News from Shishu Mandir

Vol I, Jan - Mar 2013

Gree$ngs,

This  is  our  very  first  newsle5er.  Although  long  in  our  plans,  it  has  taken  a  while  for  it  to  come  together.  The  idea  is  to  bring  out  a  quarterly  newsle5er  that  will  offer  a  glimpse  of  our  world  at  Shishu  Mandir.  There  is  never  a  quiet   day   here,   not  with  the  children  and  not   with  the  staff   and  former   students  or   new  students  or   their  families  or   the  community!  Every  Monday,   our   Director   Anand  Sir,   sends  out   a  note  to  the  members  of  the  Society.  It’s  oIen  the  last  mail  of  the  day,  wri5en  when  everyone’s  gone  to  bed.  And  the  readers  know  that  he  has  sat  down  at   the  computer   and  taken  $me  to  reflect  on  the  week  gone  by.  The  mail  carries  news  –  both  happy   and  distressing.   There’s  a  lot  of  pain,  when  a  child  has  suffered  a  setback  and  the  work  we  do   is  to  alleviate  this  as  much  as  possible  and  provide  a  childhood  worthy  of  these  children.  

This  quarter,  we  bring  you  news  from  the  beginning  of  the  year.   January   is  a  special  month  for   us.  We  oIen  begin  our    new  endeavours  in  January.  It’s  also  the  month  of  celebra$on,  since  it’s  the  $me  when  our  Founder,  Hella  Mundhra,  is  with  us  and  celebrates  both  Christmas  and  her  birthday  during  this  $me.  We  started  the  New  Year   with  a  special  2-­‐day   programme  to   celebrate  the   inaugura$on   of   the  new  Shishu  Home  and  the  30th  anniversary   of  Shishu  Mandir.   Joining  us  were  3000   people  from   the  villages  that  we  support,   along  with  a  number  of  members  from  Germany,  members  from  Timken,  Mast,  Qualcomm,  KPMG,  Cognizant,  UST  Global,  Alcon  India  Ltd.,  and  Bosch  India  Founda$on.   The  inaugura$on  of  the  Home  took  place  on  the  2nd  of  January  with  Mr  Sanjay  Koul,  MD  Timken  India  as  Chief  Guest.  On  the  3rd,  Jus$ce  Santosh  Hegde  joined  us  as  Chief  Guest  and  released  a  souvenir,  The  Tree  of  Hope.  Hella’s  autobiography,  translated  into  Kannada  as  Ananya  Sadhaki  by  Mr  Pradeep,  was  also  released.  The  highlight  of  the  evening  was  the  play   Let  the  birds  sing.  Directed  by   the  theatre  group  Rafiki,   it   featured  past  students  of  Shishu  Mandir  enac$ng  glimpses  of  Hella’s  life.  Of  course,  no  celebra$on  goes  without   special  dances  by   our   students  and  we  witnessed  the  expert   performances  of   the  tradi$onal  dances  of  Karnataka  –  Yakshagana  and  Dollu  Kunitha.

The  celebra$ons  con$nued  into  Founder’s  Day  on  11th   January.   Students  from  the  9th   standard  had  wri5en  a  birthday  song  set  to  music  by  Mr  Bosco,  one  of  our  teachers.  The  tradi$on  of  cake  cudng  ensued  followed  by  the  Sports  Day.  Hella  had  agreed  to  celebra$ng  a  Founder’s  Day  on  condi$on  that  it  will  not  be  only  about  her  and  we  have  therefore  always  held  our  Sports  Day  on  January  11th.  More  cultural  performances  by  our  children  followed   and   this  came  as   a  surprise  to  many,   for   they   had   been   so  busy   with   rehearsals  for   the  earlier  programmes.  

In  the  months  to  come  our  Home  is  poised  for  change.  We  have  begun  the  process  of  shiIing  out  of  Ulsoor  to  the  new  Shishu  Home  in  KR  Puram.   In  many  ways,   this  move  marks  the  end  of   an  era.   25   years  ago,   Hella  struggled  to  buy   two  small  buildings  for   16   children  and  staff,   to  have  a  roof  over   their   heads,   warm  meals  everyday   and  the  opportunity   for   a  be5er   life.  The  years  have  been  difficult   and  yet,   an  extremely   fulfilling  journey  for  Hella  and  all  of  us  at  Shishu  Mandir.  We  have  learnt  to  celebrate  small  successes  and  come  together  to  find  answers,  when  we  face  troubles.  We  have  learnt  too  that  help  will  come  and  so  it  has  in  all  this  $me.  Friends  of  Shishu  Mandir  have  come  forward  to  be  an  important  part  of  our  work  here.  To  all  of  you,  we  would  like  to  say  that  we  may  have  grown  in  these  decades,  but  thanks  to  Hella  there  is  plenty  at  Shishu  Mandir  that  will  always  stay  the  same.  

Shishu  Home

At   the   Home,   we   have   26   children   who   come   from   most   trauma$zed   condi$ons   or   heartbreaking  circumstances.  There  are  also  babies  who  come  to  us  to  find  adop$ve  homes  and  while  some  find  families  easily  and  early,  there  are  a  few,  who  linger  for  various  reasons.  We  share  two  stories  here,  of  Monish  who  has  been  with  us  for  three  years,  and  of  Preethika,  an  orphan,  who  is  one  of  our  star  students.

Monish,  learning  resilience

Monish  was  5  days  old  when  he  came  to  us  with  a  broken  arm.  When  he  suffered   another   fracture   within   few   days,   we   were   concerned.   At   the  hospital  he  was  diagnosed  with  Osteogenesis  imperfecta  or  in  layman  terms,  glass  bone  disease.   The  disease  has  no  cure  and  Monish  requires  life-­‐long  treatment,   which   requires  that   he  be  admi5ed   for   three  days   every   few  months   during   which   $me   he   is   administered   bone-­‐strengthening  medica$on.   For   the  past   three  years  Monish’s  treatment  has  been  possible  thanks  to   the  dona$ons  by   individuals  and  corporates.   In  March  this  year,  Monish  completed  his  9th  dose  of  treatment.  The  medica$on  has  enabled  as  normal  a  life  as  possible.  He  has  had  only  one  hairline  fracture  in  two  years  and  this  is  also  thanks  to  the  dedicated  care  by   our   staff.  Monish  s$ll  has  several  restric$ons,   but  he  is  developing  extremely   well.  He  eats  his  meals  independently,  asks  to  go  to  the  toilet  (well,  almost  always)  and  most  of  all,  

he  enjoys  being  with  the  other  children.  He  interacts  with  them,  knows  the  Home  children  all  by  name  and  even  their  belongings,  and  when  they  gather  outside  to  play,  he  bosses  them  around  like  a  big  li5le  man.    

Preethika,  despite  all  odds

We  take  a  lot  of  pride  in  how  far  Preethika  has  come.   It  was  in  2000  that  she  joined  Shishu  Mandir   School,   when  it   operated  from   the  Home  premises  in  Ulsoor.  Having  lost  both  her  parents,  she  had  come  to  live  with  her  maternal  grandparents   in   a   slum.   Her   older   sister   was   taken   away   by   the  paternal  grandparents.  Both  sets  of  grandparents  blamed  each  other   for   the  death  of  their  children  –  Preethika’s  parents  –  and  cut  off  all  $es  between  themselves.  The  two  girls  were  also  separated  with  each  set  of  grandparents  claiming  one  for  themselves.  

Preethika’s  grandmother   brought   her   to  the  school  and  we  admi5ed  her   in.  AIer   a  few  years  we  decided  to  take  Preethika  into  the  Shishu  Home,  as  her  home  situa$on  was  extremely   pathe$c  with  a  bedridden  paralysed  uncle  and  old  grandparents  figh$ng  for  survival.  Here,  she  grew  up  comfortably  in  the  company  of  the  other  children  and  the  aun$es.  Preethika  enjoyed  school  and  excelled  at  academics.  She  went  on  to  complete  the  10th  standard  School  Leaving  Cer$ficate  (SSLC)  with  85  per  cent.  With  these  high  marks  she  secured  admission  at  the  reputed  Mount  Carmel  College  to  pursue  her  Pre-­‐University   Course  (PUC).  Preethika  has  just  completed  her  2nd   PUC  exams  and  is  awai$ng  the  results.  She  aspires  to  con$nue  her   studies  and  enroll  for   the  B  Com  degree  in  the  coming   year.   For   her   academic  achievements,  she  received  a  scholarship  of  Rs  10,000  by  Brady  Company   (ins$tuted  by   the  company  as  a  cash  award   for   the   student   who   secures  the   highest   marks  at   Shishu  Mandir)   and  Rs  10,000   by   the  Karnataka  Government.  

Preethika’s  sister,  unfortunately,  was  not  sent  to  school  by  her  paternal  grandparents.  She  was  married  off  at  a  young  age  and  is  now  the  mother  of  two.  We  are  a5emp$ng  to  bridge  the  gap  between  the  sisters  so  that  they  may  renew  their  rela$onship.

A  Five  Rupee  Note          

For   a   young   boy,   barely   seven   years   of   age,   speaking   only   Telegu   and   coming   from   an   impoverished  environment,   Anand   Babu   faced   hopelessness,   financial   stress   and   no   visible   future.   Son   of   poor,   but  hardworking  parents,   Isaac   and  Gracie,   both  working   as  housekeepers,   Anand  Babu  held  on  to  fulfilling  his  parents’  dream  of  a  good  educa$on  and  a  bright  future.  He  faced  adversi$es  at  every  step  and  even  the  loss  of  his  father   at  an  early  age  and  later   the  tragic  loss  of  his  mother   leaving  him  constantly   facing  difficul$es  and  disillusionments.  He  faced  this  crisis  in  his  life  with  the  strength  and  support  provided  by  Mama  (Hella  Mundhra,  founder  of  Shishu  Mandir),  Anand  Sir  and  the  encouraging  teachers  at  Shishu  Mandir.  

Anand  Babu’s  mother,  Gracie,  who  worked  for  Shishu  Mandir,  felt  that  this  would  be  the  right  place  for  him  to  get   a   decent   educa$on.   She   requested  Mama,   who   evaluated   Anand   Babu   and   admi5ed   him.   He   once  overheard  a  conversa$on  his  mother  had  with  Anand  Sir   who  advised  that  her   son  should  learn  English  and  Computers.   And  Anand  Babu  made  a  resolve  to  pursue  that  with  a  vengeance.   To  come  to  the  level  of  the  Shishu  children  who  already   spoke  English  fluently  he  took  extra  classes  in  English  with  the  help  of  Bedna,  a  volunteer   from  Germany.   He  spent  endless  hours  watching  and  observing  hardware  engineers  who  repaired  

computers   at   Shishu   to   learn   the   nuances   and   func$ons   of   a  computer  and  prac$ced  what  he  learned  which  later  made  him  the  go-­‐to-­‐person   at   Shishu   for   many   computer-­‐related   queries.  Ironically  during  his  college  computer  exam  his  mother  met  with  an  accident  and  passed  away.  Devastated,  but  undeterred  Anand  Babu  wrote  his  computer  exam  on  the  same  day  with  the  only  desire  to  fulfill   his   mother’s   dream.   Such   was   the   brave   heart’s  determina$on  to  make  it  in  this  relentless  and  difficult  world.  

Anand  Babu,  now  24  years,   is  confident,  smiling,   living  alone,  but  not  without  a  dream.  He  scored  a  commendable  66%  in  his  tenth  grade  and  con$nued  to  pursue  a  degree  in  commerce  (a  dream  his  father   harbored   for   his   sister   Swapna).   His   ul$mate   goal   is   to  become  a  Cost  Accountant   (ICWAI).  He  con$nues  to  stay   in  close  connec$on   with   Shishu   Mandir   by   volunteering   his   $me   there  doing  camps  and  odd  jobs.  He  even  mentored  a  Shishu  student  and  let  him  stay  with  him  for  a  year.  

Shishu  for  him  is  home.  He  feels  that  at  every  stage  of  his  life  and  for  major  life  decisions,  Shishu  Mandir  always  supported  him.  He  par$cularly  names  Mama  and  Anand  Sir  and  his  wife  Vimala  Aunty,  Rani  madam,  his  favorite  teacher,  and  all  the  volunteers  who  stood  steadfast  and  strong  by  his  side.  He  has  no  fear  about  his  future,  as  long  as  Shishu  Mandir   is  by   his  side,   calls  his  small  house  a  palace  and  is  eternally   grateful  to  his  sponsor  parents.  Anand  Babu  fondly  remembers  his  father’s  last  giI  to  him,  a  five-­‐rupee  note  which  he  gave  him  on  his  birthday.  Even  today  he  holds  on  to  it  keeping  his  parents’  dream  alive.  He  has  also  kept  all  the  le5ers  from  his  sponsor  parents  with  love  and  ever  las$ng  gra$tude.  

Anand  Babu  no  longer  focuses  on  his  turbulent   past;   instead  he  is  armed  with  a  dream  for  a  bright   future,  a  desire  to  succeed  and  the  gra$tude  to  give  back  what  he  gained  in  the  past  15  years  at  Shishu  Mandir.    And  as  for  Shishu  Mandir,  it’s  one  more  child  now  with  a  possible  future.  

                                                                                                                   Sima  Mehta

Shishu  Mandir  School

The   school   is   a   beehive   of   ac$vi$es!   There   is   always  something  going  on  –  a  training   session  for   the  teachers,  a  workshop  for   the  kids,   theatre  rehearsals,  music   and  dance  lessons,   reading  programmes…   the  list   goes  on.  The  current  rage  con$nues  to  be  the  unicycling  sessions  with  David  Foi.  Our  students  are  growing  into  experts  at  riding  the  unicycles  and   making   forma$ons   too.   It   has   been   a   tremendous  confidence-­‐booster  for  them.

Seeing  an  office  from  the  inside

It  was  exci$ng  to  receive  an  invita$on  to  visit  Qualcomm.  Mr  Venugopal  and  Mr  Swapneel  of  Qualcomm  are  longstanding  corporate  supporters  of  Shishu  Mandir.  And  when  they  asked  our   teachers,  students  from  classes  1   to  10   and  Divya,  who  has  been   the  point   of   contact   between   them   and   us,   to  

spend  a  day   at   their   office,   we  were  thrilled.   At  Qualcomm,   the  children  and  staff   were  taken  around  and  everyone  got  to  see  the  inside  of  a  large  office,  how  it  operates,  the  labs  and  data  centre  and  learn  a  li5le  bit  about  how  much  research  goes  into  their  work  in  the  mobile  industry  and  in  wireless  charging  of  electrical  cars.  They  were  also  shown  videos  of  success  stories  of  entrepreneurs,  which  were  hugely  mo$va$onal.  As  a  token  of  thanks,  the  children  put  up  a  cultural  show  for  the  Qualcomm  team  which  was  also  much  appreciated  by  them.  

Shishu  Mandir  Community  College

The  Community   College   offers   voca$onal   courses   that   aim   at   crea$ng  employable  youths.   To   strengthen   this,   we  now  have  the  accredita$on  cer$ficate   from   the   Na$onal   Ins$tute   of   Open   Schooling.   In   terms   of  credibility,  it  does  make  a  difference  to  our  role  as  a  Community  College.  

Electrical  DepartmentThis  quarter   the   focus  was  on   the  electrical   department,   which   has  been  redesigned  with  work  boards,  display   units,   a  model   of   a  house  wiring,   a   hydraulic   board   and   an  auto/thermo  windmill  model.   Each  student   will   now   learn   to  wire  an  

en$re  home  as  part   of   their  project.  We  are  also  thankful  to  Mr  Jaypal,  Director  of  GMR  Varalakshmi  Voca$onal  Training  Centre,  who  spent  $me  with  us  and  offered  guidance  on  the  use  of  work  boards  and  display  units.  

Thanks  to  the  support   of  KPMG  we   are  now   able   to  offer  all  the   children   a   cooked   breakfast   with  a   glass   of   milk   every  morning.

The   Computer   lab   got   an   overhaul   with   N-­‐compu$ng   with   2   servers   connected   to   18  systems   which   will   also   lead   to   less   power  consump$on.    

Shishu  Mandir  Home,  Kithiganur,  KR  Puram  PO,  Bangalore  560  036  Ph  -­‐  080-­‐2561  0456

Shishu  Mandir  School,  Hella  Nagar,  Virgo  Nagar  PO,  Bangalore  560  049  Ph  -­‐  080-­‐3297  0700/  080-­‐  2561  9368/  093792  71391

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