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More Drama
Unfortunately, given the work we do, not all news will be good news and we have to highlight some of the sad stories. Chaman (the father of Jayenti, Ramoo, Sanju and Kishor) hit another low with his drinking after nearly stopping for a few months. It was so bad that his wife escaped with the children to TaniaDidi’s house at 6 in the morning. They were getting verbally and physically abused. The family hid out in the school all day while teachers and Vinita tried to talk to Chaman and calm him down. The counselling continued all day, spelling out the options to Lila (the mom) and trying to bring Chaman to some sort of understanding. In the end, Lila chose to return home with Chaman. The children were scared and reluctant. One of the strangest stories was that of Dinesh and Parvati (parent’s of Madhu, Dineeka, Rahul and Partip). It turns out that Dinesh has a second wife. When he had his accident a couple years ago, he was NOT living with Parvati—complete surprise to us. After the accident, he got kicked out of the his second wife’s house because he was so needy and not even able to walk. He asked Parvati to take him back and without thinking she did. She nurtured and cared for him the whole time he was sick and injured. To pay her back for her caring, as soon as he was better he started abusing her(mentally and physically) and bringing his other wife to their house. Parvati was really being tortured. Eventually she came into the school and exploded with the story, not being able to hide the secret any longer. For a couple of weeks, we counselled her and she began feeling stronger and stronger. The two came to an agreement for the children’s sake, but it is yet to be seen how this will affect the family in the long term. Poor children. |
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 Madhu—more pensive and unsure of herself. We wish her beautiful smile would shine through again. Ajeet (left) Sandeep (right) |
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Fundraising/Marketing Committee
A very large thank you to Patrick, Helen, Julie, Erica, Sherilyn, Ashley for agreeing to be part of a marketing/ fundraising committee. This group has already seen results: a presentation by Tania at the National AIESEC conference, newspaper articles, revised documents, increased networking, and lots of good ideas. Work that is being looked at includes: Brochure, Application Forms, Letterhead, A “Tool Kit” for use by people wanting to put on their own fundraiser for One!, Networking with other NGO’s, Exploring other options for fundraisers, Web changes, E-newsletters, and other things as needed. It is wonderful to have a group of volunteers who are committed to the organization, and willing to put in time and work to make things better for the children in India. If interested in this committee, please call Marilyn at 467-6265. |
Mahendra!
In September, we had a shortage of volunteers and increase in number of children. Therefore we had to call for more help. With the great successes of Ajeet, Sushma and Sandeep we decided to let them bring in some people for the job! It worked out fantastically. Mahendra Yadav, on a break after trying to deal with his father’s death, was ready to try his hand back at teaching. He has his teaching diploma from the same school as Sushma and Sandeep. The first day he came in Tania wasn’t sure if it would work out—he stood up every time she walked in the room—not good! The other staff members laughed at him and quickly told him that none of that formality was necessary. Mahendra learned quickly. Within a few days, his quiet confidence had shone through and he had a temporary placement for four months. Mahendra is another piece which makes up a wonderful staff puzzle in Mumbai. They work VERY well together, help each other and seem to give each other motivation to be the best they can. Beautiful!!!  |
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