Thank you Avantika

It all started with a phone call from Nandita.......

She is a dear friend who I both admire and adore.

She wanted to take her daughter Avantika to an orphanage and donate a large portion of her piggy bank! What a beautiful thought and to think that Avantika is only 6 years old! Avantika is a high achiever- academically brilliant, speaks german, aces her violin and kumon classes, super creative (she makes puppets out of toilet paper!) and most importantly she has a loving heart. I have often written how parents invest so much time and money in sports, music and other classes but not enough time in giving experiences that make their kids socially sensitive, grateful and humble --so it was wonderful seeing a mom do just that.

But then came the shock ……

and with it a good learning for me personally…….

When I requested my 9 year old son Vir for his piggy bank contribution for this orphanage visit (as little as Rs 300) he flatly refused!

First counter argument – “but mom we already do so much” (with my money not his by the way, a little fact he forgot). The best was – “but mom you wrote on your blog that it is more important to give time and I am doing that so that should be enough” (nowhere did I mention that you need not give money!)

I didn’t realize how tough it would be for Vir to give money from his piggy bank

After 15 minutes of rationalising and half hour of giving him some quiet time to reflect, he agreed but then changed his mind the very next day and then finally the day before our visit, grudgingly handed me the money, I am still surprised that it took so long. Learning – start them early like Avantika, it then gets progressively easier to become more giving and socially sensitive.

And now more about our lovely outing with Avantika…….

We took off to an orphanage (since Avantika is so young, we picked a happy place, Gurukulam – this place has 360 children and a unique education model). It was a pleasure seeing Avantika, Devyani, Vir and Jai hand goodies to the children. Mr Prabhune, the head of Gurukulam took the kids on a tour, kids were especially inspired by the Ayurveda garden, ‘goshala’ (15 cows and a 3 days old calf), pottery classes and the best part was the Gurukulam kids put up a lovely show of malkhamb just for us!!!

A lovely afternoon in the outdoors, a refreshing change from TV and hectic classes. Time truly well spent. When we left the place, Avantika had a big smile, a feeling of achievement; she had used her hard earned money to bring happiness to others.  As we left, so sweetly she said “Mom I feel soooo happy”. Avantika thank you for taking this initiative and inspiring us today!!

(To learn more about Gurukulam and how you can help with their “needs list” please visit our website at www.indiacharity.org - tab NGO database)

Omkar, 50 kids & eco - friendly Ganeshas

“Indian Tigers on the brink of extinction

Delhi declared one of the most polluted cities by WHO

Farmer suicide on the rise as Marathwada reels under severe drought”

We read these headlines in our papers everyday, but we rarely invest the time to study & understand the details & its implications.

Environment is a complicated topic and the ways in which its wrath can impact our lives is unpredictable, disruptive, life changing …..

We cannot singlehandedly save our environement but the least we can do is to study & know basic facts & do our little bit to make a difference.

Today our friend Omkar helped us do this ……so firstly who is Omkar?

1. ·      Omkar lives in a 8 * 10 square feet home in Kumbharwada
2. ·      His father sells clay items and earns a monthly income of 5000
3. ·      Through financial support of various well wishers, Omkar is in 12^th studying Commerce at Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya School in Pune
4. ·      Manisha Gutman of environment social enterprise “eCoexist” introduced him to me. Manisha has trained Omkar to make the most beautiful Ganesh idols out of natural clay (please visit the website of eCoexist and support the amazing work she is doing)
5. ·      It takes Omkar one week to make one idol

50 children & several parents along with Omkar gathered at my home to paint these eco friendly Ganeshas. This is our 4^th year of doing this activity!

We painted, decorated, put lovely “mukuts (turbans)”on our dear Ganesha, enjoyed some lovely chocolate modaks made by Prabha Aunty (Founder of Pure Gold chocolates, check out her Facebook page) and spent time chatting with Omkar. We all discussed and learned about threats to environment such as climate change, deforestation, species extinction and pollution. Doing is Learning. Through this activity our kids learned how it is important to use eco friendly material  (shaadu) for our idols and not plaster of paris, how plaster of paris causes enormous damage to our rivers. Some learning, some inspiration and lots of fun with friends, a perfect way to welcome our dear Lord Ganesha!! Thank you Omkar & Manisha.

Today was not some earth shattering (or should I say earth saving) significant movement ……just a small step in the right direction, but here I would like to quote a philanthropist I respect….

Anshu Gupta, founder of Delhi based ngo Goonj (collects urban discard & uses towards livelihood generation and development) won the Magsaysay award in July this year. In his acceptance speech he said “we don’t aspire to change the world, we are ordinary people, we want to improve it in little ways first…”

Hats off to St Marys School - Sept 9th Disability Sensitization workshop

3 recent incidents that made me both sad and angry at the same time and made me want to do something for disability sensitization …..

1.     Couple months back, India wins 173 medals at Special Olympics in Los Angeles. Does such incredible news deserve such little news coverage?

2.     Ann Coulter, a respectable lawyer and political commentator had the audacity to call President Obama a “retard” in her tweet. Is mental disability an insult? John Franklin, global messenger for Special Olympics, who is mentally disabled wrote her a beautiful open letter where he points out that “this word should be used as a badge of honour as no one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much”. How often have we all been guilty of using the word  “retard”casually?

3.     I had invited the blind boys from the koregaon park school to my home and noticed how tough it was for my 9 year old son and several of his friends to interact with them or hold their hand while taking pictures. Are these kids that different from ours? Don’t they have the same wishes and aspirations?

So I took a chance ….

I approached St Marys and asked them if they would be interested in a “disability sensitization” workshop for their students. 1 hour – half hour story telling and half hour for learning sign language.

I was bowled over by the enthusiasm and support shown by the school , especially our Principal Mrs Mallic Kumar and our Vice Principal Mrs Rachel Kisty . We bought 50 books of “ Celebrating Differences”. This is a lovely book by Anita Iyer & 4 other authors that has 7 heart-warming stories about kids with various disabilities narrated in a manner that is simple yet fascinating for children. The goal is to introduce the idea of INCLUSION at an early age and so our kids grow into sensitive and aware adults.

 The kids read this book before today’s session.  What an amazing discussion we had, can we all learn to say speech impaired instead of dumb, hearing impaired instead of deaf, visually impaired instead of blind. All children had read the books, understood them and grasped the messages well.

And then the best part ……

Learning the Indian Sign Language (ISL). Anita taught them basic greetings and how to say their name in ISL. Unfortunately even though we have millions of hearing impaired and speech impaired Indians, this is not recognized as an official language, not standardized across the country and there is only 1 school in all of Maharashtra that gives certification courses !

We get happy when an American or British friend folds their hands and says “Namaste” and “Shukriya”, imagine how happy a hearing impaired child would be if our kids could sign to him or her, how inclusive that child would feel.

Today, was a beginning, we have 2 more sessions scheduled with 4^th and 5^th graders at Marys, hope we can have many more sessions at Marys and other schools, hope we can help build a more aware, inclusive and sensitive future gen !

Please see this lovely video - Ekansh Job fair

Today Vir & I attended Ekanshs job fair for People With Disabilities (PWD)
What a well planned event !!
1. Around 1000 PWD will attend over next 2 days
2. 14 companies had stalls to recruit
3. 3 contractors were present to ensure job opportunities even for PWD with lower qualifications
4. Mr Kunal Kumar, our PMC commissioner took out time to inaugurate & spoke well
5. Akash, our friend with half a body & Kaushalya, who is an amazing blind girl spoke so well too

Anita amazes me with her ability to work so hard & selflessly. I have been in touch with her & know how tough last week has been, banners not printed well (they got a printer at midnight yesterday who reprinted the banners), family members falling sick, repeated calls with no responses from several companies (dignity demands people at least return the call/ message & say no), participating companies bailing out last minute!
Still 14 of some of the best companies in Pune & 50 volunteers ( well trained by Anita a week prior) were there, all smiling & happy to help.
I am so proud of you Anita, keep up the good work ! 

          How do you measure success of such an event ?

          how many footfalls/ attendees at the fair ?
          how many offers were given at the job fair by the 14 companies ?
          how many candidates accepted the offers and got placed ?
          over the course of the year how many PWD were placed based on the database ?
          post placement Anita will have to sensitise the company people
          she will have to handhold the PWD with certain soft skills to help them settle.
          Did the PWD post placement stick around or leave after few months?
          of course one must never ignore the intangibles like...
          giving an opportunity and hope to so many PWDs
          the smiles and happiness this fair brings is immeasurable......

      
         How can you help

I have placed a deaf candidate in Finance 6 months back & she has been amazing. I look forward to placing more.
Post this fair there will be an organised robust database of candidates (email info@ekansh.org), simple to navigate & with all the information you need. Please try to help in placing these candidates over the coming year till the next job fair.

These employees will be an inspiration & role models in your organisations. Like my son Vir who attended the fair with me, rightly summarised " Mom, I loved the smile on Akash & Kaushalyas faces, they are so happy & content". 

Thoughts on Fundraising in India (inspired by Ritu Chhabria’s Sothebys event)

In India, charity is predominantly construed as corporate CSR or then large individual donations/ cheque writing. The beauty of the “fundraising” concept is charity as a “community/team”. There is a certain energy, joy in doing an activity as a team, group rather than just as an individual – a common cause that binds us, common beliefs that inspire us followed by immense gratification when that goal is achieved through team efforts – a beautiful memory and good karma that the group has experienced “together”

Some examples of effective fund raising in India I have personally experienced   

1. Marathons are increasingly becoming an effective way to spread awareness on causes, have fun and do good. Ummeed, an NGO my friend Preeti Broker introduced me to works with autistic children and every year organizes a 55km walk on the beautiful beaches of Goa. Each participant raises funds for the cause (please write to me if you would like to sponsor a small amount for the jan 23, 2016 walk)
2. Exquisite shows such as plays, dances, music, fashion shows where part of the ticket funds go to a cause.
3. Auctions where celebrities donate their personal items, for ex a sports celebrity donates his/her jersey, helmet, bat. A good auctioneer who is sensitive but not pushy is key. I have seen my friends Chetan Wakalkar, Anshoo Gaur and Ritu Nathani do a brilliant job.
4. Exhibitions of clothes and other articles --Like Aaraish in Bombay or Kidsventure by my dear friend Sachi Munot where part of the proceeds go to a cause. (Do visit Sachis event on 12^th Sept at Hotel Ista)
5.  Several schools do fun fairs (St Marys for Uttarakhand floods) or bake sale, some keep a donation box in class for kids.
6. In the US, we often see children selling Girl Scout cookies or lemonade at grocery stores, the sweetest and simplest form of fundraising!

Today, I experienced another fundraiser, which inspired me to write and share.

I have known Ritu Chhabria for a few years now and she has inspired me with her ability to get large groups of people together for various fundraising activities. I have seen her do art camps with children, charity shows & auctions (always assisted by her super talented daughter Gayatri). Today I saw her host a lovely charity dinner where Sothebys educated us Puneites on Art Appreciation and the funds from the dinner passes were towards the social initiatives supported by FICCI Pune Chapter.

So what works for her, why is she able to do this so effectively?

Firstly, a clean heart and good intentions, I believe the universe conspires to make things happen when you have this!

Secondly, her ability to roll up her sleeves and put in tremendous hard work and attention to detail for every event.

Thirdly, credibility as an individual. She comes from a premier business family and people have faith in her & know that the money will go to the cause and nothing else. In addition, for years she has been doing good work through her own NGO “Mukul Madhav Foundation” (like the ngo page on Facebook to get updates on their activities)

A fundraiser is a success only if you get a decent turnout and that is Ritus strength.

Having personally organized 1 -2 such events, I can assure you that it is not easy to organize these events ---no matter how much help and money you have, organizing such mammoth events involves a lot of time, hair pulling, crisis management and behind your back snide comments. My favourite comment is from friends who will not blink an eyelid before buying a 10 lakh “IT”watch, handbag or jewellery but for a 10000 Rs ticket will say  “don’t you think the couple tickets were over priced?” or something like “I cant believe Dhonis helmet auction is starting at 50,000, what a rip off!!”

But the reason Ritu’s & several other philanthropists fundraisers are effective is simply because they do not let all this negativity get to them, instead, all they are focused on ……are the smiles they bring to the faces of hundreds of kids and others in need through their hard work and persistence!!