HOLI FESTIVAL

Finally, the much awaited Holi Festival rolled around once more to dye two days with color and joy. Yashodhara lived this day with great enthusiasm - Holi, the festival of color celebrated at the beginning spring, always coincides with the full moon. During spring, the weather changes and is believed to cause fever and colds. Throwing colored powders at one another has a healing significance: colors are traditionally made of nim, kumkum, jaldi, bilva and other medicinal herbs.

Holika is the first day. A big pile of wood is made and all the evil spirits are burnt at night. This is the symbolic burning of evil. Children scamper around a fire shouting and whistling with great emotion. Dinner is prepared in a special way that night – sweet chapati is served together with milk.

The second day, the celebration is an explosion of color. The children prepare colored powder and buckets. Then, they fill up balloons with colored water and throw colored powder at anyone within reach. Everyone ends up stained and wet, and the children have loads of fun. The mosaic of colors covering faces and bodies is a truly beautiful sight. Among laughter and fun, gratitude arises from being able to enjoy the children at Yashodhara one more year.

Eshana Alcover

DENTAL CARE

Asha-Kiran organized a one-day dental checkup camp for the children of our School for Labour Workers project, which includes all minors between 3 and 18 years of age at our three Centers located at construction sites. The camp was organized in collaboration with Mother Teresa Memorial Hospital in Hadapsar (Pune). The adults (parents of the children at construction sites) were also included in the screenings.

We covered approximately 85 children, working from a well-equipped Mobile Dental Clinic. Patients were screened inside the mobile clinic, and the dentist prescribed treatments for those who needed them. For further treatment and follow-up, the patients were encouraged to visit the nearest branch of Mother Teresa Memorial Hospital, where they will get low-cost treatment with the help of Asha-Kiran.

The goal behind this activity is to improve the oral health of the children living in laborers’ communities by providing quality dental care, showing them how to access inexpensive and optimal dental services, and organizing Dental Health Education activities related to oral hygiene and good eating habits.

THE STATE OF THE WORLD'S CHILDREN - 2012

"The State of the World's Children 2012: children in an urban world”, UNICEF’s flagship report, focuses on vulnerable children in urban areas. One billion children live in urban areas, a figure that is rapidly increasing. However, disparities within cities show that many of them lack access to schools, health care and sanitation, despite living next to these services.

"We are approaching a tipping point”, said Abid Aslam, editor of the publication. "A growing number of people are being born in existing urban environments, and what worries us is that for a large number of children, these are extremely hostile environments ". They do not know where they are going to live next year, or next month or even next week, let alone whether they can go to school or have access to potable water sources”, "says Mr. Aslam.

The UNICEF report contradicts the idea that all children living in cities are better off than those of rural communities. On the contrary, it shows that although disadvantaged children live just minutes from schools and health clinics, they have no access to them due to poverty and discrimination.

The report highlights the lack of data on the conditions prevailing in the slums, especially in regard to children, and raises awareness of the need for a greater political will take action to improve the lives of marginalized people. It also points out that the same children and families who are excluded from the opportunities offered by urban life can make improvements that benefit everyone. Examples from cities around the world show the benefits that greater representation and participation in municipal affairs entail.

According to Aslam, "The report presents evidence that we all benefit when in decision-making processes are included, as is their right, poor and marginalized people whose voices are rarely heard”. When those who are excluded are taken into account in planning and decision-making on urban issues, advances in areas such as literacy, infrastructure and security are bound to follow.

Source:UNICEF

MAPPING INDIGNITY

A villager in southwestern India has developed the country's first online mapping platform that documents the multitude of abuses, rapes and murders committed daily against women there, to awaken people to the extent and horrors of such crimes.

Despite strong laws, girls and women in largely patriarchal India face a barrage of threats including rape, dowry-related murder, forced marriage, domestic violence and human trafficking.

Construction engineer and former software developer Shemeer Padinzjharedil, 29, said he was shocked, and inspired, by a poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, which rated India as the fourth most dangerous place for women in the world. "I was so angry I thought I would prove them wrong. But after research, I found that it really is true. It's just that the Indian media is not portraying it with as much seriousness."

"There are lots of news reports about crimes against women, but there really is nowhere where they are documented. The stories just get archived and the woman or girl just becomes a statistic, a number, that matters to no one," he said. "On my platform, maps4aid, not only do you see the statistics, but you can read the stories, which really helps people understand the terrible things that happen to our women. I would say what I have mapped is just a small drop in the ocean", he said, adding that most cases are not even reported due to the shame and stigma that victims fear even from their own families.

"For the Indian girl, it starts when she is in the womb where she risks being aborted. When she is born, they abuse and rape her. When she grows, they force her into marriage where she is harassed and possibly killed for dowry," he said. "When you look at the bigger picture, it's a huge achievement for a girl in India to survive to adulthood at all."

Source: CRIN (Child Rights International Network)

HUNGER

“The problem of malnutrition is a matter of national shame. Despite impressive growth in our GDP, the level of under-nutrition in the country is unacceptably high”, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh while releasing a report on Hunger and Malnutrition (HUNGaMA). With 42 per cent of children malnourished, fast-growing India is far from being in the comfort zone.

The PM said that the government could not rely solely on the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), a programme for early childhood development of kids under the age of six, to address the grim situation. India ranks a dismal 67 as per the latest Global Hunger Index.

Pointing out that India had not succeeded in reducing the levels of malnutrition fast enough, the PM said, “Though the ICDS continues to be our most important tool to fight malnutrition, we can no longer rely solely on it. We need to focus on districts where malnutrition levels are high and where conditions causing malnutrition prevail”. He said policy makers and program implementers need to clearly understand many linkages – between education and health, sanitation and hygiene, drinking water and nutrition – and then shape their responses accordingly.

Source: Pune Mirror

DANCING IN THE NEW YEAR

At the beginning of the New Year, Yashodhara Shelter welcomed several visitors.

From Girona, Spain, came Coral Ríos – director, teacher and dancer at Itzà Dance School, who is also a sponsor of a girl from Yashodhara and a regular contributor to Asha-Kiran’s work in Spain. From Portugal, a week later, came dancer Carolina Fonseca, member of the group of teachers of the project "Dancing Leprechaun" created by Myriam Zsabo (Yumma Mudra).

Given the children’s passion for dance, we organized a few short movement, self-expression and free dance workshops. Both dancers were equally amazed at the creativity, the explosive energy and the ease in bodily expression of Indian children.

Delighted with our Projects, Coral and Carolina left saying a "see you soon". Carolina began a tour through India tour to deepen her knowledge of folk dances, and has the intention of visiting us again to share her art with the children.

We are thankful for such special and ‘danced-to’ encounters.

Eshana - live-in Volunteer at Yashodhara Shelter

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE FEMALE CHILD

By decree of the United Nations, October 11 of 2012 will be the first International Day of the Female Child.

This achievement has been possible thanks to the support of the Government of Canada, responsible for raising the proposal to the United Nations General Assembly. The initiative has also had the support of the governments of Germany, El Salvador, Guinea Bissau and Pakistan.

The Director of PLAN, the Spanish organization that backed up the creation of this day in the international calendar, has stressed the significance of this achievement: “So far there was no day that focused specifically on the situation of girls, one of the most discriminated social groups and for which there are very few concrete policies. In many countries, girls are marginalized in all facets of their lives, from school to work. In the worst cases they are not even allowed to be born”.

Sixty two million girls do not attend school and about 140 million suffer sexual mutilation, while ten million a year are forced to marry before the age of 12. Moreover, they make up ninety per cent of all minors who work in domestic service; each year, the number of girls trafficked with is ten times higher than during the heyday of slavery.

Who wants to educate or invest in the education of a girl whose only future is, according to her parents, to marry and have children?

An international day is much more than a date in the calendar - it is a window, an open door, a spotlight that focuses, in this case, on the most vulnerable among the vulnerable. If we do not invest directly and specifically in the female child ensuring her access to health, education, protection and allowing her vital and emotional development, we will not meet six of the eight Millennium Development Goals.

In Spain, 6500 people signed the petition for the having an International Day of the Girl Child and 35 leading companies contributed to spread the message of support to girls, as well as to finance education projects for them.

Let us also contribute, from our own individual possibilities, to empower girls (and boys) so they can become the world’s redeeming force.

Sources: Fundación Luis Vives/Ameco Press/El País/epsocial