“ You must be the change you wish to see in the world… “

by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

PRATIBIMB
Jan— Feb, 2010
 PRATIBIMB
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by
imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. - Confucius

T
Since its inception in 2005,
E PRATIBIMB, has success-
fully reflected upon initia-
A
tives and opinions that are
M continuously trying to col-
lectively embed a social
change in our society. Ac-
M knowledging the efforts of
our team members, namely
E Ankur Rohatgi, Nitisha
M Jain, Pratik Gandhi and
Varun Verma, and our ef-
B S
fort to continue with the
E
trend, we proudly release
our newsletter for the
R B
months of Jan and Feb,
2010.
s
Our efforts would have
been in vain, if it weren’t for
our contributors. In this edi-
tion:
Charu and Mathangi R, our
AID volunteers, share their
profoundly inspiring and
encouraging experiences
with AID Prayas and Shik-
sharth respectively. Kanika
Kohli narrates an alarming
incident she witnessed, and
questions the confinement of
existing youth campaigns to
urban areas. Dr. Prachi Ag-
garwal, proudly pens down
her Republic Day experi-
ence at project Pehal, based
in Shalimar Bagh. Abhinav
Gupta acknowledges the
impact of the session by
AID members on Individual
Environmental Responsibil-
ity in IIT, Delhi. Selva Ga-
napathy puts forth his dis-
comfort in current teaching
norms and stresses on the
‘need’ to show love to im-
part effective education. In
solidarity, a volunteer
from www.weconcious.com,
Pragnya Mohanty, tries to
reiterate government initia-
tives towards water pollu-
tion and calls for implemen-
tation. Updates on our dif- A
ferent projects viz. Jaagriti, R
Pehal, Shiksharth, and
Prayas communicate efforts T
by our volunteers towards I
making a better world.
C
In addition, we have a spe- L
cial section dedicated to
demonstrate AID NCR’S six E
year journey since its birth.
We hope Pratibimb, as al-
ways, proves to be an inter-
esting read and inspiring
enough for you to reflect Y
upon.

edItorial team Zulaikha Urooj Rahman and Smita Singla

What's Inside...
Shiksharth Republic Day at Pehal Pain On the Go
AID NCR
Mathangi R from
Time Line Preclude Water
Shikshaarth
Pollution; A neces- Page 7 PEHAL Page 9
says…
Page 3 Page 5 sity for life

Page 4 Page 6 Page 8

Show love when My experience with AID Donate to AID

needed! Prayas…
PRAYAS Watering down a
JAGRITI Page 11 titanic crisis
Page 15
Page 13
Page 10 Page 12
Page 14
 AID NCR TIME LINE
SIX years of commitment, courage and compassion. Come; let’s have a look at AID NCR’S trip so
far in its continuous Endeavour of Sangharsh, Seva and Nirmaan.

Here we go….

AID Delhi’s first CSH on Republic Day, January 26, 2004

AID Delhi’s first collaboration with Parichay, Bhajanpura
First CSH at IIT Delhi
AID Noida’s first collaboration with Nai Disha, Noida
20o4
Initiation of the "Meal a Month" program
Regular CSH at AIIMS that played a crucial role in laying a strong foundation for AID Delhi
AID Delhi’s first Relief and Rehabilitation Campaign: Fund-raiser and material collection drive for Tsunami relief
AID Delhi gets a CMS based website
AID Delhi Starts its first Project: Prayas, Noida
AID Gurgaon chapter initiated
First newsletter released.
20o5
AID India conference held at AIIMS
Indo- Pak peace march

First AID Delhi Campaign: RIGHT TO INFORMATION Campaign

Restructuring of AID NCR. 2o06
Unnati project started by AID Gurgaon
AID wide candle light vigil to support our farmers 20o7
AID Delhi volunteers participated in global day of action to show solidarity to Bhopal gas
tragedy survivors
Bihar flood relief work. 2o08
AID Delhi's 5th birthday celebrated with children from all AID NCR projects
Project Jaagriti, Disha, Prerna, Pehal, Shiksharth and Learning Inq. initiated all over NCR.
Solar lamps installed in the village of Munsiari.
Green Gurgaon campaign
I AM NO LAB RAT Campaign
2oo9
AID India conference hosted by AID NCR- Delhi chapter

Reach us at: http://delhi.aidindia.org

AID Delhi on Facebook: http://

www.facebook.com/delhi.aidindia

AID Delhi on Twitter: http://twitter.com/aiddelhi

AID Delhi on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/AID_Delhi
 Page 4

Mathangi R from Shikshaarth says…

"I am only one, but still I am one; I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and just
because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." -- Helen Keller

With this thought in my mind and a hope in my heart, I stepped out to do my little bit… a hope to
be able to make a difference in someone else’s life, and now that hope has turned into a motto,
one for a lifetime. For most part, the credit for this goes to the kids I interact with at Shiksharth. I
have been a part of this project right from day one and it is a very good feeling when I see the
school running successfully and flourishing day by day.

For me, it all started on a calm Saturday morning. How an unplanned day’s impromptu activities
by a bunch of volunteers paved the first steps to setting up this school, was indeed extraordinary.
A casual visit to the place we had discovered for the school and a little bit of walking around the
village spreading the word about the same, turned into a full-fledged episode by the sheer enthu-
siasm of the villagers. The turn-out of kids next day, when the school was officially flagged-off, was
more than overwhelming.

Spending the past two months day in day out with these kids, I realized that some of them are
probably more diligent than the brightest of kids I’ve ever seen. Every morning, they get up-and-
ready and come to study beating a number of odds. Every kid has a story to tell. I could go on writ-
ing pages relating such stories; I choose, instead, to share here a few profound ones.

I stepped out to
Deepika, a girl of 10 years, was one of the brightest as well as the most knowledgeable kids we do my little bit…
identified on the first day of the school. She came up to the front of the class and said out poems a hope to be
to keep the kids engaged. Despite being a bright child and having the desire to study, she is quite able to make a
irregular to school. Reason being she has a younger brother, Mohit, who is mentally not as sound difference in
as considered normal. She stays behind most often to tend to him, but at times she brings Mohit someone else’s
along to school so she can gather a day’s knowledge. life, and now
that hope has
Madhu has to cook meal every morning before she comes to school. She cooks, cleans and turned into a
washes for her entire family but makes sure that she never gets late for school. Her youngest motto, one for a
sibling is 2 years old and since no one is home during day time to take care of the toddler, she lifetime.
brings her along to the school. Madhu is another one of the brightest children of the school and
studies hard every day, all the while taking care of her kid sister too. She is all but 8 years old.

Hrithik is the most regular student at the school. He was awarded a prize during the Republic Day
celebration for having 100% attendance. All through the end of December and the start of Janu-
ary when the winter winds and the dense fog were playing havoc, the daily turn-out at the school
had dropped quite low. Hrithik, however, walked in every single day of the freezing winter, in his
uncharacteristic shorts that he has to wear every day.

These are just a few of the countless demons these children defeat, to get the least of what they
deserve. They deserve to be educated, they deserve to be able to take care of themselves when
they grow up, and they deserve, more than anything else, to shape their own destiny. All we need
to do is hand them the tools and they will carve their way through the toughest of walls to reach
out and grab what they most deserve.
 Page 5
PRATIBIMB

Shiksharth ( http://gurgaon.aidindia.org/ )
Project Shiksharth is now 3 months old. We are
going strong in our drive to do our bit towards
the welfare of kids from the slums in Kahnai
village, Gurgaon. With almost 40 kids coming
to the school regularly, it is overwhelming to
witness a drastic improvement in the academic
performance of these kids. This has instilled
confidence in us and has motivated us to plan
ahead.
Events & Fun times
Jan— Feb, 2010
leagues from the home for orphans –
‘Sukarna Ka Aangan’. The experience was
both heartening and joyful!
The flag hoisting ceremony and the national
anthem were followed by a patriotic song pre-
sented by students in tandem with a couple of
volunteers. This was followed by a talent show
wherein children presented poems and songs
to laud adulation from their parents and vol-
unteers. Post the talent show, it was time for
some sports activities that were greatly en-
joyed by both participants and the audience.

Our humble event pulled a huge crowd from

On 26th January, Shiksharth celebrated its first
Republic Day. This celebration was the first
event ever hosted by Shiksharth since its in-
ception. In addition to the guests, parents and
volunteers, we welcomed few friends and col-
the adjoining Ram-Lila ground where the vil-
lagers were celebrating the Republic Day in
their own 'a little too loud' spirit. :)

Currently First drive towards Self-sustainance
Last month we started a ‘Donate your News-
individuals are the paper’ campaign at Shiksharth for the
purpose of fund raising and creating
main donors but in awareness for the cause.
future we plan to
The main objective of this campaign is to
extend our reach raise funds for the other livelihood pro-
grams that we plan to start in the not-so-
to firms, housing distant future and the other objective is
to sensitize people towards making small
societies and donations and hence make a difference
in the lives of the underprivileged.
educational
Currently individuals are the main donors
institutions. but in future we plan to extend our reach
to firms, housing societies and educational
institutions.
Looking to sell old newspapers to the local raddiwala ??
This time donate instead !!
“Donate Your Newspaper” is a campaign being run to support a
school for underprivileged children. The school, named Shiksharth is
located in Kanhai Village (near Ardee City) is a collaborative effort of
Zariya and AID Gurgaon.
http://gurgaon.aidindia.org/shiksharth
You can contribute towards the education and
welfare of these children by donating
old newspapers, magazines, books and waste papers.
• Contact ------ at ------ to make a contribution!

Other Planned Initiatives

The plan for the half year ending June’10 is to
start a ‘vermi-compositing and garden-
ing’ (nursery) option at the Shiksharth prem-
ises as part of our Livelihood programs. This
will indirectly serve as an environmental pro-
ject too! We have collaborated with ‘Advit Foun-
dation’ for this initiative. Our volunteers visited
the foundation and as an outcome, it will send
us the cost estimates and the proposed effort
involved in Vermi-composting.
 Page 6

Preclude Water Pollution; A necessity for life

by: Pragnya Mohanty, www.weconscious.com

“A very peculiar thing about human nature is we destroy what we are dependent upon.”

A press release on 20th July 2009 stated the
setting up of ‘National Ganga River Basin Author-
ity’ (NGRBA) by the Central government for pre-
vention of pollution in the Ganges and its conser-
vation. Crores of rupees are spent for the purpose
every year. As per a PIB press release the total
expenditure on phase I & II of the GAP (Ganga
Action Plan) was Rs. 816.47 crores. The amount
to be invested by NGRBA is yet to be decided. The
press release is no doubt a good step forward by
the government to protect Ganges, provided the
decision is not made only in papers and the
money is not transferred from the government’s
account to the personal accounts.
I assume some work must have started in the
said direction after the press release. However,
the situation there in the month of December
2009 did not corroborate any of my assumptions.
The sight was a disappointment to me. The view
at different ghats of river Ganga in the stretch of
Rishikesh and Haridwar is terrible. The pollutants
that are discharged into the ghats on a daily basis
leave fatal effect on the aquatic life. With high
levels of water pollution, the water plants and
animals in those areas have reduced significantly.
Since there is a life cycle on which we and aquatic
life are interdependent, it will be a foolishness to
ignore the havoc and think that these changes in
the aquatic life will not affect us.

Of various pollutants that are discharged into the to motor boats only; the sight is more dishearten-
sanctimonious river, one of the most dangerous ing at the Har-ki pauri ghat where one can see
is the pollution created by the diesel motor boats people cleaning clothes with detergents, bathing
plying on it. These boats give joy rides to hun- using soaps, throwing in all kind of dirt, sweeping
dreds of pilgrims that throng this holy place. I am in plastics, washing utensils, and what not.
sure the authorities are well aware of these boats
as well as the harmful chemicals and toxins that
these boats release into the river and damage the
life therein. The damage is visually despairing as
well. If one moves a few meters beyond
Lakshman Jhula in Rishikesh, the colour of the
water changes significantly which makes the
damage quite evident. The pollution is not limited

The pollution of the water by these agents, both
human & chemical, not only makes life miserable
but also destroys all the natural elements of wa-
ter, thereby making the water from such places
unfit for human consumption. I believe we are not
unaware of the water-borne diseases that we
suffer from regularly. These days every house has
a case of some form of allergy directly or indi-
rectly related to water.
Our non-chalant attitude causes so much of dam-
age. Isn’t this worth thinking through? With the
constantly decreasing water level and the change
in climate, the day is not far off when we will have
to pay hugely for the damage we have caused. It is
high time we realized that the natural resources
are scarce and that there is an alarming need to
protect them from extinction.
If you have any questions, please send them
to pragnya@weconscious.com.
 Page 7
PRATIBIMB

Republic Day At Pehal

by Dr. Prachi Aggarwal, PEHAL

Usually a late riser, I got up at 7 am on
26th January’10 and was bubbling
with excitement to celebrate Republic
day at Pehal. After I had finished
schooling, I never paid much heed to
national holidays. Thus Republic Day
and Independence Day were just like
any other holiday for me. However,
this year I went through a fantastic
experience.
Jan— Feb, 2010
It was a foggy morning and sun was
nowhere to be seen. After idling around
for some time, we decided to start the
decorations at around 10am. More vol-
unteers and children along with their
parents poured in and within an hour,
the stage was set. At 11:30 we started
our program. Our teacher, at Pehal, was
the chief guest. Sir addressed the par-
organized drill and March past which was
the highlight of the day.
Everyone was then seated and the cul-
tural events began. The children sang the
patriotic song “Saare jahan se accha,
Hindustan hamara” to perfection. Next
was role playing, where 6 children from
basic elementary level enacted as free-
dom fighters. The last act in this segment

We had spent almost 2 weeks prepar-
ing the children for different activities.
As most of them are of Bengali origin,
it had been a constant fight for last 3
months to make them learn Hindi.
ents and children and spoke to them was a dance performance on another
about the importance of Republic day. patriotic song by the children and volun-
This was followed by a prayer, flag hoist- teers.
ing and rendition of the Indian National
Anthem. The children saluted the Na-
tional Flag and then performed a well

..We had spent

Next in line were two plays per-
almost 2 weeks formed by the children. The first
preparing the was a funny act and the second
was to communicate the mes-
children for different
sage - ‘how to stay away from
activities addiction’. There were poem
and story recitations by the
children from beginners level.
...As most of them
The audience enthusiastically
are of Bengali origin, applauded each act.
it had been a
Then came the much awaited
constant fight for last
sports event! It started with the
3 months to make Frog race between children of
them learn Hindi….
age group 4-7 years. Three
legged race between boys of
age group 8 and above was
sheer fun. Some fell, some
cheated, but Debashish and
Ayub emerged as clear winners
as they finished the race with
no hassles. Book balancing
race between girls was another
hit.
It was then time for the Prize
Distribution ceremony. Two
students were given the best
students award for their dedica-
tion, regularity and discipline.
In the end, volunteers spoke to
the parents about the impor-
tance of education. They urged
everyone to send their children
to school regularly. Also, they
advised them not to carry out
any activities that may nega-
tively influence their children.

Pehal volunteers were happy 3 months, we have

with the positive response from
the community. The families
were really happy watching their
children perform. The feeling to
give to the society is always
pleasant, however, the feeling is
unmatched when the society
gives back. We, at Pehal, today
are proud that within a span of
been able to achieve
much more than we
expected. We all
walked back beaming
from ear to ear. May we
always stand united for
our cause.
 Page 8

PEHAL (http://projectpehal.blogspot.com/ )
A vow to keep them warm @ in need. These included sweaters,
Pehal warm caps, gloves, socks and jack-
ets. The children
In the months of December and are now safely
January, with a cold wave hitting protected from
Delhi, our concerns about the the cold. We suc-
wellness of the kids of Pehal ceeded in giving
rose. For the same, a drive was them what we aim
initiated, where warm clothes for- good health
were collected for the children. and a reason to
After successfully collecting smile.
enough clothes for the children
and their siblings, Pehal volun-
teers distributed the clothes to
the children and also to the ones

Planning Parenthood @ Pehal We prioritized CuT, Male Vasectomy and Tubal

Pehal, on the 30th of January, 2010, witnessed
an immensely successful family planning session
held within the construction community. A posi-
tive feedback and non hesitant approach by the
parents took the participating volunteers by sur-
prise. On the basis of the community connect
report, a datasheet consisting of number of chil-
dren in each family was prepared. In our commu-
nity the average number of children turned out to
be three per family. We individually interacted
with each parent. Men and women were briefed
on the importance of having a small family.
They were explained how having a small family
could prove more financially viable and efficient.
Ligation over pills due to the long lasting side ef-
fects of pills. Women who had already used per- We prioritized
manent methods of birth control interacted with
other women encouraging them to go ahead with CuT, Male
it. Vasectomy and
This resulted in a few women willing to get perma- Tubal Ligation
nently operated though they asked for time to over pills due to
discuss the same with their husbands. It was ob-
served that some women wanted to get them- their long lasting
selves operated; however, they feared that their
side effects.
husbands would not agree. Volunteers interacted
with them and were able to partially convince
them.

Updates on the Regular non formal education
Program at Pehal
Pehal has been successfully implementing a
regular non formal education program. Our morn-
ing school consists of regular four hour classes
for the children. To segregate, the students have
been divided into a beginners and an elementary
group. Based on their performance, we have iden-
tified 7 children, who would be admitted to regu-
lar schools in April, 2010.
regular checks on their notebooks, monthly tests
and quarterly exams. We have continuously been
emphasizing on improving their reading skills,
hence, special attention is given to that area. An
after-school nutrition program has also been initi-
ated wherein the children are given nutritious food
items that cater to their nutritional deficiencies.
Our journey with Pehal is reaching new milestones
and we aim to continuously make it more enrich-
ing with our Pehal change makers.

The kids are continuously assessed, through

 Page 9

Pain On the Go
by kanika kohli

We talk of lead India and India shining today but
have we ever paid any heed to the ground reali-
ties of this country? Many would say yes! I have a
story to narrate here and then could we all re-
think if we see the root cause of issues such as
rape, molestation and others? I witnessed some-
thing that provoked thoughts in my mind about
the status of women and children in our country! I
was amazed to see the levels at which child mo-
lestation works here!
It was around 11 am on a Saturday and I was self
-driving alone in my car heading towards my
home town in Haryana. On the two way single
road to home, I reached a small village which is
about 15kms from Kurukshetra (off the GT road).
A little girl who should be around 7 years was
riding on a bike on the backseat of a man (I guess
should be her father). She was in her school uni-
form. As they rode, I saw another motor bike with
three young boys who should be between 19-24
years, one of the guys was making obscene ges-
tures to the girl and waving to catch her attention.
The first thought that came to my mind was they
could be related to her and may be playing cute
stuff but then I realized “No”, that was not one of
those gestures to the child; that guy could only
acknowledge the gender that the child was born
with! All the three were laughing and making ges-
tures to the little girl! The agony was, I was driving
right behind and was a spectator to this scene,
helpless! Then this came to an end when the bike
the girl was riding on, took a turn to a by-lane. The
five minute drive was horrible for me!

By this time the guys had seen me driving behind
them in aggression against what I had just wit-
nessed. Now, it was me that they had to race with
or try to use as a mockery for their pleasure. I had
to literally outsmart them in driving and get them
to a point where they had no choice but to get off
the road to save their lives. I had the fear- what if
they followed me and tried to stop the car? The
thoughts that they may have friends around this
area gave me jitters. In my aggression and re-
venge towards their disgusting act I had taken
that plunge without fearing the consequences!
Thankfully I could reach home safe!
When I reached home, I thought to self, will those
guys ever realize what my aggression towards
them meant? What was I trying to protest against?
The glands in my eyes became active on thinking
a painful “No”! I feel sorry for our campaigns like
Lead India where we expect the youth of our coun-
try to act and decide for the country without realiz-
ing what the youth in the rural India stand for!,
what psyche do they carry and operate on?! Is it
really worth being an activist when we are not able
to bring about that respect for each other? Is it not
important that we respect ourselves and our fel-
lows first and then look for support for our coun-
try? A “Jaago Re” campaign by Tata would just be
a promotional stuff for many.

Is it not important for us to work towards this? Is it not

important for every mother to teach their children what
“respect” means? How many mothers spend time in actu-
ally educating their children and teaching them the real
meaning of respect? We teach rules, manners, rituals but
never such subtle things! I believe, the day we are sensi-
tized to this need, everything else will follow the suit! Let
us join hands to bring this difference today! Let us work
towards building a home where each one respects the
others’ presence and honors their existence!
 Page 10
PRATIBIMB

JAAGRITI (http://jaagriti-india.blogspot.com/ )
New Year Celebrations
New Year was celebrated at
Jaagriti in an innovative manner
as children learnt how to make
paper bags. The children ear-
nestly picked up the skill and
made the bags. This was fol-
lowed by an interactive story
telling session by the volunteers.
The children’s sincerity was
rewarded by distributing old
Jan— Feb, 2010
sion on the day’s importance.
Both children and volunteers
played many games. Snacks
and fruits were distributed to
children by our guests of honor -
Mr. Saharan and Dr. Goel, who
have regularly donated to the
project. Children received lots of
prizes and the celebrations
came to a close with the Na-
tional Anthem.
in the first and second
standards. Volunteers
have taken the responsi-
bility to regularly track
the performance of the
children, to guide the
children in their school
studies and to address
any concerns that the
children face. The volun-
teers interact with the

clothes, goodie bags and gifts. children every week and

Republic Day Celebrations
Republic day was celebrated at
Jaagriti with great enthusiasm.
Following the flag hosting cere-
mony, was an interactive ses-
School Students Performance the performance records
Tracking are shared online with
From our project in Sector-13, the entire team.
Dwarka, 14 children have
started attending the nearby
government school. Majority is

Launch of Mobile Library visit the projects every week,

“….there is a need At Jaagriti, we understand that
there is a need to hone the
to hone the
reading skills of the children
reading skills of and develop an interest for
books in them. With this goal in
the children and
mind, a Mobile Library concept
develop an has been introduced at Jaagriti
that comprises 50 books con-
interest for books taining short stories in Hindi
in them…” and English for different age
groups. Two volunteers are
coordinating this initiative. They
issue books to the children and
teach them how to read.
Association with NSIT Rotaract
Club
Jaagriti has collaborated with
the Rotaract Club of Netaji Sub-
hash Institute of Technology,
Dwarka. The Rotaract club
members were impressed by
Jaagriti’s activities and this led
many students to join our pro-
jects as regular volunteers. As
its first initiative with Jaagriti,
the club collected old clothes
and stationary from students
and faculty and distributed
those within the communities
targeted by our projects. Many
initiatives such as social entre-
preneurship club, youth leader-
ship workshop, and dance
classes for children are also
being planned in future.

Sadbhavna 2010 lunch, a confidence building

Sadbhavna-2010 was organized
by NSIT Rotaract Club and Jaa-
griti at NSIT in Dwarka on 21st
February 2010. It was a great
day filled with lots of fun, frolic
and learning for about 80 chil-
dren and more than 20 volun-
teers at Jaagriti. In the first half,
sports activities such as 3 leg
race for boys and lemon spoon
race for girls were organized
where children received many
prizes. After the sumptuous
session was organized. Each
child was asked to come in front
and tell his/her name and cite
one’s interests, something
about their family, what they like
and what they want to become
in future. This was followed by a
dance session for chil-
dren and volunteers.
Everyone enjoyed and
children from both our
projects gelled with
each other.
 Page 11
PRATIBIMB

Show love when needed! By selva ganpathy

Disclaimer: This article is not to unparalleled profession and I make them sit
hurt anyone who is a teacher or firmly admire those who teach outside the class.
is associated with the teaching or are contributing to educating I agree that chil-
profession. The article purely children through various means. dren are prone to
quotes the author’s stance upon These volunteers deserve a committing mis-
the subject and does not gener- million pats on their backs for takes but I regret
alize any perception. taking up this daunting task. to say that this
attitude of volun-
The aforementioned disclaimer However, my recent observa- teers is unethical
could alone trigger a contro- tions [specifically at Prayas, and uncalled for.
Jan— Feb, 2010

versy. Frankly, I would appreci-
ate if that happens as confron-
tations are always a better and
a healthier way of moving things
forward. As we all know, a major
chunk of the AID-NCR volunteers
teaches children across various
projects. Teaching to me is an
which I often visit] suggest a Children under-
different picture altogether. stand the lan-
Most of the volunteers, who guage of love and
teach at these venues, use a affection more
domineering tone to control the than they do of
children in the class. They warn aggressiveness.
the children, scold them and for
a matter of punishing them even

I, therefore, humbly
With teaching comes the noble
request all the
responsibility of imparting
teaching volunteers moral and ethical values. And
to use the trump-card being an AID teaching volunteer
is no exception. As a practice I
called love to deal
always deal with children with a
with the kids. And dose of care. After all, we all
just in case things go have experienced such situa-
tions in our schools and that’s
out of hand, just
why we all hate [if not all, most
remember one thing - of us] our schooling system.
you were once a child Just imagine how drastic an
impact a scolding will have on a
yourself…..
child’s intellect when he/she is
reprimanded in the open. many of us who are teaching
children try to learn about child
Some might ask as to what I psychology? Not essentially all
should do if a child disturbs my and we don’t feel that we
class, should I appreciate that should know it all. It’s just that
by showing more affection to we want to teach the children
him / her?! The answer would to grow and get good marks in
be plain “Yes”. Let me quote their schools.
one of the instances that a
volunteer wrote a long time
back about a child who used to
disturb the class at Aashayein
and how he made him co-
operate with the class. How

Children are the future of tomor-

row. Inculcating correct values
in the correct manner will thus
go a long way in helping them
grow and succeed. I, therefore,
humbly request all the teaching
volunteers to use the trump-
card called love to deal with the
kids. And just in case things go
out of hand, just remember one
thing - you were once a child
yourself.
 Page 12

PRAYAS (http://aidnoida.blogspot.com/ )
AID-Prayas is running regular
classes for three batches
(Senior, Eureka and Freshers
batch) on both weekdays and
weekends (evenings).
26th January celebrations within
the community
Continuing with its tradition, the
AID-Prayas team celebrated
Republic Day within the commu-
nity with utmost zeal. The motive
was to reach out to more people Prayas team is currently working
in the community, and also to on making I-cards for every child
apprise the community mem- enrolled at the centre. Also, the
bers of how the children have team plans to perform a survey
faired post enrollment in Prayas. to collect socio-economic back-
The show was hosted and pre- ground-related information of all
sented by the children them- families within the community.
selves. An encouraging achieve-
ment was that more children
from the community enrolled for
the next year’s batch after the
celebrations got over. The AID-

Family Planning session
The family planning awareness
session witnessed an over-
whelming participation from the
community. We would only know
whether the session was a suc-
cess, if we execute the follow-up
plans in the months to come.
Nevertheless, 35+ women
openly discussed their issues
with the lady doctor (it was
rather disappointing on the male
side), and many even expressed
keen interest in availing contra-
ceptives and other birth control
measures. This time, the doc-
tors were arranged via an NGO
“Noida Lok Manch”, but we
would strive hard to exploit the
existing government channels,
through which we earlier man-
aged a clean-up drive.
Regular Baal Sabha/Activity
classes
Activity classes were started for
the senior kids who were given a
lot of lessons to tap their crea-
tivity quotient.
Within a period of 8 months,
after crossing a milestone for
senior kids, this session is now
being extended to Eureka and
Freshers batch as well. We are
also continuing with “Bal
Sabha”, which is a regular
monthly meet that attracts vol-
unteers and kids to perform
some stage activity such as
dancing, singing, poetry-
recitation, speeches etc. Bal
Sabha serves as a platform
where kids get a chance to
leave their academics and show-
case their talent.
It is the combined effort of both
children and volunteers that we
have been able to come up with
a pool of students who are able
to face the crowd and stage
without fright and can converse
in both Hindi and English.

New Centre within the commu-
nity
Due to certain unavoidable con-
straints we have decided to shift
our centre within the community
for better communication and
outreach. It would allow us to
support more kids with the
money saved through cheaper
rent, and also enable us to live
closer to the community. The
new centre would also grant us
ample opportunities to interact
with the community people and
understand other pertinent is-
sues than just education.
Admission of Freshers batch
children
The admissions drill for the
Freshers batch of 31 kids has
begun for the new session. It
involves hunting for good, pref-
erably free, schools that impart
quality education. We have
been preparing our students
for the enrollment tests of
these schools for several
months, as we hope to sustain
quality education for these
children. At a school named,
“Om Foundation”, in sector 51,
Hoshiyarpur village, Noida,
Nursery kids’ admission is al-
most complete; only formal document
work is pending. K.G. children have
been registered and on the basis of a
screening test in the month of March,
school authorities shall give admission
to the eligible lot. The team is still
looking for genuine and affordable
schools to accommodate students of
class 1 and 2 from the Freshers batch,
for the new session.
To sum up, all volunteers are working
less as individuals and more as a
team to achieve a common goal – to
have a better tomorrow.
 Page 13
PRATIBIMB

My experience with AID Prayas… by charu, volunteer, AID prayas

As part of PRAYAS, when I first
entered one of our target com-
munities, I was taken by sur-
prise. I saw half-naked kids
drenched in mud-water mean-
dering amongst goats and
breathing all but fresh air. I was
accompanying Darshan and
soon we entered a place where
the children shouted “How
Jan— Feb, 2010
and that their eyes brightened
when they saw him. I wished I
could earn the same respect as
that garnered by Darshan. While
I was busy relishing the atmos-
phere, the students soon asked
“What is your name”. I an-
swered with a smile and their
smiles got bigger-something that
did wonders to my motivation to
to get them admitted to school.
During my teaching, I observed
that two kids- Seefat and
Parveena neither uttered a word
nor performed well in class. I
strived hard to find a reason
behind their demeanour but
couldn’t. I was against promot-
ing them to the 1st standard but
eventually worked hard to help
them realize their poten-

are you Darshan Sir” – After all,
their favourite sir had come to
class.
I was exhilarated to sense that
Darshan was so dear to them
teach.
To start with, I never knew why
we were teaching these kids.
Only when I started teaching
them did I realize that we have
tial. One year hence, all the kids
whom I taught passed and were
admitted to good schools. The
best part was that Seefat and
Parveena were also part of this
lot.

Today, Seefat and Parveena are
best friends. They are confi-
It has been 2 dent, optimistic and are doing
well in academics. As their
years to my
mentor, I feel proud and hon-
affiliation with oured to have made a differ-
ence to their lives. On my birth-
PRAYAS and the day when I visited the place
motivation refuses again, the kids screamed my
name and wished me- I waited
to die out. for this day for long. It was
eventually my hard work that
made me earn their respect. take on new challenges and
What I taught the kids was helps me contribute to the com-
much less than what they munity in my own little way.
taught me- to live life with ut-
most zeal and enthusiasm,
whatever be the circumstances.
It has been 2 years to my affilia-
tion with PRAYAS and the moti-
vation refuses to die out. First it
were the kids and now it is the
volunteer group that keeps me
 Page 14

Watering down a titanic crisis by Abhinav Gupta, IIT D

It is very rare for a bunch of 90
odd IIT Delhi students to assem-
ble and acquaint themselves
with social change agents; but it
is rarer for them to be able to
relate to a speaker more than
they did at a session organized
by the team from the Delhi
Chapter of AID.
The AID team, with its youthful
yet pragmatic attitude and argu-
ments, drew a zealous response
from the audience for its call to
uphold one's Individual Environ- water during brushing or bath-
mental Responsibility [IER], with ing, resisting disposables such
special emphasis on saving as tissue paper, paper and plas-
water. The AID volunteers led by tic cups as well as curtailing
example and substantiated meat intake.
steps that every individual
should incorporate to both nur-
ture and respect the environ-
ment. The team shared issues
ranging from the most cele-
brated act of cycling/ bussing to
office to many non-glamorous
(but equally important) activities
such as economizing the use of

The highlight of the evening
were the stirring 7-minute movie
clip (http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=BBCL7RWrQT4 - The
youtube video is being modi-
fied..it will be shared at a later
date) and the enlightening slide
show (http://
www.slideshare.net/
pulkitparikh/watering-down-a-
titanic-crisis) that opened the
session absorbingly. I would
strongly recommend one to
watch the You-Tube clip and
the Slide-Share presentation to
further the understanding of the
aforementioned concerns.
Some of the most intriguing
questions that came up were
how vegetarian food is more
resource-efficient than non-
vegetarian food and why paper
cups are not green. In an effort
to find an answer to these ques-
tions, students realized that
51% of the world's emissions
come from animal products. The
AID team shared a paper by the
NIH, Roorkee on the water foot-
prints of various food items, and
we understood that by replacing While this issue is
chicken with vegetables, India being forwarded to
can save about 20 litres of wa- the college
ter per day per person! Another administration, a
alarming fact was the mammoth majority of students
amount of water consumed to have signed up for
make a small paper cup, which carrying their own
is usually not bio-degradable as
mugs to tea
it typically contains a plastic
shops in the
resin. The team also highlighted
campus. Hopefully,
how recycling is a highly re-
source-intensive process, stress- this is just the
ing on the need to re-use. beginning of the
sustainability
movement!

Apart from the general commit-

ment to a greener and water-
efficient routine, many students
suggested prohibiting the use of
disposable cups in the campus.
While this issue is being for-
warded to the college admini-
stration, a majority of students
have signed up for carrying their
own mugs to tea shops in the
campus. Hopefully, this is just
the beginning of the sustainabil-
ity movement!
 Page 15
PRATIBIMB

Donate to AID
All donations to AID Delhi are directed towards education, health & nutrition, skill- building/vocational training initia-
tives, campaigns and related activities. You can donate towards AID via the following routes:

> 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’d like to share your platter.

> Donate Books: Donate academic books of your children after they’ve completed studying from them.

> Formal education of a child at our partner NGOs: These contributions are entitled to a 50% tax exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax
Act. Donations to our partner NGOs may or may not get you 50% tax exemption and will be used by the partner NGO in its initiatives.

How to donate in India

ELECTRONIC Internet banking users can make electronic transfers to AID-India's ICICI Bank Ac-
TRANSFERS count.
Jan— Feb, 2010

Cheques can be drawn in favour of AID-India's ICICI Bank Account and can be ei-
CHEQUES
ther mailed to or deposited at any ICICI bank branch.
Cash may be deposited at any ICICI bank branch quoting "AID-India" on the deposit
CASH
slip.

AID-India - ICICI Bank Details

Branch: Royapettah High Road (RHR) Location: Chennai
MICR code: 600229007 Account No.: 602201200299 (Savings)
Beneficiary address:
New No 34, Rathenam Street
Gopalapuram, Chennai - 600 086
Phone: +91-44-42106493, 28350403

To receive a receipt for your donation, please send the following details to aid.delhi@gmail.com
Your name and permanent address
Date , amount and mode (e-transfer, cheque, cash) of donation
Bank details together with the Cheque/Receipt number or E-transaction ID

If you are outside India and want to contribute to AID India’s Delhi chapter, then do mail us your cheque (in any cur-
rency), drawn in favour of "AID-India", along with a cover letter stating the purpose of donation.

AID-India – Mailing Address

c/o R. Selva Ganapthy,
Department of Chemical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi - 110016
Phone : 9891358457, 9213797167