Morning Star Learning Center, Bangalore , India : Didier Charitiable Trust: About Us

When one looks back at the beginnings of any glowing enterprise, we find that they have humble beginnings, usually starting out of a garage or a single room house, and over the years with dedication and hard work, grow John, Founder of Morning Star

into a larger organization during the life time of the founder. In the early stages, the objective is to do something different or something that could make a difference, and so it was when John Kennedy Samson planted a small seed of life in the ground of hope for the less fortunate children found on the roadsides, in drains, around dustbins, along railway tracks, abandoned in quarries. The seed grew from his own abode around 1989, and he later called it "Morning Star", a home for street children, started August 1991 at Anekal, (Bangalore) and later it moved to NGEF Layout, Bangalore-38 (New Government Electric Factory) looking after one child, then another, with no money in his pockets, but just the will to help another human being survive, to the present location at Chagalatti Village, Jalahobli, Yelahanka, Bangalore. The dream of John Kennedy Samson, Founder of Morning Star, has been fulfilled, but still there is much to be done, we are now in July 2005.

John in his early days, from school through college ( he has done his Bachelor of Arts at St. Joseph's College in 1985), always was a 'social worker' at heart, and humanity and the dignity of man was always in his mind. He would at times take the clothes of the beggars and lepers on the pavements and wash them with his own hands and make sure that they always had clean clothes and were comfortable.

Many a good willed person would give John a few rupees for his own maintenance, but John would keep very little for his personal needs and spend the major chunk on the needy. As days passed, his heart grew larger towards the suffering of those in the streets and started looking for another place to keep the children who by now had grown to more than a score in number. Being alone, the burden fell on his shoulders and he was awarded by Divine Providence a helper in the form of Joy Honorius who also had the same dedication in 1995, calling and commitment to the needs of street children. The word 'orphan' or 'orphanage' sounded like a distasteful word to John as it conjured up visuals of a Charles Dickens 'Great Expectations' atmosphere, where they sprung up usually as an aftermath of a war, depression, or a calamity like the Tsunami of December 2004, so he calls 'Morning Star' add 'Home', and a greater expansion that to a Learning Center where children deprived of all means and encouragement to live better lives and become better citizens.

An insight by John: "A personal inspiration brought me to dedicate myself to this task, nine years ago. I started going out to the slums, contacting street boys, inviting them to find a shelter or a place for bath or food, and so winning their confidence".

As the simple assistance was manifested insufficient, slowly provisions were made to provide a home and a more complete education to these children. So the first idea, simple assistance, culminated to integral education. Children were selected with priority to these do not have family, thus giving them a home and a family.
The task of "Morning Star" finishes when the boy is able to find a work and to set himself in life, renting a room and finding a means for living.

Before this all started, John did have a special calling that took him to Calcutta in 1987, now called Kolkata, and he worked with street children and also as a volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity under the guidance of the late Blessed Mother Teresa for 2 years. She gave him a simple instruction , she said 'John, you will have to wear a mask and work heard. The mask is so that you will not be put off buy the smell of the one you are helping, and so be able to hold them close to your heart!',. With these thoughts in mind, and the experience of working with Mother Teresa, enabled John to take up the calling in Bangalore more easily and with confidence, relying on prayer, providence and hard work and sacrifice. John had personal experience of feeling how the underprivileged people lived by self imposition into their ways, so that once when he took up the challenge of looking after the children of the streets, he would make them feel that they were understood. Even till this day, the members of the Morning Star team follow this in a broader spectrum by saving as much as they can in order to give to the children what would have probably wasted on themselves.

John does not like to talk about this deeds of achievement, it's only the monuments of his toil that one can ge the feeling of how great this humble gentle giant is, not for a moment wanting anything for himself, only for his children of Morning Star.

Apparently keeping in mind the actions and lifestyle of the Missionaries of Charity, John also has only a very limited wardrobe, and is fond of his light blue shirt and dark pants which he has for probably a decade. His dedication towards the challenged children under his care is unfathomable, as with the tenderness of only a person who has been touched by God can minister to them whole heartedly, with loving patience, care for each one without distinction. The children are of different cultural backgrounds, traumatic experiences, creeds but that does not effect the treatment given to them. Looking after the challenged children can really be a challenge, and doing it 24x7x365 doesn't leave much margin for compromise or dereliction. Doing this for the past 18 years only proves the integrity, sincerity, love and compassion of John and his teammate Joy.

Joy Honorius, a Bachelor of Science graduate, joined John about 10 years ago, and the unity of both is amazing, how Divine Providence brought them together. If they did not have the same mind and burden for the children, the partnership wouldn't have lasted all these years. The two of them have such an understanding and identifying them as individuals is hard as both show the same passion to their hearts, the children of Morning Star, you would also have heard the expressions that it takes two hands to clap, well there is much clapping here, and the hands belong to the team. Joy hails from Andhra (AP), and was with sales in a company in Chennai. He met John in Bangalore after previously hearing about his work in Anekal. Besides looking after the children, Joy has interests in teaching yoga, is also an experienced handyman putting his hands to gardening, plumbing, and other odd-jobs around Morning Star.

You probably would have read about how a typical work day goes at Morning Star for these virtual 'Dads', if not you are invited to follow the links or when you do finish this page, click on the 'The Wall' of links below to go there.

This write up has been prepared by me, and if there is any boastful, or self-righteous apparent presentation of the above members of Morning Star, it is perhaps, my way of presenting them, and not their own. How I see them, is how I would like to tell you about these gentlemen, or as the computer nerds would say WYSIWYG!.

Ronnie Johnson
ronniebangalore@gmail.com

Vision Statement & Aims of Organization :

To undertake social service activities for the benefit of the socially backward members of the society irrespective of caste and creed.
To help and guide the socially and economically backward communities.
To support and promote the advancement of educational activities especially for destitute boys, orphans, drug addicts, problem children and boys from broken homes and street kids.
To erect and maintain schools, boarding schools free of charge.
To promote education, science, literature and fine arts.