History

In 1983 the first Joybells School and Orphanage was opened in Gangtok - the capital of the Northern Indian state of Sikkim. It came into being due to the tireless work and vision of Joy Singh.

Joy was living in Gangtok as her husband, SS, had been posted there as a Colonel in the Indian Army. From their flat she would watch the women who worked as labourers, breaking up stones for road building. Her attention was immediately drawn to the plight of the small children who came to work with their mothers. These children, particularly four babies, who were left on a piece of cloth in all weathers, crying for their mothers’ attention, moved Joy beyond measure.

Having spent time building relationships with these women they eventually allowed Joy to take the four babies into her home. She fed them, clothed them, began to educate them, but above all she showered them with her own unique gift of love and affection. Word that Joy’s home was ‘open’ soon spread and other destitute women who were unable to care for their children, began to leave them in her care. Soon the numbers of children who came, nearly always in a state of desperation following the loss, or abandonment, by one or both parents grew to such a point that Joy’s small flat could not accommodate all who wanted to come. A building was rented nearby and with the untiring help of Joy’s own mother, Joybells was born.

For the twenty years that Joy remained in Gangtok Joybells grew to a school for 400 children with an orphanage for 50. With its Christian foundation the school gained a reputation for being the best in Sikkim and the students won many awards, both academic and sporting. This reputation has spread well beyond the borders of Sikkim and Joy was given The Jewel of India Award for her services to education in April 2003.