Chaitanya and his friends come every Sunday.
They teach the children songs and dances. They bring little gifts for the children and play games with them.
Chaitanya and
his friends, Shankar and Ramesh, come to Prem Nivas every Sunday to meet the
children and invite them to a very special Sunday school. They start with a
prayer and follow it by asking if any of the children remember the little quotation
they were given the previous week. These are verses from the Bible connected to
the story that had been told the previous week. Lots of clapping is encouraged in
this activity.
They teach
the children action songs to sing and dance to. The children like to repeat
action songs they have learnt in the past, as well as lean new ones, and this
helps to reinforce their memory, the songs and stories are in Telugu.
After the
singing the children are told a story from the Bible in an amusing way. The
children listen, ask and answer questions. Chaitanya and his friends often
bring humour into their story telling from both the New and the Old Testaments,
such as David and Goliath, and the miracles and life of Jesus. After asking a
few questions about the story the children are given a few lines related to the
Bible story to try and remember.The meeting concludes with a prayer, they then distribute sweets or biscuits.
The Sunday
School is not compulsory as our children come from a wide range of religious
backgrounds including Muslim, Hindu. Christian and some have religious beliefs.
However, when I am there I notice that there are only one or two children that
do not attend.
Apart from
the Sunday school Chaitanya and friends come to see the children on Saturdays and holidays
to play with the children. They are in much demand for cricket with the boys. He also
does some teaching of maths with the primary age children and anyone who wants
help with their maths. He also likes to sit and listen to the children – a most
invaluable experience for children who live in an institution and do not have a
‘grandmother figure’ to turn to.
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