India

India is located in Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan.

India has a population of about 1 billion people comprising 3 main ethnic groups. The country’s main official language is Hindi. Although English enjoys associate status, it is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication. India also has fourteen other major languages, as well as a variety of local languages. Religion-wise, you find 80.5% Hindu, 13.4% Muslim,2.3% Christian, 1.9% Sikh, and 1.9% other.

For more information about all aspects of India and its population, please visit: http://indiaimage.nic.in/

St. Thomas Orphanage

St. Thomas Orphanage is situated on a 3-½ acres plot which also contains a school, and  on the drawing stage the girls orphanage building as well as staff buildings. It is located in the hamlet of Ponnapalli, about thirty miles from the city of Guntur. So far the orphanage and the school still require much work to be completed. The entire property is surrounding by a high white wall with two gates. 

Currently there are fifteen boys in the orphanage which can house seventy (70) to eighty (80) children. An overseer (or warden) is in charge. The boys are all nine or ten years old and have completed their third year of school and are beginning their fourth. They will remain at St. Thomas until they have graduated from the tenth standard.

The orphanage building is spacious with two halls for the orphans, the warden’s room, toilets and bathing facilities on one side and a kitchen on the other side. A porch goes across the front. The boys are well taken care of. Their uniforms, books, fees, boarding, lodging, personal and medical care are all supplied by your generosity.

Mary Rose Buds School

The school, which opened in June 2007, is to educate the orphans as well as the children from the local village.  Seventy (70) children were registered by June 19 and about a hundred (100) altogether were expected to be attending school by mid-July—an excellent beginning for a brand-new school. The school can accommodate up to six hundred (600) students. 

Although the official name of the school is Mary Rose Buds High School, the levels of instruction range from kindergarten to tenth grade (or standard). The school building has eighteen rooms, twelve as class rooms and six as offices, library, science lab and computer lab. Finishing work is still going on and quite a bit of equipment, furniture and other items are still needed.

Only one minibus is owned by the school at this point, but another one is needed, as well as a jeep.

If you wish to donate to the orphanage, please click here.