Year 2006
Tuesday, December 6, 2011year 2006 of June starts for n.j.school, Bangalore, India for 200 young underprivileged girls.
June 15, 2007
Our mission statement–believing that all people should be afforded the opportunity to a life that includes dignity and the provision of basic needs.
2005 classes in tents 2006 New School
ARRIVAL IN INDIA ON WINGS OF HOPE– Hi, I am Zubeda Ishaq president of ASIAN WOMEN AND CHILDRENS FOUNDATION based in Portland, Oregon. We work in Bangalore India educating and empowering young girls of the slums of India, at a school called Najmussahar girls high school.
Our Board consists of Zubeda B.Ishaq President, Michael Augden treasurer/Secretary, Anni O’shea, Director, Chrisstie Brunson, Director, Ellen Brunson, Director, Jackie Vanrysselburgh, Director, Maureen Key, Director.
The new school year of June 2006 started with my arrival at the school with funds from our supporters, and start the long awaited move— the girls out of tents into a new rented premises. There was a great deal of excitement and zeal settling the new airy spacious classrooms, having bathrooms with running water. Just all the luxuries which poor students of India do not get.
All 200 girls were provided with fees, books, uniforms shoes as we do every year. The parents or g.parents of these slum children do not have these basic needs. morning milk is given just as soon as the girls come into the school. all health programs of dental work and eye camps are done and materials and medicine provided. First three months are focused on getting these girls to get healthy so then they are able to perform at their studies.
The new year also started with the previous years, 10th class girls provision of college fees, books and bus fare to reach the college. In the past years these girls had nothing to look forward to but a marriage at the age of 15 and 16. With continuous counseling of the parents and with financial support provided the girls are safely going to colleges. We extend 4 years of college funding to see that they successfully graduate. This will enable them to find better jobs and hope to live lives with dignity
ARRIVAL OF GUESTS FROM SOUTH EUGENE INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL. WHO HAVE ADOPTED OUR SCHOOL AS THEIR SISTER SCHOOL, on the 21st of June 3 teachers and 20 students arrived to live at our school and interact with these poor girls. we served them vegetarian meals they in turn had very exciting learning, teaching interaction with our girls. The love, respect, compassion and kindness that was extended to by the visiting girls and teachers, was life changing experience for our girls. They bloomed with self esteem and confidence. You will see all the photos and testimonies of what this program has done. Children helping children are very successful programs.
SELF SUFFICIENCY PROGRAM– One very successful program was applying HENNA, which the girls of our school are very good at. We advertised in the local papers and the overwhelming response from the community was very encouraging. These girls go to apply henna at weddings and other functions and earn easily 3 to 4 thousand Indian rupees per girl. Each time 6 to 7 girls go out to these functions. This is a lot of money for these poor girls, but their talent when recognized and with our supervision has brought them the wages they should get and not be exploited. The mothers or grand mothers come to take the earned money and it has made their lives easier. The girls are very happy, very confident with the power of their earnings. This program is very very successful. We have sent some of these girls to professional henna schools. Once they complete these courses they are able to earn like 500 dollars a month!! This has brought a message to these poor people that education and trained talent can definitely change their lives.
As the year ended in March 2006, and the 10th class was preparing for their final exams. With the extensive coaching and teaching— they did very well and out of the 42 who appeared 39 passed out with flying colors. Hopefully they will all go to college. A whole year of college expense for a girl is $60/- only. With your support we are continuing our programs to transform the lives of these girls who will have a voice one day. Empowering them with education and health, will hopefully help them to get out of this poverty that is lurking in the slums of India.
FUTURE PROJECTS Building a new school, to house more girls with a larger space. Raise funds to employ more teachers. We have 200 girls to take care, but just 60 sponsorships in hand, so we need more girls to be sponsored to run the school better.
For the year 2007 -2008 three students from the South Eugene International school have volunteered to come to our school for a full year and to teach and live at the school. This volunteer work will greatly help expand the school’s classes and English programs.
I had a full 10 months of work at the school. My rewards are enormous - contact with beautiful 200 young girls with such scant material, no goodies and such brilliant smiles. I want to share with you their warmth, gratitude and hope for a better future, and most of all their growing faith in the goodness of people so far away in America who actually care about them.
India has 900,000 state schools,where teachers may or may not come. students learn next to nothing. And yet all these students pass every year so that the schools are not embarrassed nor the state governments. they show the statistics as high literacy in India. There are state run schools without water, bathrooms, no doors or windows and abusive teachers or no teachers. This is a common problem. The government pays for schools, clinics and vaccinations, but someone pockets the money and no education or health care materializes
Then there is the toll of malnutrition. India has more malnutritioned children than any country in the world and one of highest rates of malnutrition, 30 to 47 per cent, depending on who does the estimating. These malnutritioned children suffer permanent losses in IQ and cognition, and are easy prey for diseases. There is some evidence that widespread malnutrition lowers economic growth in affected countries. So in the middle of this century Ind ia will still be held back by its failure to educate, feed and vaccinate its children to date. This failure will haunt india for many decades to come.
So there is a lot of sickness in all the states, even if they are up and coming cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. India is not taking care of its untapped resource: its rural and poor population. Here is where our foundation ASIAN WOMEN AND CHILDRENS CENTERS COMES IN RUNNING A SCHOOL FOR THE SLUM GIRLS IN BANGALORE INDIA.
NAJMUS SAHAR GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL one of the state run school with 200 young,very poor malnutritioned girls, was adopted by AWCC in the year 2003. With the financial support taken from here and basic programs of nutrition, medical support these girls lives have transformed into healthy happy young sucessful women to face and have access to ongoing education into colleges.
