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!

Hello again to all of our volunteers, donors, and loyal supporters!

We’ve taken a long hiatus from Sangam India groundwork and administrative work due to a manpower crunch. Thanks for your patience as we gather ourselves back together after exams. As the majority of our volunteer base is made up of students and this is exam time, it has been rather difficult for us to find enough volunteers to carry out our tasks. As we round up this year and enter 2010, we have big ideas and big plans for Sangam India.

As usual, we welcome and invite all of you to participate in our activities, whether you are in Chennai or anywhere else in the world. We are always in need of volunteers to help us plan our activities, both short- and long-term, as well as to help us in actually carrying out the activities.

We will soon be posting a list of activities in which we need the most assistance, and we’d love for everyone to join in whatever way they can best participate. If you are already a member of a previously formed committee, please watch for a forthcoming email on upcoming activities and plans.

As always, we are open to your ideas and input, so please email us at nivedita.gunturi@sangamindia.org or sriram.ramgopal@sangamindia.org.

Thanks and happy holidays!

We are undergoing a bit of a volunteer crunch as exam time rolls around, driving us to be more flexible with our plans for our weekly visits to MGR Nagar. Last week, four volunteers went in order to visit the most severe cases that were identified in the previous medical camp. Thanks to Saikiran and Arjun, we were able to communicate with the patients the need for them to visit the hospital and follow up on their conditions. There are two children who need urgent cardiac care and probably will need to undergo surgery to repair cardiac defects. We will be helping their parents to apply for government assistance under a new scheme that has been instated.

This afternoon, there will be a visit during which the volunteers will be helping the children with their homework and tutoring them. All are welcome to join them.

From now until December, we will be in dire need of all the assistance we can get, with regards to manpower. If you or your friends can join us, please do let us know.