Art therapy for a healthier future...

Today, we want to share with you some of the progress made by our partner office, Mumbai Smiles Mexico. We have told you earlier on this blog about how the Mexico chapter functions; though it works towards raising funds for and awareness about the Mumbai Smiles projects in Mumbai, it is also collaborating with local NGOs in Mexico itself to help the underprivileged communities of that country (See post).

As a part of this, Mumbai Smiles Mexico organised a series of art therapy workshops for the children in the community of Chichimequillas, through an alliance with the NGO Saber Qué Sigue (which roughly translates to Know What’s Next). Most of the children attending the workshop have suffered from issues of domestic violence, mental health problems (child or a close relative), addictions, abuse, and more. Saber Qué Sigue has been working closely with this community and the Mumbai Smiles Mexico team was happy to support their efforts.


Conducted by psychologist Rebecca Rogríguez, the workshop had activities that allowed the children to express, through art, several aspects of his life. For example, she asked them to draw what they like, themselves, their dreams... And, after a careful analysis of their drawings, she conducted individual interviews with family members and worked out plans to treat the more cases.

Here we leave you with some pictures of the little ones, distracted, at least for a little while, from their tough lives.

Let's sail many more boats

Early this month, our dedicated supporters all over Spain received a little offering from us in the post. As a thank you to our thousands of sponsors and donors — people and orgainsations who have donated (regularly or even once) to our charity — we send out a letter and a token of our gratitude every year.

This year, besides a letter from General Director Jaume Sanllorente, the package included an illustrated story called Babu's boats. The story (Los Barcos de Babu in Spanish) is about a boy named Babu who wanted to go to school but couldn't afford to because his family was too poor. Eventually, Babu is helped by a mysterious stranger and realises his dream.

Along with the story, we also sent out little paper boats, made by the kids in our balwadis, which were symbolic of Babu's dream. After weeks of cutting, inserting and pasting, the packages made their way to homes all over Spain.

Thank you, once again, for your generosity. And join us in helping many more real-life Babus sail boats filled with dreams.

News from Mumbai Action

Here's a round-up of all the news and information from Mumbai Action:

FEATURE

Trash turned to treasure
Cristen Andrews has a unique solution to the world’s plastic bag problem, and she’s been travelling around the world – and through Mumbai — sharing her idea with people. Read her story: http://mumbaiaction.org/?p=1926

APPEALS
Donate a single book so a poor child can learn
Harbourfront Motion Pictures & Entertainment India, in association with NGO We+ (WE positive), has launched a ‘One Book Please’ campaign to make a dent in India’s illiteracy problem.
Spearheaded by 21-year-old social activist and Harbourfront India’s director of operations Shreya Naik, the campaign is being promoted through a blog and various social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook. Read more at: http://mumbaiaction.org/?p=1999

This SPARROW needs your help
SPARROW (Sound & Picture Archives for Research on Women), is a trust that has been collecting print, visual and oral material on women’s history and experience since 1988. To raise funds for their efforts, SPARROW has organised an initiative called A Sky to Fly, an effort to find 2000 friends for SPARROW to support its work and activities by contributing just Rs 2500 per year for the next four years. Rs 2500 a year is just Rs 208.50 per month and less than Rs 7 per day.
Details at: http://mumbaiaction.org/?p=1941

FELLOWSHIPS
Echoing Green fellowships up for grabs
Echoing Green fellowship invests in and supports emerging social entrepreneurs to launch new organisations through a two-year fellowship providing seed funding and support. Since 1987, Echoing Green has helped nearly 500 social entrepreneurs including Teach For America, SKS Microfinance, and Genocide Intervention Network.
The 2011 finalists will begin their fellowship July 2011 and continue until June 30, 2013. Applications opened October 12, 2010 and will remain available through November 12, 2010.
Details at: http://mumbaiaction.org/?p=1980

Become an Unreasonable Institute Fellow
If you’re an ambitious and innovative entrepreneur, here’s your chance to kick-start your venture: The Second Annual Unreasonable Institute will unite 25 of the world’s most promising entrepreneurs who are relentlessly working to tackle the world’s greatest social and environmental problems. Over 8 weeks in the summer of 2011, these entrepreneurs (deemed Unreasonable Fellows) will work and live with 60 mentors, pitch their ventures to investors and foundations in five entrepreneurial hubs across the United States, learn from top consulting organisations, and get training and seed capital.
Details at: http://mumbaiaction.org/?p=1964

NEWS
Top sportspersons to donate memorabilia
On October 29, at a one-of-its-kind event, Equation 2010—An Auction for Charity, bids will be invited for iconic memorabilia pledged by 25 world champions to raise a corpus of funds for The Foundation, an NGO that supports the education of nine children from the Andaman Islands. The pieces include the racquet with which tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi won the Australian Grand Slam and Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand’s World Chess Championship gold medal after he beat Vladimir Kramnik in 2008, and items from Sachin Tendulkar and Roger Federer. Read more at: http://mumbaiaction.org/?p=1996

Increase AC temperature, earn carbon credit
While the global summit for climate change in Copenhagen made carbon credit a household name, a Mumbai-based NGO, NO2CO2, is now aiming at bringing about a small change by giving its own version of carbon credits through a campaign called Upby2.
Initiated by Vivek Gilani, the campaign encourages people to do their bit about climate change on a daily basis by asking people to request managements at coffee shops, restaurants, offices and other establishments to increase the temperature of their air conditioning by two degrees centigrade. Read more at: http://mumbaiaction.org/?p=1993

EVENTS
Awards for social innovation
EdelGive Social Innovation Honours 2011 is a national awards programme instituted by EdelGive Foundation, to identify and reward organisations that are innovating to empower women in India. Details at: http://mumbaiaction.org/?p=1935

Workshop on Volunteer Management
Attend a workshop on Volunteer Management, conducted by iVolunteer, an organisation that networks with more than 10,000 volunteers and over 300 non-profits providing a spectrum of professional volunteering services across India. Details at: http://mumbaiaction.org/?p=1958

READING
Marginalised voices get new life on the Net
From Vozmob, which helps Latin American immigrant workers in Los Angeles create and distribute stories about their lives using cell phones to an interactive network for Inuit and other indigenous communities, there is a growing universe of marginalised voices populating the Web. Veena Gokhale reports from a recent Citizen Media conference in Montreal in InfoChange India. Read more at: http://mumbaiaction.org/?p=1948

Sun co-founder uses capitalism to help the poor
Vinod Khosla, the billionaire venture capitalist and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, was already among the world’s richest men when he invested a few years ago in SKS Microfinance, a lender to poor women in India.
But the roaring success of SKS’s recent initial public stock offering in Mumbai has made him richer by about $117 million — money he says he plans to plough back into other ventures that aim to fight poverty while also trying to turn a profit. In this New York Times article, he says he wants to challenge other rich Indians to do more to help their country’s poor. Read more at: http://mumbaiaction.org/?cat=8

Eye checkup camp, Day 4

Thursday was the fourth and final day of the free eye checkup camp organised by Mumbai Smiles, this time in the Sangharshnagar slum of Chandivali, which is also the location of our balwadis.
The day started early with hundreds of people stopping by for the free checkup.

Things were busy and the team once again worked hard so as to check as many people as possible.

The total number of people checked yesterday was 274 

Ultimately, everyone was happy at a job well done...

And, once more, we owe a great big thanks to the team from Spain...

Dr Gorka Martinez Grau, Ophthalmologist and surgeon from Barraquer Foundation in Barcelona, Spain.

Samer Ataat, Optometrist from Barraquer Foundation

 Dr Patricia Pujol from Barraquer Foundation

 Silvia Garcia, optometrist from Fernandez Vega Institute of Ophthalmology in Oviedo, Spain

Ester Blanch, optometrist from Lleida Ophthalmology Institute in Lleida, Spain.

We hope to see you all again next year!

Eye checkup camp, Day 3

On Wednesday (yesterday), Mumbai Smiles and the team of doctors and opticians, set up shop at Phule Nagar in Powai, for Day 3 of the eye checkup camp.

This is the first time we are organising an eye camp in this slum, which is where two of our new balwadis are located. Hundreds of people from the community showed up for the camp, with many telling us this was the first time they had access to free eye care.

The team of visiting doctors was hard at work all day, checking people, prescribing spectacles, medication, future course of treatment, and more. 

And keeping things moving quickly and smoothly was the Mumbai Smiles staff, organising the crowd, making announcements, acting as translators and helping out in any way possible.

The total number of people checked -- 297. Out of these, 88 people will also get spectacles for free.

Today is the fourth and last eye checkup camp at Sangharsh Nagar in Chandivali, from 10am to 4pm. You'll be sure to get the updates here tomorrow.

Eye checkup camp, Day 2

On Tuesday, the team of eye doctors and technicians from Spain's Barraquer Foundation were at Yashodhan School in Thane, conducting free eye checkups for the students and teachers.

As we told you, the team has travelled to Mumbai to do free eye checkups for Mumbai Smiles beneficiaries at our various projects around the city.

This is the third year that the Barraquer Foundation team is visiting Yashodhan School for the camp; the first time was in 2008 with even some of the same team members...

Needless to say, each time, the event has been a success. Yesterday, the team worked hard and fast to make sure they checked everyone.

A total of about 900 people got eye checkups done.

Today is the third eye checkup camp at Phule Nagar in Powai, from 10am to 4pm. You'll be sure to get the updates here tomorrow.