AID Delhi newsletter november 2008

8/14/2019 AID Delhi newsletter november 2008

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Association for Indias DevelopmentDelhi Chapter Newsletter

November

2008

Table of Contents Editorial

Editorial 1

Project UpdatesAID Aashayein 2AID Gurgaon 2AID Prayas 3Parichay 4Khoj 5Jamghat 5

Article: How to be an agent of Change 5

AID Treasury 6

AID India Annual Conference 7

ROTI 2009 9

Contact us 10

Great to see you all back in another version ofour AID Delhis monthly newsletter. I apologize for thedelay in the same. This is the last version of thiscalendar year and it has been an enchanting year for AID Delhi and its activities. Weve spread our wingsacross lot of new horizons this year with the strength ofour volunteers. Weve also got a full timer with us now who will even strengthen AID Delhis activities andmake its presence a valuable one. Weve kick started afew new ventures and collaborations this year and hopeto carry it along finely in the coming years. I wouldsincerely thank every one of you whove offeredsupport to make us reach where we are now today.

In my editorial Id like to focus on meal a monthas I see the trend of meal a month getting a downfall inthe last couple of months. Now we all know that AIDDelhi does a lot of good work on the ground with thehelp of volunteers and run projects. We all question

where does the support for running our projects comefrom?. We always raised our funds through our meal amonth from our volunteers and supporters. Now whatis meal a month? Simply defining its the money offeredto AID Delhi by a person whose one meal valuesequivalent to the amount which he / she gives. Nowwhy do we call it as meal a month and not a donation?As per me donation is something which is being madeto a charity where you give away some money to anyone which according to you might be for a good cause orfor a feel good factor and some where just to show tax

exemption, but meal a month is something whichrelates to make a person feel / show value towards thecontribution as its not just the money donated but ameal of them.

We all agree that we survive for our food andshelter which are the most prior things and a lot ofother things follow and we value our food we eat andwe respect the money spent on our food.


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It might sound a bit sentimental but the fact isthat when one pledges an amount which he / shemight spend for a meal of theirs they feel moreaffiliated towards the cause. The value of food / mealis not the same for all. It differs from person to

person by this way ensure that each one of us feel freeto contribute whatever they feel that they wouldspend. Most of us probably keep a fast once in a weekor a month [the reasons being so many which I wouldnot discuss], but never thought that why dont we skipone meal of ours and contribute that value of the mealto a cause. This seems to be very simple but when itcomes in the ground it is very effective. Lets not beashamed that I spend only Rs.20/- for a meal. ThatRs. 20/- adds a meal to your life but can add a lotmore to someone else who is getting benefited

through AID.

We have more than 700 registered volunteers with us out of which less than 10 % volunteerscontribute meal a month with which we could do sucha tremendous work. Imagine if more volunteers startto contribute. Small drops come together to makeflood. Lets come together and make a hugeDIFFERENCE. Happy New Year and MerryChirtmas in Advance.

Happy Reading!!! Selva Ganapathy [email protected]

+91-9891358457

4. Aman and Nikhil, two volunteers have taken up theresponsibility of creating a database of thecommunity by conducting a survey and arecurrently working on the same.

5.Aashayein decided to make some stuff this Diwaliand we with the help of some volunteers wemanaged to make three items, which were,bookmarks, bags and photo frames. These items were sold at ST Microelectronics on 20th Octoberwith the help of Parichay.

6. A meeting with Sanjeev from AID was heldregarding space issue.

Events planned in next month:

We are now planning to share the experience of makingthe products with all the volunteers and teach all thekids as well as volunteers how to make the stuff. Alsoprovide some women in the community with material tomake stuff which can later be marketed.

A volunteer Shireen will be joining us from the end ofOctober and hopefully by next month with the help ofVijay Bhaiya from Parichay we will start working on aspecial kid from aashayein.

Project Location: Timarpur ( 10minute walk from

Delhi University metro station )

Regular Classes:

Weekends - Saturday : 4 pm - 6 pm

Sunday : 10:30am - 12:30 pm

Regular volunteers: Kavita Aunty, Nitin, Neeru,Nikhil, Kriti, Sampurna, Aman, Arongdi, Tanya

New volunteers this month: Rupin

Contact Information: Neeru Malhotra - 9971661422

Project Updates: AID Gurgaon

Project Updates: AID Aasahyein

Activity Updates:

1. In the month of October the regular weekendclasses of Aashayein took place.

2. Apart from academics children were told about theharmful effects of bursting crackers on Diwali andhow it can be very hazardous.

3. Two volunteers Prachi and Ragini who had joinedus from the Play for Peace organization and were toconduct a teo month program with the kids had toleave due to some prior commitments, but will joinlater when they an devote their time fully.

ctivity Updates

Nutrition program

As part of regularizing the Nutrition program on a dailybasis, AID Gurgaon volunteers took the following steps:


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1. Purchased utensils and gas achieveindependence in terms of infrastructure

2. Started handing over the responsibilities likeprocuring the milk, heating the milk anddistribution the milk to senior students; thishelped the process become self sufficient

3. Has got a proposal from RBS to sponsor theprogram for 2 months after they have had alook at the program on a weekday

Regular student Education Program (RSEP)program

1. Winter uniforms procured for students admittedby AID- Gurgaon in a private school.


Regular Nutrition Program and admitting a few morechildren to mainstream education with the help ofPallavanjali School

Project Location: Sector 31, Gurgaon

Timings: Regular school sessions: Monday toFriday Volunteer visits to Basti : Saturday andSunday 15.00 hours onwards

Regular volunteers: Puneet, Anshul, Shankar, Dilip

Puneet [email protected]

+91- 9811621209

On academic front, classes are running smoothly,leaving aside minor hiccups. Classes of 12 children potential children likely to be admitted with school (NaiDisha) in Class II & above in next academic session are being conducted 5 days a week, Mon-Wed-Fri(2030-2230 Hrs) Sat-Sun (1600-1800 Hrs). Apart from

these, classes for 12-15 children in junior class (less than8 yrs of age) are being conducted on Tue-Thurs-Sat(1800-2000) Hrs. Some of these children will also betried for admission in schools starting next academicsession.

On volunteer's enthusiasm side, we are notfaring very well. Probably the slump in enthusiasm islinked to global economy, but with better propensity toresurrect. So no major issues are seen as on now. New volunteer are always welcome but volunteers with

radical ideas glued with practicality are preferred!!

On fund raising front, we are doing just fine andmore or less self sufficient, thanks to some majordonations by our esteemed patrons. Names arenot being disclosed here keeping non-disclosure clause(spirit of unbiased approach, equal stake &responsibility) in mind.

That's all for the month!!

Anand K Gupta+91-9868885823

[email protected]

Eureka Class

The Eureka class at present contains 12 children out of which 11 are regular. The class was held after onemonth hence we had to start the class from the scratchas children might have lost touch. I accompanied by 4other volunteers together started the class. They used tocome on the respective days on which they were

available.

As we started to teach every kid the basicvarnmala and eventually got to know that Jainab Rubyand Dolly were through with it. Hence we separatedthem from the lot. While rest of the children continuedto learn the letters in Hindi.Tarun brought a colourfulchart which contained the Varnmala through which wetaught. He also brought some small charts which wehad put in the class only so that children can see thatregularly and learn while seeing. Jainab, Ruby and Dolly

side b side were learnin the basic matras and the

Project Updates: AID Prayas

Activity Updates

In this month, we rented a place with muchbigger space as compared to existing setup inside thecommunity, located around 300 meters fromcommunity gate in Sector 16 itself. This place is leasedfor Prayaas, starting Nov 15, 2008 for 11 months. Weare in the process of changing the look & feel of theroom and creating a semblance of school. A volunteerassociated with Literacy India is helping us in thisexercise. We are also in process of hiring a full timeteacher, just to do away with any kind of irregularity inteaching process and hope to zero in next two weeks.


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In every class we took from then we revised what we did in the last class and then used to moveforward. On an individual level also everyone is doing

well except Seepat. Ijaaz as studied by the other volunteers has some problem in writing and usuallymakes mirror images. So we believe some specialtreatment is required for him.

Charu Garg+91-99958363035

[email protected]


Vocational training for community women with thehelp of AROH Foundation and Non Formal EducationClasses at the new centre with help from Literacy India.

Project Location: Naya Bans, Sector 16, Noida.

Regular Classes: Pioneer Tuesday, Thrusday20.30 hours 22.30 hoursEureka Tuesday, Thrusday andSaturday 18.00 hours to 20.00hours.

Class II Monday, Wednesdayand Friday 20.30 hours to22.30 hours and Saturday andSunday 16.00 hours 18.00hours.

Regular volunteers: Darshan, Rajiv, Sugandha, Kavita,Anand bhai, Arun RajEureka Class : Nikunj, Charu, Tarun, Ritesh, Poonamand Anindita.

Activity Updates

Children have been celebrating Bhaiya's b'dayfor quite some time now. Last year, Bhaiya hadstrictly told them not to bring any gifts.Honoring his wishes and their own as well, theychose b'ful gifts for Bhaiya. This time the thingswere - notebooks, stationary items, erasers, pensetc. In short, everything that can be used at thecenter.

Stall at STM was held on Nov 12. The saletouched the figure of Rs. 9,780.

Children's day was celebrated with greatenthusiasm. A drawing competition wasorganized for NFE 1, 2, and 3. An exercise wasconducted with the children - where they wereasked about the kinds of game they play thesedays. It seems the children are not aware of thegames which were played earlier. The effect ofmedia is apparent. In some games, they are wayahead of us, in some other games, they lack theenergy that we used to demonstrate as children.

On November 28, the visitors fromEHA visited the center. It was a nice experienceto have interacted with a project from asomewhat different community with a differentset of problems altogether. The project is basedin Fatehpur, near UP and they need somesupport from us to market their products.Parichay time would soon plan a visitto Fatehpur to get a better idea of the project.

A child Yusuf met an awful accident whilecrossing the road from school. He has sufferedmultiple fractures in leg. Urgent help is requiredto support his family.

At least 90% community members casted their voted this time, as most of them now have a voter's id card. Through several orientationprograms, awareness was raised on the issue andthey were motivated to exercise their vote.

Events planned in next month

Regular Stalls

Project Location : Tukhmirpur, Bhajanpura.

Regular Class timings : Any day and anytime

Regular volunteers: God Selva, Deepti, Naval,Puneeta, KalindiNew volunteers this month: NIL

Contact InformationVijay Bhaiya 9810753425

Puneeta Chugh

[email protected]+91- 9891217839

Project Updates: Parichay


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Activity Updates

1. Series 10 stage plays depicting the realities of lifeof streets were conducted in various locations allover Delhi jointly by Khoj and Jamghat in themonth of November. The plays were also wellcovered by Press and helped generatingawareness about the issues of the streets amongcollege students and professionals.Childrenfrom all of the Khoj and Jamghat projects and

other people from street also watched andappreciated the plays.

Project Updates: Khoj

Activity Updates1. Series 10 stage plays depicting the realities of life

of streets were conducted in various locations all

over Delhi jointly by Khoj and Jamghat in themonth of November.The plays were also well covered by Press andhelped generating awareness about the issues ofthe streets among college students andprofessionals.Children from all of the Khoj and Jamghat projects and other people from streetalso watched and appreciated the plays.

2. 35 children of Khoj from Ber Sarai went toattend Metro nation Carnival on 07.11.2008 as apart of children day celebration. The kidsenjoyed various games and activities and had alot of fun. This event was also covered by newschannel metro nation through out the day.


Ongoing plays at various locations

Project Location: Bersarai

Contact Information : Pawan Sharma - +91-9212486338

Volunteers : Shashank, Abhinav, Mohit

Abhinav Kumar Gupta+91-9868371533

[email protected]

Project Updates: Jamghat

2. Children of Jamghat had lunch hosted bydesigner Rohit Bal at Veda restaurant atCannaught Place. All the kids also had a makeover by Rohit Bal. The kids enjoyed the lunchand the makeover session. The event was also

covered well covered in the press. (Picsattached.)


Ongoing plays at various locations

Project Location:Jamma Masjid, Ladoo Sarai

Contact Information :Amit Sinha - +91-9818705715

Volunteers : Suchita

Abhinav Kumar Gupta+91-9868371533

[email protected]

Article : How to be an agnet of Change

"How to be an agent of change and have your opinioncounted?"

At different times, all of us had our piece of mind toshare about the government - either appreciating its

work or getting angry about the mismanagement... So, we can do some things to make our opinion counted.Here is a list of small things that we can do...1. Blog your ideas... Believe me, when you externalizeyour ideas, you end up maturing them a lot... Best is tooffer details of how to implement them too... Alwayskeep in mind that the most robust ideas usually benefitpeople across many social segments...

2. Read newspaper... I mean, the main section, not the

supplements only... Look also for news items that reportpolicy decisions and are a review of government policy...At times articles relating to various judgements given byhigh courts or Supreme Court are also eye-openers...

3. Write to Editors... This truly works wonders... If ever,you find that coverage of news item is not complete oris biased one way or another, don't feel shy to registeryour concern/ protest/ discontent to the editor... I haveseen coverage in many newspapers improving when Iintervened such... Also, appreciate when a newspaper

highlights your point of view...


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As per the expenses trend for the first time weve been spending 18 % on our Adminstration, without an office though. A major of 50 % of fundsbeing utilized on Parichay and Eureka consuming 19.5% of AID Delhi funds. A junk of funds have also been

spent on Relief and Rehabilition for the flood reliefwork at Bihar.

Please note that the expenditure from theprojects of Gurgaon and Noida are not included andprobably in the next newsletter well be presentingthem.

And we also see a trend of meal a month in thisfinancial year is less than 25 % and one timecontribution exceeding more than 30 % of thefunds inflow. We seriously need to re-work onpromoting meal a month and make the funds flow.

Selva Ganapathy R, [email protected]

+91-9891358457

4. Discuss amongst friends... Once you are well-read,don't hesitate to discuss your viewpoint with yourfriends when a topic of your interest comes up... It isimportant that you rope in as many people to your pointof view... The more, the stronger the wave of change

that you want to bring along... Once you are moreconfident, you can conduct brainstorming and groupdiscussion sessions on relevant issues in your college/office/ school so that more people have a chance tohear your views...

5. Vote... This is one very important tool that we have...If you don't value your vote, how do you think anyoneelse will...? Vote judiciously... As citizens, when we talkof responsibility of the government, it is ourresponsibility to spend some time to know the

contestants from our area and vote... You may also wantto vote for a "party" for the ideology or the promisesmade in their manifesto, even if the candidate theyfielded from your constituency is not very competent...

Vote asy ou deem fit...But Vote...

I hope you become an agent of change yourself...

Anuj [email protected]

+91-9910013387

AID Delhi Treasury

As we discussed about the status of our fundsflow and meal a month in our editorial, Id like to bringthe figures of AID Delhis funds flow in this year sinceApril 2008. With volunteers from Noida and Gurgaonstarting to raise their funds locaclly, it has been a healthytrend of funds flow at AID Delhi projects but with afull timer hired for AID Delhis administration work

and regular support to Parichays Nutrition program, weneed to focus more on fund raising. AID Delhicalendars ROTI 2009 is out and already selling likehot cakes and I request volunteers to spread the workabout the calendars and if a volunteer can sell 10calendars each then it could fetch us a decent amount offunds. I would also like to add that Ancit would betaking up the responsibility of being fund raisingcoordinator and volunteers interested in fund raisingcan contact him and find out how to contribute.


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11th AID India Annual Conference Bangalore Schedule


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11th AID India Annual Conference Bangalore Schedule

AID India Annual Conference is a great opportunity for volunteers to learn from other AID chapters and interact with AID India volunteers, Saathis and Jeevan Saathis. Volunteers interested in attending the conference can registerthemselves at http://conference.aidindia.org

Selva Ganapathy. RAID India Conference Organizing team

[email protected]+91-9891358457


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Lord! Give enough that the needs of this family are met,

So that I don't go hungry, and neither does the mendicant.

~ Kabir, 15th century mystic and poet parabrahma svarupam.

ROTI 2009


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Feedback: [email protected] Web: http://delhi.aidindia.org Phone: +91-9818248459Send your Cheques toSelva Ganapathy.RDepartment of Chemical Engineering,Indian Institute of Technology,Delhi - 110016Hauz KhasPhone: +91-9891358457, +91-9818248459

Publications TeamCoordinator: SelvaEditors: SelvaDesigners: SelvaWeb Designer: Selva

India is famous for its amazing variety of food, range of crops and myriad preparations. Perhaps more precious is the

Indian cultural perspective of food not as a commodity but as a life-giver for all, indeed as a form of the divine: annam

parabrahma svarupam. To feed an unexpected guest is an honour. The farmer, regarded as annadataor giver of food, is not

simply someone who makes a living out of cultivation; just as a scientist is a symbol of learning, of technical

advancement, not just someone who works for pay in a laboratory. To raise awareness about the struggling farmers, AID

volunteers around the world held candlelight vigils on October 2, 2007 the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi which brought

together over 3000 people across the world. AID volunteers pledged to support possible solutions with grassroots

partners, through changes in public policy and in our own lives. And then there are choices that are personal but could

be just as significant. Do we know who grows, harvests, packs, transports and markets the food we eat daily? What do

they earn? What do they eat? Do they have homes? How far does our food travel? How much fuel is used in transport

and cooling? Are we fooled by the cosmetics that give it a "fresh" look at journey's end? These questions highlight our

power as consumers to tilt the market away from vegetables steeped in pesticides, waxed fruits, and legumes coated with

metanil yellow, towards organically grown vegetables, low-input grains, fairly traded to give the farmer a takehome wage

rather than mounting debt. Can we exercise this power? What if our common humanity depends on it?.

Wishing you peace and joy in 2009.

Selva Ganapathy. RAID Calendar [email protected]

+91-9891358457

ROTI 2009

AID Delhi newsletter november 2008

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