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Archive for 2010

Rang De

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

It’s been one more long hiatus since you, our loyal supporters, have been updated on our activities here at Sangam India. We’d like to share something exciting that came up yesterday. We met with the CEO, Ram, of an organisation called Rang De (www.rangde.org). Rang De is a microlending organization based in Chennai and consists of a dynamic group of people who really want to make a difference. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting with them and are looking forward to working with them in the future. Please do check out their website for more information.

Rang De is hosting a fundraising concert on May 1st at 6 pm at Buck’s Theatre, YMCA, Chennai. The main artist will be Swarathma, an Indian folk band with a socially conscious message. Tickets are available at www.indianstage.in, or you can approach us for student tickets. The great thing about this concert is that Rs. 100 of your ticket cost will go to an investment in Rang De and its borrowers, and will come back to you. So you can listen to great music AND make a difference! Let us know if you’d like student tickets, or you can buy regular tickets online.

Please make sure you visit their website at www.rangde.org.

Things are happening!

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

Hello to all of loyal followers, donors. supporters, and to those of you who are new to our website. We have been a bit delayed in updating our blog, for which we do apologize. I’d like to provide a brief update here, with more details about each of our initiatives to follow.

Our educational team is proud to announce a new member, Dr. Apta Errabelli, who has taken great leadership initiative. The team has been working with the youngest children in the community, ranging from 3 to 7 years of age. The lessons have mostly centered around teaching the English alphabet as well as basic hygiene lessons including handwashing and brushing teeth. We have also recently invested in slates for each of the children, in order to make it easier and more enjoyable for the children to participate in the class. We are also hoping to begin a mentorship program with the adolescent children, separately for the boys and girls. We have a few volunteers who are willing to take up this project.

We also have a medical camp in the works, which will take place in April, exact date to be announced soon. We are planning to have screening for diabetes mellitus, hypertension and iron deficiency anemia. In addition we will also be having consultation in general medicine and pediatrics. There will also be a health education section in which we will be educating the patients as to the details about and possible complications of hypertension and diabetes in order to ensure that they will comply with the medical advice given. We will need plenty of medical and non-medical volunteers at the camp. If you are interested in volunteering, please let us know.

A third initiative is that the residents of MGR Nagar have been asking us for assistance with roofing. The thatched roofs that they currently have are quite vulnerable to the elements as well as to human insult. With heavy rains and fires damaging the roofs, the residents have asked for assistance in replacing the thatch with asbestos. After a great deal of deliberation, the board has decided to contribute financially to the provision of new roofs, under the condition that the residents themselves also contribute financially in addition to providing the labour required to build the roofs. We are currently raising funds for this project, the goal being around Rs. 150,000.

If you or anyone you know are interested in any of the above activities, please let us know. We are in need of manpower and enthusiastic volunteers to take up our various projects. Thanks!