EDITORIAL Table of Contents

Being Indian 3
By Shivangi Saxena The AID Delhi Publication Team, in its continuous endeavor to capture the efforts of its dedicated volunteers, releases its second edition. In this edition, Shivangi Saxena, urges us to earn our status as an Indian before being proud of it. Next, Shalini Gupta pens down her experience of working with the students of Project Pehal. Ashmeet Bilkhu, Chetna Arora and Shalini Gupta provide us with updates on Pehal, followed by Updates on Meri Udaan by Vipra Dhawan. A brief description of the two events Childrens Day and Founders Day that were jointly celebrated by the volunteers and students of Project Pehal appear next. This is followed by updates from our partner projects Saksham and Koshish and updates on the various fund raising initiatives undertaken by the volunteers of AID Delhi. The newsletter has been designed by our designer, Harsh Kalra. Together our team hopes that the newsletter proves to be an enriching read for one and all.

Volunteer Speaks4
By Shalini Gupta

Project Updates Pehal 5

By Ashmeet Bilkhu, Chetna Arora, and Shalini Gupta

Meri Udaan6
By Vipra Dhawan

Childrens/Founders Day..7
By Zulaikha Rahman

Partner Project Updates Saksham.8

By Vikramjeet Singh

Koshish8
By Ayush Rastogi

AID Delhi Fund Raising Initiatives..9

By Ashmeet Biklhu

Zulaikha Rahman Publication Coordinator, AID Delhi

2 Sangharsh Seva Nirmaan

BEING INDIAN
By Shivangi Saxena
The second when I opened my tiny eyes into this world, and cried till I surpassed all decibel levels, I had not only made a successful transition to earth, but also achieved the coveted Indian status. As I grew up I realized that although it was easy to bag the nationality, the real challenge was to prove that I am an INDIAN. I could read about the kings who ruled and plundered, the monuments that were constructed, the highest peaks of Himalayas, the stretch of northern plains, the prime ministers, the freedom struggle, the wars fought, the victorious moments etc. But that knowledge did not accentuate the feeling that I was truly INDIAN. I could go lengths speaking about our vibrant economy and boisterous trade collaborations. I could boast about the cultural heritage INDIA is bestowed with, about the secularism and feelings of brotherhood which emphasize the Utopian vision. These can prove to be an effective means of utilizing paper pulp. Hollywood feats and our cinematic success are enunciated at every award ceremony. I perform a mini jig every time Sachin Tendulkar smashes the record and proves his iconic status. But still, does that make me an INDIAN? The abject poverty that victimizes millions of Indians and proves to be an obstacle in the path of

development saddens me. But can the phrase 'feeling sad justify my identity as an INDIAN? The rampant corruption that plagues the nation has left me feeling betrayed by my own elected leaders. But can 'feeling betrayed ' morally make me an INDIAN? Malnourishment and lack of basic essentials leaves me hollow. But can 'feeling hollow' make any headway to the path of improving their living standards and make me INDIAN? The answers to the soul searching questions above are a vehement NO. Being an Indian requires much more than that. To belong to a nation does not translate to just acquiring its citizenship. It means to contribute to the nation. The contribution is meaningful if it does not have the financial ideology that fills the coffers of the government and Swiss banks. It means to work for the betterment of the nation in whatever small way you can. To work for the up-liftment of people who are not blessed with two square meals. The jingoistic attitude worn by many is just to camouflage the guilt which erupts from the fact that their contribution to the society is abysmal.

TRULY WANT TO BE AN INDIAN? EARN YOUR STATUS AS A MEMBER OF THE NATION !

3 Sangharsh Seva Nirmaan

VOLUNTEER SPEAKS
BY SHALINI GUPTA
I feel privileged to have had an education that defines who I am and which has given me the confidence to face the world. I continue to cherish my school days a time when learning was fun, when we were blissfully unaware of our lifes foundations being laid in those moments of gaiety and cheer. To share that privilege with those who do not have it, has always been a latent (but potent) desire, which came to fruition when I took a break from my work as a journalist in December last year. I was scouting for organizations in the non-profit sector working towards child education, when I came across AID Delhi and its project Pehal that luckily was operating in my neighborhood itself. The very first day enthusiastic and exhilarating children greeted me with Good afternoon Mam. It felt good and at once made me realize that I have a responsibility to shoulder. I was not sure how to start off with teaching the kids, easy as it seems, so I observed what the teachers were teaching them, what the children knew, and how I could be a catalyst in their learning process. Unlearning what I had learnt was the first step to start teaching them. For some, I had to literally start with teaching them A, B, C, D. In other classes I would focus on asking the students the meanings of words and push them to frame sentences in Hindi and translate them into English. One thing that I learnt while teaching these kids was that its not about loading them with information that they can hardly make sense of, but instead making learning more interactive and easy for them. While the teachers are taking care of their syllabus, I took it onto myself to steer clear of textbooks and teach them basics that would help lay a good foundation. I figured out that most of them had difficulty reading, understanding and writing English. They were a little better in all the three areas in Hindi though.

Language is the basis of all study and, hence, I decided that my effort would be to make them understand both the languages, including how to speak and write them better. This includes correct pronunciation and bringing phonetics into play. I have been taking th th reading in classes 4 and 5 , where I ask students to come and read from their textbooks. While there are always the same enthusiastic volunteers, its the shy ones that need to be pushed. The objective is to make reading fun. These few months have been a humbling and learning experience for me. By now, I remember the names of most of the students and also have a birds eye view of their level of understanding and scope of improvement. Most of the students have a desire to learn and excel. I believe that my, or for that matter anyone elses constructive intervention in their learning process, would only help them realize what more they could do with their lives. My effort has been to awaken in them a curiosity and the confidence to ask questions, because I believe that even the right answer needs a right question. I am reminded of a quote by Anatole France, The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards. We as teachers are here only to ignite the fire of learning, and hope that the flame lives on.

4 Sangharsh Seva Nirmaan

PROJECT UPDATES PEHAL

BY ASHMEET BILKHU, CHETNA ARORA, AND SHALINI GUPTA
(www.projectpehal.blogspot.com) The students in Pehal are taking ample interest in studies with the teachers/volunteers continuously motivating them through personal counseling. Over the last few months, significant improvements have been noticed in the academic grades, and levels of comprehension and enthusiasm in the students. There have been weekly and quarterly assessments to understand and monitor their progress and training programs have been structured as per their needs. The month of November kept the students busy as they prepared for their midterm examinations. During this month, we witnessed a satisfactory increase in the number of students who attended our program. All students fared fairly well in their examination. In December, we conducted an assessment test for the students to evaluate their progress. Out of the entire lot, while all students brought positive results, th the students of 5 standards showed remarkable improvement in their performance. On the basis of these test results, we introduced weekly tests to track the performance of the students. These tests are held every Friday. In January, in order to gauge the grip of students in basics, a surprise test was taken. Roughly 6070% of the th th students from 4 and 5 standard were good. Our volunteers gave extra attention to the students who scored least. Project Pehal completed a year in April and the volunteers are now awaiting permission from the MCD to renew the contract. In the next session, we have directed our focus towards the following: Improving English, Hindi reading and recitation Exposing the students to more skill developing activities to enable all-round development and making learning "more fun".

5 Sangharsh Seva Nirmaan

PROJECT UPDATES MERI UDAAN

BY VIPRA DHAWAN
(www.projectpehal.blogspot.com) Meri Udaan comprises of 20 women attending classes regularly. The girls in the project are more enthusiastic and are learning faster than the ladies. The women can now write their signatures, read and write varnamala and count till 100. In addition, basic word formation, with and without matras has been taught to them. The mathematics curriculum includes teaching basic arithmetic operations. Most of the women can, now, solve addition and subtraction problems. However, a few still get stuck on carry over questions in subtraction. The quick learners and regular attendees are learning tables and working on multiplication and division problems as well. Regular assessment is being carried out by the volunteers and written tests (specifically focusing on spellings and comprehension) are conducted. Due to the difference in the grasping power of the women, the teacher caters to them individually by teaching thing relevant to each womans level. It has been observed that the women also lack opinion on basic things and are not used to stand for what is right for and beneficial to them. AID Delhi plans to extend its program by doing the following: We plan to start a new batch for women who live at a different location in the same locality. A few girls have been identified who are good in studies. We have asked the teacher to mentor them so that they could sit for the tenth standard CBSE open school examinations. We plan to conduct special sessions on: o Hygiene o Family Planning o Development of logical thinking that can assist in making decisions o How to fill in forms such as ration card/voters card requisition forms for opening savings account etc. We will procure a copy of study materials for adult literacy classes from Jamia Milia Islamia University which will help make the classes more meaningful and fun for the women.

6 Sangharsh Seva Nirmaan

CHILDRENS/FOUNDERS DAY
BY ZULAIKHA RAHMAN
Pehal celebrated Children's day along with Founder's day on 14th November, 2010. As the day began, Sahipur School was filled with colors, cartoons, music and silent murmurs of excited children who waited for the event to unroll. The children brought their parents along and enthusiastically waited for them to applaud when they gave their dazzling performances. The event started with a prayer where the volunteers and the children sang the song 'Itni shakti hamein de na daata' backed by music played from a harmonium (played by Anandita Yadav). This was followed by extravagant performances by our little children and volunteers. Dances, songs and poems echoed in the venue. The children recited poems such as: 'Chacha Nehru ache the Hum sab unke bacche the karte the wo humse pyaar ab to jeena hua dushwaar 14 november ka din hai aaya Chacha ko sab ke saath paya Hum sab bacche lagate hai awaaz Chacha Nehru Zindabad!!' The performances by the children concluded with a huge round of applause across the hall. Our volunteers then conducted a play which reiterated the importance of education in a child's life. The volunteers wonderfully displayed the future of an educated and an uneducated child. The stark contrast between the two were taken as an example and later explained to the parents. We appealed to them to make a commitment towards educating their children and ensure their bright future. Our kids were now ready for some games! We organized a game in which we put up cartoon pictures of Popeye, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Schinchan on each wall. The children were asked to dance till the music played and run to their favorite cartoon character as soon as it stopped. One of the cartoon characters was randomly chosen and the children standing near that cartoon character were considered to be out. The entire venue filled with cheerful voices and excited screams as children danced to music and ran. The game was followed by a session of continuous dancing, where all the children and volunteers tapped their foot to popular Bollywood numbers. In the end, we distributed prizes to the winners of the game, the top performing students, and the students who were regular in their attendance. The tired children then sat down to have snacks which included samosas, chips and sweets. The day ended with fun, frolic, and loads of laughter. As the children and their parents walked back home with a smile, we were convinced that our team effort was a success!

7 Sangharsh Seva Nirmaan

PARTNER PROJECTS SAKSHAM

BY VIKRAMJEET SINGH
Project Saksham is running at a faster pace than was expected. At this pace, money collection from the rickshaw owners will finish much before the stipulated time of 7 months. The dream of the rickshaw pullers, supported by Saksham, to own a rickshaw and be able to save Rs.30 40 a day is finally near realization. From the Rs. 21000 that we invested in three rickshaws, the following is the pending amount: Rickshaw 1 - Rs. 2,450 Rickshaw 2 - Rs. 1,700 Rickshaw 3 - Rs. 450 We at Saksham are glad to be able to turn this initiative into a success and bring happiness into the lives of rickshaw pullers and their families.

PARTNER PROJECTS KOSHISH

BY AYUSH RASTOGI
Koshish is an AID Delhi partner which provides primary education to children (in the age group 3-14 years) belonging to a squatters slum. Koshish aims to help the children secure admission into government schools for their secondary education. In addition, they also provide coaching to school going children so they fare well in their school performance and, hence, prevent dropouts. The children who qualify secondary school are put through a 6 month computer training program which helps them get jobs as data entry operators/ computer games facilitators. The children who finish Class IX are put through a 3 month course in repairing cell phones. In addition, the mothers of disadvantaged children are provided with a tailoring course. Regular health and nutrition camps are arranged for the children and various extracurricular activities like music, dance, painting, theatre, yoga and meditation are also held. AID Delhi partnered with Koshish in December 2010. In this partnership program the volunteers of AID Delhi teach Mathematics to the students of class 6th - 12th. The classes are held every Saturday for 2-3 hours. Most of the children studying at Koshish belong to government schools and are always eager to learn, however, they lag behind due to lack of proper teaching. The foundation of every state is the education of its youth. While we are teaching mathematics (and a little bit of other subjects) to the children, there is a dire need to teach them core subjects like science. Koshish calls for more volunteers who are interested in teaching these subjects to the children.

8 Sangharsh Seva Nirmaan

AID DELHI FUND RAISING INITIATIVES

BY ASHMEET BILKHU
DIWALI STALLS
This October, AID Delhi clubbed the celebrations of Diwali with its fund raising initiative. Diwali stalls were set up at various corporate houses that include STM, Evalueserve, and Pitney Bowes. The stalls consisted of products made by our volunteers such as diyas, candles, chocolates, greeting cards, envelopes etc.

CHRISTMAS STALLS
AID Delhi set up Christmas stalls in December that consisted of various products such as handicraft items, calendars, and t-shirts. The stalls were set up in corporate houses such as Deloitte and Pitney Bowes.

HOLI STALLS
AID Delhi set up Holi stalls in March that consisted of various products such as Holi colours, pots, key chains, calendars, books and t-shirts. The stalls were set up in corporate houses such as Deloitte and Pitney Bowes.

REDEFINE YOUR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)

Understand the evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility in India and incorporate CSR as an integral part of business strategy Develop a community engagement strategy. Bring together NGOs working in diverse fields like education, health, environment with corporate/funding agencies to tie up partnerships through discussions. Develop environmentally and socially responsible products and services. Engage your employees in giving back to the society through AIDs Corporate Volunteers Program. Provide cost effective solutions to the problems of underprivileged communities. Encourage your employees to participate in environment related initiatives.

JOIN US
Love to teach children? Love to write, report and design? Care about the environment? Want to strengthen Rights? Worried about new policies? Simple steps by which YOU can make a difference: Visit http://delhi.aidindia.org Register yourself as a volunteer On receiving a welcome note Subscribe yourself to the volunteer e-group One of our volunteer coordinators will contact you within a week.

9 Sangharsh Seva Nirmaan

DONATE
All donations to AID Delhi are directed towards education, health & nutrition, skill building, campaigns and other activities. You can donate to AID and its activities in the following manner: Meal a Month: An initiative to donate an amount equivalent to one meal of yours to build future India. Even a single penny counts! Rs 10, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500...Whatever a meal costs you, we would like to share your platter. Donate Books: Donate academic books of your children after they have completed studying from them. Pledge support for formal education of a child/children. These contributions are entitled to a 50% tax exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act. How to donate in India ELECTRONIC TRANSFERS: Internet banking users can make electronic transfers to AID-India's ICICI Bank Account. CHEQUES: Cheques can be drawn in favor of AID-India's ICICI Bank Account and can be either mailed to or deposited at any ICICI bank branch CASH: Cash may be deposited at any ICICI bank branch quoting "AID-India" on the deposit slip. AID-India - ICICI Bank Details Branch: Royapettah High Road (RHR) Location: Chennai MICR code: 600229007 Account No.: 602201200299 (Savings) Beneficiary address: 7/4 Besant Road, Royapettah, Chennai. Phone: +91-44-42106493, 28350403 To receive a receipt for your donation, please send the following details to aid.delhi@gmail.com: 1. Your name and permanent address 2. Date, amount and mode (i.e., e-transfer, cheque, cash) of donation 3. Bank details together with the Cheque/Receipt number or E-transaction ID If you are outside India and want to contribute to AID Indias Delhi chapter, then mail us your cheque (in any currency), drawn in favor of "AID-India", along with a cover letter stating the purpose of donation. AID INDIA- Bank Details for International Transfers Punjab National Bank 0306010100082696 PNB Extension Counter, D A V School (under Anna Salai Branch) 383, Avvai Shanmugam Salai, Gopalapuram, Chennai 600 086, Tamilnadu, India IFSC (NEFT/ RTGS) code - PUNB0030600 ABA or SWIFT routing number of PNB India -00046612 in the name of PNB FEO Chennai. CODE - PUNB IN BB MF

CONTACT US
Reach us at: www.aiddelhi.org AID Delhi on Facebook: www.facebook.com/delhi.aidindia AID Delhi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/aiddelhi AID Delhi on Wikipedia: 10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AID_Delhi

Sangharsh Seva Nirmaan