Help Orphans In India (GSAM General Fund)

It has been 3 months since our last report; approximately 2000 hours since we filled you in on our Summer Games program. In that time a myriad of events, projects, programs and newsworthy happenings have passed us by. Knowing which ones to select to report on here is quite a challenge! Rather than writing a book about it all, we're picking 6 key moments that we feel are most significant.

• Peter's Arm: After a nasty fall in his hostel Peter managed to break his arm. It has been a long and difficult road to recovery for him, but in the next week or so he will have his cast removed.
• Paula's Brain Surgery: A visit to a neurologist in Bareilly gave some scary news to our big family, Paula had a large tumor that was pressing on her brain. Just over a week later she was admitted in Delhi where the tumor was removed. She is now discharged and recovering in Delhi before she will return home to us.
• Rajesh's Testing At AIIMS: Over the last 8 years Rajesh has been slowly loosing his ability to balance; at first it was minor, just a few stumbles, but now he struggles to walk a straight line. After a visit to a neurologist and some testing the doctors inform us that they suspect he has a degenerative brain disease called Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA). Through some amazing connections he is getting help from India's leading experts in SCA at the All India Institute of Medical Science in New Delhi.
• Rice Harvest: Our farm continues to thrive, in the last week we harvested our crop of Basmati rice and soon we will reap our regular rice crop too. Rice makes up a huge part of our diet, and our Basmati stores are reserved for special occasions like birthdays or weddings.
• Laundry Roof: It was a quiet Sunday morning when a large male monkey jumped on our laundry roof - like the straw that broke the camel's back - the weight of the monkey brought the entire roof down. We're so grateful that no one was in the building at the time, and even the monkey escaped unharmed!
• School Construction: With the monsoon weather now over we have been able to get back on track with the construction of our new kindergarten building. Brickwork began in October and by the end of November we hope to be beginning the long process of constructing the concrete first floor.