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For now we hope this update will show you how the investments of time, money and talents is making a real difference.
Greetings from CONCERNS!
On behalf of everyone at Concerns in Bangalore, warm summer greetings to you. It is my pleasure to share with you the recent news from Bangalore Concerns . Now almost summer has come to an end and we are getting some rains too making Bangalore bit cooler.
• At Concerns the Community College students gained practical experience in local pre-schools, hospitals, retail outlets, offices and communities. They did their exams and in the end of the course they have realised their own personal worth: and expressions like “I can also be useful to others”. Now some of the girls successfully gaining employment in the process of applying for jobs attending interviews and so on.
• To gain experience in organising and managing events the Community college students conducted sports in different local schools.
• After a stressful week of exams for the Community College students, the girls had their Graduation Day. In true Indian spirit, a lighting ceremony was held and the girls were wished all the best of luck in their futures by important well-wishers who are involved in the project.
• They then celebrated with a picnic at Nandhi Hills and a visit to the new international airport, which was a first-time experience for most of the girls.
• Our local supporter, Concern India Foundation organised a mega sports event for the children of many different NGOs. 30 children from our community participated. We won a few medals and were given the ‘fair’ award as we did not cheat but we learned that in order to be better in sports, we need to train the children and get their strength up.
• As a part of in service training, three of the Community Health Workers attended three days workshop on Health Rights for Women at ISI Bangalore. They gained a lot more information which will better their work.
• Also, a team from the Revised National Tuberculosis Program at Bowring Hospital conducted a TB awareness programme for the Community College students and all at the project.
• For some weeks leading up to Women’s Day, community women came together to share what they had learnt at Concerns with other women from the local area. They used collage work with magazines to express health concepts on posters which were displayed on Woman’s Day for all to see. There was a huge sense of satisfaction and achievement in the woman as they saw what they had accomplished. An impressive 159 women participated in events such as hair styling, a Rangoli competition and games. The Community College students did a cultural program, a dance and a play about the empowerment of women.
• Meanwhile, before the end of academic year all the children at our childcare centres had health check-ups and nutritional status assessments, followed by a health talk for the parents. Except for a few who were underweight, most of them were healthy
• This academic year, we were glad to pay the fees towards the education of all 113 underprivileged children in different schools; the support came through Vathsalya charitable Trust.
• This academic year , we could get support from KSCCW to run one Child Care unit in Janakiram lay out. We are also planning to approach them again for some more support to run more preschools.
• As it is always our wish for our girls to continue their studies further, the facilitator from Distance Education of Andhra University gave a session on graduate requirements to encourage the students to consider University. We are currently preparing the girls for the entrance exam and procedures for admissions. A generous I-to-I volunteer from Australia has kindly donated the seed money for this program in the memory of his late wife. We would like to thank him for this heartfelt gesture. The money will be a great help towards the girls’ University education.
• Recently, Rotaract Club of Bangalore Kalyan organised an all-day event called Vishwas – ‘I Believe.’ It was a competition between NGOs and was in three parts - Sing along, Passion for Painting and On the Spot Dance Masti. 20 children from the community participated and won some medals.
• With the school holidays upon us, our summer camp got off to a great start with 88 children attending for the first week. A different theme every day, the children learned about healthy eating, TB and global warming through songs and activities. To finish with a bang on the Friday, children and staff alike took to the slum community, armed with informative banners and enthusiasm as they chanted, “Eat more fruit and vegetables”, “TB is curable” and “Keep surroundings clean”, to name a few. Sharing what they had learned with their community, the march was a fun end to a successful week. We are very proud of our teachers and students for working so hard and managing such large numbers of children.
• That takes us to the here and now where the summer camps are continuing. Almost 100 children are attending in the mornings at Janakiram Layout and around 60 at M.R.S Palya near Chinnappa gardens in the afternoons. Likewise, computer class and child care is ongoing. The older children have joined schools and will begin with the next school year while the younger ones continue here with us. Some also continue to come here while their parents are at work.
• We had our elections and as usual, there were loud-speakers and rallies from different parties, interfering in normal life and making Bangalore even noisier than usual, of course we are glad a stable government is formed .
• With people migrating into Bangalore, the city is becoming more congested every day and traffic is unimaginable. Being summer, the city is hot but we did have some rain last week which we call mango showers. Our local markets will soon be over-flowing with sweet mangoes and other fruits.
• All our Concerns team had a week of break ,everyone took in turns, our program continued. We are now planning our programs of coming new academic year.
• The good news is the documentary film on Concerns and a new flier is ready after few months of hard work ,done for supporters and well wishers of Concerns . If you are interested to get. Please write I can send it to you.
We invite all of you to come and visit us sometime and experience the project firsthand. We always remember and thank you for all your contributions towards Concerns.
Thank you & warm wishes from
Chitra and all at Concerns
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