Christmas Celeberations

Christmas Celebrations at Vathsalya Charitable Trust

We have come to the end of the year, and Vathsalya was all adorned with streamers, balloons, and Christmas trees. It’s that time of the year when the staff and children are in a festive mood. Today we celebrated the Christmas programme with a lot of gaiety. The children performed skits and monoacting. There was a choreography to the song, ‘Mary did you know”. The children danced to the Christmas songs, with the grand entrance of Santa Claus, with his sweets.

The children who lost their lives at Peshawar to the inhuman act of violence

The children of Vathsalya express their heartfelt condolonces to the families of all the children who lost their lives

Today we celebrated Children’s day at Vathsalya. The children waited for this great day with so much of anticipation. Their enthusiasm could be seen from the way they came dressed up in good clothes. Each one had a twinkle in his or her eye thinking about the events of the day. There was so much of excitement seen among the children. We felt it was just uncontainable.

The day began with getting them ready for the program. Our main artist was Narasamma was dressed in a beautiful sari. Narasappa, a 12 year who happens to be Narasamma’s cousin was dressed in a plain kurta and a Nehru jacket. I forgot to mention about Joyce who compered the program. She introduced the reason for celebrating Children’s day to the audience. All the little ones listened to her intently.

The program began with a duet on a folk song - Bhagyada Balegare by Narasamma and Narasappa. They both seem to have a natural gift of dance. This was followed by item numbers like Chhammak Chhallo done by the girls, Why this Kolavery by small boys and a Dhinkachikka dhinkachikka Bollywood dance by older boys. The atmosphere was filled with lot of energy and fun. The children just loved to express their passion for dance so freely.

We were entertained by a comedy skit by the children. Everybody enjoyed the humour.Little Lakshmi who is unable to see the world around her, but hear the rhythm and music around her danced her way much to the joy of the audience.

After the kids enjoyed their hit dance numbers, the teachers danced a Bollywood number for them. The kids joined the staff to dance. It was indeed a memorable day for both the teachers and the students. A special mention of Shyla and Anjan who worked hard with the children to prepare for the program.

Vathsalya Charitable Trust

The Cat in the Rain

                It was raining heavily. I could barely see outside my window. I could make out a dim figure of a lady sitting outside. She was alone and was sipping from a tea cup. The lonely figure intrigued me and despite the strong winds, I opened the window.

                There was something about her face that didn’t allow me to take my eyes off her. There were hard lines on her face. Lines of experience, maybe? Or even hardships? I couldn’t tell. All I knew was she was lonely and was staring at something outside my area of vision.

                 I stretched outside to find out what she was looking at. This was strange. There was a cat out there, getting drenched in the rain. “Why couldn’t the lady get him in? Was she so immersed in her thoughts, that she didn’t realize the cat’s distress? Or was it apathy towards the cat?” I wondered.

                Soon, a man came by. I hoped that the man at least will save the cat. But he just collected the cup from the lady and went back. I was annoyed by both their indifference and decided to shut the window. Just when I was closing it, the lady looked up at me and gave me a piercing look. I stopped in my action.

                The look asked me, “Why can’t you come down to rescue the cat?”

Often in the rain of life, we see young children crying out in the hope of rescue. We wonder why nobody is providing them a shelter. We feel sorry for them and wish that they could lead a better life. We are disgusted by the apathy of the society towards them. Next time before feeling so many emotions, just give a moment of thought as to why you are not stretching your hand out in support to the child.

- Benita Chacko

Igniting Young Minds

Don’t we all hold a special place for our teachers from the early years of our life? Those teachers who taught us the alphabets, the nursery rhymes and the Golden Words? They brought a host of learning techniques to the classroom to keep us engaged. Ms. Geeta Prasanna is another such teacher who brings a variety of learning techniques to the class. Her classes bring excitement and fun to the children’s lives, who happily repeat every word after her, dance to her action songs and even participate in the re-enactment of moral stories. Using various learning aids she breezes through different concepts like objects, colours, birds, animals. Her interactive classes would make you yearn to be a child again to participate in the class. Surely someday these kids will look back and remember this wonderful teacher, just as we today feel nostalgic about our childhood teachers.

In an interview with her, she chatted about her relationship with Vathsalya.

How long have you been teaching here?

                I have been in the teaching field for the last 25 years. Now I have been associated with Vathsalya for more than two years.

You teach at Vathsalya only once a week, so what do you do as a full- time profession?

                I specialise in teaching children with hearing impairment. So I take one- on- one classes at home for these children. Once in a week, I come to Vathsalya to teach migrant children and help them with basic concept formations.

What has been your most rewarding experience here?

                I generally teach children who find it difficult to speak. But here I was surprised to see that children with normal hearing capacity also found it difficult to communicate. This was because they had very little social interactions. So when they utter every word it brings great joy and satisfaction to me.

What motivates you to teach here?

                Vathsalya is a very well- run institution with a dedicated staff. Their enthusiasm to help the children motivates me to teach here.

- Benita Chacko

THE DIFFERENCE YOU CAN MAKE

An unassuming, beautiful young girl, intently pouring over her books and writing down her notes, this young angel is all of fifteen and intends to change the world! All I can say is that she is already at it.

In her tenth grade, Akanksha made the crucial decision of dropping out of a formal institution and decided to be home-schooled. If you are wondering why, here is your answer – so she could spend more time at an NGO and teach the migrant children there.

 Akanksha has been associated with Vathsalya Charitable Trust for over three years now. She joined the NGO with the intention of helping the kids in her spare time but was soon consumed by the noble cause. In Akanksha’s words, “These kids have a lot of talent and really big dreams, they only need someone to guide them, so they can achieve their dreams.” Her decision was, to ‘be the change you want to see’. Today, she spends her mornings with these migrant children, coursing through the curriculum in a fun, interesting manner. Only the remainder of her day is dedicated to her personal education. She also dedicates a few days of her week to the NGOs outreach programmes and visits the nearby slums and schools to propagate the importance of education in EVERYONE’s life.

“Every morning now, I wake up with a smile on my face as a result of these efforts,” says Akanksha.

Have you felt this way today?

-Neha Sharma

VATHSALYA – A HAVEN OF LOVE

A child can know no guile, sees the world in colorful hues and wants nothing more but the love and attention he/she deserves. Yet, the hardship of broken homes and financial troubles can rob this child of a fulfilling childhood. This grim reminder is inspiration enough to reach out and support the underprivileged.

Vathsalya Charitable Trust, a non-profit, non-government organization, based in Bangalore, India, has been a refuge to the children of many migrant workers. With an atmosphere of love and care, Vathsalya lives up to its name. The dedicated team of faculty and staff are seen helping the children learn basic skills and equipping them with an excellent informal education. The organization also hosts several sponsorship and outreach programmes, be it in distant villages or within the city.

Nutrition is also a key focus area at Vathsalya. Meals are carefully planned, prepared and provided to the children, keeping in mind every nutritional requirement their age entails. At Vathsalya, every child ends the day with a curious mind, a full stomach and a smile.

Most of us have been blessed with a wonderful education and comfortable homes, but few have managed to look beyond this. There are children, precious little souls, hungry for knowledge and love. Vathsalya has spent the last 25 years labouring for this cause.

“It is easier to build strong children, than to repair broken men.”

- Colleen Thomas