Aashayein
(Updates for September & October)
“And now when things seem dark and hard and difficult to face
The memory of that little boy helps me in my race
For all of life is like that race with ups and downs and all
And all you have to do to win, Is rise each time you fall
“Quit! Give up! You’re beaten!” they all shout in my face
But another voice within me says; “GET UP AND WIN THE RACE”
That's exactly what we did at Aashayein.Each time we fell, we re-affirmed ourselves to our aims and rose again.
Month of September and October had been really eventful and full of bustling activities. Some of the major developments were:
1. Initiation of regular academic classes for kids. A qualified teacher has been appointed who takes classes from Monday to Friday.
2. A Core Team of Aashayein has been set up responsible for taking major decisions in the project. Volunteers to be recruited in this team were selected based on their availability and commitment.
The core team comprises of:
I) Project coordinator & account manager: Prachi Aggarwal
II) Volunteer coordinator: Prachi&Swastik
III) Event coordinator: Anandita
IV) Publication coordinator: Zulaikha
V) Skill building session coordinator: Deboshree & Vipra
3. Three volunteers have been appointed to keep a track of the kid's progress as well as of the teacher.
4. Skill building classes have been going on with great fervor and would be continued in a similar manner. Another step is the introduction of Music and Art classes.
5. English classes have been started every Sunday to improve the reading and writing skills of children. Along with that a session of GK is being done regularly.
6. Volunteer meet has been happening regularly at second Sunday of every month along with the collection of Meal a Month.
7. Self evaluation and Introspection of the volunteers through the means of a questionnaire with the intentions to improve the quality of work and to increase their contribution to the project.
Some major events that happened in last 2 months were:
University Awareness Drive:
-Light to lighten-
http://picasaweb.google.com/aid.delhi/UniversityAwarenessDrive2009#
Our aim was to create awareness among the students about the kind of work we at AID Aashayein are involved in and various other pertinent social issues.
The Awareness drive was initiated in Kirori Mal College where the screening of AID Aashayein movie was followed by a brief talk about the project. To spread awareness about AID and Aashayein, raise funds for the children, a stall was put up to sell hand painted shirts worth 200/- each. Along with that we also distributed pamphlets of AID and Aashayein among the interested students.
This was followed by an awareness drive in Indraprastha College for Women which took place on 5th of September. While the movie Poison on the Platter based on Genetically Modified Foods was screened in the Seminar Room of the college by the Women's Development Centre, the Aashayein stall was put up alongside. Mr.Selva Ganapathy gave a talk on GM foods and its potential threats to us and why it should be avoided. This was followed by the screening of the Aashayein video after which Anandita and Deboshree gave a brief introduction of Aashayein, its present activities and its future aims to all the students present.
As a part of fund raising, T-shirts with the AID logo and the slogan of BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD were sold in various colours (blue,red and white) along with hand made bags. Fortunately, our initiative was met with a lot of enthusiasm by the college students who poured in with names to volunteer.
Diwali stall in Corporates
-Another successful venture of Aashayein-
http://www.facebook.com/delhi.aidindia#/album.php?aid=155443&id=107287737145
To create awareness and raise funds for Aashayein, a novel idea of putting up Diwali stalls was initiated. This was done in collaboration with Jagriti. The hard work put in by the volunteers to make beautiful diyas and candles along with chocolates and envelopes was met by an enthusiastic response.
The employees at ST Microelectronics and Evalueserve were astonished by the plethora of multi-coloured items on display at our Diwali stalls. The Diwali stall catering to the employees of the company was set up by Prachi, Deboshree, Zulaikha, Swastik, and Anchit. It was a grand success for the team, which was overwhelmed by the response for their products. With a theme of Diwali essentials, the Aashayein stall was crowded with impressed buyers who bought things in bulk.
Whilst the employees of the corporate left with exciting artefacts to flaunt this Diwali, the team of Aashayein and Jaagriti walked back with smiles and a sense of satisfaction for bringing the cause closer to its vision
Diwali celebrations at Aashayein
-Fun and frolic all the way-
http://www.facebook.com/delhi.aidindia#/album.php?aid=156136&id=107287737145
http://www.facebook.com/delhi.aidindia#/album.php?aid=156327&id=107287737145
The Diwali celebrations at Aashayein encompassed two days.The main theme of the programme was having a great time with the kids.
On Saturday,10th August,2009:The children sang the song-"Itni shakti hume dena" followed by various dance performances. They performed various dance styles which ranged from GIDDA to JAZZ to BOLLYWOOD and it was plain to see that they were having a wonderful time. After a little more of dancing with the children, snacks were distributed amongst them after which we called it a day.
Volunteers Present:
Prachi, Vipra, Harpreet, Srishti, Nikita, Deboshree, Renuka, Niharika, Zulaikha, Anandita
Diwali festivities are never complete without a few colors. Thus the celebrations continued on Sunday 11th August,2009 and the kids were in joyous mood to compete for the Rangoli competition.
Kids grouped themselves in pairs and started making the drawings with chalks and filling beautiful colors in them. With the rangoli designs so vibrant and volunteers decided to declare all of them as winners. Thus Aashayein team celebrated Diwali in a style!!! Volunteers present: Vipra, Mohit, Tavleen, Anisha, Prachi
Team Aashayein
New volunteers who joined us this month:
Mohit, Renuka didi, Anisha, Tavleen, Niharika
Regular Volunteers:
Srishti, Nikita, Deboshree, Vipra, Harpreet, Neelu, Swastik, Prachi, Anandita
To know more and receive regular updates about Aashayein:
Aashayein blog: http://aidaashayein.blogspot.com/
Picasa:http://picasaweb.google.com/aid.delhi
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dUaGt9EnEg&feature=player_embedded
For Volunteering opportunities, please contact prachiaggarwal85@gmail.com
Regards
Prachi Aggarwal
Project Coordinator, Aashayein
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