Q: Do people celebrate Christmas in India? A: Some do, including the 4040 children within our 101 HoPE Learning Centers! Every year, children celebrate the occasion with talents shows, feasts, trees and even gifts. They are taught about Jesus and Santa Claus, but they mainly learn the importance...
Anu is a lively 7th-grade girl who is well loved by all of her classmates. Despite living in dire poverty, she always shares a bright smile. She enjoys Science more than all other school subjects and longs to follow in the footsteps of her role model, Madam Marie Curie, the scientist who...
My birthday is Oct. 18th and Diwali is Oct. 30th. I’m writing this letter to request a birthday gift that means everything to me – a $9 Diwali gift that provides a set of new clothes for one of my 4,040 children at our HoPE Centers in India. Diwali is like Christmas for my children,...
Sithayammal is a very quiet girl who frequently speaks about being inspired by Tripura Foundation’s founder, Dr. Baskaran Pillai. She likes to sing and dance. She is a free spirit who spends her time practicing dance moves and listening to music. She is also well known in her village for her...
We at Tripura Foundation receive many stories about brave, intelligent children facing and overcoming steep obstacles. This is one in which our heroine takes extra steps to create a bright future for herself, her family, her friends and her community. Like many HoPE Learning Center children, Divya...
In India, August 15th is a day of rebirth. At midnight on August 15, 1947, British rulers handed the country back to Indian leaders, ending a remarkable struggle that lasted 200 years. On this date, sovereign India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, unfolded the tricolor flag...
In India, even the poorest of poor wear colorful jewelry. Expensive gems are not needed to adorn bodies with flashes of sparkle. What’s needed instead is an eye for beauty, steady hands, and a caring heart. Mrs. Meena works at a private school, but she also designs jewelry on the side. She...
Q: What could be sweeter than a cake baking class? A: A cake baking class teaching children a skill to support themselves and their families held at a HoPE Learning Center in Coimbatore, India. Mrs. Elizabeth came from the Middle East and brought along recipes for many types of cakes. Her...
At HoPE Learning Centers, children are taught many things – traditional academics, innovative life lessons, physical fitness, cultural awareness and skills that will possibly improve their abilities to support themselves in life. During May, at RG Pudur Center, sixty children (40 HoPE Center...
About 20 years ago, I began my work in India. I stayed in a room that had large ceiling-to-floor windows. Across the street at an apartment complex, there was a young girl who was 8 years old who sat on a pile of dirt all day and opened the gate for all the cars of the residents. She and her...
At Tripura Foundation, one of our greatest satisfactions is witnessing the positive transformation of children; even one small child. At first sight, Marcos Gabriel García Crespo seems quite serious and shy. This is because he didn’t grow up knowing how to smile. He lives in a small shack in...