~Pankhudi Hyderabad

Balakalakaar - An AIESEC Initiative

2007-12-02T03:49:00.000-08:00

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

2007-10-29T03:47:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-06T03:45:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-15T03:58:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-15T03:52:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-05T03:42:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-29T03:40:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-22T03:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-10T03:31:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-03T03:26:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-20T03:25:00.000-07:00

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

2007-02-25T03:21:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-11T03:24:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-26T03:20:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-01-11T02:30:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-01T03:18:00.000-08:00

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.

Our Christmas Visit

2006-12-25T02:33:00.000-08:00

“Coming together is the beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”——Henry Ford.

Place 1: Missionaries of Charity.

Date: 25th December 2005

Team Pankhudi: Adept (Praveen),KK (Klueless), Sumanth, Ramesh,Shilpa, Pranathi, Soumya, Bindu, Shailaja, Sandeep.

We the team Pankhudi , reached Missionary Charity by 9:30 am today. We were welcomed into the portals by parrots with red beaks……haan many cute little kids who had their lip-stick session 5 min back. We found children of all age groups here, from kids below 1 year to 15 years. They are altogether 55 in number. They were of all kinds but, basically orphans. Some were mentally retarded ,physically defected and even normal kids as well.The kids are being sent to 3 schools,one St.Andrew’s and two other telugu medium schools.We greeted Merry Christmas and distributed chocolates. Music was being played and 2-3 girls were dancing, adding color to The Missionary Charity on this auspicious Christmas Eve.

The children seemed to be mal-nourished and the orphanage conditions are unhygienic. Now the tragic stories…………..

A 1 ½ year old kid Anish was laying on the bed.The sad part of it is this Anish, has some problem with the spinal chord and has to permanently lay on the bed, can’t sit, stand or play around like other kids. He is’nt having proper senses and even defected eyes.We tried feeding him with bits of chocolate but all went in vain as we were told later that he is given only horlics everyday .God!!! How is he surviving only on horlics in that gloomy dark room on a tiny bed??? My friend Soumya brought him out and we could a little smiling Anish. He was realizing that he’s been brought out.

A kid was sitting on the floor to one corner of the door, with all his fingers in his mouth …I noticed that he was sitting in the same posture for the 2 hrs that we’ve been there.He is utterly mal-nutritioned ,seemed to be a bag of bones. Even he seemed to be mentally retarded. The happy part was he ate the chocolate we gave him when feeded by one of his friend there at the orphanage.

The most horrible part was, a girl child of the age of 6-7 years with some skin allergy and having wounds bleeding on her face. I couldn’t just stand that but geared up myself saying “looking at her seems so awkward to me, how is that girl surviving with such an allergy?”Anyway when working for a social cause we should have the mettle to bear anything and everything. Its been told that she is been brought from a dustbin in a place, Guntoor and she has that skin allergy by birth. But, I feel if attended by doctors properly she would have been alright by now. One kid was mentally retarded. He was craving for touch. So, we fondled him.

These kids will be given breakfast (idli, dosa etc.) and lunch. We’ve seen the orphanage kitchen. It seemed very insalubrious. Some kids of 1-2 years age group were just playing around. Today being Christmas I think they are well-dressed. Two other visitors came and distributed apples and books. There are not many nurses but, orphans of the agegroup of 12-15 years are taking care of small kids. Unlike St.Theresa’s kids these kids seemed ignorant and illiterate.They were not asking us when we’ll come next. On the whole I can say they are happy with the chocolates that we gave them.

Chat with the sister……….

They don’t Allow adoption and people keep coming on special occasions and sponsor lunch or dinner for kids.They contribute soaps, hair oils etc. The doctors visit this place as if on government duty. We couldn’t leave poor Anish out there…….Overall very bad state.

Our voices…….

How can we help them? How do we improve the conditions there? Are theseconditions indomitable??? What can we contribute there?
Thanks to holy Mother Teresa for providing asylum to such poor babies.We need to visit that place once again .

Place 2: St.Teresa’s Tender Loving Care

Team Pankhudi : Same team members.

To keep up with the word we have given to St.Teresa’s kids we visited that place around 12 am.The children there entertained us and we reciprocated as well.We had the Christmas cake and then departed,saying “Bye Bye Doctors, Bye Bye Doctors,Just now”:)

Cheers…
Team Hyderabad

Visit to Subhodaya School

2006-12-09T03:16:00.000-08:00

Date : 9th December `06

Place: Vidyarthi Subhodaya School,Yellareddy Guda,Ameerpet. Time: 10:45 am.

Team Pankhudi : Surya, Sunil, Abhishek, Jyotsna, Padma, Krishna & Preetam.

We gathered at the school by 10:45 am. We had a caring welcome from the kids and we could clearly see the excitement by every child’s expression. We started the day by a customary interactive introduction session and despite the fact that most of the kids were from the local slum, the surprising element was they were able to comprehend and reciprocate in decent English. Students were divided into four groups explicitly- Red, Blue, Yellow and Green.

We saw healthy competition among them when we carried out events like Singing, Dancing and Pictionary during the earlier part of the day. We had good number of kids turning up by taking the initiative to demonstrate their flair with interest. The lunch break was at 12:15 and kids from 1st std. to 4th left homes while the others stayed back. We guys finished our brunch around 1:15 and resumed the sitting at 1:30. During the later part of the day, we conducted Quiz among the high school students for which the response was not up to the mark and we personally felt that, given proper guidance along with sufficient resources they would shine well. After the quiz we conducted Antakshari and Role-plays.

The response for Role-plays was very captivating and every guy out there enjoyed it. Couple of students also enacted like their teachers which was quite interesting. End of the day, we handed over the education material to the Library and informed the students to collect it whenever required. The students thanked and expressed their gratitude. We promised the students a very soon come back and our best efforts to cater with all the basic requests.

The major requirements what the school needs is good Teaching faculty and Infrastructure. Even with very low resources, students were very enthusiastic and bright. Given proper supplies and guidance, we are sure even they can make a difference.
And with our dedication and their cooperation, we are sure to see the School achieve much better standards in the course of our Association.

Cheers…
~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad

Weekend Visits to Govt. School, N.B.T. Nagar

2006-11-04T03:14:00.000-08:00

Date: 4th November 2006

Place: N.B.T Nagar Government School, Banjara Hills.

Time : 10: 30 am

Team Pankhudi : Surya, Kranthi, Mrs.Montero (Pattu), Ruchira, Sunil.

We had gone to the School to finalise the number of kids who are going to take part in the Drawing Competitions on 5th, i.e. the next day. The headmistress there had already selected 8 from among the kids, who were good at drawing.

Initially, we had some interaction with all the kids regarding their performance in the previous exams. As we could see, the kids were faring well, raising the school’s grade from C+ to B this year. We felt happy for the development and applauded the children.
Today, We tried teaching those kids for the first time. The response was really good as the children were very co-operative and excited seeing us teach, out of their routine. Me and Sunil taught Mathematics to class 1. One problem we faced was that we weren’t able to de-code the Telugu technical terms in their text books, but managed with the help of teachers there. We felt it would be really good if we can take some classes during weekends .Some of the teachers there were not even aware of the basics of math. Probably, we might include teaching in our Schedule from next month.

Later, we sent a formal request to the parents of all those 8 kids, whom we were taking for the competition. It was necessary to have a letter of consent from their parents. We got positive responses from all of them, and in fact, some came to the school personally and thanked us for it. Once done with it, we asked those kids to practice some drawing. We gave them some sheets and asked them to draw anything they felt like. While these kids were busy doing this, Mrs. Pattu was busy telling stories to all the other kids. They were totally immersed in the stories; some even related to themselves and enacted. Next we engaged them in some games. I apologise for not knowing the name of the game as it is in some local terminology . All the kids enjoyed the session thoroughly and so did we. With the close of the game, we wound up our day and asked the respected kids taking part in the competition to assemble the next day at 7 30 am.

Sunday 5th November

We assembled at the school by 7 30 am. Vasanth and Jyotsna had joined us today. Also, one of their teachers took interest in coming along with us. We waited for all the kids to come. At 8, when everyone was there, we started off to the Venue of the competition- B.M.Birla Science Centre.

It was a huge turnout for the competition. There were around 250 kids from various schools taking part. We were keen on the participation of these kids, than actually winning prizes. We wanted to develop an exposure in them first. The kids enjoyed the outing, as they are not used to such trips. They scanned the whole of the surroundings and made themselves comfortable moving around there.

The competition started at 9 am and was of one hour. As the kids went inside, we sat outside and had some discussions about our activities and functioning. Thanks to the kids, we got time to do this physically, after many days of postponement .

At 10 am, the competition was over and the kids came zooming out of the halls. They were all to excited with their performance and each of them were claiming a first prize for themselves . Some were too modest in saying they were happy with the Pencil Boxes and Crayon Sets, which they got as gifts and those were no less than Prizes. We had then got them some tiffin, and they recharged themselves for the next lap. It was actually a sudden plan that we take those kids to the Planetarium, for some knowledge and thrill about our Universe. As there was a show scheduled for then, we booked tickets for all those kids and took them in. There was mixed gossip from the kids during the show and even after about it. Some were fascinated by it and for some it was just another fun activity.

It was 12 30 pm when the show ended. As we promised their parents to get them back by lunch, we had no other choice than to call it a day and drop them back homes. With all the fun and excitement, the kids were looking forward to share all that with their teachers and friends, in school the next day. I am sure the other kids will envy these guys . They thanked us in their trademark style and bid adieu after we left them at their place.
With two days of solid fun and satisfaction, we were very happy that the kids had enjoyed it thoroughly. Hoping to see them enjoy the children’s day activity much more……

Cheers…
~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad

Diwali at Krushi Homes

2006-10-21T03:12:00.000-07:00

Date : 21st October 2006.

Place : Krushi Homes, Medchal.

Team Pankhudi : Kranthi, Harini, Jyotsna, Vasanth, Lakshman,Prabhakar and Me.

The Festival of Lights this year was Glowing Brilliant in Hyderabad. Team Hyderabad had Spent its Diwali with the kids at Krushi Homes. It was a Bright and Sunny start of the day while Team Hyderabad ventured on the Long Drive to Krushi Homes. It being a Festival, not many could make it there. But it was not the Quantity, but the Quality that really matters. With the wishes of all the other team members, seven of us had made it. We could reach the Place at around 9 am, by when the kids had just finished their Breakfast. Vasanth had the Privilege; rather the kids were privileged to have their Breakfast with Vasanth. He reached a bit early as he was on his Yamaha R1 . Since they were energised with the Breakfast, they were too Jubiliant for our first session. Now that we share a very good Rapport with the kids there, we really didnt need any Ice-Breaking session.

We had taken some Diyas with us. So we gave one to each and asked them to light them, to mark the Begining of the Festival. They did so, and as u can see in the album, they were too creative and made different shapes, out of which one or two are seen in the Album. We asked all of them to sit with their Diyas for some pics. A they were stable and Quite (which is rarely seen), We started telling them about the Festival, its Resemblance and Significance in today’s lives. The kids, i think, found it Boring at first, but then they were Interested when I actually told them the Whole story which was the Reason for celebration. They were eager to share the things they knew. And we found some really great Questions like “If Krishna was residing in India, why cant we see their houses now” etc. etc. Vasanth very patiently answered all of them.

They then were eager for their usual Dance session. (Now that Vasanth has joined Shamak’s classes, we Hope we have another Puneet with us [:D] ). While they were on the Dance session, we Distributed sweets to all the Kids and Faculty. We were actually lucky to meet the Management Members who had just dropped in to wish the Children and Brought along some sweets and Crackers as well. We had an oppurtunity to talk to the Management and we shared our Learning Experiences with them. The kids were too close to the Management, they couldnt resist dancing along with the Kids. As we knew the Dance would go on and on and on, we thought we would move onto the Most Awaited and Interesting part : The Cracker Bonanza.

We gave them our gift-wrapped kit of all the Ammunition. (It was a tragic scene when the kids tore open the Wrapper in seconds, which i took some Half an hour to pack [:(] ).The Management also Joined them for sometime. As expected, the kids were more keen on the Bombs than any other items. We didnt want to restrict them, and hence had to put mine and Naval’s principles aside for them [:(] . The kids enjoyed this for Around, say, two hours. They wanted more and more of it. But we were Philosophical that everything is limited in this World [;)] .

After that, we had an Oppurtunity to talk to the Management there about our plans with them. They were too happy to listen to what we were planning and said we would always be welcome to conduct any program with them. Our Boss (Read- Kranthi) has discussed the possible timing for Conducting some Workshops at their Splendid Campus. They were ready for it and they gave us many Useful tips for Progress. As it was already noon, and we needed to have Attendance at Home as well, we started off around 12 30 pm. The kids thanked us for making it upon their request, and we too had a lot of fun with them. I take the side of the whole of Hyderabad Team to say that it was Great Fun and it was one of the Best Diwali we had. Thanks to the Kids……

Cheers..
~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad

Distribution at Govt. School, N.B.T. Nagar

2006-09-16T03:08:00.000-07:00

Date : 16th September 2006
Place : Government School, N.B.T Nagar, Banjara Hills.

Team Pankhudi : Surya, Kranthi, Praveen, Gowtham, Sunil, Siddharth, Ramesh K, Ruchira and two of Praveen’s colleagues

On Saturday we have visited the Government school to distribute some Slates, Pencils and Erasers among the kids. The kids were waiting enthusiastically for us as we have told them prior that we shall be spending time with them on that day. As we couldn’t inform to all our volunteers well in advance, the Attendance was limited to 10 people. We were at the school by 10:30 am and the kids had just finished their Exam. As we went, we were Welcomed us with Reverberating voices of “Good Morning Sir” and “Good Morning Madam”…. The excitement of the Kids could be felt form their Tone itself. There were around 150 kids present there. But unfortunately, we had only 50 Slates with us. So we had to distribute them to those kids who didn’t have Slates. As we had some 100 Pencils and Erasers, we first distributed them among kids who didn’t get the Slate and followed to rest kids.

After distribution, we engaged in some Dialogue with the kids. We asked them to Sing Songs, repeat some Rhymes in Chorus and asked kids who could Draw and Paint to exhibit their talent the next time we come and win some Gifts . So we are sure of having some Masterpieces the next time we visit them. As always, Gautham had thrown some light on the Necessity of Education in today’s World in order Prosper in life. His speech was so appealing, that I am sure those kids grasped it. For some Lighter Moments, we asked them about their Favourite Film Stars.

They also danced to some songs of their Favourites. As it was time for Lunch, we had to Wind up our session for then.Later, we talked to the 6 kids, whom we got admitted into the school. They were Happy with their own progress. We also talked to their Elders who were equally satisfied. At the school, we tried finding if there are any Immediate Necessities and we felt they need some Chart Papers for Activity work and more importantly some Motivating Spirit, which we promised ourselves to fill them with. This school was no Exception from other places; we could cast our Spell on the kids and Teachers there and that they didn’t want to leave us so soon. They were happy and excited about the Prizes to be won for their Craft works.

Promising them our next visit as soon as possible, we made our way out among those Repeated Resonating “Good Afternoon, Bye and Thank you”s. We were happy with the outcome and are planning for some further Assistance to the school. Hoping and wishing to have the same Response form our Members for every visit. We are sure we can take ~Team Hyderabad to greater heights with our Efforts and Encouragement.

Cheers !!!~Pankhudi Team Hyderabad

Teacher’s Day Celebrations

2006-09-05T03:07:00.001-07:00

Date : 05th September 2006
Place : Government School, N.B.T Nagar, Banjara Hills.

Team Pankhudi : Surya, Kranthi.

Today Team Hyderabad has visited the Govt. school in B’hills; in which we had joined 6 children from the local Slum. We had informed the Headmistress in advance coming today, to spend time with the Kids. They Welcomed us and the kids said they were looking forward to celebrate the day with all Extracurricular activities, Sans Studies . We promised to keep the Spirits Soaring High.

We were at the school, Sharp Half past Nine. The kids Assembled on time, as they were the sole in-charges of the School today . They welcomed us with a Bouquet which they had very skillfully arranged with the flowers from a local garden. Today the attendanc of kids was in full number. After all, it was their day.They gave us an Itinerary composed of Dances, Songs and more Songs . Also, the Six children (joined through ~Pankhudi) turned up very neat and trim. Although they were new, they took part in the Activities along with other kids. They Sang, Danced to many songs and gave their best possible Pose for the Pics .

Sitting with all those kids there, we felt Nostalgic about our school days. We had the Reminiscences of Teachers day celebrated in our schools with all the Hype and Hard sell. Even though that Infrastructure was missing, I can doubly surely say we had no less fun here. All that’s required was the Spirit and it was Abundant. As always in our visits, we found multi talented children even here. We were amazed by their update on the latest Entertainment buzz. But then we were equally depressed seeing the amenities they had in that very small so-called school. There were 230 kids in-toto and there was a single fan. There were not even chalks to write on the Boards. The Boards were in no good shape. They had worn out their finish long ago.

The kids didn’t have proper Notebooks to write in. More Importantly, to go by what the teachers said, they have not been receiving Salaries regularly and the Government has stopped sending supplies to the school some two years ago.

Considering all these Hitches, we assured the Headmistress that we would definitely do any help we can afford from our side. We can in fact supply them with basic Stationary like Chalks; Pencils, Erasers and Notebooks for the kids, some Chart papers to start some Creative Activity and some Slates if possible. They were also requesting for any number of Disposable Water Bottles for the kids to use , which we would otherwise trash in our households. They is also severe Water Shortage and they put forward a request for Water Container.

We were very disappointed with the quality of Clothes these kids were wearing. The headmistress said the kids would accept any help even with Clothing. So I thought we could help them with the clothes as well. And as we are now registered, we shall also accept Funds now on; and any help from anyone in that regard would be a Welcome Development.
Please try playing ur part as we are planning to Concentrate on this school and take it from Grade ‘C’ to Grade ‘A’ with regard to the Govt. Standards. Spending a Nominal share of our Time or Money on such Activities will never be too tough, Provided we assert the real intention to do so.

Come… Join… Together, WE can make the Difference!

Have a look at the Pics at: http://www.pankhudifoundation.org/photos/hyderabad/Banjara+Hills+School/

Hyd Team Independence Day Celebrations

2006-08-15T03:06:00.000-07:00

Date : 15th August 2006
Place :Teja School, Champapet Slum. Saidabad.

Team Pankhudi : Praveen(Adept), Ramesh, Gautham, Sandeep, Kapil, Shiva, Madhura, Priyanka, Sunil, Ananth, Satish, Sampath and 2 of his friends.

A very Happy Independence Day to all…

Here goes the update of the events of ~Pankhudi Hyderabad…

Like our previous summer camps, today’s celebrations were also a big success with many volunteers coming in to participate for the event today…We all assembled at Teja School in a slum close to Saidabad. The day started off with Flag Hoisting followed by Prize distribution for the kids. We had talked to the kids about efforts of our great leaders that went in to gaining India’s Independence and the advangates of being an Independent nation. We also tried to inculcate within them a Patriotic feeling for their country and its men. We felt we were successful seeing their response. The school conducted games and pankhudi team had conducted Essay Writing and Drawing. Our pankhudi team was aksed to distribute the prizes for all the events. It was good to see those kids assemble there so promptly for the occasion.

After the prize distribution, the kids gathered inside the school. We talked to the parents of few kids who were also present for the event. Many of them had a lot hardships which they were managing to overcome and get their kids educated. But many of them are still in a pathetic condition. After that, Gautham and Sandeep spoke to the kids and tried to motivate them about studies and also to inspire their friends to study along with them. Later we distributed choclates among the kids and bid adieu to the kids for the day.

After the event in the school few of the volunteers assembled for a meeting to discuss regarding our activities towards the slum.

It was nice to see so many of u guys there!!! Hope to have the participation of all the volunteers for the further events too…

Jai Hind!!!
Team Hyderabad.

CSR Week at TCS

2006-08-08T03:04:00.000-07:00

Date : 8th August 2006
Place : TCS Kohinoor Park, Hitech City.

Team Pankhudi : Surya, Chinnu, Gautham, KK, Shiva, Sandeep, Sunil, Kapil.

Hyderabad Team got an opportunity to put up a stall at TCS on this 8th of August. One of our volunteer Mr.Chinnaswamy is with TCS and he had put forward the request to the concerned authorities, who accepted his request and allotted us a stall. Even though it was for a short duration, we had a good kick start into the Corporate publicity.We had taken some Posters and a Banner.

We had a very good response. Many of them from TCS were willing to help us out in any way they can. Most of them were very willing to help us monetarily. But as we are not accepting donations now, we said we would get back to them when we would accept. Apart form that, We have got some 25 volunteer forms and many feedback forms. We have the data and will try to stay in contact with them whenever need be.

We felt that even if 10 people turn up to be active in participation, it will be of good help. As they were all the employees of TCS, they were all from Hyderabad and not many out station queries arouse. But one man from Chennai approached us and took the contact details of Chennai Representative and I learnt that he already did contact her. And one more person from Maharastra had said that he knew ~Pankhudi in Mumbai and took their details.We had some paintings done by the children and collages of Orphanages on display. They were quite attractive on the walls. Some people working with other organisations were interested in knowing about our activities in Hyderabad. Many of them were impressed to know we were majorly students and youth working for this cause.

When it was time to wrap up, we had our routine Photo session. All our team members at the stall and individual pics too. We pasted one poster of ours on the Notice board there in TCS. That will remain there for another two weks or so. We are expecting some more people to turn up with queries.

Welcome Party at Govt. School N.B.T. Nagar

2006-06-30T03:33:00.000-07:00

Date: 30th JUNE 2007
Attendees: Uday, Tanvi, Surya, Ramesh, Jeevan, Madhura.

After a long wait, the new school building which was constructed atN.B.T Nagar was finally inaugurated and the kids were shifted intothe new premises. We had scheduled for a welcome party for the kidsthere, before the commencement of their new academic sessions inorder to encourage and counsel them and also to create a good rapportwith their teachers. This event was initially scheduled on 23rd Junebut due to bad weather then, we had to postpone it to 30th June.Nevertheless we still had a rocking welcome party!!!

It was almost 11.00 am by the time all the volunteers arrived and weall assembled in the office room of the school. Here we had abrainstorming session with the teachers. We discussed various issueslike the availability of books and resources for the kids and the newmaterial that they had received which would make teaching moreinnovative and interactive. The teachers there were very verysupportive, not only did they enlighten us on these issues but theytook pain to show us all the available material and also answered allours queries with great patience.

After this we all sat down to plan a rough academic schedule for 1month for the kids in English, Math and Telugu; right from alphabetsand numbers in order to brush up the kids with their basics.Meanwhile the kids underwent a counseling session from Surya where heencouraged and motivated the kids to study , simultaneouslyreprimanding them for not working hard and finally he took a promisefrom everyone that from now on they would work hard and performexceptionally well in their exams.

It was almost 12.30 by then and while the kids left to have theirlunch, we made arrangements so that on their return they couldparticipate in the games we had planned for them. We first dividedthe kids into 2 groups based on the classes they belonged to. Theyounger ones (classes 1st and 2nd) were made to play a tumbler game,similar to Bowling where the pins were replaced by the plastictumblers , while the older ones were made to play Doggy Tail(”tookaaata” as the kids called it in Telugu) where they had to draw thetail to the Dog drawn on the Board. The kids were very energetic andenthusiastically took active part in the games. There was chaos attimes since everyone wanted their turn first; and in order tomaintain certain order we had to use lot of lung power…thankfully wemanaged to get things under control with all kids getting their turnand we completed the session successfully..

Then the winners were declared and the prizes were given out. Somekids were disappointed on having not won, and we had to console themand advised them not to get disheartened as it was only a game. Suchactivity sessions are necessary in order to inculcate in kids ahealthy competitive spirit and would also help them in acceptingdefeat in a more sportive manner. At the end we had a singing sessiontoo, where few kids came forward and exhibited their vocal talent,and they were well versed to all the latest tunes much to ourastonishment
Finally we distributed chocolates to all the kids and wrapped up forthe day. We all said our goodbyes and left feeling very Satisfied,Happy and Yup… Exhausted too….:)

Documented by ~Tanvi.

SIDUR meet…

2006-06-26T03:02:00.001-07:00

“The hardest job kid’s face today is learning good manners without seeing any.”——–Fred Astaire.

Date : 26th June, 2006

Place: SIDUR , Malakpet, Hyderabad.

Team Pankhudi : 12-15 members

This week’s meet was at SIDUR as planned earlier…As we found out, SIDUR means “Society for the Integrated Development in Urban and Rural areas”.Some of us were there last week too. And we already developed some rapport with the kids to facilitate things. .Some 15 of our volunteers assembled there around 1 pm.

After the initial ice-breaking, it was some gossip and then we insisted the kids have their lunch as it was already half past one. The lunch was sponsored by ~Pankhudi. Being PACCA HYDERABADIES, we got them BIRYANI from the most famous hangout for Biryani in Hyderabad viz., BAWARCHI…. The kids enjoyed the lunch as it was an off-routine Menu.
Then these guys were injected with high levels of energy, post lunch… so we thought we could start off with our REAL (read Academic) interaction….We had given them some books last week. So we asked them if they were of help and were they practicing anything from those. Very reluctantly and with all artificiality, they replied and thanked us ;-) . And we asked them if they would love to be taught lessons by us.. Some of them were tight lipped while others were brave enough to show us the door . Smart enough to understand their gesture, we dropped the plan of Academics on a Sunday…..

So we decided to play Dumb Charades and the kids were DEFINITELY ready for it…We joined them and divided ourselves into two groups… Briefed them abt the rules and the kids were too sharp and didn’t need much explanation… But it was needed for some of our volunteers I guess … We played for around an hour ….and as it was already guessed before the start of the the game, the most powerful team won as I was part of it.….and the others could do nothing (inspite of cheating many times), but applaud…..Iit was pretty interesting and all of us had great fun….
Then we moved to Talent hunt….as u could see in the previously posted pics, SIDUR has some real good dancers and we didn’t want to miss out on them….so we did some DJ’ing and the kids danced to our numbers ….whats noteworthy is that some of the very shy kids came out to dance today, in contrast to their last weeks performances….and that was what we were looking for….
Next we had our Kodak Moments session with some 6 odd cameras clicking around (like on the Cannes RedCarpet)…..we along with the kids posed for the cameras in various angles and moods…..this is clearly visible by the pics posted on Pankhudi web …..this session lasted for some half an hour with some masti with the kids ….some of them even tried their hand at circus feats, no matter they succeded or otherwise…:-D

Then we decided to wind up the session…..the co-ordinator informed that they would be moving to a new home the month end and welcomed us there as soon as they move in….we promised to visit them with a House Warming session……One thing noticible is that…..In course of our association with Krushi, they were gifted with a vast new campus with all facilities…. and now, its SIDUR’s turn… even they were blessed with a new ,bigger,bettter home …. Three Cheers …HIP

HIP HURRAY !!!

SIDUR meet…

2006-06-26T03:02:00.000-07:00

“The hardest job kid’s face today is learning good manners without seeing any.”——–Fred Astaire.

Date : 26th June, 2006

Place: SIDUR , Malakpet, Hyderabad.

Team Pankhudi : 12-15 members

HIP HURRAY !!!

Summer Camp at Krushi Homes

2006-05-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

Date : 6-7 May, 2006

Place: Krushi Home for Street Children, St. Francis College Lane (Lane beside LifeStyle).

Team Pankhudi : 15-20 members

Finally the D-Day,the most sought after day ,May 6th arrived.Filled with warm wishes from everyone, we launched the ~Pankhudi Summer Camp 2006 at Krushi homes for Street Children with the ~Pankhudi banner soaring loftily in the blue skies. This home basically consists of 52 children in the age group of 7-15 yrs, all Boys.
But, it being summer vacation most of them left home.There were 14 students left. The Sainik school alumni provides funding to this home.These students attend a govt. run school nearby.

The activities in chronological order…

DAY 1:

1.Ice-breaking or Introductory session: We divided the children into 4 groups and named them with their favourite cartoon characters Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck,Bugs Bunny.We tied colored ribbons to their hands ,like mickey with red,Donald with blue etc.Then each group introduced itself at the centre stage and performed a dance or a song.

2.Ad Mag(Advertising): Here we gave each team a product and 30 minutes time to prepare and 2min time to perform.We could bring to light the creativity and talent of the children.Each one exhibited their product well.A few of them can become future managers in Advertising!!!

3.Drawing: We provided drawing sheets,crayons,pencils etc and within seconds these plain white sheets were filled with bright ,colorful pictures.You might have already seen few of them in our photo gallery.Especially the yellow house drawn by little Rajesh.

4.Treasure Hunt: It was about finding objects hidden by us in all possible secret corners in the home.Kids enjoyed this activity a lot. The children went totally gaga over all the events and were waiting for more to pour in but,as it was evening we had to finally depart and wait for 14-16 hrs to resume our non-stop,rocking summer camp!!!

DAY 2:

1.Dance class: Our dance master Puneet started his jazz class at around 10 am and this went by continuously for 3 hrs time.This bubbly Puneet took all the pains to come to the camp inspite of his busy schedule.He encouraged children not to get tired soon saying “No pains,No gains”.His dance sequences shenai,shimmi-shake 1,2 ,3,4 still reverberate in our minds.He taught some 6 steps and a dance sequence in just 3 hrs time which takes nearly a week’s time to learn in a dance institute.Three cheers Puneet!!!

2.Mime: Here each team was give a moral science topic and they had to portray the message through a mime.The topics were 1.Cleanliness 2.Traffic rules 3.Save energy 4.Each one,Teach one.The way Harini , Gautami and her troop brought in the moral of cleanliness impressed the judges and they bagged the first prize.

3.Outdoor activity: We team played cricket with children and it was fun altogether.

4.Closing: We cut the cake, ~Pankhudi written on it with yummy,delicious cream.(you should check this photograph in our gallery). We then distributed gifts to the winners of the games. The camp ended with a last photo session with our celebrity kids.Yeah they should be celebrated for all the prizes they won in our summer camp!!!
One last look at this “Krushi home for street children” reminded me of an inspiring old telugu film song written by Sri Veturi.

“Krushi unte manushulu Rushulautaaru…. Mahaapurushulautaaru…. Tarataraalaki taragani velugautaaru…. Ilavlupulautaaruu”

If we youth put a little bit of “Krushi” we can surely make a difference in the lives of such unfortunate children.Hoping that this summer camp will remain a milestone in the history of ~Pankhudi…

Cheers…
Team Hyderabad.

MOC and St.Theresa’s Visits

2006-03-25T02:54:00.000-08:00

Team Pankhudi : Shahzad,Mohan,Ramesh,KrishnaKant,Sandeep,Sumanth,Harini,Nitin.

Place 1: St.Teresa’s (Erragadda)We team reached the place around 10 am.We interacted with those sweet little kids for sometime.Shahzad and Mohan were happy to meet these kids personally.Then they introduced themselves to the sister there.She narrated some of the pathetic stories of the kids before they weren’t brought into her home.We spent some one hour’s time here.

Place 2: Missionaries Of Charity(Opposite Clock tower,Secunderabad)Sumanth and Sandeep joined us here at around 11:30 am.It was unfortunate that we weren’t allowed to meet the kids as it wasn’t the visiting hours.On requesting the sister for sometime she finally allowed us but, most of the kids were to the Sunday prayers at the nearby church.Mohan and Shahzad went around the whole place and started inquiring regarding the prevailing conditions.But,all their efforts just went in vain as the sister as usual gave a convincing reply to each of the questions asked.We spent some 30min time in here.

Later our guests had a yummy,sumptuous lunch at RV(begumpet) then met with Harini and Nitin at CCD secunderabad and had a discussion about the site and the future course of action.

St.Theresa’s Picnic

2006-03-19T02:48:00.000-08:00

“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.”

Date : 19th March 2006

Place :NTR Garden, Tank Bund.

And we, the Team Pankhudi at Hyderabad realized this on the 19 of March, when we took a group of 17 kids from the St. Teresa’s orphanage to a picnic to NTR gardens.

It was a bright and sunny day to start with and this worried us because the kids were too young to be taken out in the scorching heat. But when we saw the enthusiasm shown by the little ones, we put our worries on the back burner and started out from the children’s Home at around 3 in the afternoon.

The journey to the picnic spot was marked with the kids yelling “There goes a big bus”…”Look at the traffic light. Red says stop, Yellow says Wait and Green says go.” They were so excited about the trip that they sang to us throughout the journey.

Once we reached NTR gardens and ushered the kids in, we were faced with the dilemma of where to take them first, there were lots of rides and fountains and playing areas. We finally decided to let them have a ride on the merry-go-round. The kids had so much fun on it that they wanted to have another round on it.

After that we made the kids sit in the lawns and play a game called “Postman”…they thoroughly enjoyed it, even though they didn’t really understand the game very much. We arranged for some snacks next.

There is a toy train ride in the park. And the kids were very eager to get a ride in it…so we arranged for a ride for them on the train…the ride lasted for about 20 mins and once the kids were back from it they were full of stories about what they had seen during the ride.

Later we clicked lots of snaps to keep these memories fresh forever, relaxed a bit in the lawns there and distributed chocolates to the kids. It surprises me to see how little it takes to make the children happy.

At around 6 it was time to leave and it was hard to leave the adorable kids and go home. But all good things must come to an end and we decided that we would do this again whenever it was possible.

There are only two ways to live your life.One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

And that is what we learnt from the kids today.

Visit to Govt. Girls High School

2006-02-10T02:46:00.000-08:00

“He who wants to do good knocks at the gate, he who loves doing good finds the door open”——-Rabindranath Tagore.

Date :10th February 2006.

Place :Government High School (Girls)Amberpet,Hyderabad.

Team Pankhudi : Me, Nitin, Praveen, Soumya, Shailaja, Arvind (From Pankhudi )Other volunteers from TCS, in association with whom this initiative was taken up!

The statistics are mind boggling…there are nearly 1,24,000+ students studying in the various govt. schools in and around Hyderabad and Secunderabad alone. Many of these students suffer from ailments ranging from minor eye-sight problems to some major skin problems, hearing problems and deficiencies which get overlooked. Many cases have been reported where students with eye-sight problems that could be easily rectified by usage of glasses, have been rendered permanently blind due to negligence and ignorance of the parents and children towards eye-care. The children fear that if they report their problem to their parents, the parents will not allow them to attend school any more because the treatment would cost them money.
There is an urgent need to screen these govt. schools for children who are in dire needs of medical attention.This project involves 2 steps —

1) Preliminary screening – Done by voluntary organizations such as ~Pankhudi, Premalaya etc. It involves a few basic tests like the height-weight ratio test, preliminary eye-test through various eye-charts, hearing ability tests, checks for vaccinations, mental stability tests, learning and physical disabilities tests, skin disorder tests etc.

2) After all these tests are done, the cases which need medical attention most immediately are forwarded to the respective medical institutions. For e.g.: all cases pertaining to eye-care are forwarded to the LV Prasad Eye Institute, which is a leading institute for eye-care in India. This institute has come forward to provide free treatment for all the children diagnosed to be needing help.

Today, as part of this project we happened to visit the Government Girls High School. There were about 15 of us present at the school. We split ourselves into groups of 2-3 and got started off on the tests at around 10 in the morning. The school has a batch of roughly 250 kids attending the morning school and 250 kids attending the afternoon school. It had classes from 6th to 10th.

Initially the kids were very shy to tell us about their problems, but as the interaction progressed they opened up to us. We screened through the 250 students in about 3 ½ hrs or so. During the process of the general check-ups we had the chance to interact with the kids and ask them about their family and the general state of the school. It was wonderful talking to them and they were very enthusiastic to let us know about their favorite subjects, their favorite heroes and movies!!
In the coming week another 15 schools are going to be screened for which the volunteers are going to be sourced from NSS.

On a parting note upon asking what she wanted to be when she grew up, one girl answered — “Even if we want to become something, we don’t have that chance, we are not that lucky!” Her answer really got me thinking.

Visit to Vatsalya Sindhu

2006-01-07T02:43:00.000-08:00

Place: Vatsalya Sindhu
Date: 7th January 2006
Team Pankhudi : Sumanth, Ramesh, Klueless, Sandeep, Adept.

We the team Pankhudi, reached Vatsalya Sindhu by 11:00 am. It reminded us of our ancient “gurukul” system of education. The lush green plants, the cattle ,the children, lured us to such an extent that we couldn’t just come off that place and make it to the technical conference at 11 am:(The place was altogether a mini-village. When we were in school most of our mother’s used to call “Wake up! Wake up! Its already 7′o clock you will get late to school”.But, these children seem to be astounding.

They wake up at 5 in the morning, go for a jog and exercise till 6 ,then do their daily chores like washing their own clothes, gardening, taking care of cattle.( They do all of their work by themselves.) They go for a bath and offer `suryanamaskar’, have their breakfast and be to school by bus or auto. There are totally 22 children all boys (there is a separate home for girls too).Of these 22, 18 of them be to school. Most of them are orphans but, some of them have parents.They go to a Telugu medium school “saraswathi sishu bhavan”.Coming home they play around for sometime and study till night. These kids are taken care off by a couple.RSS also helps the home.

The kids introduced themselves and answered to our queries regarding their schooling and daily routine. We changed our `mantra’ this time…we distributed fruits A doctor visits the home once a week and the children are spruce and healthy. They entertained us with their melodious songs and even gave greeting cards on the occasion of`sankranti(pongal)’ festival which is round the corner. Now they remember our names too. This home is well-funded. They get funding from private organizations. After completion of their schooling I think we can sponser them for higher education or some sort of training like that given at `seva sadan’ at Bangalore. This reminds me of a famous quote..

“If you give a man a fish, you give him food for a day.If you give a man a fishing rod, you give him food for life.”

Visit - 31st December ‘05

2005-12-31T02:37:00.000-08:00

Place 1: Missionary Charity.

Date: 31st December 2005

Team Pankhudi : Adept, Sumanth, Ramesh, Nithin, Harini, Sailaja, Shilpa.

We the team Pankhudi , reached Missionaries Of Charity by 10:00 am. This time the place seemed to be a bit deserted. All the kids were busy watching movie “sye”(even I glued to it for a minute or so:D), some kids were off to school. But, still little Anish was lying on the bed, same allergic kid(she seemed to be a little better this time)and small 1 year old kids just playing around. Again we were into our routine `mantra’, distributing chocolates. Harini took the snaps of the interiors of the orphanage. There were some 4-5 foreign visitors who were sponsoring lunch. Even these people were playing with thekids, they seemed to be very generous and kind hearted (it seems they have donated 1000-2000$ that day to Missionaries Of Charity). I’ve heard from harini that MoC is the most funded place, don’t know why such conditions prevail over there.We spent some 1hr with the kids, we then approached sister.

The chat with the sister was disheartening though, let me put the actual conversation here…

Team Pankudi: How can we help these kids here?

Sister: People like you donate clothes, soaps, hair oils, shampoos, funds etc.These institutions do not get any funding from government.

Team Pankhudi : Don’t you get funding from private organizations?

Sister: Yaa we get, vistors who come here also donate things.

Team Pankhudi : How frequently do the doctors visit?

Sister: The doctor comes her regularly, once a week.In between also if there are any kids sick he comes immediately.

Team Pankhudi : Is he a govt. doctor?

Sister: No, he is a private practioner. He is coming here since the past 25 years. He knows every child here, their health conditions etc. He treats well.

Team Pankhudi : Can we hire a private doctor to get that allergic kid treated?

Sister: That child is allergic by birth,she is being medicated from the day she’s been brought to this home. Alopathy medicines dint work out well, she is into homeopathy now. She is improving now. She cant be cured completely as she is allergic by birth.

Team Pankhudi : What about that kid Anish?

Sister: That child is having problem with the spinal cord and he is mentally and physically disabled. He is also being taken care.

Team Pankhudi : What about that child sitting at the door?

Sister: That girl is also mentally retarded and blind.
Team Pankhudi : She seems to be mal-nourished?

Sister: She doesn’t take in food properly, her senses are also notproper.Still we try to feed her to the maximum.

Sister: …we change the bed sheets etc very regularly as small kids are there here.

Team Pankhudi : Thank you sister, we’ll visit this place again.

Overall I can say, sister was always ready with a convincing,plausible reply to whatever we’ve asked. I feel there is anembezzlement of funds. Only one doctor attending the kids for the past 25 years????? Anyway I think we can just donate things here, nothing else can be done. We students can’t get into issues as such, legally. We shall not question the Organisation, but try and bring a change by exposing such places to Organisations which can take Initatives on big fronts and also deal legally if needed.

Place 2: Devnar Blind School

Date: 31st December 2005

Team Pankhudi: Adept, Sumanth, Ramesh,Nithin, Harini.

We reached Devnar Blind School at 12:30 am. We talked to the principal, he said their school is the “Best Blind School” in India. This place is well funded. It being a school, there are children of all age groups. There are about 255 students and 37 teachers. There is a well-furnished computer lab. They wanted us to guide the students in learning the computer basics. We can help them I believe. This was a brief visit; we’ll be visiting the place again after their vacation (16th Jan)