We held the second of our series of one day follow up workshops for the girls who received adolescent training last year. The purpose of bringing the same groups back to the community centre is to review the topics covered in the previous workshop that this group of girls participated in last year. Most of the girls remembered quite a lot of what had been taught about nutrition, women’s health issues, first aid, career objectives and phone usage and followed up with plenty of questions. Quite by chance, we received an unusual visitor, Brij, a retired banker from Kerala who is riding his motorbike around India for 800 days, stopping off to meet people and present his aims of women’s empowerment and national literacy. He gave a very interesting and stimulating talk about the importance of questioning everything, not to take things we learn for granted and never to be afraid of asking questions. He asked the girls what was their ambition and encouraged them to constantly talk about their aim in order to make it a reality. The girls found him to be a very interesting personality and very much enjoyed meeting him. Thank you Brij for dropping on this particular day!

After the school exams the kids swarm the Community Centre and our team find ways to interest them, for example by taking them to the farm where they find a large rock on which to sit and draw to their hearts content. It gives us great satisfaction to be able to engage the kids in creative activities rather than seeing them with eyes fixed on their mobile phones.

With final exams looming we held a farewell party for the 7 students who will be leaving our sponsorship program this year. They have been a great bunch of people who have made strong friendships by meeting each Sunday. They each stood up and expressed their gratitude for the classes and opportunities the Nishtha program has given them. We wish them very good luck in their exams and hope their dreams for further education and future employment come true!

Vinod applying a fresh coat of Nishtha blue paint to the play equipment on Village Rakkar playground as well as to the new fence at Nag Temple. Brightening things up for spring!

Happy Holi! As the trees and fields burst with flowers the children celebrate the spring festival of Holi with a joyful play of colours in the community center.

Last Sunday the group of students sponsored by Nishtha were invited to the home of their English teacher Puja Anand to enjoy the skits and dances prepared by a younger group of girls she also teaches. The program was a lot of fun and encouraged our students to take confidence in their ability to act in English. They very happily enjoyed socializing and eating pizza afterwards!

We welcomed the blacksmith this week who carried out much needed repairs on the equipment in both the Rakkar and Nag Mandir playgrounds, making the swings and climbing straps safe and usable again.

Every day Ravi picks up our special needs children and their carers to take them to Tapovan clinic where they receive exercise and physiotherapy from their homes, treatments crucial to their mobility and ability to manage daily tasks. Shaksham, Priya and Mithali also attend the Tapovan primary school in the mornings while the younger children go straight to the clinic to join in the play sessions there. On Saturdays he picks up the children and brings them to Nishtha Community centre where they enjoy playing and drawing together and our doctors are able to check their health and progress.

On Saturday Dr Shreya, Ravindra, Vijay and Mohinder held a one day follow up workshop for the girls from the villages above Sharpur who attended a two day adolescent health training 6 months ago. Girls from the villages are very shy and find it difficult to speak out and respond so Ravindra and Vijay introduced games to help them relax, Dr Shreya held a quiz to review their knowledge of good foods to eat and Mohinder held a highly interactive session on first aid. We hope the girls went away with some useful knowledge and a bit more confidence.

Our dedicated team of six Single Women Activists reach into the villages drawing together widows and other women living alone for meetings in which they discuss and address their particular issues and help them to overcome their difficulties. This much appreciated service empowers and gives strength to those who feel disregarded and helpless in their community.