|
Q. Who are the children of the Balgram?
A. These children have a certain
criteria in which they must fit into in order to live at Agnel Ashram’s
Balgram. The four main conditions are:
1.)
They don’t have any parents (orphaned)
2.)
They are from a lone-parent household
3.)
They experience separation or abandonment from their parents
4.)
They must be 5-6 years of age
Even if the child is
orphaned or abandoned, someone must act as a guardian to claim
responsibility of the child in unforeseen dire circumstances such as
injury, illness or another situation that affects the other children,
staff or administration.
Local parishes and other
spiritual leaders mostly refer these children to us. In order for us to
take a child beneath our wings, a trustworthy person must vouch for the
current condition in which the child lives. This could be a priest,
other spiritual leaders, employee’s in Agnel Technical Education Complex
or social organizations in and around our community.
Once a child with their
guardian visits the Balgram, they are asked to fill out an application
form to start the submission process. The family is then paid a visit by
the Balgram administrator Sr. Jennifer. She assesses the child and
family situation to see if it would be a good fit. An interview is then
set up between the Balgram Committee and the guardian along with the
child to furthur the application process and finally the Balgram
Committee makes a decision. For every 50 applications received each
year, maybe 10 children are selected to become a part of our community.
Q. Is sponsorship an effective way to
help?
A. The best way
to change the lives of these children is to change the world in which
they live. By sponsoring the Balgram, you will help bring about
long-term change in their community, which will make it a much happier
and healthier place for the children to grow in. Your sponsorship
contributions will help fund vital community development programs in
areas such as housing, health care, education and agriculture – whatever
the community needs most.
Q. Does aid
really get through?
A. YES!! We
conduct both internal and external audits to account for every dollar we
spend and receive.
Q. How much
money actually gets to the cost?
A. From April
2004 to March 2005 only 5.05% of all money donated went to
administration costs, 1.7% was retained for future use, while an
astounding 93.25% monies donated went directly to program services.
Q. How does
sponsoring benefit the community?
A. Cash is not
sent directly to the child or their family. Although project activities
have a focus on clean water, nutritious food, health care and education
for the children, the real change occurs from benefits to the whole
community, particularly by enabling the youth and community to take
charge of their own futures. Projects such as improving the food
quality, healthy shelter and education are crucial in bringing long-term
sustainable change, which is what makes the biggest difference to the
children’s lives.
Q. How long do
I have to sponsor for?
A. Sponsorship is
generally a long-term commitment. Sponsorship is for a fixed amount of
time starting at 5 years all the way up to 15 years. You choose how long
you would like to sponsor according to your life. Once the sponsorship
project meets its objectives, its time to celebrate the many
achievements – healthier, stronger children and better living
conditions, educational programs that are working and a community with
greater confidence for a more positive and developed future. On
occasion, there may be a change in your circumstances of either your
sponsorship or you, in which you may or may not have control over, which
may reduce the period or amount of sponsorship. Should you be unable to
temporarily or permanently make the regular sponsorship payments, please
contact us as soon as possible to explore a range of options available.
Q. Do I get a
progress report on my sponsorship?
A. Each year, you
will receive:
o
A general report of the children’s
progress
o
A general report of the developmental
activities
o
Photo’s of the children in their
element
Q. Can I give
more than the required $60 per month?
A. Yes! You can
give as much as you can afford. How much you sponsor above $60 is an
individual choice.
Q. What if I
cannot make my sponsorship payments?
A. Should you be
unable to temporarily or permanently make the regular sponsorship
payments, please contact us as soon as possible to explore a range of
options available.
Q. How can I
correspond with the children?
A. We encourage
you to write to the children! They love hearing from their different
sponsors and they treasure the letters and photos sent. The letters you
send usually take up to two weeks; however, response times can be quite
long, sometimes up to 3 months.
Q. Can I send gifts to the community
children?
A. Please do not
send gifts or parcels to the children of the Balgram. Although it is a
great feeling to send gifts of things they could never afford, you can
imagine the sadness the children experience if there is not “enough” of
the gift for all 220 children. Also these parcels can incur customs and
delivery costs, which must be paid by Agnel Ashram. These needless
administration costs can be more than the value of the gift. You are
able to give a on time or additional gift by clicking on "Donate
today" and Read about Giving a gift
Q. Can I visit
Agnel Ashram’s Balgram?
A. Many sponsors
have added this to a planned overseas trip. A visit to the community is
a rewarding way to see the benefits of your contributions. A visit would
be a cherished memory for you as well as the children. In order to
coordinate your visit, please contact us at least 2 weeks prior to your
trip. This will allow us to make arrangements for your visit.
Q. Can I adopt
or bring a child to my home country?
A. No. We do not
organize adoption or bringing the children to your country for visits.
We believe your help to improve their prospects for survival, quality of
life and self-reliance in their own country, community and culture has a
deeper value than moving them to a foreign country.
Q.
When can I expect to receive my tax receipt for the donations I made?
A. Donors should
receive tax receipts in late February or early March. We would like to
thank all of our donors for their generous contributions in helping our
children and community.
Q. Am I
sponsoring a specific child?
A. No. Your
donation each month goes to better the whole community, rather than one
child. That means that a percentage of your donation goes to every
single child in the Balgram. This prevents in the children competing
with each other over sponsorships as well as prevents any animosity
between donors.
6.) “Scrapbook”
-snaps: still to be developed
7.) “Programs & Projects”
International Sponsors and
Projects:
All of our sponsors come
from places outside India. We would like to take this opportunity to
thank all of our international sponsors for continuously giving us the
generous support we need for these underprivileged children.
Recently Agnel signed a
MoU with Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada. The Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) has generously provided the funding from
2005-2010 for the Health Education to Lessen Poverty Program (HELP)
Algonquin College and
Agnel will be working closely as partners to implement this program in
rural health education.
In addition Algonquin
College will be sending an Intern through CIDA during the same time
frame to assist with various programs in the Agnel community as well as
work in the Balgram as a Youth at Risk Educator. If you would like more
information on CIDA or internships please visit
www.cida.gc.ca
Programming:
At this moment in time
the only programs we run are the educational daily activities for the
children which includes school, tuitions, abacus and for the mothers, we
have a social or “happy hour” once a week. This is due to lack of
funding. Currently we don’t have the resources to be able to continue
the programs once loved by the children which included dance, music
(instrumental), art and sporting activities. We would also love to be
able give the mothers more training workshops as well as their
recreational desires such as yoga, cooking, dancing and kickboxing. If
you would like to help us regain our cherished programs back, please
visit “Donate Today”.
Volunteering:
If you would like to
volunteer with any of our existing or non-existing programs please
“Contact Us”.
|
