Greetings from what they say will be the hottest Summer in the last decade in India. Temperatures are over 42 degrees, which, for these days, is much more than usual. Hence, we are getting ready to close the school year and, as always, it is time to take stock.

      Some days ago, our teachers finished reviewing the final exams, and the results are really satisfying. Our efforts in order to get the students to devote more time to study at home have been fruitful, as their qualifications prove; the percentage of students that have passed is much higher than that of previous years, and we must underline the improvement many of them have made by passing successfully subjects from the previous term, allowing them to enter a new school year. Besides, we would like to congratulate our students’ parents, since their devotion has been essential for these positive outcomes, with their regular assistance to all the meetings and their listening to our advice. But these improvements can be seen not only in their school qualifications: besides, our eagerness for educating our students as responsible human beings who are aware of their actions is also evident in their behaviour.     

      Some days ago, rehearsing the end of year festival, all the teachers’ staff were very moved seeing the students dancing with such coordination, learning texts from a play and going out of their way to help each other from their pure and unselfish hearts. Watching this, memories from the school beginnings came to our mind, when those kids were so undisciplined that even getting them to fall in to get into the schoolroom was some torture, or when, used to spend most of their time in the streets, violence was their only way to relate to each other. Those days are very far to all of us, but today they still are our motor to keep on believing in our work.       

       As always in this time of the year, we have to tackle the admissions problem, and I am calling it a problem because our facilities cannot house more students, and everyday new parents come to ask us to accept their children. We remain loyal to our principles of choosing the poorer among the poorer, and even then, there are many children who are left out. Is the sad side of this work. We keep on telling the parents to take their children to the school, even if it is in one of those schools with several time shifts so they can attend classes at least for some hors, so we are encouraging them to try it again in Tara School next year.

      As many of you already know, thanks to the contribution of one of our anonymous benefactors, our financial state allows to broaden our facilities and, hence, besides housing more children from the area, we can offer them the possibility of studying up to 8th grade, thus completing their basic training, but, in order to do so, we need our council’s building permit. More than a year ago we started the process to reach our goal, but, although we’ve been assured that our request is being developed, we are uncertain about how long this may take. While we are waiting, our imagination knows no boundaries, and we are adjusting here and there in order to be able to house as many children as possible. In these latest changes, the teachers have “sacrificed” their meeting room and moved to the small “corridor” at the back side of one of the buildings: thus, we have “won” one more room, which means, at least, housing some 40 new students.

      We are happy with the development of the Tara Micro-credits pilot programme. As you know, seven mothers of Tara students were chosen to receive a loan of 6.000 rupee (100€) max., so they could start a small business. It’s been more than a month since they received the micro-credit and all of them have paid back on a weekly basis the corresponding fee, and when we visited their business we could see they are working hard to make it work and to fulfil their commitment to reimburse the money. The businesses they have started are: the purchase of a cow to sell the milk and make tea, a sari tailoring shop, two general sales stores and the purchase of two ricksaws (vehicles pulled by bycicles). As an anecdote that may illustrate the good functioning of this first group, let me tell you that Chitara’s husband, one of the women who received the loan to open a general store, was hospitalised and, after a long process, nothing could be done, and he died. For some days, Chitara could not attend her store so she made no money at all; it was then that one of the principles of the micro-credits project was evident: the solidarity between the members of the group, which is substituting the well-known banker’s reference and is the main obstacle for the poor when they try to get a loan from the bank. The rest of women paid Chitara’s weekly fee, avoiding thus that she were in debt with Tara Micro-credits. Chitara had to work a little more the following days so she could give back the money to her partners. This first group will end their payments in eleven months, and it will be then that we will evaluate if this programme must continue with other women. From Amigos de Tara we would like to thank Marieke Kisteman the time she voluntarily devoted to the micro-credits project during these last three months and we wish her a future full of success. Thanks, Marieke!

      We would also like to thank you all for your messages of support and encouragement after receiving the 2006-2007 Report. We remind you that the quality and printing of the report, as well as of the Association’s leaflets and cards, are a donation by CM printer’s, whom we truly acknowledge their splendid collaboration and their willingness towards us. Besides, we want to share with you the fact that, for the third year in a row, British Airways has agreed to collaborate with us, and they are giving us tickets to Kolkata: thus, your financial contributions are totally devoted to our projects. For all this, and much more, thank you very much, British Airways!

      Finally, we would like to remind you that you can get all the news concerning our projects through our website, www.amigosdetara.org. From Kolkata you will receive more news after our Summer Holidays, by the end of June. Until then, please, receive our best wishes.

Natalia Pallás

Chairwoman, Association Amigos de Tara