Because nothing else matters! “ Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world ” One person can make a difference , and everyone should try. John F Kennedy Newsletter 2015-16 – For Private Circulation Only News Letter 2015-16 EDITORIAL Dear Friends, Greetings. Pat Patrick, in her book, Awakening the Dream Within, writes, “In life, we leave a legacy to our children, we leave our footprints wherever we travel, and we leave our fingerprints on every heart we touch.” Her words echo an outlook that We Care has been striving to achieve in our work over the past sixteen years. We are aware of the value and importance of good education in the life of a person, how it helps to shape and develop our thinking, understanding and practice of reality. However, good education is possible only when the primary needs of a person such as food, clothing and shelter are met. It is here that some of our efforts, especially the nutritional programme of We Care has been effective and made a difference. Few years ago, four children, coming from a single family, were attending the free-evening-tuition classes. They looked so frail and weak, especially the girls. Their bodies were small and under-developed for their ages. The reason behind this was an alcoholic father, who squandered his wages and a small income from the mother’s work as a house maid. An under-nourished body is a sign of an under-developed brain and this was reflected in their school performances. After speaking to the tuition teacher, our staff, and their mother, we decided to put these children on a special diet of an egg-a-day. In a few months time, the results were there for all to see. Not only their attendance became regular, but their health too improved and so was their school performances. As part of our free-evening-tuition for poor children, we ensure that every child receive some nutrition. We Care has also been regularly supporting the nutrition programme of young girls in boarding houses. This little gesture has been yielding good results. Another set of needs following the basic ones are, sanitation, education and healthcare. The Swatchh Bharat programme is beginning to show results. Decent sanitation is truly a crying need, the need of toilets for young children, especially girls. It is good to read in the news reports that the practice of open defecation is slowly becoming a thing of the past. At We Care we invest time in making our children aware of the need for personal hygiene and sanitation. Awareness is given in simple things like cutting of nails, making one’s hair, washing of hands before meals, using the toilet and keeping it clean, take a regular bath, wearing clean clothes, disposing trash in a proper manner, etc. All of this, go into helping the children in having a healthy mind in a healthy body. Our children definitely need a holistic approach to their growth and development. This awareness is being dispensed at regular intervals both through the free-evening-tuition and the teenagers groups. Meetings are also conducted for the parents of these children, to ensure that they too become an integral part of their child’s education. After all, the mother, being the key figure in the life of a child, must take responsibility for their child’s growth and development. Issues such as education, nutrition, health, hygiene and sanitation are discussed with them. They are also shown their role and responsibility and how they ought to lead their children by example. With increased awareness one can see the changes that are happening and hope that these will have a lasting impact on the minds of our young boys and girls. 2 News Letter 2015-16 We have also been reaching out to people suffering from diseases like cancer and kidney failure. With the changes in food habits and life-styles, more people are being adversely affected with such diseases needing help and support. The cost of medical care has also steadily been on the rise and the poor are finding it extremely difficult to make ends meet. We are grateful to all our donors, for your generous contributions and continued support that help us to achieve all our initiatives and endeavours. We take responsibility to utilize the resources well and to reach out to as many persons as possible. Do support us with your prayers too. As we now move into the seventeenth year of our commitment to humbly serve the poor with love, we are pleased to place this newsletter into your hands. Through all these activities, we endeavour, to touch the lives of as many children, patients and the poor, with lasting values that promote the goodness of life and to “leave our fingerprints on every heart we touch”. This newsletter covers the highlights of programmes, activities and corresponding financial information for April- March 2015-16. Pictures have been arranged to suit the layout of the pages and do not correspond with the text where these have been placed. The newsletter is also available on our website. Putting people first, social accounting. In our efforts to enhance the quality of our work and to ensure the optimum cost-benefit we have made an effort to count the number of persons who have benefitted from the programme and activities. The figures given in the statistical tables are taken from our records. The details are not complete because the real number of people who benefit from our programme is not easy to determine. The information will however give the reader a fair view. It is not how many people you serve, that counts. It is how well you serve them, which really matters. We remember with gratitude, our Divine Patrons, St Joseph and St Anthony, our Trustees, Donors, Benefactors, Well-wishers, Staff, Volunteers and those who associate and support us in one way or another. We hope and pray that God Almighty may bless each one of you and your family members in a ways that He knows best. With best wishes, Fr Trevor D’Souza, Managing Trustee 31st March 2016 This space is dedicated in prayerful remembrance of our donors, benefactors, well-wishers & beneficiaries who have left for their heavenly abode May their souls rest in peace. 3 News Letter 2015-16 PROGRAMME & ACTIVITIES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITY We Care has a programme for challenged and differently abled persons which covers five areas of support, namely, health, education, social, economic and community development. During the year 2015-16 the total amount spent was Rs. 1,21,701. The total beneficiaries were 366 persons approximately, details of which are given in Table 1. INTEGRATED CHILDREN CAMP (ICC) aims at bringing the normal and differently abled children on one platform, thus helping them understand and know each other better. During the year the ICC was held at Pratiksha Nivas on 11th April 2015. The Guests of Honour were Glady's D'Souza, Madhu Menon, Nirmala Charles and Sasikala. The camp was filled with various team building activities, fun, games. We thank all the guests, staffs, volunteers, parents and children who made the day great and meaningful. INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME was done by Christ University students: Meghana Sudhir, Shaleen Maria Wilson, Priyanka O K, Namita K N, Malavika P, Shivani Singh, Aayushi Srinivasan, Sr Amala D, Sai Bhavani P, Vani Ramachandran, Ceenia Cidar, Ashna Jacob, Breeze Maria Sunny at We Care. Through this, they were given an opportunity to volunteer in activities like Free Evening Tuition Class, ICC, etc. They did a marvelous work dedicating their time, energy and talents for the betterment of the less privileged. We Care is grateful to these students for adding value to the lives of our children. TABLE 1: STATISTICAL INFORMATION — PROGRAMME & ACTIVITIES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITY IN 2015-16 Particulars No. Ashray, Home for Mentally Challenged, Varanasi, UP (monthly) 30 Competitions and Cultural Activities 250 Disabled Peoples Organization (1 group) 10 Home Visits to PWDs (7 areas) 3 Integrated Children Summer Camps (1) 55 Nutritional supplementation programme 5 Staff 5 Volunteers and Collaborators 8 Total 366 4 News Letter 2015-16 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME AND ACTIVITIES We Care supports the education of children through scholarships, free tuition classes, nutrition, health care, honorarium to teacher-volunteers, uniform, books, study materials, rent for class rooms, etc. Proper procedures are followed and scrutiny is done to ensure that the economically weak and deserving receive the benefits. The total amount spent during the year 2015-16 was Rs. 27,73,410. The total beneficiaries was 1,815 persons approximately, details of which are given in Table 2. (See Pg 6-7). FREE EVENING TUITION CLASSES was started to ensure that the economically weak students have a proper environment to facilitate study. The children (class 1-7) come from different schools for studies to our programme centre, Pratiksha Nivas. The tuition is coordinated by Ms. Meena MB. Awareness, fun activities, nutrition, health care, team building, talent discovery, drama, dance, drawing, music and many other activities were conducted for the children. TEENAGE GROUP aims at assisting teenagers to cope with their new stage of life. Activities such as personality development, capacity building, self-esteem, self- confidence, increased social awareness, forming and developing good attitudes and value systems, talent discovery and display, environmental issues, family and life issues etc., are dealt with. There was a significant and remarkable change in the outlook of teenagers. The programme is coordinated by Ms Meena MB. TOKEN OF GRATITIUDE We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Rambus Chip Technologies who has made their generous donations to children at We Care.