Diwali is India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year. It is a time of feasting, families, and festive decorations much like Christmas in the West. Diwali is aptly called the Festival of Lights. All across India, people celebrate by hanging millions of lights on their windows and...
Rekha is from Karaikalmedu, Puducherry and is attending the same school as her younger brother. Her mother is a housewife and her father is unemployed. Her community is officially designated OBC (Other Backwards Community) by the Indian government due to poverty and lack of educational...
Pethandi is an enthusiastic student who really gets excited about her studies. She loves to watch National Geographic Channel and Discovery Channel so she can learn more about science and English. After seeing those around her struggle to pay for hospital bills and medicines, she hopes to become a...
Varshini’s parents are illiterate and cannot not help him with his studies. His lessons on Yoga and Phonemic Intelligence have been very helpful to his development, in fact he is now helping his friends with their studies as well. He is also grateful for the mini-meals he gets at school so he can...
Malathi is an 8th grade student at the Kizhavanam HoPE Learning Center. She attends classes with her two siblings. Her parents work as day laborers and don’t make enough to provide for the family, so the resources of the HoPE Learning Center have been really important to her health and...
Sanjana has two siblings and her entire family struggles to make ends meet. Regardless, she never complains and chose instead to tell us about all of the good things in her village and her life. She said, “Nowadays, I concentrate on studies and also excel in sports after coming to HoPE Center...
Kowsalya is in 7th grade in Agalanganallur. Her mother is has severe epilepsy and can no longer bring in even the meager wages she used to earn as a laborer. Kowsalya’s father divorced her mother for this reason. Kowsalya does most of the household chores before going to school. She washes clothes...
Dinesh has been a 9th Grade student of our HoPE Learning Center for the past four years. During this tenure he learned Phonemic Intelligence and yoga. He used to forget what he learned, but now he is able to retain his school lessons and score good marks in all subjects. More importantly, before...
Even though we are now in the thick of July, we have stories and photos from October that we just have to share. In India as well as other nations, October 6th is celebrated as World Food Security Day. Within HoPE Learning Centers, teachers and children spoke about the importance of food and our...
Nivetha is a big-hearted, outgoing girl who has attended HoPE Learning Center classes regularly for over a year. Initially, she was grateful for daily mini meals, but not very interested in traditional academic studies. Yet the longer she attended, the more she began to pay attention, until she...
Q: What is the date of the holiday to celebrate the fight against hunger? A: It depends… On May 28, World Hunger Awareness Day is celebrated in the UK and a number of western nations. It emphasizes how better nutrition builds better citizens. In 2008, Feeding American established September...
Fireworks were invented in ancient China in the 7th century to scare away evil spirits with natural applications of gunpowder. Rather than being scary, as intended, they were dazzlingly beautiful and an instant hit with people from all walks of life. They are still a hit throughout many nations,...