Jan-mar09

xvii # 1 | jan-mar '09 | private circulation only
e n a b l i n g s e l f r e l i a n c e

Take off! These are real stories about real achievements. While one talks of a 15 year old who made it to the National Finals of a World Contest; the other is 'Specially International' in the literal contexts.Sidhu, the eldest child at Chhaya, Deepalaya's Institutional Care baby, won the II prize in Airtime category at the World Paper Plane Flying Contest held at St Stephens College, Delhi and qualified for the Nationals held in Bangalore.I could never imagine that flying a paper plane would get me a chance to fly in a plane for real, said Sidhu after his return from the Finals. But that's just the starter.Here continues a story from the last edition of this publication. Special children Brijesh and Reena who made it to the finals of Special Olympics, trained in Shimla for around a week and flew off to Idaho City, USA to represent India in the World Winter Games. The two, both hearing impaired and economically deprived,displayed sheer grit and determination while competing,qualifying and preparing for the Games, and came out with flying colors. Brijesh, who participated in Snowboarding bagged the Silver, while Reena picked up the Bronze in Alpine Skiing. Both of them have been with Deepalaya since early childhood and have been mainstreamed into regular education. Since their return they've been enjoying a lot telling about their experiences at the States. Many news channels like NDTV India, 24x7, Metronation and Loksabha have featured them and newspapers like The Hindu, The Pioneer, The Indian Express, Mathrubhumi, Malayala Manorama and others have told their tales.All three of these children have found their initial practice grounds at Deepalaya and made it to the top of the mountain. Their journey from 'the-not-so-fortunates'

Tycoons come to Deepalaya! Career Launcher (CL), a well-known name in the Education Management circuit held a National Level Talent Hunt Competition Tycoons for the leaders of tomorrow. After selection of 32 National Finalists, CL approached Deepalaya to test their social sensitivity and attitudes by visiting one of its projects.Following a small briefing, Deepalaya invited these youngsters to spend a day with the Education on Wheels (EoW) project running in North Delhi. This would mean traveling in the EoW bus, visiting slums, interacting with communities, teaching the children and many related activities.The students were divided into 3 groups which went to three different locations viz Wazirpur, Bhadola and Haiderpur. Each group had the same targets, but had to devise their own set of activities to teach the children a skill, convince the communities of the importance of education, and also learn something for their own personality development. The youngsters impressively displayed the best of their creativity devising tools and tactics to achieve their targets. They were also asked to get children enrolments and prepare case stories. "It's not we, but these children who are the real Tycoons. I'm impressed with the way they grasp things so well. Kudos to the Deepalaya team", said Gagan, one of the contestants from Punjab as she narrated her experience over the day.Both the children at EoW and the students from CL were happy to learn about the different worlds of each other.Later, the students were judged on the basis of their performance and attitude throughout the day. Rtn Mathew spoke as one of the panelists in their orientation ceremony held at Park Hotel on March 20 and stressed upon some vital attributes of being a true leader.

Tycoons come to Deepalaya!
Deepalaya's Education on Wheels offers the CL Tycoons a day out on the project and the slums After this day with Deepalaya, I'm a better person in terms of understanding people. Talking to them I've gained an empathizing attitude. Harneet, the winner of Tycoons.

Take off!
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Coloring their hearts out!The best of humanity is seen when it extends a helping hand to engage the underprivileged.Youth for Humanity (YFH), a Delhi-based NGO, sponsors two girls at Deepalaya School,Kalkaji Extension and interacts with them twice a year. On February 9, it conducted a drawing competition for 250 of our children at Deepalaya School, Golekuan. The theme for the competition revolved around My School,Garden, Children's Park, My Country, Environment, Seasons, Festivals, Peace, Terrorism, Literacy, God and AIDS.Prominent YFH faces like Ashish Gupta, Laugendra Gupta, Payal Gupta and Hemant Toshawad were present and distributed prizes on the occasion.Another NGO Nature conducted their annual drawing, art & craft, and quiz competition at Gyan Jyoti School on February 28. The theme was Environment. Out of 10 participating EoW students, one bagged the first prize and two got the third prizes, against a group of 40 students representing various organizations.
Coloring their hearts out!
Rock Jam live at AES Deepalaya has been rewardingly associated with the American Embassy School (AES) for a number of years now. Under a reach out programme, AES students and their parents have been teaching English and Maths to 40 students of Deepalaya School, Golekuan.In another interaction, on February 19, 12 students of Ramditti JR Narang Deepalaya School with Choral Conductor Sunny Varughese,presented a short choral performance at AES Theatre. The Deepalaya Rock Band comprising Sameer (guitar), Anil (drums), Mohit (casio) and Karan, Bharat, Sabina, Jyoti and Savita (vocals) rocked the stage on with an exciting performance on the occasion, giving everyone present a thrill.
Rock Jam live at AES

Going Radio! 31 students from Deepalaya Schools, Sanjay Colony and Kalkaji Extension visited the Radio Mirchi studio on January 30. The children were keen on learning how a full fledged radio station works. At Mirchi, they were happy to see the editing room and the studio from where shows are aired. They also learned about the chronology of songs to be played, live reporting and talk shows. Said Nitin, a student at Deepalaya, "Now that I know things, nothing will keep me from becoming an RJ! On February 27, 12 students from Deepalaya School, Kalkaji Extension visited Meow FM's studio and spent fun moments with RJs Gini, Jayshree and Roshi. They played a couple of games, dumb charade and antakshari with them. RJ Roshi complimented Anand Prakash saying,You are a very good singer. Keep it up!" It was a fun filled day for them as well as the RJs at Meow.

Learning the act - Akshara by Akshara! Students of Ramditti JR Narang Deepalaya School have been regularly training under Ms Jalabala Vaidya at Akshara Theatres, which is one of the best known artistic institutions.Deepalaya students have participated in Gopal Sharman's epic play, the 'Ramayana' that has been presented in different adaptations at the Theatres. These students have been very fortunate to be associated with Akshara since last 3 yrs. They have staged 2 plays in English and 1 in Hindi so far.Following a successful staging of the Ramayana and winning praises for their act, 5 students - Amit and Johny (IX), Rinku (VIII), Naveen and Anuj (VII) - trained with Ms Vaidya for yet another play. On February 27, the boys stole the show in the humorous act called 'The Fish Bearing Tree'. The act spoke of two brothers who ran a fake 'Hotel Duma' in a remote area. They would lure the visitors on the pretext of showing them, 'a tree that bears fish', and run away with their belongings.The play was well received by everyone present at Akshara and repeat staging was done for the same on request.
Learning the act - Akshara by Akshara!

RJRN Deepalaya School students perform as Rama and Lakshmana at Akshara Theatres (above)
Amway listening! 21 Deepalaya students participated in the 'Nanhe Chitrakar' competition organized by Amway on February 22. In a gathering of over 200 children, mostly of Amway employees and distributors, Deepalaya was the only NGO participant. The topics of the painting competition were Environment and Wild Animals.Madhubala (grade II) got the II prize in age group 5-8 years while Arti and Sadhana (both grade IV) bagged the III prizes. Under age group 9-12 years, Anita and Poonam (both grade V) picked up the II and III prizes respectively. The prize winners received games and drawing material as gifts. We are happy to note that competing against children from well to do backgrounds, our children have done us proud.Following this, Mr Rajat Banerjee, Corporate Head, Amway visited DSSC along with a team of seven in the first week of March. After a traditional welcome, they visited the classes and interacted with students. A cultural show was presented by children and they enjoyed the programme thoroughly. Towards the end, they presented a cheque for Rs 1,54,000 for sponsoring 22 children.Deepalaya looks forward to a long association with Amway.

Unfolding Deep Thoughts!An Annual Day showcases achievement of the school in the past one year. It's a time of fun and enjoyment. With much enthusiasm and fervor, Deepalaya School, Sanjay Colony and Ramditti JR Narang Deepalaya School, Khirkee Village celebrated their Annual Days on January 23 and 31 respectively.At Sanjay Colony, the School's 17th birthday had Ms Ethel Lowen, mother of renowned dancer and Friend of Deepalaya Ms Sharon Lowen, as the Chief Guest. Children from Deepalaya's Art In Action project staged a skit stressing upon Girl Child Education. Colorfully dressed tiny tots of the school enthralled everyone with a high energy naga dance number. The senior students presented a Bengali dance drama called Chandalika, emphasizing upon the practice of untouchability. Special children Brijesh and Reena were felicitated by the Director of Special Olympics Bharat on the occasion.The Khirkee Village campus too celebrated with an equal excitement. The Narangs (Corporate Partners with the school) and Ms Rajyalakshmi Rao (from National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission) were the Chief Guests. It was a colorful function altogether, garnished with many dance and drama performances. The school's band performed to numbers from Rock On! School's annual report was read and translated into Hindi for the parents present.What added to the charisma of the event was the release of Deep Thoughts, the first school magazine that all five formal Deepalaya Schools at Sanjay Colony, Khirkee Village, Golekuan, Gusbethi and Kalkaji Extension have come out with.With the release, Deepalaya pioneered yet again by becoming the first NGO to have its schools release a full fledged school magazine.