Little stories and events we come across during our work
Volunteer’s Reflections: Sheela SR
“Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody’s heart”
I would like to thank Samiksha Foundation for giving me opportunity to fit in someone’s heart. Yes, a worthy weekend spent at an oncology ward with children fighting cancer. I’m really proud of Samiksha Foundation for their initiative of taking care of the children’s education while they are under treatment.
29th Oct 2011.
We organised a birthday party for 8 kids in the oncology ward. Our storytellers Anushri and Ambika started off with a beautiful Japanese Farmer story.The children listened enrapt to the story which had a different setting. They had a lot to imagine. Then they were encouraged to make little japanese hats with paper and straw. A simple thing that made them smile putting it on their bald heads.They wanted us to take fotos of them with these new hats. Then Lioness club of Bangalore West sponsored the event by bringing in some guests and distributed fruits to the children. Mrs. Bhatnagar donated handmade mobile pouches to all the children in the ward. Our special guest was – Member Secretary of a Laughter Club of Bangalore. She presented some interesting insights into laughter and its importance. With her skill and communication abilities she drew the kids out into peals of laughter and taught them some laughter exercises.
My name is Sagarika Satyavada, and I came to know of the Samiksha Foundation through Youth for Seva, in Bangalore. I live and study in the US. Throughout high school and college, I volunteered in different hospitals reading to children and playing games with them, and I always wanted to extend my volunteering experiences to India as well. Youth for Seva provided me with this platform and connected me to the Samiksha Foundation, which cares for children with cancer at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology.
Read the rest of the article: Sagarika’s Experience at Samiksha…
This is a testimonial of a student from Jain college, Bangalore who interned with the foundation for 2 months.
I am Aparajita Kayal from Kolkata. I have finished my post graduation in Mass Communication from Jain University. As a part of our course we were guided to do an internship for two months, where I joined “Samiksha Foundation” on 19th July.
Read the rest of the article: Interns’ Experiences at Samiksha…
Everyone loves a good game once in a while. The children at the hospital rarely get to play a good game of cricket, or basketball, or football. Not only because they have a low blood count and get tired quickly, but also because there isn’t ever the space for this. On Thursday, July 23, at Samiksha, one of our volunteers – Manu (short for Manmohan Iyer), who visits us regularly from New York, arranged to get a designer basketball for each child at the hospital. 120 small basketballs were couriered by the Harlem Wizards team of New York to Bangalore.
As we completed our 2nd year at Kidwai Memorial on the 18th of June 2011, we were amazed at the fast pace at which things have moved for the foundation. Someone asked me if I expected things to grow this fast and to this extent when I started. My simple answer is No.
ON 12th april this year we received a call from Meenakshi -Tejas’s mother from her home. She wanted to enquire about us and update us on the progress that Tejas had made at school after being discharged from hospital. He had been at hospital for over a year undergoing treatment for cancer. Then he was in first standard. He missed his entire school year of 2nd grade and attended Samiksha whenever he could, during this time.His mother was a most encouraging ward mom, always helpful, always smiling and hopeful for the kids..Unlike many mothers there, Meenakshi was a well travelled, educated and talented woman-she had left behind 2 older sons at home to be with little Tejas at the hospital. She bubbled with joy when she called me to say that Tejas had been doing very well at home and at school He got 79% in his 3rd standard exam even though he had missed the whole year there. Thanks to the people at Samiksha, he was able to get back to school and normal life with pride and joy. Whenever he is upset with his routine in regular life, he tells his mom that he wishes he were back at the Samiksha school at the hospital where he was happy and had so much fun. Thank you Meenakshi for acknowledging our work. Good luck Tejas Kumar. We all wish you well and a great school year ahead.
Here’s a small note on my first visit to Samiksha…
I was struck by the cheerful and positive atmosphere in the Kapoor ward of Kidwai Hospital, the morning that I visited. There was no reflection of discomfort or ill-health in the children’s eager, smiling faces. Their absorption with school work and reading seemed total. One of the girls in the ward was being medicated through an intravenous drip. She was sitting and reading, heedless of the drip.
Read the rest of the article: Charumathi visits the children…
On Oct 2nd, Gandhi Jayanthi Day, we gathered at the ward planning to do a lesson on Gandhi with the children. Tania and others got 4 neat books on Bapuji and we settle down for a fun afternoon with songs and learning about Gandhiji – his ideals, life and inspirations. As I struggled with the interactions in Kannada and English mixed up,and asked the moms to participate, one of the ward mothers, named Manjula, stood up to talk about the Mahatma. What started as a simple question-answer exercise, went on to be the most educative lessons on Gandhiji we ever had.
On our documents section, under Reports, are writeups by Ms. Melanie Mendonza and Ms. Priyanka Minz, who were volunteers with us over the summer (May 2010). In them, they describe their experiences working with the children at Samiksha. Take a look.
The Samiksha Foundation is a registered trust under the Indian Trusts Act, 1881,
document no. BNG(U)-BMH 237 2009-2010