The Medicine of Altruism: literacy

I got the report today for the SNG sent in for Saba and her two brother's tuitions (private tutoring). The total for the year for the three was about $200, but I sent in $100 at the time (since I couldn't do $200 then). I will have to send in the other $100 when I can so they can continue for the whole year before October, 2011.

This half SNG got:

6 months private tuitions- Grade III for Saba, age 12

6 months private tuitions- Grade IV for Ashraque (brother sponsored by unknown person), age 10

6 months private tuitions- Grade II for Afaque (brother sponsored by my friend Wendy), age 9

(left to right): Saba, Afaque, and Ashraque pose at the CI community center, showing off their studious ways!

I have seem many variations on both the names and ages of her brothers, and I am hoping now it is right! As you can see, there ages and grades don't really "match up"-- these three siblings come from a family that is really struggling. The family makes only $53 per month for at least 6 people. They live in a small dark room in a large slum building in Kolkata. I was able to meet Saba, her mother, and grandmother in January. Her family is so thankful for the help they have received for Saba and her siblings. Still the three children are struggling in school, and their oldest brother who is 16 was forced to leave school to support the family. I believe that the parents were not able to receive much of an educaiton and therefore cannot help their children with school

Without this extra help, I am not sure the three kids will be able to succeed in school. I know Saba had been "stuck" in grade-II for many years, and has finally passed to grade-III. The report states:

"The child said, "Thank you Sponsor for providing me and my siblings with tuition assistance in our studies which we needed most. Now, we will get the much needed help to do our school assignments properly."

The child is in grade-III at present and her sibling Sk. Ashraque is in grade-IV, while her other siblings Sk. Afaque is in grade-II. The child and her 2 siblings have been provided with 6 months of tuition support from May'11 to Oct'11, so that they get proper guidance and attention in their studies that will help them to perform better in school.

I feel that continuing to help these three is really important for their success and for their family. I have set up a firstgiving page to raise the second half of the money to make sure it is raised and gets to them in time to maintain the tutoring without breaks. Any donation will help get towards the goal, and help these three siblings have a bright future to look forward to. Please check out the page here, thank you!

The following blog details the community fundraiser started for impoverished children living in the slums of Kolkata. This fundraiser will provide their community center (run by Children International, a secular non-profit organization) with many amazing children's books in Hindi, Bengali, English (and hopefully Urdu), giving children a change to enjoy books in the languages that they speak at home and study at school. Most of these children do not have their own books, and this will be an opportunity to foster a love of reading and increase literacy in the area. Please read the story below, and click here to see how to help.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During my time in India, I have noticed a lack of appealing, good quality children's books in most local bookstores (non-chain) and a lack of books in languages other than English in large-chain bookstores in India such as Crossword (which are too expensive for most families as well).

So I was thrilled last fall when someone discovered this great publisher online Tulika--selling children's books in many Indian languages as well as English, including a huge amount in both Hindi and Bengali, two of the three languages spoken by the children served by Children International. The books also had vibrant artwork, drawing from many talented illustrators as well as often using various local art styles from across India. The books are high-quality and appealing to read. Best of all, the book publisher is in India and the rates are extremely fair and the shipping is free to Kolkata.

In the fall, I decided to order some age-appropriate picture books from Tulika for my youngest sponsored child in India Neha, who is 4. I ordered seven books, and was amazed that the total came to only $16. The books arrived quickly, and Neha was thrilled to receive them, as was her father. She will share these books with her little brother Harsh and cousins Mahi and Karan, who live with her. (below: Neha receives the books)

In January 2011, I was able to visit Neha at home. I asked about the books and found that Neha kept them carefully stored in her school bag with her notebooks, pencils and drawings (below: Neha carefully takes out her books to show me). She carefully brought the out for me to see, and showed me her favorites again. Holding them in my hands, I was able to confirm that the quality of the books was excellent. The books have thoughtful and interesting storylines and great illustrations. I knew I would love to order from Tulika again, and imagined sending more books to children in India-- children who otherwise may never have any fun books at the appropriate level to enjoy. I often spend time looking at the site, finding great books celebrating girls, curiosity, and exploring the world.

Neha's community center is the hub for the case workers, staff, volunteers and children of her slum community. The CI center has a doctor and dentist to provide the children with health care, and it also have a place to feed children in need of an extra meal. It also has a playroom with toys and games for the children to use, and areas to study and write letters. (below: the entrance to the community center)

I recently inquired through Children International as to whether Neha's community center would like to have some of these great children's books donated to them, so that all of the aproximately 3,000 children using this center will have a chance to be enchanted and inspired, as well as fostering a love for reading. The response was an enthusiastic "YES!", and here are the further details from CI:

"The Education Coordinator was VERY excited at the prospect of a future fundraiser to purchase several hundred dollars worth of books. Books are always needed, they get so much use that they can wear out quickly and keeping a new range of titles can be expensive. We try and get as many books as we can through Gifts-In-Program, but I must admit it is hard to find shipments of free books for younger children in India who do not yet speak English."

I am now beginning a campaign to raise funds to donate books for the center. Since the books will be purchased and shipped within India, most books will cost between only $1.25 and $4.00. (above: the playroom at the community center, with some of the toys and books they do have. Children will come here after school hours)

The books chosen will be for a variety of age levels, and in the different languages that the children speak. The Center has requested the following for the language breakdown of the books:

"Breakdown: 30% Urdu, 30% Bengali, 20% Hindi and 20% English. The English would be best for the older children."

Unfortunately, I have searched far and wide for Urdu books for children, but have found very few. Tulika carries only a couple of Urdu titles. I have found that my Urdu speaking children struggle more in school, and often wonder if this is in-part due to the lack of available books in their language.Since this fundraiser will result in quite a large amount of purchases from Tulika, I hope to continue to encourage them to publish more of their books in Urdu as part of this project. If that goal is met, then more books can be purchased for the CI center which serves my children Saba, Shamrin, and Semran, as that center serves a very large number of Urdu speaking children.

Please click here to see how to help!