Smile Foundation

Core Of Darkness - A Photo Journalist's Eye View
2004-12-10 08:00 - 2004-12-13 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Orissa
Mr. Santosh Mahapatra, a photo journalist, based in a small sleepy town of Sonepur in Orissa, treats photography as a powerful medium to record various facets of men, history and contemporary time. Most of his photo exhibitions are social commentary by nature.
Spending six months, spanning over four seasons, inside Orissa’s Raigadha District wherein lies a conglomeration of 191 villages living with existential dilemma-their existence yet to be acknowledged by the law of the land and authorities alike. Marooned by two big reservoirs- Chitrakonda and Uppar kolab- the 20000 primitive tribal continue to struggle justifying their existence.
The first orphans of free India, before the news of Independence reached them, reached the order to vacate their land to make space for one of India’s first hydroelectricity projects. And hardly before reconciling a new place, wholly created in remote hilltops by themselves, another dam dashed their hopes.
Thrown by kilometers of water they made unprecedented shift from mainland to become islanders! So remote from the mainland, and civilization, the Government has named them “cut off area”. A rusty steamer, taking 8 hours to cover a distance of 68 kilometers to the main land, is the only connecting medium with the outer world reminding them of their civilizational loneliness. One has to spare three days and spend Rs. 100/- to fetch half kilogram of salt and oil!
The photo exhibition, consisting of 60 photographs carefully chosen from among 400, is a virtual essay on this epical tragedy. The project was sponsored by Smile jointly with National Rural Development Council (NRDC), Sonepur and Manav Adhikar Seva Samiti (MASS), Sambalpur.

Workshop on First Aid and Oral Health Care
2004-12-22 | New Delhi
Concerned about holistic development of children and their well being, Smile Foundation has initiated a Health awareness Drive emphasizing on preventive and promotive aspects of health care. Leading the drive at the forefront are teachers for whom, as part of capacity building, a one- day workshop on “Oral Health Care and First Aid” was organized on 22 December, 2004 at Indian Social Institute, Delhi. This was attended by over 45 teachers from 21 Non profit organizations from across Delhi.
The workshop, divided into two sessions, focused on Oral Health Care and First Aid respectively. Experts as Resource Persons from All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) and Indian Red Cross Society took the respective sessions.
The session on oral health covered topics such as *Normal Oral Anatomy *Prevention of Dental Caries and Gum Diseases *Oral cancer- causes, consequences and prevention *Infant Dental Care *Practices of Oral hygiene *Brushing technique *Effectiveness of traditional methods. Some interesting bits of information was divulged during the course of the workshop such as:

The longevity of teeth has no relation with age. It is all about oral care practices.
It’s not the toothpaste but brushing technique that counts. So there is no need to splurge on expensive toothpastes.
Brushing teeth at night before sleeping is more important than brushing in the morning.
Get children to start brushing their teeth as early as possible.
There is no such thing as Veg or Non veg toothpaste. Calcium Phosphate, the chief ingredient, is available in abundance in nature; extracting it from animals is
India is the largest producer and consumer of tobacco and has one of the highest rates of oral cancers in the world.
1 Kg. of cigarettes requiring burning of 640 Kg. of wood! And the possible (?) reason of deforestation much to the disliking of Environmentalists!
Awareness about perils of tobacco consumption have a significant impact leading to decline in sales of tobacco products in the western world –in fact whole of Finland had just 22 cases of Oral cancer last year, as reported.
Surprisingly there has been reported a decline in the sale of tobacco in Delhi in the last 5 years. In Pondicherry, the decline in sales has been almost 50 percent, as reported.

The handling of various situations / cases – like children sucking thumbs, yellow stain on teeth, Tobacco chewing/smoking etc were discussed and alternate solutions were put forth. The matter with regard to sale of Tobacco and tobacco products to under-aged population was of high concern and suitable remedial actions was also advised.
The session on First Aid covered the following topics *Artificial respiration *Stopping bleeding and wound dressing *Fracture and soft tissues injury management *Head injury *Heart attack *Shock treatment *Burns and scalds.
Some basic but highly useful information given referred to techniques of giving First Aid like- checking pulse rate, temperature, reassuring patients, their safety, treatment, arranging for immediate disposal of patient etc. . It was quite informative to know that blood oozing out from, say, ear or mouth, that is internal bleeding and that it must not be stopped as it would cause clotting inside which will be more harmful; whereas blood coming out of external cuts/wounds should be stopped. Similarly, in case of Heart attack, the patient should not be made to lie down as heart and lung get damaged if they do not receive oxygen for more than 3 minutes.
In case of fracture, movement at the site of injury should be prevented through comfortable support on way to medical aid. It was further informed 60-70% of deaths/fatality in an accident is due to shock rather than injury itself . . Therefore in such cases; temperature, pulse rate of the patient should be monitored while protecting him/her from cold and repeated assurances to be given about his/her safety. Tight clothes particularly around neck and waist should be loosened and the person should be made to lie down with legs elevated. Lastly, it was impressed upon that wrong methods of First Aid or no aid at all may prove to be the Last Aid!
The session was conducted in very interesting manner-laced with lectures, slide shows and considerable practical demonstration with help of plastic and wooden models and also live ones (participants)! Also participants were made to repeat demonstration/ exhibition of certain First Aid techniques explained and shown to them.
The usefulness of the workshop was highly appreciated by the participants who were also provided with IEC materials (Posters, training manual, audio films etc.) which would facilitate them to initiate workshops with their students and community. Smile aims to reach out to over 10,000 children with these knowledge and awareness through these teachers.

Preparing future corporate managers for Corporate Social Responsibilities
2005-02-14 08:00 - 2005-02-27 17:00 | New Delhi
Corporate world is increasingly getting conscious of it’s social commitments and realizing the resultant benefits accruing from CSR initiatives. Not surprising therefore, Corporate and business houses have laid down a formal CSR policies and agenda backed-up by an appropriate fiscal and managerial outfit at their command for the purpose.
In view of this the Social Awareness Programme organized by the Smile Foundation for final year outgoing students of MBA (IB) of the prestigious Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Delhi has been very appropriate as it was an exercise to “catch them young”- being on the verge of entering the corporate world, after completing their professional degree in International Business Management. The programme, of 2-weeks duration, introduced for the first time by the IIFT for it’s management students, has been initiated with an objective of sensitizing the young Management Graduates about social sectors – welfare initiatives, non-governmental interventions, problems and constraints and the corporate social responsibilities (CSR).
The programme provided an orientation to the students/Interns, 8 in all, about social sector, Smile Foundation’s Vision and Mission, it’s activities and partner NGOs across various states in the country. Subsequently, the students, divided into different teams, were attached to different partner NGOs for about a week to work with/ for them as per their individual needs. The exposure visit to these NGOs included, first of all, knowing and understanding the organization and their activities, doing a quick SWOT analysis, and also assisting in areas such as developing organization’s brochures and website, proposal making, following –up with donor agencies (where proposals have been already submitted), identifying suitable funding and other resource generating avenues.
The programme concluded with each team presenting a report -summarizing their experiences and recommendations along with organizational development strategies, communication and visibility, and identifying possible funding sources.
The Social Awareness Programme thus organized by the Smile Foundation was a success, a new experience altogether and very interesting as admitted by the students and highly appreciated by the NGOs with whom they were attached.
IIFT proposes to organize similar programmes for their students on regular basis. Smile Foundation welcomes such initiatives from IIFT and other Management schools in NCR region. Such exposure programme is expected to strengthen CSR initiatives of the corporate institutions these business managers are on the verge of entering.

SAFETY & AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
2005-08-08 | New Delhi
Smile Foundation held the launch function of it’s safety & Awareness Campaign titled Swabhiman on 8th August . The function was presided by Prof. Kiran Walia Chairperson, Delhi Commission for Women MLA, Hauz Khas. The other distinguished guest were Ms. Seema Mustafa , Chief of Bureau, Asian Age , Mrs. Sangita Dhingra Sehgal, Member Secretary, Delhi Legal Cell, Ms. Vimla Mehra Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime against Women Cell , Dr. Bhavna Barmi, Chief Psychologist, Escorts Hospital. In all over 280 participants from 48 NGO’s, schools & colleges participated in the program. The Function was held at Lakshmipat Singhania Auditorium at PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The program was kicked off by a short series of short films on- body image, male attitudes & domestic violence .
The unanimous voice of all dignitaries was that that to deal with violence & abuse there is a need to fight against mindsets and attitude of both males and females. Violence against women needs to be discussed & deliberated at every level.

SWABHIMAN - Training of Community Facilitator TRAINING PROGRAM-SWABHIMAN
2005-08-22 | New Delhi
After the successful launch of SWABHIMAN, Smile Foundation has organized a three day’s training programme from 22nd Aug.05 to 24th Aug.05 at Oneness Center for the community facilitator deputed in various communities. The objective of this workshop was to make them understand the magnitude of the problem of molestations, insecurity towards girls/women, domestic violence, child abuse and how Community Facilitators can help them in fighting for the elimination of the problem.
The sessions were on the following:

Counseling- By Mrs. Dave(Lakshman Public school and CASP PLAN)
Police Redressal- By Team of Delhi Police Women Cell, Nanak Pura
Legal Awareness- By Advocate Chanchal Thakur(Patiala House Court)
Gender Sensitization- By Ms. Naseem Khan(Action India)
Child Abuse- By Bharti(Sarthak)

The training was of great help to the facilitators in enhancing their basic Counseling skills. According to the expert, a counselor must form a rapport with the case and confidentiality related to the issue is equally important.
Delhi Police Women Cell trained the participants regarding the relevance and usages of help lines 100, 1091 and 5353(postal help line). They also presented a demonstration on the basic physical activities (punches, attacks) girl/ women can use to defend themselves.
The basic points under the legal section were:
How to register FIR
General Laws for women’s Rights
General Laws related to Rape
The Session on gender sensitization focused on the presence of discrimination among boys and girls in the family showing that from the very beginning girls are discriminated. Youth sensitization, life skills development, information, awareness and communication are very important in eliminating gender discrimination from our social network.

According to expert, any kind of physical, mental, sexual and behavioral harassment towards a child is child abuse. 70% of children are sexually abused. Delinquency, mood fluctuations, isolation, bed-wetting(not sleep disorder) etc. can be present in an abused child.

Smile- Mumbai
2005-08-30 | Mumbai, India
Smile works for children, their welfare, and their holistic development. Understandably, child education and health assumes top priority in Smile’s scheme of things. This child-centric focus remains unaffected even if Smile undertakes emergency relief and rehabilitation work, as it always undertakes, following natural disaster- be it Tsunami catastrophe, or Mumbai flood caused by uninterrupted incessant rain in July, 2005.
Smile responded to the recent flood havoc in Mumbai and surrounding districts- affecting thousands of families, destroying their belongings and completely upsetting their lives and daily routine. While governmental actions and relief measures were pressed into action, non-governmental, non-profit organizations did not lag behind in coming forward to aid of the suffering milieu.
Smile- Mumbai decided to reach out to the people, though most affected yet least noticed and supported. Smile therefore focused on area(s) of Kalyan and Badlapur for relief operations- group of vulnerable children being the target. Smile decided to support these children’s education by providing educational resources. To be able to reach out in an area where Smile did not have any physical presence or it’s partner, it entered into partnership and collaborated with Aasara Child line, a local NGO at Kalyan. Aasara, as such, had been receiving requests for help from various schools in the area.
With the help of Aasara Child line, in a short span, Smile – Mumbai identified 284 school children from lower income group who had lost their books, uniforms, bags etc in flood. While sourcing these material, it was realized that while many donors/ other agencies have been willing to provide/ providing books & bags; but none coming forward to provide ‘uniforms’ to these children, who as such had nothing much to dress. May be it was due to the higher
expenses ( at least 2 sets of uniforms for each child) as well as the operational difficulties( providing uniforms suiting to the size of individual child).Hence Smile took up the responsibility. Uniforms were distributed on 30thAugust 2005 to 284 students from 3 schools- children of different age-groups studying in different classes ranging from one to seven.
These schools are Shahad Vibhag High school at Shahad, Shree Krishna Khamkar Marathi Vidyalaya and Chandrashekhar Memorial School, both in Badlapur.

Literacy Day- Must Give Us Education
2005-09-08 | Delhi
Smile took up the International Literacy Day campaign on September 8 with 250 children and seven partner organizations in Delhi and NOIDA. The children put up pickets at prominent intersections displaying banners, slogans and posters, attracting people’s attention and queries.
Around 22,000 children do not attend school in Gautam Budh Nagar district (NOIDA). So the children at NOIDA headed for the District Magistrate’s office after picketing and appealed to him for ensuring improved educational facilities. Though Smile reaches out to 760 children there, it is imperative for the district administration to play a bigger role.
The DM, Mr. Santosh Kumar gave prompt assurance to Smile’s children brigade that he would give a hearing every month towards problems and hurdles in ensuring children’s education. Smile’s appeal for setting up an emergency health facilities especially for the children was also considered.
Partners organization in the campaign were Adhaar, Sankalp, Nai Disha, Swashrit, Sahogita, Healthy & Care, and Anurag. The pickets were at ITO, Ashram, Karol Bagh, Dhaula Kuan, Chattarpur in Delhi and DND Flyway, Golchakkar, Atta and Sector 37, 12-22 Chowks in NOIDA.

Maths and Science Made Easy
2005-11-25 | New Delhi
Smile Foundation set off a series of Quality Education workshops with a one-day workshop named ‘Maths and Science Made Easy’ today in New Delhi. This is part of a series of workshops planned across India which will train teachers to help make the subjects like Mathematics and Science interesting and easy.
Special kits and equipments, developed especially for the programme, had been introduced to make the subjects more understandable and interesting for the teachers. The participants were also trained to make the procedures customized for students at various schools and places.
Smile Foundation has already been conducting various such workshops on different subjects for the last three years. In the new series of workshops, the training techniques has been specifically focused on exploring newer and interesting approaches to teaching Mathematics and Science. The objective is to bring qualitative changes in teaching methodology of these subjects, making them more interesting and student friendly. New narrative methods were also introduced to make the process of learning an appealing experience.
Thirty teachers from 10 NGOs, funded by Smile Foundation, from four states participated in the workshop. They were Aadhar (Delhi), Nav Shrishti (Haryana), Nai Disha (U. P.), Sankalp (U. P.), Sahyogita (Delhi), Tagore School (Rajasthan), Health and Care Society (Delhi), GurgaonHaryana.com (Haryana) and Prayatn (Delhi).
The teachers were from the 1st to 5th standards of the schools run through the NGOs supported by Smile Foundation. The workshop is part of Smile Foundation’s endeavor to improve the quality of education imparted through various educational centres run by its partner NGOs across India.
The special kits for the training have been developed to help enhance communication skill between students and teachers, between peer groups, as well as to enhance learning and grasping skills of the children.
The workshop was participative in nature and concept of using puppets, poems, crossword puzzles, quizzes, tools and equipments, and more interestingly, gestures and enacting of the subject by the teacher to enhance learning.
Smile Foundation plans to introduce similar methodology in 65 municipal schools in Mumbai covering 15,000 students on a long-term basis. The three-year special teaching programme named ‘Universal Mathematics Programme’ (UMP) is planned to commence in January 2006. Mathematics will be the special focus of the same and the target groups will be standards 6th to 10th. Regular teachers training and skill upgradation programme are included in the UMP.
Quality of the teachers, their capabilities and the teaching approach become all the more vital especially when the students are from impoverished families and are first generation school goers. There is a need for creating an enabling environment where not only the children, but also their parents, come to realize and appreciate the indispensable need for education. This will be of great significance in reducing the dropout rate. Moreover, teachers, being the first interface, need to be more versatile than merely being academic experts. They need to be prime movers, motivating favorably about the value of education in shaping individuals life and future.
Moreover, an adult needs a reason to do something, so does a child. Hence we need to present different situations to understand its use and create interest.
At the end of the workshop the participating teachers were presented with the specially designed teaching and learning tools, booklets and literatures for introduction in the education centres.

Disability is Human Diversity; Let’s Appreciate it!
2005-12-03 | New Delhi
Smile Foundation organized a walk for Deafblind Children on December 3, the World Disability Day, in New Delhi. After completion of the Walk, a charter of demand on behalf of the Special Children was sent to be submitted to the The Ho’ble President of India.
Ms. Aloka Guha, Chairperson, National Trust, was the Chief Guest and flagged off the Walk. Ms. Prabha Shah, celebrated painter, was the Special Guest for the occasion. Ms. Shah was, incidentally, despite being born with an impaired auditory perception, took to painting and made a name for her. “My mother would cry when she realized I would never speak,” Prabha gesticulates. “She stopped when she realized I was alert and with a healthy imagination.” Prabha Shah took to painting and created a world of her own.
Around 650 children from 10 Schools in Delhi and NCR, apart from 250 adult supporter of the cause, participated in the walk.
Schedule for the Walk was as follows:
Date : December 3, 2005, Saturday
Time : Starting at 10:00 A. M.
Route : From ITO (Bahdur Shah Zafar Marg) to Rajghat.
Objectives behind the Walk:

Demand for a nation-wide study, survey and census on deaf-and-blind people.
To press for a proper policy regarding special education, rehabilitation, employment and involvement of the deafblind in the mainstream.
Make vaccination for ‘Rubella’, which is major reason behind the disability, a compulsory government programme in the line of pulse polio.
Setting up of proper teachers’ training programmes and introduction of a standardized curriculum.

Smile Foundation advocates for recognizing disability as a part of human diversity rather than as a medical problem. We have problems in accepting them rather than they are having problems in coming into the mainstream. A positive approach in our society will help the specially-able people come out of an insular discrete minority.
Segregation is a major cause of society’s widespread prejudice against the disabled. We must endeavour to educate children to embrace this diversity as a first step to change their discriminatory attitude towards the specially-able people; thus creating a fairer society.
Incidentally, education for the differently-able is one of Smile Foundation’s thrust areas. Smile Foundation has been supporting ‘Adharsheela’, an organization which is running a special school for deafblind children in Chamoli district, Uttaranchal for four years now.

SMILE-Springboard Capacity Building Workshop for Working Women
2006-01-14 | Delhi & NCR
Smile Foundation, in partnership with British Council’s Springboard programme, launched the Women’s Development Programme in New Delhi on January 14, 2006. The programme has a series of Capacity Building Workshop for working women in the development and allied sectors.
Dr. Kiran Bedi, Director General, Home Guards & Civil Defence, was the Chief Guest, Speaker and Role Model for the programme, and inaugurated the programme.
“There is a light-and-day difference women having training like this and those not having this,” said Bedi. “In crisis, they are the best people to come out as winners.”
“Low skilled, family pressure and not having financial authority at home often results in low self-esteem for working women,” observed Bedi.
The programme contains a series of four workshops spread over three months in New Delhi. The workshop days are January 14, February 4, March 11 and March 25, 2006. There are 40 participating women professionals from various fields like NGO, Colleges, Schools, Journalism, Health (Doctors), Central Government Departments etc who have enrolled for programme. All the participants will be attending all the workshops.
The objectives and topics of the workshops are enhancing skills and information to take control of life is one of the major objectives of the workshop. The focus areas of workshop include Confidence Building, Conflict Resolution, Self-awareness, Motivation, Balancing Home and Work, Managing one’s Image, Cultivating Assertiveness and Setting Goals.
Priti Srivastava, Executive Vice-President, Reliance Industries, was the Chief Speaker for the opening workshop. “As a working woman one needs to work harder to prove herself. She needs to make balance between work and home,” Srivastava added. “Keeping a good health, time management and self management are three important things a working woman needs to take care of. Furthermore, there is a Mantra in life for a working woman: AMA – Ability, Motivation and Attitude.”
Smile Foundation and Springbaord Smile Foundation is a development organization which works in 11 Indian states viz. – Rajasthan, Orissa, Maharastra, UP, Uttranchal, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir – in the fields of quality & special education and health for less privileged children, women’s empowerment, disaster management and advocacy etc. Today Smile reaches directly to over 45,000 children and strives to cover one million children in the next five years. Springboard is a Women Development Programme from British Council. It is the winner of the 1994 UK National Training Award for “Quality and Excellence”. Springboard, the training and development programme, has specifically been devised for organisations and institutions that are committed to help their women employees gain their full potential. “Empowering a woman leads to a balance society. Because, she will not only raise a family and children – the future generation – but also make a valuable contribution professionally,” says Ms. Anupama Puri Kalra, Chief Programs Officer, Smile Foundation. “Smile Foundation is already running a programme named Swabhiman in which we teach self-defence, awareness and capacity building training workshops for women in the communities. Soon we will take it to colleges and corporate. This effort with Springboard is a part of the attempt in empowering women,” says Sapna Kulshreshta, Programme Executive, Smile Foundation and Head of Swabhman Programme. Dr. Neerja Chand and Ms. Arpana Ruth from Springboard are the trainers for the series of workshops.

Woman has all vital knowledge in capsules' SMILE's Women's Development Programme
2006-02-04 | Delhi & NCR
“Woman has been gifted with all vital knowledge in capsules by Nature. So she should feel privileged to lead her own way in life, be it personal or professional,” said veteran actor Sushma Seth as the Guest Speaker in the second SMILE-Springboard Women’s Development Programme in New Delhi.
Smile Foundation, in partnership with British Council’s Springboard programme, has initiated its Women Development Programme in New Delhi. The programme has a series of Capacity Building Workshops for working women in development and allied sectors.
There were 32 participating women professionals from various fields like NGO, Colleges, Schools, Journalism, Health (Doctors), Central Government Departments etc.
“For a woman, responsibilities and challenged could come three ways. It can be by choice, can be trust upon you or it can also be Karmic. One needs to take care of it in a positive and cheerful way to come out winner,” opined Sushma Seth.
She added, “A woman has to take care of her physical, emotional as well as intellectual needs to be contented. While facing a challenge, be it personal, familial or professional; by being calm at the moment of crisis a woman can find the solution and answer.”
The objectives and topics of the workshops are enhancing skills and information to take control of life is one of the major objectives of the workshop. The focus areas of workshop include Confidence Building, Conflict Resolution, Self-awareness, Motivation, Balancing Home and Work, Managing one’s Image, Cultivating Assertiveness and Setting Goals.
The programme has an initial series of four workshops. The programme was inaugurated by Dr. Kiran Bedi, DG, Home Guards & Civil Defence, with the first workshop on January 14, 2006. Today’s was the second workshop. The remaining workshop days are March 11 and March 25, 2006.
Dr. Neerja Chand and Ms. Arpana Ruth from Springboard are the trainers for the series of workshops.
Smile Foundation is a development organization which works in 11 Indian states viz. – Rajasthan, Orissa, Maharastra, UP, Uttranchal, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir – in the fields of quality & special education and health for less privileged children, women’s empowerment, disaster management and advocacy etc. Today Smile reaches directly to over 45,000 children and strives to cover one million children in the next five years.
Springboard is a Women Development Programme from British Council. It is the winner of the 1994 UK National Training Award for “Quality and Excellence”. Springboard, the training and development programme, has specifically been devised for organisations and institutions that are committed to help their women employees gain their full potential.
“Empowering a woman leads to a balance society. Because, she will not only raise a family and children – the future generation – but also make a valuable contribution professionally,” said Ms. Anupama Puri Kalra, Chief Programs Officer, Smile Foundation.
“Smile Foundation is already running a programme named Swabhiman in which we teach self-defence, awareness and capacity building training workshops for women in the communities. Soon we will take it to colleges and corporate. This effort with Springboard is a part of the attempt in empowering women,” said Sapna Kulshreshta, Head of Swabhiman Programme, Smile Foundation.

Celebrating the Spirit of a Girl: International Women's Day
2006-03-08 | New Delhi
An internationally acclaimed painter, a renowned weight management consultant, a hotshot model, a firebrand legal eagle, a corporate honcho and a beautician who groomed many Miss Indias, all in one platform. Well, there were not here to rock a Page 3 party, but to show some power-puff performance. On the International Women’s Day (March 8), successful women from various fields attended a workshop to teach 200 neo-literate adolescent girls from 50 communities, NGOs and government schools in Delhi and NCR region tips on grooming, their rights, awareness and self-defense technique, sexual health and painting.
The idea behind the workshop was to show what it takes to be a successful woman. What is that make a woman so respected in a male dominated society – her intelligence, her poise, her stoic ability to handle a situation, her rebellion or her imagination or sheer grit!
Ms. Feroz Gujral, Model, Ms. Priti Srivstava, V-P, Reliance Industries and Ms. Anjolie Ela Menon, Painter were the role models and guests. Ms. Samantha Kocchar, Stylist and beautician, Ms. Shrividhya Rajaram, Psychologist, Escorts Heart Institute, Dr. Bhavna Barmi, Chief Psychologists, Escorts Heart Institute, Ms. Neeta Malhotra, Crime Against Women Cell and Dr. Shikha Sharma, Nutritionist & Weight Management Consultant conducted various sessions for the participating girls.
All these women have been successful in organizing their life around their passion. They have been successful through perseverance and dedication and have been smart enough to take on opportunities as well as challenges and able to convert it into success. Also, all these women have been successful in steering their lives smoothly rather than juggling around it.
These women have worn numerous caps in the forms of daughters, wives, mothers and professionals and have never let it as hindrance to their success. Most importantly, all of them have started small.
“Never accept being ‘allowed’ by others to do something. One must be aware of one’s right and freedom,” said Ms. Feroz Gujral. “Any opportunity is a gift. It’s very important to get up and ask,” she added.
“The essence of a woman is all about her strength,” said Ms. Samantha Kocchar in between giving new grooming and beauty tips to the neo-literate girls. “We all know how to do make-up but we do not do it because we do not feel important about ourselves.”
Dr. Shikha Sharma opened her session with the line – “Don not be a weak woman, a liability. For that you need to be healthy first of all.” Dr. Sharma gave the participants details about household food selection to maintain nutrition even for the whole family and guests.
“Dr. Bhavna Barmi gave instruction and explanation on various ways to be healthy through proper breathing technique and maintaining a healthy heart and mind.
“Confidence comes from work, experience, responsibilities and willingness. What you feel you cannot do today, can be achieved by believing in you,” said Ms. Priti Srivastava, giving example from her own life.
Ms. Anjolie Ela Menon said, “Success doesn’t come overnight. It takes decades of hard work to be famous.” She added, “Painting is a selfish profession. One paints for herself. Hence, painters owe social responsibilities.” She recalled, “Once in Russia I used to hang my baby on the back and do painting for an exhibition. For a woman to be successful, she has to grow everyday and take up life positively. Fortunately for a woman in India, we have a good familial and social support system”
Ms. Alkankshree Shivshankar is the first woman to set up a law office in Europe. “A woman anywhere in the world needs to know her rights and ask for it.” She explained laws and rights related to alimony/ divorce, workplace, public place, property and family etc.
The team from Crime Against Women Cell demonstrated self-defence skill and awareness tips for girls’ safety.
The workshop was divided into 5 main sessions – each, for about 45 minutes, dealing with various subjects as given below:
Session 1: Grooming & Beauty Care: by Ms. Samantha Kocchar, Stylist, Time: 10:50 A.M., Subjects: Importance of grooming and beauty care, basic steps of grooming, Natural Beauty Tips (Skin & Hair Care), How to choose cosmetics, Myths related to Make-up & Hair Care.
Session 2: Sex & Sexuality: by Ms. Shrividhya Rajaram, Psychologist, Escorts Heart Institute., Time: 12:00, Subjects: What is Sex Education, Why Impart Sex Education, Sexual Feelings including Attraction, Infatuation; Crush and Love; Sexual Practices in Adolescents, Sexual Problems in Adolescents, Facts about Teenage Pregnancy, Need for Contraception.
Session 3: Awareness & Self Defence, by Delhi Police experts and SMILE’s Swabhiman Team, Time: 13:45 P.M., Subjects: Safety & Self Defence
Session 4: Health Care & Nutrition, by Dr. Shikha Sharma, Nutritionist & Weight Management Consultant and Dr. Bhavna Barmi, Chief Psychologist, Escorts, Time: 15:00 P.M., Subjects: Health Care and Nutrition tips for Adolescent Girls and Women
Session 5: Know Your Rights, by Resource Person: Ms. Alkanshree Shivshankar, Advocate & Legal Consultant, Time: 16:45 P.M., Subjects: Laws related to Dowry, Divorce Maintenance and Second Marriage; Frisking, Separation, FIR and Right to Information.
Let’s celebrate the spirit of being a girl!

A good person is always a successful Professional' SMILE's Women's Development Programme
2006-03-11 | Delhi & NCR
“Being a good individual helps you become a successful professional too,” says Ms. Alka Saxena, noted woman journalist of India, as the Role Model & Chief Guest for third SMILE-Springboard Workshop. Smile Foundation, in partnership with British Council’s Springboard programme, conducted the third workshop under SMILE-Springboard Women’s Development Programme on March 11, 2006 in New Delhi. Ms. Saxena comes from a modest background and studied English only from standard 6th of the government school. She also started taking tuition after Class 12th and made her way through graduation. “Focus and determination are the ingredients for success,” remarks Ms. Saxena as the Role Model. The programme contains a series of four workshops spread over three months in New Delhi. There were 25 participating women professionals from various fields like NGO, Colleges, Schools, Journalism, Health (Doctors), Central Government Departments etc for the third workshop.
Ms. Saxena had an over-protective childhood, being the first girl child in three generations in her traditional family. “Gradually I asked for higher education and put my foot down on the issue of marriage. But I got tremendous support from my brother and later from my family,” she recalls. “During my professional assignments, including those in the midst of terrorism and tragedies, also I demanded why being a girl I could not do things which male could do.”
“I am very proud of being a mother and a wife.” Ms. Saxena urges the participants, “You can be down, but never in any point of life feel that you are out.”
Besides Ms. Alka Saxena taking over the Role Model Hour, Dr. Neerja Chand and Ms. Deepali Bahanot from Springboard were the trainers for the workshop.
The objectives and topics of the workshops are enhancing skills and information to take control of life is one of the major objectives of the workshop. The focus areas of workshop include Confidence Building, Conflict Resolution, Self-awareness, Motivation, Balancing Home and Work, Managing one’s Image, Cultivating Assertiveness and Setting Goals.

"Women’s Development is happening in India; but in pockets"
2006-03-25 | Delhi & NCR
Smile Foundation and British Council (Springboard Programme) concluded the first series of capacity building workshops for career women under their Women’s Development Programme. Today’s was the fourth and the final workshop in the series. All the participants had attended all four workshops, which were complementary. Incidentally, the programme has been successful in the UK and has won the prestigious UK ‘National Training Award’.
The major objective behind the programme was how to take control of life, both professional and personal. The other important focus areas include Confidence Building, Conflict Resolution, Self-awareness, Motivation, Balancing Home and Work, Managing one’s Image, Cultivating Assertiveness and Setting Goals.
Ms. Santosh Yadav, Padmashri, Arjuna Awardee and Record holding woman mountaineer and Everest Heroine was the Special Guest & Role Model in the workshop. Prof. Monica Das, University of Delhi, Author and Exponent of Gender Issue and Dr. Bhavna Barmi, Chief Psychologist, Escorts Heart Institute & Research centre and Consultant, Dharamshila Cancer Institute were two other guests who conducted different sessions during the workshop and motivated the participants.
“I feel surprised when I look back and realize that I successfully scaled Mount Everest twice,” admits Santosh, who has a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the only women in the world to have conquered Mt. Everest twice. “I saw snow for the first time only in 1986 but conquered the highest and toughest peak twice in 1993 and 1994. If you feel you can do it, the way to the top is not impossible,” opined Santosh, who is also an officer with the Indo-Tibet Boarder Police (ITBP).
“Climbing Everest was difficult. But making my way through social stigma was more difficult as mountaineering tests your physical stamina but social stigma tests your mental and psychological strength,” says Santosh, who hails from an obscure Haryana village.
“Women’s development in India is happening in Indian society but in pockets,” says Prof. Monica Das, educationist, author and exponent of gender issue. “With almost half of India are women, half of our society needs to be empowered,” she added.
“It’s in-built with women to be the fairer and better sex,” says Dr. Bhavna Barmi, Chief Psychologist, Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre. “Every facet is important for a woman than her own need. We must change that,” she added.
Lalima Aneja Dang, a radio jockey and newsreader who participated in all the workshop says, “I got empowered but more importantly I got much clarity in that regard from this programme. The design of the programme made me so connected to it.”
Dr. Rita Nagpal, a Govt. of India official and another participant feels, “Initially I came to the programme for curiosity’s sake without having an idea of the design. But I am pleased at the end of it.” She adds, “The component of involving role models throughout the programme was innovative and it gave us an opportunity to have a real insight in to women’s empowerment.”
Sujata Dehury, a participant and a journalist by profession, opines, “This was my first ever women’s empowerment workshop. The diverse age groups of participants helped us gain expertise and experience.”
Arpana Ruth, one of the Springboard trainers says, “It’s wonderful to be an aware and empowered woman. During the programme I also learned a lot from the participants. I must thank Smile Foundation on behalf of Springboard to make this programme so successful.”
Dr. Neerja Chand, the main Springboard trainer states, “The homogeneous group of participants from different walks of life and the kinds of Role Models were nowhere there in previous Springboard workshop. These components made this programme look fantastic and very successful.”
The conclusion of the fourth workshop successfully completed the first series of SMILE-Springboard Women’s Development Programme in New Delhi.

Smile Super Summer Camp A Gateway to Children's Development
2006-05-01 08:00 - 2006-06-01 17:00, 2006-05-01 08:00 - 2006-06-30 17:00 | Delhi & NCR
Smile Foundation supports initiatives on Child-focused interventions, directly reaching out to over a hundred thousand beneficiaries across 15 states of Federal India through various welfare projects.
Taking its commitment for children’s quality education and growth, Smile Foundation is organizing a programme, named ‘Smile Super Summer Camp’ in Delhi and National Capital Region.
Introducing Summer Camp
Summer is the time for children to take time off from the regular chore of going to school and getting down to the curriculum. So, the summer vacation is, in another way, an opportunity to horn certain life skills while having fun.
What can it Make a Difference
Children in the age group of seven to teen years are in the moulding stage. Right skills imparted now can help them shape their life and future. Smile Super Summer Camp has come up with ingredients to help children gain different life skills which will not only help themselves but also their surroundings. Saving water, sensitizing and helping fellow children in the immediate neighbourhood, maintaining a healthy dietary habit since such an early age, beginning to set clear goals in life, managing time, keeping discipline in day-to-day life, even sensitizing elders would be what the children are supposed to grasp through the innovative design of the modules.
Kindly also visit Swabhiman website www.swabhimanindia.net
The Smile Super Summer Camp introduces innovative ways of learning life skills and management skills among children in the age group of 7–14 years belonging to various communities and schools. Summer Camp Schedule:

Camp
Place
Dates
Children

1
East Delhi Mall, Kaushambi, Delhi NCR
May 15, 2006 to June 15, 2006.
200

2
Nai Disha, NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh
May 18 to May 2006
52

3
NTPC, Dadri, Uttar Pradesh
May 25, 2006 to May 27, 2006
50

Vision of the Camps:
Smile Foundation’s vision of summer camp is focused on overall Personality Development along with creative sessions on art & craft and other activities.
“You can a make a difference”
“You can a make a difference” is also an inimitable and unique concept of the workshop, which helps children become creative, dynamic, productive and sensitive citizen of India and by instilling the belief that each individual is capable of making a difference.
What People Say About the Camps:
“In this summer camp all the sessions were enjoyable and it was made more interesting by the faculty members. I thank them for telling us the minute things which are often neglected by us, but in the long run these are the most useful. I thank SMILE Foundation for changing the way we look at the world and at ourselves”. – Medhavi Saxena NTPC, Dadri.
“This camp has introduced me to myself. Now I see myself as a capable and confident person. I thank the faculty members for being so friendly with us and sparing some with.”
“I have no words to thank you for all that you have done for us, especially althrough you are pre-occupied. I also want to thank Smile Foundation for sending such perfect hands to mould us in a better channel”. – Niladri, NTPC, Dadri
“Keeping in view the present scenario we strongly feel that a child should learn different skills of life, as it is a very important part of the growing stage of the child. We were thankful to Smile Foundation, who took the initiative and, more so, showed its interest in organizing this type of unique and purpose-based workshops and campaigns. – Mr. S K Masuriha, General Secretary, NTPC Club.
“I enjoyed this camp a lot & want to join it again whenever it will organize. I also apprise all my friends about the camp,” said Shardul with effervescent.
“I learnt various art & craft i.e. pin wheel, pencil decoration, vegetable painting especially puppets and frogs”. – Rehka, Nai Disha, Noida.
“We learnt various things first time in this camp which were not taught in the school. This workshop increases my confidence and also helped me to learn various skills”. – Shyam 3rd class student of Nai Disha, Noida
Target Group
Children in the age group of 7 to 15 years from different organizations, communities, schools, in Delhi and NCR are the beneficiaries from this programme.
Objective
This programme is designed for the enhancement and management of skills required to achieve success and opportunities for personal growth that last a lifetime.
The core ingredients of the programme are as follows:

Personality Development
Life Skill Management
Time management and goal setting skills
Communication skills
Basic safety and self-defence techniques
A session on awareness regarding child abuse
Health, nutrition and dietary habit
Workshop on Parenting Skills Methodology for Implementation:
Role plays
Dramatization and demonstrations
Lectures and discussions
Colouring and painting
Pictorial and chart presentation
Yogic Kriyas
Quiz sessions

Age Groups:

Set I: 7yrs. – 9yrs.
Set II: 10yrs. – 15yrs.
Set III: 15yrs. onwards

Smile addresses Indian Youth Congress Meet
2006-07-24 08:00 - 2006-07-26 17:00 | New Delhi
Indian Youth Congress (IYC) invited Smile Foundation to address their District Youth Congress Presidents’ meet in New Delhi. Smile Foundation had been invited to conduct the session on Disaster Management for the three day training camps, endorsing its commitment and response to disaster management in the country.
Indian Youth Congress, with a membership of over four million, is one of the largest organizations for the youth in the world.
The camp was organized at Gandhi Smriti Darshan Samiti, New Delhi between 24th and 26th of July, 2006.
Sh. Arjun Singh, Union Minister of HRD; Sh. Oscar Fernandes, Union Minister; Sh. Shivraj Patil, Union Minister for Home Affairs; Sh. Ashok Tanwar, President, IYC; were among those who conducted sessions on different subjects.

Smile and NSUI joint series of Workshops
2006-07-26 | New Delhi
National Students Union of India [NSUI] and Swabhiman – Women’s Awareness Initiative of Smile Foundation, join hands to set off a series of workshops with various colleges of the University of Delhi.
The workshops are targeting mixed groups of boys and girls. The modules cover safety issues, creating awareness on drug de-addiction among youth, social consequences of drugs, how drug abuse leads to molestation, harassment etc. It also includes career conflicts, problem in relationships, examination and academic stress forces a youth to take drugs etc.
Workshop -1, Date: July 26, 2006, Place: Deshbandhu College, Kalkaji, New Delhi-19
Resource Persons: Dr. Bharat Bhushan and Dr. Vipin Chauhan from Navjyoti Delhi Police Foundation.
Participants: 70 boys and girls Workshop -2, Place: College of Vocational Studies, Sheikh Sarai, New Delhi-17
Resource Persons: Ms. Sapna Kulshrestha and Ms. Kiran Arora from Smile Foundation
Participants: 50 boys and girls.
Smile Foundation and NSUI have planned cover more college in Delhi through this series of workshops.

Flying high – Meaning of Independence: A Smile – TCS Initiatives for Underprivileged children
2006-08-01 | Gurgaon
Maitree -Tata Consultancy Services [TCS] and Smile Foundation came together to celebrate the spirit of Independence Day – Tiranga Utsav with the underprivileged children.
This event was an endeavor to sensitize children about the eventful day trying to inculcate values and knowledge of history. Children’s involvement in such events is to create awareness & also make them feel part of the mainstream society, making them realize they too can contribute and make a difference in the society.
The event gave an opportunity to Smile’s children to spend an evening with TCS family .Various fun filled activities like kite flying, drawing competition, musical chair etc. were organized by TCS for the children which saw an overwhelming response.
Captain Shweta Mishra – Maitree Head, Delhi region, coordinated the entire event along with Ms. Anju Dhoop – Asst Manager HR.
The initiative was a step ahead taken together by TCS & Smile Foundation to bring a smile on face of innocent children & bring some joy into their lives.

Celebrating Girl Child week
2007-09-17 08:00 - 2007-09-24 17:00 | New Delhi
Workshops to build the livelihood skills of the underprivileged girl children and women, and street play performances are the highlights this year.
Capacity building of victimised and underprivileged girls marked the Girl Child week celebrations by Smile Foundation this year too. A series of street plays and skill building workshops were organised throughout the city sensitizing people about the plight of girl child and motivating them to be a part of the development process.
Last year, Smile Foundation for the first time organised a street play workshop under Swabhiman, a health and empowerment programme for girl child and women. The workshop was held at Neb Sarai, a Swabhiman Intervention area.
Today, Smile Foundation has a full-fledged street play group, with at least 45 performances held at Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), Delhi Haat, DAV College and 10 urban slums (Nut Colony and Ambedkar Colony in Chhatarpur, Kumhar Basti and Harijan Basti and Gali number 1 to 4 in Neb Sarai, New Ashok Nagar, Shashi Garden (Mayur Vihar), Indira Camp and Valmiki Camp in Begumpur and Sriram J. J. camp) of Delhi to its credit.
Through the street play performances, a total of 100,000 privileged and underprivileged mass including about 80,000 women were sensitized about the significance of family planning and various reproductive health issues including immunization, early registration, condom promotion, HIVAIDS, safe motherhood, female foeticide etc.
Watch these community girls perform and it would be difficult for you to distinguish between a professional street play group and these adolescent slum dwellers.
Continuing with the legacy, this year too Smile Foundation organised a series of street plays at different locations of the city. Along with this, are several skill building workshops organised to provide livelihood skills to victimised and underprivileged girls. The workshop which started on September 19 ended on September 25.
The week long workshop included making of various artifacts like paper bags, decorated pots, anklets, necklaces, etc. The girls exhibited their artifacts at Lady Sriram College on September 19 and Gargi College on September 23 where the articles sell like hot cakes. “Ab hum apna khud ka kaam shuru kar sakte hain (Now we can start our own work),” says Snehalata, a resident of New Ashok Nagar.
