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A session on Domestic Violence was held, for students of classes eleven & twelve, in the SGN Public Girls Intercollege, Racecourse, Dehradun on 13th Dec 2014.
The response of response of the girls was very positive and a question and answer session at the end had to be terminated because of lack of time.
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After the session five girls came to us and cried their hearts out. Four of them were victims of physical abuse at home with severe restrictions on what they can and cannot do. The fifth girl was worried about her mother, who is beaten up everyday by her drunk father.
After involving the Principal of the School, we are now in the process of interacting with their families. Hopefully we will be able to give good news by the time of the next newsletter.
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On 14th December, Sunday, the children were shown a very motivating film on how a girl, who had both her legs cut because of her accident, overcame her grief and climbed Mount Everest successfully. We plan to show such movies regularly to encourage the children to do their best.
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On New Year's eve, as the world partied, we got a call at around 11 pm, on the Women's Helpline (9760371958) that there is a woman shivering in the cold in the open, in a village called Mehuwala, near Dehradun.
This lady, who refused to talk, was in obvious distress. One of her fingers of Rt hand was black and she appeared to be very scared of men.
A group of Saheli comprising of the President, Mrs Manju Kaushik and Secretary, Shruti Kaushik, along with a few volunteers reached the site and since the woman was very uncooperative, called the police and got her admitted in Doon Hospital for treatment.
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Prayers for children killed in Peshawar
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All of us were deeply moved by the senseless killing of school children in Peshawar Pakistan. On 18th December after a short talk on violence and peace, and a few clips of the Peshawar attack, the women and children of Saheli prayed for the departed souls
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Saheli Kiosk in Pacific Mall
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After a long long wait, finally Saheli Self Help Group opened it's own retail outlet in Pacific Mall, Rajpur Road, Dehradun. Thanks to Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai, who are the main sponsors of the project, our dream finally came true.
The kiosk was inaugurated by Dr Bhim Pandhi, renowned Cardiologist in Dehradun. He spoke highly of the efforts of Saheli to empower women and wished all of us good luck. The kiosk is located in the ground floor of the mall, so if you live in Dehradun, please do drop in to see our products.
The kiosk was part sponsored by the Inner Wheel Club, Dehradun.
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Message from the Secretary
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Greetings from Saheli,
December has been a very important month for us. After a lot of struggle, we finally got our very own retail outlet. One of the biggest challenges Saheli Self Help Group faced was the marketing of the wonderful handicraft produced by our women, as we lacked an outlet and direct selling, which we were doing, has it's own limitations. So finally, thanks to Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai, we got our own outlet in Pacific Mall this month.
We have been regularly rescuing women in distress over the last year and one of the biggest challenges we face is the lack of a vehicle dedicated to helping women. This need is felt much more acutely during night time, when it is difficult to organize transport. We desperately need a Maruti Van, which we wish to remodel to help in picking up women in distress from the road or their homes at any time of the day. We have approached the State Bank of India to help us out, but sadly we are still awaiting their response.
And finally, a big request to everyone is to please help us grow by giving us advice on the way forwards, by pointing out our mistakes and by suggesting new ideas to us. Please do not hesitate in criticizing anything you don't like. And if you live in Dehradun, or if you ever visit our city, my earnest appeal to you is to visit us. Do call me and I shall be honored to arrange a visit for you. My number is +91-9760371958.
With regards,
Shruti Kaushik,
Secretary, Saheli
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