Morning Star Learning Center: Didier Charitiable Trust : Future Plans for Morning Star

The Past:
It's 18 years since the dream of creating Morning Star came to John Kennedy Samson, and in that time the organization has moved from a small single room humble home in Anekal to NGEF Layout, then to Kothanur and finally to the permanent abode at Chagalatti Village, Jalahobli, Yelahanka. What one found at Yelahanka in the beginning was an old house, a tiled roof brick construction consisting of three rooms, a bed room cum dormitory, a room for different activities, more a multi-purpose room, and another used as the kitchen. The first kitchen was outside the building, and later a proper kitchen was constructed in a separate room attached to this building, where the meals were cooked. Today this building is being used for yoga classes, also a study dorm and a general purpose room where the children can watch video (VCR & DVD) programs like movies, children's tapes, and educational tapes.

As the number of children increased, this arrangement became quite inappropriate for the whole lot of over 55 kids (normal and challenged) to be packed into and so in 1994, after discerning the spending of the collection of funds which John had gathered over the years, a new stone building was built (see photo on left). It was first thought that this would be enough for the boys, in a way it was, but the Government has laid down some commitments that Morning Star is forced to follow, and accept or else there may be sanctions for not doing so. The Government have insisted that more challenged children (around 100!) have to be taken in, and extra rooms built separating the normal children and the challenged children.

What we find in the new building at present are rooms on the ground floor dedicated to a dinning room, kitchen, guest rooms, toilets, music room, special challenged children's room, a computer room, library, office room, and a wonderful courtyard. There is an upstairs that is the bunker bed dormitory for the normal children. The challenged children who cannot climb the stairs sleep in the dining room or one of the other rooms on the ground flooor at night.

Keeping this in mind, the plans were drawn out and a foundation was made for the 'extension' project for the challenged section. This has to be built by December 2006, so that creates a great burden on the depleted funds of the Morning Star management who do not get regular funds. From the photo on the right you can see the foundation laid out for the future expansion project, for which a great sum is required to complete the same. It is so easy for people to put pressure on NGO's and force them to make changes to their scheduling and financial commitments. This project would need materials like special furnishing, ramps for the challenged children to move easily on, special toilets, tables, furniture, because earlier there was a common use of the existing furniture as all that was done was to stagger the timings for food, baths, but now the burden has become a double edged sword, it's not that any funds are being received from those that are putting pressure!! A real Catch-22 process.

The Future of Morning Star: The next urgent Main Project is to build a special seperate area for the Challenged Children, and the foundation has already been laid. Presently granite blocks are being cut for the new building (stones for the challenged childrens' building , more stones , still more stones !!. As the monsoon as started, no construction work is being carried out. What is being gathered at this stage is steel, wood and sand.

What help is encouraged: Any funds to procure steel rods, sand and wood for door and window frames, floor tiles would be appreciated, encouraged and welcome. This is the best time to buy the commodities (Sept - November 2005) as the prices are down as builders are not erecting complexes because of the monsoons. Later in December the prices will shoot up when the demand starts increasing, and buying then will be expensive.

What is not required: