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We could do the workshop and publish this magazine thanks to the contribution of Deloite Fair Chance foundation and stichting Vincentius Rotterdam. We are greatful for this opportunity.

IntroductionWe proudly present the second edition of ̀ The Creation of Our heart beats'. With great pleasure we participated in various workshops, wrote articles, interviewed each other and took the pictures.

We designed the cover of this magazine ourselves. We were divided in four teams and made beautiful designs you can see on the left.

Our creative directors John Peter, Prabhu and Munyappa had the difficult task to choose the winning design. The result you can see at the cover of this magazine. It is made by Stanly, Bharath and Madan.We thank them for the wonderful design which gives this magazine a great look.

Together with the graphic designer, the creative directors have conceived and designed the layout of our magazine completely. We thank them for doing that great job.

We hope you like it a lot and enjoy reading about our lives. Warm regards,

The children of Planet Hope

Introducing our coordinator: Lovis' story

Lovis Praveen is our new coordinator. He is

supporting us a lot and organizes sporting activities,

ththe empowerment program and guides the 10

standard children to make sure they will pass their

final exams this year. Since Lovis started his job at

stthe 1 of June we interviewed him and wrote the

following introduction.

How do you look back on learning when you were

young?

When I was a child I had lot of troubles in learning but

challenged them because of the support and precious encouragement by my mother. She

was my personal teacher supporting my efforts in changing my learning disabilities into

different abilities.

What are the challenges for the Planet Hope children regarding their education?

I believe that every child has talents. The challenge is to recognize their abilities and to

support them to develop their individual talents. Critical conscious encouragement can

help the children to get empowered and behave independently in their situation and

influence others positively. An empowered child shall find his own confidence to function

independently and responsibly.

Why do you want to work for us?

I like to be part to lift you up in Indian society. I try to facilitate you all in your need of

education and empowerment. I want to help you to be competitive enough to continue

higher education to reach your desire of having a good life and finding a dream job. I am

very happy that I can work with and for you!

We liked the way the ABC classes were conducted. Our teachers Mr. Prabu, Ms. Rekha and the brothers taught ABC every night. These special classes were taken because we have to learn English through the first step of alphabet. We were divided in four groups. Every group had a team leader and consisted of children who know how to write the ABC already and had to help the children who had to learn it better. Every team was supported by a teacher. In groups we practiced and we were stimulated to pass the test our coordinator Lovis was conducting every Sunday to monitor the improvement. During these three weeks we also played language skill games. In this class the teachers and the older children worked hard to help the young students to learn the ABC. It is helpful for the children to read and write since they were taught ABC. All the children pass the final exam the staff organized and got a real certificate. We are proud of the result the teams realized. For a smaller group the lessons continue the coming months.

Our teacher Prabhu was helping us a lot.

The older children supported the younger ones: teamwork!

Practicing at the blackboard, exciting!

We did it! Proud to get a certificate.

Three Weeks of ABCSome younger children of our home needed some special guidance in learning the ABC.

Just after our summer holidays the staff admitted lessons for them based on an

assessment all of us had to do. Every night the big hall in our home was used for the ABC

class and we could hear the children pronouncing all the letters of the English alphabet

very loudly! At the end of the course we got real certificates!

English lessons: improving our verbal English skills

We like to speak English better, therefore special lessons are organized for us. During

weekdays every night between 6 and 7 pm, teachers from the Marvel Institute of English

come to teach us many things. When we first attended this class we didn't know how to speak

English. We did not know what are things like nouns and pronouns. We are encouraged not to

be shy and just speak in front of the class. Now all of us have started talking English. We have

confidence to talk with brothers, teachers, sisters and any other people. All this is

accomplished by the hard work of all of us and the support of the teachers. We are happy to

learn more in the next classes. Madhan (10 years) and Kubendran (11 years)

Are we answering to all your questions? Some are answering and some are not, but still every one tries answering.

Are we troubling you?No, you are not.

Do we look disturbed in the class?Yes, some times

Do you like teaching us?Yes, I like it very much.

What do you think about us?You are all a group of good students and

just need to give attention during class and work hard to learn

Interview with the Spoken English teacher

Mrs. Ishrath by Sathish.C (14 years old)

Interview Spoken English teacher Mr. Harshad, by Vijay Kumar(12 years old).

1. What do you think about Planet Hope Home?

I feel it is a very noble initiative of the persons heading this institution, giving education to a group of students from the stone quarries.

2. Do you think we can improve soon?

Yes, by learning every thing we teach, you can improve your spoken English faster.

3. What was your plan for the last months?

To Organize introductory class to introduce the language, sentence formation of different tenses.

4. What are you going teach us next month onwards?

We are going to teach a little bit of grammar, formation of simple and complex sentences in every tense and vocabulary.

5. What is the objective of your institution for us exclusively?

To teach Spoken English, which shall help you in your academic performances as well as for your future.

We Like this English Class

Carmel Ghar: a new home for adolescent girlsA new program for the older girls of Planet Hope was introduced. 17 girls in the age of 13 – 16 years were invited to move to another building called ' Carmel Ghar ' .Rekha, Durga, Bhagya, Kokila, Vijayalakshmi, Theresa, Rama, Kala, Sathya, Meena, Kavya, Ashvini, Prema, RoopaPooja, Sumihtra and Shivalila were shifted to the new home. The program gives the girls the opportunity to get special guidance in the development stage to adulthood. Sister Elisabeth and sister Cini have generously taken charge of these girls to provide them love and care.

We had to say goodbye to our friends because they were leaving Planet Hopehome to live in the Carmel Ghar building. During a workshop we were asked to take up the full

thresponsibility for organizing a surprise farwell party at the 7 of June for the 17 girls.

We were divided into four committees namely the food, finance, anchoring and entertainment committees. Each committee consisted of 8 to 10 members and a teamleader. Every decision was taken through group discussion with the plans.The food committee was able to prepare a good menu for the party with a limited budget of Rs3, 000/- (45 €) for 140 children. The leader of the team facilitated the group discussion and helped them decide the menu . With the limited budget a good menu was prepared which all the children enjoyed eating.

We liked participating in the different committees and want to share our experiences.

Organizing the Farewell Party

The girls on the roof of their new home ' CarmelGhar', together with the sisters

Entertainment and anchoring Committee

There were twelve members in our committee. One week

for the farewell party we met and discussed about the

activities presented by our committee. We organized a

nice program with different performances. The team

leader Prabhu was the anchor for the farewell party. A

group of boys and girls danced, others played a play. In

the skit there were six members to make us laugh. We

asked two members from the committee to sing a song

which was about the moral of gathering together and they

sang it well. The 17 girls gave emotional farewell speeches.

At last a vote of thanks was given by Dass who is the eldest

boy of our group. We enjoyed organizing the

entertainment program . We would like to conduct more

such activities.

Sathish.C(14 years old) and Vijay Kumar (12 years old)

The Finance Committee,

We helped all the committees about finance matters but

mainly helped food committee because they are the

committee who required more money. Anchoring and

entertainment committees managed to do everything

without the need of money.

Among us Vincent collected all the bills and Kumar wrote

down everything on a sheet to submit. We learnt a lot of

things in handling money.

The girls were crying while going to the new home but

when they came to visit us last Sunday they were happy. It

was very nice to see them happy there.

Anand Kumar (11 years old) and Mathew (13 years old)

Food committee

We would like to talk about the menu we prepared

for the farewell party of the older girls who all went

to Carmel Ghar.

Before one week to the farewell party we had a

meeting and we discussed about the food. Through

the discussion we decided to prepare egg rice and

chicken kurma. So we planned to buy the things

before one day.

We bought carrot, ginger, garlic, onion and green

chilly for the egg rice and there was rice in the

home so we used it only.

We also bought chicken, tomato, oil, mustered,

green chilly, salt, and ginger, coconut, chicken

masala for the chicken kurma/curry. And spent

totally 3, 000/- rupees.

Krishna (12 years old) and Prashanth 12 years old)

Next you can read the interviews we did.

Sateesh (14 year old), a member of the Entertainment Committee was interviewed by Vishwanath(11 year old)

Did your team members prepare well for the fare well party?

Yes, the farewell party was beautiful.

Which activity did you like the most?

I liked the dance very much.

Did you enjoy the program?

Yes, I enjoyed the program.

How was the drama?

It was good.

Do you think you could have performed better?

Yes.

How was the program totally?

All we did was good, I enjoyed the program.

Have your team members done their respective job properly in your team?

Yes, they did well.

What did you like among your team members?

The attitude.

How was the talk given by Karen, director of Planet Hope Netherlands?

Her talk was sweet.

How was the talk given by Bro. Joseph, director of the Planet Hope home?

His talk was sweet.

What did you do in finance committee?

We tried to manage the budget.

What is this committee for?

To take care of money.

How did you use money?

Efficiently.

What was your responsibility?

To enquire the reason before giving money when the other committees ask for money.

How many of you were there in your committee?

Four.

What is your opinion about the farewell party?

It was good.

What activities did you like the most?

Dance and drama.

How much money was given to your committee?

Three thousand rupees (45 euro).

Did you collect the bills?

Yes.

How did you prepare yourself to submit them?

We wrote down the expenses in a sheet with attached bills.

Interview by Nandini (12 year old) with Mathew (13 year old), one of the finance committee members

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Interview by Karthik Raj (15 year old) and Kubendran (12 ) with Prema (11 year old) about her experience in the new home.

How is Carmel Ghar?It is very nice. How are you taken care there?We are taken care very well. Do you feel useful for staying over there?It is a nice place for us to stay and improve ourselves. What did you learn there?We learnt discipline in doing our homework, English lessons, Yoga, stiching clothes, washing ourselves andour clothes properly, preparing healthy dinner etc.How are the sisters looking after you?They take care of us very well.How are you all studying over there?We are studying well.Do you like to stay further?Carmel Ghar is a nice place, we are happy to stay.

year old

Our Dormitory

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Interview by Bhagya (16 year old) moved to the Carmel Gharhome withKarthik Raja (15 year old)years living in Planet Hope home

How do you feel after we left the Planet Hope Home?We feel sad and miss you all very much.How is the food now at Planet Hope Home?We get more tasty food now.How is the study schedule?We are given personal attention during the study hours.From the time we left how is the staff taking care of you all?They are taking care of well. How are the care takers with you?They are giving us good care. Do you have cultural activities?Yes.Do you feel happy about the visit of the Carmel Ghar girls to you last Sunday?Yes, we are happy you came here.Do you watch movies? Yes, once in a week.How are the plants at Planet Hope home?They are nice.How are the rabbits at planet Hope Home?They are keeping well.

This is our Study Hall

Articles by the girls about their live at Carmel Ghar girls home

Times of Carmel Ghar by- Rekha, 13 year old

I learned a lot, Vijayalakshmi, 15 year old

Now we can learn English, Ashwini 13 year old

I am going to write about the Carmel Ghar. I went to this girls home two months ago. In Carmel Ghar there are 17 girls and three sisters. We all like them very much. I am very happy there. No sad news. Sisters take care of us very nicely. I miss my friends of the Planet Hope home. We lived together for many years. Last week Kavya got sick aunty Karen took care of her very nicely and took her to the hospital. Computer classes are organized for us. Brother Prabhakar is our yoga teacher. The yoga classes are going to happen on every Sunday morning. Sisters are also taking care of us well and we all like Carmel Ghar.

I and my other 16 friends moved to Carmel Ghar. I like Sisters, Isra and Karen aunty very much. Ever since I have been there I learnt a lot of things like Spoken English and aunty Anja taught us a method of organizing workshops. She bought us science books, drawing books etc. They are very useful to us. It's been two month's that I started staying here and I am very happy. Sisters look after us very well. They help us to learn when asked for help and bought us soap, bed, towels etc. If we need

anything they take care of it. If we are sick they take us to the hospital. We got a nightdress, a tailoring machine to stitch our own clothes, arranged for yoga class on Sundays and eat food that is healthy and we like it because of all those reasons I like to stay at Carmel Ghar.

Sisters help us with our study when we need them for help. We do not speak English very well. Now we can learn English because they arranged English classes for us. Our parents are invited to visit us on Sundays any time. After I left Planet Hope with the other 16 staying , I do not have any problem. We are getting all the things and guidance we need.

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I miss all of them, Sumithra,

Pink rooms, Meena,

Living happily, Kokila,

12 year old

13 year old

13 year old

I like to be at Carmel Ghar because they teach well.

Sisters take care of us here. We are enjoying ourselves

with our friends. When I first came to Carmel Ghar I was

very happy to see the arrangement. They teach us

discipline. They bought us new night cloths and a real bed

to sleep. I liked Planet Hope too. Brother Joseph, the

director of Planet Hope Home, likes and loves the

children very much. We liked all the teachers, Vimala and

all the other staff. I miss all of them.

I came to Planet Hope home 3 years ago. I have so many

friends there and my sister and brother were with me. After

the summer holidays I went to live at the Carmel Ghar home

to get special guidence with 16 other girls. It is nice to be

there, we sleep in pink rooms with pink bunk beds! I like

the English lessons very much. The sisters support us while

doing our homework every day. In the recreation room we

have an television. In the weekend we are allowed to watch

the news and a dancing program.

17 of us are living happily with each other's company together. The sisters are so caring and

loving. We get good food. If we are sick we are well

taken care. In the weekend we have a special

program and learn a lot about health, cooking and

girls things. The Dutch aunty Anja and Unlce

Gerben gave us pots with seeds and herbs. We

have to take care of these very carefully so that it

will grow and we can use vegetables and herbs for

eating

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Workshop a house is not a home: Dreaming about the future child home

The staff members of Planet Hope and the Carmel Ghar home wanted to know our wishes of a happy child home. How would our imaginary home in 2030 look? Therefore they organized a workshop “A house is not a Home”. We were asked our opinion on what a good children's home is. So we pretended as if we were going to build a new child home. We had to think about the building. We drew beautiful designs for the various areas required in a children's home. Also, we thought the activity and rules for the staff and children in order to live together nicely. Finally, we wrote an advertisement to recruit the staff for the new child home that supposedly would be published in the newspaper.

They told us that the results of the workshop were also used for a three day training for the staff members organized by Anja Ossenblok coach from the Netherlands. It was exciting to know that they would use our work for that!

After a session of brain storming together we made a long list of facilities that would be realized in the new child home like a recreation room, dispensary, nice garden, bath rooms , computer room, separate dining hall, an equipped playground and a library. We dreamed of an attractive timetable for the new children who will live in the imaginary child home. We want them to have more space to study well and more time to play and to relax. In the weekends sporting and recreation activities should be organized.

A child home with a library and time to play!

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Imaginary Pictures of Our Future Home

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Recreation Hall Study Hall

Rules and regulations for living together

Rules for the Director, coordinator and caretakers/

teacher staff

In the next session of the workshop “ A house is not a home”, we discussed about the rules which are

important to live together nicely with so many children and staff members. Rules about how the

children and the staff have to interact and how they have to take care of the rooms and the garden

for example. We agreed upon the following rules for the staff, the children, cook and driver:

Ÿ All of them must be well educated according to their posts.Ÿ They must be able to provide what we need.Ÿ The director must let the children watch T.V.Ÿ The staff must not beat the children.Ÿ They must give different kinds of healthy food every day.Ÿ They must provide free time.Ÿ Coordinator must be able to guide the caretakers regularly and the students too.Ÿ All of them must find new activities and promote them.Ÿ Caretakers must be knowing different languages. Ÿ They must be able to know what is right and wrong.Ÿ They must not show partiality between children.

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Rules and regulations for the Children.

Rules and regulations for driver and the cook

Ÿ Children must respect the teachers.Ÿ They must follow the time table.Ÿ Must not speak during the silent moment at night. Ÿ Personal tidiness must be maintained when go to school.Ÿ Must not talk during study hours.Ÿ Everyone must be in the play ground during the play time. Ÿ Must not speak during bed time.Ÿ Everyone must attend Sunday Karate class.Ÿ Must not waste food.Ÿ Must keep the premises clean. Ÿ Must study well. Ÿ Must maintain the things provided by the organization.Ÿ Everyone must care and help for each other.

Ÿ Drivers must know all the ways in the city and must be able to maintain the vehicle need and tidy.

Ÿ They must be qualified.Ÿ Cook must be qualified. Ÿ The cook must know to cook every kind of food especially biriyany. Ÿ The cook must know how and where to buy vegetables.

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We are starting a new Child home and are looking for nice staff members who will take care of the

children very nicely. We are looking for a Director , a coordinator, care taker, two drivers and a cook.

To get one of the jobs you should fulfill the following requirements:

DirectorThe director is the boss of the child home. He or she must be lovely for the children and make sure there is enough money to run the home. He or she must hold three degrees as education qualification and be good and loveable to the children. He or she must be sensible and able to think creatively. The director must be active and know first aid.

The Coordinator The coordinator is responsible for organizing a nice program for the children so that they will be taken care for very good, healthy meals and homework support. In the weekends there should be sporting and recreation activities. The coordinator must have a master’s degree, know how to work with the computer and teach this to the children. The coordinator must be patient, knowledgeable and have skills of problem solving and creative thinking.

Caretakers

The children will miss their parents very much because they live at the stone quarries with their brothers and sisters. Therefore it is important that the caretakers will be very loving and be able to understand and empathise with the children. They must have at least a teachers degree and speak English. The children like recreation and want o participate in dancing and singing contests at school. Therefore the caretakers must know music and dance and support the children.

DriversThe children go to various schools. It is the driver his task to bring the children safely to school and back home. He must have a driving license and the roots in the City. He must be sensible and careful on road. To be physically fit and efficient is very important.

Cook

Healthy food with vitamins is important because the children have to grow. The cook must be able to cook different varieties of food and know all about different diets.

If you are nice and like to work for our lovely children, please send your resume to the Selection Committee. An assessment will be part of the selection procedure.

Advertisement:

Nice people wanted!

Children' s advertisement for the various posts at Planet Hope Home of 2030

During the last session of the workshop we developed an imaginary advertisement for the various posts at the childhome.

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First Aid for Safety

During three days nurses from the Saint John's medical Hospital came to give us the training “First

Aid for Safety”. We got a lot of information and had to practice on a doll and with each other. At the

end we got a real certificate!

In the first aid class we learnt that we must help the people in emergency need. The nurse taught us

the theory and practice of First Aid. We were invited to practice a lot with a doll and also with each

other. After three days we know what to do when someone has an heart attack, how to do mouth to

mouth resuscitation which we can only be done with someone who is familiar to us. On the doll we

practiced the heart massage and that was very difficult. If there is any accident we must check the

pulse of the victim and must give first aid. We must stop bleeding and in the meantime calling the

ambulance.

We also learnt some golden rules:

Feeling the pulse

We passed the exam!

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F We must be quick and fast

F Be good observers

F Manage the crowd

F Call the ambulance

F Take the patient to hospital immediately at every

accident

F Don't apply anything on the wound

F Remove anything from the eye if the accident is with

the eyes

We had a lot of fun but we realized that first aid is a

serious matter that can save many lives!

Job orientation

Interview with a Photographer

To get an idea of what kind of job we like to do in the future, Lovis our coordinator organizes different visits to employment situations. This way we get some exposure. Before we make a visit we prepare an interview so that we get some information about the experience and qualification of the employee. This time we went to a photo shop and to the Saint Mary school. We interviewed the photographer who took pictures of us. We also interviewed one of our teachers and asked her how it is to be a teacher. She took all the time to answer our questions.

What is your name?My name is Binu Thomas

How are you?I am fine.

What did you want to become after your studies?I wanted to become a policeman.

Why didn't you become a police man?I could not bribe an amount of 6,00,000/- rupees.

Why are you now doing this job?Because I need to lead my life.

What is your qualification? I have studied up to B.A(Bachelor of Arts)

When do you feel sad?When I have problems at home.

When do you feel happy?I am happy when I have enough of orders.

What do you do when you feel angry?I just control it.

How many of you at home?Three.

Interviewers- Durga and Prema

Photographer- Mr. Binu Mathew

Photo by- John Peter and Munyappa

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Interview with Teacher at St. Mary's School- Ms. Poornima by Rekha, 13 years

When did you come in to this profession?

It has been 2 years since I came in to this profession.

What did you study to enter this profession?

I have studied B.com but usually teachers are trained with PUC which is required for this profession.

What do you like of this profession?

I like to to help the children to gain their knowledge and to teach them moral values, which help them in future. Till we go to the tomb we all are learners. Whenever we see a child we are learning new things from them.

What are the negatives of this profession?

As per my opinion I don't find anything negative in this profession.

How did you choose this profession?

My ambition was to become a teacher. I have also worked for many companies where i was not happy. From my point of view I feel teaching is the best profession in the world.

Do you think you want to change this profession?

No, I do not have any plan to change my profession.

Do you like to work at this school? If 'yes' why?

Yes, because I am very happy being with the children of this school.

What is your opinion of this profession?

This is the only profession which is exclusively meant for imparting knowledge.

How happy are you with this profession?

I am very happy with this profession. Because it makes me think of my school days and it was a dream for me to become a teacher.

What do you think are the qualities of a teacher?

First and foremost the teacher should be able to understand the child's mentality and try to be a role model for the children.

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