Bethania Kids After School Centers

In addition to providing day care centers for pre-school aged children of day laborers, Bethania Kids also offers special after-school tutoring centers for older children who are in need of a safe, supervised place to do their homework.

CSI After School Care Center is located on the grounds of Bethel-Shalom children’s homes near the hillstation of Kodaikanal. Local students ages 5 to 14 come to the center daily from 4 to 7pm. Seated in a well-ventilated, spacious building, program staff help the children review lessons from earlier in the school day.

Gethsy Jeyapalan helps supervise the project: “Many of the children are not able to do their schoolwork at home because of cramped conditions, noisy neighborhoods, and lack of electricity. The goal of the program is to enable the children to get maximum benefit from their school education. We see them as future engineers, doctors, and ministers for the Lord.”

Also in the Kodaikanal area, Mannavanur After School Center serves 42 students for about two hours every evening. Says program administrator M. Paramadass: “We are providing free tuition, nutritious snacks, medical care, and family counseling. Once a week we conduct moral instruction and spiritual classes. The center has enabled the children to study well and their parents are very appreciative of our services.”