Save the Child Foundation - a day at Joy Home in Kurnool

As part of the support by SAVE THE CHILD FOUNDATION to provide school supplies, kids education sponsorship and a laptop, we made plans to meet the underprivileged kids at the JOY HOME orphanage during our recent visit to India. On July 25th, we visited Joy Home with family and were eager to find out about the activities and care given to kids. More than anything, it's heart touching to read the kids' profiles and their reasons for being part of the orphanage. But the smiles and happiness on their faces are the proof of the care and support given by the people at Joy Home. 

Special mention goes to Mallikarjuna who is running this NGO from the last 13 years. He is a full time engineer working in Hyderabad and travels to Kurnool during weekends to take care of the kids and the organization. His dedication and passion to help underprivileged kids and destitute women is visible in the work he is doing. 

Joy Home is a children orphanage home, run by SERUDS (Sai Educational Rural & Urban Development Society), a registered Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India working for the welfare and development of deprived street children, orphans, destitute women, poor old age people and youth in urban slums and villages. SERUDS has been working since 2003 through its need-based programs focused on access to education, food, livelihood training and healthcare. Right now, around 45 children are provided with accommodation, food, schooling, healthcare, clothes and recreation facilities. 

For me, it's a privilege to be a part of SAVE THE CHILD FOUNDATION, an organization that is driven by the vision, “A world in which all children with needs either related to poverty or medical conditions will be protected and nurtured holistically in an ecofriendly environment". 

Founded by my college senior Ravi Kantamsetty, SAVE THE CHILD FOUNDATION (formerly AshaJyothi USA) was started to help special needs children and then expanded to support underprivileged kids. Its mission is to create an environment of hope and respect for the children with special needs and assist each child in reaching their maximum potential through holistic interventions. True to its mission, SAVE THE CHILD FOUNDATION has partnered with SERUDS to help impact the children in need in the District of Kurnool, both rural and urban. 

During the event on August 25th, my college friend Venkat Bathula handed over school supplies and a laptop donated by Ravi Kiran Manyam to Mallikarjuna.

And our kids were happy to distribute sweets and chocolates to their new friends at Joy Home.

We spoke with the staff at Joy Home and learned that SERUDS selects the candidates by personal visits to kids' homes to assess their family background. They also take inputs from the school head masters to select the students who are doing well in studies.  The staff at Joy Home motivates their parents through counseling sessions to send their children to school. SERUDS also provides day care to kids who come from poor families where both parents work as construction or farm laborers. 

The children are provided hot mid-day meals, snacks in the evening, and pre-school education. Trained staff keeps the children engaged in recreational learning activities. Joy Home Orphanage staff includes one warden, a teacher, a vocational instructor, 2 cooks and an attendant.  A doctor has been appointed as Center Medical Officer to conduct health check-up and treat the sick.

Most of the kids at Joy Home go to Indira Gandhi Municipal Memorial High School, the same school where I completed my elementary. It's such a happy moment to be amongst my school juniors.

Sometimes it feels sad to see how fate decides the destiny of a child. I've been telling my kids how lucky they are to be part of a family that supports their needs and education. At the same time, it made us feel happy to see the kids at Joy Home getting support from organizations like Save The Child Foundation. But they still need more support in terms of money and services. 

SERUDS is running the Orphanage solely through donations. They encourage active sponsorship by arranging periodic meetings between the donor and sponsored child, and sending regular updates on the progress made in school and co-curricular activities. And I'm happy to sponsor two kids Lakshmi and Mounika. I'm looking forward to see their progress and help them achieve their dreams to become independent women. It feels so happy to meet them in person and to talk to them.




We all had a good time talking to kids at Joy Home and being one among them. I wish we could have spent more time there.

And here are few glimpses of kids' fun time...

On the Indian Independence Day, I urge my friends to help a kid achieve their dreams and be part of a child's success story. The more you give of yourself, the more you find of yourself...

HAPPY 70th INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

The Best Christmas Gift Ever!!

Today is Christmas Eve and kids were eagerly waiting for me to come home soon...'cause they wanted me to go for shopping and get some Christmas gifts for them. I was terribly stuck with my work ....and they kept calling me again and again. But by 4pm, they realized that I was not going to come anytime soon, my younger one took my husband for shopping..she had a full list of items to buy for herself and for everyone :-). And my husband had no clue what she was buying...and elder one was home... ready with her surprise gifts for all. 

When I came home, she handed over three small packets and asked me to guess what was in it. All I could guess was some writeup, portraying our characters to make us happy. I waited until my husband and younger one came home. The gifts looked small, but she surprised all of us with her beautiful thoughts, each one written neatly in the form of coupons that we could redeem. 

 And her conditions are: we can redeem these coupons after Christmas and they expire by Feb 1st 2016 :-). 

These are the set of coupons I got:

• Help Clean
• Help Garden
• Foot Massage
• Head Massage
• Hang Clothes
• Fold Clothes
• Cook coupon

Each one came with multiple coupons, but I was looking for more Head massage coupons, and to my surprise, she left an option for that one too, I got 4 Blank Coupons that I can redeem for whatever I want, she made me happy again :-).

And these coupons are for my husband :-)

And these are for our little one. We were all surprised to see the target list :-)

Now I can't wait to redeem my coupons during Holiday season....

Wishing you all Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Gardening - part 3 - Joy multiplies with gardening

This Janmashtami was very special as all the flowers and leaves offered to God were from my garden. Happy to see the big smile on my mother's face when she was counting the variety of flowers offered to God. Maa khush, Bhagavan khush aur mai bhi khush :-).

More than that, Pujaris from the nearby Balaji temple requested permission to take Tulasi leaves from my Tulasi vanam...  what else do I need to make this Janmashtami a very special occasion.

I started with a single Tulasi plant that my mother gave me last year and then spread the seeds in the garden. I couldn't believe the bumper yield....hundreds of Tulasi plants asking me to take care of them. Here is a collage of before and after pics of my front yard...my beautiful Tulasi vanam.

Few months back, I started with few chrysanthemum plants, and now they are blooming in different colors...

And two banana saplings to eight..

 And other decorative variety...it's fun to split and spread the plants for new and better growth...

 

The following variety is a big surprise....the plant I got died after few months. But the seeds have spread without my knowledge and new saplings came on their own..a surprise gift of resurrection ;-)

And few extended their life through leaves...

This is one of my favorite blog post as it is full of life. Hope everyone could spread and enjoy God's beauty through Gardening.

Gardening - part 2 - Terrace garden

I always wanted to have a little garden area next to our family lounge... a place to relax tired eyes and escape to enjoy the fresh air, drizzles to drenching rains and the shining stars on clear nights. Here are few pics of our terrace garden taken during yesterday's rains in Bangalore....my beautiful dream turned into reality :-)

Before constructing our house, I had few requirements in mind for our terrace garden:
- A Rock garden with water fountain for a surreal appeal
- Plants that require less maintenance and water
- Tiles that give a natural look... especially black flooring (settled with Cuddapah black limestone)
- Big pots on the wall to keep the floor area clean and empty, which will, at the same time, retain the feel of greenery
- Open ceiling to see the stars
- Small pergola to hide from the heavy rains and hot sun, and enjoy a cup of coffee or a cold drink under its shade
- A Windchime for that pleasant feel
- Hanging lights for nice chats at night
- Water lilies to provide ambience
- Couple of traditional rope cots to relax under the night sky (the only pending item :-))
- Wooden sofa or wooden chairs with coffee table

Before jumping into making of my terrace garden, few pics of the blooming flowers....

Now coming to the creation of the terrace garden....:-)

A lot has gone into planning....I still remember those sleepless nights...drawing designs in my dreams... going back and forth with design changes to the architect.... deciding on the right elements... visiting plenty of shops to procure the right and reasonable material...etc..etc..

Each step executed as per the plan in mind and on paper:

Step 1: As it is a terrace garden, extra caution has been taken to prevent water leakage. The entire floor has been water proofed twice to prevent ingress of water.

Step 2: After the design was finalized, a granite stone hedge was made for the rock garden.

Step 3:Tile work for the rest of the area was completed using Cuddapah black limestone....my #1 choice :-)

Step 4: Metal Fabrication work was done to hold the big pots on both the sides of the parapet wall and also for the Pergola. After that, glass work was completed for the pergola roof.

Step 5: I was very picky regarding the colour of the pots...I wanted  them to be of black and white texture. We almost finalized purchasing fibre pots in the Lalbagh nursery mela of Bangalore. But we were not sure about their durability in a terrace garden. So, we decided to go with concrete pots...but big question....how about black and white texture? Do I need to settle with terracotta or natural concrete coloured pots?

I was a bit frustrated on the way back home, but a glance at the beautiful decorative pieces near JD Mara bus stop captured my eyes. I had a long conversation with the street side sellers and convinced them to do this color texture for me.. it costed a bit more than expected, but I was happy to get what I wanted :-).

Step 6: With almost all the prerequisites complete for the terrace garden, we took the help of an experienced gardener to buy the right kinds of plants that require less water and minimal maintenance. Spent more than two days roaming on the streets of Lalbgh Siddapur area. After the plants landed at home, the garden work started in a couple of days.

Step 7: A layer of jelly(crushed stone) was laid first and then a portable water fountain which we got from Pune was placed.

Step 8: After that, the gardener laid red soil and natural rocks. We had a hard time finding those rocks :-(. With a tip from our neighbours, we got some from nearby Jigani quarries. I still remember the pain we had gone though to find the rocks and then load and unload them to make them reach their destination.

Step 9: With the plants making their way into the rock garden, I could see my dreams taking shape....some of the beautiful moments of constructing a house.

Step 10: After the terrace garden work was complete, the next item in the list was to enjoy it :-). We visited many places in Bangalore to find out the right garden chairs, but finally settled with a design from Bombay. We ordered them from a vendor and got them delivered in a week.

Step 11: The last and the most important step was the LIGHTS ...HANGING LIGHTS :-). Gosh...only God knows how many shops we stepped in to find the right choice. After almost two weeks of rigorous search, we finalized them from a shop in the BVK Iyengar street of Bangalore. And here is our garden with windchimes dancing to the rhythms of the wind and making us aware of its presence... 

 

This is the story of our Terrace garden....lots of lessons learnt through its making :-)