A visit to Bapatla – South India
by Rev. Christopher Turner

Bapatla is a town of 68,000, about 6 hours by rail up the coast from Chennai, formerly Madras, a distance of 250 miles. It is in the State of Andhra Pradesh, formed in 1956 for the 76 million people in the northern part of the old State of Madras who speak Telugu. The southern part is now called Tamil Nadu, where they speak Tamil, a totally different language. Bapatla lies close to the shore of the Bay of Bengal. As one of the roads leads out of the town, the verge on the right is densely covered in an assortment of shelters and hovels, many of them enjoying extra protection from small trees. These are family homes; this roadside sprawl of shanties is a familiar sight in Indian towns and villages.

On Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010, the second day of our visit to the Children's Home on the edge of the town, three of us, all trustees of CHIT, were invited to visit the home of Sara Ratna Jyothi and her family. We were driven to a point on this verge where road engineers were laying a drain at the behest of the State authorities. Sara's home was on the line of this drain, and, as it was in effect (as are most of the homes there) a squat, it was demolished, without compensation. The family therefore were now doing their cooking under a tree and had rigged up a shelter a few yards away for Sara, her mother and grandmother to use as their 'bedroom'. It wasn't obvious that there was enough floor space for three mats. The shelter, as most South Indian dwellings, consisted of palm fronds spread on slender wooden posts. Sara spent 12 years in the Children's Home. Now aged 22, she has finished a three-year course and is a qualified nurse.

Two days later, we were driven to the District Capital, Guntur (a city about the size of Oxford), to meet seven young women at the School of Nursing, all of whom had spent their 10 or 12 most formative years as residents of the Home. Two days later, they came back to visit the Home along with more than 30 other young people of similar age, to meet us, to be congratulated on their achievements and to be encouraged. They were all in higher education of one sort or another, or had just finished their courses: medicine, pharmacy, commerce and IT were represented. They were intelligent, charmingly courteous, quietly self-confident – most impressive young people. They had varying amounts of English. Some were orphans, others lived in homes like Sara's. All came from families in great need. We were deeply impressed.

On the Friday, when we visited Guntur, we travelled the rest of the 60 miles which separated the two homes and spent the evening at the Nidamarru Home. As on our original arrival at Bapatla, we had a riotous and heart-warming welcome, complete with garlands and the local version of tea. This time, we were invited to see the family homes of two male students. The first was Bala Krishna's place of birth. The walls were of wattle and daub, needing renovation after rainstorms, and the roof of standard palm fronds. Bala Krishna shared this shelter with his mother and his sister, whose sewing-machine was on a little table in front of the home, but within their tiny compound.
The next-door neighbours had a bore-hole and water pump, which they shared. There was a bamboo screen alongside the cottage, protecting an outside amenity.
The other young man, Mahesh, lived about 100 yards away, in the middle of the village. This dwelling had been his grandmother's home for 40 years. It was built of breeze blocks, divided into three tiny rooms. Her children and grandchildren shared her home, 10 all told. As we had come to expect, we were welcomed smilingly as their honoured guests. The two young men whose family homes we were visiting, long-time residents of the Children's Homes, were both doing degree courses; wonderful role models for their generation and a tribute to the loving care received in the Homes.

These two Homes, at Bapatla and Nidamarru, are financed almost entirely with money raised by Children's Homes in India Trust (CHIT). Some of the support is in the form of child sponsorship, some in single gifts, often most generous , and others by bankers' orders. This money covers running costs and very modest staff salaries; it also extends to some necessary capital development which is steadily improving the facilities of the Homes. An annual grant is made to cover the basic salaries of the teachers in the adjoining Elizabeth Barrie High School, opened to provide education (free of charge) for these children up to the age of 16. This school is just outside the compound of the Home and was founded by the Conradin and Norbert Academy, an Indian family Trust. As well as educating the CHIT children, it provides 50 free places for local children.

Telugu is at present the medium of teaching, but Andhra Pradesh State has decided to introduce English-medium teaching, initially in parallel with Telugu. E.B. High has therefore opted to go English-medium. This will add significantly to the running costs, but the change is inevitable. A good start has been made, with splendid short bursts of voluntary support from a retired couple of TEFL-trained teachers from the UK. We hope others will follow their lead but come for longer periods. We are seeking funding so that we can provide some remuneration for them. As the fluency of the teachers in English grows, and the quality of the teaching of English rises, so will their salaries, but it seems likely that some families will then pay fees to send their children to the school.

The overwhelming impression the Homes give is of truly happy communities. The children's expectations are minimal and they appreciate warmly the love and care they receive; but their aspirations are seemingly boundless - and rightly so, for considerable talent was evident to us. By English standards, the accommodation is basic, but they have space, they have running hot water (solar-powered), they have decent sanitation, and they are adequately fed. They are kept in touch with their families and have breaks of a week at Christmas and a month in the very hot midsummer season of May–June. In Andhra Pradesh generally, Hindus make up the majority of the population, but there is a strong Christian minority, particularly in Bapatla, and a tiny presence of Muslims.

The staff at the Homes gain their inspiration from the Christian faith and make no secret of it, but some of the children are Hindus, and the school is secular, as is required by law. We found the children very open, spontaneously inquisitive, spiritually alert, full of fun, offering and longing for affection, fully aware of their privilege and responding with ready obedience to what is expected of them. There is a lot of laughter, natural respect for adults and great eagerness to achieve the best in life of which they are capable. To be their guests is a humbling and challenging experience.

The Trustees meet three times a year, but are kept in constant touch with affairs in India by email. In January each year, at least three of them visit the homes for a week. This number may increase. Regular visits are also made by Stuart and Claire Brown who help with English teaching in the school. Further visits are envisaged for people prepared to fund-raise for us or help in the School. Anyone interested should contact George on 01225 863124 or email him at agkentsilver@btinternet.com with their c.v.

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On 14 November 2005 we were registered by the Charity Commission,
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