Snehalaya Childline rescues 4 children from Railway track work. District Labor officer faces action

Feb 7th, 2011 Ahmednagar: 

Four children were found working under a contractor on railway tracks. Upon receiving the information, Snehalaya childline team immediately swung into action and took the police help to rescue them.  

The district labor officer Jairam Mitke did not take notice of complaints by Snehalaya against the contractor. He did not cooperate with the police to bring the guilty to justice.  It was unfortunate that the official whose primary responsibility was to protect children from exploitation was acting in the interest of influential contractors. He supported the contractor Suresh Mesu Damor and his supervisor Pankaj Patil who were using the children for railway track work, by not filing a case despite several complaints. 

Snehalaya childline team did not give up and escalated the matter to District collector.  The collector not only ensured that the case was filed, but also promised to take severe action against Jairam Mitke, for negligence of duty. The collector agreed that child labor is a grave problem in the country and praised the efforts of Snehalaya team in this rescue and pursuing the complaint against the erring officials.  Local newspapers covered the issues and brought to issue to public notice.

Snehalaya remembers Major Sandeep Unnikrishanan

Ahmednagar,18 Nov.

"If we want to make India a great nation, then we have to prepare ourselves for a great sacrifice. Stop mere admiration and start practising the values of those who were fearless in death while protecting the country" said Mr.K.Unnikrishnan, father of late Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan who died while fighting with terrorists on 26th Nov.2008 in Mumbai.

31 years old Sandeep was the only son of Mrs.Dhanalaxmi and Mr.K.Unnikrishnan. The parents  organized a bicycle rally "Tribute to Real National Heros" starting from India Gate, New Delhi on 26th Oct. to reach Gate way of india, Mumbai on 26th November.

During the rally, they were  interacting with the youth inspiring them with the work and philosophy of armed forces. Snehalaya family gave a warm welcome to them and honored with a Scroll of Honor in presence of imminent citizens of the city. They 500+ audience included district police chief Krishna Prakash, Satish Kane Editor of Daily Samachar, several freedom fighters, NGOs and the media. 

Mr.Unnikrishnan shared the childhood days of late Sandeep.Youth volunteers of Snehalaya accompanied them on bicycles till the boundries of Ahmednagar.

Shobha Narayan's take on Donations, Child sex offenders and Snehalaya

Shoba Narayan writes in her recent article in Live Mint

" When you donate to your favorite charity, don’t do so anonymously. Put down your name and a number. Tell the world, not because you want to brag but because it will spur others to give "

She goes on to say: 

... Putting your name and a number beside a charity’s name instantly gives it credibility and subliminally increases the amount of other donor cheques. It will cause others to say, “Oh, Ramya gave a lakh to Vanchit Vikas. Maybe I should give at least Rs. 10,000 instead of Rs. 5,000, especially since I am from Pune.”
On the flip side, charitable organizations should persuade donors to allow them to put down names and amounts. Rather than releasing a bald list of donor names without any accompanying amount, the NGO donor list should look like this: “Mrs Kesliwal: Rs. 1 lakh; Ms Archana: Rs. 2,000; Mr R. Jhunjhunwala: Rs. 10 crore; Mr Anand: Rs. 700.” Anonymous donations have less of an impact because when people are considering a charity, they want to know who else gave, and how much".


This is what she had to tell about Snehalaya
" Snehalaya, goes where angels fear to tread and confronts the basest of human instincts pretty much on a daily basis. It comforts children whose innocence has been destroyed, and works to rehabilitate prostitutes with compassion"


In the article, Shoba whole heartedly praises the efforts of volunteers and social workers who dared to take on the child sex offenders and fight the legal battle to get them to conviction. 
"2,500 other fearless people, including social activist Anna Hazare, and local women’s activists groups, marched with Snehalaya to bring these criminals to book. She writes that  child sex offenders are the lowest of the low"


You can read the full article here
http://www.livemint.com/articles/2010/11/04181120/Donating-this-Diwali-Let-the.html

Celebration of Diwali..

 

1300 children from various orphanages, slums, red light areas and of special need have enjoyed DIWALI together in Snehalaya. Lions Club sponsored this unique event.  Mr. Krishna Prakash, District Police chief has spend about 3 hours, danced with kids and inspired them to decide the goal of life.  

Wedding in Snehalaya

Ahmednagar,19 oct.

Wedding of Rekha and Manoharlal Dadi was celebrated yesterday in snehalaya.Rekha is born ,brought up in snehalaya .she took the education of home science and tailering.Manoharlal is a graduate and working in a jwellery manufacturing unit as a marketing head.This was the     77 th marriage arranged in snehalaya. who le Dadi family,our past and present students,our married daughters and their families were present at the occassion.But fortunately Dr.Bharti Vikas Amte has graced and blessed the ceremony by singing marriage songs and a song written by Baba Amte. Those ,who are interested in marriage with the daughters of snehalaya , can contact to our marriage counsellor on 91-9011020176.

Shradha’s Life Saved

We are very happy to inform you that today Ms. Shraddha Sathe, the inmate of Snehalaya has successfully undergone the major surgery in KEM Hospital, Mumbai.  She was suffering from Budd Chirai Syndrome from last two months. She was admitted in KEM on 20th, October 2010 (referred by Dr. Abhijit Pathak after one month treatment in Swasthya Hospital).   There was severe pain in her abdomen; hence she could not even sit properly.

The team of doctors including Dr. Kranti Kumar Rathod, Dr. Hemant Deshmukh,         Dr. Prithvi and Dr. Ishan was engaged in the surgery for more than two hours between 5.00 pm to 7.30 pm.  Now she has been shifted in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for next 24 hrs.  doctors says that she is out of danger now and she will improve within next 24 hrs. Then she can be shifted to general ward.

Shradha’s operation was planned two days back on 27th, October 2010.  She was in Operation Theater for whole day with all the necessary preparations, doctors were ready wearing the clothes (Costumes) for operative. But the operation was canceled only because of unavailability of Anesthetists.  Snehalaya’s social worker Mr. Kundan Pathare met and complained to the higher authority Dr. Sanjay Oak(the Dean) and Dr. Pravin Balgal (Sr. Administrator)  of the hospital and requested to order the concerned Medical Officers for immediate operation.  Then the whole system moved and the concerned authority gave priority for Shradha’s operation, otherwise they had given the date 26th, November 2010 for operation and it might be the high risk for her survival.  Now she is well and her post operative treatment has been started. 

The well wishers and donors have given good response to the appeal of Snehalaya to save Shraddha’s life.  Snehalaya is heartily grateful to all the donors and supporters for their kind and timely support.

Sanghshakti (Weekly Newsletter of Snehalaya)

Appeal for donations to save Shraddha's life.

Shraddha Gulabrao Sathe is an orphan girl in Snehalaya Rehabiliation center.  As a  dedicated student, she took up a vocational course in Nursing at Auxilium Community College, Savedi, Ahmednagar.  She successfully completed the course and joined Dr. Hemant Deshpande Hospital for internship, 6 months ago. She has been a very prompt and skilled Nurse and was promoted in a very short time for being a  caring and patient friendly.

Last month, she started complaining of stomach pains and Dr. Deshpande diagnosed that she is suffering from a rare condition of acute Budd Chirai Syndrome. She has  been taking treatment at Swastya Hospital. Because of accumulation of fluid, a condition called Ascites  she is unable to even sit, because of the pain.

Every six hours the fluid has to be extracted out of her abdomen in a painful procedure just to keep her alive. She has not able to take any food for the last 30 days. Now her condition has worsened and we have admitted her to K.E.M. Hospital, Mumbai under observation of Dr. Deshmukh (International Radiologist).  She has been advised to undergo  a major surgery within next 7 days.  The doctor believes that she can survive and can lead a normal life post surgery.  The estimated expense of the operation is Rs. 2.5 Lakhs. (Approx US $ 5,000)

While Snehalaya tries to provide the best possible care for all our inmates, we are unable to manage this huge unplanned expense for one inmagte. We appeal to all our well wishers to donate generously to save the life of Shradha, who is fighting for survival. 

You can send your donations by sending  a cheque to KEM hospital and mention the patient name (Ms. Shraddha Gulabrao Sathe).  The address is KEM Hospital, Acharya Donde Marg, Parel. Mumbai 400012. India.  Phone # +91 22 2413 6051 

Alternatively, you can send your donations to Snehalaya directly. This will ensure you get the tax benefit for your donation.   Donations to Snehalaya can be  made by any of the following means.

By Cheque / Demand draft 


Please make the payment by cheque or demand draft in in favor of 'Snehalaya' payable at Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra. 

Send the cheque / demand draft by post to below address


Snehalaya Bhavan,
Opp Chitra Theatre, 

Near Mahatma Gandhi Maidan, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India. 414001.


Telephone: + 91 241 2327593, + 91 241 2327555,+ 91 241 2778656


Fax: + 91 241 2323772



By Bank Transfer (In country Donations)


Bank Name: HDFC Bank


Branch: Market Yard Branch, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India


Account Number: 01811000053339


Name of Account holder: Snehalaya


Type of account: Savings Account


9 digit MICR number : 414002001


RTGS/IFSC Code: HDFC0000181



By Bank Transfer (Foreign Donations)


Bank Name: State Bank of India


Branch: Main Branch, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra,  India


Account Number: 11117726495


Name of Account holder : Snehalaya


9 digit MICR number : 414002001


Type of account: Current Account


SWIFT Code/ Remittance Instructions: SBININBB507

A MUTE march by Snehalaya to express the voice of civil society

Ahmednagar 15 th Oct, 2010

A MUTE march organized by Snehalaya expressed unrest in the civil society very loudly yesterday. The burning issues of adulterated milk, sand looting from rivers, the conditions of the basic amenities in slum; the harassment of sex workers  were the major issues addressed by this MUTE March. About 800 civil society members and several NGOs joined this unique march to district Collectorate  office.

This mute march, yet again highlighted the long standing demands of the district civil society. 1) Design a  holistic project for rehabilitation of prostitutes. 2)  Take strong action against the sellers of adulterated milk 3) Stop the sand lobby and miners from illegal excavation of sands from the river beds 4) provide basic facilities in the slums.

           The public meeting at Collectorate was addressed by Milind Kulkarni, Ambadas Chavan, Jaya Magar, Meenatai Shinde, Sangita Shelar. Adv.Shyam Asava read the application to government.  Mr.Deepak Papdeja of M.R. Organisation, Dr.Sunil Bothe of doctors organization, Mr.Milind Gandhe of Vivekanand Pratishthan., Adv.Gaffar Shaikh of Yatimkhana,  Mr.Vinod Bothra of Merchant organization also addressed on the occasion.

         Mr. Nanasaheb Bothe,  Additional Collector had detailed discussions with agitators.  He assured the protesting people that he would convey the demands  to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra to take appropriate action. We eagerly wait to see the outcome of this assurance.

Snehalaya' Himmat Gram project for rehabilitation of victim women. Police chief supports the cause.

Ahmednagar, 1st Oct. 2010,

Mr. Krushna prakash , 
District police chief, Ahmednagar

"The Police will not allow the brothels, will take strong actions against the brothel keepers, pints, procurers and on clients in case of minor victim under the PITA (prevention of immoral trafficking) act. We would like to support the unique initiatives of Snehalaya for the Rehabilitation and empowerment of victim women", said Mr. Krishna Prakash, the District Police Chief of Ahmednagar.

Mr. Krushna Prakash  
Planting a tree at Himmat gram

Mr. Krishna Prakash was addressing a huge gathering of victim women in red light areas of Ahmednagar district. More than 400 women were present from all parts of Ahmednagar district. These women have raised issues of their survival as all the red light areas are closed since 3 months following 30 police raids on brothels. For the first time in the district, the Police have used PITA act against the brothel keepers than against victim women. This is dramatic change in the attitude of police in addressing the issue. 

Add caption

Commercial sex workers have complained that no concrete steps were taken by the government for their rehabilitation till this date. All women have unanimously agreed to give up prostitution if they support by their shelter and jobs. Smt. Jaya Jogdand said that politicians, bureaucrats and sugar baron have ammassed thousands of acres of land in the district but the exploited women have no place to live.  The women  and Snehalaya have submitted more than 3 dozan proposals for the land. The Smt. Meena shined, Gaeta More, Suita Unawake also expressed similar feelings.


Snehalaya along with this women have submitted several applications to government. To start the process of rehabilitation Snehalaya has given 2 pieces  of land (of 1000 sq. feet each) to 2 victim women in prostitution to create the new life  in the project Himmat Gram.  Along with shelter, the women will be provided free treatment for de-addition, water, electricity, and ration till they find an employment .  Snehalaya has decided to share 2 acres of owned land among 80 women. For the first time the NGO is taking the direct action and to shift the women from red-light areas to normal human life by assuring a right over land.   Snehalaya is hopeful about the experiment.  Himmatgram project will created a developed self sustained village  with  it's own work in Agriculture, Horticulture, Dairy, Nursery Unit, pipeline from water storage tank. Snehalaya needs financial recourses to shoulder this challenge.