Informal schooling for the hard-to-reach

Informal education is offered to the “forgotten” groups such as the children of leprosy sufferers, gypsies, snake catchers, and saltpan workers. In the salt pan villages, education attendance is now 96%, an increase of 82% in the past 10 years. We now have 187 children attending school for the first time in the Pettai gypsy community.

Having a disabled child is considered a curse in India but we welcome them to the House of Love

Very often the physical, mental and social development of a child with a disability goes ignored. Parents rarely have the means or the time to help their offspring, especially if they are trying to find enough food for the family every day. We know the challenges families face and have managed to help 400 families of differently-abled children so far. Education comes high on the list. Some children attend the regular village schools. Those in greater need attend Anbu Illam – Tamil for House of Love – school.