Monday, July 27, 2009

Sambhali end of July 2009: Press conference and goodbye to Graduates

Hello my dear friends!!

Sambhali:

Graduates Farewell and Sambhali Trust's first press conference!

Media from Dainik Bhaskar, Rajasthan Partika and Dainik Navjyoti:

Addressing Media and replying to a lot of questions

Soniya, speaking about her experiance with Sambhali Jodhpur Project: "I am proud to be part of the Sambhali Trust, it has made many of my dreams come true. I will be now son to my mother and will be able to take independent decisions."

Monica, speaking about her experience with the literacy program: "I dont know where I would have been if I would not have come to Sambhali. Sambhali has put me in school, now I don't have to give up my school for my younger brother because it is not paid by my family. I am happy that i can attend a school and can make difference in my and my family's life."

Tammana Ji, our Jodhpur project teacher, sharing her views with the press about her experience working with the graduates and the Trust: "I can not believe the change that has taken place in the attitude of the girls in such a short span of time. I am very happy that I have seen the change and have had the first hand experiance on the development of the Sambhali Trust and its projects."

In Pictures Monica and Deepika

Standing from left -Monica, Soniya, Deepika, Pooja, Lajwanti
Sitting from left - Savita and Suneeta

Monica and Soniya

Deepika

Monican and Pooja (munching on Samosa)

Suneeta

Savita and Lajwanti
From left - Lajwanti -Anita -in arms Deepika -Suneeta and far right Pooja

I am doing alright but I am sad that the Graduates are leaving soon. The two sewing centers have to be set up for the graduates so that they can start to earn their living. I have to hire a lady who could manage the sewing centers for some weeks before the girls (graduates) can really take care of the responsbility and have to look for a place where we can establish Sambhali India Shop. Ms. Corinne Rose has come to help me with this from UK for one year. The Service learning trip is coming from USA with 14 american students, they will live in Setrawa for a long time with the local village families, a lot of brain storming for me. I look forward to that.

Please read some more news soon in the month of August.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Mid July 2009 - Europe presentations and all-around-news

Dear Friends,

I hope you are well!!

Sambhali Trust:
Long story short, with the help of my friend and Founder of our partner NGO Soziale Initiative Ms. Ernestine, I made one more dream come true of representing Sambhali trust's work on International level by giving four presentations. They were a great success and people admired our work very much. The presentations took place in Austria and Switzerland.

We had a wonderful Coverage by Times of India just before I left for my trip.

News paper article from Basel,Switzerland about the presentation.



An Indian Evening in Linz, Austria, Indian cooking class , before the presentation.Presentation in Linz (1st)

Presentation (2nd)

Presentation (3rd)
Mr.Joseph and I after the presentation

Presentation (4th) in Basel, Switzerland, arranged by Mr. Ralph Lewin

Nigama came all the way from Biel to say good bye to Cornelia and I, Margret came to drop us at the airport
I must thank you Ms.Ernestine for sponsoring me, for arranging the three presentations and for making this dream come true of mine and for showing me some wonders of this world that god has created. Thanks to your wonderful Family and Friends for making my stay incredible in Austria. I will never forget the wonderful time I have spent with you all.

Thank you to Mr. & Mrs. Ralph and Friends for arranging the presentation in Basel, Ms.Margret for driving me nearly 2000 kilometers in those 14 days and for hosting me in Switzerland. Thanks to your family Gaby, Pascal and all the other beautiful people for having me and showing me your life. Thank you very much Cornelia for making me understand European culture and your moral support.
Nigama, thank you very much for staying around and supporting me. Thanks Emil for having me and the groups who came to India with Nigama, it was lovely to meet them again in their world.
Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Max for having me at your home for the evening and thanks to all the Group members who came to India with Max, Ms. Rita, Ms. Rose Marie and all the wonderful, friendly people for visiting me and for spoiling me, showing me your life, your open hearts and invitations mean a lot to me. I am thankful for this oppertunity.

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VOLUNTEERS:

First Impressions by Ms. Dani Noble
Pennsylvania, USA
25th June - 25th August, 2009


The ‘Sambhali space’ is amazing evidence of the natural bond that exists between women. Wherever she is from, whatever her story, in an all-female group a woman can find a safe space to learn, share, and play. And as I am becoming part of the Sambhali community, I am finding it to be a sacred place for me as well as the women and girls who participate in the Sambhali program.
The first Saturday I spent here, the girls and I danced all day: kathak, para nathium, Rajasthani folk dance, salsa, hip hop…we did it all. It was perhaps the most fun I’ve had in India thus far. I think that simply letting our hair down together was a great way of building immediate trust. I am making fast friends with many of the girls, and we dance and let loose whenever we have a moment free from sewing or English lessons.
The women and girls at Sambhali are among the strongest and most resilient I have ever met. Many of them have experienced more discrimination, abuse, and oppression that I can ever conceive of. I remember during one of my first days here, I listened to one woman (Sabina, now one of my very good friends) tell stories of the domestic abuse she endured on a daily basis, showing me the cuts and bruises that littered her arms and face. She told me how this type of abuse is why she comes to Sambhali: to learn and play in a safe space, free from the troubles of her domestic life.
Something I have learned from Sabina in the two weeks that I have been here is how important independent learning is to women’s empowerment. If a woman feels confident in her own learning abilities, using skills she is taught to further her own independent thinking, she can feel confident about her own mind. She is no longer her body or her dowry, but an independent, creative thinker. Each day, after an English lesson with Sabina, I give her written and reading assignments to take home with her. In addition, I give work out of a supplemental textbook, which Sabina borrows from me to take home. Sabina takes a great deal of pride in being able to study English independently in her own home: to, after her domestic chores are finished, sit down by herself and learn. This has been, for her, a powerful way of taking a small piece of Sambhali home with her each evening.
I have also been working with another group of girls who are at a more basic English level. We are currently working on writing English letters and associating these letters with their sounds, using Hindi script as a learning reference point. It has been challenging because all of the girls are at different levels. I try to do as much individual instruction as possible, assigning different homework to the girls depending on their fluency.
I enjoy teaching English immensely because it is a great opportunity to teach English, learn Hindi, and bond with the girls over educational activities (for example, English role-playing). Over the course of my time here at Sambhali, I would like to develop a more structured English curriculum for girls who go through the Sambhali program. That is, a core reference book that would include helpful worksheets, reference sheets, and lesson plans for conversational and written English. This reference book would be structured so that non-Hindi speaking volunteers could teach concepts in clear, understandable ways. In addition, the goal would be for the students to learn English while the teacher simultaneously learns Hindi. In this way, Sambhali women could be Hindi teachers as well as English learners. I’ve found through my experience over the last two weeks that this relationship is an extremely empowering one for the girls: they are so eager to share what they know as well as learn what they do not know.