History of the Hemalata Children’s Homes
The Hemalata Children’s Homes in Madras, South India, can look back on a long and eventful history. For many years, they have offered children in difficult life situations a safe home and supported their personal and educational development.
Hemalata Förderverein – 34 years of commitment to opportunities and a future for children in India
We are delighted to inform you that the Castelhun family’s 34 years of support for the Hemalata orphanages under the sponsorship of the Protestant parish of Baiersdorf will be continued on January 1, 2023 as part of our newly founded Hemalata Kinderheime und Ausbildung e.V. support association.
We already announced the founding of the association in our annual letter in December 2022 and are very proud that we can continue to count on so many loyal supporters, sponsors and patrons of the Hemalata orphanages. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Dieter Castelhun (and Irmgard Castelhun, who has since passed away) for their great and dedicated work, their passion and the many projects they have carried out for Hemalata Orphanages over the past 34 years. They have achieved great things, which were ultimately recognized with the award of the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon by the Bavarian State Ministry for Irmgard (2012) and also Dieter Castelhun (2020).
We do not want to forget the long-standing sponsors, godparents and supporters of the Hemalata children’s homes. They have all made a significant contribution to improving the living conditions in the homes over the years and their financial support has given many underprivileged young people the chance of vocational training and a self-determined life. Now that we have left the Corona pandemic of the last two years behind us, we want to continue to support and accompany the work in the children’s homes and the education of our older children through the Zion Technical Institute with renewed vigor and drive, in accordance with our mission statement:
„AS LONG AS THE CHILDREN ARE SMALL, GIVE THEM ROOTS – WHEN THEY HAVE GROWN UP, GIVE THEM WINGS!“
We thank you very much for donating to our donation account and can also send you a donation receipt on request.
The 34-year support of the Hemalata orphanages has been continued since 01.01.2023 under the name Förderverein Hemalata Kinderheime und Ausbildung e.V. – with many thanks to all supporters.
When Irmgard ✝ and Dieter Castelhun visited the facilities in India in 1989 as members of the Protestant parish of Baiersdorf, this was the starting signal for various major projects following an initial assessment.
In 1976, a sponsorship agreement was concluded with the Protestant parish of Baiersdorf.
To replace the huts, stone houses were built in 1975, as well as a school, a church and an outpatient village clinic.
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Following the donation of 72,000 square meters of fallow land (60 km from Madras) by a grateful Hindu family, further, initially provisional and thatched accommodation (ZION Home) was built in 1970.
After the first buildings were purchased in 1953 by the Edwards family (married to Hemalata in 1969), the first 10 orphans could be cared for in the new buildings.
As early as 1936, the first orphans were cared for and accommodated in various church premises in Madras, before the ‘Webbs Memorial’ was officially founded in 1950.
Over the past 34 years to the present day, a large number of projects have been implemented with the help of financial support from many sponsors. (link to projects),
Today, our main support extends to:
Through the Hemalata aid project, in addition to securing and constantly improving basic care for over 200 children, our particular concern is to provide vocational training for the children in our training workshops or at secondary schools in order to save them from a later life on the streets and to give them the prospect of state-recognized vocational training.
Our motto: When the children are small, give them roots; when they grow up, give them wings