Cricket is a most confusing and ridiculously difficult game to understand. As I stood watching a game being played on the Prakash campus, even I could see that one player was outstanding and receiving the Indian style “high-five.”
Chand is a “complete” orphan from a Christian orphanage in Pune. Because of his name it is known that he comes from a Muslim background. There is no recollection of parents. In fact, he doesn’t even know how he and his sister arrived at the orphanage. For that reason, he has no idea of his true age. The administrators simply gave him a birthday date. There are so many negatives in his young life.
Feeling hopeless that there were few options available to him for higher education, due to the amount of money needed, he was thrilled to learn about the opportunity to attend Prakash. The director of his orphanage was instrumental in getting him admitted. |
| A bent for mechanics lead him, with the help of his director, to choose refrigeration and air conditioning as his course of study. There is a good scope for A/C mechanics in a city like Pune since there are so many large companies. The motivation to study and receive good grades and the government certificate is enormous, because he knows there is NO opportunity for more education after Prakash.
One of his greatest concerns is for his younger sister. She is also in the orphanage in Pune. She is intelligent, but being an orphan she has little hope for marriage. The burden of finding a husband for her falls on his shoulders. Having never been allowed to make a decision on his own, this will be very difficult for him. Chand was one of the four students I earlier wrote about that had no travel money and consequently remained on campus during the Christmas holidays. He is a perfect example of our need to have uniforms for the students. His few clothes are VERY used. Shyness had kept him from showing hidden talents. He even walks on campus with his head down. Moses, our Christian Ed Director, astutely noticed singing talent so placed him on the stage with groups for singing. Then “slowly-slowly,” he reduced the size of the group. Now, Chand, with his excellent singing voice and resource of new songs, is the worship leader. You can see Jesus in his face. |
Again I want to thank all of you for your partnership with us in transforming lives.
