Sooch Village Grand Opening

Ideal Village of orphanages grand opening celebration attracts hundreds - ambassadors, celebrities, and villagers 

Sunday, March 16, 2008 (Ranchi, Jharkhand) - Renowned Bollywood dance choreographer Sandip Soparrkar traveled to a remote 10-acre plot outside of Ranchi, Jharkhand on Sunday, March 16, 2008, to inaugurate Sooch Village, a community of orphanages built by the international NGO, THE MIRACLE FOUNDATION (TMF). Soparkkar, along with TMF Founder Caroline Boudreaux, Austin, Texas-based Indian philanthropist Nav Sooch, and other local dignitaries, spent the day with 200 children who traveled to Ranchi from other orphanages in the Miracle Foundation network.

“It was such an honor to be a part of this amazing ceremony,” said Soparrkar. “It’s great to see this international non-profit organization come to India and better the plight of our own children.”

Sooch Village is India’s first “ideal village” of orphanages. The community has 20 free-standing cottages, which includes a soccer field-sized playground, gardens, and a prayer hall for Hindu, Muslim, and Christian children. Each cottage will house 10 orphans, who will be raised in an intimate, loving family environment and receive individual attention from their house mothers.

“TMF’s core philosophy is to follow the family principle as close as possible,” said Boudreaux, who founded the organization after a life-changing trip to India in May, 2000. “Attachment to parents and the home receives utmost importance in our orphanages because we have global standards that we have adopted directly from the United Nation’s Children’s Bill of Rights.”

Hundreds of children, villagers, government officials, and Indian and American celebrities commemorated the festive occasion with food, dancing, and ribbon-cutting ceremonies as the Sooch Village dream home was opened to the 37 children currently living there (capacity for the village is 200 children). The day’s program included a traditional Indian ceremonial procession with local village dancers, an international media press conference, guided tour of the facilities, and dance performances by the children.

“As a choreographer, I was so moved by the children’s amazing dancing abilities that I myself had to get up on stage and shake my groove with them,” said Soparkkar. “These kids deserve all this and so much more, and I can’t wait to get more involved with the monumental work the Miracle Foundation is doing in India.”

INDIAN MEDIA CONTACT: Saleha Yohann, 9833096426 (Mumbai mobile), Salehayohann@gmail.com
AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA CONTACT: info@miraclefoundation.org