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What does your sponsorship pay for?

 

 

What does your sponsorship pay for?

The opportunity to live in a Rising Star home:

Many children of leprosy-afflicted parents living within a colony do not
actually have Leprosy themselves. As a family unit, however, they are rejected from society due to a lingering stigma around the disease. Thus, they are often unable to acquire adequate employment as adults and the vicious cycle of begging is perpetuated. Within a Leprosy colony conditions are often dire; children face challenges of limited fresh water and healthy food, inadequate medical care, and terrible hygiene. Sometimes they are taken out and used as beggars on the streets. As a result, the children grow up living lives of filthiness, sickness, and deprivation, with little reason to hope for anything better in their futures.

Rising Star offers a life-altering opportunity to these children. At their parent's request, a child is placed within a Rising Star home where they receive the life necessities that they would otherwise go without. This placement greatly increases the chances of not contracting leprosy and allows us to help create a promising future for each child.

A glimpse into a Rising Star home reveals a clean and cheerful sanctuary, staffed by loving caregivers and volunteers committed to the well-being and growth of the children. The children are provided daily educational activities, developmental activities, and the opportunity to simply "play"-a rare luxury for a child of the Leprosy colonies. They are also afforded an opportunity to learn personal and group responsibility. Most importantly, they are hugged and encouraged, giving them a new sense of self-worth. 

 

A Family:

In a Rising Star home, a child is placed into a "family" that includes 12 children and at least one loving "House Mother." They receive love and attention in this environment and experience normal family relationships. The house mothers gently encourage and motivate each child to overcome various disabilities and emotional scars from their childhood.
Rising Star also places a high premium on strengthening the natural family relationships these children already have. To that end, parents are required to visit their child at least once a month, and the children are sent home twice yearly for extended vacation time. As the children grown in the Rising Star home, they are taught to be proud of the family they came from and to honor their parents' sacrifice in allowing them this opportunity to rise above the stigma of the Leprosy colonies. These children are encouraged to love and respect their natural families.

Food:

It goes without saying that most of these children arrive at Rising Star severely malnourished. We provide healthy meals three times daily, as well as nutritious snacks, as outlined by a professional dietician. The quality and abundance of the food makes a huge difference in the well-being of each child, both physically and emotionally.

Medical & Dental Care:

Rising Star Outreach provides for all the children's medical and dental care, including vaccinations and bi yearly check ups. In addition, we teach the children hygiene skills that greatly improve their overall health. Most of the children have never received basic vaccinations and typically arrive already in developing stages of several different debilitating diseases. For example, in one of our toddler homes (housing 30 children), several had the beginning stages of leprosy and several more had TB. Almost all had parasites, scabies, lice, and various skin diseases. Catching these diseases in their initial stages and providing treatment early saves much suffering, deformities, and in some cases, their lives.

It is also rare for an incoming child to have ever seen a dentist. Their teeth are usually already in deteriorating conditions due to their inadequate diets and the fact that they have never brushed their teeth. Providing dental care through both nutrition and professional dental visits helps reverse this condition.

Education:

Education elevates a Leprosy Colony child from mere survival to being able to create opportunities for both himself and others. The Rising Star school recognizes that many of these children crave learning but have been denied the opportunity. While public schooling in India is a possibility, most colony children are not in a position to take full advantage of it. Some are even taken out daily to beg. When they do attend school, they often drop out early due to the disrespect and disdain received from both teachers and students.

The Rising Star school provides a warm, inviting environment where curiosity is encouraged. Within the school, a child is taught among other things, English. English is the chosen language of businesses within India and is a great stepping-stone to attaining a good job when the child is grown. Knowing English can mean a 400-500% difference in salary for the average Indian. Computer literacy and skills are also taught. A child leaves Rising Star well equipped to survive and excel in India's fast-growing economy.

Social Development:

As a part of a small "family", as well as the larger Rising Star home community, the children are guided in developing relationships. Instead of sitting on a corner as a beggar, or being shunned by a stigma they can't understand, they learn to develop friendships and self-respect. They learn to work together for the good of society and to contribute their special talents to that end. They work individually at times, but more often in groups. Thus, they are able to experience achievement on a group level and consistently learn about their own intrinsic worth and potential.

Spiritual Development:

While Rising Star Outreach is not affiliated with any specific religion, each child is taught that they were created by a loving God who loves them and cares about them. They are taught to pray and develop their characters in accordance with principles of kindness, honesty, and service. The children are taught also to respect all religions.