Nana Munha Rahi Hoon

Remember Swades?-the scene when SRK spots the lil’ fella selling water in a ‘kulhad’. You might have felt your eyes moisten a bit or maybe even a lump forming in your throat. Or maybe not.

Remember Taare Zameen Par? the scene when Aamir watches dolefully at “chhotu” cleaning the tables at a highway dhaba. You might have recalled a similar instance from your life when you shook your head condemning child labour but felt too small to cause a change. Or maybe not.

Remember Slumdog Millionaire? the scene when Jamal and Latika are made to beg. You might have felt angry at the foreigners making the film too real for comfort or maybe you stayed indifferent. Or maybe not.

How about the Rs. 700 you might have spent on watching any of these movies at a multiplex? What if the same amount were to make a very real and very meaningful impact to a child’s life? What if all it took was 2 minutes to bring a child closer to 1 year of education?

Would you still hesitate in taking action? If you are proud to call yourself an Indian, maybe not.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?

School Equals Lunch feed 6,00,000 underprivileged children one hot meal every day. This meal is served at the municipal school they study in, and is very often the only way to convince their parents to send their kids to school.

One hot meal. For which the parent sacrifices sending the child to wash your car or sell flowers at the signal. One hot meal. Which is probably the only nutritious meal the child has in a day.
One hot meal. That brings a child to school every day.
And all it takes is Rs 700 for a whole school year.
So here’s what we’re hoping for. If we can get thousand people to donate Rs. 700 in the next ten days, then thousand more kids can go to school this year.

HERE’s HOW YOU CAN DONATE:
1. TO DONATE, YOU COULD USE THE INTERNET PAYMENT GATEWAY AT WWW.MIDDAYMEAL.COM
2. OR CALL 022 40366866. THEY'LL GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE PAYMENT OPTIONS.
3. DRAW CHEQUE IN FAVOUR OF 'ISKCON FOOD RELIEF FOUNDATION' AND MAIL IT TO NANHA MUNNA RAHI HOON, ISKCON FOOD RELIEF FOUNDATION, 19 JAYWANT INDUSTRIAL PREMISES, 63 TARDEO ROAD, MUMBAI 400 034. OR CALL SEEMA AT 982084245 TO HAVE IT PICKED UP, IF YOU ARE IN MUMBAI

MORE ABOUT SCHOOL EQUALS LUNCH:
We are School Equals Lunch. We’re passionate about feeding children. You are more than welcome to visit our kitchens or call Seema at 9820842453 to know more, or even visit our website (www.middaymeal.com). We’d love to show you how much thought and effort goes into cooking that one meal. Whether it’s a different Khichdi for every weekday or the steam cooking kitchen we‘ve introduced, we’d love to share our passion with you.

Worth Repeating

This dates back to beginning of 2008 and since this blog has seen many new readers since then, the following seems worth repeating.

http://quirkyquill.blogspot.com/2008/01/happiness-knockin.html

Season's Greetings. Spread the cheer :)

Happiness Knockin'

This year has started on a good note. Turning thought into action is satisfying-more so, when the action is not purely selfish and could make a difference to someone else's life in a little way.

Go to http://www.nanhikali.org/ and make that difference. For as little as Rs.1940 (~75 SGD), you can sponsor a girl's education for a year. Just think about it, instead of buying yourself a fancy meal, you can gift her 12 months of hope, determination and ambition. You can help a young mind learn new things; make new resolves ; view the world in a different way- small steps in ultimately, deciding for herself-for better or worse.

And if that's not enough-photographs of your "nanhi kali" and her progress report cards will make those happy steps transcend the borders-right upto your doorstep! Happiness is coming knockin'- usher in the change-Click on that website now :)

Give me hope, Joanne!

We met Joanne on Saturday. She took us to the zoo along with her other friends and colleagues who took others to the zoo as well. She helped us find our way through the zoo & reach the designated spots on time; made sure we didn’t miss the animal shows and the interaction with domesticated animals. She clicked photographs like a pro, kept us entertained with her wild antics- all this while keeping a watchful eye on us and making sure that we had our meals on time, and that we expressed our appreciation & enjoyment clearly & unabashedly.
Joanne really gave us a lot-not only a feeling of unprecedented responsibility, compassion & sensitivity towards other’s needs but also countless opportunities for genuine smiles, laughter & fun.

JOANNE & ME

This is Joanne-a kid with multiple disabilities, whose mental & physical growth is lagging behind her years. I, along with a few other friends and colleagues were volunteers for kids like Joanne from AWWA’s school for children with disabilities. (http://www.awwa.org.sg/) And if you are generating those thoughts of sympathy and pity in your head-abandon them now! For make no mistake, the eight year old may look like she’s four, but the lady’s a man-eater, a charming live wire who gives differing versions of her age depending on the target audience :) Incidentally, her favorite animal is a pig and she’s slightly scared of animals, but was brave enough to venture out to the zoo & be near animals like us!

Here’s one of the snaps she clicked ----->

Yes, she needs assistance to do basic stuff that kids her age don’t even spare a thought for-But the playful and vivacious kid made us realize things that time-strapped, ‘now’-driven selfish adults like us, don’t spare a thought for-How doing something worthwhile can lend a delightful glow to your otherwise mundane clockwork existence, how a genuine smile from Jo was worth much more than the empty laughter & the fake pleasure of random parties & how simple everyday things acquire a whole new dimension when you see it from a different (her) point of view.

What made it even more fantastic was meeting really nice people (thanks Connie-especially for the snaps) and sharing those wonderful moments with Mahesh (whose organization gave us the chance to volunteer for this).
Thank you Joanne, for making me realize the deep sense of gratitude that I now feel towards everything and everyone I usually took for granted and snapping me out of the self- induced pool of disenchantment & cynicism.
Thank you for the positive thoughts & feelings you left me with. I hope to see you soon :) (Though I feel I’m cheating you with giving you just time and getting so much more in return).

JOANNE & KIDS-MAHESH, CONNIE & ME

(for those of you who are in Singapore and have a desire to put your time/money to good use, the AWWA school is located near Ang Mo Kio & welcomes volunteers-for more details follow the link.)