Saturday 18 August 2007

The family have moved

Sunama with Fareeda and baby Zeenath at their front door. Jagan is to the left.
With the assistance of family and friends we have been able to move Sunama, Babu and their five children out of the slum area they lived in and into a village near Chennai. They have settled in to this little house, which we are renting for the family. Although it only has one bedroom, it does have running water and is a vast improvement over their previous accommodation. The children have a large safe play area as well.

On Monday 20th August Fareeda, Anwar and Zarina are due to start attending the village school. Vidya's employee Jagan has been given the job of looking after the family. He has arranged for the children to receive extra tuition, to make up for their lost years of education.

Babu is now able to pull himself up into a standing position. He is determined not to be an invalid, and has requested a walking frame so he can try to move. Vidya also tells me his speech is becoming more coherent, so he can now often make himself understood.

Vidya passed on the message that Babu and Sunama are happy with the move, and are very grateful for all the support they have received.