Supporting Orphanages by John Blanchard CEO

25 Aug, 2017

For many years now, CoolDrive has donated money to two children’s orphanages at Christmas, on behalf of our customers and ourselves. Instead of sending Christmas cards to customers we feel the high cost of postage these days this is a better option. In April, my wife, Eunice and I decided to visit one of these orphanages, the Saviour Jesus Orphanage and School (SJO), based in Cuddalore, on the southern east coast of India. It is about three hours’ drive south of Chennai, one of the key areas in India for the manufacture of automotive parts.

The SJO was established some 37 years ago by Pastor Easterdoss, and was set up primarily to take in children from the streets, mainly girls, but today, the split is almost 50/50 boys and girls. Today, Pastor Easterdoss  Snr. is getting on, and the SJO is run by his three sons and their families, who all live on site. They take in and house all ages, from infants to late teens. Twice a year they look for and rescue young children from the street, usually as young as three to five years, similar to the movie, The Lion.

However, they were recently called out during the night by local authorities to take in an infant girl that had been found in a dump bin on the street. Cuddalore is in a poor area of India, with many families earning a living from fishing. The average wage is USD $2.50 a day. Life expectancy is also short, around 50 years, so many children are handed to the SJO when both parents have died and the extended family cannot afford to raise them.

Currently, they have 90 children under their care, 18 that have finished school and are living off site  doing training or apprenticeships, but still call the SJO home and come back for their holidays. The remaining 72 live on site in two three storey buildings. There are only four staff, a cook, a security guard and two wardens, one for the girls and one for the boys. They all live on site and look after the kids 24/7, with Pastor Easterdoss’s two older sons and their wives doing much of the work.

The SJO also run a school in the building next door, from kinder to year 12, for the children of the orphanage, as well for many poor local children, mostly fishing families. Many of these children would otherwise be sent to work on the fishing boats, as the families cannot afford schooling. The school provides all uniforms, books and supplies, and has nearly 300 students.

Clearly, all this costs money, and the SJO has been funded for many years by donations, a lot from Australian churches, as Pastor Easterdoss made some trips to Australia seeking support some 15 years ago, which is how we first came in contact. He has not been able to travel due to ill health, having kidney dialysis twice a week; so much of the funding has dried up. The SJO also ran a restaurant in a nearby university town, (students don’t cook!) with the profits being channelled to support the SJO. Many of the staff and teachers were/are volunteers, or work for low wages, below what they could earn at other schools.

Our visit was in response to increasingly desperate pleas for funding. I guess you hear plenty of stories, and not having seen anyone from the SJO for ten years, we decided to go and investigate. Some eighteen months ago, large parts of India were hit by once in 50 year floods, and the SJO was right in the middle of it. Overnight, flood waters came within two feet of reaching the roof of the ground floor!

The damages were enormous. Tragically, the restaurant was destroyed; all the kitchen equipment, tables and chairs, counters and fridges were destroyed or washed away, forcing its closure and subsequent loss of income stream.

At the orphanage, a major loss was the bedding, which has resulted in the majority of the kids sleeping on bare bed slats for the last 18 months. Also lost was most of the furniture from the boys dining area as well as six newly donated computers. The school bus, back-up generator and bore pump were also damaged and have not been able to be repaired. Luckily, the schools second bus was off-site. A number of other pieces of sporting equipment, fridges and kitchen equipment were also lost.

Also lost was most of the furniture from the boys dining area as well as six newly donated computers. The school bus, back-up generator and bore pump were also damaged and have not been able to be repaired. Luckily, the schools second bus was off-site. A number of other pieces of sporting equipment, fridges and kitchen equipment were also lost.

We spent two days there, and were welcomed like kings! The children put on a concert, I think a repeat Christmas concert, and we were given a traditional welcome ceremony! Their need was evident from our arrival and the strain on the Pastor Easterdoss family obvious.

One of the most immediate needs after seeing the sleeping dormitories was the bedding; Eunice and I were appalled at the bare beds. So, it was off to the nearest large town with Pastor Easterdoss’s sons to buy 70 sets of mattresses and pillows.

I am glad our customers don’t haggle on price like these guys! We also agreed to fund the provision of much needed school books for the new school year, which starts in June.

CoolDrive is pleased to be able to help these people get back on their feet after all their hardships and assist them in some small ways to improve their lives.