Smile Foundation

Qigong Therapy Workshop
2009-03-17 | New Delhi
Autism is a crippling disorder that incapacitates humans from leading a life of order and dignity alienating them from the mainstream. Individuals, institutions working to bring semblance of order in lives of victims of Autism deserve a special praise.
Action for Autism (AFA)thus is a very special non-profit that aims to bring order in the lives of underprivileged children enabling them to enhance their acceptance in the society.
AFA organized a ‘Qigong therapy’ workshop on 17th March’09 in its premises at Jasola Vihar, New Delhi for the benefit of Autistic children and their parents. Dr Silva, an eminent therapist from US doing research on application of Qigong Therapy on Autism conducted the workshop which benefited 40 parents and their children. Participating parents donated a pre-decided amount as the participation fees to strengthen ‘Action for Autism’. Smile Foundation provided the required impetus by matching up the total funds mobilized.

Dance Dance - Dhamaka
2009-04-02 | Orissa
A non-descript village in a backward and obscure district of Orissa State with majority of people barely managing to make their ends meet . . . Sounds ‘Harsh’ and ‘Exaggerated’?
BUT, this is the real story of village ‘Sirish’ in Dist. Balangir of Orissa where Jan Sevak Sangha, a non-profit providing non-formal education to underprivileged children is located. Raising funds in an area like this appears unbelievable.
However, despite odds, Jan Sevak Sangha organized a ‘Dance Dance’ – DHAMAKA (Explosive entertainer) that brought together not only the people of village Sirish but also people from neighbouring villages to mobilize funds for Jan Sevak Sangha by buying tickets for the show.
500 villagers attended the charity show. Senior district level government officials and local politicians also joined in to express their solidarity with the cause. Going a step further, Smile Foundation pitched in to match up the total funds raised to enhance the impact.

A non-formal school for sex worker's children
2009-04-21 | West Bengal
Smile foundation in partnership with Hriday at Jaigaon, Jalpaiguri has recently come up with a non formal school ‘Back to School’ for children of sex workers. An inauguration ceremony was organised for the purpose at 1, Tribeni Tole on April 21, 2009. At present, 80 children are enrolled in the school.
Partho Roy, Regional Head, Smile Foundation, East handed over the cheque to Ms. Marzina Begum, Asst Secretary, Hriday. Mr. Narender Kumar Majhi, pradhan, Gram Panchayat-II, Mr. Ratan Lal Agarwal, J. B. Lama, member, Panchayat Samiti were also present. Sunrise English School, New Adarsh English school, Green View School, St. Johna School and B. D Memorial English High School were also a part of the programme.
Stars unveiled
Smile Foundation along with six other NGOs were invited to a cultural programme ‘Unveiling Stars’ organised by La Martiniere Girls School. It was a platform for different NGOs working for the underprivileged children in Kolkata to interact and share their experiences.
Tripti Dey and Emele Das of Smile Foundation, Kolkata along with ten children from the Schools of the World (in the age group of 6 to 14) attended the programme. A dance programme ‘Jai Ho’ from the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ by the students of Schools of the World moved the audience and was much appreciated by the guests comprising of eminent members of the Rotary Club, members of Interact Club and the principal and staff of the school.
Annual Day celebrations
Prakruti St. Theresa’s Bacq School, Bangalore organised its annual day on May 16, 2009 with great fervour. The function started with the lighting of lamp by Musrath Begum, which was followed by an invocation ceremony. The Bharatnatyam dance performance and a Mime show presented by Smile Foundation children was liked by one and all.
It may be noted that Smile Foundation has partnered with Prakruti St. Theresa’s Bacq School for the Smile Twin e-Learning programme.
Seminar on Swabhiman
An interactive seminar on ‘eve teasing and harassment faced by a girl child’ was organised at Modern Vidya Niketan, Aravali Hills on April 28. It was organised by Smile Foundation under its Swabhiman programme. The seminar highlighted on self–defense techniques and taught the girls how to tackle such problems. A puppet show on the issue was also organised by the Foundation. It was followed by an interactive session which explained the students about the ‘dos and dont’s’ to be followed and how to retaliate to the antisocial elements in the society. The programme helped the students in building confidence and learning the self–defense techniques. The seminar was very effective in conveying the message to the audience.

Balakotsav'09
2009-05-23 | Mumbai, India
23rd May’09 was a very special day for Sparsh Charitable Trust, a Mumbai based non-profit providing non-formal education to marginalized children. The trust was organizing ‘Balakotsav’, its annual function on this day. Every year the children of the trust look forward to this day as they get an opportunity of a lifetime to showcase their talents before an august gathering of elite of Mumbai city.
D-Day had finally arrived for children of trust to translate their months of toil and hard work into a wonderful display of talent and skills. Children lived up to the expectations of their trainers coming up with a sterling performance to mesmerize 500 odd audience. Besides the show by children, also on display at the venue were a variety of handicrafts and artifacts made by the children. Thoroughly impressed by the potential and talent of children, majority of visitors at the venue agreed that it is the education that has made a difference in the lives of these marginalized children. Most of them also showed willingness to join hands with Sparsh Charitable Trust to further the cause for which it is working. Funds mobilized during Balakotsav are being matched by Smile Foundation to strengthen the project.

NGO Connection Day on IT & life-skills education
2009-05-26 | New Delhi
Smile Foundation in partnership with Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited organised the `NGO Connection Day’ on the role of ‘IT and life-skills in enhancing employability prospects for underprivileged adolescent youth’. The two day programme saw participation of many NGOs from across India along with representatives from corporate houses, partner organisations and other stakeholders. There were training sessions, panel discussions and presentations on various topics related to employability of underprivileged youth. Participants had the common goal to share about measures of imparting IT training, life skills training to adolescent youth to prepare them for fast expanding retail sector.
Ms. Shakila T. Shamsu, Joint Adviser (Education), Planning Commission, Government of India was the chief guest on the occasion. Ms. Shakila said, “Information Technology has become an important tool in reaching out to the unreached. Along with educational qualifications, development of right skills is also important for employability as well as better career options.”
Day -I
The first day of the seminar began with lightning of lamp by the chief guest along with senior people from Microsoft Corporation and Smile Foundation. This was followed by a welcome address by Mr. Naresh Chaudhary, the then Chief Operating Officer, Smile Foundation and keynote address by Dr. Vikas Goswami, Lead CSR, Microsoft Corporation.
The first panel discussion, ‘Linking IT & Life Skills with Employability for Youth’ served as a platform to share experiences about different activities related to employment and the potential challenges at the national level. The focus was on the importance of training in IT skills and the partnership between the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Community Technology Skills Program (UP-CTSP) and the Smile Twin e-Learning Programme of Smile Foundation.
The key speakers of the session were Nalini Gangadharan, Chairperson, CAP Foundation, Hyderabad, Rajendra Joshi, Trustee, Saath Charitable Trust, Ahmedabad, Dr. Aishwarya Mahajan, Regional Manager, Aide et Action (India), Hyderabad, Chetan Sharma, Founder, Datamation Foundation Charitable Trust and Naresh Chaudhary, the then Chief Operating Officer, Smile Foundation. The session was moderated by Dr. Vikas Goswami, Lead CSR, Microsoft Corporation.
The important topics discussed during the seminar were: Are youth from poor socio-economic backgrounds different from others, what are the opportunities available for the disadvantaged youth in today’s fast expanding Indian economy, how can IT and soft skills training be customized for the targeted sectors, how can quality training be ensured, ways to encourage lifelong learning among the youth coming from deprived backgrounds, how to reduce dropout rates in the training centres, strategies to facilitate jobs or entrepreneurship/ self-employment for youth with the requisite IT and soft skills, how can sustainable linkages with private sector recruiters and government be established, value-added skills and courses that can complement the core training and help get employment, training of the unemployed or seasonally unemployed rural youth and the growing trend in the job market.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naresh Chaudhary, the then Chief Operating Officer, Smile Foundation said, “The road to success is always under construction and through the ‘NGO Connection Day’ we would like to share our experiences and learning on IT and life skills. It’s a unique platform that can give much needed impetus to our approach on addressing livelihood issues of the less advantaged community. It is a great experience to have all stakeholders, IT companies, corporate houses, implementing organisations, beneficiaries, faculties under one platform.”
A very important point highlighted during the first session was that teaching life skills is not a rocket science that still people can understand, it is a life long phenomenon where underprivileged adolescent youth has to maintain the equipoise between his/ her external and internal self and job is not an end for them. Another crucial point of discussion was providing next level of training to the youth already placed after receiving initial skills. The need of maintaining alumni record was highlighted and stressed as an indispensable process for any such training centres.
Dr. Vikas Goswami, Lead CSR, Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited said, “As a socially responsible corporate, Microsoft has been supporting non-profit organizations in various ways to enable digital inclusion and bring the benefits of information technology to underprivileged and marginalized sections of society. We are pleased to partner with Smile Foundation for organizing the NGO Connection Day. We trust this event has provided valuable opportunities for cross learning and capacity building.”
Another panel discussion on ‘Employing from Low Income Communities – Recruiters’ Perspective’ was based on opinions and views from different recruiters where trainees of Smile Twin e-Learning Programme are placed. The panelists for the session were Ms. Sangeeta Robinson- DGM, TATA Tele-services, Prasenjit Sinha, Training Head, Salient Technologies and Ms. Usha Chauhan , Senior Executive – HR & Training, Café Coffee Day. Representatives from different corporate houses shared their perspectives on recruiting marginalised youth trained from Smile Foundation and Microsoft’s UP-CTSP initiative. They informed about the changing policies of the organisations and the pre-requisites. In a nutshell, it was all about learning expextations of corporate houses from NGOs and vice versa.
The important topics discussed during the session were: the options available for youth in different corporate houses, procedures to identify the NGOs/ development organisations providing livelihood training to the youth, advantages of recruiting from underprivileged communities, aligning their requirements with the training that the NGOs impart, technical changes in the training programmes, visits by company representatives and delivery of lectures etc. (exploring the various volunteering options), placement opportunities in various locations of India and training programmes matching their requirements, recruiters’ suggestions to NGOs, internship programmes for the trained youth etc. The day provided a platform to for various partner organisations of Microsoft and also between other NGOs working with the agenda on IT, education and employment to network, share and learn about each other`s activities. The seminars focused on the convergence of successful public private partnership which is important for the development of a country like India.
The day also saw training programmes and presentations by representatives from Microsoft India and Resource Alliance for NGOs on preparing and writing applications for seeking grants from donor agencies. The sessions were useful for various grassroot organizations involved in education and livelihood activities.
Day II
The day two of the seminar began with an introduction of 14 partner organizations of the Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited. The 14 partner organisations were from across India supported by Microsoft under UP-CTSP. The focus on this day was on giving importance to how these NGOs are utilizing different Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in reaching the ignorant population. Different organizations gave presentations on their break-through case studies that have brought an revolution in the different rural areas of the country.
The first presentation on “Rural BPOs for IT-based Employment Generation” was given by Mr. Shrot Katewa, Source for Change, Rajasthan. Fairly new in the sector, Source for Change has initiated the first of its kind BPO run and managed by rural women in the Jhun Jhun district of Rajasthan. The organisation has been successful in significantly transforming the lives of women in the village. Women in the region are actively contributing to the family’s income and receiving much awaited respect from their male counterparts.
Another presentation, “Promoting Right to Information (RTI) through CTLCs” was given by Kumar Ujjawal, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme. The organization has been able to mobilize the community and spread awareness on the Right to Information in three districts of Gujarat. The administrative authorities of the area are also convinced with the good work of the organization and have been supporting it in reaching out to people at large and helping them to secure their rights. The organization gas been using various SMS based services, has established toll free number and other ICT tools in spreading information among people.
The presentation by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation on “Securing Community Involvement for CTLC Sustainability” was truly impressive. The organization has been working widely on the principle of social inclusion through access to technologies, which helps to enhance income and preserve environment. The organization has been working on imparting IT skills training to youth and also to other section of people like farmers and fishermen to enhance their income.
Microsoft officials presented the importance of using Share Point software, which is developed to improve organizational effectiveness, collaboration and content management. Unanimously the software was liked by all the participants and agreed upon as the need of the hour.
The two day programme ended with a closing speech by Dr. Vikas Goswami, Lead CSR, Microsoft Corporation.
The seminar provided an ideal platform to various partner organisations of Microsoft and Smile Foundation and other NGOs working with the agenda on IT, education and employment to network, share and learn about each other`s activities. The prime focus of the seminar was on the convergence of successful public private partnership, which is important for the development of a country like India.

NGO Connection Day on IT & life-skills education
2009-05-26 08:00 - 2009-05-27 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | New Delhi
Smile Foundation – Microsoft Unlimited Potential Community Technology Skills Programme
Smile Foundation in partnership with Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited organised the ‘NGO Connection Day’ on the role of ‘IT and life-skills in enhancing employability prospects for underprivileged adolescent youth’. The two day programme saw participation of many NGOs from across India along with representatives from corporate houses, partner organisations and other stakeholders. There were training sessions, panel discussions and presentations on various topics related to employability of underprivileged youth. Participants had the common goal to share about measures of imparting IT training, life skills training to adolescent youth to prepare them for fast expanding retail sector.
Ms. Shakila T. Shamsu, Joint Adviser (Education), Planning Commission, Government of India was the chief guest on the occasion. Ms. Shakila said, “Information Technology has become an important tool in reaching out to the unreached. Along with educational qualifications, development of right skills is also important for employability as well as better career options.”
Day -I
The first day of the seminar began with lightning of lamp by the chief guest along with senior people from Microsoft Corporation and Smile Foundation. This was followed by a welcome address by Mr. Naresh Chaudhary, the then Chief Operating Officer, Smile Foundation and keynote address by Dr. Vikas Goswami, Lead CSR, Microsoft Corporation.
The first panel discussion, ‘Linking IT & Life Skills with Employability for Youth’ served as a platform to share experiences about different activities related to employment and the potential challenges at the national level. The focus was on the importance of training in IT skills and the partnership between the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Community Technology Skills Program (UP-CTSP) and the Smile Twin e-Learning Programme of Smile Foundation.
The key speakers of the session were Nalini Gangadharan, Chairperson, CAP Foundation, Hyderabad, Rajendra Joshi, Trustee, Saath Charitable Trust, Ahmedabad, Dr. Aishwarya Mahajan, Regional Manager, Aide et Action (India), Hyderabad, Chetan Sharma, Founder, Datamation Foundation Charitable Trust and Naresh Chaudhary, the then Chief Operating Officer, Smile Foundation. The session was moderated by Dr. Vikas Goswami, Lead CSR, Microsoft Corporation.
The important topics discussed during the seminar were: Are youth from poor socio-economic backgrounds different from others, what are the opportunities available for the disadvantaged youth in today’s fast expanding Indian economy, how can IT and soft skills training be customized for the targeted sectors, how can quality training be ensured, ways to encourage lifelong learning among the youth coming from deprived backgrounds, how to reduce dropout rates in the training centres, strategies to facilitate jobs or entrepreneurship/ self-employment for youth with the requisite IT and soft skills, how can sustainable linkages with private sector recruiters and government be established, value-added skills and courses that can complement the core training and help get employment, training of the unemployed or seasonally unemployed rural youth and the growing trend in the job market.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naresh Chaudhary, the then Chief Operating Officer, Smile Foundation said, “The road to success is always under construction and through the ‘NGO Connection Day’ we would like to share our experiences and learning on IT and life skills. It’s a unique platform that can give much needed impetus to our approach on addressing livelihood issues of the less advantaged community. It is a great experience to have all stakeholders, IT companies, corporate houses, implementing organisations, beneficiaries, faculties under one platform.”
A very important point highlighted during the first session was that teaching life skills is not a rocket science that still people can understand, it is a life long phenomenon where underprivileged adolescent youth has to maintain the equipoise between his/ her external and internal self and job is not an end for them. Another crucial point of discussion was providing next level of training to the youth already placed after receiving initial skills. The need of maintaining alumni record was highlighted and stressed as an indispensable process for any such training centres.
Dr. Vikas Goswami, Lead CSR, Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited said, “As a socially responsible corporate, Microsoft has been supporting non-profit organizations in various ways to enable digital inclusion and bring the benefits of information technology to underprivileged and marginalized sections of society. We are pleased to partner with Smile Foundation for organizing the NGO Connection Day. We trust this event has provided valuable opportunities for cross learning and capacity building.”
Another panel discussion on ‘Employing from Low Income Communities – Recruiters’ Perspective’ was based on opinions and views from different recruiters where trainees of Smile Twin e-Learning Programme are placed. The panelists for the session were Ms. Sangeeta Robinson- DGM, TATA Tele-services, Prasenjit Sinha, Training Head, Salient Technologies and Ms. Usha Chauhan , Senior Executive – HR & Training, Café Coffee Day. Representatives from different corporate houses shared their perspectives on recruiting marginalised youth trained from Smile Foundation and Microsoft’s UP-CTSP initiative. They informed about the changing policies of the organisations and the pre-requisites. In a nutshell, it was all about learning expextations of corporate houses from NGOs and vice versa.
The important topics discussed during the session were: the options available for youth in different corporate houses, procedures to identify the NGOs/ development organisations providing livelihood training to the youth, advantages of recruiting from underprivileged communities, aligning their requirements with the training that the NGOs impart, technical changes in the training programmes, visits by company representatives and delivery of lectures etc. (exploring the various volunteering options), placement opportunities in various locations of India and training programmes matching their requirements, recruiters’ suggestions to NGOs, internship programmes for the trained youth etc. The day provided a platform to for various partner organisations of Microsoft and also between other NGOs working with the agenda on IT, education and employment to network, share and learn about each other’s activities. The seminars focused on the convergence of successful public private partnership which is important for the development of a country like India.
The day also saw training programmes and presentations by representatives from Microsoft India and Resource Alliance for NGOs on preparing and writing applications for seeking grants from donor agencies. The sessions were useful for various grassroot organizations involved in education and livelihood activities.
Day II
The day two of the seminar began with an introduction of 14 partner organizations of the Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited. The 14 partner organisations were from across India supported by Microsoft under UP-CTSP. The focus on this day was on giving importance to how these NGOs are utilizing different Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in reaching the ignorant population. Different organizations gave presentations on their break-through case studies that have brought an revolution in the different rural areas of the country.
The first presentation on “Rural BPOs for IT-based Employment Generation” was given by Mr. Shrot Katewa, Source for Change, Rajasthan. Fairly new in the sector, Source for Change has initiated the first of its kind BPO run and managed by rural women in the Jhun Jhun district of Rajasthan. The organisation has been successful in significantly transforming the lives of women in the village. Women in the region are actively contributing to the family’s income and receiving much awaited respect from their male counterparts.
Another presentation, “Promoting Right to Information (RTI) through CTLCs” was given by Kumar Ujjawal, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme. The organization has been able to mobilize the community and spread awareness on the Right to Information in three districts of Gujarat. The administrative authorities of the area are also convinced with the good work of the organization and have been supporting it in reaching out to people at large and helping them to secure their rights. The organization gas been using various SMS based services, has established toll free number and other ICT tools in spreading information among people.
The presentation by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation on “Securing Community Involvement for CTLC Sustainability” was truly impressive. The organization has been working widely on the principle of social inclusion through access to technologies, which helps to enhance income and preserve environment. The organization has been working on imparting IT skills training to youth and also to other section of people like farmers and fishermen to enhance their income.
Microsoft officials presented the importance of using Share Point software, which is developed to improve organizational effectiveness, collaboration and content management. Unanimously the software was liked by all the participants and agreed upon as the need of the hour.
The two day programme ended with a closing speech by Dr. Vikas Goswami, Lead CSR, Microsoft Corporation.
The seminar provided an ideal platform to various partner organisations of Microsoft and Smile Foundation and other NGOs working with the agenda on IT, education and employment to network, share and learn about each other’s activities. The prime focus of the seminar was on the convergence of successful public private partnership, which is important for the development of a country like India.

Teachers Training Programme
2009-05-26 08:00 - 2009-05-27 17:00 | New Delhi
Smile Foundation is organizing a Teachers Training Programme to hone the skills of the teachers working in various grassroots level organizations being supported by it. The two-day-long training programme being held on May 26 & 27, 2009 at the Smile Foundation head office aims at enlightening the teachers on various aspects of child psychology, effective usage of innovative teaching & learning materials, and avoidance of teaching methods that disinterests the students.
Smile Foundation strongly believes that all problems related to societal development be it poverty, unemployment or poor health care services can be addressed at the corridors of education. Since its inception in 2002, Smile Foundation has been focusing on universal education through its Mission Education programme.
The education scenario in India is quite complex. And so despite the efforts of many grassroots organisations, the poor and needy are still deprived of basic education. Firstly, due to low salaries, there is lack of rightly qualified and trained teachers employed by the development organizations. Secondly, the parents of children coming to these organizations are unaware and ignorant about the importance of education. As a result, the school drop out rate is very high. This also impacts the overall annual performance of a development organization adversely, defeating the very purpose for which it is functioning.
Poor Schools TeachersThe Mission Education programme of Smile Foundation aims at strengthening the grassroots level development organizations working in the field of education by providing them the right impetus. Smile Foundation aims at enhancing the quality of education being imparted by the development organisations. It should hold the interest of the children as well as their parents. The teachers need to be rightly trained and have sufficient skill to make the teaching content and process interesting.
Smile Foundation has decided to organise teachers’ training programmes on regular intervals and thus improve the quality of education imparted under its Mission Education projects across the country. The on-going training programme is the first step in this direction.

Directors’ meet for Smile’s International Partners
2009-06-10 08:00 - 2009-06-13 17:00 | Goa
Smile Foundation’s international partners came together at the Directors’ Meet at Goa, India, between June 10 and 13, 2009. The four-day-long meet was attended by representatives from Smile Foundation, Soul City (South Africa), Cese (Brazil), Wilde Ganzen (The Netherlands), Net4Kids and Kids Rights, also from The Netherlands. The participants discussed on a host of issues and strategies under the Action For Children programme, devised to sensitise and involve the privileged lot for the development of the underprivileged mass across the developing nations.
The meet highlighted on further consolidation and expansion of the AFC movement across the developing world.
AFC, ongoing in India since April 2008, is a partnership between Smile Foundation and a Dutch Government promoted consortium (Wild Ganzen, Net4Kids and Kids Rights). Soul City, South Africa and Cese, Brazil are the other international partners of the AFC movement.

Workshop on calligraphy & career counseling
2009-06-20 | Maharashtra, West Bengal
Nagpur: A three-day workshop was organised at Shradhanand Anathalay. The event started with a calligraphy session wherein the children were taught how to improve their handwriting. Later, they were given worksheets to practice. JCI Nagpur Central Club sponsored the writing materials.
On the second day, Avinash Senad, a National award winner teacher was the key speaker. Senad gave children tips on how to concentrate on studies. All the queries on different subjects were well answered by Senad.
The three day event came to an end with art, craft & dance session. Deepika Godbole, a arts teacher taught children how to make paper bags, apply mehandi & free hand drawing.
Refresher course for KV teachers
Kolkata: The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Kolkata organized a 12 day ’Refresher Course’ programme for the teachers of KV Sangathan East. The programme was hosted and organised by KV, Bamangachi, Howrah.
During the programme, Smile Foundation organised a workshop on ‘how to behave with adolescents’ and ‘the role of teachers and parents’.
The workshop was inaugurated by P. C. Mahapatra, Principal, KV Bamangachi, which was followed by a welcome address by Mr. S. Banik, GM, Smile Foundation, East. He gave a power point presentation about Smile Foundation and its various projects in East India.
At least 55 teachers from Andaman Nicobar, Silchar, Orissa, Pana and other areas of East India participated in the workshop.

Smile Foundation voices 'Beti bhi apni hai' on World Population Day
2009-07-10 | New Delhi
Smile Foundation in collaboration with Population Foundation of India, organised a ‘Walkathon’ to accelerate the efforts to bring pride and dignity to girl child and women. Chief Guest Magsaysay Awardee Dr. Kiran Bedi (IPS), flagged off the walkathon. Akshat Chopra, child artist and winner of National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement in Performing Arts was the special guest.
About 150 adolescent girls and boys of Smile Foundation walked from Tolstoy Marg to Jantar Mantar lane with flags and banners saying, ‘Beti bhi apni hai’.
The ‘Walkathon’ was followed by a street play and poster making by children at Jantar Mantar.
The Walkathon was organised to celebrate World Population Day 2009, under the banner of Swabhiman, the programme by Smile Foundation for health and empowerment of girl child and women.
Appreciating Smile Foundation’s effort in organising the Walkathon, Dr. Kiran Bedi said, “Such endeavours help bridge the gender gap by spreading awareness about the rights and importance of girl child and women.”
“It is sad that a daughter is considered a liability by the parents. But the reality is that even sons are often forced to leave far off from their parents because of professional or personal reasons. A daughter’s emotional bonding with her parents remains for ever. Daughters are equally capable and so we should not differentiate between a girl child and a boy,” she added.
Since 1989 when World Population Day was instituted, UN has authorised the event as a vehicle to build awareness about population issues and the impact they have on development. The walkathon was an initiative to sensitise people about gender equality and give equal opportunity to girls and women. Reproductive health and gender issues are both critical determinants of population dynamics. A woman ignorant of her reproductive rights hardly has any say in making decisions to plan a family. Hence she is forced to sacrifice her daughters before birth.
Speaking on the occasion, Child artist Akshat Chopra said, “Beti bhi apni hai. It is high time people realise the importance of a girl child or else they would be in severe loss, and I don’t think anyone would like to be at loss.”
‘Sun lo Pukar’, a street play presented by the volunteers of Swabhiman programme pulled a large audience. The group reiterated the saying, ‘Beti ko pyar do aur do adhikar’.
The event also saw the creative imagination and sensitivity of adolescent underprivileged children during the poster making. The children made marvellous paintings on issues related to girl child, thus supporting the theme of the Walkathon ‘Beti bhi apni hai’ through varied colours and ideas.

Partners meet
2009-08-10, 2009-10-08 | New Delhi
Smile foundation organised a ‘Partners’ Meet’ for its NGO partners across North India. The two-day- long event organised in New Delhi witnessed the participation of representatives from more than 40 grassroots organisations.
The sessions were based on topics like ‘Good governance, Sustainability, Leadership and Communication’. The aim of the workshop was to build the capacities of grassroots organisations and to help them become self-sustainable in due course of time. The meet was organised under the Action for Children (AFC) programme and helped strengthen Smile Foundation’s Social Venture Philanthropy (SVP) working model.
The first day of the event started with Smile Foundation’s the then Chief Operating Officer Mr Naresh Choudhury speaking on Sustainability and was followed by a session on Good Governance by Mr Seshdev Behera, a practising Company Secretary and a specialist in Corporate Good Governance. The partners shared many problems faced by them in mobilising funds. An attempt was made to find a solution to their problems too.
The second day witnessed a day long session on ‘Leadership and Communication’ by Mr Ashwini Agarwal, vice president, V5 Global Services Pvt. Ltd.
Smile Foundation plans to organise more such meets for its partners at the regional level across the country.

Smile Foundation children across the country celebrated Independence Day with great fervour. Besides a wide array of cultural programmes organised at many centres, several competitions were lined up for the tiny tots. Residents in the vicinity of the centres participated in the event in large numbers.
2009-08-15, 2009-09-05 | New Delhi
Impressed by the good work of NeeV and Smile Foundation, residents of Nirvana, Gurgaon gathered in large numbers to celebrate Independence Day organised by Bharat Memorial Charitable Trust.
Overwhelmed by the gesture, children of NeeV also staged a ballet which was widely appreciated by one and all. The ballet was followed by a raffle draw organised for the parents of children studying in NeeV.
The winner of the raffle draw was given a solar cooker. While giving away the prize, chief functionary of NeeV Ms Shalini Malhotra explained the benefits of solar cooker to both the children of NeeV and their parents and suggested use of the same to conserve energy and fuel.
The highlight of the day was auction of four paintings donated by David, an artist of repute and also a resident of the colony. The auction was to mobilise funds for the children. It may be mentioned that NeeV in partnership with Smile Foundation caters to the children of migrant labourers in Guragon.
Children of Smile Foundation’s Nai Disha centre, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi celebrated Independence Day with great enthusiasm. After the flag hoisting, both the children and the audience together sang the national song Sare Jahaan Se Achha. The children spoke on the importance of Independence Day.
The children also celebrated Janmastami with a Raas Leela performance, which attracted the locals in large numbers. The residents of the area were present in large numbers to cheer up the children.
Students of Smile Foundation’s Parijat Academy, Guwahati organised a cultural programme to celebrate Independence Day. The programme began with flag hoisting, which was followed by a cultural programme. The enthralling folk song and folk dance performance by children was much liked by the crowd. Despite heavy rains and erratic public transportation service, more than 400 children gathered for the celebration. The entire function was managed by children. While Achyut Krishna Rongshal of Class V was the president, Bitupom Medhi of Class V was the child speaker.
Smile Foundation organized a prize distribution ceremony at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ajmer. Mr. B.K. Srivastava, Principal of the school handed over the prize to the students.

Bridging the gap between privileged and underprivileged
2009-09-06 | West Bengal
Uttar Para Kotrang Cultural Forum in association with Smile Foundation organised a programme for children of underprivileged schools at Konnagar, West Bengal on September 6, 2009.
The programme started with an opening song by a member of the forum and a teacher of St. Xaviers School, Konnagar. It was followed by a welcome speech by Mr. Partha Roy, Joint Director, CFC, Smile Foundation. Mr. Pinaki Dhamali, chairman, Uttar Para Kotrang Municipality was the chief guest.
Students and staff from St. Xaviers School, Makhla Deweshwari Vidya Niketan and Methodist School participated in the event along with the underprivileged children of the nearby locality. Children of Smile Foundation’s Sankha Subhra Welfare Association were also present.
Mr. Santanu Banik, Mr. Guru Prasad Hota, Ms Rashmi Jha and Mr. Subhajit Das from Smile Foundation also attended the event.
The objective of the programme was to bridge the gap between privileged and underprivileged children.
The privileged and underprivileged children sang for each other. Study materials was distributed among 100 children.
Anglo Indian Day
The Anglo Indian Educational Society celebrated Anglo Indian Day at the Assembly of God Church School, Park Street in Kolkata on August 1, 2009.
Students from 16 schools of Kolkata participated in the celebration. Each school was associated with a development organisation working with children. Smile Foundation’s children participated in the event with La Martinier School For Girls.
Smile Foundation children presented a dance performance on Jai Ho from the Oscar award wining movie Slumdog Millionaire.
The programme ended with distribution of gifts among children.

Celebrating 25 years of blood relations
2009-09-09 | Orissa
Media representatives, locals, well wishers and Utsarga members gathered in large numbers during a public meeting organised to mark the Silver Jubilee celebration of Utsarga. Chief Guest Justice Prasanna Kumar Patra graced the event organised at Patneswari Kalyan Mandap, Sambalpur, Orissa on September 9, 2009. A souvenier was released on the occasion. District Collector, Mr. Pradipta Kumar Pattanaik, renowned social worker and physician Dr. Gour Mohan Biswal were present. Mr. Lokesh Pandey from Smile Foundation was the guest of honour. A blood donation camp and a photo exhibition were the other highlights of the day.

Aarzoo: Ek Ujwal Bharat Ki
2009-09-11 | New Delhi
Smile Foundation organised ‘Aarzoo: Ek Ujwal Bharat Ki’, a Jagjit Singh Night at Sri Fort Auditorium on September 11, 2009. The auditorium was packed full to capacity with Delhiites flocking from all corners of the city to watch and enjoy Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh perform live.
The event was organised to support the education of less privileged children under the Mission Education project of Smile Foundation. The event was sponsored by IndusInd Bank, iLd, Hindustan Times, Kingfisher Airlines, The Metropolitan Hotel, graphisads, Fever 1o4, Planet M etc. The event was managed and marketed by Trikaya Events.

Teachers' Training at Kalinga Nagar
2009-09-13 | Orissa
The three-day teachers training workshop organised for the teachers of the Smile Foundation-Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) Non-Formal Education (NFE) centres at Kalinga Nagar, Jajpur, Orissa was inaugurated on September 13, 2009. Mr. Ravi, Director Operations, JSL was the chief guest.
Many teachers from the remedial and NFE centres were present on the first day of the training programme. School inspectors who attended the workshop assured that they would support mainstreaming of the students from the non-formal education centres into formal schools. Students of Gulam Rasul Remedial centre enthralled all with an opening song. Mr Ritesh Gupta, Manager, Administration, Mr. Subodh Mohapatra, AGM, CSR, Mr. Sukanta Ratha, Manager CSR and Mr. Jyotiprakash Nayak, PR officer JSL and representatives from Smile Foundation were among others present on the occasion.
On the second day, the teachers were trained on joyful learning techniques, communication techniques, preparing IEC materials etc.
On the last day of the workshop, the teachers’ trainer discussed about the role and responsibilities of NFE teachers and how to motivate the students to come to school regularly. The teachers were advised to maintain a lesson planning register, visitors diary, students profile, attendance chart, stock register, students standard assessment form, progressive report, guardians meeting resolution register etc.

Smile Foundation organised Alumni Meet 09’ to felicitate Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP) alumnus
2009-09-15 | New Delhi
In less than three years time, more than 1300 youth from Smile Foundation’s Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP) centres across the country have been employed by leading companies like Westside, NOKIA, HDFC Bank, Fun Cinema, Croma, Cafe Coffee Day, Big Bazaar, to name a few. As part of this successful journey, Smile Foundation organised a ‘STeP Alumni Meet’ for the students who have passed out from the STeP centres across the National Capital Region and have been employed in leading companies.
More than 40 ex-students who have been employed by leading companies assembled at Safdarjung Club, Safdarjung Enclave on September 15 to celebrate their success and share their experience. Mr. Imtiaz Ahmed, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University was the chief guest.
On the occasion, Mr. Naresh Chaudhury, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Smile Foundation announced the opening of the Smile Alumni Club, which would serve as a forum where the old can meet the new and share their knowledge/ experience. The Smile Foundation website would have a link which will provide all the relevant information and the latest updates on Alumni club, new job opportunities, whereabouts of pass outs etc. Every student will be given a login and password.
Addressing the alumnus, Prof. Ahmed said, “You are the agents of Smile Foundation. Now it is your responsibility to take this livelihood movement started by Smile Foundation further. The Alumni Meet is a great opportunity for all of you, avail it.”
“Livelihood is a major concern for adolescents and especially for youth in the underprivileged class. There is a yawning gap between the job market demand and skilled manpower available. Keeping this gap in mind, we are running this livelihood programme called Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP). Through this ‘Alumni Meet’, we are creating a platform where this pass outs can remain in touch with us as well as explore new horizons,” said Mr. Chaudhury.
The meritorious STeP students were felicitated by the Foundation. >
A career counselling session was also organised for both the STeP students looking for a job and STeP alumni already in a job, but aspiring to achieve a lot more in life. Career Counsellor Mr Sameer Pathak explained the students how to be successful in life. It was an interactive, informative and lively session.

Celebrating success - Alumni Meet
2009-09-15 | New Delhi
Smile Foundation organised Alumni Meet 09′ to felicitate Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP) alumnus
n less than three years time, more than 1300 youth from Smile Foundation’s Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP) centres across the country have been employed by leading companies like Westside, NOKIA, HDFC Bank, Fun Cinema, Croma, Cafe Coffee Day, Big Bazaar, to name a few. As part of this successful journey, Smile Foundation organised a’STeP Alumni Meet’ for the students who have passed out from the STeP centres across the National Capital Region and have been employed in leading companies.
More than 40 ex-students who have been employed by leading companies assembled at Safdarjung Club, Safdarjung Enclave on September 15 to celebrate their success and share their experience. Mr. Imtiaz Ahmed, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University was the chief guest.
On the occasion, Mr. Naresh Chaudhury, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Smile Foundation announced the opening of the Smile Alumni Club, which would serve as a forum where the old can meet the new and share their knowledge/ experience. The Smile Foundation website would have a link which will provide all the relevant information and the latest updates on Alumni club, new job opportunities, whereabouts of pass outs etc. Every student will be given a login and password.
Addressing the alumnus, Prof. Ahmed said, “You are the agents of Smile Foundation. Now it is your responsibility to take this livelihood movement started by Smile Foundation further. The Alumni Meet is a great opportunity for all of you, avail it.”
“Livelihood is a major concern for adolescents and especially for youth in the underprivileged class. There is a yawning gap between the job market demand and skilled manpower available. Keeping this gap in mind, we are running this livelihood programme called Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP). Through this ‘Alumni Meet’, we are creating a platform where this pass outs can remain in touch with us as well as explore new horizons,” said Mr. Chaudhury.
The meritorious STeP students were felicitated by the Foundation.
A career counselling session was also organised for both the STeP students looking for a job and STeP alumni already in a job, but aspiring to achieve a lot more in life. Career Counsellor Mr Sameer Pathak explained the students how to be successful in life. It was an interactive, informative and lively session

Celebrating Girl Child week
2009-09-19 08:00 - 2009-09-25 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.

Schools extends support to Smile Foundation
2009-10-11 | Pune
Mr. G.G. Chitnis, chairman, Balika Adarsh Vidyalaya, Belgaum giving away prizes to students.
Mrs. Nirmal Tambe, principal, Army School, Pune receiving certificate of appreciation from Smile Foundation
Mr. Ganjoo, Principal, KV, AFS, Lohegaon, Pune receiving certificate of appreciation from Smile Foundation.

Employee Engagement Day with Barclays Bank Employees
2009-10-14 | New Delhi
It was indeed a pleasing day for Smile Foundation and trainees of Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP). The occasion was the second employee engagement day with the Barclays Bank team organised under the STeP.
The vigour and dynamism of Barclay’s employees is significant. They are able to immediately connect with the youths of STeP programme and able to comprehend their queries into meanings. Our students are right away filled up with a drive to move ahead with bright dreams in their eyes. That’s the power of motivation which Barclay’s team possesses, very important to be successful today.
Though, the event today started on a slower note due to some unavoidable problems but it was the co-operation and courage of Barclay’s team that made us move with determination and make the day successful for our students.
Thanks to Awanish of Barclays’ for all his hard work and Bhupesh, Barclays’ for giving useful tips to students on how to move ahead in their lives while making better and informed choices.
We cherish the beautiful relationship that we have been able to develop with the Barclays team in such a short period of team.

Make a Difference Day with Barclays
2009-11-06 | New Delhi
Smile Foundation and the employees of Barclays Bank got together to celebrate ‘Make a Difference Day’ with residents of Nut Colony, an urban slum in Chattarpur on November 6, 2009. ‘Make a Difference Day’ is an annual event of Barclays in which the bank’s employees voluntarily participate in large numbers to support social issues.
Representatives of Smile Foundation with 30 employees of Barclays Bank went to Nut colony, a resettlement colony and spent the entire day conducting different awareness activities for the underprivileged people there.
With the guidance of Smile Foundation, the Barclays’ employees were engaged in many playful activities like Ice Breaking, Fun Quiz, Extempore, Dance Competition, Painting Competition and Dream Sharing, etc and were greatly successful in bridging the gap with the community people of Nut Colony.
“A smile on the faces of the children made our day. It was a delight to be associated with such soul refreshing workshop. Every child is special and Smile Foundation is working hard to ignite that spark in these children, trying to give them a better future. This is just the beginning. We are looking forward to many such opportunities in days to come,” says National Manager, Collections Legal, Barclays Bank.
The colony people were sensitised about Sexually Transmitted diseases and especially HIV/AIDS. It was following the surveys conduced by Smile Foundation through Swabhimaan, a programme on women’s health and empowerment. The study report stated that flesh trade is common among the community women here and hence the risk of sexually transmitted disease is more in the community.
A health awareness and sensitisation camp for all age groups was also conducted with the help of Smile on Wheels, a mobile hospital programme of Smile Foundation. Barclays’ employees enthusiastically volunteered in it. The health camp offered services like treatment for eyes, general OPD service, pathology etc. Free medicines were distributed to around 210 patients and spectacles were provided to all those having vision problems.
Young girls were provided Career Counselling and Personality Development classes. Similarly, for children of age group (0-5 years), many fun activities were conducted.
About 300 people benefited from the programme. The community people participated enthusiastically in all the programmes and were greatly benefitted by the information exchange and health services provided during the day. It may be mentioned that Barclays Bank is committed towards social issues and Make a Difference Day is an employee engagement programme organised with underprivileged children. It creates a positive impact involving all kinds of people from the community.
“It was really a touching experience for each of us to be a part of this programme. I participated in MADD for the first time. All of us share a moral responsibility towards the society. Smile Foundation is doing a great job. Wishing Smile Foundation success in all endeavours,” says a Barclays representative.
