It’s game time! If there’s one thing that children love, it’s games. New kabaddi and volleyball courts were recently installed at the Elizabeth Barrie School and were put to immediate use!
An outdoor pavilion was recently completed at the Elizabeth Barrie School. This area will offer a shaded space for children to eat their lunch, as well as playing games!
The new Volleyball and Kabaddi courts and a place for jumping rope are a big hit!
At long last, in early November 2022, a Medical Team was once again able to visit the Christiana Children’s Home and Elizabeth Barrie School to perform physicals on all of the children. The previous medical trips were in 2018 and 2019, and the planned subsequent trips had unfortunately been prevented due to COVID concerns in 2020 and 2021.
A team of 11, including one physician, a nurse practitioner, and two nurses were kept busy for the 10-day trip. Along with doing physicals for nearly 300 children, a 1-day medical camp was set up in a nearby colony that is often overlooked, and 117 people were given much needed medical attention.
Also included on the team were 5 members of the Friends of Children’s Village Board and 2 videographers. It was heartening to see, first-hand, how well the children are faring, and to see the School thriving.
After the addition of six classrooms, two bathrooms, relocation of the school offices, and equipping of additional science labs, the Elizabeth Barrie School is now prepared to offer Grade 11 for the children from the Christiana Children’s Home, as well as for tuition-paying students from the community! Pending the receipt of the appropriate governmental permits, new classes for Grade 11 will be offered for the next school year (June 2022).
Classes currently offered are Pre-K through 10th Grade. The addition of the 11th Grade will help prepare students for their college education. The government of India is encouraging a shift to a multidisciplinary system that facilitates greater critical thinking and flexibility in the students’ thought processes, and plans are in place to implement this approach at the EB School.
A great benefit for each student attending EB School is that all classes are taught in English, which provides the children a broader range of options as they pursue higher-level education and enter the job market. Another benefit for students from the Christiana Children’s Home is that they will now not have to travel to a different school after completing the 10th grade, they can stay in the home and attend EB School.
The goal for the EB School is to attract more and more tuition-paying students, which will make the school more self-sustaining. A school bus was recently purchased in order to give the school a broader radius from which to draw students. This bus, along with the addition of the 11th Grade, will attract many new students and will help to make EB School locally sustainable.
Our year-end Facebook Fundraiser brought in more than $7,000 to pay for new school uniforms for each child. Despite COVID the children, thankfully, keep growing! Thank you to all who gave so generously.
For several years the Elizabeth Barrie School has been wishing for a school bus that would make some of the students’ trips to school less arduous as well as expanding the range to reach additional tuition-paying students. This Christmas, thanks to some generous FCV supporters, that wish came true! Funds were raised to purchase a like-new bus for the school. We look forward to seeing it packed with children! Merry Christmas EB School!
Several months ago, the front patio and steps of the Elizabeth Barrie School were demolished by the state to make way for a road expansion project. Thanks to some generous supporters, construction has begun on a compound wall to protect the students and the school from traffic. The steps were moved to the side of the school and have been completed. Thank you to all who donated toward these rebuilding efforts!
Although students returned to the Elizabeth Barrie School last November, several students soon contracted Covid-19 and the school had to close again. We are happy to report that conditions have improved locally, and the school has again re-opened! Children are also coming back to the homes after nearly a year away. Thank you for all your prayers and support, please continue to pray for the health of all the children and staff.
Although India has opened up many sectors of the country, the school and the children’s homes have not been allowed to open due to the dangers of having so many children together in close quarters. The virus continues to spread throughout India and there are now positive cases in Bapatla and the surrounding towns.
Babu continues to support an incredible number of people locally during these difficult times. The house parents and teachers are in contact with all the children and the homes are now providing supplemental food to 43 of the children and their families. During the months of May and June, food assistance was provided for nearly 200 families of the Yanadi tribe in villages surrounding Bapatla. In Bapatla, support was also provided for 40 truck-loading workers’ families and 32 printing and binding laborers’ families as well as 10 days of free lunch distribution in partnership with the Rotary Club of Bapatla.
Thank you all for your continuing prayers and support! Please continue to pray for the health and well-being of India, for Babu and Hepsy, and for the children.
Phase 1 was adding six new classrooms to EBS. Phase 2 will be to add 11th and 12th grade “junior college” offerings to our CCH children, as well as those in the community.
Double your gift! Phase 1 of the school expansion is complete and now we’re kicking off Phase 2! A generous donor has offered to match up to $5,000 in donations toward the completion of the project. Please consider giving toward this goal so we can double your gift!
About Phase 2: The second phase of this sustainability project is to add an 11th and 12th grade “junior college” to the existing Pre-K through 10th grade Elizabeth Barrie School. This will allow the 10th Class graduates of the Christiana Homes to continue their education free of charge. A large number of additional tuition-paying attendees will help to make the junior college completely self-sustaining.
The total cost of Phase 2 is $75,000, of which $35,000 has already been raised! We are working to raise the remaining $40,000 by the end of March.
Thank you for all your support!
Friends of Children’s Village is a 501(c)(3) organization. Gifts are deductible to the full extent allowable under IRS regulations. Copyright © 2025 Friends of Children’s Village.
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