Visit to Ramavaram and Clothing Donation

Also see: Fire at Ramavaram, A Summary, and Plans for the Future.

Today we made a somewhat impromptu visit to the Ramavaram area to visit the residents of our community and to assist in a clothing donation project. The donation project involved three organizations: the Sai Samithi of Porur, Vishranthi Charitable Trust, and Sangam India. We played a very small role in the project but were nonetheless grateful for our chance to be a part of it and to interact with our community members in Ramavaram.

Clothes to be donated were generously given by Vishranthi, an organization based in Alwarpet, Chennai. The clothes were delivered by truck to the Sai Samithi in Porur a few days ago. Members of the Sai Samithi diligently categorized the clothing based on sex and age. In addition, members of the Samithi went to the community on Saturday, contacted its head, and gathered information about each of the families in the community that were affected by the disaster. They then gave each family a token with a number that corresponded to their own data. This systematic collection of information and the use of tokens allowed the operation today to proceed without problem. In addition to clothing, a packet of rice was also given to each family as well.

A small group of Sangam India members came today to assist, in some small way, with this operation. We spoke to the members of the Sai Samithi and we learned much about how to organize and run distribution projects. It was very impressive to see the dedication in their work. In addition, we were happy to have with us a doctor, Dr. Usha, who saw a several medical cases, giving advice and treatment to them. Finally, a number of our members came simply to spend time with the children.

As we were leaving, a number of large trucks came and many of the group elders boarded them. They will be going to their new location to inspect the area, and if all goes as planned, the entire group will be moving to the new area sometime tomorrow. As we conclude our work here with these people, we feel a little sad to be parting with friends, but hope that this will be a start to a good life for them.

A heartful thanks to the Sai Samithi of Porur for running this project and to Ms Sundari Jayaraman and Ms Savithri Vaithi of Vishranthi for providing the clothes.

View the rest of the pictures from today's visit

Updates for Week of 23/3/09

Here's a summary of this week:

• As Rifa stated in the meeting minutes, there is no program scheduled for this Saturday due to the long weekend and lots of people not being in town. We look forward to continuing our educational programme next Saturday, on April 4th. Visit back later next week for details.
• Our patient, Nagajyothi, was discharged from the hospital and her operation is scheduled on April 24th.
• Tomorrow, (Saturday) is CanStop's "Stree Spandan" dance recital. Proceeds go towards funding the drug bank for children afflicted with cancer. Please come if you are looking for something interesting to do this weekend and would like to support a good cause!
  See event on facebook

CanStop: "Stree Spandan”

Canstop is a great organization which focuses on cancer awareness and prevention in the Chennai area. Dr. Arjun Rangarajan from Canstop worked closely with us back in September 2008 when we held our women's camp and since then we have wanted to continue working with them on projects in the Ramavaram area.

This Sunday, April 29th, Canstop will be hosting "Stree Spandan," a traditional Indian dance recital features styles as varied as Odissi, Manipuri and Bharatanatyam. All the proceeds will help to fund their charitable work.

Here are a few lines from Dr. Arjun about next Sunday's event:

Dear one and all,

Canstop cordially invites you to our fundraiser for the year. We proudly present "Stree Spandan” a classical dance performance featuring renowned artists Smt.Shovana Narayan, Smt.Sharon Lowen and Smt. Gopika Varma, together on the same stage for the first time in Chennai.

Date : 28th March
Time : 6 pm
Venue : Narada Gana Sabha

The proceeds of the show will go into our Corpus Fund for the “Drug Bank” - for the purchase of the drugs for continued treatment of children afflicted with cancer.

Tickets are priced at Rs.1000,700,500,300 and Rs.100 for the balcony.
For enquiries please contact the helpline at 2628-4256 or call me at 98410-61578.

We sincerely hope you can come and help support the drug bank and the kids who rely on it.

best wishes,

Arjun

To find out more information, please contact the number listed above.

For more information about Canstop, you can check out their website or their facebook fan page.

See event on facebook