Vol VII No. 4 - 2002Vol VII No. 4 - 2002

Will our children�

growup to be

Hindus,Muslims,

Christians or

Indians?

TheArt�of Giving

MakingThings HappenÐEvents at CRY

Phot

o C

ourt

esy:

Ric

hard

Mas

care

nhas

Dear Friend,

At a recent gathering, someone remarked that most

Indians have religions out of birth rather than

conviction. Hence, we can have no cause to ostracise,

much less hurt or slaughter, others on grounds of faith.

As a born again Hindu, the argument does not wash for

me. What certainly applies for Hindus, is what has been

a Hindu prayer across the ages: "Let everyone be happy,

let everyone be free from ills." Certainly for modern

people, this prayer is universal, regardless of religious

belief.

The last few years have not been encouraging for

Indians. Cyclones, a border war, nuclear tests, economic

sanctions, a major earthquake and major frauds in the

financial community have each contributed to

unstability. The last few months also saw the terrorist

attack on Parliament; communal violence in Gujarat

beginning with the burning of a train in Godhra; de

facto bankruptcy of governments at all levels below the

Centre and the continued festering of the Kashmir

problem which includes a hapless plight for hundreds of

thousands of refugees. All this while experiencing

uncertainty and job redundancy unleashed by the

domestic and international liberalisation of India’s

economy. Amazingly, a recent survey finds the residents

of India amongst the happiest and most optimistic in

the world. A tribute, barely believable, to the resilience of

this nation, this people.

The CRY family has to be optimistic. Else we cannot

work to deliver rights to every Indian child. In this issue

of CRY in Action, we explore communalism, that brazen

face of human inhumanity. Just a few months ago, this

demon attacked our hearts with tales and photographs

from Godhra. As my teenaged daughter wrote in Haiku,

The fire is burning

The world continues to turn

But the mind is blank

The demon raged on, to churn the world’s mind and

stomach – particularly as reported by Harsh Mander

from Ahmedabad. As is usual in these circumstances,

children have borne the brunt of the consequences.

Here, if ever, is a challenge to India’s optimism, courage

and ingenuity. Can we Indians continue to celebrate our

diversity hereafter?

We must. If we don’t, India will be forever riven by the

many, many differences between us. Of language, skin

colour, race, food preferences, class, caste, geography,

history, and so on. There can be no peace, no

prosperity, no fulfillment of the CRY pledge. On the

other hand, if we can rediscover a way to enjoy our

differences…

The most prosperous, and most admired, nations are

the most open and diverse. Gandhiji propounded the

ideal of an India like a house through which all the

winds of the world could blow. That an open, multi

cultural, harmonious India would be a world beater is

supported by history (until the eighteenth century

Indian GNP was about a fifth of the world’s) and by

the recent successes of IT entrepreneurs and non

resident Indians.

CRY, on the whole, shuns quick fixes. So towards our

vision of a pluralist future, where people are not riven

by creed or caste, we have made a start, in spite of the

daunting present. We start with what we teach the

child. Seeding in that child the knowledge, skills and

attitudes that enable her to live productively and in

peace with people different from her. Instilling in her a

wonder for India’s, indeed the world’s, diversity and a

respect for beliefs different from hers. Schools cannot

provide just knowledge. They must also give us values

that build social cohesion and strengthen the nation.

You can read here how CRY and its partners live their

belief. The belief that India’s children deserve a future

in which religion and caste exist in private, if at all. A

belief that all children are equal in the eyes of God. A

belief that it is the duty of every Indian to uphold our

Constitution which guarantees our children this

future. You will be proud of the work our partners do,

heartened to take the work further. I am.

Nandan Maluste

Honorary Trustee

1

2

with this is to build awareness of communal peace through

community programmes and education. They have helped

organise peace marches during and after the riots. Mahita

volunteers visit hospitals to help affected families and provide

medicines and physical support. They have initiated ‘maitri

sanghams’ - committees of leaders from different communities

helping to sort out issues between different communities.

Teaching them right

The value of secularism is inculcated into the curriculum and in

activities in schools and Non Formal Education centres (NFEs)

run by our partners. People’s Vigilance Committee of Human

Rights (PVCHR) in Varanasi is a classic example. PVCHR’s

objectives are to eliminate exploitative conditions of child labour

in Varanasi district and make education an achievable goal for all

children. Varanasi district is a communally sensitive area and

PVCHR is faced with the issue in their everyday work. So, in the

curriculum of the NFEs they run, and in meetings of village

committees, PVCHR members constantly emphasise themes in

history that are examples of religious harmony. For example,

they highlight the 1857 national struggle against the British and

explain how members of all communities united under a Muslim

king. They organise study circles in which members of civil

society discuss issues of communal harmony. PVCHR’s

chairperson is the well-known poet Gyanendra Pathi. He writes

innovative poems citing examples of tolerance from Hindu

mythology and links the holy books of various religions.

Spreading the message of tolerance through children is what

Prayas, a CRY-supported project in Jaipur does. Prayas provides

education, health care and nutritional support to children with

special needs belonging to economically deprived families. This

project works in an area that is prone to communal tension.

Theirs is challenging work - to integrate physically and mentally

challenged children with their counterparts and bring about

harmony between people of different communities. The children

are their message. Their aim is to make the children literate and

give them value education so they can analyse things,

discriminate between right and wrong and grow up to be good

human beings. Every day children are told stories of great people

who preached the universal truths of brotherhood and love.

They celebrate all festivals in school. Children tie Rakhis,

celebrate Diwali at school with crackers and sweets and Id with

sevian and Id millan. They understand that all festivals mean

sharing, brotherhood, love and enjoyment. It has been noticed

that this message has spread in the communities. Children have

Will our children grow

up to beHindus,

Muslims, Christians or

Indians?In 1993, Rippan Kapur, our late founder said, "Amidst the horror

of the recent communal hatred, it has become crucial to stop and

recognise what we are doing to our children and their world.

Violence and hatred simply cannot be our legacy to the next

generation." His words seem as relevant today as they were nine

years ago.

CRY is deeply secular. Our vision is of a nation whose children

enjoy the same privileges and rights irrespective of their

background. It is critical, that this vision is shared not just by

people within CRY, but also by our development partners in the

field, people who work directly with children. Because in the

effort to build a tolerant and responsible society, we must start

with children. They are the future, and we need to seed in them

the values of respect for diversity, for all religions, for the dignity

of human life. And because, inevitably, they are the worst

affected each time social or communal unrest is unleashed.

Communal harmony is not the key focus of most of CRY ’s work.

Very few of our partners have communal harmony as a stated

objective in their organisation charters. But if we are to succeed

at ensuring our children’s rights to protection, development,

participation, even survival, it is inevitable that we all remain

steadfastly committed to secular values.

In sensitive areas, this value takes the form of demonstrated

action to bring different communities together. Take the example

of MMahita, a CRY-supported project working in the area of

education for girl children in the slums of Hyderabad. Mahita

operates in a very communally sensitive area. Its way of dealing

3

PRAYAS, Jaipur – a dance c las s in progres s

Gujarat is currently working with children affected by the riots

in Gujarat. Post the recent riots, many concerned organisations

got together to work with the victims under the umbrella of

Citizen’s Initiative (CI) which MARAG is a part of. During the

initial phase MARAG, along with other organisations, was

involved in distribution of food and other relief material like

medicines, blankets and clothes to Hindu and Muslim victims in

the relief camps. MARAG then took responsibility of the camps

in Dariyakhan Ghummat, Shahibaug Municipal Quarters and

Bakramandi (Ranip). Children at these camps didn’t have

anything to do and their health was at risk. They were

traumatised by what they had witnessed. Some children had lost

their parents in riots and some had parents in other camps.

MARAG, as part of CI, initiated an activity programme for

children in the camps with the help of some educated and

enthusiastic youth, called the Bal Muskaan programme. They

provided toys and stationery and conducted educational and

recreational games like paper work, drawing and painting. The

volunteers read them stories and played with them. The children

were taught numbers and letters. Some of the younger children

were also provided nutritional support. The MARAG team is

trained in running child activity centres and providing inputs to

the volunteers to run these programmes. MARAG continued to

distribute relief material in nearby Hindu and Muslim camps as

the riots continued and newer camps came into existence.

MARAG also helped collect data from the families in the camps

on the events they went through and whether they had or had

not received government compensation.

What itmeans to be secular

Most telling of all, however, is an account of what it means to be

secular, written by Roshni NRoshni Nair, a project partner in Mumbai,

now started going to each other’s homes. Prayas believes their

efforts are showing good results, with even the families of

children mingling with each other.

The importance that CRY places on secularism as a value has

also led CRY to support some projects that work exclusively in

the area of communalism and the effect it has on children. AAlok,

a CRY Fellow who conducts research on the status of children

affected by communal riots in Kanpur, is an example. He

attempts to provide access to education facilities and provide an

environment for development for these children. During the

course of his study he discovered that in the aftermath of

communal violence, children were torn apart from their

surroundings and family. This resulted in an increase in child

labour and crime amongst and against children and a drop in

literacy rates. From discussions with over 400 children and

NGOs he found that the psychological problems facing these

children had not been addressed by society or by the

government.

Alok identified three groups that needed to be targeted for

intervention to promote social schooling. These were school

children (Class 5 - 12), teachers and CRY partners. The groups

would undergo a process that would help them enrich their own

knowledge and share with others the importance of moral

education and secularism in education systems. This process has

been initiated in two schools -— Unnao-Navyug Public School

and Sangam Sishu Mandir.

Healingwounds

When communal tension erupts, our partners’ secular values

make them ideal candidates to try and heal the wounds. MMARAG

(Maldhari And Rural Aal Action Group), an organisation working

with children in the Kutch and Surendranagar districts of

4

THE ARTOFGIVINGThere are many ways of contributing to the movement for

children’s rights. We may not all be able to dedicate our whole

lives to changing the social situation we find ourselves in. Yet,

every positive action that we take in this direction counts. We

firmly believe in what Rippan Kapur, our late founder often

used to say, "Everything we do will make a difference to a

child’s life… and our own."

Every individualmakes a difference

¥Mr. Gopu P, a Project Manager at Processor Systems (India)

Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, noticed CRY ’s advertisements almost ten

years ago, but began helping financially much later. He collected

clothes, toys, books and other things for CRY. He even helped put

together a small bunch of regular CRY supporters in his office.

"Children cannot support themselves," he says. "Those born in

harsh circumstances suffer for no fault of their own. They need

all the help they can get from those more fortunate." Mr. Gopu,

you are a truly inspiring example to people who want to do

something for children, but don't know how.

¥ Mr. Tapan Majumder's daughter is to be married very

soon. He has requested his guests to write a cheque in the name

of CRY for the amount they would spend on gifts. A truly

thoughtful gesture!

¥ Mr. Sudip Ganguly of Accord Advertising, Kolkata, is a

man who never says no to CRY. CEO of an outdoor advertising

company, he has always supported CRY with outdoor advertising

space. He's always been there for us when we've needed him. Last

year he provided CRY with two trams and four hoardings

completely free of cost to enable us to raise awareness about our

products.

Companies that cared

¥ Spice Telecom

During CRY ’s Gift a Smile Week in November 2001, and again

during the festive season from December 2001 to January 2002,

Spice Telecom ran an innovative scheme to make a difference. By

simply dialing 279 from their cell phones, Spice subscribers

donated Rs. 10 to CRY. Approximately 10,000 Spice Telecom

subscribers helped raise over Rs. 1 lakh for CRY through this

scheme. Thank you Spice for giving thousands of concerned

citizens an easy and effective way to participate in CRY's cause.

¥Coca-Cola

For the second year in succession, Coca-Cola has adopted

Navshrishti, a CRY-supported project covering ten centers in Neb

who runs a project called SaSaathi that works with homeless

children. Her words exemplify an attitude that is so much a part

of CRY, that most of us haven’t ever bothered to articulate it.

Roshni reminds us that it is critical we do.

"Six years ago when we came together as a group and Saathi

evolved, it did not even cross our minds that we belonged to

different religions. Finally that just added to the richness of our

collective experiences. And we believe that what you do in your

work will be drawn from your own life experiences. Respect for

individuality, sensitivity towards human dignity and a passion

for children form a part of our core values. Maybe that is what

brought us together and has kept us together.

Communal harmony does not limit itself to some school value

education class, nor does it spring up as reactions to some

incidents. It has to translate to the way we live our life day to day.

It has to take the form of all of us being proactive in the process.

It is evident that the time has now come for us (even those who

rationalise themselves as being sensitive but uninvolved) to

acknowledge that the world has indeed become smaller. And that

whenever and wherever ugly incidents occur, between people of

different religions or castes, they are actually taking something

away from our lives and our worlds. We have one world which

we are tearing apart.

This does not mean that there is no hope. The truth is simpler.

There is only hope and it is closer than you think. It is with each

of us."

Does any of this work translate into tangible results? The only

evidence we at CRY have that it does, is the fact that when riots

or disturbances occur, the communities our partners work in,

tend to be less affected. Many have served as oases of shelter and

peace in troubled times. Is that enough? Perhaps not. But each of

these efforts represents a beacon of hope. Your ideas,

comments and criticism will help us find more ways to

build a future for our children that is not tainted by the

biases and prejudices of the past. Do write to us with

your views.

5

Sarai and Nangloi areas of Delhi. Coca-Cola supports the project

under its Jagriti Learning Programme, which endeavours to take

education to the underprivileged. Besides supporting the

education component, Coke has also started a computer

education centre at Navshrishti. Thank you Coke, for giving

these underprivileged children a chance to enter the digital world.

¥ Systopic

Systopic, a pharmaceutical company based in New Delhi,

initiated a Cause Related Marketing programme on their

product Sysfol (a molecule largely prescribed by gynaecologists,

for proper upkeep for nursing mothers) last year. In just one

year, they have managed to raise enough resources to take care of

the health and education of 170 children. Encouraged by the

response and goodwill generated, Systopic has extended the

association for another year.

¥Uni Style Image (USI)

Through the years, USI and CRY have worked together to create

a unique partnership that has benefited hundreds of

underprivileged children. It started with convincing USI

distributors to give a percentage of their margin to CRY.

Subsequent years saw support towards a Runathon on Anti-

Child Labour Day and sponsorships for FACT, a corporate quiz

organised by CRY. This year, children from various CRY-

supported projects were invited to draw and colour at various

USI outlets in Delhi and Mumbai. One of the students, Reeta,

was adjudged the best budding artist and her work was

converted into a T-shirt range and sold through various USI

outlets. The profit of Rs. 1.25 lakhs from the sale of T-shirts was

given to CRY by cine star and Member of Parliament, Shabana

Azmi.

¥Mother's Pride

Mother's Pride, a pre-nursery school with branches in west Delhi

is a long standing CRY partner. This year, they put up a stall at

IITF, Pragati Maidan in support of CRY, that raised Rs. 2 lakhs.

The teachers of the school also worked hard to convince the

association of toy manufacturers, that set up the Toy Pavilion, to

donate toys to CRY. We salute your effort, Mother's Pride.

¥ The Park Hotel

The Park Hotel, New Delhi, was where eight girls from

Navshrishti, a CRY-supported project, made a giant sized fruit

cake. After a two day training programme, the children put

together over 40 eggs, heaps of dry fruits and cherries under the

watchful eyes of a team of expert chefs to whip up the tasty

delight.

¥ Lenbrook Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Lenbrook Pharmaceuticals has partnered CRY in a Cause Related

Marketing scheme for the period January to December 2002

wherein it will contribute to CRY a percentage of the net sales

value of their product Kinetone+. They have made a minimum

commitment of Rs. 1 lakh towards this partnership.

¥ Corporation

Bank

On the occasion of

India's 55th year of

i n d e p e n d e n c e ,

Corporation Bank

m a d e a

contribution to

CRY through an

innovative scheme.

The bank made a

grant of Rs. 5 for

every account

opened between August 1 and December 31, 2001. The Finance

Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, presented the cheque for

Rs. 1,97,210 to CRY on behalf of Corporation Bank at a function

in New Delhi on March 28, 2002.

¥ India BookDistributors Ltd. (IBD)

IBD and CRY came together to make a difference to the lives of

underprivileged Indian children. A specially designed co-branded

appeal letter was sent to CRY donors. IBD is contributing 15

percent of the value of Newsweek subscriptions generated

through this promotion to CRY.

¥ PLUSBusinessMachines Ltd.

Mr. Swadesh Khetawat, Managing Director of PLUS has time

and again demonstrated his commitment to CRY's mission. He

has, over the past year, supported CRY in a variety of ways. Some

of them included donating an overhead projector and stationery

amounting to Rs. 1 lakh, a commitment of Rs. 5 lakhs towards

CRY projects, sponsorship of the charity show of Naseeruddin

Shah’s play "Ismat Apa Ke Naam" in September 2001 and

sponsorship of the CRY product launch at Kala Ghoda in

November. Mr. Khetawat, you are truely an integral part of the

CRY family.

¥ Trinity Computers

Trinity Computers Mumbai, has been supporting CRY for the

past two years. The employees contribute Rs. 10 from their

6

salary each month and the company matches the amount. This

has resulted in a total collection of Rs. 79,000 this year.

¥CRY@Zensar

ZenSar Technologies, a global software services company has

partnered CRY by providing us with office space in their

premises and committing a full-time employee to coordinate

CRY's activities in Pune. This initiative hopes to raise awareness

about underprivileged children among individuals, corporates,

youth and institutions in Pune.

ZenSar has also supported CRY by donating computers,

organising fund raisers for children and initiating a Pay-Roll-

Giving scheme. The scheme sees 650 employees contributing to

CRY every month, translating into Rs. 40,000 each month. If you

would like to know more about CRY's activities in Pune write to

us at cry@zensar.com or call at 6633001.

¥Mars Restaurants

Mars Restaurants of Just Around The Corner, Not Just Jazz By

The Bay and Dosa Diner fame, supported CRY through a

promotion at all its outlets across Mumbai. Rs. 5 was added to

the customer's bill and the amount was equally divided among

five NGOs committed to different causes, including CRY. Thus

far, CRY has received Rs. 1,70,000 from Mars Restaurants

through this partnership, money that has proved valuable to

CRY's efforts in transforming the lives of India's children.

¥ Pantaloon India

In a unique promotion at its stores across the country, Pantaloon

is donating Rs. 5 on each garment sold from its children’s section.

Thus making it possible for you to reach out to an

underprivileged child, each time you buy something for your

own. The scheme has so far generated Rs. 4 lakhs.

¥KotakMahindra

Employees of Kotak Mahindra generously donated Rs. 3,97,909

through a one-time Pay-Roll-Giving Scheme. A valuable contribution

that will change the lives of almost 500 children for the better.

¥Hindustan Lever Limited�

The FMCG giant ran a promotion programme for Surf that

involved a painting contest for children upto the age of 15 years.

Each entry had to be accompanied with any empty pack of Surf

bearing the logo of the competition. The entries were judged by

the noted artist Anjolie Ela Menon. The proceeds came to CRY.

¥ Tata-AIG Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Tata-AIG has created an insurance plan, on which a percentage of

the premiums collected will be donated to CRY. They have made

a minimum commitment of Rs. 50,000 towards this partnership,

regardless of the number of people who enroll for this plan. Tata-

AIG has also provided insurance to approximately 6000 children

from CRY-supported projects in India, a new way of showing

corporate commitment to our nation's children.

¥CRYANTS

The volunteer wing of Chennai celebrated its first year on April

14, 2002. This active group of 46 members, calling itself ‘The

CRYANTS’, works at various levels with CRY. It includes people

like Sripriya, who takes time off from her high pressured

corporate life to coach class X students of ‘Mottugal’, a CRY-

supported project, for their board examinations. Other young

executives at CRYANTS worked hard to get sponsorships and

participation for FACT, CRY's corporate quiz.

Helping hands fromaround theworld

Our Global Operations Division based in Delhi looks at

partnering with individuals and corporates abroad.

¥HONGKONG

The generosity of the

patrons and the hard

work put in by the

employees and owners of

Woodlands Restaurant in

Hong Kong knew no

limits on October 2, 2001.

The restaurant invited its patrons for food and instead of

charging them asked them to pay what they liked for the meal.

The guests donated generously and the event raised Rs 3.7 lakhs

for CRY.

¥OMAN

Mr Madhu Kumar, our volunteer in Oman raised Rs. 45,000 by

selling CRY products. He also collected Rs 50,000 as donations

from friends and acquaintances. What's more, he put up a CRY

stall at the Kerala Engineers Family Meet and gave a

presentation to the executive members of this association which

collected another Rs 50,000 for CRY. In all, Mr. Kumar's effort

have raised Rs. 1.45 lakhs for underprivileged children.

¥ JAMAICA

On March 14, 2002, Ms. Kiran Chatani, from Jamaica, came

across a CRY brochure. She called us and met a CRY volunteer in

Mumbai. On March 21, she made her first donation and spoke of

her interest to raise some funds among Indians living abroad.

7

¥ Ketaki and Prarthana are 12 year-old children, studying

in class VII at Sishya in Chennai. They collected sea shells,

painted them and sold them to their neighbours and friends. The

proceeds were then donated to CRY. With this, these 12 year-olds

have taught us that if each of us does what we can, then together

there is no problem we cannot solve.

¥ Anushree Majumdar is an 11th standard student who

visited CRY, Kolkata to get a feel of how a social organisation

works. Once in, she could not leave without doing something for

the children. She worked tirelessly for BOL JAMOORE — found

sponsors for banners and posters: brougth the Delhi Group-

BEST OF CAMPUS to perform free of cost. Feeling bad that she

couldn’t help out for FACT, she bullied three new volunteers to

take her place – and boy, did they help. Thank you Anushree.

¥ Narsee Monjee College, Mumbai organised a Dandiya

Raas night, "Chalo Ji Ramva Raas", under the aegis of its Music

and Dance Society. The aim was to spread awareness about AIDS

among the youth. Part proceeds from the event were contributed

to CRY. A true gesture of collective action.

¥ Puneet Heda a graduate doing his MBA in Manipal called

CRY offering help. Once he was told that CRY, Kolkata was

organising a quiz for corporates, he came to the CRY office

religiously to follow up on participation, call corporates and act

as a helping hand. He leaves for Manipal soon and the good

wishes of CRY are with him.

¥ Sumit Kumar Bose a student of IIM, Kolkata, Sumit

heard about FACT, CRY's corporate quize from a message

posted on the IIM Internet message board. He wasted no

time in offering his help. He came once a week to the CRY

office and contacted corporates for sponsorships and

participation. On other days he would send us details of

potential corporate donors. CRY wishes him all the best for the

future.

¥ Salonie Muralidhara from Mumbai, has proved that

charity begins at home and it could begin when you're just 10

years old. In an effort to do something constructive during her

holidays, little Salonie collected ‘raddi’ from her neighbourhood

and sold it by striking a special deal with the raddiwalla. She

managed to collect Rs. 800 and sent it to CRY. Congratulations

Salonie on a truly remarkable effort!

She began in right earnest and her first donations came from her

family. She has now started selling snacks at a store owned by

her sister and is donating the income to CRY. Thank you and

best of luck, Kiran!

YOUTH INACTION

¥ The annual CRY Summer Workshop at Bangalore

this year was held from April 16-18, 2002. In these three days,

the children from various schools were taken through games,

discussions and puppet plays with the underlying message of

child rights and the issues facing underprivileged children. The

aim of these programmes is to give children opportunities to not

only realise their potential, but also to motivate them to reach

out to those less privileged than themselves. Here's what the

children had to say...

• Prathiba (14 yrs): I had a great time on all 3 days. It was a very

different experience. The part I enjoyed most was the last day

when children from Paraspara (a CRY-supported project) joined

us and we interacted with them. I also enjoyed the puppet

making session by Uma Khanna.

• Sunil (14 yrs): The CRY camp was very useful for us because we

learnt about CRY, its work and objectives. The most important

day was when the children of the Paraspara project had come.

We made friends with the children and it was fun dancing and

playing with them. We didn’t know about CRY before and we

learnt about it in the fun way.

The summer camp raised Rs. 3,250 as fees and another

Rs. 11,000 from an individual donor.

¥ Chettinad Vidyashram, Chennai saw 11 children

getting together to contribute clothes, pencils and note books

along with Rs. 200 to CRY. These children, studying in class VI,

have formed a "Unity Club", through which they work for the

underprivileged children.

8

P r o j e c t c h i l d r e n f r o m A P D p r e s e n t i n g t h e p l a y o n e n v i r o n m e n t .

a group of volunteers called ‘Friends of CRY’ in Bangalore in 1998.

FACT 2002 was held in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and

Chennai. 147 teams took part across the centres raising a surplus

of almost Rs. 15 lakhs for underprivileged children. Corporates

got involved not just as participating teams, but also as sponsors

who contributed money, prizes for the teams, media space and

contributions in kind, like refreshments, hospitality and

mementos. Special mention must be made of volunteer teams in

each city, the Friends of CRY in Bangalore, CRYANTS in Chennai

and various individual volunteers in other cities.

• On July 22, FACT 2002 was held at the J.N. Tata Auditorium in

Bangalore. 42 teams participated in the quiz. Texas Instruments

was the winner with Infosys coming in 2nd and IBM in 3rd place.

The sponsors for the quiz were Siemens Communication

Software and Hewlett Packard. It was conducted by Charu

Sharma.

• Over 37 teams participated in FACT 2002 in Delhi. Amex took

home the coveted trophy. G E Capital came in second with

Ranbaxy following in 3rd place. The quiz was presented by HT

Careers in association with Archies. The quiz content was

provided by Sidharth Basu's The Tree of Knowledge and the quiz

was conducted by the famous television personality Roshan

Abbas. Canon supported the event.

• Sunday, May 12, 2002 was the day corporates in Kolkata dared

to show they care at FACT 2002. The winner was Pepsi, Game

Plan stood second and L&T took third place. Hindustan Times

MAKINGTHINGSHAPPENEvents are an integral part of the fund raising activities at

CRY. This year too, volunteers at CRY, our supported

projects, individuals and corporates came together to make

things happen so that India's underprivileged children can lead

better lives.

¥ComeShareMyWorld

On March 2, 2002, 200 CRY donors from across Bangalore met

at the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan auditorium for an event called

'Come Share My World'. An outstanding dance drama 'Ekanki'

was performed by children from the Paraspara Trust Project. The

students from a school run by APD (Association for People with

Disability) presented a play on the environment and performed

a folk dance - 'Kolatta'. A display section was placed at the

entrance of the auditorium with stalls of participating projects

that included:

• Paraspara Trust that works towards the eradication of child

labour in the slums and empowers children to fight for their

rights.

• Ujwala that helps empower women and eliminate child labour

through education.

• The Association for People with Disability (APD) that educates

differently abled children from all walks of life.

• Odanadi that works towards the development of children of

commercial sex workers and their mothers through education

and awareness.

The event raised Rs. 47,600.

¥ FACT ( Free AChild Today) 2002

The FACT corporate quiz is an annual event that has been

organised in the best traditions of CRY events. It is a quiz where

corporates send teams to compete against each other for the

glory of being crowned the best corporate quizzing team in their

region. The first edition of FACT was conceived and organised by

9

quiz. The winner was the team from Ramco Systems. Polaris

Software and CitiBank stood second and third respectively.

Product Launch

CRY products have raised awareness and resources for CRY over

the past 23 years. To announce the launch of its 2001 product

range, CRY brought together children from CRY-supported

projects and celebrities to paint an enlarged version of a CRY

card, spreading the message of peace. This launch event was

organised in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore.

• In Delhi, the launch event was held at India Habitat Centre

where children from CRY-supported projects painted a large card.

This was signed off by celebrities like Sharmila Tagore, Anjolie

Ela Menon, Sanjay Bhattacharya and Bulbul Sharma to formally

launch the CRY product range.

• In Mumbai, the launch was held at Kala Ghoda on October 31,

2001, with Milind Soman as the chief guest. Children from

Aarambh, a CRY-supported project in Mumbai painted the large

card and children from Experimental Theatre Foundation

performed a street play on child labour.

• The launch event at Kolkata was held on November 9, 2001 at,

Swabhumi – The Heritage Plaza. Ms Nabanita Deb Sen, designer

Kiran Uttam Ghosh and industrialist Ms Smita Bajoria

participated in the event. 30 children from a CRY-supported

project Nishtha painted the large card and together with the

celebrities launched CRY's product range for the festive season.

¥ Bal Natya Utsav

To mark Children’s Day in Delhi, CRY organised Bal Natya Utsav

on the evenings of November 8 to 11, 2001 at Dilli Haat. The

theme for this years' festival was "Child Rights". The Utsav brought

together dramatic societies from colleges like Kirori Mal, Lady

Shri Ram, Indra Prastha, Jesus & Mary and Daulat Ram. It gave

them a platform to express their opinions on the rights of children

in India and on issues like child labour, poverty and education.

was the presenting sponsor and Barry O' Brien was the quiz

master. The winners also won a host of exciting prizes including

free air tickets, holiday packages, gift hampers, cameras and

vouchers from retail stores.

• FACT 2002, Mumbai took place on Friday, 17th May, and saw,

36 teams participating. Sponsorships came from ICICI Bank,

Globus, IDBI Principal, iS3c, TCS and Pantaloons. Hotel Orchid

provided the venue free of cost, and Mid-Day was the media

sponsor. The event was covered by SAB TV. The quiz was hosted

by Derek O'Brien, who donated a large part of his fee to CRY. The

winner of the quiz was ICICI Bank with Ambience D'Arcy and

Motilal Oswal Securities taking second and third places

respectively.

• FACT 2002 at Chennai was held on May 26, 2002 with 15

teams participating. CRYANTS, Chennai's volunteer group and a

number of individuals and organisations helped CRY run the

event in a cost effective manner. Charu Sharma conducted the

P a r t i c i p a n t s b a t t l e i t o u t a t F A C T 2 0 0 2 i n C h e n n a i

T h e c a s t o f I s m a t A p a K e N a a m b e i n g p r e s e n t e d w i t h a b o u q u e to f f l o w e r s

10

T h e w i n n i n g t e a m - G E C a p i t a l

¥CRYCadence Corporate Cricket Challenge

• The 2nd CRY Cadence Corporate Cricket Challenge was

sponsored and co-organized by Cadence Design Systems, a

premier software company located in the NOIDA Export

Processing Zone. The Cricket tournament brought together a

large number of Delhi based organisations to raise funds for

CRY ’s ongoing programmes for underprivileged children. Besides

the fun of playing with their peers, the participants experienced

the special joy of being able to participate in CRY ’s efforts to

better the lives of underprivileged children. The three month

long event was co-sponsored by Apara Solutions and Satyam

Computer Service Limited with Gateway as the media sponsor

and The Oberoi as the hospitality sponsor. The associate co-

sponsors were HP, IBM, Quantum, UNI and Sun Micro Systems.

This year, the challenge raised Rs 7 lakhs. The money will be

disbursed by CRY to its various projects and will go towards

supporting the education of 850 children for a year.

¥Bol Jamoore

On November 30, 2001, CRY, Kolkata brought together students

of different schools at Bol Jamoore – a street theatre festival at

Swabhumi – The Heritage Plaza. Bol Jamoore provided a platform

to these students to express their opinions, viewpoints and

feelings on the rights of children in India. The participating

schools were La Martiniere, St. Xaviers, Mahadevi Birla Girls

High School, Birla High School, Lorreto Dharmatala and Apeejay

School. Two groups from a project run by CRY Fellow, Kalachand

Das also participated.

¥ Ismat ApaKeNaam

Noted Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah supported CRY

through a charity show of his play, "Ismat Apa Ke Naam" on

September 29, 2001 in Mumbai. All ticket proceeds from the

show, amounting to nearly Rs. 1 lakh, came to CRY.

For millions of Indian children, childhood means endless labour. At CRY - Child Relief and You, we have

committed ourselves towards ensuring children like Geeta enjoy their basic rights. Through

collective action, from individuals like you. Who, over two decades, have enabled us to help

children lead better lives. And find out what childhood truly means.

I’d like to rewrite the future of a child by contributing towards

One year of education · Rs.800 for 1 child · Rs.2400 for 3 children · Rs.4000 for 5 children · Rs._____ for ______children

One year of education · Rs.1200 for 1 child · Rs.3600 for 3 children · Rs.6000 for 5 children · Rs _____for_______ childrenand Healthcare Support a physically/ · Rs. 3000 for 1child · Rs. 9000 for 3 children · Rs.15000 for 5 children · Rs.______ for _____ children mentally challenged childfor one year

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·CRY often benefits by mailing out offers and information to its donors on behalf of other organisations. Please tick to unsubscribe.CRY does not ask for cash donations.**Please tick the 100% tax option above or specifically ask for the same in your letter to CRY. We need this and your signature/Co. seal to offer you 100% tax exemption under section 35AC or 80GGA. In any case, all donations are eligible for 50% tax relief under section 80G. Cheque/DD to be made in favour of CRY- Child Relief and You .To enable us to send you a receipt mail your donations along with this coupon to CRY - Child Relief and You Delhi: DDA Slum Wing (Barat Ghar), Bapu Park, Kotla Mubarakpur, New Delhi 110 003. Tel: 4693137/ 4790/3159. Fax: 4632302. E-mail: cryinfo.del@crymail.org Mumbai: 189 A, Anand Estate, Sane Guruji Marg, Mumbai 400 011. Tel: 3096845/6472. Fax: 3080726. E-mail: cryinfo.mum@crymail.org Bangalore: Madhavi Mansion, 12/3-1, Bachammal Road, Cox Town, Bangalore 560 005. Tel: 5484952/8574. Fax: 5487355. E-mail: cryinfo.blr@crymail.org Chennai: 57/2 P. S. Sivaswamy Salai (Sullivan Garden Road), Mylapore, Chennai 600 004. Tel: 4672241/1828. Fax: 4672407 E-mail: cryinfo.mds@crymail.org Kolkata: 172 A, Jodhpur Park, Kolkata 700 068. Tel: 4148118/8055. Fax: 4148030 E-mail: cryinfo.cal@crymail.org Visit us at www.cry.org

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