2005-1

New Delhi - Vol XIII no. 1, Jan - Mar 2005

• Celebrating Partnerships
• Life Skills Development
• Community Clinic
• The Dilliwala Did It!
• CWLA Exchange runs for another Year
• Sports for the Challenged
• Seminar on Inclusive Education
• Holi at Swagat Kendra
• A ‘Diplomatic’ Visit
• Annual Day
• Children become Computer Literate
• Science made Interesting
• Letter to the Editor
• Alumni in the Spotlight

Celebrating Partnerships
On 28 January, Deepalaya held the third in its series
of Silver Jubilee celebrations. The occasion, 'Celebrating
Partnerships', was marked by the release of the document Sah
- Vikas: Symphony in Symbiosis. The book outlined the various
partnerships that Deepalaya has forged in the past 25 years,
"without which it would have been difficult to create better
opportunities for the marginalised sections of society", acknowledged
Rtn T.K. Mathew, Secretary and Chief Executive.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, Founder Sulabh
International, highlighted that in the successful partnership
between voluntary organisations lies the success of any development
initiative. He stressed that the greatest of all partnerships
an NGO can develop is with the very communities that it is
working with. This also ensures continuation of the efforts
initiated.
The celebration was followed by a symposium. The theme focused
on NGO partnerships with corporates, government, international
agencies, the media and the community. The speakers, experts
in their respective fields, included Mr Shankar Venkateswaran,
Ms Jankirajan, Mr Vijay Sardana, Ms Usha Rai and Ms Mridula
Bajaj. Their participation ensured a fruitful symposium.
In true spirit of partnership, the youth organisation Pravah
also performed the interactive Theatre of the Oppressed, which
provoked much thought and awareness during the interlude.
The next Silver Jubilee event, 'Celebrating Workers' is scheduled
for 1st May, '05. Please contact 91-11-28525908 for details.

Life Skills Development
Deepalaya is running a number of often very practically
orientated courses for children and adults alike. Yet once
the training is complete, many face difficulties in finding
employment for example, which in turn is often caused by inexperience
and low self-esteem. In other words, some of the most vital
elements of training are sometimes excluded - life skills.
Skills such as good body language and communication skills,
knowledge about interview techniques and how to prepare bio
data are necessary in all aspects of life.
For these reasons a workshop on life skills was conducted
by Youthreach in February, for the Deepalaya alumni. The participants
found the workshop very useful and relevant to their situation
and we expect to hold more workshops of this kind. Similarly,
together with its international partner International Youth
Federation (IYF), Baltimore, Youth reach has developed a curriculum
and implementation model in life skills for health and employability
for disadvantaged youth in India.
The programme aims to equip them with the social and vocational
competencies necessary to help them succeed in an environment
of global competition, instant communications and cross-cultural
interactions. The model, which is being tested on 1,500 young
people in Delhi, Bangalore and Mexico City during 2005 and
2006, will be replicated in other countries too, if successful.
Trainees at Deepalaya’s vocational training centres
will benefit from this programme, which in total will include
some 62 lessons of 45 minutes duration each.
The first phase of the programme, the training of trainers,
was held from 7 to 11 February and included skills in handling
difficult situations and students in alternative ways. The
trainers who attended the session were very happy with the
training they received. “ A brilliant initiative which
will help our trainers and trainees cope better with the challenges
of employability and day to day living,” says Ms.Jyoti
Venkatesh, Manager VTC .

Community Clinic
On 25 February,
the A.P. Dewan Memorial Community Clinic was inaugurated at
the Deepalaya School in Kalkaji Extension. Students of the
school along with their parents and other members of the community
were present at the inauguration, as well as Ms.Chameli Dewan,
Mr. Mathew and Rotarians. The clinic, which is manned by a
MBBS doctor, aims to meet the health requirements of the community,
particularly common ailments, reproductive health and counselling.
Naturopathy and yoga will also be offered at the clinic. A
symbolic registration fee of Rs 10 for six months is charged,
and Rs 5 per consultancy. Medicines are provided free of cost
in collaboration with a local chemist.

The Dilliwala Did It!
Having raised a whooping Rs.8.14 lakhs in the Standard Chartered
Mumbai Marathon, Rtn. T.K. Mathew, was rewarded the trophy
for the 'top pledge raiser of the Dream Team'. The reward
also included return tickets for two to any South East Asian
destination. With talk of the 'legendary figure in the field
of social services' and 'a Dilliwalla (Delhi resident) winning
the funds race', the news will translate into valuable publicity
for Deepalaya. The money raised will go towards rehabilitating
many more street children.
Thank You dear friends for making this possible. We look forward
to your continued support.

CWLA Exchange runs for another
Year
In January this year, eleven NGO representatives under
the umbrella of the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA)
visited projects run by Deepalaya and other NGOs in Delhi,
Agra and Jaipur. This was the second consecutive year of the
CWLA exchange and during their stay the representatives were
taken to Deepalaya schools and Deepalaya Gram in Gusbethi
where they also visited the local villages.
The exchange was completed in March when nine representatives
of the Indian hosts visited the US for an exposure on institutional
care and to join the CWLA annual conference. Mr. Mathew also
received an award as a special recognition of initiating the
exchange and seeing it through for the second year, as well
as for having successfully piloted Deepalaya for over 25 years.

Welcome to Deepalaya Gram!

The visits provided both parties with insight into children’s
conditions in other countries and the resources available
for dealing with them. A follow-up meeting will be held in
April, when the Indian NGO’s will discuss the implications
and scope for implementing a foster care programme in India.

Sports for the Challenged
In March, Sports Days for the differently-abled were
held in the West Delhi locations. The categories included
50 and 100 m runs, some even involving biscuits and balloons,
soft ball throwing and tricycle races.
Some mothers also took part in the events. All were cheered
on by the rest of the community who in doing so demonstrated
the success of the events, which ultimately were aimed at
fostering inclusion of the differently-abled.

Seminar on Inclusive Education

On 30 March, Deepalaya organised a seminar on how and to
what extent inclusion of the disabled has been addressed under
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a Government programme for the
Universalisation of Elementary Education.Speakers included
Mr M. K. Rastogi,(Vocational Rehabilitation Centre), Mr Pattanayak,
(SSA),Dr Asha Singh,(Lady Irwin College),Mr.Mishra (Educ.Dept)
and Mr.Manavalan (AFPRO). The seminar was well attended and
provided for a fruitful discussion and exchange of information
and experiences.

Holi at Swagat Kendra

The street and working children of Okhla Mandi organized Holi
celebrations at Swagat Kendra (South Delhi) this year. The
drop-in centre, is a Deepalaya project which seeks to provide
street and working children with non-institutional care. The
Holi celebrations programme were arranged with the support
of the Okhla Mandi Youth Group. The children played until
every inch of their bodies were covered in colours and all
that remained were smiling teeth and happy gazes!

A ‘Diplomatic’ Visit
On 4 February a delegation headed by Mr.Poncelet, the President
of the French Senate and including the French ambassador to
India, Mr.Girard visited Deepalaya’s project in Gole
Kuan. While in Delhi for two days of high-level meetings,
the President and his delegation thought it also fit to see
“the other side” of Delhi during their brief stay.
Deepalaya was recommended to the French embassy by a volunteer
on the basis of the quality of our work.
The President interacted closely with the children and the
group left having made a donation of Rs. 14,000/- in addition
to leaving Deepalaya very honoured by their visit.

Annual Day
Deepalaya Gram celebrated its Annual Day on 15 January
‘05. Mr Amit Nehra, Bureau Chief Dainik Bhaskar was
the Chief Guest. The first Rajni Varma Memorial Award was
given to two outstanding students at the school – Ms
Manju Bala and Ms Sameena. It was a proud moment for both
of them. At the event, it was also announced that the boys
of Transit Home at Deepalaya Gram had decided to give up non-vegetarian
food for a month and the resulting savings of Rs. 2800/- to
tsunami relief work. A colourful cultural programme presented
by the children of Deepalaya School and trainees of the Vocational
Training Centre made the Annual Day an enjoyable event.

Children become Computer Literate
Thirty children of the Special Unit, Sanjay Colony
attended a computer-training course in February. This was
sponsored by NIIT. The course included basics such as using
the mouse as well as more complicated topics such as writing
a word document and opening an e-mail account. At the end
of the course the children were rewarded certificates and
a follow-up training will later be conducted at the unit at
Sanjay Colony.

Science made Interesting
A science education workshop was conducted for the
students of Deepalaya Schools in March. The workshop, which
was arranged under the Shell volunteering scheme, required
active participation from the children and was therefore highly
effective as well as enjoyable for the children. Simple demonstrations
and activities explained complicated processes such as respiration
and circulation in living beings. For example, the children
were asked to count how many breaths they take in a minute,
to measure their own pulse rate, and to listen to their own
heart through a home-made stethoscope. The talk will serve
to inspire children for their future science classes, and
to enlighten teachers regarding effective and enjoyable teaching
methods.
Letter to the Editor
It's been more than five months with Deepalaya but it seems
like less than five days. It is only when I look back at how
much I have grown that I realise I have actually been here
for quite some time.
As a Swedish-Australian development graduate, I have been
volunteering with the Communications and Fundraising Division,
writing the internal bulletin,this very newsletter, as well
as formulating proposals and other documents. This has given
me the opportunity to understand how projects are developed,
funded and managed, and ultimately reach our beneficiaries.
It has also given me insight into Indian working culture.

I have loved every minute spent with Deepalaya children.Some
of them show such strength of character that I wonder what
I have to give that these children don't already know. Most
of my interactions have been with Deepalaya staff however.
The people I have been working with are genuinely committed
individuals who always remember the very people they are working
for. Deepalaya manages to maintain a beautifully professional
yet friendly atmosphere, and it has been both easy and fun
to blend in as a foreigner and as a volunteer.
Liesl Karlsson-Ward
Alumni in the Spotlight

My name is Geeta Pal and I have been
teaching at the Deepalaya School, Kalkaji Extension for the
past two years while also pursuing my graduation. My father
works as a clerk and my mother is a housewife.

I was enrolled in Deepalaya School in UKG. After completing
grade VIII I moved to a nearby government school. But I could
not continue there as I found the environment different and
difficult, and I returned to Deepalaya to completed my schooling.

The reasons for coming back were what I missed at Deepalaya.
The teachers made us feel so special and cared for us. Studying
at Deepalaya gave me confidence in dancing, singing, debating
and in drama – and with accolades. My family too is
happy that I have had this chance to grow.

I had always aspired to be a teacher and Deepalaya has given
me that opportunity too. I really am thankful to my sponsor
parent Mr Deepak Bahl and Deepalaya – the two ‘deeps’
of my life have indeed lit up my life!