Happy New Year from SOFKIN! The month of December saw several important events at SOFKIN. On 14 December, the foundation stone for the new SOFKIN facility was laid. Due to generous gifts from Mr. Bhattacharji, principal donor and Mr. Alan Lobo, SOFKIN was able to complete the purchase of land for the facility and move ahead with building plans. Construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2015 and will be completed in 2016.

9-Feb-15

As we reported earlier, the new facility is about 1200 square yards and will be able to accommodate up to 100 children -many more than the 38 children SOFKIN currently cares for. In addition to separate dorms for boys and girls, the facility will have space for recreation, a library/computer room, a multi-purpose hall and guest quarters for visitors. Building plans will be put up on the SOFKIN website shortly, so that you will be able to follow along as construction gets underway.

SOFKIN children also participated in a Cultural Event in December. This year’s event featured a skit dramatizing how 3 different children are welcomed into SOFKIN, how their lives along with many others are transformed. Another highlight was when Kranthi, the first child inducted into SOFKIN shared his life before and after SOFKIN which was an emotional moment. The children also performed classical and bollywood dances. Abhiram Yerramilli and Damini, winners of the most prestigious TV show ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’, rocked the audience through their scintillating singing. Everyone was particularly excited that 10 children from Maher, SOFKIN’s partner organization in Pune, Maharashtra, made the overnight train journey to participate in the event.

A third December activity at SOFKIN was the celebration of Christmas. The children had fun decorating a Christmas tree and all received gifts – the younger children got games and toys, the older children received school supplies and books on leadership and communication skills, and the housemothers were given beautiful saris.

SOFKIN today is a beautiful home providing utmost love and care for many disadvantaged children. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support from many generous donors from US and India.