Sinai Home for Orphans has been running for 20 years and we are very aware that this is only by the grace of God. The home was started with only five children and we now support 62 children from the age of 3-18 without any official funding from the government or any other organization. Many children have grown up with us and then settled into their own lives after leaving the orphanage. We also employ 9 staff members in the orphanage alone; 1 Warden and a Sub-Warden, 3 Cooks, 2 Watchmen and 2 teachers which we employ to give the children extra lessons in maths and English.
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The children arrive at the orphanage at different stages in their lives, some as young as three days old. On these very rare and special occasions in the past we have chosen to officially adopt the children totally as opposed to them being cared for in the orphanage only. One young girl Thabitha was adopted into our own family 7 years ago and we consider her our very own daughter. Another young baby, David, was left with us three years ago and was adopted by our warden, Elizabeth. We are also willing to continue this official adoption with the very young children brought to us in the future but, of course, we see all of the children as our own, entrusted to us by the Lord. The children come to us from many different backgrounds also, the vast majority are Hindu’s, a few are Muslim and even fewer are Christian. No matter what the child’s background is, all the children are treated equally and are encouraged to follow the same routine.
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6am: The children wake at 6am because this is the coolest part of the day in our climate and the best time to prepare ourselves for the day ahead. The first thing they do is pray and thank the Lord for the day ahead and what blessings are to come. We believe this is very important because it teaches the children discipline and how to grow in God’s wisdom as well as understanding his Devine protection and provision in their lives. 7am: After their morning routine of shower etc, the children have one hour of study which gives them a time to complete any homework for the day and prepare their minds for school. 8am: Breakfast 9am: School starts at 9am; the children all attend good schools, mostly within walking distance of the orphanage. |
Some of the older children, however, take a bus to get to their school. 1pm: Some children return to the orphanage for lunchtime and others remain in school, it depends on the time it takes to travel back and their age. 4pm: The children return from school at 4pm and pray before they enter the orphanage, they then have time to relax and play until 6pm. 6pm: We employ special teachers for the children to be able to get ahead in their study of maths and English during this time. 7pm: The children pray again before dinner at 7.30pm, they thank God for his provision for them. The children then relax until bedtime. 9pm: Bedtime |
Every weekend is different for the children and is generally a time of relaxing and, of course, attending church. We take the children either on Saturday or Sunday afternoon to the nearby beach which gives them an opportunity to play football, cricket or other ball games. This time is important as it is the only large place they have to play. On School holidays we love to take the children on special trips to the zoo, Picnic Park, science shows or theme parks but these trips are often limited by our financial situation. |
Christmas time is also a special time at Sinai Home for Orphans, as well as all over India. Similar to English tradition, Christmas is the only time people buy gifts, especially clothes. We do not wish to make our children feel that, because of their situation in life, they must be treated differently to the rest of society. We therefore aim to buy every child a new set of clothes every year. We also encourage the children to take part in dace festivals and we put on a show for their friends and other children in the area. These activities provide a wonderful way for the children to celebrate Christmas and they always look forward to getting their new clothes and other small gifts. However, Christmas is always a difficult time financially for the orphanage and all we can do is our best to provide as much as possible for these special children.
On the whole, it costs around 60,000 to 80,000 Rupees to keep the orphanage running well in one year. This translates to roughly 8,000 to 10,000 pounds or 12,000 to 14,000 dollars.
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