Monday, May 31, 2010

Snehalaya's two daughters are getting married. Welcome All

“We’ll Share Our Tomorrows and All That It Holds……”
Snehalaya Family invites you with your Family with great pleasure to our daughter’s wedding ceremony of
Rupali
(Daughter of Snehalaya)
And
Shrikant
(Son of Mohan Suryakant Kulkarni at Post. Dahiwali Tal. Madha, Dist- Solapur)

Ambika
(Daughter of Snehalaya)
And
Mahesh
(Son of Suwalal Parikh at Post.  Ashti, Dist- Beed)

On Tuesday, 1st June 2010
At 12.35 Pm, at Shri Kshetra Dharmpuri,
Nimblak Village, Ahmednagar

Please join us and share our joy.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Success of Snehalaya Students in 12th Standard Board Examinations

Ahmednagar, 25 May 2010

The result of HSC exam declared was declared today.
Four students of Snehalaya completed their 12th standard board examinations successfully. Each of them have come from very challenging background and have achieved success against all odds by their sheer determination and hard work

Bhagyashri Keshav Kulkarni
Marks Obtained: - 354/600 (59%)
Bhagyashri had lost both her parents when she was 6 years old. She is at Snehalaya rehabiliation center. While she was studying for her schooling, Bhagyashri also completed her nursing course and was serving in the HIV hospital of Snehalaya. Her hard work and determination got her an admission in Pemraj Sarda College, a reputed institution in Ahmednagar. Bhagrashri wants to continue serving ailing patients by taking up nursing as her career




Vikas Gawali
Marks Obtained: 380/600 (63%)
He had joined Snehalaya Balbhavan in the year 2003. Vikas was working as a child laborer in construction work. Snehalaya helped him to him to take up education. His family is so poor that he still needs to work on weekends to earn the food for their living. Vikas wants to continue his studies in the field of science and the Snehalaya family has assured full support for his ambitions




Pradeep Suryavanshi
Marks Obtained: 366/600 (61%)
Pradeep is student of Snehalaya Balbhavan for over 5 years now. Pradeep lives in a slum in abject poverty. His family could not support his education and he had to work in factories to earn a living.
Pradeep wants to be a computer engineer and contribute to his community by teaching during his spare time





Mhaske Bhagwat
Marks Obtained: 256/600 (42%)
Mhaske joined Snehalaya Balbhavan in 2002. Mhaske was child laborer was working in building constructions. Snehalaya Balbhavan supported his education. He is a dedicated student and studied in Balbhavans study hall till late in nights after a a hard day's work.
Mhaske wants to continue his studies and obtain Masters degree in social work


Saturday, May 22, 2010

Youth Volunteers cycle 250 km across 40 villages to build community awareness

Ahmednagar 13 May 2010
40 youth volunteers participated in Sanvedana Jagruti Bicycle Yatra, a rally organized by a non profit organization, Snehalaya, that works towards creating safe and dignified spaces and providing overall rehabilitation for victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking and their children.
The rally was a awareness and sensitization activity lead by youth from different walks of life. The groups interacted with the locals in each region to understand and guide them on how to tackle concern areas.

Through the yatra, these volunteers visited 40 villages, 6 passionate Institutions interacted in slums, red light areas and met farmers in drought prone area and also Govt. officials from the respective regions.

The group performed street plays and dances with the support of drums, Harmonium and distributed 50,000 awareness pamphlets to the audiences all through the rally.

Having travelled 250kms across the district starting 8th may, the rally returned to Ahmednagar on 12th May.

Background:

Late Mahamanav Baba Amte had organized ‘Bharat Jodo’ Abhiyan 25 yrs ago & many youth from Ahmednagar district have since joined this Abhiyan. NGO’s feels that the present political and social situation is quite worrisome due to budding groupism in the society on the basis of caste, language, religion, vested interests of religious and political parties, etc.

Samvedana Jagruti yatra's motive has also been to create awareness and sensitivity towards child rights, human trafficking, the smuggling of the sand from the rivers that are a direct threat to environment, Agriculture, ground water level and the peace in the rural areas.
His efforts and guidance has been an inspiration to many volunteers and participants who choose  to work on some or all the issues raised by him.

Similarly, Vedpalsingh Tanwar (Age 52) is from Bhiwani, Haryana, presently working as a Manager in the multinational Company who wants to mobilize and work with youth on the social issues. Another young social activist is Shyam Asawa (Age 38) a well known lawyer by profession and also a trustee of Anna Hajare’s Trust.       

Like these young social activists, many  youth joined the rally from the neighboring districts like Jalna, Pune, Aurangabad & Beed. Some of them were also M.S.W students.

The rally was totally a volunteer run event where participants or the organizers did not have to contribute financially. This is very inspiring since such efforts even in today’s times, uphold certain human values such as commitment, involvement and teamwork.

Events from May 8th – 13th

May 8, 2010

Mr. Popat Pawar (The Youth Icon, the Architect of Ideal village Hiware Bazar and Chairman of Saint Gadge Maharaj Gram Swachata Abhiyan) flagged of the rally at Gandhi Maidan.

Brother Alex Gonsalvis (Founder of Bosco Gramin Vikas Kendra), Smt. Saudamini Katre, (Freedom Fighter), Mr. Rajiv Gujar (Hon. Director Balbhawan Project), Adv. Abhay Agarkar (Social activist & former President of Ahmednagar Municipality), were present on the occasion and accompanied the cycle rally till the end of nagar city.

Volunteers of the rally performed street plays at 9 different locations touching upon issues of drought affected farmers at villages namely, Shendi, Dhangarwadi, Pokhardi, and Pimpalgaon Malvi.

Interaction with Haribhakta Parayan jangle Maharaj, founder of Dnynesh ashram at Dongargan, gave an insight on how saints such as Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Ramdas, Kabir, Namdeo, Eknath & the warkari community had taken efforts to bring about social change. He appealed that the thoughts and approaches’ of these saints be put to use in today ‘s situations in bringing social changes in the society since they have been tried and tested over centuries and people have strong faith and belief in them.

In Wambori (Tehsil. Rahuri) a meeting was organized by Sarpanch Mr. Gorakshanath Wetal in which the present major issues influencing rural life were discussed. Mr. Wetal had earlier participated in both the Bharat Jodo Rallies with Baba Amte leaving his government job.

The Yatra received a warm welcome at Sonai (Tehsil Newase).
Mr. Sudhakar Gadhkh runs ‘Apulki’, an orphanage for about 70 boys since last 10 years. Sudhakar organized the street play at various locations in Sonai & Shani Shinganapur areas. The participants interacted with Sudhakar, who shared his experiences in starting the project which was an inspiration from the work of Snehalaya and that he is in the  process of creating an institution on similar lines as the organization. The participants have stayed and rested at Apulki, thus spending quality time with the children and staff of the centre.

May 9, 2010

Mr. Dada Patil Darandale, Chairman, Shanishinganapur Temple Trust  welcomed the rally at Shani Shinganapur. A huge crowed attended and participated in the street plays there.
Mr. Datta Sonawane, another active participant from the area who interacted with the participants shared that he had constructed a big Polly house and was producing flowers (Jarbera etc.) and exporting them. Mr. Datta  shared his inspiring success story and  explained to the group how one can create self help groups and run profitable enterprises.

More than 400 warkaries were present at  the special performance of street play within the campus of Dnyneshwari Temple (Newase). Mr. Baban Maharaj Walke, Chairman of Warkari Co-ordination Committee said that the Sanvedana Jagruti Yatra was a innovative and inspiring effort to spread  the great philosophy and messages of the saints. He also said that this was the very place where saint Dnyaneshwar wrote the book ‘Dnyneshwari’ (The first translation of Bhagwatgeeta in Marathi 750 years ago.)

The participants stayed in Nathbaba Temple in Newase on the bank of river Prawara. Mr. Anil Peche, Rajendra Chaudhari, activists from the region voiced their concern over the sand robbery taking place in the region thus turning all the irrigated land into a desert. They also shared that this was going on thanks to the nexus between political groups, local government officials , criminal gangs and sand robbers.
May 10, 2010

Visit to Ashankur Institute at Bhokar(Tehsil Shrirampur) run by Sister Dafny Sequera.
She inspired the group while sharing many success stories of self reliant girls and the rural women from the region.

Ashankur works towards encouraging and empowering self help groups and offers vocational training to needy rural girls and women. Sister shared that only this approach can prevent migration and trafficking of rural girls and women.

The rally reached Shrirampur and was welcomed by local Swagat Samiti near Mahatma Gandhi Statue. It was a unique experience to see victimized women in flesh trade, cheering the participants along with the Corporators, the social activists and others people from the society.

The group travelled through the slums of Subhedar Vasti (a Muslim dominated area), a Bagdad Madersa and finally reached the red light area of Shrirampur. All the victimized women in flesh trade  of the area had prepared food for the group. The group along with the community ladies had dinner together at the Snehalaya’s Parivartan Kedra.

The women of the area shared their problems and expectations from the civil society, government authorities and non profit organizations. Mrs. Sangeeta (who left the profession after 12 years) explained that prostitution should be the last option of every woman for survival. Most women are forced into prostitution at a very tender age. Sangeeta shared many true stories from the community and appealed to all to work as a team towards rescue and rehabilitation of the victims in the red light areas. Sangeeta and others also actively participated in the question answer session. Mr. Anjum Shaikh, a social worker explained to the group, the basic issues related with slums and Muslims.  


May 11, 2010

The group then on visited  Mr. Pappu Sapkal,who runs Gangadhar Baba ashram for about 100 boys in Guha village of Rahuri Tehsil. The unique thing about the ashram is that there is no employee in the institution. The children and Pappu stay like a family and work together in the ashram. The former high court judge B. G. Kolse is the chief trustee and Mr. P B Sawant, a former judge of Supreme Court is the president of the ashram.
Mr. Kolse Patil donated the land for the ashram. The group found that students of the ashram were doing all the work by themselves, like cooking, computer work, barbering, the electrical work and farming, which was quite amazing to watch.

Mr. Bhausaheb Waghchowre, member of parliament contacted the group and invited a discussion on the issues at Kolhar. He shared his concern over the increasing unrest among youth and the incompetence of the social system to control it. He felt that only a a strong non political youth movement in action can improve the situation in the region.

The rally reached to Rahuri factory at night.  

May 12, 2010

At Rahuri factory, the participants met with Dr. Dattatraya Wane, well known scientist and ‘Krushibhushan’ with vast knowledge and experience on economics of agriculture.

He explained to the group, how even a small piece of farm can give extra ordinary out puts of agricultural product and prevent migration from rural to urban lands, which is one of the major urban population issue facing the country today.
He invited the group to his farm at Manori to see the actual results of scientific & beneficial agriculture. 

The group performed the street play at Sahani Mandir square where Dr. Usha Tanpure, President of Rahuri Municipal Corporation was present. 
The participants also visited and held discussions with Mr. Bhausaheb Yeole, founder of De addiction center and Ramesh Sasane, an active participant of Bharat Jodo.

At the concluding ceremony of the yatra, many important persons of the city like Mrs. Jyotipriya Sing, honest trainee I.P.S officer and Mr. Yugalsharnji Maharaj were present to cheer and support the participants.mrs.Sing appealed the youths not to think but act boldly if they find any injustice .the styagrih on social issue and the constructive work are the two sides of the coin of social change, she added. 

Learning and findings of the Yatra

The Yatra has not only inspired the youth but also provided an insight on how to practice Satyagraha in one’s daily life.
Adv. Shyam Asawa shared that Satyagraha was very relevant even today if the technique are put to use in the right manner.

At Bhokar, Songaon, Satrad, Kharwandi, the group visited the local talathi. In Shrirampur they visited local tehasildar and Sub divisional offices and found them all closed on a working day.

The group raised questions on issues like why the boards of the information officers and appealing authorities not displayed in the premises and also why the supply department was not exhibiting the stocks of the food grains. They also wanted to know why government rations shops were selling the kerosene, sugar and other food grains in the black market.  
To all these questions, the authorities only apologized without giving any clear answers.

The group opposed robbery of land and invited the local tehasildar to come to the spot at Soangaon to see for himself.

In Kharwandi, a liquor shop was not closed even though the gramsabha and more than 50% women have appealed for cancellation of the license. People approached the yatra group with complaints. Adv. Asawa taught them how to write a proper complaint and to pressurize revenue and police administration to take action against the issue.
By these experiences, the participants have learnt the ways and the means to solve their  issues within the legal framework.
At the end, the organizers appealed to all participants that they should start some meaningful community based work with available resources in the area and report the progress to the conveyor of  youth activities, on a regular basis


Issue in focus

The ‘Sand Looting’ from rivers like Godawari-Pravara & Mula has become a socio-economic and environmental issue in the region. This well irrigated area will soon convert into a desert. The reason being downing level of ground water due to unlimited, uncontrolled sand looting. The bigwigs in politics, bureaucracy & organized criminal gangs have the nexus in the sand deals. Several murders have also taken place in last 2 months in related issues. Rural-poor villagers are quite frightened of this nexus.

The rally organized by Snahelaya and the Gramsabhas has boosted the morale of the villagers in 6 places. The various activities such as street plays, groups songs on awareness about human trafficking, Child rights, right to information were an attempt at making people feel empowered and awake so they can take responsibility to correct the wrongs in their regions.
The volunteers who participated in Snehalaya’s Shram Sanskar Chawani were responsible for all the arrangements at the local level. It was a conscious decision of the organizers of the rally not to take support from any local politicians or the co-operative institutions run by the same people.

Mr.Ramesh Kacholiya-Mr.Nimesh Shah and all members of Caring Friends, ‘Padmabhushan Anna Hajare’, Dr. Rajanikant Arole (Raman Megasis Awardee), Popatrao Pawar (Chairman of Gadge Maharaj Gram Swachata Abhiyan,M.S), Bharat Sevak Dr. S. N. Subbarao allies Bhaiji, have given active support to the rally. Anna & Popatrao joined the group at some places and participated in public meetings.

Snehankur educates 400 nurses about legal adoptions on World Nursing day

12th May 2010,
Ahmednagar

On the occasion of World Nursing Day, Snehankur organized a workshop for the Nurses at the Civil Hospital, Ahmednagar. 400 Nurses participated in this seminar.

Snehankur not only runs an adoption center, but also works towards the rehabilitation of women in distress, unwed mothers, raped victims, HIV infected mothers and other neglected women and children in the society. These women / children require immediate intervention so that care and protection can be provided at the right time. The Nurses in and around the city, play an instrumental role in early intervention of such women and children.

This seminar was focused on educating the nurses on how to handle victimized children and women, the importance of legal adoptions and the risks factors associated with parents who adopt a child illegally. Co ordinators Sarika Makude and Ajay Wabale also briefed about the different activities carried out by Snehankur, the working method of the adoption center and how the center can be differentiated from other agencies in the area. The seminar was concluded by Prajakta Kulkarni, Director, Snehankur with a note to the nurses on the role they play and the joy they can derive by taking the right approach in saving each valuable life.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Snehalaya launches a new website

May 10th 2010

Last week we launched new informational websites for Snehalaya (www.snehalaya.org ) and for our adoption center, Snehankur (www.snehankur.org)

These websites have been designed to provide important details about our projects and useful information for volunteers, institutions, prospective adoptive parents and everybody who feels for the under privileged sections of our society.  The websites not only highlight Snehalaya's work and projects but also invites people around the world to get involved and make a difference to fellow human beings, who are less fortunate.




The new website was designed by Image Online  and was developed by Web Bazaar . Numerous volunteers and well wishers helped in this effort by providing the content and material, to make the website possible.

We will continue to update our well wishers through our online newsletter Vrutta.

Do join us at www.snehalaya.org and www.snehankur.org.  If you have any inputs or feedback write to us at info@snehalaya.org

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Snehalaya volunteers to ride 250 Kms in a Bicycle rally to increase awareness about social issues. All are welcome

Ahmednagar, May 4 

Snehalaya and  other NGO’s have organized 5 days Samvedana Jagruti Bicycle Rally from 8th to 13th May 2010. Anyone can join this rally of 250 kms. Late Mahamanav Baba Amte had organized ‘Bharat Jodo’ Abhiyan 25 yrs ago; Many youths from Ahmednagar district had joined this Abhiyan. The NGO’s feels that the present situation is more worrisome due to groupisms in our society on the basis of caste, language, religion, and vested interests. This rally aims to build awareness to about key social issues
The ‘Sand Looting’ from the rivers like Godawari-Pravara and Mula has become a major issue in the region. This well irrigated area will soon be converted  into a desert due to uncontrolled sand looting. The bigwigs in politics and bureaucracy a nexus in the sand deals. Several murders took place in last 2 months due to related issues. Rural-poor villagers are victims in this situation. This rally has been organised by the Gramsabhas to boost the morale of the villagers in 6 places. There will be street plays and groups songs to build awareness about human trafficking, child rights, right to information etc. The volunteers are also going to distribute 50,000 pamphlets for awareness. The volunteers who participated in recently held Shram Sanskar Chawani have done all the arrangements at local level. 


‘Padmabhushan Anna Hajare’, Dr. Rajanikant Arole (Raman Megsese Awardee), Popatrao Pawar (Chairman of Gadge Maharaj Gram Swachata Abhiyan,M.S), Bharat Sevak Dr. S. N. Subbarao allies Bhaiji have given active support to the rally. We have appealed for donation to get old or new bicycles for 23 volunteers who don’t have one of their own.   


If you would like to participate in the rally, please contact  Sandip (09011026472), Dipak  (09011020178) , Hanif (09011020177) or Ajit (9011020174)  for more details. 

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Only the movement of civil society can change the fate of the our Nation and Society - Tamboli

Ahmednagar (2nd May 2010)
We will never have the tall and inspiring personalities like Swami Vivekananda, Lokmanya Tilak or Mahatma Gandhi again and we have to follow their thoughts and deeds faithfully to save the future of our Nation, said Mr. Ramakant Tamboli, a veteran social worker at Shrigonde town, 60 km  from Ahmednagar. Mr. Tamboli has formally inaugurated Vidyarthi Sahayak Samiti (VSS) yesterday. About 300 citizens were presents at the occasion including  principals  4 colleges, members of Municipality and NGO representatives.  

Mr. Tamboli further added that Indians should not expect more from Government, political parties or Judiciary. Only the movement of civil society can change the fate of the our society and Nation.  The NGOs like Snehalaya, while doing its basic work are rebuilding the movement of civil society which is an example for other NGOs, Mr. Tamboli added.

          Mr. Tamboli (79 years) has worked for 28 years with late Achyutrao Apte to establish Vidyarthi Sahayak Samiti at Pune.   Mr. Tamboli shared his valuable experiences of fund raising and character building of students in a meeting with local volunteers, inmates and donors.  He has also assured to volunteer six days,  every month for the work in VSS.  The Snehalaya family expressed gratitude towards Mumbai based Girish Kulkarni and his family for their contribution. Mr. Milind Kulkarni, Secretary of Snehalaya informed the audience about various activities of Snehalaya in his welcome speech.  Mr Anant Achyutrao Zende , Hon. Director of VSS  offered a vote of thanks.  We request you to visit this new project of  Snehalaya.  Shrigonda is 60 kms from Ahmednagar and 30 km away from Daund Railway Station.

Address:  Vidyarthi Sahayak Samiti (VSS), Kulkarni Wada, Kumbhar Galli, Shrigonde, Dist. Ahmednagar.
E-mail: vss@snehalaya.org