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Our 3 boys attended a 3 day residential camp "Lighting up lives" learning how to make LED lights and basics of electronics. In the picture above, from left to right, Shivam, Bhagirath and Prakash, show off their creations along with Dr. Brij Mohan Sharma, the Director of SPECS India, which had organized the camp along with US Embassy, New Delhi. Participants, seen in the picture below, came from all over India.
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This month we reached out to the women of Harijan Basti ( meaning "Colony of lower caste") , a small cluster of homes on the outskirts of Dehradun. Domestic violence seemed surprisingly common here and accepted as a norm of life, something we must not accept. Our Outreach Team, will be regularly visiting the area and give hope to these women.
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The campaign to educate girls / women, who are denied education due to social causes, continues with resolute vigor. Three centers were running this month, with 44 girls. In the above picture you can see the Computer Exam being conducted at Ghisapaddi village, Computer teacher is in green on the left, Nitin Sir is on the right and the student, giving the exam, is draped in a bed sheet.
This student is a 34 year old Islamic teacher and one of our most enthusiastic students. She cannot even show her eyes to men, hence the bed sheet. If we can make her learn English & Computers, probably a wider world will open before her.
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Message from the Secretary
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Dear Everyone,
After months of hectic work, June seemed to be a fairly relaxed month, with events unfolding slowly but steadily. With schools being closed for summer holidays, keeping the children of Saheli Women's & Children's shelter was a task in itself. The boys participated in the 3 day electrical camp, while the girls joined Bharatnatyam Dance classes. Bharatnatyam is an Indian classical dance.
The Education@YourDoorstep Classes are running at peak capacity. We have a long list of waiting students for the next few batches. Due to practical reasons, we limit the number of girls in one batch to a maximum of 15. A big thank you to those who responded to my appeal for funds in the last Newsletter. Without your help it would be impossible to do whatever little we are doing. An issue we face in this campaign is the difficulty in finding teachers. Since our centers are invariably in villages, which are not easily accessible and invariably dirty and smelly, teachers sometimes are reluctant to work. After all, teaching in a goat shelter, a plastic sheet draped shack or an old abandoned room is not everyone's cup of tea and we seem to be perpetually looking for teachers but we do manage well inspite of impediments like this.
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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