Altruistic 5th Grade Class Shares Bake Sale Money with Aarohan!

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love."   ~Mother Teresa

One of Mrs. Ritu Sachdev's favorite quotes certainly sums up what she and her 5th grade class opted to do their bake sale money this year.  Instead of choosing to spend all of their earnings on an ice cream or pizza party at the end of the year,  the children decided to donate half of the money, amounting to 250 chf,  to Aarohan! The Primary School Charity Committee was deeply moved by the children's generosity and kindness -- and so was Mrs. Sachdev.

Mrs. Sachdev explained that "Aarohan is very close to my heart because I come from India, too! [My students] are good kids, not greedy at all and we decided together to give the money to Aarohan.  It feels good to give money to people who need it more than we do."

"As an Indian who has seen poverty around me, I have seen that every little bit helps."

"Millions of people in India help the poor everyday by giving them a meal, a free cup of tea, a book, sweets when they are celebrating, or a small job which they could do themselves but feel that the other person needs the money more...  They don't wait for big moments or large sums of money to make a difference."

But while the sum may seem small by Swiss standards, the donation of 250 chf will make a HUGE difference to the staff and students of Aarohan!  Consider this:

• 250 chf = 1250 nutritious meals for the children attending Aarohan classes
• 250 chf = An Aarohan teacher's salary for five months
• 250 chf =  A year's worth of books and school supplies for three Aarohan students

For Mrs. Sachdev, "Charity is part of an Indian's life eveyday."  It is obvious that she is teaching our children that it can be a part of their lives, as well.

Thank you, Mrs. Sachdev, Lindsey, Sarah, Kyler, Danila, Olex, Rakan, Sara, Mohammed, Martin, Jose, Lauren, Naomi, Tara and Rachel!  What a generous, kind and inspiring class you are... 

   

Pencils for Pupils

We have received the below report from Rani Patel, Aarohan founder. In it she describes how the pencils that CDL students collected for Aarohan were distributed at a special Children's Day on 14th November this year.

Please take a moment to read it and to look at the photos. Rani writes that "Participating in such activities is rare in the lives of these children and the true meaning of children's day was realized when we looked at their bright faces and cheerful smiles". Just one look at these photos will convince you, if you aren't already, that what Aarohan is doing is truly wonderful and very important!




Dear Catherine
Greetings!


I reiterate my thanks from all at Aarohan for the smiles we were able to bring on the faces of Aarohan students on this children's day. Many thanks also for the wonderful stationery CDL has provided our students through Ms Veena Deepak and Mr Deepak Monganhali. We have also received letters from the children who have donated the stationery and we are trying to send a reply to them. I wish the children at CDL and Aarohan students could interact with each other.




Aarohan's work is gaining recognition from all quarters. Volunteers from different prestigious institutions approach us for an opportunity to interact with the students. Lately 35 students from Symbiosis Law School are volunteering at Aarohan. This is a feather in our cap and its like a reward of our work. The children are getting one to one individual attention.

The stationery you have sent was distributed to the students on 14th November.14th November is a special day for children all over India as it is celebrated as Children's Day. Each year, Aarohan celebrates the day almost like a festival. This year, the event was organized in 2 sessions in the nearest local park. The morning session happened from 10 30 to 12 wherein the 6th, 7th and 8th grade boys played many games like lemon-in-a-spoon race and tie-one-leg race. Later the students enjoyed themselves with singing and dancing. All the students participated in these fun filled events. Many volunteers from Symbiosis Law School enjoyed the day along with Aarohan students.Towards, the end of this session, Aarohan's senior teacher Ms Sunita Dhar told the children about why children's day is celebrated. Prizes, stationery ( provided by CDL) and chocolates were distributed amongst all the children by Aarohan member Ms Anjana Tata.





The afternoon session started from 1'o clock and went on till 5 in the evening. This session was solely dedicated to primary students of the PASS group and girls of classes 6th,7th and 8th. Volunteers from management institute IMI organized this session and played games like passing- the-parcel, Paper dancing and conducted quizzes for the students. Chocolates and stationery were distributed to all the students at the end of the day.

Participating in such activities is rare in the lives of these children and the true meaning of children's day was realized when we looked at their bright faces and cheerful smiles.

I wish you could share this day with our students so that we could show them the real force behind this happiness which is CDL. I thank you once again for all the strength that you give us without which none of this would have been a reality.

Rani

The following is a letter from Rani Patel, founder and director of Aarohan:


Season's Greetings!

Hopefully all is well at your end. I have been out of town for the fortnight as I was in Jaipur. I am delighted to share with you that Mr. Shashi Sahai's Photo Exhibition in Jaipur, the proceeds of which will be utilized towards the welfare of Aarohan students, was a great success. We were able to create awareness about our cause and the photographs themselves garnered a lot of appreciation from one and all. Please visit Aarohan's facebook page at  http://www.facebook.com/aarohan.ngo 

I cannot express my gratitude for the kindness that you show us in every way. You have given us a free field to utilize the funds in the best and most immediate interests of the children. This makes our work more efficient and productive. 

As you must be aware, Diwali is a time of great celebration and festivity all over the country. It is a festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil. Diwali is celebrated with great enthusiasm at Aarohan as well. We put up Diwali stalls comprised of traditional Diwali products like diyas, wall hangings and paintings that were prepared by the staff and teachers along with the students. The stalls were a big success and Aarohan products were in great demand.

A day before Diwali, the staff members and teachers burst crackers along with the children who thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Sweets, food and gifts were distributed among the students on this auspicious day.

It is a matter of pride for us that the students are performing exceedingly well in academics and co curricular activities. None of this would have been possible without your kind support.

It was heartening to see the stationery (from the "Pencils for Pupils" drive) that you sent for Aarohan through Veena Deepak and her husband. It was touching that they took so much pains to deliver the stationery to Aarohan in two slots. Taking the privilege of the freedom you have always given us, we distributed a part of the stationery in Jaipur to disabled and mentally challenged children. The rest of it will be distributed to Aarohan students on 14th November which is celebrated as Children's Day in India and during Aarohan's Christmas celebrations next month. 

I wish that you would come to Aarohan soon so that the kids and all of us can see who is behind Aarohan's success. Till then, I can only convey many thanks to you on behalf of all the children and the Aarohan team for the strength that you give us at every step.

Hoping to hear from you soon.

Thanks.

Rani Patel