Coming Together Celebrations

It was so wonderful to gather with old and new friends alike. We loved sharing all of the amazing stories that are happening at the homes and to see the vision of COM begin to come to fruition. The Lord is truly using the homes and COM to raise up the leaders of Northern India. And we know He will continue to do so. Thank you for being part of that!

As you heard, there are a few ways this vision and the mission of COM can continue to flourish. These are: becoming a partner, increasing your partnership or supporting post-secondary education with a one-time gift. More information below.


Thank you again for joining us! We loved reconnecting and look forward to many more opportunities in the future.

Help us reach our goal of providing 100% of the needed support to the homes in India with monthly giving > Begin giving monthly or increase your monthly giving

 

School In India

It’s that time of year again! September is here and many kids in Canada are heading back to school. In India the school year looks a little different. Here is a quick look at what that means for many of the kids at the children’s homes in India.

Depending on the weather of the region you live in you might have a winter break or a summer break. If you have a winter break that means school is off from the end of December to mid February. If you have a summer break school is off April and March.

Both the children’s homes have winter breaks because they are located in the mountains. One of the homes, the more northern of the two, is located in the snow belt so they have an extended winter break!

For college students there is no Christmas break as this is a Christian holiday.

School During COVID

Schools have been almost exclusively online since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. On a few occasions, the state has attempted to reopen in-person classes, only to shut them down again just after a few days due to rapid transmissions of COVID-19.

College hostels are now open to students who are double vaccinated. The vaccine is open to everyone who is 18 and older and most students who are able have gotten both vaccines. While most courses remain online, teachers are now able to meet in-person with students on campus for appointments.

With schools being closed, the homes were able to build up a small surplus of savings from reduced school-related expenses, such as transportation and driver costs. Using these funds and additional funds provided by Child of Mine, both homes were able to purchase more devices to make online learning even better and more accessible for their kids.

School for New Children

Many children that come to the homes have not had access to a good education before arriving at the home. To find out where they’re at they take an entrance exam. This helps the homes figure out how to best place the child at the right level of schooling. Many have to start very near the beginning and receive extra tutoring in order to make progress in their studies.

Support Post-Secondary Studies

If you would like to give and support students post-secondary schooling, click here and select “Post-Secondary Education”

An Appu India Experience

I am incredibly blessed to have been apart of the 2019 India Trip with Child of Mine. My experience in India was filled with learning about its colorful culture, tasting its fabulous food, cultivating eternal friendships with the beautiful children and the alumni from both homes and being inspired by the staff who have dedicated their lives to serve the children.

I have gained so much from the relationships that have been built with the children, the staff and my team members. I marvel at the beauty of the love and joy that the staff and children share with one another and that same love and joy that was extended to me with their hospitality and kindness. So beautiful! Thank you Child of Mine and all the leaders for this opportunity. I appreciate you equally too.

- Appu

An Al India Experience

Travelling to India was an incredible experience. Meeting the children and staff at both homes made us feel a part of a very large family.

Although the culture of India is quite different from our own, I found the homes to have a friendly and familiar feel. The staff are so dedicated to their work in caring for and teaching the children. And seeing the children so happy and willing to learn made it clear that something very significant is happening. Music is a major part of their lives and they are as dedicated to practice as they are to their studies. I had intended to show them a few things on the guitar, but they showed me a thing or two!

In Kelowna we have been raising funds for construction of the boy’s dorm. To actually see it and walk through the work in progress was quite something. On our last night, I looked out at the boys as they were seated in their rows. I was struck by their eager faces and the stories they could tell of how their lives have changed because of generous donors and dedicated staff. And these are the ones who will be moving into the dorm as their new home! It made supporting their work very real and raising funds such a privilege.

Al Gillespie

An Elaine India Experience

“Give your hands to serve and your hearts to love”, (Mother Teresa).

Imagine being greeted with kindness and compassion by someone you’ve never met. That was my experience when visiting the homes with COM in the fall of 2019. Our team had an opportunity to visit both homes over a three-week period of time. In each home there was such an abundance of joy; not only in the children, but in the dedicated, loving staff. Children of all ages took delight in joining in with us; some for a short time, others for a dedicated amount of time. One of our student helpers described his home as having much joy and added that it’s rich in love, hope, peace and forgiveness. The homes are dedicated to raising ‘future leaders of India’ and are doing this with great wisdom and love. Education is highly valued, there is much encouragement for children and continued support when they ‘graduate’ from the homes.

Both children’s homes are beautiful with gardens, in their mountainous location, and in the hearts of the children and staff. They clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Our team did many things on this trip, but more importantly we were able to interact with children and staff on a daily basis. What a joy it was!

17-WEB.jpg

Funds Raised through the BMO Marathon Team!

Team Child of Mine competed on May 5 to raise funds for the new boy’s dormitory at one of the homes in India. A total of 23 runners and walkers were entered in either the 8Km, 21Km or 42Km race. The team had been training since January and were welcomed with perfect temperatures as they traversed Vancouver streets and Stanley Park. They came from Willow Park Church in Kelowna, Willingdon Church in Burnaby and Mike Gunn came all the way from India! 

The journey from start to finish resulted in some sore muscles but also much satisfaction in being part of a project which will have a lasting impact long into the future. And there are life lessons to be learned from pushing beyond what you think you can do. All competitors dug deep to find an extra bit of strength and endurance on race day and also during the cold and snowy training days.

Each team member challenged friends and family to be a part of the project by donating to the dormitory construction. A total of $35,000 has been raised this year! Thanks be to God and all those who gave from their hearts because they want to make a difference in India.


- Al Gillespie

Al-Gillespie.png
 

The KCS Well Project

“We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter in and do the rest.” – Romero

This past fall the city of Kelowna opened a challenge to students from schools across the city to develop and write an implementation plan for a development project of their choice- any type in any region of the world. One plan would be selected for a $5,000 grant to help see it to completion.

Each year Kelowna Christian School sends a team of grade 11 and 12 students to one of the children’s homes in Northern India. They learned shortly before going that the Home had a water crisis and after the team returned, they felt compelled to enter the challenge to create a sustainable development project for the $5,000 grant. The team of students worked closely with the staff at Child of Mine, the Home in India and community members both in Canada and India before presenting to a panel of judges made of business people from around Kelowna. Their efforts were outstanding and although they were not awarded the city grant, 3 generous sponsors saw their passion and the clear need that their project would fulfill at the Home and donated $10,000 to see it come to life! 

The new well was dug this spring and has already been a tremendous blessing! The Children’s Home is set in the foothills of the Himalayas and experiences heavy monsoon season through drought each year. Although they did have water cisterns to collect rain water during monsoon, they still always struggled to have enough water through the dry season. Water would have to be rationed for drinking, washing and fighting forest fires. In addition, the construction of a new boys dorm was started and construction requires water to mix all the concrete on site. 

Praise the Lord for the way that He provides! He worked through the lives of a group of high school students and generous donors to answer the faithful prayers of the His people in India. We are called to follow his promptings and invite others to participate in His great plan for their life. Thank you to all who faithfully stepped into this project together.


A note from the director of this children’s home:

We want to say a BIG THANK YOU to KCS students, Principal and teachers who have been a great help for the Home. We especially want to say a very special thanks to them who worked very hard and donors who have funded for the installation of Bore well! 

We have good water from the new BORE WELL! We do not need to depend much on our neighbour’s water source this summer because of the new well! Oh, what a great help! Although we still need to take around 5000 liters a day from our neighbour these days as we don’t get enough water from our original water source during summer, we do hope that we will be able to store from the new well before summer comes every year.

KCS and DONORS, what a blessing you have brought to the Home! How did you get the idea that you wanted to help get water! We could only say this is the marvellous work of God in you who knows exactly our need! Our words are inadequate to express how grateful we are to you all!

When you first asked us about the Bore well project , we were a little hesitate because the cost would be quite high and most of you are students, busy with your studies and stuff like that…but here we are with the new Bore Well with good water! We could not cease to thank and praise God because of you all! Our God is a God of impossible and a God of miracle! He can use any body to perform His miracle! Praise and glory to His name!


Getting ready for the BMO Fundraiser

 

 I have been a runner for many years and love being physically fit. Recently, I have found this discipline works well with my desire to help and encourage others. The Boys Dormitory Project provides much needed accommodation and is a very real and practical way to improve young lives. As I guide our team along a journey to the finish line, I can see that it gives them confidence to go beyond what they thought was possible. The individual activity of running becomes a team effort with a common goal. Together our small steps can make a world of difference in the lives of these children in northern India.

Al Gillespie

Al-Gillespie.png
 
 

I’m a beginner recreational walker in support of the vision to construct a boys dormitory in northern India. As a team we enjoy the benefits of friendship and better health as we join Child of Mine to provide a new home for these children. I have found it to be personally invigorating and inspiring to help in this way.

Maryann M.

Maryann-M.png
 
 
 

East Meets West Event Story

It’s beautiful to see what can be accomplished when many come together for one purpose. After meeting the staff and children in 2017, I couldn’t help but want to get more involved with COM. I was already a monthly partner, but I felt convicted to do more. The new boys’ dorm is a dream that the COM family has had for over ten years. When I discovered that the only thing standing between their dream and reality was finances, I convinced my friend that we could do more for our Indian family. On our own, we felt helplessly inadequate. With nothing really to offer other than our time and a heart to help, we decided to plan a fundraiser. Our goal was to raise awareness of COM with the hopes of cultivating partners to provide on-going support, but also to help raise funds to kick start the long awaited boys’ dorm project.

As we began to share our vision with those around us, we were blown away by the support that flooded in from places we never expected. We began to receive emails of things that were being checked off the to-do list without us even having to lift a finger. Before we knew it we had over 100 volunteers signed up to help with the event! Not to mention the incredible blessing of collaborating with the Sikh temple as they generously catered our event free of charge! In one evening, we raised 25% of the required funds for the boys’ dorm!

We were so incredibly encouraged by the willingness of others to step in and help wherever needed. And we are so thankful for the generosity of those who have contributed to the project. We were reminded that even without a multitude of resources, with a willing heart, great things can be accomplished. It is such a blessing to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We look forward to seeing what the future with COM has in store!

A Willow Park 2018 Trip Story

“Being part of the 2018 India Construction Team has changed my life.”  This statement may seem trite…unless you've experienced India. The time spent with the kids and staff at the home was inspiring and uplifting.  We can all learn much from their thankful and contentful attitudes.  I have made some life-long friends with team members, staff and kids as a result of this trip and am now considering a return trip in the next few years. The appreciation and hospitality of those at the home was both overwhelming and humbling. 

Child of Mine did a great job preparing our team for all aspects of the trip.  There is great satisfaction in seeing these tasks progress from fresh starts to beautifully completed projects.  Even though it was tough to leave those at the home,  the trip was entirely worthwhile.  If you go on one of these trips in the future, be prepared to leave a bit of your heart there.

Shane Holtslander