This year for the first time Baale Mane will be taking part in the Tata Consultancy Service (TCS) World 10K Charity Run in association with Bangalore Cares. This event has been running for 5 years now and Bangalore Cares have been supporting the event and helping NGO’s to raise the maximum amount of funds for their individual causes. This years run is taking place on 27^th May.

So far one of the Baale Mane Trustees Rajan Naryanan, our Manager,Mary C and  Assistant  Manager,  Vicky Chenery  are  signing up to  take  part in the  run.

We Need YOU to Run

We hope to gather additional runners (who reside in India) to register for the run and raise funds for Baale Mane. If you would like to run please register here . It costs Rs. 700/- to register and registration ends as soon as the running spaces are filled so HURRY and sign up today!

If you are planning to register please also let Vicky Chenery know at Vicky@baalemane.org so we have an idea of numbers and an idea of the amount you are able to raise.

We Need YOU to Sponsor

If you cannot take part in the run we hope that you will be able to sponsor the individuals that are. Please visit their individual fundraising pages and support them by making a donation. Every little amount will help them reach their fundraising targets.

Sponsor Mary C via Bangalore Cares in India here

If you are in the UK, please sponsor Vicky on her Just Giving page here

What are we running for? 

By taking part in this run, Baale Mane employees, trustees and supporters are hoping to raise funds for a new campus extension. We want to upgrade our facilities to comply with teh very best standards set out in The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) karnataka Rules 2010. Right now there are 40 girls sleeping in one room and the ages of these girls range from 6 to 17 years old. Separating age groups and having smaller dormitories will significantly enhance the living environment for our girls and enable them to thrive better in their individual academic and extra-curricular pursuits. We also hope to improve communal spaces such as an eating area and a proper play area.

Another purpose for extending the campus is that at present the staff that live and work at Baale Mane are sleeping in the same dormitories as the girls. Our staff are invaluable and their dedication to work and live at Baale Mane 24 hours a day is certainly not an easy commitment to make. Therefore, we feel that it is extremely important for staff to be provided with more privacy and personal space.

We have recruited a talented local Architect who has offered his professional services at a very discounted rate. However, the construction of the new buildings will cost roughly 1 crore rupees which is approx £150,000. Please donate what you can towards the extension so that we may enhance the living environment for the current and future girls of the Baale Mane.

Thank you for your support!

Click here to read more news on Vicky’s blog.

Read more

On the Bus

In the very early hours of Saturday 5th November Baale Mane staff and girls loaded on to two buses generously donated by our friends at Red Bus www.redbus.in  to begin the journey to Mahabalipuram, a historical coastal town south of Chennai.

The trip was made possible by some extremely generous donations and the following is a short review of the trip to express our gratitude.

The buzz about the trip began well in advance, as did the packing preparations! I was asked daily whether I had finished “packing my dress” and it was thought quite unacceptable that I was planning to do this a few hours before we left. Staff preparation involved dividing the girls into teams, each led by a member of staff and a girl in 1st PUC. The girls arranged pre-trip meetings and spent some time making badges for each of their team mates.

The journey there took longer than anticipated. However that was quickly forgotten as everyone settled in to their dorms, freshened up and had a delicious breakfast at our accommodation. We then went to Dakshinachitra to begin our programme for the day. This consisted of a tour around the cultural centre and exploring the model village of traditional South Indian homes. We watched silk weaving demonstrations and a potter working his magic on his wheel. The girls were then divided into groups in order to take part in some activities including ornament painting and assisting the skilled potter in making some miniature pots.

Activities at Dakshinachitra

In the afternoon and evening the girls learned some traditional folk dancing of Tamil Nadu, which was great fun to watch and amazing to see how talented all the girls are! The drumming gradually increased in speed as did the dance moves and after about 45 minutes of this the girls were exhausted but elated and buzzing with excitement!

After this we had a tug of war and pot breaking, which involved a blind fold, a stick and a clay jug filled with water hanging from a string. The aim was to hit the jug and empty the water while blind-folded. This provided endless entertainment accompanied by very loud shouts of laughter at those with blindfolds swiping at thin air!

Tug of War

 

The following day we boarded the bus for our tour around the temples of  Mahabalipuram also known as Mamallapuram. We visited

three different sites with a  guide who explained the significance of eachcarvingand temple, some of which are  over 2,000 years old. First was the Shore Temple, which as the name suggests, was  right next to the beach and absolutely stunning! Then the Pancha  Rathas (Five  Chariots) and finally The Descent of the Ganges and Arjuna’s Penance depicted in relief  on a magnificent monolithic rock.

Krishna's Butterball

A highlight was seeing Krishna’s Butterball, an enormous round rock balanced on the edge of a stone hill. The girls took great delight in being photographed underneath the ball pretending to hold it up. There was also a particularly slippery section of stone which had obviously been used regularly by visitors as a slide, ending in an enormous puddle at the bottom of the slope. The trick was to try and stop yourself before landing in it!

After a delicious packed lunch came the long-awaited visit to Tiger Cave beach! As you can imagine any child’s reaction when seeing the ocean for the first time, there were gasps of excitement and a mad rush to remove footwear in order to charge into the waves. The girls showed no hesitation and within minutes the majority were wet from head to toe and covered in sand, while staff stood at the side-lines trying to monitor the mayhem! The exception was Lawrence who got fully involved and went deeper into the sea in order to prevent any of the girls from being overly ambitious! It was an incredible sight watching the girls splashing about and playing in the waves and we hope that these photos can give you a sense of the excitement and happiness it gave each of them.

After about an hour and a half at the beach it was time to board the bus again back to Baale Mane, but not before the girls had hastily removed clumps of sand from their hair and had changed into some dry clothes!

 

Thank you to those of you who supported the trip and made it possible. We all had a wonderful time!

For more photographs please visit the Baale Mane facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Baale-Mane-Gopalapura/269735353070439?notif_t=page_new_likes

And follow us on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/baalemane

With love and thanks from the Girls and Staff at

Baale Mane Gopalapura

 

 

 

This newsletter comes to you at an exciting time in the story of the Baale, with almost too much to share with you. In the last couple of months, Kunku has successfully piloted our first child rights workshop which represents a very important step for us – informing the wider community in and around Bangalore about child rights and raising a little money for us: Vicky has taken over from Bella as our Assistant Manager; Megha, our first ‘graduate’, has her first job, working for a BPO company; the girls have just returned from a weekend visit to Mahabalipuram, near Chennai, to see the temples and to see the sea for the first time;  Nicolle who runs the Kavitha Foundation in the Netherlands in support of the Baale has just spent three weeks with us; we have teamed up with iPartner India and have already started to feel the benefit of their amazing network of non-resident Indians in the UK; I have just returned from a visit in which many plans were discussed; we are planning our annual strategy session in December; oh, and today we have launched our new website.

So, what to tell? We will bring you more news on all of these stories after our December strategy session. For now, in this short newsletter, I want to concentrate on encouraging you to visit our new website, first impressions from Vicky and an appeal to help us with our transport needs.

For our Friends around Bangalore I also bring news of an open day we are planning at The Baale on Sunday 11^th December

Enjoy our news, and why not leave your thoughts on our new Facebook Fan Page

Chris Harrison
Chairman 

Launching Our New Website

Our current website, developed by Chris’ son Dave, has served us well for over four years, during which time we have raised over £300,000 to support our girls. However, technology has moved on and we wanted our website to become a livelier environment where our Friends and supporters can share their impressions in word, picture and video. We of course also want to make the website more informative, intuitive and a place where it is easier for you to donate.

Earlier this year we were lucky enough to secure the services of Spencer Chumbley, a specialist in media, communications and journalism within the aid, relief and international development sector who is just embarking on his career after completing and MSc at SOAS in London. Spencer has worked with us on very generous terms and produced a website that we are all proud of.

So, why not take a look? Highlights include:

• Links to our latest newsletter and archive copies of older ones, and the opportunity to sign up easily to receive a copy
• • Links to our Facebook, Twitter, Flickr pages and a regular blog from Vicky
• • Redesigned donation page
• • Transparency though our governance page where accounts and various registrations can be found

• We think it looks really good!

Vicky’s First Impressions

On 1st October I left the comforts of home and the familiarities of London and flew to Bangalore to begin work as the Assistant Manager at the Baale Mane.

I have a first degree in Social Anthropology from Edinburgh and in September finished my year ’s MSc in Violence, Conflict and Development at SOAS (currently nervously waiting to hear the results of my dissertation!). Over the years I have developed an interest in human rights and in particular child rights, which is what initially attracted me to apply for the role. Another instinctive pull was that, having volunteered in Swaziland, South Africa, Uganda and the UK, I had never been to India before and felt strongly that this was exactly the place I needed to be. A month has passed and I am relieved to say that my instincts were exactly right!

My time here began with a bit of a wobbly week in the city, trying to register my employment visa at the FRRO (Foreign Regional Registration Office) – awaiting my final registration for approval to work in the country with heart-racing anticipation! While in the city I stayed with Bella, who guided and encouraged me hugely during those initial days. My first few weeks also coincided with Chris ’s visit to the Baale and the preparation for the next Leaders Quest in March. I was able to join him at various meetings with partner organisations, which in turn served as a great induction to the city.

Bangalore has a really friendly feel to it and I love its variety, both in the pace at which people live and its mixture of modernity and tradition. Business men and women on mopeds or in air-conditioned cars rushing to and from work share the congested roads with a sea of yellow auto-rickshaws weaving in and out of people and vehicles. Crowds line the pavements trying to cross during the very limited breaks in the onslaught of traffic. Carts selling a variety of fruits or flower garlands attract those with more time to spare and shops are full of mothers and daughters on leisurely outings picking out materials for new saris and selecting the matching bangles.

On the same street you can find an ornately decorated temple or a marriage hall covered with fairy lights coexisting alongside the trendy cafés full of young 20 something’s, a Levi’s store and the endless mobile phone shops with immaculately polished glass windows.

As you begin the journey from the city to the Baale the density of traffic subsides, as do the flashy buildings and business types. The journey is a beautiful mixture of busy trading centres, agricultural fields and palm trees as well as creatively decorated and brightly painted buildings of lime green, pink and yellow.

I was very nervous when I first arrived at the Baale, anxious to meet Mary and the girls and knowing that this would be my new home and place of work. However, It did not take me long to settle in – I was absorbed, without really realising it, into the daily buzz of activity. I can barely count how many hugs and makeovers I receive on a daily basis from the girls, and the happiness I feel being around them counteracts any pangs caused by thoughts of home. Loneliness is certainly not an issue here, in fact it is almost impossible to be alone!

Appeal for Help with Our Transport

Until now, our sole means of motorised transport – some of the girls have bicycles – has been our auto. The auto is aging and is really not very safe on the country roads around Gopalapura. Currently we have to hire a coach whenever the girls go on a trip and we face many practical challenges. Our PUC girls for example have to wait two hours each day at a bus stop for connecting buses. This is neither safe, nor a good use of their time.

Can you help us address this? We have three staff able to drive and Mary is keen to learn. We want to buy a 9 seater minivan and a Tata Nano, at a total cost of around 11 Lakh Rupees (around £14,000). Please donate. Of course, any reader who would be keen to donate all or a significant part of the cost of one of the vehicles (The remarkable Nano will cost around £2000 on the road) could have their sponsorship displayed on the vehicle

An invitation to our Friends in Bangalore to join us on 11th December for an open day

In India, the summer holidays are coming to a close and our girls will be returning to school this week.

In this edition of our newsletter, we focus on the activities that the girls have been engaged in over the summer months, and the very pleasing exam results that our girls in tenth standard have achieved.

In the first article, Bella shares some of the activities that the girls had been engaged in over the summer months.

Kunku and I were able to spend time at the Baale at the beginning of May, and as with previous visits, we were thrilled to see the progress the girls are making, and the improvements that we have been able to make in the physical infrastructure at the Baale. We were also able to enjoy some of the wonderful vegetables fresh from our thriving vegetable garden.

In our second article, Kunku invites our Indian friends to think about becoming mentors for our older girls. We see this as a critical aspect of our support for the girls, as they transition to an independent adult life. We have passed a landmark in the last few weeks, as our oldest girl, Megha, has become the first girl to leave the Baale on her journey to an independent adult life. Mentoring will be a key part of our continuing support for her.

One of the most exciting developments over the last nine months has been our success in cash fund raising in India which is a relatively new development for us. In our third article, Rajan shares plans for participation in JOY OF GIVING week in October.

Of course we will always need to raise funds from all our friends around the world, not least as our costs are rising, primarily to meet the new educational standards that we are setting. In the UK, we have recently signed up for Vodafone text message giving and I would encourage our UK based Friends to give this a try. You can give £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10. You can even claim gift aid through a very easy process.

All you have to do is text FOBM11£{1,2,3,4 or5} to 70070. Why not give it a try

As ever, please enjoy our newsletter.

- Chris Harrison, Chairman

Life at the Baale in the Summer Holidays
Reflections from Bella

It’s the summer holidays and Baale Mane has been teeming with different activities. Two volunteers, Sundari and Uloma have been engaging the girls in different activities.Sundari stayed for two weeks and helped the girls do fabric paintings, glass paintings while also taking English classes during the mornings. There are paper butterflies and flowers galore making Baale even more colourful than usual! We recently received a large donation of books in English, Hindi and Kannada so the girls have been making use of their fortified library.Uloma arrived from the UK last week and got stuck in immediately by taking English classes as well as basic computer training. Some girls can be seen typing up their writing from their English class in the morning whilst others create pictures on paint.Seven girls have been participating in daily yoga classes at Shreyas Resort, a yoga retreat in the neighbouring village. The yoga is physically challenging but the girls are enjoying it and teaching the other girls in the morning.Two separate groups of girls have been staying in the city for a week learning how to perform new street dramas on child rights with Vanaja. They have all come back even more eager to perform.The eldest five girls have had career counselling and guidance to help them focus on what they are able to achieve and work towards over the next year.All of the 10th Standard girls passed their SSLC exams and will be attending college from next week. Particular congratulations go to Madhumala and Pallavi who both achieved first class passes in their exams, a fantastic achievement. Mr Kempuraj, the maths tutor at Baale Mane has helped significantly improve the girls ’ maths results showing how beneficial extra tuition has been.Starting from next week, these six girls will be moving to their first year of Pre University College so we wish them luck.From the beginning of next month eight girls will be starting high school at Vivekananda, an English Medium School. These girls have been studying throughout the holidays and attending a bridge school to help ease the transition from Kannada medium to English medium. Over the past two months I have seen and heard a noticeable improvement in their English as they attend classes.A special mention should go to Megha who has just passed out of Baale Mane after being here for ten years.Megha is now living in a working women’s hostel in the city with other young women her age. She has almost completed her software engineering course and is now attending English classes every day. Within the next couple of months Megha will be placed into a job.As you can see, there are many new developments that are taking place at Baale Mane. The girls are really growing up and making the most of the opportunities we provide them. We are all looking forward to another successful school year.

Glass painting- a rat with a strawberry!!

Physically challenging yoga

Seeking mentors for our older girls

By Kunku Soota
Trustee, Friends of Baale Mane, Uk & Chair, Advisory Group, The Baale Mane Trust, India

Baale Mane nestles in a green space and near the home a pathway winds through Eucalyptus and Casurina trees where in May I walked with some of the older girls. We meandered as a pair while each girl told me about her hopes, dreams and challenges. Megha spoke of her trepidation and excitement at moving to the city. For Mary, the Baale Mane ’s loving manager this was big milestone as the first of her girls was leaving home.There are four others on the threshold of that journey. Over the last couple of years I have come to know the girls. I speak no Kannada and when I first met them I needed a translator but now they are able to communicate with me in English. Two years ago their expressed ambitions were to be software engineers but now they know themselves and their possibilities better. They are looking at varied career options in law, journalism, accountancy and retail. For one of them we are exploring a career in dance or yoga as she has a very special gift.I am mindful that each of them could do with that little extra help to make the best of the opportunities open to them. Indira Ragupathy, one of our trustees is mentoring Megha and we need a few more.So what does a mentor do ?A mentor is a caring individual who offers guidance, support and encouragement through a structured and trusting relationship with a young person.Mentors are not a replacement for a parent, nor are they a counsellor or teacher. They are a sounding board and confidant to the young person.The role of a mentorA mentor’s role is to help a young person fulfil her own potential and discover her strengths.Qualities that make a good mentorAny caring adult can become a mentor no matter what their life experiences have been. They should have good listening and communications skills, patience and be willing to provide support and encouragement to their young mentee.

They must have the time and commitment to meet their mentee regularly – usually at least for an hour every month for 12 months.

If you are a woman who is interested please Contact  Mary, Bella or Kunku, by email.

Our community

Bella has written about the progress made in education – since we moved to Gopalpura, the Baale has become very much part of a community that is local as well as much wider. 11 million children have been abandoned in India and 90% of them are girls but for our 60 girls we tell a different story. I mention a few of those who are helping the girls to re-imagine their futures:

• The Panchayat (local village council) is engaged through providing basic amenities such as improving the road to Baale Mane or school books.

• Akshaya Patra the inspirational NGO who deliver a hot mid-day meal for all 130 children in the local primary school, now intend to include us in their new programme – Akshaya Patra, initiative for development.

• The Nirmala Health Centre sponsored by the Indian Christian Community look after the health of the girls in their weekly visits.

• The Vivekananda Trust, at their school in Hessarghata will now educate some of the older girls in the medium of English until they are ready to move on.

• Pratham Books is a non-profit trust that publishes high quality books for children at affordable prices. Reading materials that are culturally appropriate in English and in Kannada have been given to us by a generous donor.

• Weekly dance classes at the world class Nrityagrama and daily yoga classes at Shreyas resorts, a member of the world wide luxury Relais & Châteaux group, give some of our girls a glimpse into possibilities in 21st century India.

Finally, when I returned to London I met two of our generous donors who are Indian women in their 70s. Shortly after when we needed to pay Pre University College fees for 6 girls, within 36 hours of a digital call, sponsors from Bangalore had come forward to provide sufficient funds. I am reminded that it is the contributions of those around the world who share our vision that enables us to provide the loving home that is Baale Mane.

Indian Fund raising and the Joy of Giving campaign

Last financial year (Apr 2010 – Mar 2011) we raised RS8 lakhs (£11500) in India and that money is primarily being used to meet the budgeted expenses until we get FCRA approval and are in a position to receive money directly from the Friends. We are incurring additional expenses for education as we have moved some of the girls to English medium school. The college fees for girls who have successfully completed their school is higher than planned as we have chosen another college where the fees are higher. We will continue to raise funds for the Baale Mane through programs and events and in the last two months we have raised (received and committed amounts ) in excess of RS150000. This will largely go to paying the fees for the girls in 10th and for those joining Pre University year 1.Our plan is also to use ‘The joy of Giving week’ as a platform for fund raising and to increase the awareness of the Baale Mane to the community. The Joy of Giving is a “festival of giving” that aims to bring together Indians all across the country and abroad through different acts of giving – money, time, skills or resources. The goal is to convert it to a fully publicly owned festival, just like Diwali, Holi or Thanksgiving, none of which are owned by anyone. The week was launched in 2009 and will be held every year starting on a Sunday and ending on a Saturday, containing October 2 within. This is a 100% volunteer driven, publicly owned campaign.

The Joy of Giving Week 2011, slated to happen from Oct 2-8 this year, is India’s largest festival of giving reaching out to more than a million Indians. From auto drivers to CEOs, school children to celebrities, homemakers to opinion leaders, millions of people give their time, money, resources or skills back to society- by creating or participating in “events” of their choice.We plan to use this platform for fund raising, enhancing awareness and also to put a volunteer event together.Let us together celebrate

Our readers in India can click on the Joy of Giving symbol to see what’s in store. We will tell you more about our plans as October gets nearer: meanwhile, mark the dates in your diary