Saathi Haath Badhana – A summary of our work

As we complete 2 and a half years, Saathi Haath Badhana(SHB) Social Foundation would like to thank you all, our well-wishers, donors, volunteers and partners for your support over these past years.

We are happy to share with you a summary of our activities over the last couple of years, as we are translating our vision of creating a “Social Wellness space for communities” into a reality, working on three core themes: Compassion, Gender and Life Skills.

 

Listening Post, our first community reach-out, completed 3 years in February and we are happy (not so happy that so many had to walk-in) to say that we have had over 100 walk-ins. We are grateful that our community has reposed its trust and faith in SHB and our volunteers have truly extended themselves in reaching out to individuals who have (at that point of time) needed a soothing ear.

Through our POSH program, we have reached out to corporate organisations in building a positive and professional work environment towards Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at work. We have also reached out with our gender sensitization programs and ICC (Internal Complaints Committee) workshops to corporates in multiple locations.

Gender Sensitization and Sexuality for young adults addresses the need for awareness on gender sensitivity and increasing competence in handling gender diversity amongst young adults. We have reached over 750 students in high schools and colleges in Pune over the last couple of years.

Our Support Program for board exams students/their parents has reached over 200 students and parents through group sessions as well as one-on-one sessions, providing a space for them to share their anxieties, learn a better way to cope and support each other.

Our Smart Phone Assistance program for Senior Citizens  is very popular amongst senior citizens and helps them learn to handle their phones, iPads or tabs better, to help them connect with families, use the internet for financial transactions, shopping or conveyance and in general , cope with the “digital” revolution. Weekly sessions have helped us reach over 80 senior citizens over the last one year.

The Caregiver’s Group helps care-givers get the support they need while caring for someone they love,  which can sometimes be unfamiliar/intimidating or overwhelming. Caring for caregivers is a critical endeavour to nourish our souls.

Many of the above programs which run evenings from our Centre in Aundh are FREE of Cost to the community.

 

In addition, we have conducted a number of Saturday morning workshops on delightful subjects such as “Haiku”, “Serendipity” and “Madhubani Painting” which open up a brief window into a hobby of happiness. We have also focused on workshops to build life skills (“Financial fitness”, “Online Banking”) and coping skills (“Palliative care”, “Awareness on Laws for Indian Women”, “Writing as a therapy” etc.). The idea is to help us learn newer, exciting skills that help us flourish in a world of everyday challenges.

We are happy to announce 2 new programs, one for adolescents/ teenagers and the other a legal cell for Women in distress starting April 2017. We will be sharing details of these programs on our website and on this blog as well.

We have a strong volunteer team and our volunteers are drawn from all walks of life: students, teachers and young entrepreneurs have been volunteering with us for the last couple of years and have brought energy and enthusiasm to all our programs. They are trained and mentored to deliver these services professionally, but with a personal touch. Many of you who have attended these programs have already met them. We are indeed blessed and we hope that our volunteer work-force will increase as we move along. We hope to add professional paid social workers to work with the larger community as we grow.

Do visit our website saathihaathbadhana.org for details of our programs and workshops. Our mailers announcing our plans and new programs will also reach you every month.

Kindly feel free to write back to us at  reachus@saathihaathbadhana.org or call us on 9373339162.

Hello from Singapura!

I am Dipali Ekbote. As a quick intro – I have been a corporate professional with an exciting twenty years in the financial technology industry. I am a mother of two teenagers – a girl and a boy. A keen follower of disruptive developments in fintech, an avid trekker and a passionate believer in encouraging diversity and equal opportunity – these are all some of the topics I cover in my writing. I recently left my full time corporate job. In the past few months since then, among other activities, I write, work with the youth, work with businesses on their go-to-market strategy and execution of marketing programs, and have joined the leadership team at Lean In Singapore, and Women in Tech Singapore as Lead-Marketing and Communication. I also breathe!

A Bombay girl, having been born, and studied and worked there as only a Bombay girl can; I have also been lucky to live, work, and raise a family in the beautiful city of Pune, which is also where I met the wonderful people that got me re-connected with trekking. Pune is also where I met with Janaki at our friendly neighbourhood Twist n Tales, and got to know her over many conversations at her warm bookstore and some over hot filter coffee at her home. Been in Singapore past three years, and getting to understand and soak in this place, beyond its obvious qualities as a tourist attraction and a superbly well-organized country.

A few months ago, at a Lean In Singapore Circle discussion here, one of the younger ladies remarked how useful she found the sharing of various issues, ideas and potential solutions to challenges from the circle discussion. And how despite going through school, college and even MBA, how few conversations take place about the real world issues and life-skill learning and how strongly there’s a need for that. Her’s is not a standalone thought. The more I have engaged in conversations with people – at work, with parents, with youth, with women, with the elderly – the more striking has been the need to encourage more conversations…and more open conversations…on life skills. Some of the topics close to my heart are to do with youth and parenting, aging and the elderly, gender diversity and inclusiveness.

When Janaki discussed about starting this blog based on the “School of Life” philosophy, the idea resonated strongly.  Through this blog, I look forward to engaging with you all and to a great forum to exchange ideas and have conversations.

Dipali

 

 

Women’s March, January 21, 2017

It is estimated that 4.8 million people around the world took part in the Women’s March on January 21, 2017.  That’s a lot of people gathering in support of women’s rights.  

The march came together quickly, held on the Trump administration’s first day in office.  The American election was the catalyst that brought people together from every corner of the globe drawing attention to human rights and women’s rights, reproductive rights and children’s rights.  The march was about economic security and environmental justice for people in every country.

The facebook page for the Women’s March on Washington encouraged people  “to celebrate democracy and diversity, with people across the world coming together to support women’s rights and equality.”

More than 673 marches were held across the globe including a nation-wide march in India called “I Will Go Out” which demanded women’s right to public spaces.  In Kenya protesters demanded reproductive rights and women’s land and inheritance rights.  In Antarctica people protested to draw attention to climate change.

In Canada 29 marches were held, including one in Ottawa, that drew 7,000 people.  It was a perfect day for a march in Canada’s capital.  Though winter, it was not too cold to walk a few miles chanting, telling stories, singing, demanding equal rights for indigenous Canadians, Muslim Canadians, those who identify as LGBTQIA.  There were families with children in strollers and babies carried on fathers’ backs and mothers’ fronts.  There were people in wheelchairs, on skateboards and on crutches. There were creative signs and placards and pink hats.

Where to from here?

As women we all know that our work is never done.  Though what happened in one day was historic, there is still work to be done.  So what do we do now that the march is over?  How can we ensure that our voices are heard so that the things that are important to us are on the agenda of our country’s law makers?

We must continue to meet with one another, to talk about the things that are important to us, to work towards a better future.  Isn’t that what we have always done?

The organizers of the global march suggest 3 actions we might take in our local communities to continue the momentum from the march:

• think how we can do to make our local community more equal for everyone
• envision the world that we want to live in
• think of what we can do that can bring about change in small ways

We stand together in solidarity with our Amercian fellow women and their partners and children for the protection of ALL OF our rights, our safety, our health, and our families — recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of both our countries. We must send a united message to citizens and their governments all over the globe that women will not stand silent as our human rights are stalled, eroded or ignored – when even ONE of us is not free, than NONE of us are truly free.

(from the official statement of the National Organizers for Canadian March in Ottawa)