mahatma Gandhi's birthday and because of the careful preparation and organizational skills of Peterji the Subba family, the school principal and teachers I was privileged to witness a spectacular performance by the school children. Their colourful costumes, playful dancing and excellent well-rehearsed English speeches were a treat.

Afterward I was was given a tour of the school. The poor conditions, such as dark small rooms with uneven earthen floors, limited supplies of books and educational materials, evoked a wave of sadness that dampened the festivities.
However, I quickly recalled how and why I was actually there. I then felt reassured that people like yourselves in OGH care enough about the education and future of these beautiful children.
Having been to the school to meet everyone, especially the children, it has validated for me the need for more fund raising activities. I look forward to walking a few more kilometers for LPA in a fund run next May.

Later I meet Ria, her father and sister as they welcomed me in their home. No more nerves only respect.

Time being our dictator (even in India) it was all over too soon .The wonderful experience had ended but I hope to repeat it next year.
Today, here in Darjeerling with my head and feet in the clouds my emotional self is still overflowing with the joy of yesterday’s events, so I say thank you and Peterji and Jimmyji and the rest of you at OGH.

Most gratefully yours, Gail Roots

Gail was lucky to enjoy some local traditional dancing by the children and also to be gifted with many welcoming Kartas (scarves)

The school has asked again if we could find four more sponsors for the children from poor families especially little Dixha who just lost her father. (See photo)

1 x nursery $106 a year (Dixha)

1 x class 1   $126      “        (Saibikash)

1 x class 2   $135      “        (Shivam)

1 x class 2   $135      “        (Pratik)

St Joseph's College, Banora Point Year 10 "Make Poverty History" students are embracing the schools philosophy of helping those less fortunate than themselves. Throughout 2008 they have embarked on several activities in order to raise money for OGH. The students at St. Joseph's  chose OGH to donate the money raised because they liked the idea of a small organisation with no administration fees with a focus on helping schoolchildren. The students met once a month during their lunch time to organise and plan their activities. They had cake stalls at recess and lunch with produce they made themselved with parental help. They had another stall running on sports day and  orgainsed a booth at the open day for the school. In 2009 we will get last year's year 10's to meet with the new year 10's in order to encourage them to continue the work. Lets hope for an even bigger year and  more activities in 2009!

We have a limited number of Oz Guiding Hands ..         t-shirts for sale @ $10 in S, M, L, XL & XXL which will benefit the school, you can email direct from the contact page of the website.

Please let us know if anyone would like to sponsor a child or help us in anyway to build their new school building, we are slowly getting there, thanks to many generous people but a way to go yet.

A very merry festive season to all from Little Paradise Academy!

Anna, Catherine, David, Jim and Peter

Newsletter # 1            23rd Dec 2007

Dear friends,

Well another year has just about come to a close and it’s been an amazing one at that!

Oz Guiding Hands is off to a good start thanks to many wonderful people - but it will still be a little while yet before Little Paradise Academy has a new building.  (Rome wasn’t built in a day either!)

LPA had its first volunteer teacher, Amanda, who enjoyed her time at the school and the teachers and children gained a great deal from her.  These are a few words Amanda wrote in the volunteer’s book:-

I have been with LPA for about one month.  Although my time has been cut and pasted a bit by Diwali (Hindu festival of light) and regional politics, the experience has been nothing short of amazing.  From day one the school staff and family I stayed with were welcoming and inclusive.  LPA proved to be as small and sweet as it looks in the photos.

Peter also had a trip to the school while Amanda was there and were both gifted with a thank you ceremony, Kartas (scarves) and Darjeeling tea.

As it was the end of their exams and school closure for the winter holidays OGH treated the students and teachers to a lunch of Indian snacks, drinks and sweets which were enjoyed very much.

The school has asked if we could find sponsors for eight of the children from very poor families.

As 20 cents a day pays for the fees for a year these students would also need books and uniforms.

So far three have been sponsored – and they still need sponsors for:

1 x class nursery $97 a year

1 x class LKG       $106   “

1 x class UKG      $111     “

1 x class 1           $116     “

1 x class 2          $123     “

Please let us know if anyone would be interested in helping with the education of one of these students or in any other way to benefit LPA.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Little Paradise Academy!

Anna, Catherine, Jim, David and Peter

Newsletter # 4          15th Aug 2009

Dear friends,

Greetings to you all.  Our biannual newsletter comes to you on Indian Independence Day - which commemorates the day in 1947 when India gained independence from 200 years of British rule.

In this newsletter we highlight the latest fundraising activities, including St Joseph’s College continuing efforts, and Gail Roots’ epic walk followed by her curry night.

St Joseph's College students have continued the tradition of raising funds to help Oz Guiding Hands. The school's motto, "Peace through Justice" drives the focus behind the College's "Make Poverty History" group.  The students recognise that at St Joseph's they are very lucky to have such good facilities in which to learn. They want to help less fortunate children than themselves to have at least basic educational facilities. Like last year's group, they raised money by selling food at recess and the athletics carnival. At their regular lunchtime meeting the students decided to continue to support Oz Guiding Hands because they know that all the money donated goes straight towards the construction of a new school for Little Paradise Academy.  Their most recent efforts have raised a superb $411.00 for our cause.

As mentioned Gail Roots has been busy again this year with a 130 km walk down the old Glenn Innes Road with her trusty companion Boots by her side (see picture below). Her friend Roy Grebert followed all the way, sustaining her with snacks, meals and moral support.

Gail then held a curry night where 30 people experienced a scrumptious Indian meal and were entertained by a belly dancer and a yoga demonstration.

These two fundraising events combined with raffles raised a staggering $3500!  Thank you Gail from the bottom of our hearts.

Many thanks to all our supporters from Little Paradise Academy and Oz Guiding Hands for your ongoing generous donations.

Anna, Catherine, Jim, David and Peter

Newsletter # 2           18th July 2008

Dear Friends,

Another six months has past us since the last newsletter but a lot has been achieved in that time.

The children that needed sponsors were all taken care of and we would like to thank those wonderful people very much for helping with their education.

Little Paradise had another volunteer for two months, Anders was from Sweden and was thrilled with LPA and Pashok as were the students, teachers and locals with him. His words from the volunteer,s book:-

It feels as if I have actually made a difference, as if my presence has been valued highly.Working with children is always a rewarding experience and these Gorkha children make no exceptions to that.Furthermore the hospitality and warmth of the people have made me think that Pashok is the best place in the world to be a guest.

Gail Roots from Grafton who also sponsors one of the children held a dance in May to benefit Little Paradise Academy, which raised $750. This amount will purchase about half the bricks needed for the new school.

We would like to thank to Gail for her ongoing support and dedication also her many helpers and business houses of Grafton that contributed.

Gail will be traveling in India in September and will visit the school.

LPA is into its 2^nd term and will spend the next 2-3 months staying indoors (under not such a watertight roof) as the monsoon teems down.

Let’s hope we can give them a new building that will keep them dry and benefit their education by next monsoon.

Unfortunately Oz Guiding Hands is not eligible to issue Tax Deductible receipts.However we are an Incorporated Association with an ABN, so we will issue company receipts quoting the ABN.  We are pursuing the pathway to becoming a Registered Charity.

Many thanks from LPA and OGH for your ongoing generous support.

Anna, Catherine, Jim, David and Peter