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International Women's Day: March 8
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While many others celebrate Women's Day by holding conferences in 5 Star hotels, we in Saheli celebrated it by starting a new "Education at your Doorstep" centre in the slums of Kabdi Basti, Dehradun. 12 girls, all of them from the Muslim community, who were deprived of education due to social issues, joined the classes. They would be taught Spoken English & Basic computers. We use this period of our interaction with them and their families to try and modulate their views on girl education and early marriages.
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This month our outreach program took us to Azad Colony. In a well attended meeting we discussed issues relating to domestic violence, child abuse and education of the girl child. The audience was very receptive and curious, I do hope we managed to make a difference.
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Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, was celebrated with abandon gay and high spirits on 13th March. This is one of the most important festivals and serves to enhance bonding among family members.
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Message from the Secretary
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Dear Everyone,
March has been "mind stimulating" in a sense, children were busy with their exams, both in school and college. The children in our shelter did exceedingly well. The greatest satisfaction, I personally got, was to see Sonali score 64% in her final exams. If you remember, Sonali, was a rag picker, brought to us by the child helpline 3 months ago. She had never been to school before but in three months she picked up so much that she managed to clear her final exams fairly decently. All the other children came among the top three in their classes.
Also, this month, Alessandra Indino, a volunteer from Italy, who spent 30 days with our children, went on to complete her Indian tour. Living with her, our girls were forced to speak in English and gradually became less hesitant in using the language.
Finally, as I always say, we would love to have your feedback, both negative and positive, because that is what helps us grow. Please do not hesitate to comment, all you need to do is to reply to this email. Your words mean a lot to us, so please don't hesitate.
And the invitation to visit our shelter is there for everyone. Please do spare some time and come and feel the spirit of Saheli.
With regards,
Shruti Kaushik,
Secretary, Saheli
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