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Some of them are cheeky, some are perfectly reasonable, some are very open, others shy; there are singers, dancers, thinkers, dreamers, future lawyers and doctors - apart from the children, nothing here reminds me of the uniformity which some people would expect when coming to an orphanage.

The several light school and dormitory buildings of Devi Saraswathi India Trust are surrounded by well-kept gardens and by shady trees and the courtyard is teaming with excited, screaming and laughing children of various age groups.

I was there recently for the inauguration of a new school building (August 11) and for this occasion, some children and their teachers had prepared a programme of dances, songs and even a play about the story of India's fight for independence.

The children who did not take part in the programme were forced to provide proof of their patience and manners during the numerous and sometimes a little bit too wordy speeches which were usually full of gratitude to Guenther Spitzing, the trust's founder, and Ruby James, its director, and their tireless efforts not only for the children but also rural development in general.

I became curious. What did "rural development in general" mean? 

I hoped to find out the answer from Guenther Spitzing, the German who actually lives in Hamburg but visits his "Children's Village" at least four weeks every year.

"I don't like to say 'orphanage' because most of our children aren't orphans in the truest sense of the word. Many of them live in our house because their parents simply were too poor to support them or because, they were thrown out of the parental house. These children are usually girls, of course," explains Spitzing.

"Do you like this child? Take it, you can use it as your servant. And it's really cheap!"

Spitzing was confronted with these merciless words during a journey to Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) more then 10 years ago.

The expert on Indonesia and author of numerous books on that country's culture, history and religion, had only decided to visit India because he was interested in its architecture, which he knew had left its mark in Indonesia. However, his journey took an unexpected turn.

The father's merciless attempt to sell his own child had not only shocked him but also moved him deeply. Guenther Spitzing also became very pensive: Had it really only been the father's avarice and mercilessness which induced him to offer his son to a stranger? Maybe his living conditions were so unbearable that he simply wanted his own child to live a better life than he had done?

Spitzing has never found an answer to this question, but his encounter with the man in Mamallapuram had left its mark on him - and had set into motion a development of which the outcome is the Devi Saraswathi India Trust in a small village in Chengalpattu district.

It is difficult to say what Devi Saraswathi actually is. It is definitely more than an ordinary orphanage, but "to explain all the tasks we have taken on today will take me at least two hours!" Spitzing warns me with a hearty smile. I get even more curious and his warning seems like a promise to me. However, when he passionately starts talking about the children's village, its school, women's associations, health workers and an Irula project, despite my painstaking attempts to take notes, I soon run the risk of losing track.

On the other hand, the more Spitzing tells me about Devi Saraswathi, the more interested and convincing I find the project's work.

The story of Devi Saraswathi Trust

In 1992 Spitzing told his friends in Hamburg, Germany, about his encounter in Mamallapuram and about his decision to contribute to the improvement of the situation of some children in south India.

His friends felt stunned but agreed that they would all be able to do something about it. Hence, in the very same year, they founded an organisation with the task to find sponsorships for homeless or abandoned children in India.

"This was the first step. But soon I felt that it wasn't enough; that I could and wanted to do much more than that." And when in 1997 Spitzing met Ruby James, who today is the director of the institution, he had found a partner thirsting as much for action as he did.

In the following years, they bought a huge plot of land and the first school and accommodation buildings were built which were mostly financed by the BZM (a department of the German government) and by several German trusts. Thereupon, the Devi Saraswathi India Trust was officially founded.

The Harmony and Wisdom Children's Home

This is the name Spitzing, or 'Uncle Gunter' as the children prefer to call him, and Ruby James have given to the orphanage. 'Harmony' because they wanted the children to grow up without any religious or cultural prejudices against each other. Thus, they decided the school would be an inter-religious institution and for this purpose, Spitzing has even written an inter-religious book of prayers which will soon be published and will then be used for the children's morning prayers.

In addition, the harmony with nature seems to play an equally important role. The institute possesses numerous cows, even more quails and a rice field which help them to be as self-sufficient as possible.

And what about the 'Wisdom'? A pre-school, a primary school and a high school (up to class-10) are available for 257 children. "Only" 94 of these actually live in the "children's village" while the others come from nearby villages.

The fact that not just children from the institute attend classes at Devi Saraswathi is regarded as a blessing by "Uncle Gunter", both for the trust and for the villages. According to him, the children from the villages get the opportunity to continuously attend school which in India's rural areas is not a natural course of action. Consequently, the population comes to trust the institution - and thus is open to its other projects.

Revolving Farms and Rotation Loans

"To improve the villagers' economic understanding is an absolute pre-condition for rural development," says Spitzing. Thus, his idea was to give the people a "starting capital" and to then give them a free hand to decide about how to handle it profitably.

However, this starting capital is not given to them in the form of cash. Instead, they get a cow or quails, for example, and only after half a year they have to pay for it - with the money they earn by selling milk products or the quails' meat.

This principle is called "revolving farms" and is closely connected with the idea of "rotating loans". If the profits from the "revolving farms" system can be saved by the villagers, they will get paid with interest after some time. "This is to make the people aware of the fact that saving money is possible and much more reasonable that spending everything you have immediately without thinking of the future of you or your family."

Women's groups

The work with women has become one of the most important fields of Devi Saraswathi's. The institute offers trainings for a skilled trade, such as the production of neem-oil or incense sticks. According to Spitzing, the advantages of these trainings are enormous: They strengthen the women's independence and self-confidence and besides give them the opportunity to earn their own money."

Self-confidence and self-affirmation can also be improved by the literacy campaigns which are organised for the rural adult population among which about 90 per cent are illiterate.

Furthermore, health-workers organize seminars which also are especially meant for women. Here, they are informed about the risk of infections of AIDS and about a correct and healthy diet.

However, despite all his aid programmes, one thing still remains most important for Spitzing: "My only aim is to strengthen the villagers' independence and the faith in their own abilities to care for themselves and fight for their rights. My greatest desire is to leave them on their own one day and to see that they are able to live a better and fairer life without any outside help."

The Irula-Project

Recently, the institute was able to celebrate a success in its efforts for the Irula people. These descendants of the Adivasi people, the native people of India, have suffered from compulsory settlements for many decades now because they often lived and worked on land which officially did not belong to them (the so-called non-patta land).

Thus, the government could (and did) arbitrarily decide upon the destiny of the Irulas by its right to resettle them.

Devi Saraswathi was able to prevent at least a few of these unjust resettlements by buying the land and giving it back to its inhabitants. To improve their living standard, pre-schools were installed in four Irula villages where children are not only prepared for their future school life but get food three times a day. In addition, a school bus to Devi Saraswathi has been organised for the older children.

Unfortunately, all these things cannot be done for all the Irula-settlements and, consequently, their way to justice needs another, general solution.

But this fact cannot discourage Spitzing. He seems to be aware of the fact that he will never be able to change the world. "What I hope is that our world will improve the people's and especially our children's consciousness for their own and their country's problems and possibilities. They have so many varieties of cultures, religions; they have so much to discover and even more to work for. I want them to expand their horizons, to try and learn more about the people of India and to understand them. And, finally, to work together for the betterment of their beautiful country.

For more details, please e-mail: rubi@vsnl.net

Ania Zymelka

(Ania, born in Poland, now lives in north Germany with her family. She has just completed her schooling and is waiting to go to university. In the meantime, she decided she would also visit a country and learn about it. She will be exploring the economic, political, cultural, social and other links that Chennai has with Germany during her three-month stint in Chennaionline. Ed)