THE MONALISA PROJECT began in early 2003, when an Australian woman travelling in India, Angela May, met a young Indian woman called Jyoti (Yo-tee).

Jyoti was travelling with 10 year old Monalisa, a young orphan who was in her care. They invited Angela to stay with them in their 2 roomed home in the town of Muzaffarpur. One room of this humble house was used for educating about 20 of Muzaffarpur's poorest, and the other was where Jyoti and Monalisa lived and slept. All three of them slept on an upturned wooden crate, where they huddled together for warmth.

Since Monalisa has no parents, Angela pledged to sponsor her throughout her childhood.

From this small seed, grew a much larger tree than was ever imagined. The isolated sponsorship of Monalisa grew into the determination to build an orphanage in Muzaffarpur, where a few more children would have a safe home. The seed was planted and, with the generosity of a few others, the large brick, two storey building emerged from the barren space.

Although there is still much to complete, heartfelt thanks to all who have taken up the challenge - we can ensure many children born into poverty in this harsh region, will have their chance at a productive future. We are all grateful for the support and encouragement that we give to each other, as well as the love, compassion and art teaching that we are able to give to Jyoti and our Indian children.

The School and Orphanage 

On completion, the building will house 25 orphans upstairs, and educate 150 of Muzaffarpur's poorest children. Right now there are 95 students at the school, with 8 children, including Monalisa, living upstairs. Jyoti also continues to take care of 10 year old Vishay who lives in a rented room with his mother.

To answer common further questions about the funding and day-to-day costs, insight into the actual living conditions of the supported children, some of the challenges that are being met, the application of donor contribution funds to the Monalisa Project etc. - please read Jyoti's emails found at the link "Jyoti & the children" in the main menu.

Enjoy the Monalisa Project web-site. And please feel free to write your thoughts here too, by sending an email from the "contacts" link in the main menu. Any questions you may have will be answered promptly.

How can i help? Donations, sponsorships, or the cost of jewellery gift purchases from this site can be direct deposited in Angela May's Australian Monalisa Project Westpac Deeming Account:

BSB: 732582

Account: 536000. 

 If you'd like to comment on the entries you read here you can email as mentioned or post these comments at the blog site, and they will be transferred to this site as we progress. Thanks, Angela and the Monalisa Project Team.