April is an important month for our schools as we come to the end of the academic year and the 10th

and 12th standard Government exam results are published (equivalent to GCSE’s and A levels). We

are delighted to report 100% pass rates for our students, and we are very proud of them for all the

hard work they put in to achieving such excellent results. We also thank all our teachers who helped

them with their dedication and care.

Exam Success

In the 10th standard exams, Nagasathya scored the

highest mark achieving over 90% and Lavana scored

the highest 12th standard mark of 88%. You can read

more about them in our case studies below. We are now

busy helping all the 12th standard students gain entry to

the professional college courses of their choice. RTU

covers all the course fees and living expenses until they

graduate and can stand on their own two feet, and we

are very proud, with your support, to invest in their

futures.

Case study:

Shanmugapriya's and Santosh’s mother committed suicide. After that, their

step-father did not accept them and so their maternal grandmother looked

after them with many struggles for a few years. She met one of our Alumni

students Mr Nallakannan who is an advocate (soon he might become a

judge) and he referred them to RTU. Seeing the poor family condition of the

family, we admitted the two children in Miriam Children’s Village in 2010.

Shanmugapriya had always struggled in her lessons but with our teachers’

support and her growth in confidence, she studied well and achieved the pass

mark, securing 270 marks out of 600. This is a great achievement for her.

Since she wanted to become a teacher, we helped her to join a 2-year Special Education Training at

Trichy Spastics Society. The course will start this July. After completing her course, she will find a

job in any one of the Special Schools and she will be able to stand on her own. Then she will be able

to take care her brother and her grandmother. Her brother Santhosh is studying 8th standard in our St

Peter’s Higher Secondary School.

Improving spoken English

Reaching The Unreached

G. Kallupatti, Near Batlagundu, Theni Dt. 625203

Happenings of April 2019

Dear Well-wishers,

Greetings from RTU.

To help the 12th standard students improve their spoken English before leaving us, we welcomed

Isobel and Peter Hindle from RTU-UK who ran a month-long intensive English course. The students

had an enjoyable time and their confidence in speaking English improved enormously. On the final

day, they gave a performance with enjoyable skits showing their learning. Their college courses will

be taught in English medium, so this course is important to help them prepare for their new college

life.

End of term for some!

On 13th April, the School Annual Day was celebrated in St Peter Higher Secondary School at our

main campus in G Kallupatti in a grand manner. A variety of cultural programmes were performed

on the stage by our children. Our staff, parents of the local children and our foster mothers who care

for the children in the Children’s Villages were present at the function. Our schools then closed for

the long summer holiday during the hottest month of May.

To ensure our schools grow and continue to give the most disadvantaged children a quality

education, we then held a variety of training and review days for our teachers. On 24th and 25th April,

a workshop on Child Rights and Protection was organized at Boys’ Town in Madurai. And then we

held a review of all our educational activities during the year. All the teachers had a day sharing their

roles and responsibilities, and how they work to cover the Government school curriculum. On 30th

April, all our teachers prepared action plans for the next academic year with the help of their

headmaster and headmistress to ensure that we continue to meet the requirements of the Government

rules and that lessons are prepared systematically.

Holidays for the children in our care

The children in our Children’s Villages who have relatives, returned to their native villages for their

summer holidays. For other children who don’t have parents or relatives and stay in our care all year

round, we organize a range of activities. A highlight in April was a 3-day tour to Pondicherry using

our school bus where we held picnics and visited local sights. The foster mothers who care for our

children also have a holiday – half of them visit their native places for two weeks and, when they

return, the other foster mothers have their holidays. They all look after each other’s children! Our

school year starts again on Monday 2nd June.

Case Study:

Lavanya, aged 17, comes from Kunnuvarankottai, a very remote village in Dindigul District. Her

mother committed suicide in 2006. After mother died, her father found it difficult to care for three

children. Lavanya came to RTU in 2010 when she was just 8 year old along with her two younger

brothers. After seeing the poor family condition, RTU admitted them in Nirmala Children’s Village.

She joined in 3rd standard and started performing well in Nirmala Middle School. Lavanya scored the

highest mark of over 96% in the 10th standard Government exam. Now she has successfully

completed her 12th standard public exam and again scored the highest mark of 530/600. She is

always active and is a role model to other students. She participated in many District Level and Zonal

Level elocution competitions and received first prizes. Since she aspired to become a doctor, we

helped her to prepare for NEET – the entrance exam. She is a very promising and ambitious girl. She

could be a source of inspiration to many in our RTU campus. She is an eagle; born to fly high.

Another of her dreams is to work in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) as a civil servant. Her

younger brother Muthpandi is studying 10th standard and another younger brother Nandakumar is

studying 9th standard in St. Peter’s Higher Secondary School. RTU is so proud of Lavanya.

Nagasathya 15 years old and lives in G Kallupatti village with her family. Her father is a daily wage

labourer in a welding workshop. Her mother stays at home and is diabetic. She has an elder brother

and he has completed 12th standard. They live in a small house with tiled roof. As her father was

working in a welding workshop for a long period, he faced eye problems and could not go for regular

work. His earnings reduced and he found it hard to afford to manage his family’s food and other

expenses and to provide an education for his children. Living in our local village, he knew about

RTU so requested educational help from Brother James. Nagasathya started her education with us in

one of our pre-schools. She has just completed her 10th standard and scored first marks with 451/500.

For this, she has been preparing herself with the support of our teachers. She is a very energetic and

self-disciplined student, curious to learn and plays an active part in classroom activities. We take care

of all her educational needs such as notebooks, uniforms and provide a nutritious midday meal, thus

making sure her poverty is not an impediment to achieve her goal. She is very good at essay writing

and received many prizes in the school level competitions. She wants to take Maths group subjects in

the 11th standard and continue her studies. She is aspiring to become a doctor. We wish her all the

best.

We sincerely thank you all for being an inspiration to us to work here with your commitment to

enable us to serve the poor children in our care. We always remain grateful for all your generous

contributions. We are continually inspired by the dedication and generosity of people like you who

answer the call to give again and again. We look forward to a continuing partnership with you.

Generous gifts from donors like you provide the financial and moral support needed to continue our

mission.

May God bless you all!

Yours fraternally

Fr. J. Antony Paulsamy, OFM Cap.

Secretary.