The wheels on the bus...

Yesterday we decided to hop on one of the school buses and take a trip round the area to see where some of the students live. At 5pm the three of us jumped onto a bright yellow bus, driven by the friendly Ravi, and headed out with a bus full of at least 40 students. The bus itself has seats for about 30 students, meaning that we were very cramped, so much so that Mr Funnell has to stand in the doorway whilst the bus was moving!

Mr Coomer wasn't allowed to stay in this seat for much longer!

This is how many children were left even after 5 stops!
(I think the girl at the front looked nervous when she saw Mr Coomer in the driving seat!)

The journey itself was an hour long round trip, and we were able to see for ourselves the living conditions of the children here in Tamil Nadu. Although we already knew the level of poverty here, we were still shocked by some of the conditions we witnessed. It really gave us the feeling that Park House are going to be making a considerable difference to the lives of many children living here.

An hour later we were back. Good work Ravi! (Second from left)

Last night we learned some incredible things:

• The donation by Park House is the largest ever made by any person/group to this school.
• Because of our donation the school is able to commence teaching A Level students next year. Students won't have to travel for 2 hours to study, instead they can do it in their local village.
• The school has a waiting list of students who are desperate to attend. Our donation will allow more students to be admitted next year!

As you can see we are making a difference. The three of us are enjoying our time out here, but we are even more happy knowing what this money is going to do for the school and local community.

Go on Mr Coomer!

We were sad to learn that many girls drop out of school at an early age, because the parents don't view them as important in future. Mr Coomer, Mr Diver and Mr Funnell have decided to sponsor a girl each to see them through full time education in the hope that they will have a brighter future with good opportunities. Gnana Deepam School is hoping more people will do this, and so the three of us are considering ways to promote this and get more people on board. If you are interested, please see one of us in September.

Nice T-shirt Mr Diver!

An emotional blog I know, but we genuinely have been so pleased/touched with what our contributions are doing to these children! 

THANK YOU again to all who supported this charity.