With supplies and snacks for the boys in hand we headed to the main Odanadi site to wait for Stanly Brother. Around 11am, along with a new UK volunteer Kathy we headed to Mandiwali (?) where the older boys stay. The boy’s site is located in a lush and serene plot of land about 15 minutes drive from the girl’s site. We met Raju and Ramesh two brothers who stay there, along with Kumari the house mother.
The boys living situation is in stark contrast to the girls. They live in huts and have no electricity, yet they are enterprising growing their own vegetables and even selling them to the house mother for a discount!
For many years some neighbors under the influence of land grabbers had filed a legal case against Odanadi, basically stating that they did not want a house/building built there. Very recently, the court ruled in favor of Odanadi and plans have been drawn up for the boy’s future home.
Stanly showed us the markings for the foundation and the lay of the land. I eagerly await the completion of this building – but it will cost about 70 lakhs (approx $150,000) and an additional amount for a compound wall to run the perimeter of the plot for safety and other reasons.
You will be happy to know that we gave a check to Stanly (and Parashur) on behalf of all of you lovely supporters and donors. The share for Odanadi India ended up being about Rs. 94, 500 – which is amazing! It will go towards building the foundation for the boy’s home :) But, as you can tell, Odanadi still will require a lot of funds to make this dream a reality.
We also had fun distributing the gifts we had packed the day before!
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