You enter Nathanael Care Centre through a large fenced front yard that serves as a play area for the children. Children line their shoes and sandals neatly at the front door before entering the facility. This keeps the mats on the floor clean so that the children can sit on them during the day, which is the usual Indian custom. The centre has one large activity room, a kitchen and restrooms. If you were to visit, the children would treat you to recitations including the Lord’s Prayer, books of the Old and New Testament and Bible verses.
The 50 young children in the Early Childhood program (ages 3-5) begin arriving at 8:30 am, bundled up against the morning cold. The staff who care for the children include three teachers, a cook who prepares their meals and snacks, and a helper. Every day begins and ends with prayer. The children are taught scripture verses, action songs, Bible and morality stories and how to pray. Their daily instruction also includes lessons in discipline, basic hygiene, correct social interactions with staff and fellow students and numbers and letters. Play time is included each day with dancing, music and drama being their favorites activities. The centre provides the children two nutritious meals and healthy snacks every day. When the children’s parents pick them up at 4:30 pm, they are so grateful that their children have spent the day in the protective care of The Bethania Foundation India TM. Often the centre sends the children home with food for the weekend.
As the children graduate from the Early Childhood Program and begin school, they return to Nathanael Care Centre every day from 4:30 to 6:30 pm for After-School Care. This ensures that the 55 children (ages 6-14) continue in the healthy habits they learned as young children and that they succeed in school. They are fed a nutritious snack, get help with their schoolwork from the two teachers on staff, have keyboard lessons once a week and continue to hear of God’s love for them.
