A Widow and her Three Daughters

Sometimes my work brings tears to my eyes.

Today I have been working on a document (reprinted below) which has gone out to a group in America whom we have worked with in the past. When I read the information they sent me, I just wanted to reach for my cheque-book, but to do so would have deprived an American group of the opportunity to be part of the answer.

And that readers, is what true charity is all about . . . it's the opportunity to be part of the answer.

If you would like to contribute to the Escape From Poverty Scholarship Fund, you can do so with VISA or Mastercard through this link or through the link at the foot of this post.

Do you know someone who might help?

I am writing to you about a family of three young women and their mother, whom we would like to help, and for whom we are seeking financial support

The family members

Sabamma is the mother of three beautiful girls. The eldest girl is Ayyamma (17) Her sister is Basalingama (16), and the youngest is Renuka (12.) They originally came from Gulbarga district, an interior village in the rural part North Karnataka.  The head of the family, Marilingappa, passed away due to health issues when the girls were still young, and the family has always had financial challenges.

Family History

As a single mother, Sabamma has had to take on the responsibility of bringing up her three children. She is not an educated woman, and moved to Bangalore in 2007, with her three small children in the hope of finding a livelihood for the family. They settled in the Gulbarga Roopena Agrahara slum in Bangalore, and as the only breadwinner of the family, she has had a tough life, facing hardships and a constant struggle to make ends meet. In the past eleven years, she has worked as a coolie (general labourer,) housemaid and various other jobs. As the children grew up, she knew that they needed to be educated.

Building Blocks Initial Involvement

In 2009, the Building Blocks social workers came into contact with this family during one of their regular visits to the slum. We acknowledged their situation and were glad to support the education of the youngest girl, Renuka, who successfully completed the initial 3-year syllabus at Bluebells Learning Centre.

Thanks to the encouragement and support of her widowed mother, Renuka fared extremely well in her studies and on graduating from Bluebells she was funded through our Project Plus Ten programme to continue her education in Reddy Janasanga English-medium school for the next 4 years.

A Foster Home for the Youngest Daughter

The slums are a dangerous environment for young girls growing up and a couple of years ago, when Renuka was 10 years old we placed her in a good foster home run by Dream India Network at Hennur Bande, Bangalore. From this safe and caring environment, she has continued her education at Yuvalock School and is presently in class 6.

Support from the Netherlands

We gratefully acknowledge and appreciate the constant financial support of Renuka’s wonderful sponsor, who is a private individual living in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. He has funded Renuka’s educational expenses from the beginning, through Building Blocks, and continues to follow her growth and educational achievements, year on year. She is developing into a fine young woman, building on the secure start that she had in the Building Blocks system

Help for the older Siblings

Ayyamma is the eldest (17) and is currently in class 12 (2^nd P.U.C). She is a commerce student at Government College, Bangalore. Thanks to the encouragement and support of her mother, she has reached this stage of her education despite her tough background. She is a straightforward, mature, efficient, hardworking and responsible girl.  She seems to be very good at her academic studies and is gifted in Singing, Dance, and Creative Writing. She is very good at the Kannada language. Ayyamma has a passion for education and a deep desire to be a teacher in the future. Her own background has given her a heart for the needs of others, and she strives to serve underprivileged children, starting from her own village. Being aware of the family background and circumstances, we want to uphold her dream for a meaningful and positive future and are now looking for people who will provide the financial support to secure Ayyamma’s future.

Baslingama (16) is the middle sister of the family, who is studying in class 10 in Vidya Jyothi Kannada-medium School. Baslingama has a dream of becoming an engineer and is doing well in both curricular and co-curricular activities.  We have great admiration for her mother, Sabamma, the simple and determined woman who has encouraged and supported her second daughter throughout her education.

The Cost of Support

We are looking for financial support to secure the ongoing education of both Ayyamma and Baslingama. We would like them to be able to focus on their studies and not have constant financial worries. A realistic scholarship to support each of them would be as set out below, and a little extra above these figures would go a long way.

Ayyamma is studying in a Government school for the next three years, and a scholarship of US$ 200 per year would cover her fees, transport and a little bit extra and a little extra.

Baslingama is in school, and will be studying in a college for the next 5 years and needs US$ 500 per year to cover her basic fees and transport. Again, a little bit extra would make a big difference

These funds would be administered through Family Development Services (the charity that controls all the Building Blocks projects) and would be fully audited and controlled by our management.

We are writing to ask if you will forward this proposition to groups or individuals who are in a position to consider this as a truly worthwhile and deserving project.

We greatly appreciate your support for all our work and assure you that this funding will reward and maintain the children of a widow who has constantly sought the best for her three children. 

Renuka - A girl from the slums
Her life has been changed by Building Blocks
and the generosity of an individual in the Netherlands

Please support our work with kids from the slums of Bangalore