Smile Foundation kids in Bilaspur go "On Air"
Girl children from Smile Foundation outside All India Radio Bilaspur |
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All
India Radio Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh invited three groups of children
from Smile Foundation to its programme 'AAO BACHCHO' to share their
experience, while also boosting their self confidence and making
them feel very special. The children recited poems, sang their favourite
songs, cracked jokes and had lots of fun during the radio programme.
All the children were from Mission Education project in Bilaspur,
Chhattisgarh which has been operational since 2009 and is being
implemented with Shikhar Yuva Manch through four operational centres
at Ganesh Nagar, Thetha Debris, Nayapara (a centre exclusively for
girls) and Indrapuri.
158 children in the age group of 3-18 years are benefitting from
the project. Parents of these children make a living mostly as daily
wage earners, plying rickshaw or working as mechanics. But with
quality education, basic healthcare with health & hygiene practices,
grooming and exposure they are gradually becoming confident of creating
a brighter and happier future for themselves.
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Infrastructural support from CEIL for 3 STeP centres
Certification Engineers
International Limited (CEIL) has extended infrastructural support
to Smile Foundation's Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP) by
providing new computers and furniture as part of its CSR initiative.
CEIL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Engineers India Limited (EIL),
a Govt. of India Undertaking.
The partnership will benefit three STeP centres in the Delhi
NCR region. New sets of personal computers with latest OS and
TFT screens, printers, UPS, audio systems and other training accessories
have been installed at STeP centres in Paschim Vihar, Madangir
and Vinod Nagar. New furniture has also been included in the Madangir
centre which has been recently established.
STeP is a national level employability programme of Smile Foundation
that trains urban underprivileged youth with market-oriented job
skills such as English, basic computer, personality development,
retail management and relevant soft skills, making them employed
in retail and service sectors across India.
CEIL was represented by Mr. V. K. Jain, Senior Advisor and Mr.
Nitendra Dekate, Head HR & A, during the dedication functions.
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CEIL
officials inaugurate the new computer lab at STeP centre in Paschim
Vihar, Delhi
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Bridging
the Gap
Sri Shikshayatan students capture Smile kids on their cameras |
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Students
from Sri Shikshayatan School, Kolkata, documented Mission Education
Programme's IPER centre in the city. The students have been regular
visitors to the centre and have befriended many younger kids there.
The students interviewed the Director of IPER as well as the Mission
Education project coordinator, asking them about the challenges
faced while providing education to underprivileged kids.
They also captured ongoing lessons in the classrooms, sports,
art and other co-curricular activities at the centre. The teachers
shared the special teaching methodology they use to make learning
easy and fun for the kids.
The children from the centre were interviewed about their interests
and dreams and happily posed for the lens. At the end the Smile
kids broke into an impromptu dance and were joined by students from
Sri Shikshayatan.
Such interactions between the privileged and underprivileged kids
are encouraged by Smile Foundation under its Child for Child programme
to sensitize the privileged children towards their disadvantaged
counterparts.
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Uttarakhand
Rehabilitation Programme in full force
Smile Foundation's 'Integrated
primary healthcare rehabilitation programme' in Uttarakhand is
now well accepted in the identified 24 villages of Ukhimath block
in Rudraprayag district. The project includes a mobile health
clinic, an equipped static clinic and Smile Health Camps model.
After the cloud burst in Uttarakhand last year, Smile Foundation
responded to the urgency with immediate relief and an assessment
to devise a long-term strategy to join force with the collective
efforts of the government and development agencies. Primary health
care has been found to be one of the most urgent areas which needed
long term intervention.
The project includes mobile health clinic, medical staff, pathological
labs, medicine depots, static clinics with healthcare infrastructure,
strengthening and effective utilization of the existing health
care facilities, promoting health seeking behaviour etc. The villages
are situated at an altitude of 7000 – 11000 feet which has
made the situation more challenging for the affected survivors.
The project will benefit 10,000 individual directly every year.
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Villagers
line up as the Mobile Health clinic makes a stop at a flood affected
area
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ME
kids in Assam get mainstreamed into formal schools
UTSAH's founder Migueal Queah felicitates a mainstreamed student |
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35
odd children got mainstreamed into formal schools from Mission Education's
UTSAH centre at Hafiznagar, in Guwahati, Assam. Their friends and
teachers from the centre came together to congratulate the children
and celebrate the occasion.
The kids will be joining Chandmari Nimna Buniyadi Vidyalaya and
Milanpur Mohammad Shah School in Guwahati. Miguel Queah, founder
of UTSAH, felicitated the mainstreamed children.
Most of these children are orphans and runaways or were working
as child labour, when they were inducted at the centre. Today, they
are each others' strength and walking firmly on the path of education,
to realize their dreams.
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Last year twenty children from the centre had been mainstreamed into
nearby government schools. These children continue to come to the centre
to get extra lessons and help younger kids. The new batch also plans
to follow in their footsteps.

Hospitality
training for STeP students at JW Mariott Mumbai
J W Marriott Hotel Mumbai
played host to a batch of 18 students from Smile Twin e-Learning
Programme (STeP) for an exposure visit, practical training and
familiarization trip. These youth had shown interest in joining
the hospitality industry after completion of the 6-month STeP
programme.
Mr. Khaja Ram and Miss Harsha from JW Marriott welcomed the
students with training and motivational sessions, followed by
a presentation on the history and work of the hotel at Juhu, Mumbai.
The students were further divided into groups and given a guided
orientation on various departments and amenities of the hotel.
After these long sessions, the students were invited to have lunch
with JW Marriott officials and staff.
JW Marriott also offered the students to appear for interviews,
promising three years of on-the-job training with stipends. Group
discussions and two rounds of interviews were conducted and five
students were selected on the spot to join the premier hotel.
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STeP
students get oriented on the basics of hospitality sector at JW
Mariott Mumbai
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Women
and girls cultivate their Garden of Hope
Seeds
and potted plants being distributed among the women and girls |
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Not-so-easy
living conditions, scarcity of water and rented houses could not
stop women of Chhatarpur village on the southern fringe of Delhi,
from sowing plants and nurturing gardens in their homes. The inspiration
came from the initiative “The Garden of Hope and Sowing”,
organised by Navdanya Trust, under Smile Foundation's Swabhiman
programme.
The workshop began with seeds being distributed among 40 adolescent
girls and women. The participants were made aware about the importance
of organic food, followed by a group discussion in which ideas were
invited for an ideal garden and interesting topics related to food
and community. Thereafter, a sowing session was held, during which
the women and girls learnt something new while having fun and strengthening
their community bonding.
The women were very interested and curious about the sessions. They
also ended the interactive session with another fun activity –
by putting their thoughts on paper artistically through drawings
and presenting them in groups.
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Computer
Education at 54 Mission Education centres
Computer Education
projects have been set up in 54 select Mission Education
programme centres of Smile Foundation. The centres are spread
across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Odisha,
Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Delhi NCR,
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra, Jammu and
Telangana.
In each of the centres, two new desktops with UPS, one
printer cum scanner and other accessories have been installed.
Teachers from each centre had already been trained by Smile
Foundation as part of 3-day residential training programmes
in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and New Delhi.
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More than half of Mission Education
projects were equipped with computers, but now uniformity
has been brought at all centres. This will bring better quality
of learning and the children will be aligned with the education
system of formal schools after they get mainstreamed.
In many of the remote rural centres,
it makes a big difference as children use the latest computers
and accessories in augmenting their learning ability, since
this also boosts their self confidence. |

Children
at Mission Education centres across India discover a whole new world
at the new computer labs
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Health
Camp for children and mothers in Madhepura, Bihar
Dr.
Jha checks a mother and her new born at the health camp |
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Children
and mothers attended a specialized health camp at Pithai village
in Madhepura district, Bihar. The series of scheduled camps are
in addition to the mobile hospital project operational in the district,
with support from Siemens India.
For the health camps, Dr. Mikku Kumar Jha and Dr. Sheema Kumari
Jha from the mobile hospital were supported by Dr. Rajeev Kumar.
Diagnostic and pathological facilities of the mobile hospital were
also made available to the specialized camps.
Families from five nearby villages attended the camp. 97% of the
beneficiaries belonged to below poverty line families which also
included 48% young mothers and women.
Such complementary health camps are organized regularly under the
Smile on Wheels programme to meet the immediate healthcare needs
of the marginalized community in remote rural areas and slums, with
the belief that adequate awareness, diagnosis and timely care can
reduce the incidence of morbidity and mortality, especially among
children and women.
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Healthcare
services for women of Chhatarpur Pahari, Delhi
Women
queue up for check-up at the health camp in Chhatarpur |
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Aspecialized
mega health camp was conducted for children and women in Chhatarpur
Pahari on the southern fringe of Delhi under Swabhiman programme.
Over 200 beneficiaries availed of the services at the camp.
Access to healthcare is considered to be one of the major components
of women empowerment under the programme, which is based on an innovative
4-S model, meaning Seeking healthcare as a behaviour, Support for
education, Supporters in men through male involvement, and Sustaining
the change in communities.
The specialists for the health camp included a paediatrician and
a gynaecologist, accompanied by a team of paramedics, Swabhiman
change agents and volunteers. Diagnosis, counselling, medicines
and contraceptives were made available for free.
A specialized mobile hospital under Swabhiman caters to children,
young mothers and women in all the adopted communities. However,
specialized and customized camps are organized regularly keeping
in mind the high susceptibility of women and children to health
problems.
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Inodai
Waldorf School kids visit ME centre in Mumbai
Children from the reputed
Inodai Waldorf School came to interact with Smile Foundation kids
at its Mission Education SHED centre in Mumbai. The initiative
was taken by Ms. Hema, the production head for Boogie Woogie,
who had met the kids during the show. Feeling an urge to make
her daughter familiar with the lives of less privileged children,
she arranged a visit for kids from her daughter's school, Inodai
Waldorf, to the centre.
The teachers introduced the students to each other and a prayer
was chanted by children from both the schools. A number of fun
learning activities were conducted such as poem recitation in
different variations, storytelling through a puppet show and a
beautiful recitation of the story 'Manu and the Fish' by the Inodai
kids.
Later in the day, the children took to craft activity in groups
and learnt innovative craft techniques like creating designs with
fingerprints, art on craft sheets, shapes of fishes and animals.
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Inodai
Waldorf students narrate a story through puppet show to Smile kids |

Volunteer
engagement introduced in STeP programme
A
volunteer conducts personality development session at a STeP centre
in Mumbai |
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Anew
aspect has been introduced under the Smile Twin e-Learning Programme
(STeP), in the form of volunteer engagement sessions, where privileged
youth from reputed colleges and universities take the onus of adding
value to the learning process of their less privileged counterparts
inducted at STeP centres across India.
These young dedicated volunteers not only score high with STeP students
by bringing a more interactive approach in the classrooms, but being
of the same age group, are also able to understand better and resolve
the various challenges that the students face.
Innovative techniques, games and puzzles are being used by these
volunteers to increase student participation at the STeP centres.
Mostly these volunteers help enhance the communication, vocal and
interpersonal skills of the students. The volunteers consider this
a two way learning process, which also augments their own knowledge
and skills.
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Smile
kids in Ayapakkam village, Tamil Nadu celebrate Pongal
Smile
kids are treated to delicious traditional fare during the Pongal
celebrations |
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Children
from Mission Education’s IUCT centre at Ayapakkam village
in Tamil Nadu celebrated Pongal, a festival celebrating the end
of the harvest season and dedicated to the agricultural workers.
Parents of these children, many of them also coming from the nearby
villages of Konambedu, Reddipalayam, Annanur and Narayanapuram,
work as small time farmers or vegetable and fish sellers.
Eminent personalities like former Revenue Minister, BV Ramanna;
Minister of Minority Welfare, Abdul Rahim; Member of Parliament,
P Venugopal; Asst. Registrar – Human Rights Commission, BC
Gopinath and faculty from the reputed Mar Gregorios Arts & Science
College became part of the celebrations, besides members from the
community.
The programme began with the auspicious lighting of the lamp and
recitation of the song “Anbe Sivam” by the kids, followed
by dance performances by children from the centre as well as volunteers
of Mar Gregorios College. The day was wrapped up with a traditional
meal being served to the children.
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20,000
benefit through mega health camp in Bhilwara, Rajasthan
Smile Foundation's annual
multi-disciplinary free mega health camp at Shahpura in Bhilwara
district, Rajasthan entered its 9th year. 20,000 individuals from
about 100 villages of Bhilwara benefited directly from the 10-day
mega health camp.
The camp had a make-shift hospital with 500 beds. More than
100 specialist doctors and paramedical staff from surgery, ophthalmology,
gynaecology, dentistry, orthopaedics, medicine, ENT, anaesthesia,
radiology, paediatrics and pathology provided voluntary service
at the camp.
Local doctors and Govt. of Rajasthan's Mobile Surgical Unit
also added strength to the endeavour like every year. Volunteers
from Sadbhavana Seva Trust and Jain Conference, which also included
hundreds of housewives, rendered selfless services during the
annual mega health event in the region.
Mega Smile Health Camps provide free diagnosis, medicines, food,
accommodation and surgical care through make-shift hospital environs
by dedicated teams of medical experts. These are instrumental
in offering a wide range of medical services to communities residing
in remote rural and tribal areas.
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Villagers
line up for eye check up at the multi speciality mega health camp |

Children
and women lead the change in Ashoknagar, MP
Six months into operation,
the Smile on Wheels mobile hospital project initiated in 20 villages
of Chanderi block in Ashokanagar district, Madhya Pradesh, has
began showing encouraging results.
Children along with women are leading in seeking healthcare
services, besides promoting it. Women form 56% of the total beneficiaries
who came forward and received the services at their doorsteps.
Health talks and school health programmes are carried out regularly
to increase awareness about health related issues. School children
have taken up the responsibility to spread the word and are taking
out rallies in the all the villages, mouthing slogans like “Jan
jan ki yahi pukar - Swastha rahe ghar parivar”.
None of the households has toilets. Besides sanitation and hygiene
issues, cases of severe malnutrition among children have been
observed. Special interventions on model hygiene practices and
remedies for child malnutrition have been launched in 11 villages,
which will be replicated in all the villages gradually.
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Girl
students make the rounds of villages with Smile on Wheels, both rallying
for health awareness |

Anti-child
labour campaign in West India
Children
take to streets to protest against child labour |
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On
the eve of World Labour Day, privileged children and volunteers
came out in large numbers to take part in a multi-city public awareness
campaign and draw attention to the issue of 'lost childhood'. The
campaign titled 'Say NO to child labour, say YES to school' was
conducted at Bhavnagar in Gujarat, Panaji in Goa, and Mumbai and
Nagpur in Maharashtra.
Statistics reveal that India has 17 million child workers, the
highest in the world owing to poverty, lack of equipped schools
and growth of informal economy. Lack of awareness about the basic
rights of a child leads to easy violation of laws meant to protect
and empower children.
Smile Foundation strongly believes that there is no better tool
than education to end child labour in the country and works towards
providing basic education to the less privileged children while
also creating awareness about the vulnerability of underprivileged
children in our society through such sensitization campaigns. |
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Employment
engagement programme at STeP centres
In an attempt to bring
together employers and prospective employees by involving them
through an informal dialogue and an exchange of experience, three
activities were organized under employment engagement programme
at Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP) centres in Chennai and
Vishakhapatnam.
ALN Consultancy was the organization which came on board to
provide employment opportunities to the underprivileged youth.
Mr. Joe, HR Head and Mr. Suresh, HR Manager, explained the importance
of choosing the right career to the students, while also explaining
the recruitment process and major selection criteria that most
of the multinational organizations follow.
The guest employers were impressed with the confidence showcased
by the candidates and congratulated the trainers at the centre
to have imbibed the employability skills that are necessary, but
lacking in the current crop of fresh graduates and high school
pass-outs.
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STeP
students listen attentively to the HR Manager from ALN Consultancy |

Career
counselling by Westside for Smile children in Jammu
Senior
students at ME centre in Jammu get career counselling from a Westside
official |
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Westside
Retail Store invited the senior students of Ankur Vidyalya, Smile
Foundation's Mission Education centre in Jammu, for a career counseling
session. The session was facilitated by KC Public School. Students
of KC Public School have been visiting Smile Foundation kids at
the centre for interactive sessions and had befriended them during
the fun visits.
The session proved to be enriching for the children as they got
to discuss various career possibilities in the retail and service
industry. The team from Westside, led by Assistant Manager, Mr.
Rohit Sharma, was also impressed with the confidence of the kids
and pledged to support them in all possible ways.
Ms. Sonia Thakur, Creative Head of KC Public School, attended the
session, along with Mr. Kulvir Kumar, Manager, Child for Child Programme,
Smile Foundation. Talking about the relationship shared by students
of KC Public School with Smile kids, Kulvir said, “It is inspiring
to see the bond that has developed between the children over time.
Now we intend to reach out to other schools in the area.” |

Special
Health Camps for daily wage labour across India
Smile
Foundation conducted a series of specialized health camps
exclusively for casual/daily wage labourers and workers
from unorganized sectors across 26 locations in 11 states
of India. The camps directly benefitted over 2000 workers.
Multiple camps were conducted at Ahmednagar,
Mumbai, Ratnagiri and Solapur in Maharashtra; Tirupati and
Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh; Kolkata in West Bengal; Ghaziabad,
Noida and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh; Delhi; Gurgaon and Ambala
in Haryana; Ludhiana and Jalandhar in Punjab; Muzaffarpur
and Patna in Bihar; Jamshedpur and Ranchi in Jharkhand;
Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur in Rajasthan; and Jammu (J&K)
in the months of February, March and April.
Besides providing primary health care
and promoting health seeking behaviour, the beneficiaries
were oriented on numerous health hazards they face during
their work. In addition, counselling and referral services;
health supplements such as fruits, packed juice, cakes,
biscuits and Chyawanprash etc. Were made available free
of cost.
Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. supported
Smile Foundation for this special series of health camps. |
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Daily
wage earners engaged in casual labour attend the special Smile
Health Camps across India
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Relief
for Masoodpur fire victims
Over
4000 people lost their homes and belongings as a massive
fire destroyed more than 700 jhuggis (shanties) in a slum
cluster in Masoodpur area, near Vasant Kunj in South Delhi.
The slum cluster, spread across five acres, houses over
4,000 people, most of them hailing from West Bengal and
working in nearby areas as domestic helps or scrap dealers.
Smile Foundation,
acting with urgency in the face of this disaster, conducted
a day-long intensive health camp at Masoodpur.
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Children and women were the focus of the camp owing to their
vulnerability in such a situation. Following up with the
health camp, one of the Smile on Wheels mobile hospital
units operational in Delhi, was also pressed into service
in the area.
In addition to Smile
Foundation's efforts, various wings of the Delhi Govt.,
a few other non-profit organisations, civil society groups,
volunteers and responsible citizens also worked tirelessly
on the ground to help the victims. |

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Building
“change agents” from community women in Bangalore
Women and adolescent girls
from the community have now taken ownership of the Swabhiman programme
which was launched last year in Bangalore. The initiative which
benefits six slum clusters in the Hegnahalli and Ramanna Badavane
areas has now been strengthened by a dedicated team of Community
Health Educators (CHEs) and Swabhiman Health Volunteers (SHVs).
14 women and girls have been identified from the community and
trained in issues varying from reproductive health and nutrition
to life skills development and personality enhancement. Experts
on the subjects are invited to conduct these training workshops.
These “change agents” further educate and spread awareness
among their peers in the community.
Door to door as well as group meetings are also conducted with
women, girls, mother in laws, men and newly married couples on
topics such as family planning and child spacing, menstrual health,
healthy eating and anaemia, immunization and child health, to
develop a health-seeking behaviour in the community.
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The
cadre of Swabhiman change agents at Bangalore holds its head high |

Smile
kids in Tripura visit Shipahijala Wildlife Sanctuary
The
children are all smiles posing for a photo-op at Shipahijala |
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An
exposure trip was conducted for children studying at Mission Education
centre in Agartala, Tripura, to the Shipahijala Wildlife Sanctuary.
80 excited kids from the centre went on the trip and got to discover
many little secrets of nature.
The main purpose of the trip was to bring the children closer
to nature and to impart knowledge on the varied flora and fauna
conserved at the sanctuary. The kids were asked to notice the sounds,
colours and habits of the animals and birds. Concepts like ecosystem
balance and food chain were also demonstrated to the kids in a simple
way and they all pledged to help preserve environment.
The children were full of curiosity and took great interest in observing
the animals, asking a lot of questions. They could not hold back
their excitement and talked about the trip so much to their parents
that all the parents visited the centre specially to thank the teachers
for organizing such a wonderful trip for their children. |

Smile
Health Camp in Chainpura village, Guna
The mothers studying at
the special education centre of Smile Foundation at Chainpura
village in Guna, Madhya Pradesh took the lead in planning and
spreading awareness about the scheduled Smile Health Camp for
their village. The venue was selected and pamphlets were distributed
in the whole village.
Key government officials such as BEO, BAC, BPM, BMO and CDPO
ICDS were personally invited and they joined the camp. Doctors,
pharmacists and lab technicians from the district head quarters
Guna joined the empanelled doctors and health camp staff.
205 children, expectant mothers and others villagers benefited
from the camp which included free medicines and provisions for
follow-ups. A few detected cases such malnutrition and malaria
were referred to the govt. hospitals, keeping the officials properly
informed. The camp also aimed at spreading awareness among the
villagers on seasonal diseases and their prevention.
Smile Foundation has been carrying out an integrated education
and healthcare programme in the rural Guna district with support
from GAIL.
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Women
and children were the focus of the health camp at Guna |

Annual
Day celebrations for ME centre in Goa
Children at Mission Education
centre Bahujan Hitaya Trust in Dhuler Mapusa, Goa, celebrated
Annual Day with lots of enthusiasm. The kids had been preparing
for the celebrations well in advance and gave wonderful cultural
performances, complete with dance and song sequences.
Prizes were distributed to children who had performed exceptionally
well during the year in studies as well as co-curricular activities.
Parents, teachers and people from the community gathered to show
their support for the children and encourage them. The children
were also treated to a special lunch at the end.
84 children from five villages in north and south Goa are nurturing
their dreams with the tailor-made education projects under Mission
Education programme in their villages. Children in the age group
of 3 – 16 years in the villages of Chopde, Pende, Thane,
Korgaon, and Porascade are provided education at the centres.
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Kids
perform a folk dance from Goa during the Annual Day celebrations |

STeP
students in Mumbai visit Hypercity
STeP
students on their industry exposure visit to Hypercity |
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Twenty-three
youth from Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP) centre were taken
to Hypercity at Malad (West), Mumbai on an exposure visit to understand
Retail and Inventory Management in real life.
The youth got practical exposure and basic understanding of Atmospherics,
Layout, Visual Merchandising, and efficient use of available resources.
Also Hypercity has an extremely credible Inventory Management System
(IMS) which proved to be a great learning experience for the students.
Students were shown how various items are classified and displayed
so as to grab as many number of eyeballs as possible. They were
shown the placements of different categories of items and were also
explained the reason behind the same.
The Store Manager at Hypercity acted as an ideal guide for the students
who kept explaining and highlighting the most important areas. The
entire staff at Hypercity was highly co-operative during the visit.
Soon the students will join the retail and service sector brands
and begin a dignified livelihood. |

Self
Defense Workshop for KV Rajokri girls
Kendriya Vidyalaya, Rajokri
(Air Force Station) invited Smile Foundation to conduct a 'Safety
and Self-Defense' workshop for its girl students.
The trainers taught the girls many self-defense tricks and techniques
to develop confidence in them. Orientation and discussion were
held on safety precautions at road, home, school, public places
and also while using internet. The topic of prevention of child
abuse was also discussed in detail so that the students could
guide their younger siblings and classmates.
Ms. Indu Goswami, principal, KV Rajokri (AFS) thanked Smile Foundation's
Child for Child (CFC) team for sensitizing the girl students about
their safety and training them on self-defense techniques.
Smile Foundation visits various reputed schools across India
and conducts engaging sessions, orientation workshops and training
programmes for the young minds under its national level programme
Child for Child. Currently CFC reaches out to nearly 1 million
privileged children in 900 schools spread across 417 districts
of India.
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A
girl practises a self-defence move with the trainer at KV Rajokri |

Smile
children participate in Rajya Shishu Kishore Utsav
Children from Smile Foundation's
Mission Education programme centre Sabuj Sangha at Uttarpara in
Kolkata, West Bengal, participated in Rajya Shishu Kishore Utsav,
held at Bishnapur in Bankura district.
15 kids from the centre were chosen to participate at the fest
in the performative arts category and did a mime act on Tagore's
play – “Jutor Abiskar”. The children had chosen
the subject of the play themselves after much deliberation and
had worked hard for their performance, which won the hearts of
many at the festival. They were also awarded with certificates
of appreciation and mementos.
The Rajya Shishu Kishore Utsav is an annual event organized by
the Shishu Kishore Akademi, an autonomous body under the department
of Information & Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal,
to promote cultural activities and literature among children and
instil in them a sense of human values and respect towards their
cultural and national heritage. Every year more than 2000 children
take part in the festival.
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Smile
kids perform a mime act at the Rajya Shishu Kishore Utsav |

Workshop
on reproductive health for women in Delhi
Women
from a slum cluster near Dhaula Kuan attend the workshop |
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Aseries
of workshops on reproductive health for community women were conducted
in Shashi Garden, Dhaula Kuan and Chhatarpur localities in east
and south Delhi under Swabhiman programme. Community women between
11 and 40 years of age participated in the workshops.
Subjects such as STI, RTI, personal and menstrual hygiene were
covered during the workshops and awareness was spread about HIV-AIDS.
Ms. Shabista Khan from Parivar Seva Sansthan; Ms. Rajni Rani from
Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital and Ms. Manisha Pal from Aditi Mahavidyalaya
brought in valuable expertise by joining the Swabhiman team as expert
trainers.
Creating awareness about vital health issues and subsequently facilitating
access to quality healthcare are the objectives behind conducting
these special workshops under Swabhiman. The programme intends to
promote a health seeking behaviour among women from disadvantaged
sections of society which will further have a cascading effect in
making their children and families healthier. |

Building
a health seeking next generation
Realizing the potential
of children as forbearers of change in their families and the
larger community, School Health Programme has been initiated under
the Smile on Wheels project at Mumbai. The awareness programme
sensitizes students about vital health issues, the importance
of maintaining personal hygiene and nutritious diet.
Children are explained about the significance of healthy routine
habits like hand washing and brushing their teeth and that many
diseases can be avoided by practicing these simple habits. They
are also encouraged to come neatly dressed to the school.
To make the programme interesting and educate the students in
an entertaining way, audio-visual documentaries have been made
an integral part of the programme. Further to assess the understanding
of the students, engaging activities like essay writing, painting
and slogan writing competitions are also conducted.
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School
children get a lesson in hand washing during a School Health Programme
activity
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Walkathon
for women empowerment in Bangalore
The
whole community voices its support for women empowerment at Peenya,
Bangalore |
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Community
men, women and children in Peenya area of Bangalore took out a walkathon
to spread awareness on the cause of girl child and women empowerment,
on International Women's Day.
The walkathon was flagged off by adolescent girls from the community
as they released balloons. Awareness songs on women empowerment
were sung and placards developed within the community were carried
during the walkathon. Kumkum, turmeric, roses and bangles were gifted
to girl children and women as a token of respect.
Sowbhagya EG, President, DANI; Christopher M S Secretary, DANI;
Satnam Singh, Chief Manager – Programmes, Smile Foundation
and M Radkakrishna Pradeep, Regional Manager – Karnataka and
Kerala, Smile Foundation also participated in the walkathon.
Smile Foundation introduced Swabhiman programme last year in Hegganahalli
and Ramanna Badavane settlements in Bangalore, with support from
Shankara Infrastructure Materials Limited, in association with DANI
Development and Social Action. |

Teachers' Training and Capacity Building Programmes across India
Teachers
step in the shoes of their students as they attend the training
sessions
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An
innovative series of Teachers' Training and Capacity Building
programmes is being conducted across India. Education of children,
when they are first generation learners, depends solely on
the levels of training and passion of teachers. It helps the
children stay in the education centres, increase their learning,
prepares them to get mainstreamed in reputed schools and also
helps them cope with the teaching methodologies prevalent
there.
Each of the three-day training programmes is residential
in nature and scheduled for all four regions of India. The
modules include Pedagogical Skills, Library Management and
Computer Teaching.
The first programme for North India was held in New Delhi
which included 37 teachers and instructors from 23 grassroots
NGOs from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu &
Kashmir, Chandigarh & Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi
NCR. The training programme for West India was held in Mumbai
which included teachers from 23 NGOs from Maharashtra, Gujarat
and Goa.
In East, 43 teachers from 26 NGOs from Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura and West Bengal and in South teachers
and instructors from 18 NGOs from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu participated in the programme.
Wilde Ganzen, the Dutch international development agency,
supported Smile Foundation in conducting this first series
of teachers' training and capacity building programmes.
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Celebrating
the Spirit of Womanhood
Young
girls draw out their interpretation of women empowerment during
the celebrations |
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More
than 100 women and girls from Sriram J.J. Camp, near Dhaula Kuan
in Delhi, came together to celebrate International Women's Day.
These women, having lived a life of poverty and hardships, have
been gradually moving towards a silent but resolute change, by becoming
a part of Smile Foundation's Swabhiman programme.
The celebration began with an interactive and informative session
where the participants were made aware about significant issues
pertaining to their reproductive and menstrual health. This was
followed by a group activity where each group was given craft material
and asked to create something innovative on women empowerment. Later,
all the works of art were discussed and appreciated openly.
The last session was motivational to the core and stories of inspirational
women figures from daily life were showcased. As recognition of
womenhood, the women and girls were asked to mark a canvas with
their hands and pink bangles were distributed among them. The celebration
ended with a roar that women should participate equally whether
in home or at local and national platforms. Swabhiman aims at realization
of both individual and collective self-esteem and inner strength
for marginalised women and girls through innovative community practices. |

Counselling
sessions on health in Bangalore, Karnataka
Three awareness and counselling
sessions on vital health and hygiene issues were conducted for
the underprivileged population living in the rural areas of Kuntigrama,
Doddigunta and Channarayapatna in Bangalore, Karnataka.
The topics discussed during the sessions were decided by identifying
the specific needs of the community people. While the first two
sessions concentrated on maintaining personal hygiene and prevention
of common skin diseases like scabies, the third session was on
the ill effects of alcohol consumption and other harmful addictions
related to health.
Resource persons like Dr. Prof. Leelavathy, reputed dermatologist
from the city and Mr. Madhu, presided over the sessions. After
a general talk, personal counselling sessions were also held for
those who needed further assistance.
The health awareness and counselling sessions were part of the
Smile on Wheels mobile hospital programme benefiting people from
12 slums and 26 villages in and around Bangalore. Bangalore Baptist
Hospital is the implementing partner for this project.
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Children
attend a counselling session on personal hygiene at Doddigunta |

Value
Education Workshops for young minds
Mr.
Jitender Deshmukh from Smile Foundation conducts a
Value Education Workshop |
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Smile
Foundation visits various reputed schools across India and conducts
engaging sessions for the young minds under its Child for Child
(CFC) programme. Children are sensitized to various causes, value
systems and ushered to realize their importance in growing up as
responsible citizens of the country.
St. Joseph Convent School, Saket Convent and Sainath Vidyamandir
in Nagpur and Ashoka Universal School in Nashik, Maharsahtra, and
Kendriya Vidyalaya in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, were some of the schools
which invited Smile Foundation to conduct Value Education workshops
for their students. The workshops were based on stories and lessons
from the lives of inspiring change-makers, pioneers and leaders
of India who had dedicated their lives to the betterment of society.
During 2013, Smile Foundation reached out to nearly 1 million privileged
children in 900 schools spread across 417 districts of India, through
CFC. In addition, their parents and teachers were also involved
in the process. The programme has today reached out to every region
of India except Lakshadweep. |

Summer
Fun for kids at ME centre in Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Children at Mission Education
programme's Samvedana centre in Ahmedabad, Gujarat enthusiastically
participated in the Summer Camp organized at the centre. The camp
was a unique blend of fun activities and learning for the children.
Children were taken on Fun Days for interesting excursions.
One of the trips that the kids remember fondly was to the Children
Traffic Park where 40 children were accompanied by five teachers
and two volunteers.
Interesting workshops were organised on various themes such
as storytelling and puppetry by Kathanika, creative arts, sports,
pictionary, reading, public speaking, music and dance are usually
organised for the children. Young volunteers play a crucial role
in organizing and implementing the workshops, besides experts
from outside.
Mission Education focuses on the holistic development of children
beyond just classroom learning and helps discover and nurture
their hidden talents. This becomes very significant for these
children who are unable to get a conducive environment at home,
with their parents struggling to meet every day needs.
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Children
enjoy a dance session during the Summer Camp |

Health
awareness campaign in slum clusters of Delhi
A
street play on immunization in progress at Shastri Nagar resettlement
area |
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Aseries
of health awareness activities were conducted as part of a rigorous
campaign under the Smile on Wheels programme at various slum clusters
in Delhi at Yamuna Pushta, Mansarovar Park, Shastri Park, Rani Garden,
Kalyanvas, Mori gate, Motiya Khan, Majnu ka Tila, Shastri Nagar,
Dilshad Garden and Nandnagri.
Group discussions, demonstrations, street plays and interactive
activities were organized on issues like hygiene and sanitation,
maternal and child health and nutrition which benefitted more than
2400 people. Special vaccination camps were also set up for children.
Children, along with women, comprised more than 80% of the total
beneficiaries.
Health has never been a priority for this marginalized population
and lack of awareness, coupled with poverty and unhygienic living
conditions, means they are always exposed to numerous health hazards.
Thus preventive healthcare and spreading awareness about health
related issues is as important as providing curative healthcare
for the underprivileged. |

STeP
students in Kolkata celebrate National Youth Day
Youth from Smile Twin e-Learning
Programme (STeP) centre in Budge Budge, Kolkata, celebrated the
National Youth Day, which marks the birthday of Swami Vivekananda.
They discussed the ideas of this great philosopher who continues
to inspire generation after generation of the country's young
population.
An elocution contest was also held, on the topic 'Role of Youth
in today's time'. The students came up with remarkable thoughts
and displayed a clear understanding of their responsibilities.
The results were declared on the basis of peer review.
The alumni from the centre who had been successfully placed
with reputed organizations like Future Group and Spencer's joined
the celebrations. They shared their experience of the job market
with their friends and gave them handy tips for getting their
dream job.
STeP is Smile Foundation's national level livelihood programme
which trains the urban underprivileged youth in relevant market-oriented
skills, while also facilitating their employment in the service
and retail sector.
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STeP
students at the Budge Budge centre in Kolkata say cheers on
National Youth Day |

Mission Education sets up libraries in 100 centres across India
Smile Foundation
has set up new libraries in 100 education centres across
19 states of India under its Mission Education programme.
This will help children discover a whole new world of learning
beyond textbooks, inculcate the habit of reading in them
and widen their horizon through the world of books.
Promoting the habits of learning and reading become very
significant as a significant number of these children are
first generation learners. This also makes the children
familiar with the teaching learning atmosphere at formal
private and government schools, to which they are subsequently
mainstreamed.
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The Library period has been built into the class-wise timetable
and teachers have been trained to create interest among the
children about reading and to manage the libraries efficiently.
The states and UTs covered under the
library programme include Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh,
Telangana, Chhattisgarh, NCT of Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana,
Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha,
Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
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Children
engrossed in reading and storytelling sessions through their new
books at education centres in different parts of India
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Students
of KC Gandhi School visit ME kids in Thane
KC
Gandhi kids and Smile children cool off after their friendly cricket
match |
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Students
of Smt. KC Gandhi English School, Kalyan, visited Smile Foundation's
Mission Education centre Bahujan Hitaya Trust in Thane, Maharashtra.
The children spent a long time interacting with the Smile kids,
while also taking a tour of the centre.
KC Gandhi students also proposed to play a friendly cricket match
with the kids at the centre where mixed teams were formed and the
game was played in the sportsman spirit. After enjoying a cricket
match, a few lessons were shared between the children in rhymes
and stories.
Such interactions are encouraged and facilitated by Smile Foundation
under its Child for Child programme, which seeks to sensitize privileged
children and inculcate in them a responsibility towards the less
privileged sections of society, particularly children like themselves.
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