Water is essential to our survival.  Did you know that there is a finite amount of water on our planet -for a graphic diagram of that see here –  just that much and no more!  When you look at it that way it becomes so clear how important it is to us all.

Here at Shikshangram we have a deluge in the rainy season and then a couple of months after the rains stop the water supply dries up. So you can imagine water is a high priority for us with all of our children – thirsty children, children who love to play with water, children who need to wash and clean their clothes and splash in the puddles left behind.  A favourite game is making the concrete tiled floor by the washing area really wet then sliding on their bare bellies just like kids will do in the edge of the sea.  But all this needs water  and right now we are trucking it in 4 and 5 times a week.

Solutions were clearly needed with urgency.

I for one have a strong sense that we are shown the way when we have a need  - and this is just what happened.

We have two borewells.. one produces a very little water and the other has always been dry despite having used the best water diviner we could find to test the site.  And an age old solution – one which has been used with wells for a long time in India – bore well recharging – was brought to my attention.

Sankalpa Rural Development Society headed up by Mr Sikandar Meeranayak came to the rescue!  He guaranteed our water supply will be markedly increased!  and his positive attitude was wonderful – when our excavation around the bore well was blocked by stone only two feet down we were ready to give up.. but Sikander convinced us to persevere.  A short time later the digger lifted a huge rock out of the way and we were able to continue.

Sikander said he never did a bore well like ours.  We had our team of children helping out .. sometimes it was like rounding up cats getting them to help in a team and at other times especially when either Satish Moon or Satish Mankar were there.. they all pulled together and huge amounts of work were done in a very short time.  In between they played and raced around.

And now we have a recharge system in place ready for the next rainy season.. do stay posted for the results.. we are very excited about the concept of using the underground aquifers as our water storage tanks instead of having to build huge above ground ones… and what’s more just in the right timing our friends at the Sage Foundation have come to our aid to help us with the funding we need to get all our water supply set up.  A good friend in Pune has donated an industrial output water filter.. so we are up and running – literally .. running water!  Plenty for all our children – for our gardens and for play!

Thank you once again to all those who have contributed to this essential resource . our water supply.

Volunteers Colin Luthwood and Sam Moland came to visit us.

What a great time we all had.. from the littlest child to the oldest of us all.. (that’s me Shazar)!  These two volunteers jumped right in from the moment they arrived and the kids just loved them.  Two masters of Taekwondo – 3rd Dan black belts no less – the kids were clearly very interested in their muscles and very quickly the two very well built Australian men  became wonderful role models for all our children. Back in Australia they run a very busy Martial Arts School with over 400 students – the Joondalup Martial Arts Academy.

 ”How many push ups do I need to do to build my muscles like that?!!”

They stayed for a week and during that time they took martial arts lessons with all the children and worked solidly with our four young Shaolin trainees.. all of whom were the proud owners of a Taekwondo red belt grading on the last day.  Colin said of our boys that they were in prime condition and that their prowess with martial arts was highly commended.  We were very proud of them.

Here is what Colin had to say when he left – clearly they both had a very good time – and we did too!

If you are considering coming to volunteer please get in touch with us.. we love having people stay with us and will welcome you too whatever your skills and talents.

We love having volunteers..  they add so much value to our work here – but they always make us sad!

Why?  Because at a certain point, they all have to leave us.

Yesterday we cried.  Emma Sykes – who has been with us for two months had to go.  She has been so great… a lawyer – about to move into her first job of her career – she took time out to come and play games, cuddle kids, patch scrapes and scratches, teach English at the local village school – pick up rubbish – wash her clothes by hand, suffer mosquito bites and the occasional unwanted visitor in the form of various insects and others in her room – and lend a hand in whatever way she could – we loved her from the minute she arrived.  She was a top class volunteer!

And now she is on her way – back to her land where the weather is getting colder and the people all speak her language – no barriers to communication there – just barriers in the way of the West – where you live in a house with one or two others – not 100 others, you don’t walk out your door to the good morning calls of at least a dozen children – where the hot water is on tap on the fridge reveals everything you think you need.

So what will she miss? She will miss the hugs, she will miss the love and the fun and the joy of sharing with the children – she will miss the view of the valley in the morning – misty with the smoke of the village cooking fires, she will miss the singing – and the dog trotting up to say hello – she will miss the smells of the land here, the intensity of the tastes of the food – the bite of the chilli – the shouts of the children – the calls of ‘Good Morning Yamma Mam’ – and the laughter .. always the laughter.

A land where despite having little, there is always laughter and fun. Smiles are the norm – yes crying happens – but it is most often shortlived and surpassed always by the laughter.

 

Come and visit.. come and experience what ‘Yamma Mam’ has found here – come and join us and give some time to enriching these children’s lives. Are they special children? Yes of course. But guess what – all children are special – we just think ours are particularly so!!

 

We thank you ‘Yamma Mam’ from the bottom of our hearts and wish you safe journeys wherever you go.. and last but not least.
Come back soon our favourite volunteer!!!

Not all stories at Shikshan Gram are happy tales. Once the children are with us – their lives start to look up – their faces brighten, their health improves, and their smiles begin to creep into their lives with more and more regularity.
But their histories are tough and the lives they have come from can leave deep scars. Some are still under threat.

I won’t reveal her name but this beautiful young woman, now 14 years old was saved from human trafficking.  There is a custom amongst some of those living below the poverty line.. they sell their daughter once she has reached a certain age – for a small sum of cash.  The child – as she still is really a child – is then taken into slavery for some years – at least while she is still worth something.  She may be a sex slave – usually for only one or two men.. usually of a higher caste than she is.. or perhaps she will be put to work as a domestic, or a farm labourer – and treated worse than a dog, her health deteriorates, she is severely  traumatised and rapidly goes down hill.

After two or three years when she is no longer of use to the ‘owner’ she is returned to her village – down trodden – outcast by the locals because of her history – and in effect thrown on the scrap heap of existence.

We have three girls here who have been in danger of this inhumane practice.  One was snatched from the imminent sale – her older sister having already suffered this fate.  She tells her story in a matter of fact way – but she is still in danger.

One of them is regularly visited by her mother.. who brings a string of different ‘uncles’ to visit.. we watch her carefully and never leave her alone during these visits which seem more like a marketing strategy.

We love our girls dearly.. they are developing into independent and beautiful young women.  We will not let them go.

Slavery in any form is never okay… it is poverty which creates this situation – poverty is the curse.. let us do all we can to improve the lives of all our brothers and sisters so that we can eliminate this crime against humanity.

by Emma Sykes

It was an early start for Shikshan Gram’s merry band of fundraisers as we set off at 5.30am on both Friday and Monday for two days of campaigning in Pune.

Our first challenge was to reach the train station on time, overcoming the darkness, mud and many puddles along the way. Taking a pretty fast pace we all made it aboard the 6.30am local train to Pune.

Three hours and a few modes of transport later (train, bus, and auto-rickshaw) we were very grateful to reach our destination, Zensar, a global computer software company in the business district of Pune.

We set up our tables right outside the staff canteen- very convenient both for potential donees, and for our rumbling stomachs!

With a never-ending supply of colourful pamphlets, business cards, and smiling faces, we quickly attracted the interest of employees passing by on their way to and from breakfast. Some people had come prepared with sacks full of good quality second-hand clothes which they had collected from their homes, and others generously took time out of their day to visit local markets and buy grains, sugar, oil and so on- which will make a big difference to our monthly grocery bill! At one point a group of incredibly kind workers actually reversed a car right up to the tables because they had so much to give!

Throughout the day it was great to speak to so many people keen to find out how they could help us. Hopefully we will be seeing their faces again soon at open days and training events.

By Monday evening I think I can speak for us all in saying that we were pretty exhausted! But as we packed our hoard into the Sumo (which had to make 2 trips!), we were refreshed by the sheer volume of donations we had received. The journey home was a long, but happy, one.

As a company Zensar is incredibly forward-thinking and open-minded. As well as nurturing ties with projects such as Shikshan Gram, they also run an education centre, where they use a tailor-made computer program to teach English to children from a local slum area. I would like to take this opportunity to thank both Zensar, and its employees, for their immense generosity- thank you very much!

Note from Editor:  This is one of the many experiences you can share as a volunteer with Shikshan Gram – there are so many different ways that you could contribute to the work that we are doing here with the orphan and street children who live with us now.
Please consider coming to visit.

By Emma Sykes

Beginning my first visit to India to volunteer at Shikshan Gram, I touched down in Mumbai expecting to be overwhelmed by the number of people, the volume of noise, and the sheer scale of the vast and varied country I had read so much about.

And certainly that was my experience on the two and a half hour drive to Shikshan Gram, along an express-way where signalling is rare and appropriate ‘stopping distance’ is an apparently unknown concept!

Nonetheless, Shazar’s calming presence served to assure me that nothing was wrong, and that the constant beeping of horns and white-knuckle overtaking was all actually quite normal…

The environment I woke up to was, however, entirely different. My first few days in the Shelter have been incredibly peaceful. Of course the kids are dynamic, excitable, and constantly chattering. But out in the hills, their pace of life is slow, and considered- everything that needs to be done is done, but not with the urgency and impatience I’m used to. It’s definitely an adjustment I will enjoy making!

Already I can see how valuable the relationship between the children and the Shaolin students is. It’s great for the kids to have such kind and disciplined role models.

And it was a lot of fun to watch them lead Kung-Fu practice this evening around the volleyball net!  I have felt welcomed by everyone in the Shelter, and I am so grateful to have been taken into a family when I am so far from home.

 

Note from the editor: If you would like to volunteer here with us at Shikshan Gram.. you would b every welcome. We love having overseas volunteers for a short stay or a long stay. Contact us today to find out more about volunteering and helping our children.

We had a wonderful day here today… Sunday – always a good day for spending time all together.  The girls came over to the main house – affectionately still known as ‘the Site’ as in the Building Site.. because it still is. We all gathered in the main hall and the day began with a game of Simon Says – led by our volunteer from England – Emma Sykes.

When Satish and Yogita arrived and the girls were all here we began the day’s program in earnest.  Satish divided us in to groups and we found a cool place in the shade and began with simple acting of roles.. the old lady, the cleaner, the doctor and so on.

As the day progressed so did the complexity of the roles.. and the interaction of the groups.  Stories were told by children in lines.. one beginning the story and then next spontaneously continuing it.. till the end of the line.

And finally a whole small play was acted out by about five different groups.. lots of laughter and hilarity.. children really starting to come out of themselves and play. It was all rounded off by a cricket game down on the playing field.. and as Satish said it was a day of connection.. and the play served to bring us all together .. and to make space for the next steps to come.  I for one.. certainly felt a sense of space.. away from the concerns of the day to day life.. and a place from which to begin the new week afresh.

We are growing our kitchen garden!

by Satish Mankar.

Our boys come from the street like shriveled up flowers – but when they get here .. they start to transform into healthy blooms.

Shikshan Gram is already a garden where we are growing healthy children – and now we are growing a garden to feed them healthy food.

We have 69 boys and 36 girls and here they are given everything they need.

We want to help them to become responsible citizens of this country and to teach them good habits, life skills and loving to each other so we provide many different programs.

Every day the children need food.. and this means they need good vegetables. Now we have to go to market to buy our supplies.

But we thought, what if we grow our own vegetables in our own kitchen garden?

And taking this thinking we started work on our kitchen garden.

The kitchen garden will give us many things. Not only healthy fresh vegetables without any nasty chemicals and pesticides, but we will avoid vegetables that spoil very quickly as ours will be fresh picked daily..

And of great importance. the children will have fun while helping in the garden and will rely learn the value of their food because they will have worked hard for it.

They will work the garden themselves and this will teach them to understand the value of effort. It will also connect them to the earth and give an understanding of the importance of our animals and their contribution to our lives.

Most city people have lost contact with the earth and some don’t even really know where their milk comes from. Our children certainly will.

We already have many fruit trees well established and most are growing well – these were planted February 2011.

The children all help with keeping the weeds down around these trees.. and also love going on expeditions up into the forest to plant other trees. And in the dry season they are great at keeping the trees watered.

So our new kitchen garden:

We started by leveling an area next to our banana patch .. lots of stones were there that had to be dug out .. and we used them to make a fence around the garden .. the children all helped bringing the earth to build the soil up and then it was time to get the cow dung as the earth was not very rich.

To me – the smell of the cow dung was better than the most expensive perfumes.. because it is beneficial for earth and all the living things and it brings all the microbes to the soil. If you don’t understand the benefit and the value of the cow dung.. then you can’t appreciate the smell.

The earth where we are planting is not very fertile so we put plenty of cow dung and are mixing compost into it. we will also plant some nitrogen fixing legumes to further build the soil and we collected earth worms from another place where we found them.. and put them into our new garden.

We are planning to make a worm farm out of a damaged black water tank, so that we can breed lots more worms as they are really good for the soil.

It was a great pleasure to see the children helping to bring up the cow dung from the cow shed. They made a game out of it.. and really worked together in teams which is very important..some of them got very creative and used their cycle to carry a crate full of cow dung all together in a team of five. Others carried the ‘topla’ or dish used in construction for carrying things on the head.

And of course they all got really dirty.. but when they had finished.. they stripped off and went swimming in the local pool.

What is next? We have already planted the seeds in a place where they can start to grow and then when they are healthy seedlings we will plant them into this new garden.

We have planted brinjal, coriander, spinach, chili, onions, pumpkin, cucumber, bottle gourd and bitter gourd.

This patch is a trial patch.. we plan to make a much bigger area for our kitchen garden soon.

Now we need to make compost, and bio-dynamic preparations so we can have a totally organic garden.

You are most welcome to visit our garden .. and we look forward to sharing some of our fresh and healthy produce with you. And if you feel like making a contribution in the form of plants or garden tools or seeds or anything you think that would be useful for our children we will thank you very much.

Our kitchen garden is growing with love… come and add some of yours to our wonderful compost!!

We would like to thank the trainers are the Basil Academy who have taught us Biodynamic Farming Methods and have been most helpful in our efforts to make our very own biodynamic kitchen garden.

The Shaolin Masters have arrived in India.

The Pune Mirror has covered the Shaolin Masters from China at Shikshan Gram.  Their article which is worth reading can be found here.

The Shaolin Masters are here to work with the 1000 children from all over India who have gathered together for a Shaolin Summer Camp at Shikshan Gram.  They will also be inaugurating the construction of the Shaolin India Temple which will be built at the site of the new Shelter.

This Shaolin Summer Camp has been the vision of Satish and Yogita Moon.. who have worked ceaselessly over the past couple of months to bring this wonderful event together.

From tomorrow 11th May – the Shikshan Gram Shelter will become a place of celebration, high activity and an experience 1000 underprivileged children will never forget!

I am here in Australia and I can feel the excitement from here!!

If learning Kung Fu from the real Shaolin Masters is something that you have always wanted to do – your opportunity is coming.  The Shaolin India Temple will be opening for live-in  residential Kung Fu Shaolin Training within the next few months.  They will take both Indian and International students.  It will be a training that will become world renowned.

Let the games begin!!!

The February group of volunteers were wonderful.  We had five participants and together and individually they contributed a tremendous lot to Shikshan Gram.  Here we are on our first day enjoying a Thali Lunch in Mumbai.   

We had a great day in Mumbai – spent time with Maya Shahani of the Sage Foundation as our wonderful tour guide – she is such a fount of information – and took in the sights and sounds – Mani Bhavan – the house of Gandhi, Babulnath Temple, Ban Ganga, a brief visit to the dobhi ghats and finally a wander on Chowpatty Beach.  Our brave group even sampled some street food fare!

The next day we went up to Shikshan Gram and the adventure really began in earnest.  As we arrived at the site, the rooms where they were to stay were just being completed.  In fact the beds were arriving as we did!!

Needless to say .. as hostess for the group, I was a little nervous but they all took in in their stride and were very accepting of the limitations of living as it still was then, on a building site!

Shifting a little of the Western mindset of “lets get into and start action immediately” was the first of many learnings for our group.  Satish’s advice for our first day was .. “Just tell them to sink in .. and feel what is happening today.. tomorrow is plenty of time to start work!!”

Let me offer you some words from Lindsay.. she expresses well what her experience has been:

All in all we had a great time – with stops and starts we also achieved a considerable amount.

Many of us don’t realise just how valuable simply spending time with the children can be for them. These children are street children and to be spending time and paying games with volunteers from overseas is an oportunity for them to be exposed to totally different cultures and mind sets.

It is amazing how much can be transmitted to the open mind and heart of a little child in a very short time.

Mostly the feeling of being accepted and loved for who they are is of prime importance.. and just quietly.. as a volunteer that sense of unconditional love that flows back to us while we are with the children is a profound and invaluable experience.

If you think you would like to come and join us please fill in our contact form here and we will let you know when and how that can be possible.