Newsletter of Make-A-Wish ® Foundation of India ISSUE 1, Jan-March, 2011 A Big Thank You! Cadbury India Ltd. was chosen to be the donor of the year 2010 by Make-A-Wish ® Foundation International for helping Make-A-Wish ® Foundation India to grant more wishes. Mr. Uday Joshi presented the Trophy of Appreciation to Mr. Ransom D'souza and his colleague. Fun and Festivities! This year, Christmas came 3 days early for many children in Goa! Make-A-Wish ® in Goa celebrated Christmas by having a small carol singing event and distributing food packets and gifts to the two Paediatric Wards of the G. M .C. hospital on the 22 nd of December. One child had even more reason to be happy, as his/her wish was also fulfilled on that day! This whole event was sponsored by Cox & Kings Ltd. (Goa). Thanks to them, and our ever dedicated volunteers, Christmas was truly special for many children this year! Beautiful 'Bomma'! Cute, chubby-cheeked Sumalatha was very used to people calling her doll or "bomma" as it is referred to in Telegu. Whenever she saw the decked up dolls in the shops, she too wished she could look like that… So, when Make-A-Wish ® Foundation of India – Hyderabad division volunteers met her there was no mistaking her wish! When she stood on her hospital bed, adorned in a pink dress, Sumalatha looked just like a bridal doll. And just like a doll everyone wanted to cuddle her, too! HYDERABAD GOA Wishes fulfilled 2010 – Pan India 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Ahmedabad Bangalore Coimbatore Delhi Goa Hyderabad Jaipur Mumbai Pune 167 101 176 189 100 71 232 143 22 23 108 106 169 98 138 81 855 735 Jan-June July-Dec Total Wishes during the year 2010 3514
Transcript
Newsletter of Make-A-Wish® Foundation of India
ISSUE 1, Jan-March, 2011
A Big Thank You!Cadbury India Ltd. was chosen to be the donor of the year 2010 by Make-A-Wish® Foundation
International for helping Make-A-Wish® Foundation India to grant more wishes. Mr. Uday Joshi
presented the Trophy of Appreciation to Mr. Ransom D'souza and his colleague.
Fun and Festivities!This year, Christmas came 3 days early for many children in Goa! Make-A-Wish® in Goa
celebrated Christmas by having a small carol singing event and distributing food packets and
gifts to the two Paediatric Wards of the G. M .C. hospital on the 22nd of December.
One child had even more reason to be happy, as his/her wish was also fulfilled on that day!
This whole event was sponsored by Cox & Kings Ltd. (Goa). Thanks to them, and our ever
dedicated volunteers, Christmas was truly special for many children this year!
Beautiful 'Bomma'!Cute, chubby-cheeked Sumalatha was very used to people calling her doll or "bomma" as it is referred to
in Telegu. Whenever she saw the decked up dolls in the shops, she too wished she could look like that…
So, when Make-A-Wish® Foundation of India – Hyderabad division volunteers met her there was no
mistaking her wish!
When she stood on her hospital bed, adorned in a pink dress, Sumalatha looked just like a bridal doll.
And just like a doll everyone wanted to cuddle her, too!HYDERABAD
GOA
Wishes fulfilled 2010 – Pan India
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0Ahmedabad Bangalore Coimbatore Delhi Goa Hyderabad Jaipur Mumbai Pune
167
101
176 189
10071
232
143
22 23
108 106
169
98138
81
855
735
Jan-June July-Dec
Total Wishesduring
the year 2010
3514
A Royal High Five!It was a commendable occasion, but also
became a most cherished one! To celebrate
the completion of five successful years of the
Make-A-Wish® Foundation in its city, during
which they have fulfilled 1350 wishes, the
Jaipur Division organized a fun-filled evening
for its wish children.
The event was sponsored by Princess Diya
Kumari Ji and held at the heart of the Jaipur
old city, City Palace on 19th October. About 60
kids enjoyed the evening with 20 volunteers
and supporters of Make-A-Wish®. It was like a
dream come true for them!
The Princess fulfilled the wishes of 6 children present, gifting a computer, cycles, CD player, doll set
and so on. The happiness on the faces of these children was immense, as they received their wish
gifts from the Princess in the City Palace Gardens in front of thundering applause from other kids,
volunteers, supporters and of course the bevy of media persons, all clicking away!
A surprise was in store for the original team of six volunteers, too! They were given a token of
appreciation arranged by the Programme Coordinator and presented to them by the Princess.
Later on, the enthralled children enjoyed a Puppet Show and a Magic Show, and danced the evening
away to groovy music. Adding to the fun were tattoo artists and a huge bouncy slide. The variety of
refreshments arranged at the City Palace was enjoyed by one and all present. Naturally, the ice cream
van was most in demand! The icing on the cake, was the cake itself! All the children wanted to blow
out its candles and of course, eat the yummy cake, too.
It is said a smile costs nothing, but gives much. And, going by the smiles evident on the wish
children's faces that evening, they had been given a memory of a lifetime, indeed!
Spreading the Christmas Spirit!Christmas has always been a special time of the year. The festive spirit is infectious, and this year Make-
A-Wish® Foundation of India – Bangalore division made it even more so!
The Bangalore division had their very own Christmas party at their office on the
25th December, wherein they had fun and games and also fulfilled the wishes
of 6 children present.
Sharing the festivities with family makes it more fun, and each child arrived with
their parents and siblings for the event. They were greeted by smiling Santas –
donors and volunteers from Infosys and I-Volunteer who had come to share
the joy of Christmas with them.
The event started at 11.30 am with group games where parents, children and
volunteers joined in. It was difficult to make out who was a kid and who was
not, as all of them sang, clapped and laughed in glee! Christmas carols played
at the background as they were served snacks and refreshments. The children enjoyed the games,
music, goodies and were thrilled with their wish gifts which they received from their Santa!
Apart from the wish gifts, the brothers and sisters present were given sibling gifts so that they wouldn't
feel left out.
The event came to an end with the kids and volunteers coming together to cut two delicious cakes and
greet Merry Christmas to each other. Before the children could leave, the volunteers randomly gave
Christmas gifts to each child and they all departed – happy and smiling.
Since its inception, the Bangalore division has fulfilled over 650 wishes, but combined with the Christmas
party, it was truly the most terrific time for all present!
JAIPUR
BANGALORE
Music, Masti and Melody!It had all the ingredients for a fun evening! Make A Wish® Foundation of India Pune Division organized
a musical programme by well known musicians and poets Shri. Salil Kulkarni and Shri. Sundeep
Khare at City Pride Multiplex, Kothrud on 1st October 2010.
The show was a fund raiser, and passes were sold at Rs. 125/- each. A worthy contribution of
Rs. 15,000/- from LIC added to the funds collected, which
totalled to approximately Rs. 55,000/-.
The wish children invited to the event had a wonderful time. It
was truly an entertaining evening, thanks to Shri Salil and
Shri Sundeep. Make a Wish® Foundation of India, Pune division
was very grateful to the duo who generously performed for free.
The show was also successful.
Making Them Smile, Disney Style…On the 24th of September, 2010, the Disney event took
place at Aamby Valley, near Mumbai. A wonderful
venue, but an even wonderful event!
Five wish children were treated like royalty that day.
They were picked up in cars, fed a lavish lunch and
dinner in expensive hotels, and put up in deluxe suites
with a lovely lake view! Later on, their wishes – a Disney
TV, Power Ranger set, gift hamper, etc. – were given to
them on stage.
Choc-o-bloc with surprises, the delightful day was unlike any other these children had experienced
before. A wish and a memory which they will cherish forever!!
It was Disney magic again…
Spare a Thought, Spread a Smile!
When you help those less fortunate, it brings the most happiness… to you! This was the feeling
behind 'The Joy of Giving' week, held in Riverside school, Ahmedabad. The school invited Make-A-
Wish® Foundation of India – Ahmedabad Division to deliver a talk on their activities in an attempt to
make students understand the importance of giving back to society.
The talk, on 30th September, was attended by 25 students of grade 7. Ms. Roopande Shah
– program coordinator spoke to students about Make-A-Wish® Foundation
of India. The philosophy of the organization of fulfilling a wish of a child
suffering from life threatening illness touched the hearts of all sitting there!
Students were taken to visit Civil Hospital – Cancer ward and Red-cross
Blood Bank where they interacted with children admitted and spoke to the
doctors present. Never before had these students experienced anything
like this.
The work of the Foundation struck a chord with each student; all of them
decided to fulfil as many wishes as possible from our pending wish list.
They earnestly collected as much money as they could – from their
parents, their teachers and even their own pocket money – and fulfilled the
wishes of six children on 2nd October in the foundation's office!
The wish children were delighted, and happily cut the cake and played games with these students.
The students in turn, enjoyed the whole experience!
AHMEDABA
D
PUNE
MUMBAI
The Solar System: His Universe!Talk about the solar system, and he gets stars in his eyes! For Venkatesh, a spirited 12 year old is
truly fascinated by the Galaxy.
When our volunteers met him, they gave him a small drawing book as an ice-breaker. His face
breaking into a smile, Venkatesh immediately started drawing the solar system, explaining to the
volunteers that it was his hobby to collecting newspaper clippings about the stars and planets.
His innermost wish, said the boy who lives with his younger brother and family in a remote village
near Bangalore, was to be able to draw a pictures of the Solar System, Lunar Eclipse and Solar
Eclipse in a big book so he could explain the whole system to his mother, who is not literate. He
wants to share his excitement and knowledge about the wonderful creation of God i.e. the galaxy with
Happiness is Flying High!
From as long as he can remember, Edward has always wanted to be a
Pilot. And rather than planes, it was always helicopters that have
fascinated this young boy. Little wonder then, when asked his innermost
wish, pat came his request – a "ride in a helicopter"!
Due to the security issues it took a while to organize the wish but the delay
did not deter Edward. We got through with the request from the aviation
industry and finally got permission for the ride.
The day Edward got a call from the foundation saying his wish would be
fulfilled on the following day, he did not sleep a wink all night. So excited
was he that he got up early in the morning, borrowed a headphone from
his friend and was dressed in all white like a Pilot!
Sitting in the helicopter was thrilling enough, but the ride in the sky, with all of Mumbai below, the
Arabian sea, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, the sky scrapers… had an ecstatic Edward smiling from
ear to ear throughout! Indeed, it was an experience unlike any other.
Edward had an awesome time. He thanked the foundation from the bottom of his heart for the
helicopter ride – a memory he would cherish forever.
And Ankit Walked Tall Once Again!Our wish child Ankit had to get his leg amputated from above the knee because of the nature of his
illness. His innermost wish was to be able to walk again. From the onset Ankit, a fairly intelligent and
sensitive child was clear that he did not want a Jaipur Foot but a Prosthetic Limb which could bend
over the knees and is a replica of a natural leg.
The Prosthetic Limb can bend, can be adjusted and will not play a hindrance even when Ankit grows
taller. In fact in a while Ankit will be completely independent and can
manage any task on his own like squatting, sitting and even running.
The entire process of getting the mould made for the child and the
various trials was quite an ordeal and Ankit had to undergo a lot of
training. This did not deter him; on the contrary, he was determined to
master the task as quickly as he could!
The thrill was double fold: the joy of finally being able to walk without his
crutches, and delight that in the future he would need no support! The
first thing that he did after his wish fulfilment was to visit Shirdi (holy
place of the Lord Sai Baba) to seek his blessings and thank the Lord.
His grateful parents thanked the Make-A-Wish® Foundation of India
profusely. Ankit had a spring in his step and a smile in his heart once
again!
MUMBAI
BANGALOR
E
Building His Home is Where His Heart is!In the rural area of Gujarat lives Ramizraja, a handsome and sharp-minded boy.
When the Gujarat volunteers met him at the Red-Cross Hospital this shy, young
lad took a while to open up.
Once he did so, he was quite eloquent about his interests and hobbies!
Ramizraja, we learnt, likes to draw plans of houses, and does so whenever he
gets time off from his studies. He hopes one day to build himself a real home
with a huge garden and big terrace. Naturally this aspiring Civil Engineer's
innermost wish was to have an engineer's Drawing Kit and a big colour kit!
His wish was fulfilled in a special way! The foundation contacted engineering
students from CEPT University and requested them to make a list of items in a
drawing kit like special pencils, ruler, graph papers and each of the minute
things that could help Ramizraja in his drawing. One of the engineering students even ensured to be
present at the time of wish fulfilment and discussed some of the important points to be taken care,
while drawing a house!
Ramizraja was very thrilled with his Engineer's Drawing Kit and colouring tools like wax crayons, colour
pencils, water paints etc. in his kit. Smiling happily, he promised the foundation that he would make a
beautiful drawing for us!
her. Venkatesh went on to tell the volunteers that he
was now teaching his mother the basics, and that
recently his mother was able to write alphabets and
now even knew how to sign her name!
On the dawn of 24th July 2010, our Bangalore
division volunteers met Venkatesh in an Emergency
Ward with the posters on Solar System, Solar
Eclipse, Lunar Eclipse, some drawing books and the
MAD art set. His excitement almost bubbling over,
he straight away started drawing the Solar System,
forgetting about his pain.
His mother was overjoyed to see her son so thrilled, and thanked the team by saying that 'at least for
this moment I am seeing happiness in his eyes!'
An Out Of This World Experience!
Space is the place that always puts a smile on his face! Yash Gandhi is a studious and intelligent 15
year old from Pune, whose favourite subject is science. In fact, so interested in space research is he,
that he hopes to make it his career one day!
When Make-A-Wish® Foundation of India's Pune division volunteers met him at the hospital and asked
about his innermost cherished wish, there was no hesitation in his request! Yash immediately said he
wants to visit the Space Research Centre at Shree Hari Kota that
houses India's only satellite launch centre.
His wish was kindly sponsored by the Cox and Kings Ltd. on 1st
August 2010. He was fortunate to get an opportunity to meet some of
the great scientists there and enjoyed talking and discussing Space
Technology with them. Despite their hectic schedule, the scientists
were quite enthusiastic about answering this intelligent boy's every
query.
Yash had a wonderful experience at Shree Hari Kota, and it has
recharged his energy and enthused him to move ahead in life. Much
like the satellites being launched there, the visit has infused more
force into his desire to make a career here a reality!
AHMEDA
BAD
PUNE
A Stethoscope and a Lot of Hope…
Charming and vivacious Vijaylaxmi has been in and out of hospital almost daily to treat a life-
threatening illness. So for this little brave girl, barely five years old, there could not have been anything
more inspiring than becoming a doctor!
Ms. Smiti Golyan, one of the energetic volunteers from
the Delhi division helped in fulfilling Vijaylaxmi's
cherished wish. On her wish fulfilment day, Vijaylaxmi,
her mother and siblings were taken to the Ashlok
Hospital. Dr. Ashok Chopra, one of the founders of the
hospital, had directed his team to do its best to give
Vijaylaxmi a convincing experience of what it is like to be
a doctor. The staff rose to the occasion and was most
cooperative. Vijaylaxmi's eyes lit up; and there was a
broad smile as soon as she saw the stethoscope! With a
doctor's coat and stethoscope, 'Dr. Vijaylaxmi' was all set to meet her first set of in-patients. She
greeted her patients like a professional, introduced herself, asked about their problems, came to a
diagnosis and gave them some tips to keep well. One of the patients was so impressed with her that
she paid her Rs 1,000/- as her fees!
Then Vijaylaxmi was taken for a tour of the hospital. She visited the ECG lab, CT scan room etc. and
also spoke to other doctors and technicians to better understand the medical details of these
facilities. After scribbling on a few files, she was taken to the out-patient clinic where she interacted
with a few patients.
Dr. Ashok Chopra also gifted her with a toy doctor's kit for her outstanding work as a doctor. The
young girl is determined to serve the sick when she grows up. And seeing the way she conducted
herself on the wish fulfilment day, we look forward to seeing 'Dr. Vijaylaxmi' striding through the
hospital wards in another 20 years!
It's the Season to Be Jolly…Fifteen year old Angel had never dreamt that she would be spending the Christmas of 2010 in a
hospital ward, away from her home and family. But when it became a shocking reality, the only thing
she could ask for was a Christmas Celebration, just like the ones at home!
The volunteers from the Coimbatore division were themselves very excited about this sweet girl's
unique wish and everyone went out of their way to make that day special for Angel. They celebrated
the Christmas with Angel and the rest of the children of the Paediatric Oncology ward at Ramakrishna
Hospital. The local church carol group generously agreed to come along to meet Angel. As Angel cut
the Christmas cake, our volunteers and wish children sang "Merry Christmas" and then kick started the
celebrations!!
Just then, 'Jingle Bells' started in the background, and in walked Santa Claus! Then, the carollers sang
traditional Christmas songs. The beautifully decorated auditorium of the hospital with a decked-up
tree and a crib reminded Angel of her own home… Santa played with the
children, sang along with them and distributed gifts to all. The Nun, who
came along with the carol singers, delivered the Christmas message.
The yummy food included a Christmas cake kindly sponsored by the
church authorities and everyone enjoyed it. Our very supportive sponsor
was there with her family to share the festivities. And we heard parents of
other wish children thanking Angel for her wonderful wish which gave
everyone an opportunity to celebrate Christmas.
Angel couldn't help but keep smiling and she continued to thank all of us
saying, "This is much more than I expected". Isn't it what every volunteer
would like to hear?
COIMBATORE
DELHI
A Glamorous Gown wiped away the frowns!Little Shaily simply loves dressing up! Her closet, full of different types of formal and informal clothes,
attests to the fact. The only thing missing was a Designer Gown. So it didn't come as much of a
surprise when she informed our volunteers who contacted her in Raheja Hospital, Mumbai that what
she really wanted was a 'Designer Gown' to wear on special occasions!
The foundation then contacted well known designer
Mr. Vikram Phadnis to help us to fulfil Shaily's wish, who
unhesitatingly obliged, and created a wonderful pink gown
for her. The matching jewellery and sandals were also bought
to enhance the effect.
The best part about this wish was the surprise element.
Shaily was not informed that the volunteers were arriving with
her Designer Gown. When they reached the hospital, she
was sleeping due to the terrible pain in her legs, post her
chemotherapy session. She awoke suddenly and saw the
Jacket with the brand "Vikram Phadnis" embossed on it, and
her joy knew no bounds!
She carefully unzipped the jacket and on seeing the Gown
was moved to tears. Her pain forgotten; she quickly donned
the diamond & pearl encrusted pink gown and started
posing for the camera! Then she sang a beautiful song for us
in her sweet voice.
Her parents too were very happy to see their darling daughter beaming, as for the last couple of weeks
Shaily had been very depressed on losing her hair due to chemotherapy.
The gown was given to her a week before Diwali – and a thrilled Shaily informed everyone that she
would proudly wear it on that day. Truly, this gown has made the Festival of Lights extra bright for
Make-A-Wish® Foundation is a Registered Charitable Trust.All donations to the Foundation are exempt from Income Tax u/s 80(G) of IT act 1961 WishPower printed courtesy Spenta Multimedia, Mumbai, India
