John Foster Charitable Trust 2
The following articles are extracts from the various newsletter which we have recieved:*December 1995*
John Foster has turned 70 years of age, but he never relaxes his toil of a lifetime to save and uplift the lives of poor children.
NO MAN EVER DID MORE FOR THE CHILDREN THAN JOHN FOSTER. Indeed I, Paneer Selvam, know fully these things, simply because twenty years ago I was one of them, and owed my very life to him. I was born in Burma the eldest son in an indigent Tamil family, and from that country countless numbers like us were sent back to India as down and out homeless refugees. For a time after our arrival near Madurai we struggles for life the best way we could, lived under a tree, a tarpaulin over our heads, and just two clay cooking pots as sole possessions. Slowly the years passed. THEN ONE DAY CAME WHICH I SHALL REMEMBER ALL MY DAYS EVEN IF I LIVE TO BE A HUNDRED! A man walking on the road came over and spoke to us: yes, it was John Foster.
THAT MOMEMT WAS THE VERY TURNING POINT IN MY LIFE.
I was but a ragged, bare of foot schoolboy at that time, but he showed me every kindness. And so it was I went to live in the Thandigudi Hills where the Foster Family had settled with their two small sons Michael and Philip, and all exceedingly happy.Of course children like me of John's early care have long since grown up, many of them married with happy children of their own. I too have a good wife and two young sons, they are John Krishnan and John Magesh, all most dear to me.
*Harvest 1996*-Top of the Class-
One of the Goodwill children has gained the second highest marks in the district. Mercy, a boy from the Dindigul Home, is the pride of all the staff and children, and deserves the congratulations he has received.
Goodwill Village News 1996
-Beating the water shortage-
Three Goodwill homes on the plains of Tamil Nadu were worst affected by the drought. At each a new borewell has been sunk much deeper than before, the exact locations decided by a water diviner.
These now provide a good supply for our large family in each home.
Drinking water quality has been the problem. Infrequent deliveries of water meant that larger storage tanks had to be installed.
However, a high ambient temperature provides ideal conditions for bacterial growth.
We had constructed and commissioned big gravity filters. Their use had brought a dramatic drop in the incidence of dysentery.
Perhaps we all aught to think of the children each time we turn on the tap, switch on the light, light the gas or flush the toilet. We take so much for granted whereas the children in our care come from destitute families where 'running water' means a stream, but then only in the rainy season.
One young supporter persuaded all members of her family to put a coin in the collecting tin every time they used the 'downstairs loo'.
*June 1997* The 31 children that went to the Goodwill Village had to survive on £3 a week per child.
(Today that would just be enough for only 2 of our school dinners!)
At the goodwill village one of the roofs blew off.
(Our school raised money towards a new roof.)
John Foster bought the house with most of his money.
Feeding everyone with a small payment for two staff only, clothing for children if necessary, school fees, electricity, bus fares, firewood, kitchen pots and pans?the lot! Yes, good management is the answer to all things! WE ARE EXCEEDINGLY PROUD OF OUR HOME.
*June 1998*
This new school year no vacancies at the Village were advertised. However, they still came....not one or two, but by the dozens they arrived! It was painfully hard to send them away.
The Goodwill Village Children's Home began to raise money to build a Study Room for the children as an extension to the Home.
*December 1999*The new home continues to make good headway between monsoon rains. The house walls are built and the strong concrete roof is on, but we had our work cut out for children to be in residence when the new 2000-2001 school year opens in June.
Deepavalf, the Indian Festival of lights has come and gone, a time when some of our boys managed to visit their native villages over wide and scatterd areas.
All have arrived back here, their haven of security and happiness.