HRITIK: HEALTH TO PURSUE HIS DREAMS

Dear Asha-Kiran Family,

We have great news to share today: after months of chemotherapy and two more taking a rest from the treatment, our dear Hritik underwent a PET Scan and the results were excellent. An excerpt from the medical report reads as follows:

“PET shows complete regression of previously seen (…) lymphadenopathy, suggesting good response to treatment. Currently asymptomatic.”

Thank you for walking the way with Hritik during these difficult months. With the treatment, your support and his desire to live, he is now closer to seeing his dreams come true.

NEW DAY CARE CENTER FOR MIGRANT CHILDREN

Marvel Izara residential complex, as many more construction sites in Pune, employs migrant workers from across the country. While both parents are at work, their children are left unattended in a hazardous environment. Although the families stay in shacks provided by the constructors, parents cannot provide their children with an education, proper health care, a balanced diet or a minimum standard of living.

When we asked the parents of this site what they thought of having a Day Centre, they all responded with positivity. Not only were they happy that their children can now spend the day in a safe space away from the buildings, but that they will receive educational and recreational inputs as well as health care.

We are pleased to welcome 25 more children to our project for Migrant Children, which already caters to families in 15 construction sites.

WORKING AMIDST HUMAN FECES

Anokhi cannot forget the first time she cleaned human feces. ‘The first thing I did was throw up.’ Then came diarrhea, lack of appetite and headaches. She spent 17 years cleaning latrines, twenty of them a day for 400 rupees a month (€5.60). ‘My sister in law made me start and my family threatened me, so I couldn’t quit’, she recalls.

A law passed in 1993 and another one in 2013 banned this degrading work in India. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said this practice was ‘one of the greatest blemishes in the country’s development’ and promised to eradicate it. In 2014, the Supreme Court acknowledged that manual cleaning of feces was still common and that it was a violation of human rights.

However, the laws have not prevented hundreds of thousands of people, mostly women, from continuing to clean latrines. The International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) estimates that 1.3 million people do it. With a basket, a brush, a spatula and their bare hands, they remove feces from homes, train stations, drains, septic tanks, sewers or railways.

The collectors were born Dalits, ‘untouchables’, in the lowest rung of the Hindu social pyramid. If they didn’t ‘inherit’ the job from their parents, they started when they got married. This was Priyanka’s case, who began following her mother-in-law’s orders. ‘The worst part was the monsoon. With the rain, the load ran down the basket and trickled on my head and clothes. The smell never went away. It was always with me’. Her mother in law says ‘I had no other option, I had to do it. I did it for 36 years’.

Due to this “family legacy”, manual scavengers are ostracized. The social humiliation they are subjected to is almost worse than the job they do, beginning in the houses they clean. ‘I always had to keep a distance (from my employers), not even our shadows could touch, and they threw food at me from above’, says Savatri. Despite the shame, the workers do not leave the upper-caste families that feed them and give them old clothes.

Civil organizations like Sulabh International are supporting these workers to join mainstream society. ‘The first challenge is to free them from that task; then, we give them access to education and help them develop other skills’, says founder Bindeshwar Pathak, a sociologist who stresses the need for ‘higher castes to respect (Dalits’) rights and allow them to come into temples, bathe in sacred rivers or eat with others’.

Usha did manual scavenging with her mother for more than 30 years. One day, her path crossed with Pathak’s. ‘I was suspicious at first, but in 2003 I saw the Center he built for us and I knew he was different. At the Center, more than 100 ex-scavengers learn to read and write and receive vocational training. Usha, now president of Sulabh International, encourages other women to escape a life amidst human waste. She is no longer an outcast.

Why are all the women dressed in blue? Sulabh answers that ‘It’s the color of the sky, of freedom. Before, they were imprisoned by society, now they are free’.

Source: elmundo.es

'UNTOUCHABLE' CHILDREN

Golu knows that he must open his eyes before sunrise and go out in the streets to collect garbage. He grabs his bag and starts walking. He lives in Varanasi, India, the holy city of Hinduism. He is surrounded by temples, the first religious songs, plastic bags, cows, insects and some goats. He prefers to do his work when the streets are full of objects that can be recycled and sold. While wandering in search of waste nobody looks at him, he is considered “impure” because of his cast and because he is in contact with filth.

For Hindus, caste is not a social or economic fact, but the result of a reincarnation from behavior of one’s previous existence. So, along with one’s family, caste is the main reference for people and places them in a niche that generally determines the rest of their life. Unicef estimates that 15 million dalit children work in conditions of semi-slavery for paltry wages.

Despite the struggle of the Dalits in the twenties which led to the abolition of the class system in 1950, castes were never abolished in practice and some 200 million people are still considered untouchable. They are repudiated, insulted and expelled from public places. According to Human Rights Watch, there are more than 100,000 cases of rape, murder and other atrocities against Dalits in India every year, many of them committed by the police themselves and supported by landowners.

At midmorning, Golu heads back home with a full bag and an empty stomach. He will eat if he’s lucky; otherwise he will have to wait for lunch to eat the only meal of the day. He does not mind eating the same thing. He loves rice and enjoys tasting every last grain.

As most Dalit children, Golu does not have a birth record, so he runs the risk of being kidnapped or sold for cash. Human trafficking, prostitution, the sale of organs or child soldiers are some of the consequences suffered by some, often hidden under the guise of child domestic labor. Any child that has not been registered in the Civil Registry is considered a stateless person. There is no evidence or their age, their origin, or even their existence.

Before going to pick up his younger brother from school, Golu runs around the labyrinthine streets of the city. He goes to the Ganges River, dives in and takes a long bath. As he is thirsty, he takes a sip. The remains of human cremations that take place on the shore, the skeletons of animals, sewage and factory waste have contributed to an alarming contamination of the river. After bathing, Golu gets dressed and runs to the headquarters of the Galician NGO Semilla para el Cambio (Seed for Change), where his brother awaits him.

The school has given a chance to slum children. It can be quite a challenge to find schools that will accept them. Most directors shamelessly close their doors when they know the new students are Dalits. Half of ‘untouchable’ boys and 64% of the girls cannot finish their primary education partly because they are humiliated by their teachers.

Sitting on the ghats, the steps of the Ganges River, Golu goes over the alphabet written in his brother’s book. He knows it by heart, he can recite it faster than he can read it. Feeling self-satisfied, he borrows a kite from a boy and starts jumping and laughing to his heart’s content. Right then, amidst letters and games, is the only time Golu feels like the child he really is.

It is getting dark and Goku must return home. Fearful, he wastes no time so he can hand over to his father the 10 rupees (€0.13) he made selling plastics. He then prepares a large wicker basket with candles and flowers he will sell in the ghats at night. He hurries so that his father won’t get angry. He manages to sell three candles which earn him 30 rupees (€0.40) and thus avoids a beating. He borrows one of the candles, lights it, and lets the breeze and the river carry it away.

They say that once the candle is placed in the Ganges, the water carries what one has asked for. A big moon shines on the ancient waters of the sacred river, with a tiny light that carries away Golu’s wish: ‘to become a doctor and help people’.

Source: elpais.com

THE JOY OF GIVING

The Joy of Giving Week took place at the Fiat Research and Development office in Pune.

Donations were given through the Wish Tree procedure, where wishes are put up on a cardboard tree and people pick a wish, write their name on the back of the wish card, and then drop it in the donation box along with the donation amount mentioned on the card.

To express and display the wishes they fulfilled, a corresponding wish note was put up on the tree in place of card which they put in the donation box. This wish note also had the person’s name to display their contribution to the social cause they chose, and to encourage other people to do the same.

The contribution amount collected from the Wish Tree was Rs. 26800 / €374, and the collection from the Fiat Sodexo box and coupons amounted to Rs. 2310 / €32. We also received donations of various items such as biscuits, puffed rice, rice flakes, rice, wheat flour, sweets, children’s clothes, toys, and educational materials like stationary, books, etc.

We thank Fiat for their valuable support to our social projects. 

CHANGING DEEP-SEATED MINDSETS

The village of Bibipur, or ‘Women’s World’, is an inspiration for thousands of other villages in India. It is located in the state of Haryana, known for its skewed sex ratio in favor of boys, ‘honor’ killings, and the general low status of women. Bibipur, however, has emerged as an example of hope.

The face of Bibipur changed when Sunil Jaglan was appointed head of the village in 2010. From fighting for the rights of women to bringing technology into the lives of the villagers, this admirable leader has left no stone unturned to change the way Haryana villages are perceived.

‘We focused on solving this problem by spreading awareness about women’s issues and bringing women into the limelight. The first step was to organize a general assembly of clan leaders where thousands of village women gathered and talked about the sensitive issue of female feticide. In the general assembly, the women have a chance to speak their minds, which they couldn’t do earlier’, says Jaglan. They even demanded an amendment in the Indian Penal Code to book the culprits of female feticide with charges of murder.

In order to bring more attention to female feticide, Jaglan organized several awareness campaigns and events. He launched an initiative to bring granddaughters and grandmothers together on the same platform to give all generations equal importance. The idea was to bring women of all age groups out to talk about their issues and share their stories.

Also, ‘In villages where people had not even seen a computer, we used technology to spread awareness. We showed them videos on female feticide and organized debates and seminars. Our village has a big stage where we organize regular events. Women actively step up to the podium and talk about their issues’, says Jaglan. But the people of Bibipur do not just believe in talking; forty women-oriented village houses have been created with the purpose of bringing women out of their houses to look for solutions to their concerns together.

Once the city council’s work started giving positive results, the village received recognition and various awards from the government. All the money from prizes was spent on the development of the village, which now has its own website where the latest updates and developments in the village are posted on a regular basis. According to Jaglan, ‘We put the entire system in front of the villagers to maintain transparency and ensure that the council’s funds are being utilized in the right way’.

Bibipur residents have had their share of difficulties too. Jaglan has been under tremendous political pressure and even received a notice of suspension once, but the villagers rallied behind him and started a protest to bring him back into power. Bibipur and its good governance are famous today thanks to the intelligent efforts of its leader and the village residents.

Intelligent efforts are essential.

Source: thebetterindia.com

A-K's NEW OFFICE IN PUNE

In our effort to provide an ever-better response to the needs of our beneficiaries, Asha-Kiran’s office in Pune has moved to larger, more spacious facilities, while still being in a centralized location with respect to our projects.

Our team -Sujata, Kalpana, Nirmiti, Kavita and Subhash- participated fully in the move after painting and getting the space ready. At the end of an intense week of moving and arranging furniture, computers and documents, our office opened its doors once again to continue offering its services to vulnerable social groups in Pune.

NEW COLLABORATION: A-K AND COMMUNITY WOMEN

This month we combined the sales initiative of Asha-Kiran’s bookmarks with an activity for the women in our Community Center in Pune.

As ornaments for the bookmarks will be needed, our collaborator Lina Ramirez devoted several sessions to teach the women how to make them. And since there are a lot to manufacture – eight thousand - the housewives can engage in this activity for some time and get financial compensation for their work.

We hope that their skilled work and the love and care they put into it will result in ample demand for the end product and therefore continued benefits for themselves and their families.

HELL CIRCUS

Each year, hundreds of Nepalese parents sell their children to circuses in India, thinking their children will have a better future. For just $30, the children leave their homes behind only to become slaves. At the circus, they will be exploited, subjected to physical and sexual abuse, and their lives will become a living hell. When they grow up, the girls will be distributed among the showmen as sexual objects.

Philip Holmes, a former lieutenant colonel in the British army, left his former life to fight this scourge and rescue as many circus children as he could. His foundation, The Esther Benjamin Trust, has already rescued hundreds of them. Biker and writer Fabian C. Barrio, supported by Mutua Madrileña, has joined his undertaking.

These little acrobats are potential slaves. ‘We’re talking about children who never leave the fenced structure of the circus. Many child slaves are used for child prostitution, and forced marriages are not uncommon to preserve the circus tradition’, states Fabian.

Fabian met Philip during one of his trips in Nepal. When they met, Philip put Fabian up to date with the extreme situation faced by children there, where his NGO is simply overwhelmed with work. Trained through beatings and after years of forcing their small bodies to exhaustion, many of them end up with disabilities, begging in the streets.

Esther Benjamin Trust rescues about 100 children each year from this living hell. Philip organizes raids constantly, together with a team of volunteers and the police. To date, his NGO has managed to put fifteen traffickers in jail. Unfortunately, trafficking has intensified and new routes toward Africa are emerging.

Once children are rescued, those who are undocumented are taken to Philip Holmes’ shelter home in Kathmandu. There, the children go through a long recovery process because of the disorders engendered by their suffering. Without an ID, it is almost impossible to locate their families. Insecurity, fear, rejection and nightmares accompany them throughout their rehabilitation.

Esther Benjamin Trust’s work is critical for thousands of children who lack a past, a present or a future. Fabian C. Barrio gives his heartfelt thanks to Mutua Madrileña, who ‘from believed in the viability of the expedition and supported me without a second thought. There are twenty million children working in India’s streets, and half of the children in this country are sexually abused at least once in their life’, says Fabian bitterly.

When Fabian is asked what people that can do regarding the rescue of circus children, he answers ‘Spread the word. Stories exist only when people know they happen’.

Source: libertaddigital.com

MENTAL DISORDERS IN INDIA

“Mangala” was rescued by the women who lead The Banyan, an NGO that is home to low-income women suffering from various mental disorders, most of them picked up from the streets. Mangala, who is following a treatment for a severe bipolar disorder which caused her to be cut off from her family, says that ‘In the first few months, I had no idea how to deal with life. Here I found a second chance, a second life. It’s the greatest gift any of us can get’.

The transition Center of the NGO, Adaikalam, is not a run-of-the-mill psychiatric hospital. Women are free to come and go, talk, walk, weep, play, or do various tasks. One of the managers of the Center notes that ‘We are interested in improving care for both men and women, but it is true that women, especially in our society, are especially vulnerable. In fact, many of them are found half-naked in the street, showing clear evidence of having been sexually abused’.

On the terrace, several women sew bags and purses, others make pillows or carefully weave baskets with natural fibers. These are some of the products sold in the Center’s retail shop, which let the women generate their own income. One of the greatest challenges has been to find living arrangements for those who, for various reasons, are unable or unwilling to go back with their families. For them, the organization has developed a program of Community Homes where six or seven women live independently while continuing their treatments under the supervision of The Banyan.

In India, ‘Mental health services are mostly inadequate; these disorders tend to be treated without taking into consideration a complex economic and social context. These diseases are closely linked to poverty, and close to 70% of the population lives on less than two dollars a day while 1.8 million people are homeless’, says the founder of The Banyan.

There is still much help to be exchanged by the human family.

Source: elpais.com

FRIENDSHIP DAY

ASHA-KIRAN organized an arts and crafts activity for the children from the Community with the help of the ImpArt Organization.

A total of 37 children enjoyed making and decorating cards on the occasion of Friendship Day. Aside from being able to congratulate their friends this way, everyone could express their creativity with the colorful materials available to them.

ART IN A SLUM

It all started when 24-year-old Sonal was shooting a film for a company. She came across a pregnant woman who already had six daughters and was expecting her seventh child. The woman was living in poverty and struggling to take care of her children. She told Sonal that if she had a daughter again she was ready to strangle the child. She was already planning on sending one of her daughters, then eight years old, to a brothel so she could contribute to the family’s upkeep.

Sonal froze upon hearing these words. It only took her only an hour to realize she wanted to help change the life of girls destined to prostitution and other occupations unfit for children. Within three weeks, she started Protsahan as a one-room arts and design school located in a slum in Delhi.

Her organization aims at empowering at-risk teenage girls with creative education and entrepreneurial skills so they have a chance to break the cycle of poverty and abuse. The NGO does this with the help of a creativity model which includes design, art, digital stories, photography, technology and cinema.

“We use simple techniques, but with a difference. We use scrabble to teach them English, cartoons and photographs to keep the interest alive, game and art based education, digital storytelling to make teaching a fun process. Our sole mission is to encourage creative education and skills development through creative design thinking approaches”, says Sonal.

The girls also attend a bridge course for approximately two years alongside the art courses. In the bridge course, teachers from the local community who have been trained by Protsahan over the years, teach them all the basics so they can be admitted in government schools.

Sonal says that in the NGO sector there is constant talk about scaling up. “Everybody wants to scale up. It looks good on annual reports, it looks good everywhere. But many people don't want to look at empathy. Here, we are trying to work with 400 girls for the last five years, making sure that (...) everything in their life is sorted - from the point when they were picked up from a garbage bin to the point where they are taking lessons in classes.”

It is a long way from being a child prostitute to having a fulfilling job, but it can be done with the proper motivation, tools, and some help from people who care.

Source: thebetterindia.com

INDIA'S CHILDREN HELPING TO CARRY THEIR COUNTRY'S WEIGHT

It is easy to see a lot of children working in restaurants, small shops and street food stalls in any Indian city. Not so visible are the children who work in mines  and factories, and many more who help their parents in the fields.

Child labor in India is an irrefutable and persistent reality, and the changes proposed by the government raise doubts among activists, who think that the aims of politicians and the consequences of the laws go in opposite directions.

Recently, Prime Minister Modi passed a  ban on employing children under 14  except in family businesses, entertainment or sports activities (excluding circuses). In these cases, a minor's work must be done outside  school hours or while on holidays, as long as it is not hazardous.

In the package of measures that the Parliament must still pass, there are bigger penalties for breaches of the law, which can go from up to three years in prison and a €700 fine. However, activists have described the changes proposed by Modi's government as "regressive"; 'We are legalizing a horrible reality rather than banning it', says lawyer Vrinda Grover.

The Executive Branch maintains that its rationale is a "balance between the need to educate a child and the socio-economic reality of the social fabric of the country". According to the World Bank, 300 million Indians live on less than €1 a day, so many children accompany their parents in occupations such as handicrafts and agriculture.

However, when Kailash Satyarthi won the Nobel Peace Prize for his defense of the rights of children, he said that "This scourge persists due to the corruption of the authorities and the apathy of society. There is a lot of money laundering behind child exploitation". In India, laws are one thing and their implementation quite another.

We hope that in the near future, no child will have to say what Rahul, a youngster in northern India expressed; 'Until I got to tenth grade, I had to combine work and study. I would rather have studied, but I had to help my family."

Source: elmundo.es

RENEWED HOPE

We are happy to share the following results from a PET CT scan done on Hritik on 15 July:

“Previously seen FDG avid cervical lymph nodes have completely regressed. Present follow-up study shows complete regression (...) suggesting good response to treatment.”

Given such good results, he will continue with chemotherapy as planned until all sessions are finished.

We also have good news regarding payment for Hritik’s treatment. The total amount needed has just been reached through your kind donations, so we are set to go and standing by his side all the way.

THANK YOU in Hritik’s name.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A TOILET

Nearly 590 million Indians defecate outdoors. That  almost half the population in the country. As a result, Prime Minister Modi has launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan program (Clean Inda Mission) which includes the construction of 110 million toilets until 2019.

Only a third of the households have access to a toilet. “We cannot stop working until we eradicate this scourge that causes illnesses and makes women vulnerable”, Modi said during the presentation of a plan that was launched last April 1 and whose cost is estimated at 29,000 million euros.

Sugali is one of its beneficiaries. For five days, this farmer and his wife work hard at building their toilet. “Now we are aware the advantages of having a toilet. Before, we did’t even we thought about it although we were embarrassed to go in a public place and did our best to hold it in till night time.” His wife did miss it. “Men have it easy, but women suffer”, she says while looking at her husband reproachfully. Their two children are boys, so she was a minority.

”Building toilets is relatively simple, all you need is money. The hard part is to change the mentality of the population. Therefore, planning and training  people is vital for the plan to succeed”, states a government spokesman.

In the village of Dehelud they no longer have that challenge. Six years ago, their mayor received the Nirmal Gram Puraskar national award to the cleanest town for having turned his village in the State of Rajasthan into the the first one where all households have a toilet. This has made the cases of diarrhea to drop by 40% and the town a safer place for women, as they no longer fall pray to possible sexual assaults while out in the fields alone.

Source: elpais.com

JUST LIKE HOME

In the past few months, our staff in charge of the Day Care facility at Asha-Kiran's Community Center have noticed a drastic improvement in the children. They are more involved in the activities conducted by the teacher, they cry less, heve fun, explore, and there are more happy faces overall.

We are pleased to see that the children see our Day Care Center as a welcoming and fun place, and that their mothers trust Asha-Kiran to care for their sons and daughters while they go to work.

CHANGE FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Upon listening to sayings like "I wish you to father a thousand sons" or "Raising a daughter is like watering the neighbor's garden" and knowing the statistics on infanticide, feticide, honor crimes, sexual exploitation, chastity and forced sexual darkness, the question that arises is: why are laws that have already been passed in favor of women not implemented in India?

The main reason could be that there is a conflict between Domestic and Customary law. The latter consists of traditions and customs  not included in any governmental regulation. In addition, a high percentage of women have no access to the judicial system due to illiteracy and lack of knowledge or money.

Despite the generalized view that Indian women are weak, they are able to introspect on their subordinate status. That is why organizations like Naya Nagar offer Indian women Mahila Mandal, voluntary associations of women who want to be heard before the government while working together to improve their community. This way, women have a chance to go against stereotypes and convey their concerns and desire for change to politicians.

A Mahila Mandal fights human rights violations, sexism, religious sexism and homophobia. It exerts pressure on the government from  a human rights perspective by mobilizing communities and using democratic, non-bellicose procedures.

These women are present in the sphere of power of their community by organizing themselves, assuming leadership and mediating between groups. Just the same, there is still a long way to go. It is necessary for every world citizen to adopt an open and responsible attitude so that everyone in this  world is responsible for human development.

Source. huffingtonpost.com

RANGOLI AT YASHODHARA

Asha-Kiran held an Arts competition for the children who live at Yashodhara Home. Aside from making pictures with water colors and sketching with pencils, the children made rangoli designs.

Rangoli are designs made with ingredients such as colored rice, flour, flower petals, turmeric, vermillion and colored sand. The patterns include the face of Hindu deities, geometric shapes, and round floral designs. Many of these motifs are traditional and are handed down by previous generations.

A prize distribution program was held soon after the competition. Each of A-K’s staff members were invited to distribute the prizes to the winners.

MOVING A MOUNTAIN

Back in the 60's, the small town of Gehlaur in northern India was almost isolated. A 90-meter-tall mound made the access to schools, hospitals and jobs very difficult. A man from the area, Dashrath Manjhi, had to climb it every day to get to the farm where he worked. There was a dangerous road where accidents often happened. One day, his wife was injured on her way to bring Manjhi his lunch. It was then that he decided to sell his goats and buy some tools to build a better road.

Without giving up his job in the fields, Manjhi devoted his free time and many hours of sleep to burrow a hole in the mountain. Some time later, his wife became seriously ill and was unable to travel to the nearest city (75 km away), where the doctor was. The loss of his wife strengthened Manjhi’s resolve. Residents of the village began to give him food, and after leaving his job, this true regional hero finished building 100-meter-long and 10-meter-wide road after working on his own for 22 years, and using just hammers, crowbars and chisels.

Completed in 1982, the road still serves the purpose of turning the formerly difficult journey to schools and hospitals into a 5 km walk. If the determination and commitment of a single person can move a mountain, what could many hands and hearts accomplish together?

Source: rt.com

HEALTH AND FUN

Godrej Horizons Builders organized several field trips for the children who attend Asha-Kiran's Day Care Centers at their construction sites. The children went to Agha Khan Palace in

 Pune, where they had a fun-filled day. 

The activities they enjoyed the most were an origami session where they created different shapes using colored kite paper, and a dance class taught by a professional teacher who taug

ht them dance steps seen in popular Indian movies. The organizers also provided a midday 

meal and snacks. 

Aside from the fun, the children from these construction sites also attented a Health Camp where they got chekups and the medication they needed.

ASHA-KIRAN IN SEGOVIA

On Thursday June 11, Asha-Kiran was present at the school Colegio Cooparativa Alcázar de Segovia. Throughout the morning, the students of 10th grade learned about its projects and the experience of being a Volunteer in India. Marta Escudero, a teacher at the school and a Volunteer with A-K, showed them a video about her stay in Pune last summer as she recounted her experiences with the children and other vulnerable groups she shared time and smiles with.

This activity intended to bring the students closer to a largely unknown social reality to them by putting put images and sounds to a different culture, trying to bring about some reflection and arousing interest in volunteering and the work of Asha-Kiran.

GIRLS AND PROSTITUTION IN INDIA

Sister Caridad Paramundayil embodies many years of hard work to help girl victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. This Indian woman arrived in Madrid as a novice of the Adorer Sisters Order at the age of 17, where she encountered “a different world” without having an inkling of what she was going to devote her life to. ‘One of the nuns explained it to us, but I didn’t understand’, she recalls. Now, in 2015, she emphatically says that she would not change her life for anything.

Sister Caridad recently returned to Madrid to provide support for the organization Manos Unidas, and to lecture on the subject she knows most about: providing decent livelihoods to the daughters of the prostitutes who live in some of the most economically depressed neighborhoods in India. Often, these girls are abducted by mafias that sexually exploit them. Even as young as 12, the girls often live in extreme poverty, overcrowded in slums, with no hygienic measures whatsoever, and hand over almost all the money they make to the “madames” who manage their business.

Fear and disgust. Those were the feelings that shook the missionary’s body the first time she went to a slum in Calcutta. Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an Indian organization that fights child labor, estimates that more than a million prostitutes in India are minors and that their numbers are ever increasing. Even if prostitutes want to have a different job, they often cannot manage to get one, mainly because they know nothing else to do for a living.

Because of the difficulties that rehabilitating adult women entail, Sister Caridad’s project pays more attention to the daughters of prostitutes. According to the nuns, their work includes preventing girls from following in their mothers’ footsteps, which is very common because they lack any kind of education or training. Schools do not usually accept them because parents do not want their children to come in contact with them. Sponsored by Manos Unidas, Sister Caridad contributed to the creation of Shelter Homes in various states in India.

Since the project started, almost 400 girls and teens have learned to read, write, run a business, sew, etc. The hardest part, she says, was dealing with gangs and pimps who even had brought them to trial -paradoxically accusing them of promoting prostitution- from fear of seeing a drop in their income. At first, it was difficult for prostitute mothers to trust the nuns, but they began to do so once they saw they were there to stay.

Now, the most difficult challenge is for the young girls to stay until they finish their training. One of the most difficult moments for the missionaries is to accept the fact that some of these girls will leave, sometimes without saying goodbye. Even if this happens, Sister Caridad says: ‘I prefer to believe that no one is bad. Something will stick from everything we've given them, and someday they will realize it. That is my hope’.

Source: elpais.com

ENJOYING COOKING AND EATING

As was the case with the crafts activity for girls, the session on Food and Nutrition was conducted by the Spanish volunteers Nerea Durán Terrón and María Lucero Rodríguez, who wished to share this dessert recipe with the community housewives and mothers so they could make it for their children.

Also, María and Nerea organized a special session for the women of the Sahachari Self-Help Group to teach them how to make orange jam. The community women enjoyed and tasting and eating what they prepared with the help of the volunteers.

A SMALL YET BIG ENTERPRISE

A successful chemical engineer, Shalini Datta always wanted to do something meaningful with her life, something which would leave a positive impact on the lives of others. When she got her first job in an IT company, she signed up for corporate responsibility activities to come closer to her dream. After a time, however, Datta quit her job to create After Taste, an organization that helps women in a marginal community of fishermen to earn a living by making handicrafts out of paper.

What started as a small initiative gained momentum and more and more women joined the enterprise. In 2012, Datta organized the first exhibition of hand-made products. Even before starting, Datta was sure she could gather a group of women with no previous knowledge and teach them the trade from scratch. “I also wanted to instill a sense of teamwork in them”, she says. “Since they hadn’t worked together before, I taught them how to cooperate rather than compete.”

Currently, the company manufactures various paper products which include custom-made bags, lamps and picture frames. Among its clients are 25 corporations, organizations and various educational institutions, as well as individual customers. The focus of this company has allowed women who face difficult situations at homes to improve their quality of life, be economically independent and be more confident and outgoing in their social interactions.

Although their workplace is a small room in a suburb in Mumbai, Datta’s dream is to expand the business and get more a bigger place. Her goal is to increase the number of workers so as to reach out to more women, and start selling online. She explains that “We’re not asking for charity; we want to offer a tangible solution to the difficulties that these women face”.

Source: thebetterindia.com

MORE IMPORTANT THAN TECHNOLOGY

On Saturday April 25, the 3rd regional meeting of TESOL Spain Castilla La Mancha, was held in Puertollano. After reading an article that I had published in the newsletter of TESOL Spain about my stay with Asha-Kiran in India, Anita Lutterkort, regional coordinator, asked me to give a short speech and share my experiences, impressions and conclusions from my participation as a teacher at Yashodhara Home with my colleagues - an experience that changed both my approach to my classes and my outlook on life.

Silvia Benitez
Volunteer with Asha-Kiran

“Silvia Benitez gave a talk about her experiences in India, giving the teachers a very personal vision of her stay at Yashodhara. How different it must be to teach a class there! Without any high technology but being supported by the good heart of her peers and a burning desire to learn from her students. We should take note and reflect on our daily lives, so full of objects that we sometimes forget that human relationships are the most valuable thing we have.”

Anita Lutterkort
Area Coordinator, TESOL-Spain Castilla La Mancha.

AN EXCEPTIONAL STREET BOY

Life taught him early on how to survive with nothing. When he was only five, Amin Sheikh left his slum to “settle” in an old train station. As his younger sister joined him soon, he had to learn to look after two people. Shortly thereafter, someone stole everything he had, he was raped, and his sister was kidnapped and forced into prostitution in the red light district. Like Amin, the UN estimates that some 150 million children are living out in the open in the world.

Helped by a taxi driver, his sister managed to escape from her captors. Once Amin understood the risk they were in, and with the help of a nun, he agreed to live in an orphanage where at least they would have their basic needs met. Amin says that although that shelter was not all that comfortable, he considered it “the home he had always dreamed of”. The nun had saved them from the likelihood of dying in the streets like many others: from illnesses or drugs or at the hands of gangs. A series of terrible circumstances brought Amin to the train station and to a life of hunger and suffering, but if all that had not happened, he would not be helping other children in the same situation now.

At present, Amin is a business man, as he defines himself. Aside from having started an orphanage, he dreams of opening a restaurant that will employ young men from his orphanage who, having become of age, are still out of work. This way, they won’t have to take to the streets again. He also wants the 'artists' to have place where the artists where they can show their work, and make a waiting list from which local business men can hire these young men.

To launch the project he has in mind, he says he will need around €300,000. Getting this amount implies going against the odds, but it just may be possible for someone like him. In fact, he thinks he has already found the solution by telling his life story in a book. Through the sales of his novel, he has already raised €40,000 and it looks like this figure will continue to grow. His autobiography “Life is life: I am thanks to you” has already been translated into five languages.

In early 2003, the person Amin worked for as a driver and whom he describes as the father he never had, decided to take him with him to Barcelona. During that trip, he began the process that, years later, moves everyone who comes to know his story. All the people he befriended in Barcelona encouraged him to write what he experienced during the hardest years of his life. Amin realized that he did not have to resign himself to his lot in life.

When not traveling, Amin shows tourists around Mumbai – the more authentic side of the city he knows so well. This activity, aside from bringing funds to his project, is also a way to meet foreigners who often offer to tell others about his work in their countries of origin. Says Amin: “If I survived after everything that has happened to me so far, I can also handle what the future holds for me”.

He knows he won’t change the world, but knows his small contribution can, along with many others, serve to create something greater, and the mere fact of improving one child’s life prospects thanks to his efforts, gives Amin a reason to carry on.

Source: elpais.com

ARGAR HIGH SCHOOL: HELPING SAVE A LIFE

Given that solidarity is a much needed value in society, it is important for schools to encourage it among children. In this respect, Argar High School is very aware of how important it is for its students to understand that there are people who have no resources to face difficult situations, illness, or even daily life.

On the occasion of World Book Day on April 23rd, Argar High School began to entertain the idea of organizing a charitable activity. While looking for a cause to support, Mª Angeles Arráez, a volunteer with Asha-Kiran and a teacher at the school, introduced the case of Hritik, a 15-year-old boy who lives at Yashodhara Home and was recently diagnosed with lymph-node cancer.

Once the idea was presented to the student body, they began to make bookmarks and raise funds from their sale so that Hritik’s treatment could be carried out in a hospital that will give him personalized and effective service. Although the bookmarks only cost between 20 cents and one euro, the collection came to about €700, a high figure considering that the students only had two weeks given the need to start the treatment as soon as possible.

We are delighted that María Angeles is continually instilling a caring spirit in her students, and thankful that the hearts of the Management, teachers and students of Argar High School are willing to launch initiatives that support those in need.

THE CHALLENGE OF BEING A GIRL'S MOTHER

Indian mothers are not only mothers, but also the possible promoters of a much needed change in their country. For millions of women who belong to the lower castes and who have limited financial means, being a mother is a struggle for survival. First, their own, and then their children’s, even before they are born. They have to pick their way through a society that has a strong preference for sons based on beliefs and religion.

Already in 2001, there were 35 million more men than women in India, whereas in most countries it is the female population that predominates. The reasons why an Indian family may prefer to have a son are that males are a means to ensure proper care to aging parents, as sons are the only ones who can be financially independent, inherit goods and property, and pray for the souls of the deceased.

A woman is just a financial burden because she must not contribute to the household income at any time and because at marriage, families pay a dowry for their daughters even though dowries are prohibited by law. Moreover, once married, the daughter ‘belongs’ to her husband’s family and loses contact with her own. Sending a teenage girl to school implies a high risk as she may be harassed, raped, abused and even killed. Women are also seen as the weakest and the ones with the greatest need for food and medical care, which means higher expenses.

All these reasons have led to increased selective abortions and infanticides in the country. The frequency of this practice is so high that there are villages where there is no drinking water but where this system exists. The an alternative for women who do not have economic access to selective abortions is infanticide practiced on girls from birth to age nine, an age range in which the female population decreases drastically.

Given that India continues to be a male-oriented society, it is women themselves who will actually have a say in changing the current situation. Gradually, more and more mothers decide to have daughters despite all the disadvantages that this decision can bring. Thanks to these women, the consequences of discrimination and degradation of the female gender in India will be addressed, such as is the increasing difficulty to marry because of the lack of women, and a stagnation of social development which should have matched the economic progress.

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers who love and struggle for their children.

Source: elpais.com

A CLEVER, CLEAN MONKEY

A group of youths interested in social development have been presenting street plays in different communities on various important issues. All the group members are students of Bharati Vidyapith MSW College. One of them (Anil Gaikwad) has been doing field work with A-K for the last year.

Asha-Kiran, the Street Play Group and two Spanish volunteers (Nerea Durán Terron and María Lucero Rodríguez) planned the activity in the community. The play was based on ‘Swachha Bharat Abhiyan’ (Clean India Campaign), for which the volunteers prepared beautiful posters.

The play starts with a song that describes Asha-Kiran’s vision and work, followed by a description of the situation of the slums. One person plays the role of a monkey (all traditional street plays use the same concept in India) and another person is his boss. The boss asks the monkey to do a trick, but the monkey refuses saying that he won’t work in an unclean place that smells bad and has so many flies and mosquitoes.

The boss says that this is the typical condition of all the slums, especially in Pune. The monkey then explains the importance of cleanliness in our surroundings and homes. In the second part, he talks about the advantages of a clean and neat neighborhood. We hope that, little by little, the slum dwellers will have a better understanding of the value of hygiene and actively improve their living conditions.

THE WATER MAN OF INDIA

Rajendra Singh, popularly known as ‘The Water Man of India’, began his work in the 80's. His initial idea was to build health centers in rural areas, but after living with the villagers he found out that water was a much greater need. For his efforts and achievements, he has been awarded the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate.

The lack of water was causing an exodus of young people, leaving behind women, elderly people and children to fend for themselves. The surrounding wells were dry and no crop thrived, so Singh decided to focus on solutions. With the help of the villagers, he began to build modernized versions of traditional earthen dams (johads) which fell into disuse during the colonial era.

Twenty years of continuous work have enabled access to water to over 1000 villages across Rajasthan, and more than 8,600 johads and similar structures have been built. As a result, rivers are now flowing again, the forest cover has increased and some animal species are reappearing. By collecting rainwater and because the groundwater has been recovered, the risk of droughts and floods has decreased to almost zero in what used to be the driest state in India.

“The way we have worked is a way to solve the issue of droughts and floods worldwide, so we believe that the impact of this work is at a local, national and international level. When we started out, we were just trying to solve the drinking water crisis in Rajasthan. Today, our goal is greater. We are in the 21st century, the century of exploitation, pollution and encroachment. To be able to stop this, turn the water war into peace, that is my goal in life”, says Rajendra Singh.

Source: thebetterindia.com

CRAFTS WITH SPANISH VOLUNTEERS

This session was conducted at the Community Center with the help of two Spanish volunteers, María Lucero Rodríguez and Nerea Durán Terrón.

The activity consisted in making earrings and bracelets since all of the 30 participants were girls. Everybody was given colorful chart paper to cut into different shapes (hearts, squares, flowers, etc.) to use as decorations for the bracelets. With needle and thread, all the loose ends were tied and beautiful bracelets were ready. The girls also made earrings by using beads and thread.

All the girls thoroughly enjoyed the process of making jewelry for themselves.

OBSTACLES FOR GIRLS WHO WANT TO STUDY

Roja was 16 years old. She was hard to miss. Quiet at the start, Roja was passionate about school: “I don’t want to be called a hebbattu (illiterate). I want to be a policewoman like the one in my village. That’s what I want to be when I grow up.”

“Parents think girls will marry and go away to another house,” she told me. “All the money they spend in sending girls to school will only benefit an outside family, so they send their sons to school.” Roja saw no sense in this logic. To her, it was clear that girls had to be allowed to study for families to survive. “Boys don’t care. It’s the girls who will take care of their family. If I study, my family will not be poor anymore.”

Once I got my 10th Grade marks, I asked everyone in my house to give me money for college admission fees. All of them said they didn’t have enough money. There was an annual fee of 380 Rupees (€5.60) to get admission, but no one could give me that. My father has been very ill in the past few months so he doesn’t make any money. My mother washes dishes at a nearby house. She brings the leftover food from the house where she works for us to eat. I didn’t want to bother my family anymore, so I decided to work.”

Roja told her mother about her plan, but her mother said, “You mustn’t give up hope. No one in our family has studied beyond 2nd grade. You have done well in school and you must study further.” Roja had expected her mother to agree to her working in the fields. “I was very encouraged by what my mother said. She urged me to keep trying.”

This girl is remarkable. It’s remarkable that she scored a distinction in high school; remarkable that she never let go of her desire to study; remarkable that she pursued it and looked for a way. And she did find a way. The local chapter of the Rotary Club paid her fee. It embarrassed her to be so poor but there was no shame in her desire to study and reach out for help. “I will become a policewoman and then my family will not be poor anymore.”

This young woman deserves to be heard and her individual success celebrated for its potential to encourage others like herself to tackle seemingly insurmountable odds.

(Adapted from thebetterindia.com)

LINKING SCHOOL-GOING CHILDREN AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Last 20th of March, Asha-Kiran set up a stand at MIT College in Pune. The stand included a Wish Tree, contribution boxes, and volunteers giving information about A-K. Through our presence, we wished to link up students from the city with the children from the slum community and the construction sites so as to encourage them to contribute to the development of disadvantaged children in various ways.

At first, MIT students were hesitant to visit our stall, so the organizer of the event and our Director in India introduced us to them. Many students came over not only to make a financial contribution, but also to sign up as future volunteers with Asha-Kiran. After chatting with us, the students began to understand Asha-Kiran’s goals and undertakings on behalf of disadvantaged children.

INDIAN HEROINE FOSTERING CHANGE

In late 2012, the Indian film director Ram Devineni took part in a demonstration in New Delhi following the rape of a young 23 year old student on a bus. A policeman present at the rally said that “no decent woman would walk alone at night”. These words and the indignation they produced in Devineni, detonated the beginning of a transmedia project that is already viral in India: Priya's Shakti.

Priya is a character who has suffered sexual violence to later become the only female superhero in India. Riding a tiger and wearing a colorful sari, she sets out to radically change the mood of the society in which she grew up. Priya personalizes the feelings and experiences of the approximately 93 women who are raped daily in India.

The comic is based on the idea of bringing together the stereotype of classical Hindu narrative with the graphics of new technologies. Priya is an ordinary, dark skinned woman, who, after being sexually assaulted by her countrymen and with Goddess Parvati’s help, dares to face her family and a society that in most cases not only does not defend the victims but puts the blame on them. The choice of Parvati for this cartoon is no coincidence, since it is the Hindu Goddess that relates to humans, which makes her more available.

Created by Devineni and Vikas Menon, the comic presents a narrative that combats gender and sexual violence so that women who have been victims of it can envision a participatory and possible life horizon within their background, using a discourse through which these women and their real stories, can be easily portrayed. In fact, some parts of the cartoon match real events lived by women victims through the use of audios files, videos, animations, and even drawings made by disadvantaged children in Mumbai.

Fortunately, nowadays there already exists a climate of intolerance towards this kind of injustice, especially among the younger segments of Indian society. Its creators plan for the comic to evolve and to be distributed in schools so as to foster a change in mentality. According Devineni, in India there is already sufficient legislation to combat all types of explicit violence against women, but no legislation will be enough as long as victims are not openly supported so that they need not fear the consequences that public denunciation of their abuse may bring.

Sources: yorokobu.es / priyashakti.com/comic/

BRINGING CHILDREN TOGETHER

Twenty five students (aged 9 to 12) from Ebenen School of Languages in Torrejon de Ardoz, Spain, and the children from one of Asha-Kiran’s Day Care Centers for Migrant Children in Pune, India, came together for a videoconference on March 27.

Victor Natalías, who works at A-K Spain, went over to the school to tell parents, students and teachers about the projects that Asha-Kiran carries out with disadvantaged children in India.

The children asked each other questions about what their life was like here and there, sang songs, read poems, acted out short plays, danced... a rewarding and exciting experience that all the children and teachers truly enjoyed. It was wonderful to see the children’s faces and their shiny, eager eyes on both sides of the screen.

Both Ebenen’s and Asha-Kiran’s kids ended up with huge smiles on their faces, saying they would like to talk again, share more things and be friends... Two small worlds that met for the first time to find out that they were both the same.

Silvia Benítez Redrejo - Volunteer with Asha-Kiran

MORE THAN MONEY IN THE BANK

“If we want to eliminate poverty, we need to connect all the people to the financial system”, said Modi, Prime Minister of India. His goal, that all families -urban as well as rural- have access to financial services, is being reached quickly. In just a few months, about 103 million savings accounts have been opened within the framework of this initiative.

Economically disadvantaged sectors can now open an account without depositing a single rupee and access services such credit card accounts to apply for loans, insurance and pensions, in addition to performing regular banking operations. The government will deposit funds from cash benefits programs in their accounts, such as student scholarships. As an incentive, those who open an account under this program get free accident and life insurance.

The goal is for citizens to change the habit of keeping their savings ‘under the mattress’ and deposit them in banks instead. Analysts who support the project say that people with limited financial means often rely on loan sharks who often charge up to five times more interest than banks. They also stress that banking will ensure that the money allocated to them by the government doesn’t get ’lost’ on the way. However, critics point out that the previous government launched a similar campaign in 2011, which failed because most people didn’t use the accounts and the banks lost interest.

Many new users don’t know what banks or accounts are for, but the Modi government will ensure that financial education is given and that his program will focus on families, not villages. He adds that every village will have a bank no farther than five miles away, and accounts will be accessed from cell phones. This large-scale initiative may benefit social groups who are severely financially disadvantaged, and whose access to banking is much lower than the world average.

Source: elpais.com

CHILDREN, ART AND ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

The leading regional newspaper ‘Sakal’ launched a drawing competition for all the schools of Pune, but since Narmadabai School could not participate, Asha-Kiran stepped in so that the community children would also be included.

The theme was Clean Pune - Green Pune. A total of 147 girls from 6th, 7th and 8th grade came up with their own ideas on how to portray the theme on paper with the pencils, crayons or water colors that we provided. There will be four prizes which will be given to the winners in an upcoming ceremony.

READING IN TEA STALLS

In India, an interesting initiative in India is aiming to promote reading habits among underprivileged children. Called Cutting Tea Tales, it was launched on the occasion of International Literacy Day and consists in turning tea stalls and provision stores into reading joints.

As per a recent report by UNESCO’s Education for All (EFA), India has the largest illiterate population. “We want to bring about a change in the situation by making books available to children so that their future looks a bit different”, says Mr. Banerjee, Managing Trustee of Akshara Foundation. Cutting Tea Tales is one small step towards making this happen.

“We didn’t expect such a great response from everyone,” says Banerjee. The aim to get underprivileged children closer to books is further expanded through a story-telling session. “Kids are asked to pick a small piece of paper from a bowl with the name of a book written on it, which they are asked to narrate. It enhances their confidence and reading skills as they enjoy the attention they get while they are reading it out loud” he adds. The initiative will expand to other areas of the country after its successful pilot.

Since family members play an important role in furthering reading habits, a session for adults is also organized where they tell their favorite childhood memories. “It is very unusual for slum children to develop an interest in reading just from what they read in school. The colorful illustrations and interesting stories we provide keep them engaged,” Banerjee adds. ”It is amazing to see how a small push can lead to a big impact. It is hoped that many more tea stalls will join the Cutting Tea Tales initiative.”

Source: thebetterindia.com