Visit to Gubbi- Session on Environmental Awareness- Jan 29th 2013

India Literacy Project: Visit to Gubbi- Session on Environmental Awareness- Jan 29^th 2013

Kids assemble in the Gubbi Learning Center on Sundays, from the nearby villages some as far out as 18 Kms. The subject matter for today’s session was Environmental Awareness. In the spirit of keeping the sessions participatory, the day kicked off with a quick warm up session with kids sharing their ‘guri’ or goal in life- (‘guri’ is Kannada for goal). The energy that was pouring out of each of them when their turn came to share their life ambition was inspiring- names complete with the details of initials followed by stellar dreams- lots of aspiring doctors, engineers, policemen, army men, district collectors, with only one aspiring dancer, teacher and very interestingly only one software engineer!

With the projector and other required paraphernalia in place, we were now ready for the show. The volunteers had prepared a packed day’s schedule for the kids. The kids were first shown a 30-minute educational video on the Earth, its composition, the layers of the atmosphere, the geographical features, how seasons work, how the continents came to be, etc. 

The Earth video was followed up by a brief 5-minute video from the BBC Planet Earth series, showing earth and Mother Nature in all its glory. To make an impact, a discussion supported by a ppt was conducted in quick succession. The presentation was a slide show interspersed with Audio-Visuals. The presentation on human’s encroachment and abuse of the nature’s bounty struck a chord with the kids. Focusing on how rapid urbanization has impacted the flora and fauna around us, topics such as killing animals from leather tanning, hunting for pleasure, animals living in wild losing their homes due to deforestation, were discussed. The children were already aware of how deforestation aids to pollution, vehicles add to global warming, and adversely impact the environment, and generously contributed to the discussion. The children’s collective, heart-felt sighs during the video on elephant and tiger poaching was moving.

The motive of the presentations was not to just inform the children of the adverse impacts of human activities on nature or merely reinforce related concepts. But more importantly, to show them that as consumers of basic infrastructure such as electricity, vehicle of transport benches in the school, we humans, every one of us, contribute to afore mentioned pilferage. To demonstrate this, we used the example of tiger poaching. Tiger poaching can be perceived as an alien concept and an elitist problem by many, to which a Gubbi resident might not directly contribute. But what about the men who walk around Gubbi with the two ostentatious Tiger teeth hanging round their neck as pendants. This brought the Tiger extinction problem closer home to the kids. Further, it was reinforced that each one of us can make a big difference by doing our small bits by turning off the lights when leaving a room, fixing broken faucets, saying NO to leather and ivory products. It is important for children to realize the role they and their town play in the scheme of things. That is important to be a role model and do the right thing, and not give in to peer pressure, such as dumping garbage where others already have when you know it is not the assigned area. The children pledged to do their role in saving the environment by planting a sapling at their home.

After this we broke for lunch amidst much ruckus, as expected.

Following lunch, the children were taught to make a bird feeder reusing old plastic water bottles. The idea of reusing old bottles tied in with the concept for the post-lunch session- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle- to lower each individual’s environmental impact. A demonstration of how waste from the kitchen can be used to make compost that can be used as manure was also given. The leftovers from lunch was used to fill an earthen clay pot during the demonstration. The children then wrote down how they can reuse, recycle and reduce in their own homes, in their daily lives. The bird feeder activity was juxtaposed with a discussion on sparrows and why we see no more of them. In one of the coming weekends, we will be showing a 90-minute video on sparrows of Bangalore and how they all went missing.

That was the close of the sessions planned for the day. The kids will come in to visit the Learning Center during the week to collect their drawing sheets and paint a picture of their ‘Dream Environment’. The drawings and paintings will be displayed at the Center. 

We called it a day with a last 30-minute video on Bannerghatta National Park as a teaser for the kids’ upcoming trip to the park on the 8^th and 13th of April.

Upcoming activity: Trip to Bannerghatta National Park, 8^th   April - Magadi and 13th April Gubbi.

By

Kirthana. S

Volunteer ILP

Domestic help currently employed at Toyota Kirloskar

“Domestic help currently employed at Toyota Kirloskar, drawing a salary of approximately 28k per month- Does this strike you as an impossible headline? This indeed is the story of Gunavathy - one which goes a long way to prove that with a little support and a lot of determination, “impossible is nothing”.

Difficult times engulfed the lives of Gunavathy and her family. Her mother, a domestic-help, and father, a mason, could only do so much to support the struggling family of four. Barely in her 8th standard, Gunavathy was compelled to take up a job as a domestic worker to supplement the meager income of the family.

Fortunately, life had other plans for Gunavathy. In the first week at her domestic work, she was noticed by an NGO that offered to sponsor her education. With the financial support, corporate volunteering and donations from individuals such as yourselves, this was made possible. All through her high school, Gunavathy received a scholarship through ILP's ‘Pursakara’ initiative that helped her with her school fees, uniforms and textbooks. ILP volunteers also organized supplementary weekend classes in Yeshwantpura to help students like Gunavathy with their Science and Mathematics. Owing to the tireless efforts of the ILP volunteers, Gunavathy received an insight into the model of “experiential learning” fairly early in her life. Hands-on, low cost experiments conducted by the ILP team enabled Gunavathy to grasp difficult concepts with ease. Gunavathy’s determination and focus, coupled with the unflagging support of ILP led her to sail through her 10th standard with a distinction. She also went on to secure an admission for the Diploma course in Electric and Electronics at the MEI Polytechnic. During the course of her diploma, ILP connected Gunavathy with ‘Prerana’, an organization which supports students in their education post the 10th standard.

In 2010, Gunavathy successfully completed her diploma course and was the only student in her batch to crack the rigorous test & job interview process of Toyota Kirloskar in Bangalore. Gunavathy started out with a salary of Rs.15,000 per month as a trainee technician. However, it was not long before her hard-work and focus played a role again in nearly doubling that salary to Rs. 28,000 per month, after a year's training.

Through the support of ILP, and also through the mentoring, financial support and guidance from you, Gunavathy has not only helped her family out of their financial crisis, but has also reinvented her own life to lead one of respect and confidence in society.

- By Ipsa Mohanty

Your support is helping 255+ children grow by reading...

Friday, October 7, 2011
Thank you for supporting the 2 community libraries last year. ILP started these libraries in November 2010, with the help of Sparsha Trust an organization which works with the Sanjeevani Nagar and Bainahalli communities.

When Abhi's and Ambika's mother passed away three years ago, their father re-married and left the children to fend for themselves. Both children dropped out of school. Thanks to Sparsha trust, these childen were put through an intensive bridge program and now go to regular school. Ten year old Abhi is too young to realize the reality around him, but Ambika, who is now in the 7th standard is crystal clear that she wants to become a Science teacher. Abhi and Ambika have now become regular users of Gnana Mitra – the Community Library at Byanahalli. Reading simple books in Kannada has helped develop their language skills. They are more than enthusiastic to narrate the stories they read. As their language skills improved, their comprehension improved and so did their self confidence. The Byanahalli village is off the Bangalore- Bellary road, very close to the Stone Quarry of Bettalsuru. It caters to the children in the surrounding villages.
Asha who is 12 years and is now in the 5th standard, was also a dropout. Her mother earns the livelihood through basket weaving and her father is an alcoholic. He often snatched the mother’s daily earnings. Going to bed hungry was not unusual; going to school was obviously not a priority. Asha was sent for basket weaving. Luckily she was discovered by Sparsha Trust and her world has a totally a new meaning now. She says she enjoys reading and to be with other school children and what she said astounded me, “I never knew such a world exists- that of reading books on various topics!” Asha is a regular user of the Sanjeevani nagar library.
It is moving to see these children trying hard to do so much with so little and never losing hope. The two community libraries are a world by themselves to these children and to other children who enjoy reading. They also provide a quiet space for children to sit and do their home work.
There are 888 books in the Sanjeevani Nagar library and 680 books at Byanahalli. The library uses the Grow by Reading methodology of the Hippocampus Reading Foundation. Reading levels of children are assessed. The books in the library are also graded. The librarian then leads them to read books at their skill levels, helps improve their reading comprehension and fluency at a pace that they are comfortable with.
From August this year, instead of bringing the children to the libraries, we decided to take these libraries to children. We have identified three government schools with no libraries, in the neighborhood of our libraries. Children from these schools are being issued books on a regular basis by our community librarians who visit these schools. The community library acts like a feeder library. So, now 412 children from the Sanjeevani Nagar Government school, Channahalli Government School and Kuduregere government school have access to good books.

We would like to provide excellent libraries, stocked with good reading content, which makes reading joyful, in every government school in the vicinity of the Sanjeevani Nagar and Byanahalli. We would like see these libraries turn into learning spaces, equipped with a science corner, a sports corner and even a computer corner. We need your help to make this a reality, because our children deserve nothing less!

... Thanks to Shanmugam, an ILP Volunteer for the update...

Struggles and successes of students supported by ILP.

From Newspaper Delivery Boy to Entrepreneur!

I remember him as a boy with a perpetually serious expression. Purushotham stood out from the rest of his group because of his fluency in English and his conversational skills. He was only thirteen years old at the time when he first became associated with ILP.

Purushotham was selected by ILP under its scholarship initiative, the Puraskara scheme, in 2005 - the second year of the scheme. At that time, he was studying in the 8th standard, at a government aided school in Bengaluru's Yeshwantpura suburb.
Purushotham's father is a tailor and although he excelled in his work, was an alcoholic and spent all his earnings on liquor. This left the household economics in shambles and required his mother to work full time to keep the household together and to raise young Purushotham and his younger sister, Kala, and to put them through school. Her wages as a cleaner and packer of lentils at a grocery store barely met the household expenses, and so, from his seventh standard, Purushotham worked part-time to augment the family income.

Purushotham would wake up at 5:00 in the morning to work in a local bakery and later deliver newspapers to the neighborhood houses. The extra income helped keep himself and his sister in school and added valuable rupees to the household finances. The family of four lived in a small one-room tenement in the Akiappa Garden locality.
His selection by ILP for its scholarship assistance program eased the family's financial strain and Purushotham could reduce his work hours at the bakery. He completed his 10th standard with a first class and selected commerce as his stream of study for his pre-university course. ILP connected him to the NGO, Prerana, and helped him secure a post-matric scholarship for PUC.

Shanmugam, a volunteer with ILP, acted as his mentor and guided him on subjects that he found difficult. Purushotham completed his pre-university course in commerce with a first class and was accepted for his B.Com degree at Bapu College, in the city. Since his college hours are in the morning, he uses his afternoons to work part-time at a super-market near his home. He takes home a total of Rs 3500 with provident fund and other benefits. Meanwhile, he has not only continued with the newspaper delivery activity that he started while at school, but has grown it into a small newspaper sub-agency business that delivers to 120 houses and adds Rs 1300 to the family income every month.
Purushotham is no longer dependent on anyone to support his education. He is now in the final year of his degree course and has been supporting himself through the three years of his undergraduate study. He also supports his sister, who is studying in the second year of her pre-university course. He has become the 'man' of the house, handling all the important decisions for his family while his father continues to default on his responsibilities because of his alcoholism, The family has moved into better accommodation in the same neighborhood and Purushotham owns his own two-wheeled transport.
Purushotham wants to do a masters course in Financial Administration after his B.Com. His hard work and discipline, entrepreneurial spirit and never-say-die attitude has carried him from the depths of poverty to a position of strength in today's competitive environment. His past struggles and experience gives him a unique perspective to perform, excel and succeed.
Purushotham is an example of how much lives can be transformed through education and literacy, no matter the difficulties involved and the uniqueness of each situation. Many more young lives are waiting for our support and Purushotham's example is what should carry us through to each of them.
We wish him the very best in his future!
Contributed by Sindhu Naik and Vijaya Raghavan.

Hoo's Tales 2010, A Carnival of Stories

Our special thank you to the volunteers (Mohan from HP; Megan, Rithi, Roshini, Tharindri, Sania & Sonika from Mount Carmel College) who have joined last Saturday (Feb. 20) for helping student particpation at the third edition of Hoo’s Tales (a carnival of stories) organized by Hippocampus Reading Foundation (HRF) at Bal Bhavan, Cubbon Park.

In total, 11 volunteers & staff accompanied the 81 Students from the ILP Community Libraries at Akkiyappa Garden & Sunnadagoodu. We left the Mohana Kumara Nagar at 1pm in the afternoon and reached the venue at 2pm. We attended 3 story sessions by different story tellers in addition to a Puppet show.
By about 3:30pm, Mr. Mohan from HP had joined us with snacks Cake & Banana. Our gratitude to him for consistently sponsoring the food for all the ILP participants at this event for the last 3 years. After having the snacks and participating in the ending session of “Yakshagana”, all the children & volunteers went on joy ride in the toy train. The children also enjoyed playing in the park and returned home by 6:30 pm.

Please find some photos of the trip at: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/ilpindia/HooSTales2010ACarnivalOfStories#

Trip Expenses:
Bus(SRS Travels) Rs. 3850
Bal Bhavan Train fee: Rs. 700 (Sponsored by Kiran Kumar)
Snacks( Cake, Banana & Water) - (Sponsored By Mohan)

Sunnadagoodu Community Library (ARIVINA MANE) Inauguration on Nov. 11, 2009 at 4:30pm

'Arivina Mane' is the community library initiative of ILP and Sunnadagoodu is the third library being inaugurated in this initiative. The Community Library concept is an outcome of community demand to carry on a follow up of the Kalike adult literacy project implemented from 2001 to 2006 in partnership with Paraspara Trust. It is a joint initiative between ILP, Jubilant Biosys, Paraspara Trust and Yellamma Mahila Sangha at Sunnadagudu Low income group area near Yeshwantpur.

The inauguration was graced by CEO Mr. Sridhar Mosur, CSM Dr. V.N. Balaji and Ms. Kankana Head-HR of Jubilant Biosys Pvt. Ltd. in addition to Mr. Kiran Kumar (ILP Trustee), Ms. Bhagyalakshmi (Paraspara Executive Director) and Thirupathamma (President,Yellamma Mahila Sangha).

Kumari Malathi, a 9th std student from the community invoked Goddess Saraswathi to bless the occasion after which Ms. Shoba, Librarian welcomed the dignitaries and gathering. This was followed by lighting of the Lamp by Sri Sridhar. He was accompanied by the other dignitaries present on the dias.

Sri Harish, Programme Coordinator, ILP introduced the concept of community library saying that Libraries will provide a ideal space for children to utilize their time after school hours and during holidays. Many children lack such an experience in their homes and also libraries will help in the learning process. Every book is systematically classified and child is also helped to locate the reading level and only books in that category are issued to the child. Over a period of time, we have observed that the children gradually climb up the ladder of reading levels. Library is also a place for volunteers to contribute to the marginalized children. ILP has been working with this concept in partnership with corporate houses where in the past, SONIM Technologies and Motorola supported the programme.



The Library was formally inaugurated by Mr. Sridhar by unfolding the scroll of learning Levels. Dr. Balaji said the whole process of establishing a library for children in Sunnadagudu library is very important because children need to get right kind of learning experience. No movies can substitute reading habits and knowledge earned form books is very important to mould our future and be a productive citizen. Biosys team has reminded that every child has the potential to become like the role models they cherish like Bharat Ratna Dr. Abdul Kalam.

Sri. Sridhar Mosur said that poor children need good reading opportunity and Biosys dedicates itself for nation building activities through these important programmes like reading rooms and children’s activities. He called upon children to inculcate good habits and earn knowledge that would build them and this nation.

Library Identity cards were distributed to children. Ms. Bhagyalakshmi thanked ILP and Biosys for the help for community library. Ms. Thirupathamma President of Yellamma Mahila Samithi thanked the venture and said all children will make use of the facility. The programme was anchored by Ms. Jyothi, a second year PUC student who lives in the community.

More Photos!

School Bags & Geometry Boxes distributed at Kurnool Corporation School (on Nov. 17, 2009) as part of Flood Relief

Our gratitude to the IISc & Geodesic volunteers who have contributed to the School Bags & Geometry Boxes distributed on Nov. 17, 2009 at Sri Potti Sriramulu Memorial Municipal Corporation Girls High School, Bandla Metta, Peta, Kurnool - 518001 as part of the Flood Relief activity taken up by ILP.The photographs and press clippings are attached herewith. Students were very happy to receive the bags and teachers were impressed by the quality of the same.

The details of students and materials distributed are as follows:
6th Class - 45
7th Class - 46
8th Class - 49
9th Class - 54
10th Class - 62
Total Strength - 256 students
School Bags distributed: 256 + 2
Geometry boxes distributed: 165 (Only for 8th, 9th, and 10th classes).

Kurnool flood relief

I was concerned about the news of floods in the two states and loss of innocent lives, but i was not really concerned about the relief till ILP sent a mail regarding this. Thanks to all our senior volunteers who set the ball rolling in the first place. There was a clear demand from UNICEF office in Yemmiganur, Kurnool, about number of children who need help and what relief they want. The Cash and Kind donations started to trickle in. My friends Sastry and Victor had already volunteered and visited the districts like Koppal and Raichur in Karnataka.

I readily volunteered when i heard the materials will be sent to Yemmiganur, Kurnool. I had visited this place earlier for the child tracking system and had known UNICEF coordinator Mr Janardhan. Yemmiganur in particular and kurnool in general is known for many child labours, including the most cruel form of using young children for Cotton pollination.

The Gokuldas Garments, Yeshwantpur came forward with 2000 pieces of new cloths. This was sent to IIM, from there Prof Trilochan Sastry & Prof Rajaluxmi made arrangements to deliver it to a common venue RMV Clusters II Phase, North Bangalore. Sindhu and Jagdish spoke to apartment office bearers and got basement office rooms as a place to store them. The cloths neatly packed in 36 medium size cartoon boxes were delivered in a IIM bus on 16 Oct. Meanwhile Suchitra and other volunteers had bought new cloths like churidars (200 pieces?) and inner garments.

One thing that was on everybody's, mind was that this should be delivered at earliest to the relief areas. As the things got collected right in the middle of Diwali holidays, getting a transport and a volunteer to accompany with me become difficult. On Sunday, 18 Oct afternoon i called Kiran, Trustee of ILP to know if he can accompany me on 19 Oct to Yemmiganur. He readily agreed, i called up a taxi service for Toyota Innova and arranged to pick us up by early morning on 19th.

Early Morning

On 19th October the day started early at 4.00 am, its going to be a long day. That we know, but we didnt know how long it will become actually. At 4.30 am I picked up Kiran and left to RMV clusters, where Sindhu and Jagdish were already waiting with keys to open the basement office rooms. We started to load the boxes one by one in the innova with backseats folded down. Soon we realized that we will not be able to carry all boxes in the car. We made a quick decision that we will take only cloths like churidars and kids cloths. There were 3 huge boxes for the girls cloths and innerwears. We loaded boxes on top carrier bolted in the car. The sigh from the driver Subramani was deeper at some point, we decided to stop. We had loaded 12 cartoon boxes with cloths for 400 -500 kids and 3 huge boxes of 200 pieces of cloths for girls. He tied them neatly with ropes, not once did we had trouble on our way.

The previous night i had done research on which road to take, (i did sleep for only 2 or 3 hrs on that day ) There seems to be many road to reach yemmiganur. Finally decided the following route which i set in the GPS. Bangalore to Gooty road, then Gooty Railway station road to Adoni and finally Adoni to Yemmiganur. All in all about 350 kms

On the Road

We started at 6.o am, left the RMV clusters for the long journey. There were new well laid out roads till Gooty Road. But many work was still going on, hence the smooth ride was hindered by numerous diversions. At 9.15 am we reached Anantpur, we had our breakfast break. I called up Janardhan and informed him that we are half way to reach yemmiganur. The drive become longer and roads become narrower after Gooty road. From Gooty Railway station road to Adoni, the road goes through a large patch of agricultural lands with undulating terrains, which was a good treat to the eyes.

We reached Adoni and turned into road for our last leg to Yemmiganur, after a while the GPS ditched us showing no road in it. So continued without the GPS with the road we can see. We reached Yemmiganur, after few calls we located UNICEF office. We reached exactly at 1.0 pm.

Yemmiganur

Met some of the staff, as Janardhan was yet to reach yemmiganur from Kurnool. We could understand Telugu but we could not speak to them in any intelligent way to them. They had a big laugh on our problem. We were trying to find out which villages got affected and what is the plan for distributing the materials. We had to wait till Janardhan came to office. He had kept a file for Flood relief with neatly printed sheets of paper with village names and relief required in each of them. We didnt realize how far the flooded river Thungabhdra has submerged villages on either side of its banks which actually divides the villages between Karnataka and AP in this stretch. Irrespective of the state they were living, the villagers were devastated in this floods.

View Kurnool flood in a larger map

Janardhan informed us that 21 villages completely near submerged during the flood (This is only villages which Janardhan can reach from his yemmiganur office, the flood occurred in other areas too, which are not mentioned here). They are : Nagaladinne, Nadhikairavadi, Gurujala, Royachothi, Chinnakottallki, Pedakottallki, Mantralayam, Rampuram, Thungabhadra, Kachapuram, Sathanuru, Agasanuru, Kadadoddi, Nadhichagi, Madhavaram, Marali, Kumbalanoor, Vallur, Gudikambali and T.Narayanpur and Joharapuram.

There are about 2461 boys and 2288 girls studying in standards 1 -10. The girls include about 500 adolescents.

Ground Zero

We started at 3.0 pm with UNICEF staff to go to Nadhikairavadi. Its about 30 - 35 km yemmiganur. We have to go through Mantralayam. This pilgrim town is on the banks of Thungabhadra. In a normal season, we can see a huge stretch of water flowing behind this town. First thing we saw was the greyish / whitish dust that has settled all over the road. The road was completely invisible, the greyish dust was covering it. We turned into the road towards

Nadhikairavadi. The road was motorable but broken with tar removed, it will become soon unmotorable. We were able to see huge stretch of paddy field laid wasted with unknown sand / salt left by the draining water. There were number of Electrical /Telephone poles toppled down by the water. The remaining standing poles bears the sign of height to which the water reached during the night when it flooded. This will be the reminder of the ordeal the people went through. We can also see that cloths

were thrown out on either side of the road, which we presume are the used cloths which the donors had given and villagers decided to dump them.

We were shown from the road the village Nadhikairavadi which was submerged. It was close to the banks of the river. Just then we came across the site where many tents were pitched

on the side of Road. People greeted us, the village head greeted Janardhan as we had already informed that we are coming. We can see that they were curious to find what we are carrying with us. But they were not unruly. I hesitated to take pictures, this is not a tour or a good sight to see people running to get things. But unwillingly i took pictures for the record. This village has two camp sites separated about 400 - 500 metres between them, one site for Backward class and minorities and another site for scheduled caste people.

We didnt have a plan on what or how we are going to distribute, as we thought the field volunteers would have a plan.This is a important lesson we learnt. The boxes were slowly

unloded one by one, first the kids boxes. We took into the camp site, where already the villagers had made all children to sit. Other adults were standing around them. The first box we opened had cloths for 3 -4 years. We didnt know what each box contained, this is another big lesson we learnt on that day. We asked all mothers with babies to come and collect the cloths.

We can see all the curious eyes happy to see new cloths being given to them. The quality of the cloths were very good. Next box we opened had tshirts for ages 6 -9. We asked the village

head to give to the children. Slowly we realized there are older children waiting for thier turn, we opened the huge bundle Suchi had ordered.

The box contained new churidhars with bright colors, we can see a happy smile in the girls faces. This went out fast. Now kids who got already the cloths were even more curious and want to get the new churidhars also. It didnt take much time for us to realize that we have problem in our

hands not knowing if we can distribute the cloths to all who need and avoid giving to same child again and again. To an certain extent the village head and some villagers controlled children who are taking cloths again. But it could not be avoided. After nearly an hour we realized that we should move on with the remaining cloths. The children and adults on behalf of their children were asking for the cloths till we moved out of place. It was not a sight which we wanted to happen, it was difficult for us to say no to them.

We made a plan that we will go back to UNICEF office in Yemmiganur, sort all the cloths age wise and keep it ready for the next day. We also asked the village head to list out number of children and age group in the camp. We promised them that we will give cloths to all left out children. We would have distributed about 100 odd cloths. It was already 5.30 pm, we started back again to yemmiganur.

We stopped briefly at Mantralayam, we went close to the river and saw the devastation it had left. We were told that the water reached upto first floor of the big temple complex. It should be 12 -15 feet in height. We cannot imagine the damage such a huge surge of water can do.

What more to be done?

We came back to UNICEF office, we briefly discussed the things they still need. The following are some of the things required:

* Uniform cloths for children for the 4500 odd children.

Boys shirts - 4060 meters Girls shirts - 4985 meters

Boys Trousers - 2353 metres Girls skirts - 6218 meters

* Chapals for children (5-18 age)

* Mats - 2 to 3 mats per tent as they are going to stay for atleast 2 months

* Vessels / Buckets/ Jugs/ Water storing cans

We had asked Janardhan and staff to sort the boxes age wise and distribute evenly between the two camps or if needed distribute more in the scheduled caste campsites as they are not the first beneficiaries most of the time.

End after 24 Hours

We started our journey back at 7.0 pm. We asked the driver to go easy on roads. The GPS was handy to show the turns in the dark. We reached Bangalore at 3.30 am on 20th oct. We had travelled almost 800 kms in a day. So it has become a whirlwind tour of 24 hours, i hardly slept as i had to talk to the driver all through to keep him awake.

Are we content / satisfied with our trip? No. We had a expensive taxi, we couldn't carry everything, we couldnt distribute everything, we couldnt reach all the villages. But there was a consolation that we could take things what we can and reach there in due time it was necessary. We learnt a lot about what to do and what not to do in future. We were there to share in their distress. They were happy to see us.

More photos from Kiran: http://picasaweb.google.com/hskiran1972/KurnoolVisitInAP?

ps: Janardhan has informed me that all cloths left were distributed in three villages, Nadhikairavadi, Sathanuru and Mantralayam. The 200 odd cloths for ages 3-5 will be given to anganawadi centres.

- Sashi & Kiran

*SOS* request to assist in flood relief

Dear Friends,

As you are aware, the recent flood situation in Northern Karnataka and some districts of Andhra Pradesh has brought about devastating effects to life and property. In emergency situations, children, women, disabled and aged, are the most vulnerable.

In response to the assessed needs of children from the worst effected districts of Bagalkote, Bijapur, Raichur, Bellary, Koppal in Karnataka and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh, India Literacy Project is mobilizing relief material in kind and in cash for children in these districts.

To ensure that the material reaches the affected, the relief material will be distributed in coordination with Karnataka State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, Bangalore and UNICEF-Hyderabad.

A) NEW CLOTHES FOR CHILDREN in the age group 8-18 years: 7000 sets of NEW CLOTHES (each set comprises of a pair of undergarments and external wear) for boys and girls in the age group of 8-18. The approximate cost of each set is Rs. 500/-. You may donate new clothes or make a financial donation (suggested minimum of Rs.500/-).

B) Recreational items: Toys, books, hardy plastic dolls, balls. School supplies: Notebooks, pencils, colouring books, crayons, paint boxes and brushes

C) For financial donations (Income Tax deduction available under 80G): Cheque / DD in the name of "India Literacy Project". (Please mention "Flood Relief" in the back of the cheque) Address: No 27, Narayani Apartments, 3rd Floor, 2nd Cross Ramakrishnappa Layout, Sanjay Nagar, Bangalore 560094, Tel: 080-23519693.

In case of Electronic Fund Transfer, please email us the details of your contribution, in order for us to confirm the receipt of the same.

Drop-Points for contribution in kind:

a) New Clothes for children: State Child Protection Unit, 2nd Floor, "F" Block, Karnataka Housing Board, Above State Bank Of India, Kaveri Bhavana, KG Road, Near Majestic. Contact: Tel: 22107494; Suchitra Rao (94484 65749), Shivaram Naik (Mobile: 94817 70148)
b)Toys and Book Supplies: Karnataka State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights. 4th Floor, Krishika Bhavan, Nrupathunga Road, Bangalore -560002
Contact: Tel. 22115291/92, Nina P. Nayak
c) ILP Office

We thank you in advance for your generosity. Should you have any queries kindly contact us @
India Literacy Project, 27, 2nd Cross, Ramakrishnappa Layout, 3rd Floor, Narayani Apartments, Sanjay Nagar,Bangalore 560094. Contact: 080-2351 9693, Victor Tauro (99451 72639), Harish (97407 05868), Sindhu (9900191517)

ILP Joy of Giving Events in association with SAP

Hi All,


Below are the events planned in partnership with SAP for Joy of Giving coinciding with their annual service week:


1. Trip to Bannerghatta National Park- Oct 2


This visit to the National Park is for 60 students from our Akkiappa Garden Library. This would be their first trip to the national park and an introduction to wildlife and animals they only see in pictures. 25-30 employees from SAP are volunteering for this activity to spend an entire day with this diverse group of children. (from class I to X!). The trip is to the zoo, safari and butterfly park.


2. A day at the SAP office + Science workshop- Oct 1


50 of our Puraskara scholarship students (from classes 8, 9 and 10) will be taken around the SAP office to get an idea of what the office culture is like. They get to interact with employees and various department heads with an overview of how the office functions.


In the afternoon, there will be a science workshop held to introduce them to the workings of an aeroplane and dc motor with models that they can take home at the end of it.


This event is tentative though since the government changed their exam schedule yesterday and they now have an exam on the 1st:(. So we are still trying to work out if this can be held on another day.


Will keep you all posted!

-Pooja

"India unveils Rs 6,500 Cr literacy for all mission
The Saakshar Bharat literacy mission targets seven crore beneficiaries—six crore women and nearly 50 per cent of them SCs, STs and minorities"


www.igovernment.in/site/India-unveils-Rs-6500-Cr-literacy-for-all-mission/?section=Education/


.... Does this bring out the positive or cynic in you?:)


-Pooja

I-Day at Akkiappa Garden!

15^th August at the library was a big day. The kids under the guidance of Ms. Vijayalakshmi put up a show for themselves and us the volunteers--patriotic songs, “Des Rangila” dances and short speeches on the freedom struggle.

We went in a little early and were pulled in to the tiny room which served as a dressing room for the girls and well, I think it gave any West-End backstage room competition! F applied kajal and lipstick doubling as rouge on one little girl with expert hands in one corner while in another N combed out her long, tangled hair. There was barely enough room to breathe but at least 6 girls twittered over their appearance as if they were performing for the Prime Minister. All I could think of was, I wish I could capture these moments without taking out my camera and ruining the candour and excitement in the room.

I did manage to take some pictures of the programme though.(picasaweb.google.co.in/ilpindia/IndependenceDayLibraryCelebrations#).

Although marred by a brief power cut, the enthusiasm and the planning was almost tangible as they presented their efforts to us with confidence, small blunders and overall panache!

By the end of the whole thing we were being mobbed by requests for pictures. Absolutely memorable. Kudos to Vijayalakshmi ma’am for organizing the kids so admirably!

Tharindri

A Perfect Day

It was one of my best weekends ever, with bright young kids at the library performing cultural activities,we had a great time on Independence day.I've known quite a few of them by names already viz., Sunil,Gyanendra,Santosh,Murali and few others.There was this small kid who came upto me and asked if she can take the rose given to me.She was overjoyed when I gave it to her.Got her name,it was Sparshini.It was nice to meet other volunteers Arvind,Tharindri&Roshni who were capturing those smiles in their cams! Wish to see all those pics next week.There's a great job ahead of us to mould these kids into responsible citizens.Looking forward to amuse these kids with computers (I promised one to show him a laptop next time I go there) and teach them English. Hoping to make many faces smile in the coming days :)

-Bhargav

Kannada Goththilla?

Going in with the enthusiasm of a new-comer to volunteer at the Community Library, the importance of a common language as a starting point didn’t strike me. My last session at the library started off ordinarily enough with two little girls coming and sitting next to me for a story-reading session. Both in 8^th standard-but like most of the children there, very small for their age- M was quite the outgoing one and read the story in stumbling phrases but with reasonably good pronunciation. S on the other hand with her retreating smile, shied away every time I asked her something-including her name!-with a “Miss English goththilla”. Helplessly I would say “Kannada goththilla”, my usual ticket to eliciting at least an attempt at English, but to no avail.

However, one thing I really love about the library is how a story or an activity can spark the interest of the most recalcitrant child. Soon, S was vying with her friend to read and there was a general battle….but the thing is that even though she read the story, most of the words were empty expressions followed by colourful pictures to her. Also, even after reading almost three stories, she wouldn’t speak in English to me.

There are some words you can explain with gestures and picture but even so there would be a constant poking in M’s ribs after I explained something, and S would ask in muttered Kannada what so and so was. Without even the advantage of basic Tamil, you feel helpless sometimes because the kids DO want to learn, they want to do rhyming words (Sometimes with disastrous results-“Why can’t hill rhyme with smell, they have the same ending letter?”!), they want to be given dictation and they really want to be part of everything.

The same happens even to people who can in some way communicate with a close-enough language- Rosh who speaks Tamil was wracking her brains trying to think how you explain why the past tense of “go” becomes “went” and why “he comes” is the present of “he came”.

The system is doing and awfully shoddy job is the children in Public Schools are taught to read but not to understand what they’re reading out, because in that case the whole joy of learning a language is lost. Idealistic joys of language aside, it is of minimum practical use as well.

On a happier note, thanks to this little handicap I’ve started picking up little bits of Kannada, although I have to say that when I explain a tree to be a “mara”, and then say a wood is “place with a lot of maras”, I can’t help but join them in the giggling!

Tharindri R.

A Non-Partner’s perspective of the Partners Meet

A Non-Partner’s perspective of the Partners Meet

How easy it is to label things and get carried away by the implications of that label. A Partners Meet must clearly be for our NGO ‘Partners’. The themes and discussions must be beneficial to their work and from a development perspective. It would probably help them to work more effectively for the marginalized sections of the society.

Ergo, if you are not a partner or working in this field, this might probably be of little relevance.

I think this attitude probably sums up why problems never get solved in our country. .. Because we never think of ourselves as part of the solution.

This partner’s meet was about ‘Inclusive Education’ and ‘Child Participation’.

Are these really just relevant only for child rights activists? And of course the ‘government’, our favorite target for anything and everything. With the term conveniently meaning a set of people somewhere in the periphery disconnected from us of course.

Sitting over the three days at the workshop, and learning so much I never knew, I couldn’t help but wonder why I came into this thinking it would be beneficial only from a point of view of my work. I probably took away more for myself personally. I remember wishing there were more non-partners- parents, students, mentors- privy to the thought provoking presentations and discussions.

Not so we could empower others but ourselves.

How many of us, as students, have really looked around to see if our colleges and schools were/are disable friendly? While dropping off your child to school or attending a PTA meet, do you think about inclusive education? Is the same school practicing that?

Do we know what effective child participation means? Is it being practiced in our own homes with our own children?

None of these issues will be tackled effectively if we don’t stop labeling and delegating the responsibility of solving it to ‘them’. Them- the government. Them- the NGOs. Them- the activists.

What about you and me?

-Pooja

Today I learned

Today I learned.

Today I learned that smiles

Are just another way to communicate.

That even if a word falls out of place

And the meanings come out

Garbled and inaccurate,

The idea travels.

That bright doesn’t mean an English education

Or a spot in a top school.

That crayons aren’t necessarily sprung

From the depthless wells of parental generosity.

That a story with a fisherman

And a conch shell

And a mermaid

Can bridge the gap between eager child

And willing adult.

That although we think

We’ve learned it all,

Seen the world in all its splendour,

And pathos,

And become so world-weary,

There’s still something to learn

From sitting down to read a book,

Colour a picture

With a child who wants

So desperately to learn.

One volunteering session at the ILP-organized community library at Yeshwanthpur, and I am inspired. Inspired by the fact that there are places like the library, innocuous among the slums of Yeshwanthpur, where children of all ages can come and express themselves in any way they want. Inspired by the fact that there are children like Vignesh, Shashi, Ashwini and Fathima who come from those same slums but can communicate with me in, not perfect, but desperately hopeful English.

I dropped in at the library with my friend who had already started and raved about the place and the kids. What greeted me after a tramp through mud and speculative glances from the neighbours was a group of beaming children in a very small room. Every one seemed to know Rosh-my friend-but seemed to want to ensure that the new addition wouldn’t be left out. As they tried courageously to wrap their poor tongues around my name-which is a tad more difficult that your average 8^th standard Spelling Bee contender-I was effortlessly pulled in, in more ways than one.

The kids from the area come mostly from Public Schools, we hear. The library is a space for them to do their homework, colour-in pictures, read a book or simply improve their English. I liked the fact that the work was relatively un-structured, which means that the usual reservations kids have about going to “classes” would not be present. The books in the library are colour-coded according to difficulty of language and there are “activity sheets” which are graded according to class.

It’s not as organized as it should be and that’s something we can do. The librarian-Vijaylakshmi-is harried but happy with her one folder holding definitely close to a million Activity sheets.

The kids however are a treasure. Mostly very bright, they come up to you and ask you questions with shining eyes, they sit by you and listen as you help them read, stumbling over words but trying hard. Most of the kids I interacted with were relatively well spoken in English-but even for someone with dismal Kannada skills like me, communication wasn’t a problem. There’s always your hands, the occasional Hindi word and of course, pictures.

I loved the place. And I plan to make sure I go at least once a week to learn.

Tharindri R

Life Skills Valedictory, 19 Jan 2008

Every child has a dream: to be educated and be equipped with the basic skills to take charge of his or her life to be able to live a life of dignity and progress that their earlier generations did not have. It is a dream that can be turned into reality with everybody's support; Yours' and mine.

India Literacy Project (ILP), an NGO that I volunteer with, has been helping children chase this dream. ILP has been able to increase awareness about literacy, support NGOs who work in the areas of child education and self employment, raise government support, build a knowledge base, solicit corporate support for specific projects and build a vibrant, purely volunteer based organization that takes these tasks seriously and continue to make fresh progress. At ILP, we believe that every child today must have a chance to make a future. An optimistic future that they can carve out with the skills they are taught today.

We thank you for the continued support to ILP in this endeavour. I am happy share to some updates on our scholarship programme.

Under the scholarship programme, PURASKARA, this academic year 2007‐08, ILP is supporting 186 children from 5 districts – Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Raichur, Davangere in Karnataka and Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.

* In the last academic year, 32 children who completed their 10th standard exams received partial support towards continuing their education. Thirteen of them passed with a first class.
* All the children are continuing their education either in local polytechnics, pre-university colleges or technical institutes.

In the coming academic year, we plan to expand the Programme to 250 children.

Realizing some of the gaps during house visits by volunteers and experiences from our earlier scholarship recipients, ILP undertook certain initiatives to address them. Among them were Spoken English Classes and Workshop on Life Coping Skills.

Spoken English Classes: It was found out that most of our students lacked adequate exposure to comprehend and communicate in English. This was more evident for those who had to experience the transition from Class X to Plus-II, where the medium of instruction changed from Kannada to English. In this context, the spoken English classes were conducted for students from Paraspara and Chiguru in Bangalore Urban and Bangalore Rural districts respectively.

Life Coping Skills: Another area of concern was how these students given their exposure and background would be able to cope in real life scenarios going forward. This also meant to equip them with social, emotional and cognitive skills. To this end, ILP has started the Life Coping Skills workshop for Bangalore Urban (Paraspara) students for a period of 14 weeks partnering with Unnati. The current mail is an invite to conclude this workshop.

However, the challenge remains for taking these programs to other places, Bangalore Rural, Raichur, Davanagere and Chitoor. We solicit your support and funds towards realising these.

ILP's goal of making India 100% literate depends on raising sufficient funds. Every contribution counts in this race for literacy, as does every kilometer in a marathon. Please do respond to this mail indicating your support. All proceeds are sent to fund literacy projects in India and the operating expenses or administrative costs are absorbed by the volunteers themselves. Contributions made to "ILP" are tax-exempt to the fullest extent allowed by law.

To donate, kindly make the cheques payable to "India Literacy Project" and mail them to India Literacy Project, 27, 3rd Floor, Narayani Apartments, 2nd Cross, Ramakrishnappa Layout Geddalahalli, Sanjaynagar,Bangalore - 560 094 . Donations in India are 50% deductible under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

To make a contribution in USA, make a tax deductible cheque or draw Money order in favour of "India Literacy Project" and mail to India Literacy Project, P. O. Box 361143, Milpitas, CA 95035-9998. All donations to ILP in the USA are tax-deductible under Section 501(c)3 of the IRS Code(tax id 36-3779020).

I will be happy to share any information regarding our programs. Please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward for your presence in the Valedictory Function on Saturday, 19th January 2008.

Thanking you,

Sincerely,

Sudhira

Event at IISc on 18th Aug 2007: Interactive Session on Education and Development in India: Then, Now and After

Students Council, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560 012

Interactive Session on Education and Development in India: Then, Now and After

Marking the Sixty Years of Indian Independence

Even as India is approaching towards the sixtieth year of its independence from the British, there exist enormous challenges for policy and decision makers, administrators and academicians to devise appropriate mechanisms for ensuring delivery of basic infrastructure and access to services for a vast majority of the country's population. While the statistics would reveal that majority, almost 72% still live in rural areas, the fate of urban population hasn't been any better. Most urban areas are also subject to the inevitable urbanisation with huge migrant population coming to cities in search of livelihood. Subsequently, the quality of life of the deprived either in urban or rural areas has been questioned with poor standards of access to basic amenities and infrastructure leading to unhygienic and unsustainable consumption of resources. In the course of achieving higher economic growth rate, it appears there was loss of focus on delivery of efficient services in education and healthcare, besides tackling poverty and minimising threat to environment. It is in this light, the Student Council of IISc presents an Interactive Session on Education and Development in India with Dr. B. R. Parameswara Rao and Dr. H. Sudarshan.

Date: Saturday, 18th August 2007

Venue: Choksi Hall, Indian Institute of Science

Time: 10:00 AM - 12 Noon

About the Speakers:

Dr. B. V. Parameswara Rao

Dr. B. V. Parameswara Rao, after obtaining his Ph.D., from Penn-State in 1967, returned to his native village Dimili in Andhra Pradesh, India. Ever since, he and his family are devoted to rural development work. Dr. Parameswara Rao is among the foremost social entrepreneurs in India today who has spent over 30 years working in the villages of Andhra Pradesh in India. He has spent this time initiating and facilitating socio-economic development in about 40 villages through an organization that he founded called the Bhagvatula Charitable Trust (BCT). His work with the villagers has earned him recognition as the Week magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1988. In his own words, "The objectives with which I had come to Dimili were

1. To discern for myself whether India continues to have the genius of yore or whether that genius is no more

2. If India still has that genius whether it could be revived

3. Whether I could play any role in that rejuvenation if any were possible

4. Incidentally repay Dimili to the extent possible, the debt of our six brothers who were educated because of it."

His efforts have been amply rewarded. His work grew into the NGO Bhagvatula Charitable Trust that works in 40 villages directly and influences work in hundreds of villages -- for example at one point in time it was running 700 Non Formal Centers until it trained local NGOs there to run them themselves. Vast acres of waste lands on the rocky hill slopes are now prospering into lush green farmlands. A model for holistic development, BCT is well known for work in reclaiming wasted land, setting income generating activities by village initiatives, women's empowerment, and education.

A very modest person, Parameswara Rao is not eager to claim responsibility to things he/BCT initiated -- for example the anti-arrack movement in AP portrayed in the film "When Women Unite" was triggered by a story in the literacy textboks about a village where women stop their husbands from drinking. What the film does not mention is that the story is a true one from Marripalem, one of the BCT villages.

Parameswara Rao has been in several national level committees and has tried his hand at coordination with several NGOs. He has definite views on interaction with the govt etc. based on his successes and failures. He was actively involved in a national campaign to make elementary education a constitutional right for all Indians. Dr. Rao has also travelled to several countries visiting development efforts and providing expertise as consultant to international projects. He has also inspired the formation of India Literacy Project and Rejuvenate India Movement.

Press: New model of education needed for rural India. The Hindu – Business Line, dated Saturday 27 August 2005. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/08/27/stories/2005082702571900.htm

http://www.ashanet.org/madison/events/prao99.html


Dr. H. SUDARSHAN

A medical doctor by qualification Dr. Sudarshan has dedicated his life to social development in India. He started his career in 1975, with the Ramkrishna Mission Health Projects. During this period, he worked in the Himalayas (Uttar Pradesh), Belur Math (West Bengal) and Ponnampet(Uttar Pradesh). In 1980, he established the Vivekanada Girijan Kalyana Kendra (VGKK). The organization works with Soliga tribals in the B.R. Hills of Karnataka. The objective of VGKK is to empower the tribal people to realize their dream of a self-realiant, united and progressive community. VGKK has been successfully carrying out several programs in the tribal area in education, health, community organization, revitalization of traditional medicines, bio-diversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, rehabilitation of displaced tribals, low cost housing, social forestry, tribal cooperatives and promotion of appropriate technology.

He also started the Karuna Trust in Yelandur, for rural health and development.
Together with India Literacy Project, Karuna Trust has created the first integarted model of education in the state providing access to anganwadis and schools to all children from the age group 0-14. As acknowledged by the Block Education Officer, the Yelandur block has only 105 children out-of-school.

He has been awarded the Padmashree in 2000, the International Distinguished Physician award given by the Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) in 1995 and the Right Livelihood Award in 1994. Dr. H. Sudarshan has held important positions in various state and national organizations. To name a few: a member of the Executive Committee of the National Literacy Mission, the chairperson of the Karnataka Task Force on Health and Family Welfare and a member of the Karnataka Task Force on Education.

Dr. Sudarshan's work has been acknowledged by none other than the former president Dr. A P J Kalam, who also visited the area in Oct 2006. The following, an excerpt from Dr. Kalam's address at the residential tribal school of Kalinga Institute of School Sciences at Bhubaneswar on 29th Nov 2006, speaks for itself. "Recently, I visited BR Hills in and I found substantial new developments has taken place in this area. I can see a "New Tribal Hospital", roads and education environment and above all the earning capacity of the tribal citizens have been increased with the technology resource centre as a base. Previously, they were selling honey at Rs. 6 kg. whereas now they are selling at Rs. 60 per kg. There are solar lamps, health insurance, quality schools available in the rural complex. Dr. H. Sudarshan, is an inspiring architect of this societal transformation."

Press:

http://www.rightlivelihood.org/sudarshan.html

http://www.india-movement.org/NGOs/dr_sudharshan_bio.php