Hello,

This will be the first post of a long serie relating my field mission as projet manager for InMaLanka in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Stéphane Martinez, drawer for InMaLanka is coming with me.

For a period of one year, I will work on our partnership with the NGO Desire India (ongoing since 2008) and on various projects mainly related to education but also to the living conditions of migrant population, tribals and dalits people...

I arrived on February 20th in Chennai.

Today I went to the Little Angel School to visit the children's sponsorship program set up by Desire India and InMaLanka in 2008.  Currently, 82 students between 2 and 5 years (+ a 9 year old who can not reach the conventional system) are scholarized, they are from poor families, untouchable, migrants ... Children are divided into three classes: pre-KG, LKG and UKG.

Thanks to the sponsorship, each kid received an appropriate education, as well as meals, medical supervision, materials and school uniforms and trips out of school!

The day is punctuated by poetry and rymes classes, singing, drawing, writing, English, Tamil as well as classes on basic hygiene rules.

We brought school furnitures given by an other French NGO that also works with Desire India and drawings done by children in French. I also brought some drawing made by kids in France for an exchange program between the Little Angels' school and a french class (project of DI France NGO).

Today was the occasion for InMaLanka to make a point about the program and establish guidelines for the future, such as building a primary school or moving the night school within the existing building to reach more children. Tomorrow I will review the folders of the kids who are still waiting for sponsors.

You can consult the website of the association to learn more about sponsorship and of course, spread the word! Website InMaLanka

Blanche Mattern