INCREDIBLE INDIA PONGAL 2008

MONDAY 14 JANUARY TAMIL NADU FOUNDATION

Chandra welcomed the group to the TNF Headquarters with information and a slide show on:

Klean Kitchens for Kids (KK4K’s). The aim of this project is to help improve the learning conditions for pre-school children as most of the children come from families who earn their living from rag-picking. There is unfortunately no government aid but FOI has already funded the attendance of 80 children. The aim for 2008 is to provide 80 Klean Kitchens complete with stone slab, gas stoves, pressure cookers and a badly needy coat of fresh paint. The totla cost is estimated at 120 CHF per kitchen.
IJ Martin Vocational Training and Guidance Center. As a centre to help with the preparation for life skills, this guidance center for young girls who have had to drop out of school for various reasons, serves also as an extra tuition and homework supervision center for school children. The vocational training offered includes typing, tailoring and IT. When we visited we saw ladies working on piece-work / handbags and shoes. We were treated to an impromptu dance by two young girls, and listened to reports from other children as well as seeing the distribution of certificates of achievement. The short term aim is to provide salaries for two teachers (30 CHF per teacher per month) for a total contribution of 1500CHF over the next two years. The long term aim is to create other such centers in nearby villages where the building is provided by local people. The total cost is estimated at 7000 CHF covering the equipment in the centre plus salaries for two teachers (1500 CHF for 24 months).

TUESDAY 15TH JANUARY ANBUMALAR I

Day care center for 35 mentally and physically handicapped children

ANBUMALAR II is a day care and residential center with a dispensary currently caring for 60 mentally retarded children, 18 of whom are full-time boarders

After a welcome shower of rose petals, we attended the official opening of Anbumalar II with the Merieux Foundation team and Mr. Selvaraj (welcome speech). Music and dancing followed then a fantastic meal served on banana leaves.

The aim is to sponsor all the Anbumalar children. Don du Choeur has committed to support the daily costs of the Centre until the end of December 2008. We therefore still need sponsors to take over this cost and are hoping to raise 70,000 CHF by the end of the year. If you have any ideas on how we can raise this amount, we would be delighted to hear from you. To heklp you work out how much is needed, we only need 75 CHF per month per child (that means 2.50 CHF per day)

Sponsorship forms are availbale from Isabelle Chatel
info@don-du-choeur.ch

THURSDAY 17TH JANUARY

SUEB Society for the Upliftment of the Economically Backward

Mr. Rajan Isaac gave a talk on the activities pertaining to 1200 women self-help groups and the school adoption program. As it was a public holiday, we could not meet groups but visited a beneficiary who had started a flower-threading business thanks to a loan from SUEB.

The short term aim are to increase teachers’ salaries from 30 CHF to 40 CHF per month. The second short term aim is to help SUEB increase the number of self-help groups and provide necessary training (estimated 10 000 CHF

The long term aims is to build three new multi-purpose training development centers of which one (ARNI) will be inaugurated next months. Each will serve 17-20 villages (estimated cost 100, 000 CHF per building).

FRIDAY JANUARY 18TH

ARNI

Pam and Alydia visited Arni where a new community development and training building is soon to be inaugurated.
Hospitality and medical training will be given in this four storey building serving 17 villages.

Nearby is a school for the blind which houses 120 blind orphans. The exceptional director farms the land around the school and keeps 50 cows. An extra cowshed is needed so that 50 more cows can be purchased. The income generated will cover all the expenses of the school and orphanage.

The aim is therefore to raise 14,000 CHF for the cowshed and 5,000 CHF for the generator.

FRIDAY 18TH JANUARY

KOVALAM CRDT (Coastal and Rural Development Trust)

Kovalam is an ongoing project helping the education of women and children in coastal and rural areas. . There are now 110 self-help groups (approximately 1,500 women) and several cows have been handed over thanks to donations. Much needed toilets, partly financed by the Government, have also been provided to the local population

We were invited for a special Kovalam Cruise on boats donated by Friends of India, after which we were entertained in the multi-purpose building (almost totally funded by Geneva English School) with children performing traditional dances.

The aim is to continue funding extra-tuition, nutrition needs and uniforms for 150 children (estimated 10, 000 CHF per year).

People we help

Three-day workshop given by teacher trainers from Geneva

A three-day teacher training programme on communication activities in the English classroom for 23 primary school teachers in the Chennai area was held late August 2007. The course took place at the SUEB training centre in Medavakam. It was preceded by a 3-day “Brush up your English” training course to prepare the teachers for the workshop.

This was a challenging experience which both trainers and trainees greatly enjoyed. The following are some of the feedback comments from trainees.

Apart from the training session, Tessa Osborne, Siew Lin Schwass and Sita Vengadabady visited Ambumalar special school for the mentally challenged, funded by Don du Choeur and Friends of India (see photo).

Thank you, ladies, for touching the lives of these teachers in such an incredible way.

Name: Sridevi
Place: Pallikaranai village
SUEB input: Technical & training
Caption: Being plugged in to the computer era has brought
cash and new hope to Sridevi's family in the village

Sridevi was an above-average student at school but her future looked compromised by the ongoing cycle of poverty that is the norm in many villages like hers.

Her widowed mother had to take on menial work to look after Sridevi and a brother who suffered from Down's Syndrome. For lack of cash, it seemed as though this bright young girl would have to follow in her mother's footsteps.

SUEB stepped in by giving Sridevi a scholarship, in the form of reduced fees, to enable her to qualify as a typist and computer operator at SUEB's own technical school.

Sridevi, now 21, has a good job at a local software company and a wage that has improved the living standards of her fam

Name: Kavitha
Place: Yegatoor village
SUEB input: Training & school programme

Caption: Inspiring confidence in a new generation - Kavitha at work in the classroom.

Yegatoor may be smaller than other villages in the area but it is similar in at least one respect: the women were keen to do something to improve their standard of living.

After forming the "Victoria Self-Help Group" 15 women attended a SUEB workshop on entrepreneurial development. With the encouragement of the group leader, Kavitha, they plucked up the courage to start a business selling sarees - something few of them would ever have dreamed of doing before.

SUEB provided them each with a start-up loan of 1,000 Rupees (about CHF 35) and within weeks the sarees were going out and the money was starting to come in…

Kavitha also helps the community in another way: she's a volunteer teacher in the school adoption programme sponsored by SUEB and Friends of India.

Name: Uma
Place: Sembakkam village
SUEB input: HRD training

Caption: Having piped water is not just convenient - it encourages social contact

Sometimes the problems are obvious, but there seems to be nothing we can do about them… at least, that's how Uma and other women at Sembakkam saw things.

Life was generally hard: the roads were bad; streetlights rarely worked; and there was no piped water, making it a time-consuming chore for them to fetch water for their families' daily needs.

After a local SUEB organizer began visiting the village the women formed a self-help group. They learned more about their rights and about how to get organized.

With the confidence that comes from knowledge they petitioned the local authorities and within a few months piped water was installed at the village - at government expense.

Name: Lakshmi
Place: Pallikaranai village
SUEB input: Vocational training

Caption: With her new skills Lakshmi earns regular money for the
household and provides basic necessities at reasonable prices

Lakshmi's husband is a labourer, and work is never assured; the couple and their two children live from day to day...

After a chance meeting with the local SUEB organizer Lakshmi went to some meetings and decided to form a self-help group in her own village; she attended workshops and learned how to make various washing and cleaning items that she could sell.

SUEB provided a loan of 1,000 rupees to each member of the group. This helped Lakshmi to buy the raw materials that she turned into detergents and cleaning liquids.

Now she has a regular income and her family's needs are taken care of. And - because she paid back the loan on time - she was awarded a SUEB prize.