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 (Asia/Kolkata) | 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.

Smile felicitated among the Best 10 NGOs in India
2007-12-16 | Mumbai, India
Smile Foundation has been felicitated among the 10 best Non Government Organisations by MUKTI FOUNDATION.
Ms. Smita Thackeray, Chairperson of Mukti Foundation, said on the occasion of honouring Smile and nine other organisations, “The journey in social work has been very rewarding and gratifying. As the Mukti Foundation completes its 10th year in service, we would like to felicitate 10 best NGOs with excellence in their respective fields across India.”
Around 100 children from Smile’s projects in Mumbai represented Smile Foundation during the felicitation ceremony held in Mumbai.
Mukti Foundation had followed a rigorous process in scrutinizing and selecting 10 best NGOs working for different causes ‘who have done substantial social work in the society’ across India. Smile Foundation was selected for its outstanding contribution towards development of underprivileged children across India.
On the occasion, ’10 on 10′- a musical concert was organized at MMRDA grounds BKC in Mumbai, featuring 10 artists comprising of film and television stars, singers, musicians and bands. Part of the proceeds from the concert was also dedicated to the child welfare projects of Smile Foundation.
“We hereby proudly announce that you are one of the organizations who has been chosen for felicitation at the Mukti 10 on 10 Concert,” says Ms. Thackeray while selecting Smile Foundation among the 10 Indian NGOs of excellence.
Sudesh Bhonsale, renowned singer and entertainer, and Sameera Reddy, Bollywood actress, performed at the concert among others and also encouraged the children.
Mukti Foundation was established in 1997 with the prime objective to deal with the social issue like Child Welfare, Women Development, Drug Abuse, HIV/AIDS etc.
Smile appreciates Mukti Foundation’s effort in encouraging good practices in the non government sector.

Inspiration: Mantra for this Women's Day
2008-03-06 | New Delhi
International Women’s Day this time is quite special for the eight community girls from Smile Foundation. They are by now ‘Swabhiman Role Models’ in their communities. So what’s that they have been waiting for this day?
Reena, Rubina, Babita, Sona, Kiran, Chandrakala, Sameera and Sunita, are just eight of the trained catalysts of Swabhiman programme from Smile Foundation, who in their teens, have already achieved the status of ‘role models’ in their communities and are getting trained to be ‘change makers’ in future
‘Inspiration’ is the theme on this International Women’s Day for the unsung girls in the communities where Smile Foundation has been working through its programme named ‘Swabhiman’ – meaning self respect in Hindi. Swabhiman is a programme for empowerment and development of underprivileged girls and women. Swabhiman is working for a population of 80,000 in Delhi and 60,000 in rural Haryana.
Dr. Kiran Bedi spent quality time with the ‘Smile Role Models’ with interaction, advise, sharing experience and giving them tips on how to lead other girls and women in their respective communities.
“I feel that the root cause of all problems faced by women will be solved if they become economically self dependant,” said Dr. Kiran Bedi. “Decision making without bothering about social approvals is another solution for Indian women, particularly in low communities, to lead a life with self respect.”
Dr. Bedi also advised Smile Foundation to work more on social security of the community girls and women so that they could live in a much better environment. Apart from formal and non formal education which Smile Foundation has been carrying out, Dr. Bedi advised distant education and increasing mental IQ by utilizing time in reading newspapers and also watching news should be encouraged.
During the interactive session, Dr. Kiran Bedi appreciated the good work being done by the Smile Community Girls and also encouraged them to continue with the same in future as well. Smile Role Models emerge from among the Community Girls.
A week long drive and campaign is being carried out in all over Swabhiman areas in Delhi. Nukkad natak (street play), role plays, songs, interactions etc. under the theme ‘Inspiration’ are going on, targeting adolescent girls directly and their influence groups like boys, elderly, children etc. indirectly.
Themes of the campaign are related to new mothers, nutrition and health rights of women, awareness against female foeticide, decision making power, basic health and hygiene, gender issues etc.
Smile Foundation is running its Swabhiman programme for adolescent girls and women in various underprivileged communities since 2005. In the process, adolescent girls are selected regularly and trained properly to emerge as ‘Swabhiman Role Models’ and ‘Master Trainers’ in their communities. They have been setting examples in the communities, and in the process inspiring others to ensure respect for girl child.
The objective of the special drive on International Women’s Day is to bring these ‘Role Models’ into the focus so that they can act as ‘inspiration’ for other girls.
Dr. Kiran Bedi, an inspiration for all men and women in relation with women empowerment, has invited a select group of eight ‘Swabhiman Role Models’ to her residence to act as an ‘inspiration’ and celebrate International Women’s Day in a special way for these unsung achievers in various communities.
Brief about the selected eight ‘Swabhiman Role Models’ from various communities of Delhi, invited by Dr. Kiran Bedi, are as follow:
Week long advocacy campaigns going on as part of International Women’s Day celebration by Swabhiman
Name: Sona
Age: 18 years
Sona, born to a conservative family, was married without her consent at a tender age of 14 years to a person who was abusive. She was tortured and ill treated almost on daily basis.
Then, she came to know about Smile’s Swabhiman and started attending counseling and training sessions of Smile Swabhiman. Gradually she became aware of her rights and mustered up courage to divorce her ill tempered husband.
Today she works as a domestic help and during her spare time counsels and motivates other women to come out of exploitation and suffering. She is also planning to enroll herself in an adult education programme and improve her prospects through education.
Name: Kiran
Age: 16 years
Kiran had to discontinue her education after 8th class as her parents did not want to support her education beyond middle school due to financial constraints and societal pressures. Little Kiran was inconsolable when she was told by her parents that because of her gender, she could not study further as her parents otherwise would not be able to find a match for her. They also told her that they do not have enough money to send her to school as they have to educate their sons.
Kiran came into contact with Swabhiman team who were visiting her community. She started attending the counseling sessions of Swabhiman. Kiran enlightened by the counseling sessions, decided to sponsor her own education through the earnings she would make by teaching students of junior classes. Kiran today is not only continuing with her education but is also working as a volunteer for Swabhiman and motivating girls her age to raise their voice against wrong done to them.
Name: Reena
Age: 26 years
Reena, a victim of early marriage and exploitation fought of all adversities to study and stand up on her own feet. Today she is employed as a CHE (Community Health Educator) in Swabhiman and devotes her entire time in educating other suffering women about their rights and inspires them to lead a life of independence and worth.
Name: Babita
Age: 15 years
Babita is another active volunteer of Smile Swabhiman who was earlier exploited by some frustrated male relatives of her village. After coming in contact with Swabhiman her life changed for better. Today Babita moves about in her community and educates them on how not to get exploited and defend themselves.
Name: Chandrakala
Age: 21 years
Chandrakala is associated with Smile Swabhiman as a Community Health Educator. She has studied till the XII standard. Chandrakala looks after her ailing father who is currently suffering from Tuberculosis and has not been employed for the last 7 months. She also looks after her sister’s three children who are no more. Thanks to the counseling sessions of Swabhiman, Chandrakala always wears a smile on her face despite all her hardships. She has attended extensive trainings on HIV/AIDS. She enjoys her work and spreads awareness on issues concerning women such as on safe motherhood, gender discrimination, nutrition, sexual abuse etc.
Name: Rubina
Age: 17 years
Rubina wanted to study like her brothers but her father packed her off to her granny’s home against her wishes. Courageous as she was, she learnt farming and started working on the farm. She used the money earned through farming to further her studies. Today Rubina is not only a confident young girl who is aware of her rights but she also works as a volunteer of Swabhiman and encourages girls of her village to take up education seriously and know their rights.
Name: Sameera
Age: 14 years
Sameera lost her elder brother and father in an accident a few years back. She works as a sweeper in Chhattarpur temple during the morning and attends her school during the day. After school hours she works as a volunteer for Swabhiman and spreads awareness on the importance of education among the girls of her community.
Name: Sunita
Age: 18 years
Sunita used to work as a domestic help in a bungalow. She had come into contact with Smile Foundation team when they had gone to her community. She was a regular in all the counselling and training sessions of SMILE’s Swabhiman programme. One day her employer tried to molest her. Enraged, she picked up a broom and started beating her employer and also ran out of the bungalow to raise an alarm. She forced her employer to seek an apology from her in front of his wife. This incident in her life made her join Swabhiman as a volunteer. She now goes about the village telling them how to lead a dignified life, despite being community women.
Swabhiman, launched in August 2005, is an effort from Smile Foundation focusing on welfare and empowerment of girl child and women. The programme reaches out to more about 1, 40, 000 population.

GE Healthcare – Modern Medicare Excellence Awards for Smile Foundation as ‘NGO of the Year’
2008-03-14 | Mumbai, India
Name of Award: GE Healthcare – Modern Medicare Excellence Awards
Venue: The Hyatt Regency, Mumbai
Background
This award is instituted by GE Healthcare a division of global giant – General Electrical. GE Healthcare is into manufacturing and marketing of specialized hospital & pharma equipments. The objective of this award to recognize real heroes in health care areas especially related to hospitals, individual doctors and other NGO organizations who are contributed to the society in a large way.
Sponsors & Partners

BD, BeaconMedes, Esate India, Medworld
Television Partner – CNN IBN
Knowledge Partner – Frost & Sullivan
Event Organizers – INFOMEDIA India Ltd

The Jury

Dr. Y P Bhatia – Chairman Accreditation Committee
Mr. Sandeep Sinha – Industry Manager, Frost & Sullivan
Mr. Ganesh Lakshmanan – Business Head, Modern Medicare
Dr. B S Ajaikumar – CEO Healthcare Global Enterprise
Mr. Ameera Pater – Executive Director – Metropolis Health care

Final Nominations for ‘NGO of the Year’

Spastics society of India, Mumbai
P.N.R. Society, Bhavnagar
Rugna Seva Sadan, Mumbai
Smile Foundation
CHETANA

Awardees and Categories
Face of the Year – Dr. V Mohandas – Mohandas Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai
Hall of Fame 2007 – Ruby Hall Cancer Centre, Pune
Young Achiever – Dr. Manish Bansal – RG Stone Urological Centre, Mumbai
Administrator of the Year– R D Tulsairaj, Executive Director – Aravind Hospital Madurai
Entrepreneur of the Year – Dr. N Sethuraman – Meenakshi Mission
NGO of the Year (this award recognizes the NGO for its phenomenal work within the healthcare industry by supporting medical
causes and thereby offering various services) – SMILE FOUNDATION
Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year – Meenakshi Mission, Madura
Marketing Campaign of the Year – LifeCell Asia Cryo Cell Pvt. Ltd., Chennai
Safe Practice Hospital – Wockhardt Hospital, Bangalore
Special Award – Institution – Frontier Lifeline, Chennai
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of a variety of hospital and pharma equipments. It has instituted an award to recognize individuals, institutions in the field of healthcare who through their outstanding contributions have made a noticeable impact to the healthcare scenario in India. The award titled ‘Modern Medicare Excellence Award’ was instituted in 2006.

National Launch of Action for Children
2008-04-01 08:00 - 17:00 | New Delhi
An Act for Positive Impact
Smile Foundation formally launched ‘Action for Children‘ in India on 1st of April 2008 in New Delhi the presence of representatives of Wild Geese, Ms Lyda Res and Ms Rachida, Mr Yamada Koji, Deputy Resident Representative of (Japan International Cooperation Agency) JICA, and Mr Naimur Rehman, Director, One World South Asia.
‘Action for Children’ launched across India by Smile Foundation is supported by a consortium of three Dutch agencies namely, Wild Geese, Net4Kids and Kids Rights. The consortium is promoted by the Government of The Netherlands.
The objectives are to involve privileged people in helping underprivileged sections of the society, and make local development initiatives sustainable locally by involving corporate and civil society groups.
India has the maximum number of homeless, destitute and working children of the world. Out of 500 billionaires of the world, India is home to 50 billionaires. Do the two statements not sound contradictory? How can a country with so many rich people have a very high percentage of its children living in abject poverty?
If all the ‘fortunate’ Indians come out of their indifference and apathy towards their ‘not so fortunate’ countrymen and decide to bail them out of their difficulties, India could become one of the most prosperous and powerful countries of the world.
‘Action for Children’ [AFC] is an interesting initiative of Smile Foundation which is directed to stimulate ‘fortunate’ Indians to ‘Stand up and Act’ to transform the lives of underprivileged children and contribute to nation building in the process.

“We are impressed by the efforts in preparing the right platform for the launch of the programme in India. We are confident that Indian development sector would support Smile Foundation to make the programme a big success.”
Ms. Lyda Res,
Wilde Ganzen, The Netherlands

“Action for Children is a programme which will sensitize the privileged people in order to help underprivileged people. Hence, we do not need to rely on external resources and funding to sustain NGOs and other development initiatives.”
Mr. Naimur Rahman,
Director, One World South Asia

“In a developing country like India, there is a wide gap between the rich and the poor. Now there is a way in the form of Action for Children to bridge that gap.”
Mr. Yamada Koji,
Deputy Resident Representative, JICA

“Action for Children programme is nothing but an extension of what Smile Foundation has already been doing for the last six years in various forms. However, with the support of the Government of the Netherlands through a consortium [Wild Geese, Net4Kids and Kids Rights], more than 100 NGOs across India will be sustainable locally by Smile Foundation. We can make it a revolution in the sector.”
Mr. Santanu Mishra,
Trustee, Smile Foundation

The programme is based on the premise that development is a people’s issue and not just government concern alone. It aims to sensitize people through advocacy on child related issues and seeks to involve them in mobilization of resources for grassroots initiatives targeted to bring about a qualitative change in the lives of underprivileged children by encouraging the privileged to stand up and ‘Act’ to make a difference in the lives of the disadvantaged.
The programme permeates from the context that:
• The situation of children in India leaves much to be desired.
• Fund raising in India needs to be broad-based.
• Public support for the cause of children and its socialization is required to be strengthened.

In line with this emerging scenario, the ‘Action for Children’ programme aims at encouraging various civil society groups like Rotary, Lions clubs, trade, industry and professional associations, schools, colleges, youth clubs/youth wings, corporate employees etc, including Community Organizations, to get involved in child development initiatives.
This will not only involve local people in relevant development initiatives, but also ensure that development activities become locally sustainable and not dependant on external support alone.
A programme like ‘Action for Children’ is the need of hour to bring about a qualitative change in the lives of millions of underprivileged in our country.
To know more about Action for Children, kindly click here

Be A Reason for Someone to Smile
2008-04-12 | Mumbai, India
SMILE for a SAFE Earth
Kajol Played cheerleader to Smile Children, giving company were Ajay Devgan and Tanuja ji, during a show organized by Zee TV.
Smile Foundation children were over the moon to meet their favourite star, Kajol. The Zee Family was more than obliged to invite Smile Children on the show Rock N Roll Family.
It was also endearing to see Kajol also responding to these children’s attention. The most touching moment was when the children presented Kajol with a hand made doll for her li’l princess, daughter Nysa.
“Smile children wanted to gift something to Kajol which she would feel special about. The children came up with the idea of making a doll and gift it to her daughter instead,” says Shilpi, (Communication Manager, Smile Foundation).
Not only Kajol but even Ajay Devgan and Tanuja ji were little moist eyed seeing the warmth and affection of these kids for whom the stars are demi-gods.
All SMILE children present were fans of Kajol. Kajol, fond of Smile Foundation kids, also was very happy for the opportunity through ‘Rock N Roll Family’ show on Zee TV which brought three generations dancing together. It brought an emotional touch to the programme too.

SMILE for a SAFE Earth
2008-04-22 | Kolkata
SMILE for a SAFE Earth
Smile Foundation children celebrated ‘Earth Day’ in Kolkata in associating with SAFE (South Asian Forum for Environment).
Locality: Anwashah Road, Kolkata
Day: Earth Day, April 22, 2008
FolEarth Day’ is being celebrated all over. But how many of us may are aware of it or even with the concept of preserving our Mother Earth, her beauty and resources for a better quality of life?
Children from Smile Foundation projects in Kolkata, themselves belonging to underprivileged communities, took to the street for sensitizing their elder citizens.
The programme started with a walk by SMILE children, which was joined by socially conscious citizens in huge numbers.
SMILE children interacted enthusiastically with everybody on basic awareness on environment issues. The children asked questions and shared views on the issues with all shop-keepers, pedestrians and even road side vendors. This was followed by an interactive awareness session on ‘Environment and its effect on Health’ to consolidate the experiences gathered by these children in their short interactions.
The programme ended with children’s decision to –
•Keep the environment clean and beautiful.
• Throw garbage in proper places – in garbage bins and dustbins.
• Save every drop of water
• Protest against cutting of trees and exploitation of ponds and other water bodies
• Keep your self clean
• Wash hands before taking food
Calcutta Telephones (BSNL) supported the programme. Soma Kanjilal, Debjoy Mallick and Soma Chakraborty from Smile Foundation and SAFE’s Director Dipayan Dey took the lead in fruitful implementation of the drive.

SMILE for a SAFE Earth
2008-04-22 | Kolkata
SMILE for a SAFE Earth
Smile Foundation children celebrated ‘Earth Day’ in Kolkata in associating with SAFE (South Asian Forum for Environment).
Locality: Anwashah Road, Kolkata
Day: Earth Day, April 22, 2008
FolEarth Day’ is being celebrated all over. But how many of us may are aware of it or even with the concept of preserving our Mother Earth, her beauty and resources for a better quality of life?
Children from Smile Foundation projects in Kolkata, themselves belonging to underprivileged communities, took to the street for sensitizing their elder citizens.
The programme started with a walk by SMILE children, which was joined by socially conscious citizens in huge numbers.
SMILE children interacted enthusiastically with everybody on basic awareness on environment issues. The children asked questions and shared views on the issues with all shop-keepers, pedestrians and even road side vendors. This was followed by an interactive awareness session on ‘Environment and its effect on Health’ to consolidate the experiences gathered by these children in their short interactions.
The programme ended with children’s decision to –

Keep the environment clean and beautiful.
Throw garbage in proper places – in garbage bins and dustbins.
Save every drop of water
Protest against cutting of trees and exploitation of ponds and other water bodies
Keep your self clean
Wash hands before taking food

Calcutta Telephones (BSNL) supported the programme. Soma Kanjilal, Debjoy Mallick and Soma Chakraborty from Smile Foundation and SAFE’s Director Dipayan Dey took the lead in fruitful implementation of the drive.

SMILE Kids on 9x TV Ginni & Jonny Chak De Bachhe
2008-04-30 | Mumbai, India
Don’t Employ Them; Empower
Event: An outdoor Awareness and Sensitization campaign Against Children working as Labour
Objective: Sensitizing privileged people and sending an appeal to empower underprivileged children through education
Date: April 30, 2008; Wednesday [On the eve of International Labour Day]
Location: Churchgate, Mumbai [towards Mantralaya]
Time: 11 AM to 12 O’ Clock
Organiser: Smile Foundation, 102, ‘Sheraton Classic’, Ram Mandir Road, Vile Parle (East), Mumbai – 400 057.
Contact: +91-22-26104106, 26104107
Query from media, privileged citizens and general public are welcome.
