Srijan Foundation

31 Jan 2010

Rotary, Delhi South West,  had arranged fora Poster Painting Competition for children Civil Services sports Ground.

Rotary South – West organizes this event every year for  motivating the children.

Our Children from Vasant Kunj also participated in the event.

It was a wonderful sight to see hundreds of children from 4 years to 17, in colourful dresses, and cheerful faces, engrossed in painting pictures. Their enthusiasm had to be seen and felt, to be believed.

Rotary DSW deserves all praise for the opportunity they have provided to the children of Delhi. Many of the children were under privileged and for them it was really a lifetime opportunity to be provided with so much care and attention, to meet and mingle with other children on an equal footing.

About 2200 children participated in the painting Competition. Also there were about 1000 teachers, parents & guardians who brought their children with them.
There were Four Age groups & Topics

1. Pride of Delhi, 2. Conservation of Resources3. Social Crime4. Social Responsibilities

Children painted beautiful posters in all age group.

The entries were evaluated by a panel of eminent judges headed by Mr Surya Sadan, Montreal based artist from Canada.

Smt Kiran Walia, Minister of Health & Family Welfare gave away the prizes to winners.

All Children were given the participation certificate.  Lunch/Snack,  Mineral water/Cold drinks etc were also given to each participant. To entertain & thrilled children there was magic show  & Jokers too. There was a stall of Dhyan Foundation educating children & adults on Sanatan Kirya & Miracles of Yog.

Rotary Club’s District Governor Ashish Ghosh Rotary South West President Mr Ved  Chandna, Secretary Mr Lalit Vohra,  Mr Ranjan Chopra  Event Chairman &  Mr Pankaj Agarwal Event Co-Chairman , many other Rotarians & their family members actively participated in the program.

There are over 100 children in two villages, with 3 teachers, who get together for 2 to 3 hours a day, learning Oriya, arithmetic, English, GK etc. They also learn poems, songs and play games.

These photos were taken in Nov 09.

This is a part of Srijan Foundation’s Literacy Campaign for the under privileged children,

Rotary on the Spot Poster Painting Competition 2009

Rotary South-West had organised “On the Spot Poster & Painting Competition” for children of Age group 3 years to 17 years on Sunday,  the 01st Feb 09   at Civil Services Sports Ground Ashoka Hotel, Chankyapuri, New Delhi.

More than two thousand children participated in the painting Competition   accompanied by their parents and guardians.

It was a wonderful sight to see hundreds of children intent and concentrating on painting using pencils, crayons, and water colours.

The subjects for painting were

1. Pride of Delhi
Metro, Flyovers, Commonwealth Games, Tourism, Republic Day, Rotary Blood Bank.
2. Conservation of Resources
Water, Energy, Oil.
3. Social Crime
Crime against Women, Child abuse, Road Rage, Blue line menace, Corruption.
4. Social Responsibilities
Pollution, Blood Donation, AIDS, Civic Sense, Care for elderly, Hunger, Disaster Management, Health & Humanity, Master Plan 2021, Solid Waste Management, Traffic Sense, My Family, Mobile Mania, Women Safety.

Children painted beautiful posters in all age groups. The entries were evaluated by a panel of eminent judges. Smt Kiran Walia, Minister of Health & Family Welfare gave away the prizes to winners.8 prizes per age group were awarded.

All Children were given the participation certificate signed by Smt Kiran Walia & Rotarion executives. Lunch/Snack coupons were also given to each participant. There was also and exhibition on road signs and road sense by the Delhi Traffic Police.

To entertain children there was even a  magic show.

Credit for organisng the function goes to Rotary South West President Mr Manoj Bansal, Secretary V Narayanan, Mr Pankaj Agarwal, Mr Ranjan Chopra & many other Rotarians who actively participated in the program.

26 Jan 2009

Children took part in the function held in Sector A Pocket C at Vasant Kunj. The function was organised by the ARWA. Mr Yoganand Shastri, Speaker of Delhi Assembly was the chief guest. Local municipal councillar Mrs Yadav was also present.

Smt Chetan Basra was the MC.

Three itmes were presented by the children from Kishangarh and Meharauli.  Mr Prasad, Mrs Rajagopal and Mrs Chetan Basra had prepared the children.

Help for Bandra braveheart’s kin

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: “He was always a quiet boy. He was always the first one to rush and help people,’’ said 55-year-old Pandurang Redkar about his 20-year-old son Mohan who died while saving a couple from drowning at Bandra bandstand four months ago.

He seemed oblivious of the praises that eminent personalities heaped on him at a crowded hall in Khar (W) on Saturday evening. Redkar wept as commissioner of police Hasan Gafoor handed him an envelope containing a cheque of Rs 4 lakh, an award for his son’s bravery. The function ended with around 100 people paying a silent tribute to Mohan.

To acknowledge the display of courage and selfless service of this young mechanic, the members of the Mohalla Committee Movement Trust, with the help of the Bandra police, collected the reward money from people. Some of the police staff also contributed to this fund.

“The police are looked down upon as being ‘toughies’. But we are human beings. Whenever I think of this youngster, I get shivers down my spine,’’ said additional commissioner of police Archana Tyagi. “The Bandra police themselves initiated the collection. This shows that we too have a soft side,’’ said Tyagi.

Originally from Malavan village in Sindhudurg district, Mohan was working as a trainee mechanic with Mahindra & Mahindra in Kandivli for the past two years. He was the primary breadwinner of his family.

Both his parents have heart ailments while his sister and elder brother are engineering students in Goa. Due to financial constraints in the family, Redkar left studies after Std X to train as a diesel mechanic.

His relatives said his mother’s treatment was possible only because of his earnings. On April 11, Mohan visited Bhabha Hospital to inquire if he could get his mother admitted for heart valve medical treatment.

After making the inquiries, he went to take a stroll at Bandstand. “Suddenly, he noticed a young couple huddled in chest deep water, trying hard to hold on to the rocks. Without hesitation, he removed his clothes, gave his cellphone to an onlooker and flung himself into the cold water,’’ said Prakash George, senior police inspector, Bandra police station.

“He was swept away from the shore after dragging them to safety,’’ he added. Ironically, at the end of the day, Mohan’s body was brought to the same Bhabha Hospital from where he had started his day. What would Redkar’s father do with the money?

“Use it for my daughter’s education,’’ he replied. When asked how he felt about his son becoming an icon of selflessness, he wept, again. toireporter@timesgroup.com

REMEMBERING THE GOOD SAMARITAN: Mohan’s father, Pandurang Redkar, was handed over a cheque of Rs 4 lakh by Mumbai police commissioner Hasan Gafoor on Saturday

Locals say DDA sports facility to cost 1,000 trees

By Mausam Sharma in New Delhi

THE RESIDENTS of NRI Complex colony near Jahanpannah Club are locking horns with the Delhi Development Authority, which is constructing a sports complex in DDA- owned Chittaranjan Park.

The park, say the residents, will be built at the cost of at least 1,000 trees. The ambitious DDA project involves a sports complex with world- class swimming pools, a cricket ground, squash and badminton courts, restaurants and other facilities.

The construction work for the Rs 753- crore project started one week ago. But the agitation of the residents had started when the foundation stone for the sports complex was laid in January last year. The residents of nearby colonies such as NRI Complex and CR Park are so attached to the park that they are not ready to swallow the idea of it being turned into asports complex.

“The park provides an essential green cover. We don’t want that green cover to be eaten up,” said Nanita Sharma, an advocate in the Supreme Court who stays in NRI Complex. She added that the residents will soon file aPIL in this regard in the high court. “We will file the PIL because this is aserious environmental issue and must be taken care of,” Sharma said.

“We are not against the sports complex. But that doesn’t mean we want our green cover to be taken away. And if the project is as ambitious as they say it is, trees are bound to be felled,” she said. Sharma added that they have asked the DDA officials time and again to try and construct the sports complex somewhere else.

The residents said the greenery in the area was the main reason they chose to settle down there. “We used to live in Shalimar Bagh, but shifted here last year. It was the peaceful and green environment that pushed us to buy ahome here. But what are we going to do now?” said Usha Sharma, a 60- year- old resident of NRI Complex.

he residents further feel there is another problem apart from the green cover –the ground gives children an opportunity to be close to nature when they play there in the evenings. “If a sports complex is built, it will cater only to elite children. And the children from middle class families who play there now will lose their .place,” said Jyoti Jain, who stays in NRI Complex.

The residents also point out that recreational centres such as the Siri Fort complex and other sports clubs are there nearby, so the felling of trees is uncalled for.

But when asked about the issue, the director of public relations in the DDA, Neemo Dhar, said, “There are no trees in the park. It has only shrubs.”
mausam. sharma@ mailtoday. in

During my visit in January 2008 to our project sites in Orissa I took the opportunity to teach Pranayaam to the children above Class III. Some videos:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VHTE8Ab05g]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qzD2YXVIqI]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x6P7nFOm6E]

This is another initiative by Srijan Foundation Trust to help change government (state and central) policies and mismanagement of issues that concerns the ordinary citizen of the city/country.

See: http://curethis.wordpress.com/ to see some recent posts on water mismanagement by the Delhi government.

Treating Children With Kindness
Adil Salahi, Arab News

Children were always certain of kind treatment by the Prophet (peace be upon him). Whenever he saw a child, he received him/her with a smile and said some pleasant words, even when the Prophet was preoccupied with something very serious. Anas ibn Malik, who served the Prophet throughout his 10-year stay in Madinah, said: “I never saw anyone who was more kind to children than God’s Messenger.” (Related by Muslim.)

He did not differentiate between boys and girls; he was very kind to all, teaching his companions that kindness to children must be an essential characteristic of every Muslim. We should put this in its proper perspective; his was a society characterized by its rough attitude in all situations, and particularly harsh in its treatment of girls and women.

Some Bedouins visiting Madinah saw him kissing one of his grandchildren. One of them asked: “Do you kiss your young ones; by God we never do that.”

The Prophet said: “What can I do for you if God has removed compassion from your heart?” This was a pointed answer, telling those rough people that their attitude was wrong and it should better be changed.

Compassion is a virtue that we should nurture, and its primary aspect is to be kind to young children.

Whenever the Prophet returned to Madinah after being away on an expedition or travel, he was met by children who went out to give him a welcome. Abdullah ibn Jaafar, whose father was a cousin of the Prophet, said that on one such occasion, he was the first taken to the Prophet: “He took me up and placed me in front of him as he was on his mount. Then one of Fatimah’s two sons was brought to him and he placed him behind him. Thus all three of us entered Madinah on one mount.” (Related by Muslim.)

The Prophet was leading the Muslim army on its way to Khaybar when he passed by the living quarters of the Ghifar tribe. He noticed a girl who was walking fast alongside the army. Realizing that she wanted to give any help to the soldiers, the Prophet took her behind him on his mount. When they stopped for rest and he dismounted, he noticed that she looked very shy. He realized that she has just had her period. It was her first time, so he taught her how to clean herself and her clothes. She stayed with the army until after the battle. The Prophet gave her a necklace from the booty. She wore that necklace without ever taking it off. She grew up to achieve fame and was to be known as Layla Al-Ghifariyyah.

Whenever a child was with the Prophet, he would teach that child something simple, short and very effective. Abdullah ibn Abbas was a young boy when he once rode behind the Prophet on his mount. The Prophet said that he wanted to teach him some very useful words. These were: “Be careful with what God has given you, and He will take care of you. Remain within the limits God has set and you will always find Him before you.

Get to know God in times of ease, and He will know you in times of hardship. Learn that what you have missed would have never been yours, and what you have got you would have never missed. Learn also that victory is assured with perseverance, a way out is certain to come after a time of stress, and that hardship is followed by ease.” (Related by Al-Bukahri.)

When we consider these words we realize that they were simple enough to be understood by a 10-year old, yet they can be fundamental in shaping a young man’s attitude to life in general. A young child can easily learn the Prophet’s words by heart, yet they will be of benefit to him throughout his life. Not only so, but the child in this case reported these words so that we can all learn them and bring our attitude to life events in line with them. Yet the Prophet’s teaching of children could be much simpler. Abdullah ibn Busr Al-Mazini reported that when he was a young child, his mother sent him with a bunch of grapes to give to the Prophet. On the way, he ate some grapes. “When I gave it to the Prophet, he held my ear and said: ‘You little cheat!’” Thus the lesson of delivering something intact was given to the young child in a very gentle way.

His companions realized that whatever prayer the Prophet said, God would answer in the broadest and fullest way. Therefore, when children were born, they were often brought to the Prophet to bless them. He would welcome them and do more than their parents hoped for. The whole Muslim community were delighted when Asma’ bint Abu Bakr gave birth to her son, Abdullah, the first child to be born to the Muslim community in Madinah after the Prophet and the Makkan Muslims migrated there.

“She took her newborn to the Prophet. He took the child, put him on his lap, took a date and rubbed the child’s jaws with it before praying for him and blessing him.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

In some societies, particularly the Arabian society at the time, when adults met, children were told to keep away. The Prophet’s attitude was different; he welcomed children and attended to them.

His companions in Madinah were farmers. They often brought him the early ripe fruit, hoping for a prayer of blessing. “Whenever he was brought such fruit, he would pray: ‘Our Lord, bless our city, our fruit and measures, and make each blessing goes with another.’ He would then give the fruit to the youngest child present.” (Related by Muslim and Al-Tirmidhi). On one occasion he was talking to a group of adults and dates were served to them, when some children came in. He took a bunch of dates and gave it to the children.

This was in total contrast to what any Arab host would have done. Had his children come in when he was entertaining guests, an Arab would have told them off and ordered them out.

In all this the Prophet set an example, not only for people in his generation, but for all future generations. Hence, you find that Muslim parents are always likely to take good care of their children, and to be compassionate to all young people. This ensures that family relations remain strong and families remain closely knit.

This is a great blessing that has yielded great benefits to Muslim families in all societies, across countless generations.

This is report sent by Mr. Rahul Saxena of Lok Vigyan Kendra (LVK), Himacha Pradesh. Srijan Foundation is supporting a project in which LVK runs in the Chamba District, for reviving medicinal plants and thus creating self-sustenance through forest produce.

There is a Presentation attached.

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Dear Friends,

After a long delay, we are sending you the report of the forest management effort that many of you had supported (the list of donors is given at the end of this report). We thank you all for all the support that was extended to this initiative; without it things would just not have been possible. The team at Lok Vigyan Kendra wants to express heart felt appreciation of the spirit of philanthropy that the appeal was able to mobilize – even from people who did not know us previously.

First, the reason for the delay in posting this report – we wanted you to see images of the village that took up the forest management initiative and the area that got restocked with the medicinal herbs (see the attached power point presentation). We did not have a camera at the time the plantation activity was undertaken and hence no images of the herbs being planted. The images that I am sending to you have been recently taken when a team member had gone there to have the people loosen the ground around the herbs for better growth of the roots (the harvestable part).

We had planned to take up the plantation activity in two villages this season – Kut Batoa and Mahua. The area to be planted in Mahua was a much drier one (it is a patch of grassland) than the one in Kut Batoa (an oak forest with plenty of undergrowth). Kut Batoa incidentally also had a drier patch ready for plantation which was to be planted with the same herb(Heracleum specie) as the patch in Mahua. Since, the rains arrived late in this region, almost all the able bodied men from Mahua had crossed over the high Pir Panjal mountains to Lahul region for the collection of commercial herbs, similar to those that this initiative is trying to rehabilitate in their own forests. We could not take up any plantation activity in the Mahua village this summer – that shall have to be done during the coming winters. Luckily, there were a few people still remaining in Kut Biota who gathered the herbs (Valerian specie) from far away areas and planted them in the Oak forest, adjacent to the plot that had been planted last year with the same herb. In all 100 Kgs of Valerian plants were utilized by the villagers for the plantations. This roughly translates to around 9000 to 10,000 plants in total. Since the full grown roots do not occupy a large area, not much digging is involved in the planting exercise and around a hectare of area was planted with the herbs.

Two months later, the herbs have shown an excellent survival ratio with a more than 90 % plants surviving, a factor that had inspired the villagers of Kut – Batoa (and some other adjoining villages) to undertake similar efforts this year. We are planning to expand the initiative to these villages to create a visible impact and hopefully influence government functioning. We hope to get your continued support this year too.

If you are interested to know more about our other activities, please write back.

With warm regards

Rahul Saxena,
Lok Vigyan Kendra,
Chanakyapuri Colony,
Ghuggar Nala Road,
Palampur, District Kangra,
Himachal Pradesh.
Tel : 098160-25246

The details of the expenses made from the donated money is as follows:

Total donations received Rs. 53,100

Expenses

Cost of planting by the local villagers Rs. 8,540

Travel and honorarium for Rs. 5,205

meetings and supervision

Cost of planting material to villagers Rs. 900

Total expenses Rs. 14,645

Funds carried over for plantations in Rs. 38,455

winter in Kut Batoa and Mahua

The list of donors is as follows:

Project Presentation – Charda, Chamba, Himachal Pradesh (PPT)