India continues to have the second highest rate of COVID infections in the world, and while the country has embarked on what they say will be a wide-scale vaccination program, it's unclear when and how the vaccinations will happen for high poverty families and those in rural areas like many of the TIG families live in. Its also unclear when the economy and tourism will improve so our families can go back to work. As a result, we continue to send semi-monthly allocations to the families to purchase food. Since April the total food allocations to date amount to $22,541, more than half of our annual budget. We anticipate needing to send food allocation support through the remainder of 2021.

Despite the difficult learning conditions caused by the pandemic, we are thrilled to report that all our high school students successfully passed their December mid-year state exams with scores ranging from 92% to 75%. We’re particularly pleased that our investment in a smart phone and data plan for each family allowed the high school students to be so successful while attending school remotely. They were able to learn new technology skills and now directly communicate with TIG as tech savvy teenagers!

TIG’s Saturday student mentoring class in Varanasi continues under the direction of our tutor, Roli. She reports that the students have taken tests to assess their strengths and weaknesses in spatial, mechanical, verbal, numerical, abstract and creative skills. They’re now learning about careers that match their skills and are taking school subjects that are critical for the types of jobs they want to pursue. We’re hoping to expand our students’ knowledge of careers and want to provide training and education that will lead to jobs that can break the cycle of poverty in their families. 



Some of you were able to attend TIG’s October 17th fundraiser which included a presentation about TIG’s work and videos from the family members thanking you for your financial assistance and explaining what it means to them. Many attendees commented that it was the first time they’d seen and heard directly from our families. We’ve embedded a narrated version of that presentation below. We hope to include new video segments from our students and families in future newsletters so you can hear directly from them.