AID Delhi newsletter July 2007

8/14/2019 AID Delhi newsletter July 2007

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Association for Indias DevelopmentDelhi Chapter Newsletter

July 2007

Table of Contents From the Editors Desk

From the editors desk 1

Project UpdatesAashayen 2AID Gurgaon 2AID Prayas 3Khoj 3Parichay 4Youth Task Force 4Nai Disha 5

Volunteer Speak Shikha Chunkee 5

Reaching Out to UrbanMarginalized in Slums Samreet Kaur 5

Coomon wealth games village and Yamuna Siddharth Goyal 7

A Story Untold Shalini Sharma 8

Volunteeringtake aPlunge now - Riputapan Singh 9

My Experience with AID Ritika Subhash 10Interns Corner

Eureka Kits and its implementation- Arpana Prajapati 10Internship for a month..Experience

of a Lifetime Taruna & Shweta 11

Report from AID Delhi Treasury 12

Toon of the monthA Reason to Smile Kalindi 13Blueline Vs DTC Roshan Jha 13

Photo of the Month - Selva 14Volunteer Profile

Siddharth Goyal - YTF 15

Information Corner Selva 15

Contact us 15

My calendar of July has been filled with AID

activities. This month has been so productive in all ouinitiatives. The translation of Eureka kits to Hindi over and its now ready for print. We will soon bcirculating the copy of printed Hindi kits in schoolDuring my recent discussions with Balaji at AIDChennai, he gave me a valuable suggestion oapproaching private schools with our Eureka kits. W will soon be having the science experiments kits fro AID Chennai. Probably by the time you will read tharticle, it might have reached us.

Youth Task Force web team has done

commendable job and they have been constantupdating the website every now and then. There havbeen forums, discussion, and more RTIs this month. Anew team of volunteers has committed themselves traise RTIs on PWD roads, MCD schools, antransport-related issues. They have already fileapplications on the issues related to PWD roads anMCD schools. The transport-related issues would alsbe pursued soon enough. Later in the month, ou volunteers paired with experts to inspect road. YTF also planning to be a part of Yamuna Jiye Abhigyan

They also plan to start their own publication team.AID Prayas reached a new milestone during thmonth. On 10th of July 17, many children from AIDPrayas got enrolled at the local government school. Whave also been able to convince the school principal anBasic Siksha Adhikari of Noida Authority to get a roomfor us to take classes. Two regular teachers have alsbeen hired for the children.

AID Delhi has successfully created a nassociation with the DFC people to print AID Delhcalendars for 2008. Thanks to the people who havbeen extremely committed throughout and have take

the complete responsibility of this activity. It has beedecided to print a minimum of 1000 calendars in whicalready 400 copies have been booked by DFthemselves. AID Delhi is targeting its CSR cell to sethe rest of the calendars. We also request our volunteer who are working in corporate to come forward. Thcan do a meaningful lot by initiating a talk with their Hregarding this. The calendar would be a desktop one.


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We will also customize the calendars, that is,

the company name can also be printed on thecalendar. Both the theme and the price of the calendarwill be circulated shortly through an e-mail.

Our new collaboration this month includesjoining hands with Jaihind Camp at Bengali colony, Vasant Kunj where a few individuals are running anon-formal school. We have also teamed up with IBMfolks at Vasant Kunj, in their teaching initiative for thecommunity, which resides near by their office asconstruction labors. We are also working on a projectto analyze the standards of Indian dailies. The result ofthe survey will be circulated soon.

On 20th of this month we had a health campfor Khoj children from Bhikaji Center. They weretaken to Mrs. Sangeetas house where there was Dr.Zakir, who conducted the camp. On 21st of thismonth we had a health camp at AID Prayas andreceived an overwhelming response from the children,as well as from the community. Corporate ExecutiveBoard, a company based in Gurgaon, took up the

responsibility of conducting the camp. Dr. Megha, who conducted the camp, was so impressed by ourwork with the community that she has shown a keeninterest in conducting regular health camps, once inevery two months. She also added that we can chargethem Rs.1 or Rs.2 for the camp since we had such aresponse. The same company also conducted a healthcamp at Parichay on 28th of this month. Khojchildren were also taken for an educational trip to dollmuseum and to national museum on 22nd of thismonth. Children enjoyed being there along with our

volunteers and it was a good learning experience and alot of fun for all.

A special thanks to the interns who did asplendid job on analyzing the nutritious values of thefood served at Parichay in our nutrition program. They will also continue working on the five-colormeals, after they leave us. Thanks to the interns, whoworked on building up on arts and crafts curriculumfor us, which we now plan to use for several otherprojects as well. My hear-felt thanks to the interns,who have shown a keen dedication for their work onEureka kits and its translation!

On an ending note, I wish to thank all thevolunteers who have spent a lot of time and efforts indriving our family and making each day a better one. Iwill also like to welcome the new joinees to our AIDDelhi family. Happy Volunteering!

-SelvaAID Delhi

Project Updates: Aashayen

The project got the much needed push in the last fedays of this month. The classes at Timarpur have starteon a regular basis though the space still remains an issuof concern for us. Two new volunteers have joined Dolly and Preeti. Regular craft classes have also starte which would be aimed at knowing the acumen of thkids in various vocational streams. We plan to talk t

the principal of the MCD School nearby to resolve thspace matter. The classes have been on hygienparticularly as the kids seem to be facing minor healthazards .We have decided upon putting up AID posterin the Delhi University campus for greater intake ovolunteers in the coming days.

-Nitin GupAashayen Coordinato

Project Updates: AID Gurgaon

The preceding month for AID Gurgaon wfilled with a lot of activities. Since the last three month we have been conducting regular classes at UnnaSumanji, the teacher at Unnati, is working really harwith the children. In fact, progress of some children especially commendable. On July 28th, we were able tsecure admissions for five children in governmenschools of Jharsa. Durga and Tara were enrolled in firstandard in the Government School for Girls. Naraya was enrolled in third standard and Shiv and Sombe were enrolled in second standard in the Governme

School for Boys. Further, we will keep endeavoring tenroll more and more students in these schools so thathey can receive formal main stream education. Apafrom conducting regular classes, we also organizesome fun activities for these children during ouweekend visits. These activities included playing indoogames, conducting drawing sessions and arrangindance sessions for the children. Such activities helinfuse interest among children and motivate them tattend school more regularly. Moreover, such nonacademic excursions help children develop their creativfaculties and develop their personalities as

whole.Further, in the preceding month, the number active AID Gurgaon volunteers increased and we argetting a good response from them. If this continuewe can definitely arrange more activities and projects ithe future. For the next month, we intend to arrange medical check-up for children in Unnati. We also plato arrange a handicraft exhibition on the eve oIndependence Day with help from Literacy India.

-Sachin Tiwale and Pallavi Tyagi, AID Gurgaon


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Parichay had a lot of events during the month of July.Parichays newsletter was released at the end of May andwas widely circulated. We are also planning to introducemusic classes to the children of NF-III (who are atschool going level and children who are already going to

school) children. A volunteer have come forward totake care of the expenses of the instruments which isrequired for it. Soon Parichay will have music in itscurriculum.Selva has started to take H.E.L.P (Health EducationLearning Program) and the first topic which wasdiscussed was on Dengue. The class was for NF-IIIchildren and after the classes the children were ready toclean up their surroundings wherever they see a pool ofwater. He will be discussing about Malaria in his nextsession with the children.

Taruna and Shwetas internship has helped Parichay inintroducing a lot of new recipes in its NutritionProgram. A few interesting recipes are SabhudhanKheer, Dry seeds Matthi., etc.,. They also conducted acooking competition among the women, in which there were three teams who were working on the NutritionProgram. Prizes were distributed to the winning duringtheir farewell. They have submitted a report which willbe circulated shortly and have given us a presentationwhich is already available at AID Delhis website on theresearch theyve done. They analyzed the Nutritionvalues of the food which we are giving in our Nutrition

program.During this summer there were lot of activity classes forthe children and one such class was introducing all thestates of India to the children. That includes thediscussion of culture, resources, food, capital andmonuments of the state. Children have decided to cookevery states food on a Sunday in every month. Firstsuch cooking event stated with Punjabi food which wasprepared by the children themselves. Selva havepromised them to cook South Indian Dosas.Finally we also had a health camp on 28th of July

organized by a company Corporate Executive Board.The camp was attended by all the children of NF-I, NF-II and NF-III children and a few parents too. There were a lot of volunteers from CEB and they wereinteracting with the children and the parents. Childrenhave performed a few plays and sang a song to entertainthem.

-Selva,Parichay.

AID Delhi.

Project Updates: Parichay

Presentation by Mr. Manoj Kumar Mishra o YJA (Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan) for Yvolunteers. YTF volunteers decided to take pain mini-marathon to be held in August.

A marathon vision meet held to clearly definthe mission, vision, objectives & organization oYTF.

YTF clearly recognizes its ultimate mission ensuring transparent & corruption fregovernance & agrees to address that in shoterm by acting as an RTI support groupproviding RTI expertise while actively taking ukey governance related projects directly affectinsociety itself.

PWD, MCD & Transport identified as primarprojects YTF will directly work in. Websitfund raising, networking, creative identified asecondary tasks. Roles defined for most o volunteers. Swati, Aheli & Selva to act coordinates for PWD, MCD & Transporespectively.

All YTF activities divided between prima(directly pertaining to projects) & secondar(housekeeping).

All project coordinators presented write-ups otheir respective projects for volunteers.

Design finalized for first 100 T-shirts.

Suchi from NCPRI joined YTF & gave presentation on Section 4 of RTI. Acoordinators agreed to ensure Section compliance in their respective projects.

Saurabh presented an RTI presentation fromJOSH for general benefit of volunteers.

PWD team is gathering technical expertise ireading PWD files by meeting various roaexperts.

Three volunteers were called for their fidocument inspection in PWD. After inspectioninspection reports were provided demandincopies of select documents.

MCD & Transport projects still on drawinboard, transport projects hopefully will start ifull vigor by August beginning.

-Subodh Prabhu, YTF, AID Delh

Project Updates: ParichayProject Updates: Youth Task Force


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The following activities were the main highlights of thismonth:

1.) English/Grammar classes are going on for class 4th

and 5th.

2.) Computers are not working (Need repairing)

3.) Computer theory classes are going.

4.) Games playing like antakshari etc.

5.) Preparation for 15th august function is going on.We are searching somebody who can help the

children in dance preparation.

-Rajat Maheshwari,Coordinator, Nai Disha.

These kids are like any other kids, bubbling with energand just waiting to get their fair share in society. As novice volunteer, I realized that these kids just need little motivation to overcome their inhibitions and feaabout their acceptance in society and to hold on to theambitions and desires.Therefore, we as the better-off citizens of the countshould try to devote at least 6-7 hours per week to thes

kids for their development or indirectly for our societydevelopment and for our inner contentment. We shoulvolunteer for this cause and help these kids fulfill theaspirations. This will help bridge the gap between thtwo Indias that exist today. We as the citizens of freIndia are morally bound to maintain and furtheprogress our countrys development with compassioand an ever-improving attitude.As it is rightly said - BE THE CHANGE YOU WANTO SEE IN THIS WORLD.

-Shikha ChunkeKhoj, AID Delh

Project Update : Nai Disha

Volunteer Speak : Shikha Chunkee

Try and you can make a difference

Everyday while commuting on roads, we see childrenworking, begging and playing on the streets. At traffic

signals, you must have seen children thrusting theirwares in your faces and begging for money with a lookwhich would melt anyone's heart.

India has the largest population of street children in theworld. Figures reveal that at least 18 million children liveor work on the streets of urban India. These childrencan be found working as porters at bus or railwayterminals, as mechanics, as street vendors and even asrag pickers.

Ironically, with such an astonishingly huge figure of

street kids we are envisaging a developed country andare hankering to be the next world power. Today, theIndia we live in is divided into two parts a fastdeveloping India and an underdeveloped India. This gapseems to be increasing and the only reason being ourreluctance to participate in our country's development.So no matter how successful a person you are, in theend you should contribute towards your countrysdevelopment and societys betterment. Society is anintegral part of our life so why not start today bycontributing to our society by empowering these kids -

the future of our country.

Article : Samreet Kaur

Reaching out to Urban Marginalized inslums

Slums have always been and still remain

bane of any governance or administrative body eithe

at a local or a national level. Regular surveys indicat

the deplorable state of living conditions in the urbaslums of our country. According to the 2001 censu

there are 40.6 million people living in slums in 60

towns/cities and they together account for 22.8% othe urban population. Although these are the offici

figures, the non-official bodies place the figures

close to half of the total urban population. Thproblems faced by such a large number of populatio

increase exponentially and gain critical dimensions.

For example, a study by Delhi-based NGO

WaterAid states that only 50% of the slum populatiohas adequate access to safe water. Its estimate is th

155 million out of the 280 million urban populationor 55%, enjoyed access in 1990, against the offici

estimate of 88%. According to a World Bank repo

on 27 metropolitan cities in all of Asia, Chennai anDelhi are at par with the worst-performing cities i

terms of hours of availability per day.

Water-Wars are a reality in Indian slums alread

with long queues and heated arguments at the wate

taps norm of the day.


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Serious though the problem of potable water in the slums, it doesnt even begin to cover thewide scope of problems an average slum-dweller in anIndian Metro has to live with on a daily basis. Most ofthe slum population in Delhi comprises migrants andlabourers who live in large slums where the quality ofhousing is poor, sanitation facilities are basic or non-existent, and the settlements are over-crowded. Another

survey by National Sample Survey Organization in 2002revealed that only 15% of dwellings in urban slums havedrinking water, toilet and electricity within theirpremises. A majority of the population lives in rentedrooms of 10x10 feet, which is pathetic given the averagenumber of 5 persons per family.

Moreover, these people hardly ever possess voter cards. Hence, they do not vote and thegovernment has no official records of these people. Inthe absence of a voter-id card, they cant access the

basic welfare schemes initiated by the government suchas the food-rationing, bank accounts and the otherfinancial schemes such as the micro-credit and theAlpa-Bachat Yojna. To make matters worse, even thegovernment schools do not readily accept the slum-children and make demands for the residential proof which is not a condition as per the law. Nevertheless,the people arent able to say as much on account oftheir ignorance or general indifference towardseducation.

Thus, most of the slum children end up workingat a tender age when they should have been studying,

given the poverty of their homes and the apathy of thegovernment. Most others fall victims to physical, mentaland sexual abuse and an easy prey at the hands ofpedophiles and such-like criminals.A first-ever study by the Indian government along withtwo civil society organisations -- Prayas and Save theChildren -- and backed by the United NationsChildrens Fund admitted on April 9, 2007 that two-thirds of children in India are physically abused whilemore than half have faced some form of sexual abuse.

According to a recent statement by the labourministry, India has 12.6 million working childrenbetween the ages of five and 14 -- the largest number ofchild labourers in the world. These children work inhazardous industries like construction, manufacture ofbeedis and fireworks. Delhi alone has 41,899 childlabourers.

Two decades after a nationwide ban on child

labour in hazardous industries was introduced, thegovernment has now introduced a ban on child labour

in hospitality sector and as domestic help.

This has been widely criticized by the activists who fethat such laws have worsened the situation by drivinthe child labour industry underground. And theres nway to monitor such children away from the public eye

Heeding these concerns, Indias Minister for Womeand Child Development Renuka Choudhary wants aeasing of the child labour ban in non-hazardou

industries like carpet-weaving. She contends that thblanket ban denies children the right to a profession olivelihood by preventing them from picking up vitskills passed on by master craftsmen.

Thus, it is fairly easy to see the inter-connectivity of thtroubles in the lives of the slum dwellers. A number oschemes have been launched by the CentrGovernment to tackle the situation National SlumDevelopment Programme (NSDP), Swaran JayanShahri Rozgar Yojna (SJSRY), Night Shelter

Accelerated Urban Water Supply Programme (AUWSPwhich provide a wide range of services to urban pooand slum dwellers.

It includes identification of urban poor, formation ocommunity groups, involvement of NGOs, self-heland credit agencies, housing and sanitation, communitassets, wage employment etc. The National SlumDevelopment Policy drawn in April 1999 should breviewed and finalized. Stress should be laid oattitudinal changes among the authorities and thgeneral public. General misconceptions about slum

being the breeding-ground of crimes in the society neeto be removed. Slum dwellers need not always be at threceiving end of doles but need to be made activparticipants in the urban economic and social processeA constructive approach towards upgradation of livinconditions and rehabilitation needs to be adopted. Moimportantly, the stigma attached to being a slum dwelleneeds to be tackled with care. And this is where the roplayed by NGOs inRe-aligning the slum dwellers into the mainstreamsociety comes into play.

Parichay is one such example of how far concentrateand dedicated effort could go towards changing the liveof thousands of people when they are provided with little guidance and direction in the path of living. Starte7 years ago by Mr. Vijay Bajpai in the Delhi suburb oTukmirpur near Bhajanpura, the population of the areis a mix of migrant labourers, rickshaw pullers and selemployed people with no regular source of income. MBajpai talks of the guiding mantra in his endeavour.


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The NGO works with the belief that SustainableDevelopment can be brought about without anygovernment support with the help of community andsociety.

The primary objective of Parichay is the education ofchildren and instilling of right values in them and toprovide them a chance of living in a healthy

environment. Till date, the NGO has benefited about250 kids. Besides providing the kids with formaleducation, stress is laid on vocational training. Kidsmake products like notebooks, file folders, and carrybags and mobile covers etc. which are then marketed byputting up stalls in corporate houses, college fests.Besides, the NGO has also involved the ladies of theslum in a masala-making unit. The buying of spices,grinding, packaging and selling of the final products isall done by the ladies themselves. The NGO hassuccessfully managed to secure the support of

companies like HCL, TCS, ST Microelectronics etc.

And the business has been doing exceptionally wellright from the start. Says Mr. Vijay,The turnover in the First year was Rs. 5000 and now inthe Seventh year, we have set ourselves a target of 2.5Lakhs that we expect to cross.

The aim of Parichay is to make the people aware oftheir rights, to build up their self-esteem and to havethem understand their potentials. This is exemplified bythe

Self-Help Box which has been installed in the NGOoffice. Mr. Vijay explains, Whenever the kids takesomething from the NGO, they pay a nominal price forit. The idea is to instill a sense of responsibility in thekids. Community Contribution overrides the problem ofbegging. All the beneficiaries of the NGO are considered itsassets and they share an equal responsibility as well asreturns from the NGO. 75% of the share from the salesof spices goes to the women workers and 50% of theproceeds from the handicraft sales is shared by the

children.

And it has paid off too. Mr. Vijay asserts that he casesof Alcoholism, Drugs, Violence and Eve-Teasing in thecommunity have reduced sharply since Parichay startedits operation here seven years ago. The NGO firmlybelieves in finding its resources and ideas from amongstthe community its working. The plan is to involve thelocal people at each step and to maintain absolutetransparency in the workings of Parichay.

The idea is to bring forth leaders from withthe people and then hand over the management to thcommunity itself. Given the success Parichay has beethe NGO is planning another initiative soon whereithe mentally challenged and physically-handicappepeople would be taken in its folds.

Rani is a girl Parichay considers its very own succe

story. She was a girl like any other with no dreams in heeyes and no plans for the future. At the age of 11, shgot involved with the NGO, learnt stitching and alsworks at the masala unit. Besides getting 50% profit sharing off the sales, she gets to go out and meet peopin connection with the marketing of the handicraproducts. Shed also be getting her diploma in stitchinfrom the government centre and hopefully, would bable to find a job with an export house. She says of hetryst with Parichay,I used to sit idle the whole day. Now, I have a purpos

to my life.

No doubt, Parichay has been able to change lives ithis sleepy community of 5000 people. They have beeable to mobilize a hitherto idle community surviving athe fringes of the society and transform it into responsible group which contributes positively to thsociety. Mr. Vijay Bajpai sums up the role of Parichayin the entire process beautifully when he says,We have been able to sell dreams to them.

-Samreet KauAID Pun

Samreet have been interning with us in the summer foa couple of days and have been actively involved in AIDPrayas. She is right now at Pune and she is willing tstart some projects there and she have identified one.

Article : Siddharth Goyal

Commonwealth games village andamuna

The Commonwealth Games are going to be held

Delhi in 2010. The games may not be as prestigious athe Olympics, yet the competition and the zest tsucceed is of grand magnitude (Australia is one of thparticipating countries. Need I say anything more?). Ispite of being just a 10 day athletic fiesta, the impathese games leave on the host city is long lasting. Thealso catalyse the process of development of thinfrastructure of the host city by several factors. Thwill become more obvious to you in the coming threyears when you will see dramatic developments in oucity at a pace faster than Ram Gopal Vermmanufacture films in his factory.


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Sounds like a dream news for Delhites. Isnt it? With allthe infrastructure in and roads in place, imagine howmuch better life might become one day!!! Thanks toinnumerable roads and flyovers you could tell yourmom that you are going just a few miles away and would come back in a few hours and could actuallystretch your peregrination to that shady cinema hall

several miles away to catch the morning show of PayalRohatgis latest without your mom getting suspicious atall!!!If only it were true! For, if indeed the ecologicalramifications at the proposed site for developing variousfacilities for the event ma literally drown the city oneday into such a morass it might actually take decades forus to recover from it. The proposed site is very close tothe banks of river Yamuna and the most appalling factof this whole business is the argument given by DelhiDevelopment Authority (DDA), which will develop the

site, for ignoring all warnings and remonstrations by various government (yes government) and nongovernmental organisations: Akshardham Temple isalso built at the same site and has been there withoutany hassles for a long period of time and hence the siteought to be developed as it is Desirable [Source: Mr.Manoj Mishra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyans presentation]. To set the record straight, we very much want theCommonwealth Games to be held in our city, but theproposed site should be shifted to some safer place. Ifthe DDA goes ahead with its plans, it might spell doomfor Yamuna (the lifeline of Delhi), which is already in a

cadaverous state due to pollution. Just give a thought,what might happen to the people shopping in the mallone fine day in the summer of 2015, that was built at thesite after the end of the games, when the incessant rainsset off a deluge in the other lifeline of our beloved city.

- Siddharth GoyalYTF, AID Delhi

With one smooth gush it comes down to a still whithe station is taken by a whirlwind. Coolies buzzing thstation, sliding past me, even as I wave my hand in gesture of No No I can take care of myself. On mway to the Sambhavna Clinic I am perplexed, there nothing wrong with the city. No mind boggling povertcomes raw to me and the usual city pollution that by ancomparison to Delhi and Mumbai appears less and

ask, Isnt the city facing one of the starkeenvironmental hazards?

I reach the Clinic. It stands tall and poiseamidst the urban slum- presenting the brilliant contrabetween the distorted development and the sustainabeffort at restoring lives. One cant help but take pride iits spirit. As Nishant gives me a brief background ohow the clinic was made I look around. Patients arsitting in calm frenzy. Children are busy playing near thsmall pond, counting the turtles and fish. Air and lighare stirring the space in abundance. And I think- th

doesnt look like a clinic at all. It is so fresh and sbeautiful as if it were a tourist resort. Yet, all notions oits being touristy get dispelled as you see the old and thbudding alike waiting for their turn to meet the doctor.

I move to the canteen where I wait for thsurvivor leaders to come. Rasheeda Aapa and Champdi rush in as they continue to smile at me. And question myself- are leaders ever so accessible (well yein theory but in practice???) Aapa gives me an accounof the things she would like me to do as I keep lookinat her in barefaced awe. She is so beautiful. And I wishcould look like her some years past my prime. Champ

di is holding a girl of about six-seven years. Nishant telme she is her granddaughter. I cant help but notice thbubbly girl, so full of life and spirit. And as I smile shreciprocates with some vague change in her face. Mheart reached out to her in deep anguish. She cansmile. Yet she is smiling. But I cant see that. She has cleft lip. She was born with it. I feel guilty as I smile aher. I am confused what should I do with my smilSmile is the first expression instantly connecting yo with anyone. A childhood without this most innocegesture is unbelievable. But she had no choice. As sh

continues to smile at me I get buried in the burden omy own conscience and feel utterly helpless. Sapnamother was exposed to the Carbide gas twenty twyears ago.

Working with Bhopalis is like sitting othe tide wave, you never know which way it woulsurprise you. And they make some of the craziest ideadoable. There is never a question Can we? But alwayHow to? So I find myself discussing how to make thdog piss on Tata products. Preferably Tata salt. Threason- Tata makes an audacious offer to clean u

Bhopal so as to get Dow invest more in the country.

Article : Shalini Sharma

A story untold.

The story as yet to be said is the story of myencounter with Bhopal. Bhopal transcends beyond thetopographical bounds and gallops into our very ownsoul. It does not put you in any dilemma about what itstands for. It makes no pretension. It does not hesitatein reaching you. It does not wait before it shows what itwas and what it has come to be.

Getting to Bhopal is a myriad of memories forme. I peek out from the window, taking in the risingsun, the chirping birds, the hustle of the wind all in me

even as Bhopal express slows down for its final stop.


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Survivors are stunned. Survivors are angry. After almosta decade it is still fake charity and not Justice. Next, Ifind myself marching the streets of Old Bhopal withsurvivors asking shopkeepers to say loud and clear-Tatabye bye!! As I am waiting for Hajira Aapa to catch upwith the rest of us I see two women walk past me. Oneof them is carrying a little girl whose face is covered with the dupatta. Bhopal is still unbearably hot in

summers and a veil is a normal sight. Just as I turn backto call Hajira Aapa I see the wind blowing the dupattaoff the girls face. Her eyeboll is almost hanging out. Ihad never seen anyone like this before. I tell this toChampa di and both of us run back toward the two women. Champa di makes them sit in a nearby shopand ask them about the girl. I cant help staring at thegirl. And she stares back deep into my flesh and soul.She is nine but looks no more than a six months old. They live in the lane next to Champa di. Champa dididnt have a clue to the existence of this girl till this

very moment. Her mother tells us, If people get toknow about her, it will be difficult for her elder sistersto get married. Her name is Shanu. Shanus parentswere exposed to the Carbide gas twenty years ago.

How would it be to open your palm and not beable to move your fingers? To have other children callyou the devil child because you have two fingers jointpermanently by birth. You want to accuse them. You want to point a finger at them. You cant. Aamir toldme how much he wants to play cricket with other boyswho wont believe he can catch a ball. I come back andtry opening the lock with my fingers held tight. The key

fell. Try flipping through the alchemist. The pagecrumbles in the process. Try writing my daily diaryholding the pen. The pen moves only to produce someincomprehensible marks. I have an overwhelming desireto slap Warren Anderson. A slap is the best I couldmuster with a flat palm.

Champa di tells me they thought of Chingaribecause they had Sapna. They dreamt how it would beto see Sapna smiling. Chingari- an organization that would work towards the treatment and relief for thesecond generation affected. Months later, in St

Stephens hospital I see some men and women giggling.Free surgeries for their children had brought them topearls of laughter. One of them tells me, We neverthought a simple operation could do this. Our son willno longer have that sad expression. He would have acomplete face. As I open the door to the second floorgeneral ward a smiling Sapna opens her arms to me.Yes, a smile for real! Till then I had only Rashida Aapa and others tell methat many of the effects found in second generation canbe treated or at least corrected. For instance cleft lips

can be actually corrected. Missing palate can be created.

It calls for someone to pay for the treatment. It involvesomeone to do these operations wholeheartedly. But, is possible. For many other effects which are nocurable for instance, cerebral palsy one can create a funto pay for childs medical and other needs. But, it calfor someone to pay for this fund. It involves someonwith a will to help. Most of all, it asks for a collectivvoice against such gross neglect as rendered to Bhopal

both by the Company as well as the government and collective conscience for justice to be ensured.The story is yet to be said. It is still unsaid because weare to write it together. Our story of the change makingor our story of us as the change in the making! As I seeAamir showing his fingers after his surgery, celebratinga new beginning to life I know change is possible.Absolutely possible! What do you think?

- Shalini Sharma,Students for Bhopa

Great job, good salary, loving family isnt it athat we ask for? Underlying all these wishes is thpursuit of happiness. Some things make us feel euphoribut sustained peace of mind can only be attained whewe come a full circle ending where we started. We astart our lives with nothing and will end with nothintoo. All that we gain is through our surroundings, oucommunity. And it is imperative that we give back tour communities. To win a rat race only to realize whawe needed was not the winners prize, is a disappointin

experience people go through in their middle ages. Whnot work on it now? Why not break the rat race? Whnot do something that sows the seeds for futurhappiness? How to do it? Volunteering - one word thencompasses a whole new world. When I starte volunteering actively, I realized it is not a separaactivity but a way of life. Depending on the time whave and within our constraints and responsibilitietheres a huge realm of activities that we can take u voluntarily. It only requires a will to do somethibeyond the usual list of things we do everyday. A

commitment - not to others but to oneself. A promisto change the world and make it better. It may seemburgeoning to begin with but it becomes so simple onc we take the plunge. I have seen many lives beitransformed after they started volunteering with AIDincluding my own. Theres a spark in every activist anit is contagious enough to hold you forever! Just do ido not wait for the right time. The good time is now so just look around and take the initiative. Lets leavbehind a legacy that coming generations can cherish!

- Riputapan Singh, AID Delh

Volunteering...take a plunge now: Ripu


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I have been with AID for the past two years. Iwas introduced to the various projects going on in Delhiby Mr. Anirban (the then volunteer coordinator). Istarted working with All India Confederation of theBlind. AICB was founded in 1980 and started as a one-

room venture in Model Town, New Delhi with a capitalof Rs. 300 only. It began with just two departments, i.e.the English and Hindi Stenography Departments. TheRohini center was established later in 1988 where manynew departments were introduced like the computercenter for converting textbooks to Braille books, Brailleprinting machine department, recording studio etc. The entire executive committee of AICB (President,Vice President, Secretary General and two Secretaries) iscomprised of visually impaired members. Mr. Kaul isthe Founder Secretary General of AICB. He is also theSecretary General for Asian Blind Union, which is

affiliated to the World Blind Union. The Confederationalso has a special school for blind children in Gurgaonthat was started in 1992.Every year, the Confederation organizes intensivetraining workshops for the visually impaired, which isattended by international delegates as well. Last year, the workshop saw participation from four Pakistanidelegates. The participants are trained in mobility,computer education, cooking, basic daily living skillsalong with lectures on various topics including sexeducation, advocacy in legal matters etc.

My association with AICB began in September 2005.There I met Mr. Vikas, who is the recording studio in-charge, and he showed me around the entire campusthat includes hostel for girls, a mess, reading room etc. They had a requirement for recording textbooks so Ivolunteered to help. Though the going was a little toughin the beginning, I gradually started enjoying the work,especially when I realized how important this was forthe numerous dedicated students there. I have had thegood fortune to be in company of such motivatedchildren at AICB whove made me lot more patient and

confident as a person and that has certainly made animpact on my personal and professional life. And I canconfidently say that for AID as well. Through myassociation with AID- Delhi, Ive been fortunate tohave met so many driven and committed people, working for the sole aim of serving the society. I willalways cherish the time I spent with AID-Delhi and Illcertainly contribute as much as I can, from wherever Iam.

- Ritika Subash,AID Delhi

My Experience with AID : Ritika

Hi All,On my last busy and sweaty Saturday afternoon, I trierefreshment. I happened to be in Hauz Khas and wa

approached by 2 children selling books. An idea came tme and I was quickly ready with pen and notebook for field study. Here goes my on-the-fly report:Government of India has taken corrective measures andeclared Child Labour as illegal. When I asked Dinanat Yadav whether he was aware of the same, the stareply came as, the Government does lots of thinghow many you see followed? He is the so-called caretaker of all the street children whom I interviewed anto whom all the children report to. During my shocourse, I interviewed some odd-21 children sellinbooks, magazines and toys to people whose vehicle

stopped at the red-light. According to the survey statistics, I categorize thebased on several parameters as follows:(i)Age Group:

7-10 yrs 11-15 yrs >15 yrs5 12 4

(ii)Educational Background:

Uneducated Educated till class 5th17 4

(iii)Occupation of parents (Father):

No other Earning member(Average Income* : 0)

2 brothers

Vendor Fruits/Vegetables(Average Income : 50/-)

2

Farmer(Average Income : 40/-)

14

Rickshaw Puller(Average Income : 70/-)

3

*Daily average incomeNote: Nearly all of the children were from village

of state of Bihar.(iv)Occupation

All children sold books, magazines, toys anewspapers year-round switching one to other randombut limiting to these options only.

Interns Corner

Eureka Kits and Implementation : Arpana


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(v)Total Family Size (including parents, brothers, sistersand grand-parents):

0-2 2-4 4-6 >60 4 5 7

These street children carried out the work of sellingbooks, magazines and toys during the time from 9:00am to 6:00 pm. Some told that they also sell newspapersto at 8:00 am and work as help-boys with certain nearbyvendors in evening. These children strictly confine theiroccupation in nearby areas of the red-light stoppagenear Hauz Khas post office. During the course ofsurvey, it was revealed that all of them had been working since 1-3 years and were reporting to a manname Dinanath Yadav who had actually allured mostof them from villages in Bihar to Delhi, by theprospects of a good job. These children were entitled to25 percent share of the price of the item they sold, the

rest being taken by their care-taker. For average of 10magazines costing Rs 15/- sold per day, the averageincome of these children comes at Rs. 30. On meetingthis man, he proudly claimed that he was training suchgroups of street children at several red-light stoppagesof Delhi. It is worthwhile to note that the total numberof children under him was reported to be approximately350.Many of these children are actually staying withouttheir parents in Delhi slums. Of the group I interviewed,only few actually visit their villages atleast once a month.That children are working in a profession totally distinct

from what their background suggests or parents do inaddition to staying away from family for long durations,is indicative of a closely-knit circuit of child-abductorsand corrupt government officials. It comes as a surprisethat neither children nor the care-taker claim that theyare pestered by policemen. Unwillingness on their partto talk on this topic makes me inquisitive to enquireabout it in different way. Though Government has several measures in place todo away with the problems of street children, it seemsthe business is flourishing in a clandestine manner at afast pace. The poor parents who are generallyagricultural laborers are forced to send their children at very low age to urban areas like Delhi to earn moneyand support the family to meet the bare necessity. Theemployer derives the advantage of these children in un-organized as well as organized sector by paying themextremely low wages and extracting extra workinghours. The labour law for provident fund and gratuity isnot applicable for these children, which wouldotherwise have to be paid for adult workers. Thesechildren have no association to put forward theirdemands.

There are several measure already being taken Government and NGOs to rehabilitate street childreand provide them proper education, food, clothing anshelter. The two reasons which surface as prime causefor this grim situation are:

1. Extreme Poverty2. Shrewd Industry Employers.

Now the question arises how to prevent this dirty game What can be done? Is a Peoples Movement require

Its time when we start to think seriously about lonterm contributions in forms of research works. researched a bit on search engines and and came acrosa unique idea of funding children rather than school This is currently being incorporated in form Education Vouchers. Can the system work in India havto be discovered.Over with my travelers account. Time for updates. Mspree with Prayaas went best in first two weeks but wajerked in last two weeks due to work personal fronThe Eureka kits have in Hindi has proved useful for th

kids. They are a enthusiastic bunch of smart students tbe delat in special way to get maximum of theenergy.Good news was that Prayaas volunteers wersuccessful in enrolling near-about dozen students tGovernment School. Kudos to everyone out there!!Hoping for a wonderful journey ahead!

- Arpana PrajapatIntern, AID Prayas, AID Delh

Internship for a month. A lifetime

experience : Taruna & Shweta

We knew that the best helping hand lies at theend of your own wrist but got a chance to see the largemeaning of this well-said quote during my month longinternship at Parichay. As interns my we were assignedthe task to evaluate and modify the Nutrition Programof Parichay that is supported by AID, Delhi. There isonly one word that can precisely express the experienceof working at Parichay and AID----DIFFERENT!!!

An organization working for manydifferecauses with a verydifferentapproach in a verydifferentwafrom the rest in this field. The ideology of AID and thprinciples on which Parichay works are different fromother NGOs because unlike them this organization doenot believe in commercialization, pomp and showInstead there is simplicity, sincerity, genuine hard worand selfless endeavor that fuel all the activities of thorganization giving it an edge above the rest!!!


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The belief they harbor in their volunteers is expressedfrom the fact that as interns we were given full freedomto experiment new things to achieve the desired goals. The constant support, guidance and appreciation that we received at Parichay and AID were the greatestmotivating forces to work harder and better. It was apleasure to work for the betterment of the children ofParichay children who are extremely humble,

innocent, loving, well mannered and untouched by theill feelings of violence, jealousy, dishonesty andcorruption. There is an easily identifiable sense of self-respect and self-reliance among these children thatmakes them stand out in the crowd of contemporariesfrom the same area and this makes them different.Working at Parichay was truly aparichayto a completelydifferent world that is seemingly different from ours butvery much like ours. It has a lot to offer and we have alot to learn from the people of this world. All that isrequired is the willingness and effort to bring the two

worlds together and that is exactly what Parichay and AID are attempting to do. We are grateful to havereceived an opportunity to be a part of this endeavorand would love to continue to offer our services.It is because of these experiences that were differentfrom what we had expected to receive before coming herethat we call it an internship for a month but anexperience of a lifetime.

- Taruna SanghiShweta Sharma,

Interns, Parihay, AID Delhi

Report from AID Delhi Treasury : Anuj

From this month onwards we have planned to circulateour donors name in the newsletter who regularlycontribute Meal a Month as well as one time donors.We will be releasing the expenditure details once in aquarter.Ajay GroverAmit GuptaAmitabh Mishra

Anoop SahaAnuj GroverAnuradhaAparna BhatiaArpana PrajapatiArti KheraArun RajBhanu PrakashBhuvan GuptaC. VenkateshChirag Kapoor

CSR committee, STMicroelectronics,FranceD. K. PublishersDarshan MehraDeepika PantDivisha SaxenaGandhi MathiGiri

Gunjan SharmaHiroo MoorjaaniKali CharanayaKallol ChatterjeeMalathi KarManish AgarwalManisha SharmaManisha VermaMata Jai Kaur Public School, AshokViharMeera Vaswani

Monica SharmaMukta GoelNaval SainiNirmallya KarNishant JainNitin GuptaNitin MahajanPeeyush KulshreshthaPratyushPriyanka KhareRajRajat MaheshwariRiputapan SinghSahil SethiSamira DashSasmita BasuSelva GanapathySenthil RajShweta MallSmita GuptaSoumya RoySubhashini GhoraiSubodh Prabhu

Sudip BasuSurya Malik GroverTina GoyalTrapti JainTulika GuptaVaishali SuryawanshiPlease feel free to ring us up if you have contributedMeal a Month and find your name missing in the list

- Anuj GroTreasurer, AID D


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News : 17 of Prayas Children get admission to Government School..

- Sketch - Kalindi,Intern, Aashayen

- Thoughts - SelvaAID Delhi

News: Government of Delhi Vs Blue line buses bule line buses should

maintain self discipline.. Govt. of Delhi

- Image- Roshan Jha,YTF, AID Delhi

-Thought Selva,AID Delhi

Toon of the Month


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Photo of the Month : Selva - Adding colors to our life

Project: ParichayPhotographer: SelvaDate: 20th July 2007Event: Prize distribution ceremony of the cooking competition and farewell to the interns from S.N.D.T,MumbaiDescription: It was huge fun and just the prize distribution ceremony got over and the interns were about toleave parichay to get back to their college. Children were so much happy that their Nutrition Program has got somuch of variety of new dishes as suggested by the didis and they were keen to take photograph with them. Itwas really a hot sunny day and the children along with their mother and the didi went on to the shadow and meat the Sun Just was focusing them and got the rainbow in the image. The rainbow itself has known thattheir life is getting more and more colorful and it wanted to pose for the image along with the Parichay family.Soon the five color meal program will be worked out and really more color will be added not only to their lifebut also to their food.


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Feedback: [email protected] Web: http://delhi.aidindia.org Phone: +91-9213797167Send your Cheques toSelva Ganapathy.RDepartment of Chemical Engineering,Indian Institute of Technology,Delhi - 110016Hauz KhasPhone: +91-9891358457, +91-9211467341

Publications TeamCoordinator: SelvaEditors: Selva, Puneeta, Gauri, Pallavi, Charu, KunalDesigners: Selva, Arvinder, Saurabh

Volunteer Profile

Siddharth Goyal

Youth Task Force,

AID Delhi.

Siddharth Goyal is doing his third year computer

science from Netaji Subash Institute of Technology. Hehas been with AID Delhi for about 3 months by now.He is an inspiration in himself, having lots of passiontowards volunteering and social service, he has beenassociated with Khoj which is a teaching project andYouth Task Force which deals with RTI. He has alwaysmade his visions clear and choosed the way of volunteering and he has his own style which is oneunique thing I found in him. He is the first guy whotalked about brining discipline during the classes he held

at Khoj and some how he was able to be successful in

doing so. Being a computer engineer he can be morehandy with time when he grows along with AID Delhiin developing VMS (Volunteer Management System). With Youth Task Force this guy have filed RTI onroads and will be filing more and have been activelyinvolved in lot of net searches of the documents whichwe require before filing RTIs. I wish he will be a great

asset for AID Delhi and our association will remainforever. He is also a good writer and some of histhoughts can be read in his bloghttp://crazyideashere.blogspot.com/

- Selva,AID Delhi

Information Corner: Selva

Do you want to travel in Auto and the Auto drdenies to take you by the meter? . Please registecomplaint immediately at the TSR complaint num011-42400400 and file a complaint with the a

number. You can file a complaint as (i). Over chargand (ii) not abiding with the rules.The same number can be used for filing complaintsblue line buses if they fail to stop at a bus stoverspeeding, driver / conductor smoking inside bus or drinking in the bus. File a complaint immediatIf you need more assistance on it feel free to ask anyour Youth Task Force volunteer and they will guyou.More information of traffic rules and regulations canread at http://www.delhitrafficpolice.nic.in/

AID India Chapters

There are more AID India Chapters blossoming thdays and the following are in the budding stage aneed our help for growing more.AID ChandigargAID JaipurAID Pune (already have some experienced volunteerAID KanpurAID Guwahati

AID Bihar (yet to be started).Please get back to us if you can help in any way in of the above chapter by referring to your friendcolleague / neighbor etc. that will help us in buildmore volunteer base there which would help usinitiating more projects at the ground level.

AID Delhi newsletter July 2007

Documents

Transcript of AID Delhi newsletter July 2007