Here are some of the photos from today’s trip to Ramavaram as the fifth day of our Educational Programme.
Archive for the ‘photos’ Category
Photos from Educational Programme – Day 5
Saturday, April 18th, 2009
Photos from Saturday's Trip
Monday, March 16th, 2009Some more photos from last Saturday’s educational trip. Generously contributed by Jaba:
Flooding at Ramavaram
Saturday, November 29th, 2008Here is a panorama of the recent flooding at the Ramavaram Slum as well as the engorged Adyar river which lies adjacent to it, taken on Friday, November 28th.
As reported, we visited the residents to give them food on Friday. Many of the them had to leave their homes in a rush as the water levels rose suddenly. They have lost clothing, important documents, and other personal effects.
The rains this year have been especially bad; however the monsoon is a constant feature of the Indian climate. Because they are adjacent to the river and located in a depression in the land, the residents of the Ramavaram slum are especially vulnerable to the effects of flooding. Their inability to cope with the yearly monsoon season is a worrisome sign and it is something we will have to help them prepare for in the future.
Ramavaram Food Donation, November 26th
Friday, November 28th, 2008
As described in previous posts, today we carried out our project to distribute food to the residents of the Ramavaram slum.
The situation in Ramavaram worsened dramatically overnight – indeed, the entire slum has been submerged by the floodwaters.
Last night, when they were sleeping, the residents were woken up by policemen giving them the instructions to vacate their homes immediately as the floodwaters were rising. They were vacated to a nearly school complex near the Nandambakkam Police Station. It is good that the State Government acted quickly in this regard or it is very likely that lives may have been lost.
This morning, we spoke to the residents by telephone who conveyed these events to us. We were saddened to hear this and it gave some urgency to our work – though it was a small gesture, at best, given the immense problems they were facing. Our group today was small but we were organized and able to get the work done efficiently. Nazneen, Vasundhra and Pamela did a wonderful job of organizing the work. A small group went to get the dhal while another met with Hema Aunty to get the rice. Meanwhile, Shankar and I went to locate the residents.
As we passed by the slum at Ramavaram, we were all awestruck by the flooding there. Here are a few pictures of the slum that I took on the way back:
The school where they have been relocated to has been generously provided for by the State. Of course, school has been canceled so it is not in use now. While they have a roof over their heads, the families have to deal with the crowded conditions of having 8-9 families living in each room.
Once we met them, we began distributing the rice. One of our contacts in the slum, Nagappan, had prepared a list of each family that had been relocated. We gave each family 2 kilograms of rice and half a kilogram of toor dhal (pigeon peas.) In all, 105 parcels were given – a total of 210 kilograms of rice and 52.5 kilograms of lentils. This is a very small contribution, considering the size of the group and their needs during these difficult times. However, having been relocated, and out of work, we hope that it can make a small difference to them. In addition, more than the food, I think the fact that we showed up made a big difference. They were very happy to see us and our demonstration of solidarity with them.
One thing which strikes me, personally, is the immense perseverance that I see in the slum. They have difficult lives, and their problems increase immensely when it rains and floods like this. They have lost many of their personal belongings in their rush to leave the slum. However, despite these problems, they have positive attitudes about their current predicament and seem to be holding up in situations that would make most people (including me) feel very hopeless.
We’d like to thank Hema Aunty (that is, Mrs. Hema Trivedi) for coming out today as our special guest. We’d also like to thank her for helping to sponsor this event as well as for providing the vehicle that was essential for this project.
Diwali Celebrations
Sunday, October 26th, 2008
To celebrate Diwali, we decided to hold a clothing drive for the residents of Ramavaram. This event had been in the planning for the past few weeks as we had people send us clothing from all over the world. The clothing drive began at 7:30am where we divided ourselves into four groups. Each group was responsible for distributing the clothing to their respective blocks they were assigned to. The clothes were sorted according to the ages and genders of the family members of each household. This made the distribution not only more organized but reduced the chances of any problems arising as well. Aside from the clothing drive, we also decided to distribute food to each household. This was done based on the complaints we had received regarding the shortage of work due to the rain. Each family received two kilos of rice and lentils that would help them for a few days.
All in all, today’s trip to Ramavaram was an overall success. We were able to distribute the food and clothing smoothly and I got to see some newcomers: Zuhra, Zahara and Praveena. We hope to see you at more of our events!
Special thanks go to Vasundra, Pamela, and the rest of the girls who helped organize the clothes. Without them, this event would not have been possible. And of course, thanks to everyone who generously donated their clothing to support our drive.
Happy Diwali!
Diwali Preparations
Saturday, October 25th, 2008Here are some photos from our Diwali preparations that currently going on. Our members in the girls hostel have put in a phenomenal amount of work in sorting, folding, and organizing the clothes in order to prepare a package for every household in Ramavaram.
The project starts tomorrow at 10AM. We’d love to see you there! Please contact us if you want to help in the distributing of clothes.
If you have any clothes (new or gently used) that you would like to donate, now is a great time to do it. Please let us know as soon as you can. Thanks to everyone who has donated clothes and made this effort possible!
Also, as we mentioned before, we are purchasing 2 kilograms of rice and half a kilogram of dhal for each of the patients. This is to help to recover from the very heavy rains. We did the same thing earlier this week and it seems like the food was really needed. The weather hasn’t gotten better and so we’ll be doing it again. Please let us know if you’d be willing to sponsor this, as it is a very expensive project.
Ramavaram Food Donation, October 21, 2008
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008As discussed in previous posts, today a group of Sangam India members went out to Ramavaram to distribute essential food items to each household in the Ramavaram community. Our aim was to deliver to each household the following items:
- 2 kilograms of uncooked rice
- 1/2 kilogram of toor dhal (pigeon peas)
- One packet of Sunfeast biscuits
The biscuits were a last minute addition, due to a generous donation by Swathi, and they were certainly appreciated.
We had a good turnout at the slum today, with plenty of new members. We were very systematic in our efforts to make sure that no house was missed – and no house was. As we gave the food to the houses, we asked everyone if they knew of any cases of fever (which might be due to malaria) or diarrhea. The incidences of both tend to rise sharply when there are heavy rains. These cases were treated. Fever cases were treated with antipyretics and the people in the houses were advised to visit the hospital if the condition worsened or if it continuted. Diarrhea cases were treated with oral rehydration solution (ORS.)
Though 2 kilograms of rice only lasts for a short period of time in households as populated as these, we hope that this small measure can help these families in some small degree. It was clear that the offer was appreciated as the families were truly grateful of our desire to help.
As the rains continue, we may have to repeat this activity to help the residents of Ramavaram as much as we possibly can. We see it as our duty to aid them in this time of difficulty. Here is a breakup of our expenditures:
- Rice, 2kg: Rs 39
- Toor Dhal, 1/2kg: Rs 26
Though this comes to a mere Rs 65 (USD 1.30) per household, covering one hundred houses in total cost us Rs 6500 (US 130.) This is a somewhat heavy cost for our group to bear. We thank people who have donated to us in the past who made this possible. If you would be willing to sponsor even a few houses, it would be of great help to us. Please contact us if you can be of any help.
Click here to view photos from today’s event.
This effort would not have been possible without the dedicated work of Pamela and Vasundhra, who took charge of this activity. In addition, we are deeply appreciative of Anand Trivedi and Shilpa Menon for allowing us to use their vehicles. Finally we’d like to thank all of our first-time comers: Samson, Amrutha, Kiran, Kirshnaja, Manmitha, Tejasvini, Sheetal, and Jananee. They all did a terrific job and were very dedicated to the work at hand.
Women’s Camp with CanSTOP, Ramavaram, September 21, 2008
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008The Women’s Camp was held on Sunday, September 21st, and was quite successful. The camp began from 10 and lasted till about 1 in the afternoon.
We were honored that the CAN-STOP Organization joined us in conducting this camp. This organization, run by Sundaram Medical Foundation, focuses on cancer screening camps as well as general medical camps for underprivileged populations in Chennai. We would like to thank Arjun Rangarajan, an intern at Sri Ramachandra University, for his immense help in arranging this project.
CAN-STOP’s gynecologist, Dr. Sunantha came for the camp. She was a very kind and understanding doctor who treated not only a variety of gynecological complaints but also general medical complaints for the women who came to the camp. In addition, she also screened the women for cervical cancer via a Papanicolaou (PAP) smear. Accompanying her was a nurse, Sister Jeevitha. We were also glad to have with us doctors from Sri Ramachandra University – Dr. Shihas Salim, Dr. Prabhu, Dr. Ashmitha, and Dr. Arjun Rangarajan who saw cases as well.
In addition to the medical work, we also provided reproductive health education to each of the camp visitors. Lalita and CAN-STOP’s social worker, Ms. Sujatha, instructed a group of female volunteers on teaching points for sexual and reproductive hygiene which included important topics such as breast self exam, menstrual hygiene and sex education. These lessons were given individually to the women who utilized the camp.
We arranged the camp tent this time in a way to create a fully enclosed area to guarantee the highest amount of privacy to the women being examined. In addition, we insisted that the male volunteers coming wear lab coats and that no cameras be used during the camp time, to guarantee privacy with the women, establish a professional atmosphere, and build trust.
Our main problem was with camp attendance. Though we anticipated this and tried to improve the attendance by publicizing it for it twice and distributing a flyer, we were able to treat about 20-30 people. This forces us to confront some of the difficult cultural realities of the camp – that women are undervalued members of their societies, that they will not take the opportunity to serve themselves without having finished their duties of cleaning, cooking, and laundry work, and that women are scared of coming to see a doctor for a gynecological exam though they are aware of the health benefits. These are all aspects of culture that, despite the difficulties, will have to be confronted head on. Despite this, we consider the camp to be a success because we did treat a significant number of people and we were able to learn more about the community from it.
Due to our rule regarding photographs, there are few pictures from this event, which are included below:
Sriram, Nivedita and Sivaprakash stand with visiting Drs. Arjun, Ashmitha, Shihas, and Prabhu
Group photo of the Sangam India and CanSTOP volunteers
Thanks to everyone who came out and volunteered! We saw a lot of new faces, including Nimeshika, Vaishnavi, Swetha, Sivaprakash, Priya, Mulatu, Kivina, Nandini, Ritika, Jaba, and Varna. We were also excited to have a guest from England, Gautam Bagga. Lalita, who organized this camp, did an excellent job in terms of research and with the immense practical work involved in running a camp.
For more information on CAN-STOP, please visit their website at http://www.canstop.org/ and their blog at http://can-stop.blogspot.com/.
NXg: “Youngistan in Action”
Thursday, September 18th, 2008Today we were published in The Hindu supplement, NXg. A few weeks ago, Nivedita, Sriram, Pragnya, and Apta were interviewed by up and coming journalist, Carl Felix Müller. He wrote a great article about the beginnings and growth of Sangam India.
Here is a link to the article on the NXg home page.
Youngistan in actionINITIATIVE: ‘Sangam India’, an organisation formed by the youth, aims to inspire their not-so-privileged counterparts.
CARL FELIX MÜLLER
A group of students from the Sri Ramachandra Medical College have recently been gaining publicity among the media in Chennai. In March this year, seven friends from the college decided that they needed to get involved with their community. They wanted to make a difference, and they had the energy and motivation to do it.
Starting out
To start off, they decided to distribute 50 packets of curd rice to a rural community in Mylapore. But then, they realized that in order to make a difference, they would have to distribute food every single day, and they could not yet sacrifice that much. So they started a project called ‘Sangam India’. Sangam India is an organisation that tries to work with rural communities to lead them towards self-sustainability and eventually enhance their quality of education, health, nutrition, sanitation and hygiene. Also, they are in the process of obtaining the NGO status (Non Governmental Organization). The founders Nivedita Gunturi and Sriram Ramgopal and the other members are all students currently studying at Sri Ramachandra.
Besides conducting medical camps, the students also sponsor some of the children’s higher education. The project is not at all ‘just’ about giving them food, education, and medicines. The students actually work with the children on a “buddy” basis. They interact with them, play games and try to be their role-models. They want to inspire the kids, motivate them to finish school, because “they are the next generation.” The group’s aim is to provide a model which other organisations and students can follow. Ramavaram, along Poonamallee High Road, next to Miot Hospital, is their pilot project. Here, they have already conducted a door-to-door survey and collected information on the residents. “It’s just a matter of getting there,” says Nivedita, who’s now in her second year at Sri Ramachandra. “People are socially aware, but they don’t see options to act.” It is part of Sangam’s aim to also reach out to the general public and give them options to contribute to their society.
Together for a cause
At their college, the original seven have now become a group of 150 students volunteering to participate, donate, and help; ‘together for a common cause’ is their motto. “Right now we have the energy! There are so many different courses at in college that we don’t even know most of the students.” The project has brought the students of Sri Ramachandra closer together.Through word of mouth, the residents of Ramavaram have already found themselves a huge support from the new, enlarged group. “Without the group, we would have never gotten this far” feels Nivedita. Their new ideas and main support comes from the group itself. Through fundraisers that were organised at the college, they have been spreading the word among the students.
The last fundraiser was a Basketball tournament at the college, charging Rs. 100 per participant as a donation towards Sangam. “The tournament was a lot fun and the students want more fundraisers like that,” says Pragnya Chigurupati, who’s also in the second year of her MBBS. Also, they have been receiving donations in the form of money, clothes, and expertise from different sources. “There haven’t been any limitations so far concerning our funding,” says Sriram, who’s in his third year at Sri Ramachandra. The students have been lucky to have their parents as occasional financial back up. They were also surprised when they received support from the college staff. On their first dental camp, the students had only a few chairs and tables for their procedures, but with the second camp they had support from professors and better equipment for better treatment. “That’s our belief: youth helping youth to improve our society.”
All the members present during our meeting said that they have learned to be responsible, not only for themselves but also for their community. With their project, they hope to inspire others and build awareness. Everyone agreed that “social work will always stay with us”.Concerning the recent attention from the media, the students were surprised, but to them it is encouraging and nice to know that people do care. For those interested to engage themselves, the next camp will be held on September 21.
For details log on to: www.sangamindia.org. Reach them at: info@sangamindia.org
or call: +919789901650
Thanks for your help, Felix! We hope that articles like these will help raise some awareness of the conditions in India’s urban slums and how ordinary people really can make a difference.
If you saw this article and have any ideas, thoughts, or advise – we’d love to hear it. Please feel free to send us an email and let us know what you think. We are a growing group with a lot of ideas, and we need all the help we can get! Send us an email at info@sangamindia.org and let us know what you think!
Sangam India Culturals Poster
Sunday, September 14th, 2008
We were able to put up a poster for the Culturals event at Sri Ramachandra University. It has some information about our group, what sort of work we do, and how people can get involved. It included flyers for people to take. Sneha did a great job by additionally distributing flyers at the reception table.
We’d like to thank Saumya Chintamaneni for her immense effort in getting the poster up! Also we would like to thank Ashwin for giving us permission and Anand Muthiah for helping to distribute flyers from his Vitagen stand.
We hope that our poster and flyers increased awareness of our group so more people can get involved.
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