Armaan Club Kids Go to Camp!

Forty kids from Armaan Club couldn’t have asked for anything more from Santa this Christmas!! And they had their mothers to thank for the 3 day camp to Karjat, a beautiful town about two hours outside of Mumbai. The camp was organized by Magic Bus Foundation. The objective of the program was to teach the kids about friendship and its many virtues.

Karjat is a popular weekend getaway spot and is famous for river rafting, trekking, hiking, and mountain climbing. This was a welcome change for the Armaan Club kids- a complete contrast to their cramped living conditions in crowded Mumbai.

Shraddha Gupta, 13, of Armaan Club tells us about her experience at camp: “I had an awesome time at camp! The three days went by so quickly- we barely sat still for a minute when we were there. We did rock climbing, rapelling, went on nature trails, played football and also did some star gazing! And the food was amazing! I can’t wait to go camping again.”

Rohit Sharma, 11, had the most fun making clay models of local clay and water. “I made a lot of great friends at camp. I was so scared of hanging by a rope when we were being taught rapelling, but I closed my eyes and did it anyway!”

The kids were encouraged to use twigs, clay, flowers, and other things they could find lying around to create anything they liked. The importance of conservation was explained to them by limiting the quantity of water they could use for clay modeling. The food served at camp was based on a planned nutritional chart and as Shraddha puts it, “We just couldn’t get enough of the yummy food served to us! But the chocolates Santa gave us on the last day were the cherry on the cake!”

Children Toy Foundation

Hard at work at their Origami creations!

This week has been very exciting for the little ones in Armaan Club! The Children Toy Foundation, a unique NGO for children, visited the kids of the artisans this week, laden with dozens and dozens of toys!

This unique organization was started in 1982 with a very basic aim- to inculcate a love for toys and games in the general public and in children in particular. They believe that playing games teaches children life skills, and through their work over the last 3 decades they have tried to bust the myth that games are just a way of whiling away time. They work through mobile vans equipped with AV systems and toy libraries and visit kids in municipal schools.

Getting into the groove!

Their day with our kids began with reciting prayers followed by a song and dance session. The children were of different ages so they were divided into groups and given games and craft options according to their capabilities. The volunteers from Children Toy Foundation played both educational and strategic games with the kids- card games, alphabet and word-building games, puzzles involving numbers, shapes and colors. This was followed by some origami- something completely new for the kids- you should have seen the look on their faces when they made birds out of paper with really flappy wings and all! The day ended with a puppet show-an absolute treat for the kids! We hope the good people at Children Toy Foundation will visit us again soon!

Sevrina- A Silent Tale of Strength

Sevrina is a skilled seamstress. She loves to sing and dance. Her smile is one of the brightest in any room. And she always carries chocolates in her purse, and will offer you one if you happen to meet her.

These are not the only unique things about her. Sevrina is almost completely deaf and has very little power of speech. She lost her hearing after an ear and throat infection when she was a young girl. She continued to go to school till the 6^th grade but stopped after her needs became too different from the rest of her classmates. Hearing aids give her a headache so she has learnt to do without them. She lives with her father, brothers and sisters in Mumbai and has worked as an artisan for MarketPlace for 21 years now.

Sevrina has struggled with many challenges because of her disability. She limits her movements to her home and MarketPlace as much as she can because she feels uncomfortable in crowded places. But she does make it a point to go to church every Sunday. “I love going to church and sing hymns”, says Sevrina. In fact she is very passionate about singing in general. Sevrina’s performance at the last Artisan’s Day at MarketPlace took a lot of courage and confidence. “I love to dance and act. I had the best time participating in the fashion show recently held at MarketPlace.”

Life, Shakespeare said, is full of sound and fury. While that is true for most of us, Sevrina’s story proves that we can skip the sound and fury and still find meaning in our lives!

High School students from California visit Children of the Artisans in Mumbai

Students and faculty from the Urban School, San Francisco visited MarketPlace last week as part of their trip to India. The group has travelled to India to study school systems and organizations as part of their South Asia Studies class. The students were mostly sophomores and seniors, all of whom were deeply interested in Asian culture, practices and international relations. Gracelyn Newhouse, a senior at Urban School, explained animatedly, “We’re so excited to be here! You can only learn so much sitting in a classroom, and experiencing an Asian country first hand is so much more enriching than reading about it in a book. The experience so far has been just mind boggling. I’ve visited a few South East Asian countries but this is a whole new experience!”

Later in the day the group visited the Colgate grounds in Mumbai to spend a few hours playing with the kids from the Armaan Club and mentors from the Magic Bus Foundation. The students were excited to meet the kids and learn about Magic Bus Foundation and the great work they’ve been doing with the children from Armaan Club. The kids from Armaan Club were very happy to meet and talk with the visitors and spoke of their experience with the Magic Bus Foundation to them and how it has benefitted them. The kids played football together and learnt a few moves from one another on the field. “These kids are just amazing and we’ve learnt a lot today. We’re so surprised at how well some of them speak English and how ambitious and enthusiastic they are despite all odds. Life is so different in the states and it’s pretty overwhelming to see how different things are for these kids. But it’s clear they love their time with Magic Bus and we’ve had the most amazing time on the field today!” says Gabi Walter-Clay of Urban School.

A lot of the students were part of a club called SWEAR back at their school. SWEAR stands for Students for Women’s Equality and Rights. The club tries to raise awareness about violence against women. Gabi explained, “We’re an affinity space, which means that we discuss and deal with a particular type of topic in the group. Half of the group’s activity is for our personal struggles and the other half is devoted to service and activism. We want to give back to the community and learn from the community.”   

Winners at MarketPlace

Paula Laube of Solon, Iowa is the winner of the most recent Chicken Quilt raffle. “This is very exciting.  I have always been a supporter of women’s issues and I may continue the story of the quilt by donating it to a local charity auction”.

Our other winners are the women artisans in India.  We have been promoting their plays to people working in the field of Women’s Development and they are becoming recognized as talented actors.  They have been invited to perform at events organized by Majlis, a non-profit organization that grew out of the Women’s Movement of the 1980s and works for the rights of women.     

And lastly, from your letters we know that you consider yourselves winners too.  By using your MarketPlace purchases, you are enriched and feel a real connection with other women who are making a change in society 

We all have a lot to be thankful for. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ALL OF US AT MARKETPLACE AND THE ARTISANS IN INDIA