Balakalakaar - An AIESEC Initiative

Date: 2nd December `07

Attendees: Surya, Ramesh, Madhura, Karthik, Sunil, Jyotsna, Jyoti, Sidhartha, Padmaja, Tanvi, Santosh, Nishanth, Aninda, Rahul, Dhananjay, Vikram.

~Pankhudi Hyderabad participated in “Balakalakaar”, an event by AIESEC conducted last Sunday, the 2nd of December at Lalitha Kala Tooranam. As the part of the event, a painting competition was held which saw a participation of around 3000 street and slum kids from across the city. ~Pankhudi was one of the NGO partners for this event besides which, around 300 kids from the NBT Nagar Govt. school and Teja School (places we are currently teaching) took part in this activity.On arriving at the venue, each of the kids, much to their delight were given small carry on’s, which consisted of a drawing kit(pencils, crayons, scales etc..) , wafers to munch on; and other small fun accessories like masks etc…No sooner did they receive it, than they started exploring them and began to show them off to each other and the volunteers.

Once they were settled they were given their respective drawing sheets. No particular topic was specified for the competition and the kids were given complete freedom to express their artistic talent.The atmosphere at the venue was fully charged and electrifying. All the kids were engrossed in their painting. More than half of them were seen drawing huts or the National flag. Our hearts were filled with pride seeing the little tots draw our National flag. The kids kept comparing their drawings with the others, some were seen asking for ideas and suggestions, while a few wanted tips and feedback from the volunteers regarding their paintings; in short the kids had a rocking time!!!! After the competition the kids were provided lunch. This was followed by a small light hearted dancing sessions to entertain the kids.

The entire activity was wrapped up by 4.00 in the eveningThis fun-filled activity has not only provided us a platform to familiarize ourselves with the kids (esp. those of Teja school), but we were also able to make some significant observations and annotations which would prove beneficial in planning for their extracurricular activities in future.There were few minor hiccups, which we have identified and complete care would be taken in future to ensure that the same would not repeat.Each of the ~Pankhudi Hyderabad volunteers deserves a pat on their back for the active participation , but above all for the amount of hard work each one of them has put in. It was indeed an uphill task to manage the 300+ enthusiastic kids among the thousands present there. Great work guys!!!! We also congratulate all the AIESECers for putting up a great show!Hope the same response would continue in all our future endeavors too…

Cheers!

Teja School: Weekend classes

As most of you are already aware, we have commenced with the weekend classes for the kids at Teja School in Champapet. We are conducting the classes based on their academic curriculum for the students who are pursuing their 10 th standard. Since the major areas of concern for them are English and Hindi we have started with the English classes. In the coming weeks, we intend to extend the classes not only for kids of other standards but also in other subjects besides English.

For this betide we need more active participation, resources (in terms of “time”) and ideas from all the volunteers.Over the weeks we have been continuously analyzing and monitoring the performance of the kids. Based on which, it’s been perceived that though there is lot of zeal and enthusiasm among the kids to learn and in spite of all the hard work that they are putting in, due to their inadequacy in basic fundamentals they are unable to achieve significant results. Thereby it becomes all the more imperative on our part to abridge this gap and help them in shaping their future.

In the coming days, we plan to intensify the educational activities in this school. As of now the classes are being conducted on Saturdays but based on the availability of the volunteers we would extend them on Sundays as well. Also, Keeping in view the continuity of the subject and rapport with the kids, distribution and demarcation of the curriculum among the volunteers, it is expected that the volunteers take the classes continuously on all the 5 weekends ( i.e..5 classes) in the coming month of December (excluding the days when the AIM3 will be held, making it to 4 classes)All those of you who are interested in taking up classes for these aspiring kids, do reply and let us know your availability as soon as possible.

Anticipating a prodigious and an affirmative response.

Visit to Teja School - Champapet Slum

Date: 6th October 2007
Attendees: Sunil, Karthik, Surya, Tanvi, Sidhartha.

~Pankhudi Hyderabad volunteers visited Teja School at Champapet Slum to have an interactive session with the kids and the teaching faculty of the school. During the previous visit, on the 30 th of September, a complete picture of the ground situation there could not be assessed as it was a Sunday. The visit this Saturday has been very productive; it has acclimatized us with the academic curriculum and activities of the school besides having helped us to get acquainted with the kids (most importantly) and the staff.

Five of us assembled at the school by around 2:30 P.M. Mr.Devender , the founder of the school then briefed us about the working of the school, the challenges that they were facing and the academic schedule and practices that they were following. We then went in to interact with the kids. The kids initially seemed a bit nervous and withdrawn. We indulged them in a few fun filled educative activities like using flash cards and games. All the kids participated actively and a few of them also came forward enthusiastically to recite and enact rhymes for us. This activity served as an ice breaking session with the kids and also enabled us to gauge the standard of education that was being imparted to them.

We also received important info and inputs from the teaching staff of the school. Various issues were discussed ranging from the sanitation and hygiene of the kids and the people residing in the slum, to the resources, challenges and teaching practices that they were following. We also got to interact with a couple of students who were privately pursuing their 10 th standard from the same school. They shared with us their experiences and informed us about the subjects in which they were weak and required help. (No brownie point for guessing the areas of concern are Math’s and English). The activity for the day was wrapped up by 4 pm.

The response and the warmness that we had received from the staff and kids was overwhelming and the details that have been provided to us would prove very beneficial in planning our future activity. Hopefully we have a great association with this school and hope to contribute in the growth and development of these kids!

Documented by - Tanvi Rao,for ~Pankhudi Hyderabad.

MOM

Team Meet – 15th September, Youth Hostel.
Date: 15th September 2007

Attendees: Surya, Kranthi, Sunil, Madhura, Jyoti, Santosh, Kunal, Nishant, Dhananjay, Tanvi, Aparna, Manish, Aditya, Karthik, Balachandar, Rahul, Ramesh.

A team meet was held on the 15th of September at Youth hostel, in view of the coming weekend's Oracle-Pankhudi volunteer joint activity. This meet was also to discuss the progress at the NBT Nagar Govt. School and decide on future course of action. All the volunteers had assembled at the venue by 6 pm and we started the proceedings soon after.

The first point of discussion at the meet was regarding the progress and the current stance at the NBT Nagar School. All the volunteers were of unanimous opinion that there were many irregularities in the school administration and that the quality of education being provided was mediocre. Various views and opinions were put forth by the volunteers, as to what should be our future course of action regarding the school and the activities concerning the education of the kids.

A list of long term and short term objectives for the school were presented, which if implemented successfully, could bring about a lot of progress and also prove very beneficial to the kids and the school. The significant points that were covered in it were regarding the establishment of a Library for the kids in on of the rooms, creating awareness regarding Sanitation and Hygiene, counseling the kids; besides providing them additional resources for their over all personality development.

It has been a while since we have been contemplating to extend our educational activities in another locale besides the NBT Nagar and the proposal for the same was put forth in the meet. In the area of Champapet, near LB Nagar, a school named " Teja School" had been established for providing educational facilities for the kids in that slum. The school was established by a Mechanical engineer, who had dedicated his services totally for the upliftment of the kids in that area. Of late, the school has been facing severe financial and manpower constraints and is almost on the verge of shutting down.

This school has been doing some significant work over the past few years but there is still a lot left to be done. Hence it has been decided that in the coming few weeks we would also carry out some ground work there, assess the conditions prevailing and based on the findings, we could commence with our activities for the kids in that area, particularly that school. If things fall in place soon, we will also be carrying out some educational awareness drives in that slum area.

We then moved on to finalize the next weekends activity which would be held jointly by Oraclites & ~Pankhudi volunteers. It would be a 2 day activity. The events for these days and the schedule were finalized. All the volunteers were assigned responsibilities and grouped into the various committees (those of publicity, general arrangements, refreshments, sanitation drive, educational awareness etc…). It was overwhelming to see the participation and enthusiasm of all the volunteers. There were some brilliant ideas that came up, besides a few "healthy" arguments.

We concluded the meet by watching the ~Pankhudi Hyderabad video and with plans to come up with an updated video J. We wrapped up the session by 8.15 pm, to get outdoors and enjoy the drizzle of the evening. Someone of us went around the Youth hostel recollecting the days of the AIM 2, and all the masti and fun we had in the premises. The Army lawns where we had out "Celebration" were lush green with the monsoon, and so were our hearts, filled with desire to add a smile on the face of these kids, and the enthusiasm to be part of a Fun-filled and Productive AIM 3.

Rock on Team Hyderabad!!!Rock on ~Pankhudians!!!

Documented by: Tanvi

Independence Day

Place: Govt School, NBT nagar Slum

Attended: Surya, Sunil, Kranthi, Tanvi, Aparna, Madhura, Jyoti, Anwesha, Nishant, Ramesh, Siddharth, Vasant, Shilpa ,Dhananjay.

Pankhudi Hyderabad has yet again done a commendable job for the Independence day celebrations. All the students and the volunteers had assembled at the school by 7.30 a.m.It was refreshing to see all the students and the volunteers so early inspite of it being a holiday.We started the activities with the March - Past. All the children including the high school kids lined themselves excitedly as we were ready to march through the street. The excitement of the children was visible all through the march as they chanted slogans of “bharat Mata ki Jai”.

Sadly we had to cut short our march - past as the MRO who was invited for the flag hoisting had already arrived.After the flag hoisting, the MRO gave a small speech followed by a few more speeches by the teachers and a few students. The patriotic feeling was pretty visible as all of us sang the national anthem at full volume.Wonderful performances given by the children, two patriotic songs a dance medley and a skit about importance of education, made us forget ourselves for a while. The children who participated and attended the practice sessions without fail deserve a round of applause, so do the volunteers who taught them the dance so well in such less time.

Chocolates and sweets were distributed among the children that made them all the happier.After the children dispersed, we had a small meeting with the teachers about the academics and it was decided that a test would be conducted on every Saturday by our volunteers.To put it precisely, the spirit of freedom and patriotism was visible just by the attendance of the children and the volunteers.

View the pictures at

http://picasaweb.google.com/kkranthi/EyeCheckUpCampIndependenceDay?authkey=tbNMS1a-yKM

and

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62436939@N00/

Cheers..~Pankhudi Foundation Hyderabad

Documented by-Madhura Walvekar

Visit to Spoorthi Foundation

Day: Sunday, 5th Aug 2007
Venue: Sphoorti foundation, ECIL RoadAttendees: Karthik, Sunil and Jyoti

Sphoorthi is an organization, which works for underprivilegedchildren, their basic aim is to provide home, food, long-termeducation and above all love, affection and upliftment of theirmorals……..

We reached there at 12.30pm as per the time fixed on phoneconversation with the whole soul of the organization Mr. Srivyal.While entering the building we saw lots of volunteers from differentorganization enjoying with kidoosssssssss. But the moment we enteredthe premises the children ran to us with their drawing sheet in handsand started introducing them and demanded remarks on their paintingskills….

At last after a “brief” introduction( tough time for us to remembertheir names) we started tying friendship bands, they were very happyand excited for the band and promise us to nicely keep it till ournext visit. After this we started talking with Mr. Srivyal and came toknow many issues regarding financial support, care takers, school,food, their daily routines etc…Suddenly somebody switch on the musicand all the bacchassssss started dancing …their co-ordination andcraze was awesome!!!!!! infact we cleared our doubt with Mr. Srivyalwhether they all go for dance classes but no the fact is they all areborn dancers…..

Dance continued till their lunch around 3.00pm, they insisted us tohave lunch with them and we couldn’t deny their request …we reallyenjoyed the lunch in their special company. After lunch we played forsome time and finally distributed chocolates to all the kids andwrapped up for day with the sweet memories.

Comments and Observations :

There are 36 children including 14 girls and 4 caretakers…. theyhave 7 rooms (2 for girls, 3 for boys, 1 kitchen and one for caretakers) in the rented building for which they have to pay 4k permonth. Basically quite a few good friends and contacts of Mr. Srivyal in USfinancially support this organization. These children are studying inprivate school(English medium) and daily going for tuition afterschool. They have special English classes on Sundays for an hour and afterthat a special feast….

Although they claim this organization is in grass level but I feelthey have already reached a lot and wish them to continue in betterway……

Documented by : Jyothi Singh
for ~Pankhudi Hyderabad

Eye Camp at NBT Nagar

Date: 29th JULY 2007

Attendees: Surya, Sunil, Tanvi, Aparna, Kranthi, Siddharth, Abhishek, Preetam, Karthik, Krishna Rao, Karun Kumar, Ganapathy, Trinath, Naveen Kumar, Raju, Jyoti, Manish, Dhananjay, Padmaja, Kunal , Nishanth.

Pankhudi Hyderabad deserves a pat on our back, for the eye camp held on 29th July at NBT Nagar was a great success. By 9.30 A.M all the doctors and volunteers assembled at the venue of the camp and immediately involved themselves in organizing the equipment in the various rooms where the eye checkups would be carried on.

The check up was a 3 step process. The people had to first register themselves by providing their personal information (like their age, name, and for the kids the class and school in which they were pursuing their education). They were then given an Out-patient slip (leaflet) which carried their details along with a Registration number which was allotted to them. They were then directed into another room from where the medical team took over.
The general ailments observed during the camp were reddening of eyes, bad eyesight and loss of vision. People who were advised to use spectacles could obtain them from the very adjacent room.

The response that we had received for this camp was astounding. Within the first 30 minutes of the commencement of the camp more than 100 people got themselves registered. By the end of the day the total number of people who turned up were around 250, a number that left a smile of satisfaction on our faces

Based on the information gathered during the registration, it was possible for us to identify the school dropouts. A few of our volunteers went forward and spoke to their parents and took their feedback so as to be aware of the reasons for letting their kids drop school. Another aspect that had come to our notice was the fact that many of the localites were not aware of the introduction of High school in the same Govt. school premises, resulting in sending their kids to off schools or making them discontinue with their education.

Throughout the day the turnout was on the rise and the camp was conducted very efficiently, without any hassles. The doctors and the medical team took only one break for lunch throughout the day. It was heartening to see their commitment, passion and dedication towards their job. The doctors were presented with a certificate from ~Pankhudi Hyderabad, as a token of appreciation for lending their valuable time and services. A special mention of thanks to the “Rogi Sahayata Trust” for sponsoring this medical camp. The entire activity was winded up by 4 in the evening.

After the camp, a few volunteers stayed back to plan for the Independence Day celebrations that would be conducted at the Govt. school. There were many ideas being popped besides a number of heated passionate arguments and above all a great number of hilarious moments, which are always an integral part of the Parivaar A.K.A Bakar gang, while finalizing on the events.

The eye camp conducted as this week’s activity has been a very satisfying experience for all the volunteers. It was encouraging to see the participation of all the volunteers for this event and hopefully the same spirit and attendance would continue in the future, making each activity as successful as this one!!!

PS: There is an extension of the medical camp (General Checkup) conducted at NBT nagar in the govt. school on 31st July, Wednesday. This would be Exclusively for the Kids of the School, and the details of each child shall be recorded by our Volunteers and a Database maintained for the future camps.

Cheers…~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad
Documented by: Tanvi Rao

Campaign at NBT Nagar slum

Date: 22nd JULY 2007
Attendees: Surya, Sunil, Tanvi, Aparna, Kranthi, Siddharth, Abhishek, Preetam, Karthik, Krishna Rao, Karun Kumar, Ganapathy, Trinath, Naveen Kumar, Raju, Jyoti, Manish, Dhananjay.

The first Health camp previously conducted at NBT Nagar had been a very enlightening experience to everyone. It has made us aware of the various Health related problems faced by the kids there. Taking into account all the suggestions that we had received and based on our experience, we have planned to organise another health camp along with an eye checkup on July 29 th at the Government school of NBT Nagar.

We all met on the Sunday, 22nd July at NBT Nagar to campaign for the Health camp and try to raise some awareness about the related issues. The most striking feature during this activity was the turnout of the volunteers; it was great to see 18 volunteers all geared to campaign for this cause. There were quite a few people who joined us for the first time, so there was lot of new blood, enthusiasm and spirit.

We first visited the church close by and extended an invitation to all the kids of the Sunday school to attend the camp, as most of the kids belong to that slum. The pastor there was generous, not only did he announce about the health camp but also distributed the leaflets among the people who were there to offer the service. Thus we began our campaign with the divine blessings.

On our return we met Mrs. Vimala, who is a member of the organization, which would be sponsoring us for the health camp. We were then joined by Mr. Ravi, a local leader who came forward to circulate pamphlets about the camp in the surrounding areas, to spread awareness about the medical camp. We then discussed various issues, like the facilities being provided at the government school, the requirements for the health camp, facilities to be provided for the doctors, medicines required etc…

After almost 2 long hours of discussions, we then had another brain draining session (oops!!! Read: More discussions). All of us came forth with our opinions and ideas. Finally it was time for action and to put all our planning to implementation. We were all assigned our responsibilities/duties for the Camp day- 29 th and then we dispersed for the campaign by segregating into 3 teams.

We went door to door informing the locals about the next week’s medical camp. We must admit that though many of our volunteers couldn’t read telugu well, the pamphlets that we got printed in telugu were of real good use. Because of the high attendance of the volunteers we managed to cover the entire area in span of an hour. We also used some of the local shops to put up the pamphlets on display, for the local people would catch a glimpse even there. Overall, the Campaign was highly Successful and Productive.

After the exhaustive campaign, all of us assembled back at the government school. We were completely tired and hungry above all. In spite of the fatigue, we all had our usual fun time- pulling each others leg (specially the Chapter Rep’s ) while we waited for few other volunteers to return. After the fun and frolic, set back home, sure of a much larger turnout for the coming Weekend’s Camp!!

See you guys there!

–Regards’Tanvi Rao
for ~Pankhudi Foundation Hyderabad

Visit to Krushi Homes

Date: 10th June 2007
Attendees: Vasanth, Aparna, Tanvi, Snigdha, Jyotsna, Ravi.

It was bright sunny Sunday morning and we were very excited to go to Krushi homes since for many among us, it was our first visit. What added to our excitement was the fact that we would be going there by train.

We all met up at the Secunderabad railway station at 10.00 am and had to wait for a while as the train was delayed by an hour. We reached Gaudavalli station by 12.00. Then there was another 1 and ½ km journey which we had to travel by foot. They were farms, brick kilns, loads of animals and small water bodies on either side of the road. It was a sight to behold and the time passed by in a jiffy, without us realizing that we had reached our destination.

On reaching Krushi homes we were greeted by the enthusiastic kids. They were busy watching a Balakrishna movie being aired on TV. It was nearing one o’clock and sadly Jyotsna, one of our volunteer, had to leave since she had to return to Bangalore on the same evening. For a while we thought that the kids wouldn’t even move as they were deeply engrossed in the movie. Thankfully it was time for lunch; hence the kids and we too moved to have lunch. It was a wonderful feeling to sit amidst them and have lunch with them.

It was now time for Fun, masti and action. After the lunch the kids showed us the plantation work which they have been carrying out, which was quite impressive. It was then time for the most awaited event of the day. Our CRICKET match!!!!!!!! We got segregated into 2 teams and everyone gave their best shot. The match was lively, competitive and very charging….they were pathans, dhonis, sachins and mithali rajs in action…J. Simultaneous we also played Marampiti and Throwball with the much younger kids who could not take part in the cricket match. By the end of it we were completely tired and exhausted and it was also time for us to leave. We didn’t realize how time simply flew by playing with the kids.

Just as we thought that we had wrapped up for the day, we embarked a new adventure. The journey back from Krushi homes to the railway station was eventful and amusing. On our way back we posed for photographs with buffaloes which were daunted in our presence, we also tried feeding a calf, played in hay stacks ( and believe me guys , you all must at least once hear Aparna trying to converse and imitate the buffaloes, it is truly hilarious …J. No sooner did we reach the railway station did it start pouring heavily. We got completely drenched in the rain and we were playing on the railway tracks much to the amusement of the onlookers, enjoying the first showers of the monsoon.

Being with the kids, the child within us resurfaced and we behaved like 10 year olds. It was one of the most memorable experiences of our lives .Hopefully the next time there would be many more of us going together for such fun filled activities to bring joy and happiness in the lives of the kids and also in ours ……

Cheers…~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad

Health Camp at N.B.T. Nagar

Date: 3rd June, 2007
Time: 9 : 00 am


Attendees: Santosh, Ramesh, Vasanth, Surya, Prabhanjan, Aparna, Snigdha , Tanvi, Kranthi, Siddharth, Chandrika, Mayuri, Sudheera, Dr. Kowsalya, Dr. Shweta.

Agenda: A Health Camp for the Kids of the Surrounding slums, where the kids would be given a general check up, and the necessary medication needed.

“Bright sunny morning…Cuddling yourself in the blanket and lazing on the bed and enjoying a holiday”- The general definition of Sunday in one’s life…

Well We Pankhudians were all set to change the definition.Fun, Relaxation had very different meanings in our dictionary.

Dressed up in white, few holding the banners for a campaign, few others busy tying up the banners, and the rest occupied with arranging things for a Health camp; that was how we began our Sunday. It was around 10:00 by the time doctors came & everybody settled down. It being a Sunday, the slum woke late, just as majority of the city did. As it was the first ever Medical camp conducted by ~Pankhudi Hyderabad, initially we had to rush for purchases here and there and some last moment preparations….so it was an enlightening experience altogether. With 15 of the volunteers assembling, it was an easy task to manage the Arrangements and the Kids at the same time. Initially we had noted down the details of all the kids who had come for the general check up. We noted their Names, if studying or not, if so their School name, Class and Age. We did this in order to maintain a record of the kids in and around that area who had attended the check up.

The Doctors had started the camp with some General Health and Sanitation Awareness tips to the children. They explained the kids how to keep themselves neat and clean, and away from diseases. In fact, it was also some enlightenment to our volunteers as well. As the Doctors were addressing the kids, most of our volunteers were looking at each other, with gestures indicating that even they need to follow those tips. So, thanks goes to the docs for the volunteer enlightenment too.

Within the small breaks that we got in between the checkups …we grabbed the opportunity to have some brainstorming sessions with the doctors on how to go conduct Health camps on a larger scale and what were the issues we had to learn more in organising them. The suggestions and guidance had given us real good exposure on the health conditions of kids in slums and the precautions need to be taken by the volunteers while addressing such kids. The common ailments we noticed among the children of that slum were that- majority of the kids were suffering form allergies of different kind, mostly Scabies. Also, these kids had Vision problems arising from a very tender age of 6 years itself. Malnutrition was also one of the visibly seen problems. And sadly, many of the children were suffering from tooth decay. And the irony was that, we were supposed to give chocolates to the kids after the camp

As we all had a hectic morning, by 1.30 we were all very hungry and were game for lunch with the doctors. To satiate our hunger - we had ordered some very delicious dishes, some informative discussions with the Doctors; was an educative dish for us. And the most favorite of all volunteers - the Fun and Masti ka dish. And as a part of that dish, Kranthi was taken for a ride when everybody ganged up, stole her cell, switched it off, gave it to the waiter and here it comes….it was a surprise dish for the Finance rep- her mobile wrapped into the napkin, nicely decorated on the plate. In the tensed mood little did she know or realize that it was her lost mobile. That was just a preview of what we ~Pankhudians have as fun mantra in activities, adding fuel and making us more enthusiastic.

The Doctors were mighty impressed with the service orientation we youngsters had. And they were pretty anxious and interested to help us in future too. We decided to prepare a document with the help of doctor; for guidelines to the volunteers on teaching kids about Daily health care issues.

The Hard work - left us with immense Satisfaction, Fun we had - left us Energetic even if we were tired, Informative session - was more than lessons for us.
All in all we all had a great Sunday and to make us more nostalgic were the pics of volunteers with Stethoscopes. Am sure that was a fun filled Sunday for all volunteers.
Kudos Hyderabad Pankhudians - We Rock as always!!!
Keep your Spirits soaring high!!!


you can view the pics at
picasaweb.google.com/surya.thecognizant

Cheers…
~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad

Activity Snapshot

Hey All,

Please do check out this Video, which is a Glimpse of Activities of ~Pankhudi Hyderabad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZLiBuQpBNk

Cheers…
~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad

Closed Doors ??? - N.B.T Nagar Govt School

The denial of a person’s right to education is equally a denial of his right to exist as a free and productive human being. For without education, the individual is condemned to the prison of his own ignorance, tortured over his lack of opportunities, and, more than likely, consigned to a life of poverty, underdevelopment, and oppression.

In most cases, however, it is not a matter of will but of resources. In the developing world, especially, many governments simply do not have the infrastructure to provide their young people with an adequate education but it is an entirely different matter when a government willfully seeks to deprive its people — or a group of its people — from receiving an education.
Sadly, this is the scenario at the Banjara Hills N.B.T Nagar Government School.

When team ~Pankhudi visited this place last week, what we heard was an awful fact. If you had an option to choose between Maruti and Mercedes which one would you choose? However, these school children have no option. All they have to do is wait…, wait till the government changes.

It’s not about cars, it’s about their education. There’s a new school building that was constructed for these children; huge and spacious when compared to the present building which accommodates nearly five grades in a single room. To their misfortune, these children are not being shifted to the new building just because the local people do not want the politician now in power to inaugurate the school. And for the politician to change, these pitiable kids have to wait until the govt changes; even unsure if it would actually do.

These are the pictures of the old and new school buliding. Imagine students from first to fifth standard studying in one single room waiting for their dream buliding to be inaugurated. Hope these politicians & people realise that the Future of their own kids is much highly valuable than the local politician or politics. I recollect a statement of Albert Einstein which said
“ I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn “

Cheers…

~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad

SIDUR - 11th Feb Visit

For all those who are new let me just give an intro what is SIDUR is all about?
SIDUR is a associate of Child Line (1098), where in they home orphans, street kids and run away kids, they do receive some corporate help. Pankhudi Hyd team is associated with SIDUR since a long time. All the previous visits which we have carried on actually for building a relationship between us and kids over there.

So we actually planned this visit for 3 main activities.
1. Permission for Clothes distribution for all the kids there from the funds whcih we pooled up.
2. Review the health of the kids there.
3. Assess their educational Levels as we were informed that few students there dropped out of school due to lack of funds.

We planned to be at the place by 10:30 in the morning. Ramesh along with his friends was the first to be there. I along with Prabhanjan and Jyostna joined a little later though.Initially we drafted all the kids names and their educational standards.
We were quite satisfied with their progress and we realized that the information that few kids had dropped out from school, was actually false.There was only one kid who dropped out from the school, who actually dropped out because he wanted to go back home.

Three others who have cleared their intermediate first year are working part time and plan to continue their studies next year, as they were more interested in a course which would earn them a job early.Many others are regular to school and are showing good progress.By the time our analysis was done, we managed to distribute some sweets and chocolates, which were brought by a friend of mine (Swetha) as it was her birthday and she wanted to distribute them to all the kids over there, she could mark here presence though.

Then we talked to the management there and got the permission to get a tailor and take measurements and get Clothes stitched for all the kids there.The management was quite responsive and very happy. Thanks to the management for a quick permission to go ahead.
Also, we enquired about the medical facilities and were told that a doctor visits them every Friday and he takes care of their regular Health.

So now, we were left with enough time to play with the kids. We encouraged Samba (the kid who dances really well) and he sprung into action again. Every body was charged up with his dance. Few kids also teamed up to sing a folk song, which we also plan to have properly recorded for a campaign to create awareness among the rural uneducated public.

We had spent some time teaming among ourselves and joining them and playing different games and when we thought we might have spent half an hour, to our surprise it was almost 4 hours that we were there and it was also time for their lunch.
Hence we closed our day’s session on a positive note that we actually got the permission to offer clothes to kids, which we assumed would me a mighty task.

P.S : And the immediate coming week, we had gone there with a Tailor and have taken all their measurements. The clothes shall be stitched and given to all those kids there sometime during Mid-March. We thank all those People who had contributed Monetarily, and Physically for this task.

Hoping to see such continued support and continued service to these kids….

Cheers…
~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad

Republic Day Celebrations

Date - 26th January, 2007

Location - Kakaguda Govt. School, Secunderabad.

Team ~Pankhudi - A total of 26 members for 26th Jan Event



Enthusiastic about flag hoisting, excited with a flag pinned up ontheir dress, getting game for the cultural events- this is how therepublic day celebrations started off at govt. primary school,Kakaguda, Secunderabad. It was the volunteers day as well as therewas good attendance of volunteers. So, may be that also added up tothe excitement of the kids in the school.
Flag hoisting was the first event wherein pankhudians helped theteachers of the school arranging the flag and hence hoisting itsuccessfully. It was great to be there at a school as a serviceactivity with a patriotic feel within. Well I am sure all volunteersmust have been nostalgic about good old school days and then the JanaGana Mana..woow that was awesome. I am sure it was worth waking up alittle early compared to other days and rushing to the school.



Dandia, group songs and not to forget the thing “Burra Katha” (whichwas a wonderful performance by one of the students) were allmemorable performances. Cheers to all the volunteers who were thereto get the kids together for practice sessions and made it a greatexperience altogether. The main round of applause goes to Pattu (Mr.Monterio), whois associated with the school and has helped us associate ourselveswith the school, and had given us the pleasure of serving the school.

After the cultural event, our volunteers distributedchocolates; and the kids were game for the sports events. With alittle time gap, we started the sports by dividing the kids intogroups.We had lemon and spoon race, running race and three leggedrace. The competitive spirit in the kids was appreciable, aseverybody was vieing to win when we announced prizes forthe winners. All the Volunteers really need a goodround of applause for the successful completion of the sports events. All of them were key participants in arranging the events.

On an Concluding note, the winners were given away the prizes and the rest were motivated to be more sportive for the coming events.
Putting it in nutshell, it was a great and memorable republicday, cherishable for a long time.Hope to have more of such events ahead and see more active participation of ourvolunteers.

Cheers…

~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad

Visit to St.Teresa’s Tender Loving Care!

Place: St.Teresa’s Tender Loving Care

Date: 18th December, 2005

Team ~Pankhudi : Adept (Praveen), Klueless (Krishnakanth), Sumanth, Shilpa, Divya, Ramesh, Rachna, Nitin & Harini.

This Sunday was our first visit to an orphanage as Team ~Pankhudi…

We arrived at the orphanage, just when the kids were getting ready for their bath. So we were asked by the sister in charge of the place, Sister Teresa, to come over and take a look at the backgrounds of the children in the home.
As the horrific stories of abandonment and bureaucratic battles unfolded…we couldn’t help but feel very sad for the plight of these young and beautiful children. Sister Teresa showed us snaps of kids they had found abandoned in dustbins, empty street ways and desolate corners and told us stories about the long standing battles between the government and the couples willing to adopt. The sad state of affairs really brought tears to our eyes.
Finally after an hour of listening to sister’s heart rending stories we were allowed to meet the children…

We were led into a room full of about smiling and welcoming faces…the average age of the children there was about 5…
It was wonderful to get introduced to all the adorable little kids…they were so excited to introduce themselves to us and so were we. We had taken along chocolates, biscuits and sum toys with us.

There were about 30+ kids in the orphanage…and ironically all were girls. Being a large group we could easily go around and mingle with all the kids…the kids were so excited about telling us their names…they were thrilled when one of us distributed the chocolates to them…each of them tried to get our attention in their own endearing way. It was such a treat to watch them recite A, B, C, D’s and numbers which they had learnt from the sisters. They wanted to play with our watches & mobiles…and told us about what they had done earlier in the day. Soon it was time for their lunch and we had to leave but before that the children sang songs for us.
It was very touching to watch them sing…



Finally it was time to say our good byes and the kids questioned us if we would come and meet them again, some of them even suggested that we come and …it felt really sad to leave them and go meet them the next day home…as for the little time that we were with the kids we had grown as attached to them as they had to us. We promised the kids that we would come back again the next weekend. It’ll be a joy to meet them all again.

Cheers…Team Hyderabad

Krushi Homes - January 1st `07

Attendees- Surya, Sunil, Karthik, Ramesh with 15 of his friends, Vasanth, Prabhanjan, Jyotsna, Revathi, Sadhana and two of her friends.

To start the New Year in style, we visited Krushi homes on January 1st. The start of the year was marked with excitement and celebration, for the kids as well as our team. Reminding us of a previous meet, this time too there were equal number of volunteers as the kids. There were 30 kids and 26 volunteers were inn for the day. We had taken some Stationary like Books, Pens, Pencils, Erasers and Sharpners, Rulers etc. We had also taken some pairs of clothing to distribute among the boys there. Though we got both boys and girls apparel from the drive, we had to sort boy’s clothes here as it was a Home for Boys.

We had four new members from GNITS, the college where we had given a presentation last week. And also, around 15 students, mostly Ramesh’s friends, had turned up from Srinidhi College; the college where we had recently started our Donation Drive. The girls from GNITS had got a cake along with them. This had served a dual purpose for the occassion. It was also one of the boy’s Birthday there, and we could add to his happiness by having a Cake cutting celebration. Also, we gifted him a a car with some special feature of emitting smoke while it drove.. Technology you see.

As known, there was no way we could miss a dance session at Krushi. And this time around, the guys were equipped with a Public Audio System, to satiate their urge for a Dolby effect. To add up some spice, Vasant had given some warm up for his muscles. The kids loved his performance, and some of us actually envied him too..

Tired by the long dancing session, the kids took a break to grab some chocolates and a couple of cake pieces. Rejuvenated soon, they then took onto some Gaming session. As evident to their obsession to music, they choose to play Musical Chairs. Yielding to their pleasing request, we played the game with some volunteers also taking part to test their might with the kids. But as always, the kids proved their upper hand. The Winner and the Runner up were given a Video Game and a Bike as Prizes. The next game was “Dog and the Bone”. The two teams choose their names and the game went on for more than an hour, when we had to conclude the game abruptly and declare both the teams as Winners, as it was getting too late for their lunch.

We then gave the clothes we took and asked the Warden to distribute them according to the sizes. Done with it, we bid Adieu to the kids. The kids invited us to celebrate the coming Sankranthi festival with them with some Kite flying masti sessions. Sure to get back, we left them into their lunch session and made our way back with the Joy of starting the New Year on such a Pleasant note..

To View the pictures, check out http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/pankhudi_hyd/photos/browse/94d6

Cheers
Team Hyderabad.