HOLI MADRID

The first Holi Festival in Madrid was held on Saturday March 26, at the Plaza de Felipe II.

Holi, or Festival of Colors, is one of the most important festivals in the Hindu calendar, celebrated every year by millions of people in India. Children and adults take to the streets and town squares and throw colored powder to each other and everyone they run into to express their joy at the arrival of spring. Asha-Kiran, together with Bollywood Dance School Club Masala, organized this event, to which came people of all ages, young people of Indian origin, residents of Salamanca district and other parts of the city, people from other cities in Spain, etc. Besides the music and the Bollywood show, the traditional Colored Powder Rain, rooted in ancient Indian tradition, proved a success due to the enthusiastic participation of the majority of the public present.

The main objective for holding this festival was to spread the Indian culture and to promote multiculturalism, coinciding with the celebration of the International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination. The children were prominent participants and, besides having fun in the Powder Rain, they participated in the activities Asha-Kiran organized especially for them on Education for Development and which dealt with non-discrimination and universal values and rights of children.

The information booth helped disseminate the work of Fundación Asha-Kiran by informing the public about its Social Projects for children. Funds were raised at the handicraft bazaar, which will be wholly destined to our beneficiaries in India.

Club Masala, headed by Salome, was in charge of directing the lively shows and Bollywood dance workshops for the audience, and organizing the Colored Powder Rain. From here, we wish to thank Club Masala wholeheartedly for their generous disposition and support to

Asha-Kiran’s work, as much in Spain as in India, as well as the rest of Volunteers who contributed with their presence at the information stand and the workshops. It is only thanks to them that this Spring Festival has come true.

NAMASTE.

WALKING WITH YASHODHARA

Earlier this year, I joined Yashodhara Shelter Home as a Volunteer in the Project. I was already familiar with the Project and most of the children, but even so, the task to be undertaken was unknown to me, since I had moved within different parameters in my everyday life.

I set aside the first few days to observe everything and enjoy my being there; I could not do anything else before the wonderful vitality that permeates the house. From early morning until the sun sets, there is endless activity – study, games, great food...

The daily contact with the children gave me the confidence and the tools to work with them to support their development and vital process, bringing in a degree of attention to certain issues to ensure that they feel cared for in their daily life.

In the first weeks after my arrival, four new children joined our Home. Surprisingly, they immediately ran around happily and were easily accepted by all their housemates. For the new children, everything is about learning, and their new friends guide and support them with school work, personal hygiene and everyday matters.

I also perform management and support procedures in Yashodhara, bringing in my previous experience from Spain, and attend meetings with the team that works for the Foundation, integrating and sharing ideas to improve the functioning of the Home, a partnership which is always welcome by the team. I feel very supported and accompanied at all times, both by members of Asha-Kiran in India and in Spain.

So these months are being very enriching at all levels: there is time to reflect, time to play, time to learn, time to share...

Eshana Alcover

HOLI MADRID. Asha-Kiran holds the Spring Celebration.

On 26th March, Madrid will wear brightly colored clothes and will dance Bollywood style to welcome spring and celebrate the Holi festival at Plaza de Felipe II.

In this event, open to everyone and hosted by Fundación Asha-Kiran and Club Masala School, we will see the traditional Colored Rain as it is done in India each year. Special colored powder bags will be distributed among the public, which they will throw to each other. For this reason it is advisable to wear clothing that you don’t mind soiling, preferably white or light colors to make the powder colors stand out more. There will also be several shows and Bollywood dance workshops performed and directed by Club Masala, the first Dance School in Spain dedicated to promoting the Indian culture through Bollywood dances.

Fundación Asha-Kiran, dedicated to Cooperation Projects for vulnerable children in India, will hold entertaining, child-oriented educational workshops on cooperation to development during this celebration. In addition, at Asha-Kiran’s information stand, the public will be able to see the work that the Foundation carries out in India and will be made more aware of the plight of vulnerable children
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The aim of this event is to spread the culture of India and to promote interculturalism in a festive and integrating atmosphere, coinciding with the celebration of the International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination, proclaimed by the International Assembly of the United Nations, from March 21 to 27.

Holi is the Spring Festival held every year by millions of people in India to welcome spring. Children and adults go out in the streets and city squares and throw colored powder to each other, to express joy for the arrival of spring. It is one of the most important festivals in the Hindu calendar, during which all business establishments are closed. It is celebrated with great enthusiasm and people wear white clothes so that colors from the powders will be brighter.

This is the first time that this festival is held in Madrid, but there are already several cities in different countries around the world that join this traditional Indian Spring Festival each year. Melbourne, London and Singapore are some of the cities that hold this lively festival with the aim of spreading the Indian culture and promoting integration between cultures.

Event Information:
Name. HOLI MADRID 2011. Hindu Spring festival.
Date and Time: March 26, 16h - 20h.
Place: Plaza de Felipe II, Madrid.
Website: http://www.holimadrid.blogspot.com/

Related links:
Documentary Feature HOLI festival in India (CNN)
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

WATER WORLD DAY at the DAY CARE CENTERS

To introduce the children of the Day Care Centers to "World Water Day", held on March 22, we briefly explained its historical background, telling them the causes of water scarcity in different places in India and its communities. This way they understood that they are responsible for their environment. The children discussed ways to save water and reduce the environmental imbalance that causes reduction in rainfall and unseasonal rain.

After this chat, we urged them to make a poster on ways to save water and make trees grow. Later, a march was organized in each community to make parents and relatives aware of the problem. We instilled in the children the responsibility of caring for the environment and using water wisely. They planted a tree in a pot to help it grow, as it is theirs and it is a practical way to help save water and the environment.

In total, 33 children from Hadapsar participated in this initiative and 22 from Koregaon Park.

HOLI WITH THE WARMTH OF HOME

The night before the Holi Festival (the celebration of spring and color), the children from Yashodhara held, together with other organizations, a ceremony called Holika. The ceremony symbolizes the victory of light over darkness and the victory of a true devotee. They made a big pile of wood and when dusk came, they set it on fire. The children began to run around it, screaming and howling, following the tradition. It was a beautiful night with a full moon and the festival had just begun. Then they headed home to have a delicious special dinner and go to sleep.

The next morning they woke up very early and eagerly looked for the adults in the house, who had left barrels of water and prepared many envelopes with colored powder the night before. The envelopes were handed out and ... off they went! All through the morning the children threw buckets of colored water, dust and even water mixed with mud to each other. They ran, planned ambushes, went to look for their friends at other buildings ... anyone who came near them was showered with color and joy. They wondered whether Holi was celebrated in Spain also, since they wanted to share it with the people who care for them.

In Girona, Spain, on the same day and for the fourth year in a row, there was a Body Techniques Workshop and Dances to raise funds for Asha-Kiran’s Projects. And this year, they also celebrated Holi there to welcome the spring and its radiant colors.

INDIA INCREASES LEGAL PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN

There has been a significant increase in cases of sexual offences against children in India; from 2265 in 2001 to 5749 in 2008. The new Bill passed by the Parliament on 2nd March, 2011, provides for a jail term up to 10 year or even life imprisonment for child sex abusers. The Bill also legalizes consensual sex with a person aged between 16-18 years.

The new law will cover all new aspects of sexual offences against children not covered elsewhere. The proposed legislation aims at protecting children against offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography, and provide for establishment of special courts for trials of such offences.

The bill provides for treating sexual assault as "aggravated offence" when it is committed by a person in position of trust or authority over a child, including a member of the security forces, police officer, public servant, management or staff of a children's home, hospital or educational institution. As per the draft bill, aggravated penetrative sexual assault against a child victim may lead to rigorous imprisonment for not less than 10 years.

The bill has the provision to extend the penalty to imprisonment for life, including a fine. It will be treated as an aggravated offence when the child victim is below 12 or has mental or physical disabilities, or the sexual offence causes grievous hurt or injury to the child with long-term adverse effects on the child's mind and body.


Activists speak

Though the bill has been welcomed by most activists across India, they only hope that it doesn’t become another material in black and white and remains only in books. More pressure has to be given to implementing it effectively, and no ways should be found for loopholes from the Act.

Activist 1: "The bill provides for a maximum punishment of ten years in case of penetrative sex - the gravest offence of all. But in order to send across a strong message, especially in case of aggravated forms of crime, such as gang-rapes, the punishment ought to have been stepped up to life-imprisonment. Also, while the bill recommends counseling for the victims and families, it ought to have been made mandatory,"

Activist 2: “The punishments were carefully calibrated, in keeping with each of the three categories of sexual offences - penetrative, non-penetrative and non-contact (cases pertaining to exhibitionism and exposure of the child to pornography) and therefore, satisfactory.”

Activist 3: “Even as the bill dealt with the "tricky" issue of exposing children to pornography, it did not stress the issue of internet-based pornography enough, which is increasingly becoming a matter of grave concern.”

Activist 4: “The shame culture that exists in India on every sexual issue has led to an ethos where everything is fine as long as we don’t talk about it. This shame turns into guilt, plaguing family members, community and ultimately the child.”

WELCOME, ARJUN AND KARAN

In 2009, these brothers and their mother moved from Mumbai to Pune in search of a better life. Life, however, has not been easier for them since. Their mother works gathering and selling scrap metal and earns around €1 a day. In order to earn a living, she leaves their shack early in the morning and comes back late at night, so the children have had to rely on their neighbours to get some food. Before joining Yashodhara, neither of them was enrolled in school.

Arjun and Karan arrived in Yashodhara while the other children were in school, a bit shy and unsure. But when they went through the house and saw their new beds and lockers, the expression on their faces began to change. Then their housemates came home and they all started talking and playing straight away. Meeting their new friends was a joyful explosion.

Young Karan is charming and uninhibited. He has a curious nature and has started school and support classes with keen interest. Arjun gets along with everyone and has adapted to Yashodhara as if he had been there a long time already.

For them, their new home is a chance to grow and develop; for us, their presence is a new gift to be treated with care and respect.

SECOND SOLIDARITY DINNER IN MADRID

On Monday 28 February, we had a solidarity dinner at Vergel Vegetarian Restaurant, which 57 people attended. They, with their generous participation, provide the energy that Asha-Kiran needs to pursue its social work towards a suitable world for children.

This new dinner was organized to meet the many people who were unable to come to the January Solidarity Dinner for lack of room. We are delighted to feel the warmth and closeness of so many people who do not hesitate to participate in the gatherings we organize; this is the energy that we carry over to our Projects in India.

Each of these events not only serves as a way of raising the necessary funding to move forward with our Projects, but as a way to remember and pay homage to the vulnerable children who Asha-Kiran works for.

The documentary video "Painting Yashodhara" was viewed during the meal. The video was recorded by Volunteers who took part in last summer’s creative workshops with children from Yashodhara, the Day Care Centers and Pune Schools, and portrays the vitality we wish to share.

Once again, Club Masala, headed by Salomé, selflessly shared Bollywood dances that allowed us to "taste" India for a while and filled the dining hall with color and brightness.

Thanks and a hug to each and everyone for participating and making us feel your closeness. We look forward to meeting you in upcoming get-togethers.