“A good teacher is like a candle, it consumes itself to light the way for others.” New Light Annual Newsletter 2015 Greetings New Light friends and family, For the first time in many years, my heart is refusing to soar with the joy of the holiday season as I sit down to share our journey over the last twelve months with all our friends. Upon quiet contemplation, I realize my heart is welling up with sadness and a sense of helplessness for millions who are moving as homeless refugees. As we celebrate the birth of the best known refugee, who two thousand years ago saw the light of this world in a manger because someone gave him shelter, let us not forget how we come to be seen as humans. The only way we wish to be remembered is as kind, forgiving, compassionate and generous. We pass through this world only once and love is the only direction we need. On that note, I would like to extend our gratitude to each and every one of you for showering New Light with your love. In your generosity, you have forgiven our mistakes and lapses, taught us big lessons and guided us through both our lightest and the darkest moments. Going back to January of 2015… 2 “Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in that action.” – Mother Teresa With Mother Teresa’s words ringing in our hearts, on January 5th, Khela Ghar, our boys’ residential home was opened. Filled with love, laughter, good fortune, sunshine and happiness, the young boys ran up the stairs and into their rooms, deciding on which bunk to occupy. As we watched them, we realized that when you step into a new home, with empty rooms, empty closets, and empty cupboards, the world feels brand new, where anything can happen – new hopes, new dreams and new ambitions. We believe that when it comes to developing character strength, inner security and unique personal and interpersonal talents and skills in a child, no institution can or ever will compare with, or effectively substitute for, the home’s potential for positive influence. On January 6th and 8th, we distributed blankets to the children, thanks to the kind donation of New Delhi Public School, Ruby Park, Kolkata. We welcomed Mr. Sanjeev Mehra at Soma Home to distribute. Thank you for giving the children this necessity. Also on January 6th, we paid tribute to the death of 70-year-old Kathak icon - Pandit Chitresh Das. He left behind a rich legacy of his dance schools in India and the US. Since 2003, Das has worked closely with New Light teaching the children Kathak dance as a means of cultural and self-awareness and empowerment. The New Light group was also invited by the German Ministry of Culture and International Cooperation to be a part of Kinder Kulture Karavane in 2008 where the New Light children traveled to Germany for a 6-week performing tour. In Das’ teachings, he emphasized the concepts of ‘tyaag aur seva’ (sacrifice and selfless service). New Light remembers the legend – a dynamic personality and a vibrant dancer. To see more visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDXLq8Ii868 “The future belongs to us because we have taken charge of it.” New Light has the commitment, the resourcefulness and the strength of our people to share the dream across Kolkata of clean water for all. On January 8th and 9th, water filters were distributed in the Sonagachi and Kalighat neighborhoods for the women and children of the red light districts. The women were also provided with training on how to use the filtration system. 3 Also on January 9th, New Light conducted our first all staff meeting of the year, which set us off to a great start! On 11th of January, to mark Swami Vivekananda’s birthday, 60 of the New Light and 2nd Shelter children participated in a walk organized by Nepal Bhattacharjee club. On the 12th of January, Krishna and Bisujit organized and participated in a workshop for Aanchal products in Sindrani N 24 Parganas. 63 people participated in the workshop from the village of Sindrani. New Light provides the material to produce the Aanchal products to the local women. In honor of all the January birthdays, we celebrated with cake and excitement. Happy birthday Coco, Rajiv, Amirul, Sambhu, Rakesh, Siuli and Sikha Di! From the 12th of January to the 21st of January, Carlos Perez Osorio filmed a documentary of all the programs. Special note to Carlos, Javier, Maria, Bernardita Alcalde for their hard work and their commitment to filming about our shelters and programs. We appreciate the time and energy you dedicated! On the 16th of January, Urmi Basu participated in the International Seminar on Human Development and Sustainability. The seminar examined the main challenges and strategies for human development and sustainability in the Asian century. It critically analyzed growing inequality and the neglect of local level/rural development. Multidisciplinary professionals and practitioners from the field of social work, social welfare, social development, education, health and management deliberated issues and innovations relating to poverty, inequality, politics, gender, environmental sustainability, local institutions and policies and programs, particularly with reference to vulnerable population groups cutting across various sections and sectors. Ms. Urmi Basu was presented the ICSD-AP Distinguished Social Development Practitioner Award to recognize and honor her most outstanding contribution to social development and social welfare of children and women in difficult circumstances through her work. Following the conference, Professor Manohar Pawar (Charles Sturt University), Professor Barbara Shank (Dean, School of Social Work, University of St. Thomas), Professor Tan and Mr. Arif visited New Light. Mr. Arif also visited Soma Home and Sonar Tori on January 20th. 4 We watch sports for excitement, but even more so, we watch it for the fun. The children of New Light, along with their mothers, participated in Sports Day on January 23rd. Given the nature of sports, it’s not surprising that the children learned a lot about hard work, leadership, perseverance, winning and much more. Annual Sports Day is an important event in the life of every child at New Light. This year there were about 250 participants. All received good results and some won exciting prizes too! We enjoyed ourselves and had an unforgettable Sports Day! A big thank you to our volunteers – Bernardita, Maria, Carlos and Javier for making our day so special. Continuing with our busy month, students from Sonar Tori participated in a theatre workshop conducted by Goutam Sarkar from January 27th-31st. On January 28th, we welcomed our longtime friend and host in Germany, Judy Englehart. It was wonderful to see her and the students that came with her. On January 29th, we welcomed Mary Banarjee who gifted New Light with clothing. Thank you so much for your kind and needed donation. Urmi Basu and other staff members ended the month of January by setting up an open shelter for immediate victim and survivor support in Kultali, 24 S Parganas, West Bengal, on January 30th. The proposed shelter is to be operated in partnership with the local NGO, Kultali Samadhan Samity. The start of February was colorful on the green lawns of the Apeejay House on Park Street at the Art Mela. Little painters from New Light gathered with their brushes and colours to take part in the Grand Art Mela organized by Apeejay Anand Children’s Library every year. This year’s theme was ‘Let’s Play, Chalo Khele.’ From balloons and bizarre shaped kites to rainbows and colorful sceneries, the children simply let their imagination run wild with colors. 3 of our children even won prizes! 5 On February 14th, New Light danced for revolution with 1000 supporters from all spheres of life in Jatin Das Park, Hazra. New Light would like to express its gratitude to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Council Member/Mayor, Officer in Charge, Kolkata Police and the Kolkata Traffic Guard, who have always supported us in our endeavors to make this word a more equitable and just space for women around the world. We are thankful to them for giving us their time and expertise, to help make the necessary arrangements and to acquire the various permissions, in order to make One Billion Rising a huge success. One billion women raped or beaten is an atrocity. One billion women dancing is a revolution. We have broken taboos and silence everywhere, inspiring a radical outpouring of individuals and groups to reveal the world wide system of patriarchy which sustains violence against women. One Billion Rising has shown that violence against women is not a national, tribal, ethnic, religious issue but a global phenomenon, and the rising has given survivors the confidence of knowing that violence is not their fault or their country's fault or their families fault. Through dance we expressed our outrage and joy and our firm global call for a world where women are free, safe, cherished and equal. We danced with our body, for our body, and for the bodies of women and the earth. 6 Kristi Williamson from Tamalpa Institute also visited New Light in February. We are grateful for her presence and for the continued partnership with Tamalpa Institute. We also hosted visitors from Inditechs. Amy Taylor came to visit on the 18th and Arim Van Looye returned to visit New Light after volunteering in the past. Thank you for continually sending medicine and other donations to New Light. We are grateful for both of your visits and look forward to seeing you again.