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December 2006
India - The Home
December was quite the exciting month!
In early December, smack dab in the middle of the children's exams, we celebrated Basraj and Jyoti's birthdays and everyone at the home indulged in poori chole, vada pao, and lots of sweet, chocolatey birthday cake.
And a couple days later, with exams still going on, Geeta, a journalist, and Patrice, a film director, from CBC Montreal arrived at the home. They were here for several days filming footage to use in a 4-day news special as well as a possible documentary in the upcoming year. The kids absolutely loved the attention and got along with "Geeta Didi" and "Patrice Dada" quite well. They were fascinated with the camera equipment and a couple of the kids even got to try their hand at operating the camera and filming. So, to all our Montreal supporters out there, look out for us on the CBC News at 6 towards the end of February!!!
The day after Geeta and Patrice left, Elizabeth returned for a visit! The kids were extraordinarily excited and very proud to show her all of their drawings, stickers, and homework assignments and tell her all their exciting stories and triumphs from the previous few months. The house has been quite literally bulging at the seams this month, as we had a total of 8 - yes, that's right, 8 - visitors at the home! Six of them - Niwaeli, Thandeka, Malehasa, Jessica, Pramod, and Ashwini - are students from MUWCI, an IB school located about an hour out of Pune (that a few of our directors attended) and wanted to volunteer some time at the home during their holiday break from school. The other two volunteers - Peter, a teacher by profession, and Tucker from Ithaca, NY and a math wiz - were also around helping out for a couple weeks. The kids got a lot of individual attention with regards to their academics and really improved their writing, grammar, math, and can now almost all tell time! The extra volunteers were really helpful, considering the kids were on holiday from school for a solid portion of the month, and all the helping hands gave Jasleen and Elizabeth a lot more time to run errands, do some administrative work, work on some things that had been neglected for a little while, and even get a little bit domestic and bake a few things here and there in the toaster oven!
As Christmas rolled around, a group of young professionals from the Human Resources department at Bajaj Allianz stopped by the house and wanted to give the kids an extra-special Christmas, a holiday that would normally be a very small affair around the home. They stopped by and delivered a Christmas tree, lots of ornaments, and other festive decorations to put all over the house. They also threw the kids a Christmas party - with food and games, including a singing competition, musical chairs, a three-legged race, and lots and lots of prizes. They stuffed the kids' bellies with yummy food and lots of sweet goodies and treats. The kids definitely had a Christmas they will never forget, so thank you to everyone at Bajaj Allianz who was involved in organizing everything!
The month came to an end with New Year's Eve. Jasleen's grandparents sponsored a dinner at Coffee House, the favorite local restaurant, for all the kids and staff. And, although we had to get there very early, so they could accommodate all 19 of us, we had a great time! Everyone dug into a huge feast of paper masala dosas, pav bhajis, poori chole, pakoras, vadas, parathas, and mango juices and all that other snack food we rarely let them eat! After this month's birthdays and the large Christmas and New Year's celebrations, healthy eating is certainly back on the agenda for the upcoming year.
Lastly, from everyone here at our home, we thank you for all the support that you have given us this past year, and we wish you a very, very happy and healthy New Year and look forward to hearing from you in 2007.
Canadian branch
We ended off the semester with our final meeting to brainstorm for next year, and to thank all of our wonderful volunteers before the start of final exams and the winter break. We have begun planning several events for the coming semester, including a comedy event, charity concert and another Benefit Dinner so keep checking back for that. We would like to wish everyone a happy and successful New Year.
Japanese branch
We were awarded the Peace Project of the Year 2006 by the Association for the Promotion of Youth Communication. The award was given to acknowledge our unique work organizing to raise awareness about the issues of streetchildren for various types of people, as well as supporting the home financially.
November 2006
India - The Home
November brought bitter cold mornings (well, for Indian standards), hot chocolate in the evenings, and English study and homework help on the roof in the warm afternoon sun. For the first several days of the month, the kids had fun-filled days of drawing, coloring, playing outside, reading leisurely, late nights, lazy mornings and watching movies. However, Basraj, Akash, Jyoti, Tushar, and Kajal did continue to use their holiday time to catch up on missed school work, after joining Rashmi School so late into the year.
But alas, much to the children's dismay and the Didis' delight, holidays must come to an end and the kids soon returned to school. And, with school starting up again, outreach also restarted! The outreach girls had had a three week vacation from school as well as the program and were absolutely thrilled to be coming to our center again. They were ecstatic about the warm sweaters and blankets that we gave them for the chilly mornings and nights and the special activities that we started doing on Fridays, such as arts and crafts projects. And, as attendance in the program had dropped significantly in September and October, Jasleen and Sangeeta made it a point to make house visits almost every day during the holidays to ensure that the girls stayed committed to the program. All those kilometers of walking around in the busti (slum) really paid off, as the girls had much stronger rates of attendance in the month of November.
Towards the end of the month, the Didis and Derek Dada were feeling quite homesick around the time of Thanksgiving, and decided to remedy their nostalgia for home by celebrating Thanksgiving with the kids! So, with the help of the kids, we cooked up a storm, and although the kids and caretakers may have thought the food to be a little bland and in need of some mirch and masala (chilies and spices), everyone enjoyed themselves. We went around in a circle and all said what we were thankful for and got some truly heartwarming responses from the kids. Santosh thanked us for giving him a bed and clothes and books and a nice home, while Geeta was thankful for going to a nice school and learning English and having so many nice Didis and Dadas and Aunties and Uncles visit the home. Jyoti was thankful to have a family, despite the fact that she doesn't have parents. There were some proud and tender moments, to say the least.
In the last few days of the month, Derek's parents came to visit! The kids always enjoy new faces around the home but they especially go crazy over volunteer's parents. Derek's parents were kind enough to take us all out to a local Tibetan/Indian restaurant and then for kulfi (Indian ice cream) afterwards. For having only stopped by for two nights, they made quite the lasting impression and the kids ask about Derek Dada's "mummy and papa" all the time.
October 2006
India - The Home
October started with a big holiday - Dasera - the Marathi New Year. Following tradition, the children blessed and paid respect to all forms of knowledge - including their school books, the computer, and their elders and also ate yummy ladoos and jalebis!
Soon after, the children's term exams began and lasted a full two weeks! After each exam, the children spent the rest of the afternoon and evening studying hard for the next day's exams. Though the exam period was intense, the children were relieved with a half month long holiday break from school to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights. During the holiday period, the children had time to unwind, relax, play amongst themselves, draw and color for hours (which they love doing), play caram (a much-loved board game), decorate the house with candles and paper lanterns, and make beautiful rangoli patterns with the neighbors and the caretakers. In addition, the children enjoyed making karanji - a Diwali-time pastry filled with coconut and semolina flour.
Overall, the month was a celebratory time for everyone. But, worry not! Studies also continued as Jyoti, Tushar, and Kajal took advantage of the holidays to work on their readings skills using interactive online phonics games and storybooks. Akash and Basraj used the holiday time wisely to work on Geography, Science, and History, while Sonali, Santosh, Sanjay, and Geeta worked on their assigned holiday project scrapbooks.
Due to the holiday season, the outreach after-school program closed for most of the month. Despite this, AIC staff still went out on regular visits to the outreach girls' homes to check up on them. The girls received Diwali gifts from AIC and continued to receive medical and material assistance during the break.
India - Pune branch
To share the festive spirit of Diwali, the Rotary Club of Pune invited guests from IBM to pay a visit to the home. The IBM group brought each child a gift package of sweet biscuits and donated boxes of snacks and clothes for the home. The children really appreciated the generosity of IBM
Austrian branch
In October, Maria Mittermaier (head of the "Selbstbesteuerungsgruppe Rohrbach" - an organization that has been supporting us from the very beginning of AIC) gave a newspaper interview about her visit to the home this summer. Among great praise of how the home is run, Maria also turned to the newspaper's readers and asked for donations for AIC. Maria and her peers are willing to coordinate fundraising for AIC through their organization. We are very thankful for all their continuous, impressive support!
Just about two weeks ago, Julia sent out e-mails to schools in her home region advocating AIC Christmas fundraisers. Similar to what we did last year, we are hoping to give presentations at schools and combine them with fundraisers for the cause. So far, two schools have agreed on doing major fundraisers. One of them, the Rohrbach Vocational School, is doing a faculty fundraiser during the fall and winter months. The other one, the Gymnasium Dachsberg, will organize a fundraiser among students. Julia will visit both schools in December and spread awareness about AIC and the issue of street children in India.
United States - Princeton branch
The Photo exhibition of black-and-white photos, which had been in planning for several months, was finally realized on October 12 after a few weeks of designing panels, selecting photos and coordinating with exhibition manager Kate Somers. The exhibition looks as powerful as expected and will hopefully create a lot of awareness about AIC. In the meantime, Julia has been writing to several Princeton institutions looking for funding for the exhibition. The Bernstein Gallery has agreed on realizing the gallery without immediate funding and helping Julia obtain a grant.
The Global Issues Forum, a student group at Princeton University, has agreed on organizing a fundraiser for the Ashraya Initiative. The event is planned for November and will consist of a lecture about poverty in India (by a Princeton faculty member), a presentation about AIC (by Julia), a dinner and a screening of the movie "Salaam Bombay". Preparations and planning for the event started at the beginning of October. Also in planning is a lunch discussion about "How to found an NGO", using AIC as one of two examples. Julia will present the case of AIC and talk about the possibility of founding a non-profit organization while still at College. The event is scheduled for November 16, 2006.
Japanese branch
October was a very eventful month for AIC Japan. We organized fundraising events twice and also held a showing of our AIC documentary! The fundraising event's theme was "Picture book," in which each participant had to bring a favorite picture book from his or her childhood. We also invited professional storytellers to put on the event, and it was a heartwarming experience for all involved. We also held a movie showing of the AIC documentary created by the filmmaking group. The audience really enjoyed seeing the movie and shared their comments and questions after the movie. We hope that we can keep showing the movie in many different venues with a variety of audiences as part of our awareness-raising goals.
September 2006
India - The Home
The beginning of September started off with sad goodbyes when director Kaminika Morjaria returned to England to begin graduate work at the London School of Economics (we're all proud of her) and Livia Ottisova left to finish school at McGill University. However, big smiles soon took over with the return of Jasleen Anand, former-volunteer-turned-director (everyone - children included, of course - are excited to have her on the board and back with the family). The moment she walked in the door, she was bombarded with hugs and the children's many, many stories.
Throughout the month, the children worked on solidifying their study habits, thanks to the help of their "didis" (older sisters) and "dada" (older brother - volunteer Derek Winslow). Day after day, AIC staff encouraged the children to relentlessly pursue positive academic behavior. Though kids being kids, a few of the children are still working on this, but nonetheless, they are improving. Kajal and Tushar sing nursery rhymes with Derek, forming an unforgettable trio, while Akash and Basraj explore the geography of Maharashtra and Jyoti hammers down her reading skills. Meanwhile, the Nagarwala English Medium School children - Sonali, Santosh, Geeta, and Sanjay - enjoy helping each other study, role-playing teacher and student. All of the children are making great strides!
In the latter half of September, the Marathi medium children underwent a significant change when they switched schools (and language medium!) to Rashmi English Medium Day School. Kajal, Tushar, and Jyoti were very excited to find that the school provides a lunch meal for all pre-K, kindergarten, and first standard students. Meanwhile, Akash and Basraj attempted to make new friends and had to learn how to tie their uniforms ties (it took us a whole night of futile attempts and practice to figure it out!). The children approached their new school with some worries, but in no time they became optimistic and have transitioned well into their new school. The last week of September, however, was a mad rush to study for the upcoming October mid-term exams!
On another note, the children started Bharatnayam (classical Indian dance) with Kaminka's aunt, Mrs. Anju. During lessons, the children complain (through very large smiles) about the exertion on their legs caused by the dance poses. They still need a lot of practice!
India - Pune Branch
The Rotary Club of Pune (Airport Branch) during the month of September got involved with the home in several ways. Throughout the month, Rotary members dropped by to visit the children, and mid-month, Rotary members invited AIC directors and the older boys (Akash and Basraj) on a bus ride out to visit a school for blind girls. The boys got to see a Braille-printing machine, Braille manuscripts, and meet a few of the students. They came away from the school having enjoyed the learning experience.
In addition, the children did get their share of breaks from studying, especially when two local donors from the Rotary Club of Pune sponsored a movie at a local movie theater (with stadium-seating!) and lunch (with ice-cream, much to the children's delight). The children watched "Munna Bhai Lage Rao," a humorous film commemorating Mahatma Gandhi's teachings. The children loved the movie and food! We all thank the Rotary Club for their continued support!
Japanese branch
This month, we participated in one of the biggest NGO festivals called "Global Festa" held in Hibiya Park, Tokyo. The festival is a place where visitors can learn about international cooperation and was attended by more than 200 organizations, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, UNESCO, UNICEF, the Indian Embassy, and many NGOs. AIC Japan did a photo exhibition as well as a presentation about the home and street children in general. Our members were very creative in designing posters for AIC and the overall decorations for the exhibition! Thanks to their efforts, many people enjoyed the colorful and warm atmosphere of our exhibition. Approximately 100 people visited our photo exhibition and many were very keen to know the story behind each photo. Through this event, we were able to raise awareness and gain publicity for AIC. We hope to participate in this type of NGO festival occasionally to make sure that we can continue to get the word out about street children in India, which is one of AIC's primary goals.
United States - Emory branch
September consisted of the members of the newly-formed AIC Executive Board getting to know one another, brainstorming some new ideas, and establishing the foundations of what will hopefully be a lasting branch at Emory! We were contacted by a couple of Emory publications about being featured in articles this fall, so look for those in the next couple of months. We are also working on organizing events during October and November, and are gearing up for what will hopefully be a productive year in Atlanta!
Canadian branch
September brought in the start of a new school year at McGill, and with it, a very buoyant start for AIC McGill! At Activities Night in early September, we spoke about AIC to hundreds of McGill students, and recruited a very strong group of new volunteers. The highlight of the month, however, was winning the Forces Avenir Award at the end of September, for which Jess and Lopa traveled to Quebec City to speak to the community about AIC. In attendance was the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, the leaders of Forces Avenir and numerous sponsors. We were delighted to win first prize in the Mutual Aid Peace and Justice Category, which includes a $4,000 grant for the home!
Austrian branch
In September, the Austrian Social Ministry awarded AIC the "Volunteer of the Year 2006 Award" in the Category "Youth - Jointly for Europe." The award is a national prize and is given to six volunteers (or organizations) in six different categories every year. Julia returned to Austria to represent the Ashraya Initiative for Children at the Award Ceremony. Social Minister Ursula Haubner presented the awards in the presence of numerous government representatives, news speakers, Austrian singer Manuel Ortega, the award nominees and recipients as well as their families. The event, named "Voluntaria 2006," received major media coverage - we hope that this helped us expand our donor base in Austria! While in Austria, Julia also promoted the newly established "Sponsor a Child" programme and AIC gained various supporters who pledged to donate on a monthly basis.