Front Cover

March 2013

March 2013

March 2013

1st Inside Cover

VISIONA Society in which ALL children without distinction of any caste, creed or gender, enjoy their rights and are empowered through education to develop to their full potential embracing values, learning to live together with faith in the human race.

MISSIONThe mission of the India sponsorship Committee is to provide children in need the support required by them for an education that offers them opportunities that develop their full potential. Further, it seeks to create opportunities for children to become responsible, contributing members of society by helping them meet their family, social, emotional, physical and spiritual needs.

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Dear Friends,

A little bird flew by and perched itself on my shoulder!Tweeted in my ear slowly……a big reminder!

Where is “The Bond”Haven’t seen it for long?

Yes, a lot has happened over the yearWhich I will share with you, both far & near!

Lot of positive changes and success stories this timeBut not without”hiccups” and problems alike.

Before I pen the stories of children bringing us joy,We thank heartily our sponsors supporting a girl or boy!

You have helped to change their lives in a big way,So do make it a point to visit them at Balgram some day!

With all good wishes

Editorially yours

Zenobia Chiba

EDITORIAL

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Mukesh has joined Japalouppe Equestrian Farms as a Trainee

Senior girls enjoying cultural activities

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Success Stories with Vocational Rehabilitation

The young little ones come to us for shelter and care,

Over the years , we educate them and for their future prepare.

We observe their talents throughout carefully,

And on finishing school guide them accordingly.

Manisha passed a nursing course in Pune city,

And at a rural hospital in Talegaon, performs her duty.

Vishaka who also completed courses in nursing

Now at KEM hospital in Pune, is working.

Mukesh completed a course in web designing

At Animatix Multimedia and is now also working.

The other boys, Udhav, Amol and Dilip,

Joined call centres to earn their living!

Shamal decided to be in a company, a computer operator,

And is now independent and working towards a career.

We are very proud of our Balgram kid

Who can now stand on their own feet!

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Devi wants to be a teacher

Laxmi Ghanshyam Mane would like to study further, to improve her career prospects

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Children with Aspiration…..Can we give them some Attention?

There are few Balgram children who want to study much further

But are dependent totally on ISC to support their endeavour.

Santoshi is doing her 2nd year Bachelor of Computer studies presently

Needs one more year to complete her diploma successfully.

Devi, 12th grade student needs training for 2 years more

To achieve a Diploma, that’ll make her a teacher for sure.

Swapnil, in his first year of Post Graduate studies,

Aspires to be a Professor once he finishes.

Laxmi wants to train in social work and get a Master’s degree

Is working hard to reach her goals but needs support financially.

All the children are in different fields,

Ultimately wanting to stand on their own feet.

We sincerely hope that we will be able to assist our children

And would be grateful if anyone can give them extra attention.

Your ideas & suggestions , dear friends, are most welcome.

Cause we need your support and care for each and every one.

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Aarti, right, (now well recovered) with her special friend Khushi

Karishma (right) with her sister Megha

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Medical Cases at Balgram…… We give them all the care

Aarti, a quiet little girl studying in Higher K.G.Complained of stomach aches pretty frequently.Shocked we were to hear that the tests revealed,She had cancer of the kidney, was serious indeed.So we admitted her to KEM , Pune for surgery,And little Aarti is now recovering slowly but surely.

Karishma in Grade 10 could not hear properly,And had problems with comprehension consequently.So after several tests we had to provide her with hearing aidWhich a world of difference to her hearing has made!

Laxmi, has both, problems in speech and hearing,And Is being treated at KEM with therapeutic caring.It will take a while till she can be curedWill need a lot of patience for sure.

We do hope and pray that our kids remain healthyAnd do look after their special needs carefully.

We thank Dr. Usha Krishna who regularly visits BalgramAnd gives a lot of care and attention to our children.

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Our boys team for the Lonavala run organized by the Indian Navy

Our girls team for the Lonavla run – they won more laurels than the boys!!

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Our Dubai Sponsor runs the Marathon for Balgram!!

‘Twas a sunny morning as the Marathon runners got together,A big event in Dubai for all, no matter the weather!After a challenging run across the streets of Dubai,The runners gathered near Burj Khalifa underneath the blue blue sky!

Hearty Congratulations to our Mannan Adenwala, so dear,Who ran for Balgram children,who to his heart are near!He collected a handsome sum from his friends and family,Which he donated to Balgram so very generously.

To You, Mannan, we are very grateful, really,Your donation has helped us tremendously.And also for the years that have gone byWhen you supported our causes silently!!

Cheers to the Next One,You are a great Inspiration!!To our children, who will also aspireTo run a Marathon, will be their desire!

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Wedding of Soni Tai Kharat – with the Balgram family

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Happenings at Balgram

Did you know:

Who made delicious “Chapatis” for the children?T’was none other than Shantabai, who spent 40 years with dedication.But this year the old , hardworking lady expired suddenly,And the children remember her and miss her tremendously.May her soul rest in peace.

And

A Gate Register has been introduced recently,To note the entry of visitors and workmen carefully!This is to maintain proper securityAnd avoid strangers and picnickers, a casual entry.

And

Termination reports are being made for children who leave BalgramWith an additional exit form to be signed by the children,Making them aware of certain terms and conditions,So demands cannot be made to our organization!

And

Sewage tanks needed immediate repair in the top four sadans As water leaked & overflowed and caused a lot of problems.This ofcourse means heavy expenses coming our sideBut such things have to be attended to sometimes overnight!!

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The winning team of Singers!!

Demonstration of a model railway in Balgram, as part of Summer Camp activities

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Activities at Balgram!

Sports Day is awaited and enjoyed by most of the kidsWhen the get an opportunity to show off their “kicks”!Be it football or their favourite cricket,They put in all their efforts to be the best.

For those who sing well, it’s the music competition,They practice very hard for the inter-school participation.You will be pleased to hear about their achievement,Securing 2nd place in the Gurukul schools recent event.

The studious ones look forward to an educational tripThis time it was to the Quest laboratory, an interesting visit.Navnirmiti had conducted a training programme in MathSurprisingly the kids did well orally, but in writing were slack!

The computer lab is used by our children regularlyBut faced electrical problems recently.This is one of the most important toolsAs the children need it for their projects at school.

There are many projects, the children take up during the yearSpecially in summer, when they are on leave and full of gear!

Celebrating Dushera with Elisabeth, a German volunteer

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Cost of Living Impacts us too!

Its been years and years now that our donors are sponsoring a child,With a yearly donation of Rs.3,000/- whilst some do it in kind!We do our best to look after the needs of every girl or boyAnd make sure they are well looked after, if need be with the smallest toy!!

But now with all round cost increaseWe feel the crunch and the squeeze!Where do we cut and how do we continueIf we need to maintain the same standards anew!

So we put our heads together in our ISC committeeWe have to find the best solution, that’s our responsibility!We therefore revised the figures with a marginal increaseWhich would cover every kids ‘necessary’ needs!

Sponsorship for a child’s education for 1 year will now be Rs.5,000/- Whereas the long term full education will amount to Rs.50,000/-And for those who like to sponsor a family home at BalgramWith 10 children, it would be Rs.2 lakhs per annum.

I’m sure, dear donors and sponsors ,we have your full understandingAnd you’ll continue to support us further in a child’s development and upbringing!

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In keeping with times!

Balgram, situated in a hilly area in Lonavala,Is sprawled over a very big and beautiful areaAnd the sadans are also built at different levelsSo one has to walk quite a bit from the entrance!

During the day, there is all around activity,With the school children doing their respective dutyMothers too, walking up and down doing household choresWhilst others have to get things from the local stores.

But when the sun comes down and darkness aboundsThe children seem to disappear from the open groundsSo someone came up with the idea of “Solar Street Light”Which would make the campus at night, kind of bright!!

A generous donor, with the first solar lamp lit up the main chowk Where now in the evenings the children can freely walk.It would be a great idea now to light up the whole streetSo kids could in summer study outdoors, and get away from the heat.

Let’s hope we can keep up with the times,Getting more solar lamps and lights!

In the present technologically evolving world, there are increasing costs for the educational needs of the children, over and above their nutritional and emotional needs. To cover these escalating costs, we largely depend on the generous support of our well wishers and donors who have stood by us all these years and ensured that we are able to make a difference to the lives of these underprivileged children and provide for their all-round development and growth, to give them a better future.

DONATION AS PER YOUR CHOICE

INDIA SPONSORSHIP COMMITTEE FOR USE IN:

CORPUS DONATION

GENERAL: At the discretion of the Trustees & Board of Governors

ANTAR BHARATI BALGRAM LONAVLA:

Education, nutrition & maintenance of BALGRAM CHILDREN

ANTAR BHARATI BALGRAM SCHOOL

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING CENTER - upgradation of standards

URBAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, PUNE:

EDUCATION

COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES - socio economic development of women through income generation programmes

SCHOOL BASED EDUCATION SUPPORT PROJECT, SION:

EDUCATION - of the girl child from the slums & prevention of drop-outs

NUTRITION

COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES

EDUCATION, VOCATIONAL & REHABILITATION FUND FOR SENIOR CHILDREN

SPECIFIC INTEREST:

You may also choose to sponsor in the following way:

A child’s education for one year Rs.5000/- per annum $150/- p.a.

A child’s long term full education Rs.50,000/- one time $1500/- one time

Sponsoring one family home in Balgram (10 children) Rs.2,00,000/- per annum

P.S: Our regular donors will appreciate that we, at ISC, are raising the sponsorship amounts after a long span of over four years, in view of rising economic inflation.

INDIA SpONSOrShIp COMMITTEE

2nd Inside Cover

I / We are happy to remit herewith a sum of Rupees

(in words, as per above details),

By Cheque No. dated drawn on

as a corpus contribution / voluntary donation as indicated above.

NAME:

ADDRESS:

EMAIL: CONTACT NUMBER:

DATE: SIGNATURE:

Donations are tax deductable under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act 1961. Registered under

Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 & Bombay Public Trusts Act XXIX of 1950.

Cheques / drafts should be made payable to :

INDIA SPONSORSHIP COMMITTEE

Mathuradas Estate Building 1, 2nd Floor,

43/45, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Colaba,

MUMBAI 400 001

You may transfer the funds direct to our account with Bank of Baroda, using the following details:

FOR US DOLLARS:

PLEASE REMIT THE FUNDS TO BANK OF BARODA, NEW YORK ROUTING NO: 026-005-322

(SWIFT : BARBUS33) A/C NO.: 121149 OF BANK OF BARODA MUMBAI, FORT UNIVERSITY

BRANCH

(SWIFT : BARBINBBFUB)

A/C NO: 03910100007752. NAME: INDIA SPONSORSHIP COMMITTEE

RTGS/NEFT/IFSC CODE: BARBOCOLABA

INDIA SpONSOrShIp COMMITTEE

Painting by Chameli Ambedkar – studying fine Arts in D Y Patil College, Pune.

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