Tomorrow (Thursday 18th April) my wife and kids, and 10 other Australians are heading to Kotdwara to present and be a part of our SHINE19 Women's Empowerment Conference. We are super excited and full of anticipation for the many lives we will impact. Our bags are all but packed totalling about 350kg of luggage ... including 1000 toothbrushes, 1000 fans, 900 mirrors and lipsticks for our 800+ delegates, 350 packets coloured pencils, textas and tennis balls for the 260 children in our centres, teaching resources for our new Disability class, gifts for teachers and many others, not to mention just a small amount of space for our clothes and personal items. 

Please pray for us, for our safety, good health and that our hard work and efforts would encourage and make a long lasting difference in the lives of many people.

​My family, 8 other Aussies and a South African will be heading to Kotdwara in North India in just three weeks time, for ‘Project Help India’s second women's SHINE19 conference. This conference is an important aspect of the 'Project Help India' vision, and we can't quite believe that another year has come around. Compared to last year, the number of delegates has doubled, spanning two days and receiving registrations from close to 900 women.

Most of our delegates are women who live in slums, in terrible poverty. These women can't afford to pay, so we are not charging them. We want to bless them and give them an experience they will never forget. Teenage girls from local high schools will also be attending as well as women who are community leaders, because our aim is to empower all women in all spheres of life.
After SHINE18, our conference this year has become the talk of Northern India, with local media doing press releases, billboard advertising, and even politicians and Bollywood celebrities wanting to both attend and be seen supporting and advocating for this important cause.
Because of SHINE19 we are positive and confident that women's lives will be changed and empowered.

Through this we will see…
stronger lives, stronger families, stronger communities and a stronger India.

‘Project help India’ is pioneering this cause in this remote part of the world, so please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

If you could make a tax deductible donation to support our work, we would really appreciate this. And please spread the word if you might know people who might be passionate about human rights, human justice, anti-human trafficking, and who might be stirred to make a donation to this worthwhile cause (we need some help as the cost all adds up and is now close to $6000).

How you can help
1. Please share this blog to people you know whose business or company might like to support this wonderful cause…it’s tax deductible for them too.

2. Please make a donation. 
Go to http://projecthelpindia.co/donate to make your tax-deductible donation in Australia
OR if tax deductibility is not required, your EFT donation can be made at
BSB: 062 230 (Commonwealth Bank Randwick) 
Account: 1134 1909
Account Name: Project Help India

Please write your name and SHINE19 in the reference section so we can thank you.

With love and thanks for your support and interest.

We were shocked and saddened by last Friday’s tragedy in New Zealand. The loss of innocent lives is deeply confronting. Our thoughts and prayers are extended to those immediately impacted and their communities, particularly in schools across Christchurch. Due to the many educators who visit Claremont College, we have formed many close friendships with a number of schools in New Zealand, and so we have reached out to them offering our love, prayers and support.

Schools provide a safe and supportive environment for all students, staff and their community, and so our primary goal this week has been to review and consider our response to this tragedy. Each week, on a Monday morning, our Pastoral Care team meets to review the pastoral and wellbeing needs of students, staff and families. We evaluate issues from the week before and we plan how to best care for children and others across the week ahead. As a team we considered how we respond to the Christchurch tragedy and discussed what would be the best way to talk to the children. Our actions included:

• To talk at an age appropriate level, to the children in class, should questions be asked or comments be made;
• To ensure that the children’s experience at school be safe and secure;
• To provide an opportunity for prayers and reflection at Chapel; and
• To celebrate ‘Harmony Day’ which was held yesterday across Australia. Thank you Mrs Cameron (Deputy Principal) for leading this.  

Harmony Day provided us with the opportunity to talk about the importance of inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians. We celebrate the diversity of our many cultural and religious backgrounds, and understand the importance as to why, we as Australians, should work hard to create a nation that is characterised by peaceful, harmonious relationships. The timing for this conversation could not have been more appropriate, and serves as such valuable reminder not just for the children but for all of us adults too.

GRANDPARENTS AND SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY
This week we were blessed to have so many Grandparents and special friends visit us. It was fun and very special. Congratulations to the children and teachers for your presentations. There was certainly a lot of love in the air!

HAPPY GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY
This weekend we celebrate Greek Independence Day. I look forward to being with many of our Greek families at Martin Place on Sunday.
​
NATIONAL FUTURE SCHOOLS EXPO AND CONVENTION
I have spent three days this week in Melbourne attending the ‘National Future Schools Expo and Convention’ which was attended by approximately three thousand delegates. It is always such an honour and privilege to talk about Claremont College. Yesterday I was a member of panel of Principals where we were asked to speak about ‘Strategies for School Leaders to Realise Learning Improvement’. I was also a keynote speaker at the ‘Future Leaders’ Strand where I presented on the topic ‘Planning for the future – change, strategic planning, and a leadership toolkit for disruption, and your personal wellbeing’. If you are interested, the slides of my talk have been uploaded to the school website. Click here to follow the link.

One of the things I love about conferences such as this, is the chance to hear cutting edge talks on a variety of topics that interest and are important to me. Some of the presentations I attended included the new Digital Technologies Curriculum, Positive Psychology in the school setting, researched based strategies for students with autism, latest research findings in brain based learning in children, future innovation and emotional resilience. All up, it was a productive time and I look forward to sharing my ideas and all I have learnt with the staff, and with you all.

As I gave my talk yesterday, I concluded by saying that we need to “keep things simple” and to not lose the perspective of the things that are most important to us all. Our communities must be places where people come first. For me, this means that we must prioritise hope, purpose, reconciliation, unity, diversity, empathy, compassion and most importantly… love.

Let’s continue to hold up Christchurch in our prayers. My heart also breaks for Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe as millions of people come to terms with the destruction of Cyclone Idai. Our world is certainly hurting. Even if it’s a ‘drop in the bucket’, and we are all positioned to make a difference.
Thank you for all you bring to our school community… It wouldn't be the same without you.

I am grateful for the opportunities that bring us together as a community, for it is in community, working together as a School and parent body, with our conversations together, our shared purpose, consultation and collaboration, that we find the solutions to best care for your children. For this reason, at a recent parent function, I shared my perspective on some heavy stuff, as a concerned and very grateful Principal, and also from my perspective, as a dad who has seen my three teenagers navigate and try to make sense of the world they are growing up in.

If you did not attend the event, I shared an experience of my childhood. My mother would often describe me (and probably still does) as “a little bugga” and I fully understand why. I sometimes did things that I am sure mystified her. Like the time in Grade 2, for no reason at all, I ran up to a girl at school and whacked her hard on the bottom. Our scary Deputy Principal at the time (who every child feared), summoned me to his office and proceeded to hit me on the hand with his thick black rubber pipe, which he affectionately called his "licorice stick”. I recall that moment clearly and I remember my mother saying that afternoon “well you must have deserved it!”. My mother asked no further questions and she directed no accountability for my punishment towards the Deputy or School. Times have certainly changed with some parents in this day and age, challenging schools, without placing any responsibility on their child for his or her actions (or on their own parenting). “My child would never be a do that!” one might say, and if a consequence is put in place, the school is unfairly criticised.

As we work together in a spirit of trust and respect, there is a healthy middle-ground.

With children growing up in a new world filled with new issues and concepts to those we experienced as children, and a very different to the world our mothers and fathers, we must work closely together. Take a child’s easy access to pornography for example. How necessary is it for both parents and the school to work together to help our children navigate this ugly territory? It both saddens and maddens me that psychologists and schools must now deal with a disorder termed ‘pre-adolescent porn addiction’. The majority of children aged 10, will have looked at explicit porn. My experience when working with these children who feel that they have done the wrong thing, is that they clam up and don’t say anything to their teacher or mum or dad. If it’s a group of children who have done the wrong thing there may be a code of silence, or they all point the finger of blame in different directions. It is easy for kids to live with the guilt and shame of their actions, often without telling a soul, way into adulthood. We must carefully balance the issues of debriefing, resolution, consequence, learning from mistakes, and knowing what is appropriate for the future. If we don’t do this well together, a child or young person’s mental health is certainly at risk.

How do we do this? The School and parents must work together in partnership. We certainly don’t blame or attack, should a child make a mistake. If we just ‘punish’ then our children will never come to us for help. As children get older, the challenges they will face will only become more difficult and complex. With children’s forms of social media thrown into the mix, it’s a foreign language for all of us adults. 
​
It takes a community to support a child and it takes a community to support mum and dad. It takes great mums and dads to support a school. We are in this together, and on behalf of my entire staff team who work so tirelessly for your children, I offer you my sincere thanks, for working together with us to support your children. 

Thanks @timmarshall for the fantastic image.

He Last week after attending the funeral of my 19 year old son's girlfriend Marli, in the cool of the evening I was sitting having a quiet beer, pondering and reflecting. I was exhausted and emotionally spent. I put on Spotify and played some music to cheer myself up, something good for the soul.

When you're not really listening, it's strange how the lyric of a song can catch your attention. I still find it uncanny, that a song can be so timely and quite unsettling all at the same time. It raises questions for me that I can't answer or make sense of at this point in time. Yet, I hold on to my knowledge that God is present, God is love, He is grieving too, and He promises to turn bad things into good.

​I get it if you find this hard to believe.

Life can change in the blink of an eye
You don't know when and you don't know why
"Forever Young" is a big fat lie
For the one who lives and the one who dies
I watched my son - shovel in hand
Go from bulletproof boy to a full-grown man
The cool dark dirt on the casket lands
Nineteen years old and he's buryin' a friend
Oh, goodbye two boys, hello one man

This son of mine is gonna leave in the fall
Some might ask how he stands so tall
His life was changed with a telephone call
Not even he understands it all
I watched my son - shovel in hand
Go from bulletproof boy to a broken man
The cool dark dirt on the casket lands
Nineteen years…

Amy Grant 'Shovel in Hand'

Click here if you'd like to help
https://give.everydayhero.com/au/1000reasonsforMarli​

10000 burpees and 10000 push-ups, that’s what I can do
 
Towards the end of last year, I was asked to be a part of a fundraising initiative for my local hospital, the Prince of Wales at Randwick. I gladly accepted knowing that I would need the help of my fantastic school community to raise a goal of $10 000. Over 2019 I would promote the importance of health and fitness in my school and wider community. It’s a great cause and I’m delighted to be a local Principal (a local Coogee boy too) helping other locals, because this is what ‘doing life together’ in community is all about hey!
 
So in January I set myself some fitness goals, with the help of my local gym and my trainer, JJ Coutts @outerstrengthfitness (JJ is also an awesome Claremont old boy). At the time I only had a vague sense of how I might go about raising this significant sum of money. Little did I realise how personally meaningful this project would soon become.
 
Just last week, on Sunday 27th January, my family was rocked by the sudden and tragic death of my son, Gulliver’s beautiful 18 year old girlfriend Marli. You perhaps have seen this news in the Herald see link to SMH or on the TV. As the headline reads;
 
‘She made one mistake and that’s it’: Teenager dies after party drug overdose
 
When it comes to learning, we teach kids that it’s okay to make mistakes. In fact, we recognise that mistakes are good being an important aspect of deep learning. Taking a drug, however, is not a mistake that anyone can afford to make. The risk is simply not worth it. In Marli’s case, her mistake was totally unforgiving, and she had no opportunity for learning or second chances.
           
So we are all heartbroken, sad beyond words, and very much in a state of shock and disbelief. Please pray for Marli’s family and circle of friends, particularly leading up to the funeral later this week.
 
There’s no way to understand such a senseless tragedy, but what I do know is that I can make a difference. With your help, I will raise $10 000, which will be directed to the Prince of Wales (POW) new Emergency and Intensive Care Units. I will do what I can to teach kids and empower them with the awareness and skills to say ‘no’ to drugs. To add weight to the importance of this issue, I was told that last weekend, four teenagers were rushed to POW Emergency for drug overdose related issues. This is a problem that impacts us all ...our children, their parents, families, and our community suffers. Things have to change.
 
One solution for the well-being crisis that is currently impacting our children and young people, is found in education, health and fitness. Our kids must grow up having a sense of purpose that comes from positive relationships, personal identity, belonging, contributing as we ‘do life’ together as members of a healthy, inclusive community. It’s locals helping locals and this needs to become embedded into the very DNA of what we’re all on about.
 
I love this Bible verse from 1 Corinthians 13:13
"until then, there are three things that remain:
faith, hope, and love
yet love surpasses them all. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.”

So let's run with love!

I hope that you might be happy to share this journey with me, over the next 6 months as I work towards these goals. I’ll be doing some blogging to keep you posted about my progress.
 
Please help me to get the message out and if you have any creative ideas for helping, please be in touch. Please connect me with others who might like to run alongside.
 
Your donations are tax deductible through the POW Foundation via my ‘Every Day Hero’ fundraising page. Click here to make a donation. 
 
Thanks a million,
with love,
Doug

Our Jungle kids can now study and do their homework later in the evening

Happy New Year from me and the team at ‘Project Help India’. We are incredibly excited about 2019 and we are thankful for your interest, help and support. Our prayers are with you for all that you hope to do and achieve this year.
2019 is shaping up to be another big year in the life of 'Project Help India'. We have many goals and we are ambitious and intentional about all we are seeking to achieve. We will be guided by our vision and mission and have a clear sense of purpose and strategy.

A reminder of what is our big picture
The mission of ‘Project Help India’ is to bring love, hope, dignity and purpose to the poor. Our vision is to focus on education, nutrition, health and ultimately human rights, so that individual lives are impacted, empowered and restored. ‘Project Help India’ seeks to bring about community change and generational transformation. ‘Project Help India’ seeks to grow in its impact and influence in the lives of people and communities, with a goal to ultimately expand into other towns and places of need.

Some of our 2019 resolutions are to;
- hold our second ‘SHINE’ Women’s Empowerment Conference in April. We are anticipating 900 delegates over 2 days!
- develop individualised programs for each of the high needs students who attend our Disability Centre in the Kotdwara City Centre
- improve the quality of education in each of our centres through ongoing teacher training
- continue to investigate and develop a strategy how we can purchase a property in the heart of Kotdwara (for our HQ)
- continue to investigate the feasibility of purchasing (or long-term lease) for a jungle school
- provide quality educational resources to assist the Kotdwara anti-human trafficking police team
- register ‘Project Help India’ with the ACNC (Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission)
- develop policies to ensure for excellence in all aspects of our operations and compliance
- be able to provide tax deductibility for our donors

Our efforts to achieve this (and so much more) spring-board off some fantastic things that have just happened in December.

Christmas Celebrations
Our team in India were delighted to describe the many wonderful Christmas celebrations across Kotdwara. Apparently, there was an incredible energy and enthusiasm for Christmas in the markets and churches in a way that has never been experienced before. Each one of our 260 students received a warm jumper as a Christmas present, which was well received given that it has been a particularly cold winter this year. Thank you to the students of Claremont College in Sydney, and a good number of others too, who raised the money to make this possible.

Bringing solar powered lights to the homes of 180 of our students
In December we were delighted to connect with another NGO, the ‘CBN Foundation’ www.cbn.in which heard about our projects. Through this, 180 of our students in slums and jungle villages had a bonus Christmas blessing of receiving a solar light to assist them with their work at night. Our Project Officer in Kotdwara wrote;

“The Jungle people were very happy. They said that these solar lights will help our kids to study at night. Now these kids are using the lights in night for their studies.”

We are thrilled that the CBN Foundation would like to continue to work with us with the goal of looking into the possibility of installing a water plant in the jungle villages, which will improve the quality of their drinking water.

We are very thankful for the generosity and heart of the CBN Foundation and look forward to further joint ventures and achievements in 2019. You can check the full report on our website at http://projecthelpindia.co/blog/

A Documentary on National Television
A national Indian Broadcasting Network, the ‘Colour Channel’ has produced a documentary about the story of Manisha, a young girl who is one of our students in the City Centre’. This will be aired later in January and we will send a link to you as soon as it becomes available.

What is your New Year Resolution?
​Whether you agree with the concept of new year’s resolutions or not, might you resolve to be committed to supporting ‘Project Help India’ in 2019? We are an organisation that really is committed to making a difference in the lives of people, and I hope to can see that we operate with great intentionality and integrity. Your donation goes directly to our projects with minimal admin fees.

It is important to us that you feel connected to our story, so that the stories of lives of people impacted by poverty in India, intersect with your story too. As we bring love, hope, dignity and purpose to these beautiful people, your life will be changed too. Your regular donation will assist in bringing light to the poorest of the poor in 2019.

BSB: 062 230 (Commonwealth Bank Randwick, Sydney) 
Account: 1134 1909
Account Name: Project Help India
OR donate directly at 
www.projecthelpindia.co

Thank you for being a part of our story.
Bless you,
​Love Doug

I have recently been reminded that because I am a leader, people will talk about me. The kids at school talk about me, parents will talk about me at dinner parties (the school is one topic of conversation that they all have in common) and my staff certainly talk about the boss. There certainly has been a lot of talk in the press and on social media lately about me (and also about many of my colleagues who are also Anglican Principals). Because of this, it has been one of the most difficult seasons in my leadership ever. I am angry with myself for a number of reasons, angry that I have been misunderstood and misrepresented and upset not to be able to say what I really think about a number of things. People make judgements, some think that they have it all figured out about who I am and what I stand for.
 
A leader is often the topic of conversation. If you’re new to leadership get used to this, and don’t kill yourself by trying to keep everyone happy, that they might only say nice things about you behind your back.
 
People are always appraising you. People will talk about the principal of the school that they are considering sending their child to. People discuss you. Your reputation is important to them. “Is he any good at his job?”, “what are the academic results of school like” ...do I trust him?, does his behaviour reflect what he says? People will talk about whether you say thank you, show appreciation, if you look worried, stressed or angry, if you’ve put on weight, bought a new shirt, or perhaps looking unwell and losing too much weight. People care about you too, and this is something I appreciate and never take for granted.
 
People will draw conclusions from what they observe. Show your humour, share your vulnerabilities and be real with the people who you do life with. People need to see the authentic you. But also guard yourself. If you’re dealing with a difficult situation, tell people without going into details.... give them something to talk about like, “hey, I feel for him at the moment, he needs our prayers,”, rather than “gee he’s rude. He walked straight past me and totally ignored me.”
 
So in the midst of all of this, who do you get your validation from? Who do you listen to? Who can you turn to when everything seems confusing, unfair, lonely or hurtful?

​Psalm 121 helps me;
 
I look up to the mountains and hills, longing for God’s help. But then I realise that our true help and protection come only from the Lord, our Creator who made the heavens and the earth. He will guard and guide me, never letting me stumble or fall. God is my keeper; he will never forget nor ignore me. He will never slumber nor sleep; he is the Guardian-God for his people. He himself will watch over you; he’s always at your side to shelter you safely in his presence. He’s protecting you from all danger both day and night. He will keep you from every form of evil or calamity as he continually watches over you. You will be guarded by God himself. You will be safe when you leave your home and safely you will return. He will protect you now, and he’ll protect you forevermore!

Thanks Nik Shuliahin @tjump for the great pic.

It's always a great day, and a highlight of any year for me when a new Barbra Streisand album is released. I am listening to it now after a challenging day filled with responding to people's valid upset ..and I understand why they are upset. This upset is based on misrepresentation by the media and the twisted mistruths posted on social media. It's upsetting to be told that I am something when I have striven in my life and in my leadership to fight injustice and work against discrimination...to be fair, kind, show love, grace and demonstrate integrity. And to point to Jesus who is the author and perfecter of all these things. He walked the talk and I seek to emulate that. I don't want to sound pious, I am just suggesting there's gotta be a better way to work out misunderstanding and to realise that there really are not as many differences as the media suggests exist.

So back to Barbra, my other hero. I love this lyric which I have just listened to for the very first time. I think I am about to drive my family crazy this weekend because they do not share my taste in music.

https://open.spotify.com/track/1QAIa9US3WwDAqZdn81FIb?si=mnawL877QPSQjJt4JjIMJw

BETTER ANGELS 

Angry words and bitterness cause love to fade away
What happened to the dreams and hopes that we shared yesterday
Misty chords of memory that stir within our soul
Lead us to forgiveness so that we can be made whole

We are not enemies, there is no good in that
There are better angels that surround our soul
And we will find a way through all the differences
Hear the better angels, listen to the call

Hatred only breeds more hate and darkness in our heart
May we find compassion in a world so torn apart
A symphony of what could be
Says this is where we start

We are not enemies, there is no good in that
There are better angels that surround our soul
And we will find a way through all our differences
Hear the better angels, listen to the call

Let the better angels be our guide
Yes let the better angels walk beside
Can you catch us all
'Cause we just about to fall
Rise up!
And find better angels in us all
Yes, rise up!
It's time, oh it's time

We are not enemies, there is no good in that
There are better angels, they surround our soul
And we will find a way through all our differences
Hear the better angels, listen to the call

And we will find a way