New points of view

Part of our work here is about advocacy and creating awareness. We do this by organising visits to our projects so outsiders can get an idea of the work we do and also understand issues of poverty and marginalisation, because we believe greater change will happen only if more people are made aware of what is happening around them.



Long-time followers of our Spanish blog and visitors to our office know that we have a ‘Visits department’ which handles the steady stream of (mostly) Spanish visitors. There's no doubt that these excursions are often a lot of fun.



But, we also realise that they can be an intrusion into people’s lives and interfere with the ongoing work. So, in the coming months, we are going to change some of the guidelines of our visits, which we are now calling 'New points of view'. We aim to make all future visits less invasive, more respectful of the community we work in, and geared towards sensitisation and cooperation.


We are sure you understand our concerns and will support us in this. We look forward to seeing you here.
For all further communication, mail Nehal at mumbai@mumbaismiles.org.

Photo credit: Cristina Perez, Mumbai Smiles

Life beyond leprosy

Every day at Mumbai Smiles, you meet amazing people and get a chance to hear their stories.
This is Mahendra Shinde, who runs the clinic at the Bombay Leprosy Project's (BLP) main office in Sion. Mahendra is 44 years old, and is married with two kids. He is a warm, kind person whose happy countenance doesn't reveal anything about his difficult past.


Mahendra was diagnosed with leprosy way back in 1979 and began treatment with the Bombay Leprosy Project in 1983. It was not easy and Mahendra lost a leg to the disease. However, in 1987, he got a chance to work with BLP and has been with the organisation ever since.


Today, Mahendra is completely rehabilitated and cured of leprosy. He is able to walk with a Jaipur foot, and though his fingers are deformed, he can do all the office work and even use the computer. He is also the proud recipient of two 'Best Worker' awards.


Mahendra, you are an inspiration to us all...

Photo credit: Mumbai Smiles

We're on Facebook!

Yup, Mumbai Smiles is now on Facebook as well. That's right you can't escape us anywhere. So go check out our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mumbai-Smiles-NGO/112771505399889?v=wall.

We'll share information about our events and activities -- and yes, even let you know how we're feeling -- so you know what we're up to. We'd love it if you give us your virtual support, so become our fans, make your friends and family become our fans, tell everyone you know about us...

Marching on!

Yashodhan school was buzzing last month with preparations for the school's sports day. The maximum effort went into practising for the march-past, with all the older students hard at work under the scorching sun.


You can see the students of the English-medium school honing their skills under the teacher's watchful eye.


Meanwhile, the band was chilled out. They got to stay in the shade and watch the fun.


Naturally, after all this practice, the sports day turned out to be a big success.

Drawing by numbers

A few weeks back, the kids at one of our balwadis got a special treat. Paco Montanes, an artist from Spain visited the balwadi in Malad with us and showed the kids how easy drawing can be when you break it down to the basics.

It's all a matter of numbers, as this elephant will tell you.


The kids soon got the hang of it and began to display their own creative spirit.


The artists of tomorrow are hard at work.



Photos: Mumbai Smiles

Happy birthday, Lord Rama!

Today is a special festival (and a holiday) for Hindus all over India as it is Ram Navami, the birthday of Lord Rama. As you know, he was said to be the 7th incarnation of Lord Vishnu, born on Earth to destroy evil and the demon Ravana.


For those of you who don't remember the story, here goes: King Dasharatha of Ayodhya had three wives and no children. So he enlists a famous rishi to perform a yagnya or ritual that will help his wives bear children. A divine being, Yagneshwara, appears and gives Dasharatha a bowl of pudding to give to his wives. After a few days all three Queens conceive and on the ninth day (or Navami), at noon, Kausalya gives birth to Rama, Kaikeyi gives birth to Bharata, and Sumitra to twin boys, Lakshmana and Shatrughna.


On this day, people perform poojas and bhajans, offering the deity fruits and flowers. Many also go out on processions. Some people fast all day, and celebrate in the evening. In some parts of India priests perform a ceremonial wedding between Rama and his wife Sita. True-blue devotees make their way to the holy places of Ayodhya in UP, Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh and Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.














Source for pics: www.salagram.net, www.punditravi.com, www.iloveindia.com, www,anubhavati.worspress.com

Our projects: Yashodhan school

The brightest minds and happiest hearts inhabit Yashodhan School in the Shastri Nagar slum of Thane. And we are thrilled and proud to help keep things that way.
In 2007, when we first met with the wonderful people at Yashodhan, the school was close to shutting down, as it had little money and fewer resources. Yashodhan is one of the many schools in Mumbai catering to children from low-income groups, so there was no doubt that we had to pitch in with our time and money.


Since then, a first floor has been added, the classrooms are clean and airy, and more teachers are on the rolls. The school has 700 students divided into two shifts -- English-medium in the morning and Marathi-medium in the evening -- and has classes up to Std X.


And, even more heartening is that with the school getting upgraded, more people in the surrounding areas are realising the importance of a good education.

Our projects: Bombay Leprosy Project

For the past three years, we have been working with the Bombay Leprosy Project (BLP). BLP was started in 1976 to help provide leprosy patients with treatment, spread awareness and to give them a good life.

Mumbai Smiles joined their fight in 2007, helping BLP revive several programmes that it had shut down because of lack of funds.



We helped the good folks at BLP to improve and expand their main clinic in Sion, a locality in Central Mumbai, and provide medical supplies and equipment. In 2009, a new centre was opened in Borivali, a suburb in North Mumbai, which means our efforts can reach out to more people. Several paramedics have been trained to carry out the work.



We have also been working closely with BLP for the rehabilitation of leprosy patients, and have helped 17 of them find employment. To date, our programme has helped thousands of people.

Our projects: The balwadis

These adorable kids that you see here are from one of the balwadis we support. A balwadi is like a daycare centre, where little children come and spend the day, play and learn.

With local NGOs, we helped open and run over 100 such balwadis in slums all over Mumbai, providing a room for the centre, paying the teachers' salaries, making sure they have supplies like books and pencils, and, very importantly, arranging for the kids to get a nutritious meal every day. The kids learn songs, alphabets, numbers, colours, names of animals, and other basics of education so when they are a little older they have a chance to get into a bigger school.

The parents of many of the kids are daily wage labourers and often don't have the time and money to look after them, so the balwadis are their home away from home.

Welcome!

First off, here's what we do: Mumbai Smiles is a foundation that works with poor children and families, by implementing various projects with local NGOs. We focus on education, leprosy, awareness, medical expeditions and job creation. Mumbai Smiles was founded in 2004 by Spanish journalist Jaume Sanllorente (above). We have a website currently in Spanish (www.sonrisasdebombay.org) but are constructing a new one, with a name change, in English (www.mumbaismiles.org).

With this blog, we want to get our work and our story out there to more people. We have a very popular Spanish counterpart (www.lassonrisasdebombay.blogspot.com), but for those of you who don't want to learn Spanish just so you can read our blog (shame on you!), we have this one. There is also a Bombay Smiles blog out there, but it is now defunct, so please switch your loyalties to this one.

We'll keep you posted about everything that goes on with us and around us on a daily basis, so you can be part of our journey to provide Mumbai's poor with a life of dignity.