Mehendi @ Utkarsh

There is something mesmerizing about Mehndi and it’s no wonder that the ancient form of hand and feet painting has captivated the ladies (and now gents also) for years. It’s in the intricate designs that take hours to create, the deep crimson color which shines clearly on the skin, the earthy aroma that fills the air … that creates the magic.

It is this magic that we in our Social Cell wish to tap and use for a social cause. Mehndi project is a very successful project among our projects which has never failed to bring smile to the people whom we wish to help.

As an initiative of this project, a kiosk was set up in Utkarsh, fete of SK Arts & Science college in Somaiya Campus on Dec 22nd 2007. The kiosk was set up at around 3:30pm and went on till 8pm. Many eager students, staff and their kids applied Mehendi.

The conveynor of Utkarsh, Ms.Charlette Madam was highly co-operative and very helpful. She readily gave us the permission to conduct the kiosk and apart from that, she instructed the volunteers to arrange for a table etc and also encouraged us to make announcements on the stage to pull more crowd.

The mehendi ladies made good earnings and were very happy at the end of the day. They wished to be invited for more such occassions.

Let us look out for more such occassions: Let us Challenge destinies, touch hearts and bring more smiles :)

Kiosk at CitiGroup Services

Conducting Events/kiosks in Corporate offices have been a very important reason behind the success of Somaiya Social Cell. One such kiosk was conducted in CitiGroup Services, Malad, Mumbai on 25/10/07 and 26/10/07.

It was a two day event. The event was highly supported by the HR of the company who was our primary contact. The stall was publised under the name ‘Diwali Bazar’ and rightly so as the kiosk was set up shortly before Diwali.

Four volunteers Satyam, Meena, Vinnu Priya and Akhila were in charge of the stalls. SAHAS Cell pouches, Andhra Toys, Paper bags, Candles and Folders from NAB were sold in the kiosks apart from Mehendi.
We had good sales and the employees received the products very well.

We hope to keep up this contact and build many more such Corporate Contacts and add more to our Success Stories.

Nostalgia 2007

NOSTALGIA – The event which brings together the alumni and the present batches and help foster a long lasting relationship between the two. Nostalgia 2007 was no different and it provided the Somaiya Social Cell a platform to keep the alumni informed of the activities and projects that the cell had undertaken the past year.

The Preparation

The preparation took off the previous night itself with all banners, charts, posters of each and every project and activity being worked out by the members. The basic aim was to provide an insight into each and every initiative that the students had taken up and the progress made in recent years. A mehendi stall was also planned, the intention being to highlight the SAHAS initiative to the public. The transition of the student body from a Somaiya SIFE chapter to an entirely social venture was presented through the new logo and banners.

The Exhibition

Founder, Dr S.K Somaiya was one among those who visited the stall and had jotted down in the log book, “Congratulations for imbibing the spirit of the founder and SIMSR. Keep it up”.

Most of the alumni who came over were very much eager to contribute to various projects and indeed most of them spoke about the cell during their interaction with the college students in the Audi. Many of them also evinced interest in joining the Business Advisory Board and also interacting with the members in future.

Feedback

Some of the comments and messages received on Nostalgia :-

“Brilliant work. Extremely committed batch. Makes me feel very proud. Keep the momentum going guys.” - Swati

“Glad to learn about the difference SIMSR is creating to the larger society around.”- Prasad (1992MMS )

“Excellent work. It has moved me! May you move mountains.” – Sheetal (1999 batch)

“Hope you create a legacy of such fabulous work. We pray you guys shine and excel in your life and careers and everywhere. All the best.” – Minoo (1999 batch)

“Great, wonderful, excellent .. are some of the words, that have crammed the feedback … Its just that words are falling short for the great work done by you all.” – Nikita (1999 batch)

“If not now, later you will come appreciate the value of your contribution.” – Mohit C.

“An excellent initiative taken guyz! Proud of you!!!” – Aastha (2007 batch)

“Brilliant initiatives- Please involve the alumni too” – Saikat (2007 batch)

This event provided a platform for the students to interact with the Alumni and also highlight the work being done by the present batch. The commitment provided by the alumni has definitely paved the way for a long term relationship, the evolution of the BAB – a platform for student-alumni-faculty a step in this regard.

SOMAIYA SOCIAL CELL MAKES ITS PRESENCE FELT IN PUNE

Right from the time it was formed, the Somaiya Social Cell has been engaged in social activities based mostly in and around Mumbai. This time the Social Cell got an opportunity to venture out of the city. As part of their Corporate Social Responsibility, Tech Mahindra invited the Social Cell for setting up a stall in the Social Fair which they were organizing in their premises at Pune.

Somaiya Social Cell @ Tech Mahindra

The Event

The Social Fair was held on October 22nd and 23rd where around 10 NGOs were displaying their products and highlighting awareness on their activities. The Somaiya social cell was the only student social organization in the Fair. Juhee, Nitesh, Seema, Astha, Tanvi and Beno represented the somaiya cell. The products on display stall included Andhra Toys, Warli paintings, NAB Paper bags, SAHAS mobile pouches and NAB candles. Some of the other products on display in the NGO stalls were jute bags, paper bags, envelopes, diyas, clay models and CDs. The students were able to interact with the other NGO members and garner much information about their working. We made a whopping sale of around 17K in spite of the immense options available to select from.

The team recieved good response from the employees

Few of the products on display

Feedback

We had received various feedbacks about the products, display, project explanation and about the Social Cell from the Tech Mahindra employees. Some of them are given below:-

“The collection is really wonderful. We wish to have more of such collection at least for 3 days ”

“Good products – beyond imagination that they can do it.”

“Great effort to make people feel good for what they are.”

“Nice items. Good quality and very good interaction. Keep up the good work.”

“You should publicize where this can be purchased within the city. Very nice products.”

“Beautiful crafts and nice work of K.J. Somaiya students.”

Benefits

Section of the hall packed with various NGOs

Apart from the sales, we got very good feedback and ways to improve the social cell and its products. We had people asking for more of products to be couriered to them. The biggest benefit we got was in the form of NGO contacts, who became aware of the social cell and promised to call us for any assistance or tie-ups in Pune. The volunteers got a feel of the CSR activity in companies and how to market their products. More than this, the volunteers got to know about the various NGOs and their products and how they can implement changes to their existing product portfolio to build a better product.

Somaiya Social Cell organizes Great Future Cup - Underarm cricket for Discovery Channel

The Discovery/Fox channel crew had set up camp in Mumbai and were on the lookout for a partner to help document Gully cricket and Underarm cricket in India. This program called 'An Aussie Goes Bolly' (AAGB II) is a sequence to a very famous soap on cricket, AAGB. The protagonist, Mr.Gus Worland is a cricket fanatic from Australia who has become a celebrity of sorts after the runaway success of 'An Aussie Goes Balmy' (AAGB) series back home. AAGB I covered the cricket fever in England. The Fox team finally contacted the Somaiya Social Cell to help do a documentary on Underarm cricket and organize a cricket match for them in the Somaiya grounds.


Our Role

The Somaiya social cell members arranged the venue, facilitated the video shoot in the neighboring underserved community and organized the cricket match on 16th October 2007. The team involved the cell members, people from the community and the fox team. The teams were formed to reflect the best teams in the World cricket, namely Australia and India. All in all, we formed the interface between the Fox team and the community. The idea was to bring out the passion for the game that thrives even at the lowest levels. The prizes were sponsored by the TV crew.

The Match

The match was played for 10 Overs. Mr.Gus Worland was the captain of the 'Australian' team and Mr.Kaushik (from Discovery) was the captain of 'Indian' team. The Social Cell members who participated in the match were Aravind VS, Aarti Bhandari, Akhila Sekhar and Satyam. Anand Ramachandran from the Social cell was the umpire. The toss was won by the Australian team and they chose to bat. The opening batsmen Deepak and Gus sent the Indian fielders running on their toes and the bowlers were finding it hard to get the batsmen out. Eventually Gus got out. Deepak showed a good performance at the crease and at the end of 10 overs, Australia managed 93 runs. India started losing early wickets with the captain Kaushik getting out. Slowly wickets started falling and India was all out for 60 runs. It seems even in under arm cricket India has to go a long way to reach the standards of Australia.


The match evoked a lot of interest from the community

The awarding ceremony of the Somaiya Social Cell 'Future Cup' was presided by Social Cell mentor, Mrs. Radha Iyer, who congratulated both the teams for their enthusiastic participation. Deepak from the Australian team was declared 'Man of the Match'. Akhila Sekhar from the Indian team was declared 'Woman of the Match'. Both of them were awarded with a VIP- Lounge ticket to view the Future Cup cricket between Australia and India to be held on 17th October in Mumbai. The match ended with a big round of applause from the audience for the Social cell team and the Fox team.



The fox team, just before the shoot...

The Publicity

The match was a huge crowd puller, with lot of spectators ranging from school children to the local workers. All the people who passed by had a look and enquired about the whereabouts and did not budge until they had seen at least some part of the match. The people from the community, the volunteers from the Social Cell as well as the Discovery/Fox team actively took part in the initiative and were able to enjoy each and every moment of the game. After the match, the Media team interviewed Mrs.Radha Iyer and Anand Ramachandran about the activities of the Social Cell and about the Indian element which the Australians should carry home after their assignment in India.


Somaiya Social Cell members with Gus Worland and team

The posters portraying the Somaiya social cell were put up in places which ensured high visibility. The banners as well as the labels(which were stuck to the t-shirts of the players) were explicit and they added to the publicity. We have also established good contacts with the Media team which can be leveraged to cover any social events in future. Almost all the people who passed along the place or who were living there came to know of our effort in organizing the match and more than that, the name of Somaiya Social Cell had become the common name of the neighboring areas of the Somaiya College.
More on Gus Worland and the Barmy Army:


http://www.granadaproductions.com.au/auba.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2006/11/23/scbrig23.xml

Project Warli

WARLI

The Art

Warli paintings, have originated out of the life and rituals of the Warli tribe. This simple yet vivid painting style is believed to have originated sometime around the tenth century A.D. However, considering its simplicity in form and figure, it can be assumed to be dating back to the Neolithic period between 2,500 BC and 3,000 BC. Warli paintings express everyday life using extremely basic object forms and just one color - white - on a sober mud base. The appeal of these unicolor compositions with elementary object forms lies in their lack of pretentiousness in conveying the profound. Each painting is usually an entire scene that contains various elements of nature including people, animals, trees, hills etc. Decorative patterns inspired by nature are also used. The themes are often repetitive and symbolic in nature. Warli Unlike any other school of painting does not use mythical or religious iconography. Rather it rejoices in the celebration of simple folk life and its mundane customs.

The tribe

Dahanu, (Maharashtra) happens to be one of the very few remaining habitats of the Warli tribe. The Warlis who number about 300,000 in populations in Dahanu taluka own only 45,000 acres of land of the total acreage. They are mostly marginal and landless laborers and work in the commercial fruit orchards of the prosperous farmers in the region, or in brick kilns in nearby towns. The Warlis remain quite unassimilated from the rest of India; they maintain their own dress style, customs, religion and ceremonies. They have gained recognition only for their unique work of art, known the world over as Warli Painting.

The artist
Jayesh, a 16 year old boy, is very shy and speaks through his paintings. He keeps on drawing paintings for hours and hours. He got introduced to Warli art through his family. He has developed his skills because of encouragement from school and professional training provided from them. He is an aspiring candidate for Elementary examination of Drawing and wants to be a renowned Warli artist.


Jayesh displaying the painting, alongside SIMSR students

The Nareshwadi Residential School

The GVPM School is located on a 270-acre campus. It provides free schooling and residential facilities for the tribal children who come from villages as far as 25 kms. It runs from class 1 through 10 (secondary school) and has 13 trained teachers. The GVPM has introduced several initiatives towards child-centered learning and ensures an integrated approach incorporating classroom curriculum with exposure to agriculture, horticulture, dairy and promotion of the indigenous Warli Art through daily activities embedded in the time-table.

Somaiya Social Cell (SIMSR)

The initiative by the Social cell of SIMSR (Somaiya) is playing the role of a catalyst. It has exposed the skills of Jayesh - the painter to the outside world. The money collected from this painting will be used for further education of Jayesh and to fulfill his dreams of being a Warli artist by providing him the best available training and exposure.

One of the paintings sold by the students

Girivanavasi Pragati Mandal

Girivanavasi Pragati Mandal (GVPM) was established on September 20 1974 by Padmabhushan Shri Karamshibhai J. Somaiya (May 16 1902-May 09 1999) with the objective of setting up an integrated rural development model of education, health, agricultural development and economic self-reliance for the tribal community in the Dundhalwadi area (about 120 kms. from Mumbai) of Dahanu Taluka, Thane District in Maharashtra. The area where the project operates is called Nareshwadi. It is recognized as a voluntary organization by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India and is a registered Public Charitable Trust; registered with the Sub-Registrar of New Delhi, (Registration No. 4431 dated 27th September 1974).

Pehel

Pehel is an initiative started by students of SIMSR(2007-2009 batch) in the New Hostel as an interaction between the SIMSR students and the children of construction workers in the campus to aid them in their studies and teach them basic civic values. The objectives of Project Pehel are to -

• Teach basic civic values to the children, like hygiene, way of greeting etc.
• An introduction to basic primary education including games and crafts
• Creating general awareness about discipline, nation, famous personalities etc.

Attending classes at Sunrise!

The Children:

There are around 10 children of age group 4- 10 yrs. Around 30% of them have attended schools but have discontinued now because of the nature of job of their parents. The remaining (esp girls) were never sent to school.

Class in Progress.

What we do ??

We are a team of around 20 people. A batch of three has a duty on a day of a week and we teach the scheduled subject on the timetable. So we have 6 batches teaching the children. We teach them the basics of English, Hindi and Maths and apart from them we also teach arts and crafts. On Sundays, we arrange for some children's movie or games. Apart from regular studies, we try to conduct events for the kids.

For Independence Day, the children were encouraged to colour and make flags. The children held these flags and were all witness to the Flag Hoisting ceremony held on campus. While the ceremony was held with all fanfare, a small group of the public moved over to talk to the children curious to know why they had come over. The children sang the National Anthem to the small crowd that had gathered by; it was quite easy to see the pride on the gleaming small faces.......


Many people turned up to listen to the children.

Vande Mataram ...

Paper Bag Project- Continuum

SIFE Somaiya has been working with the employment cell of NAB (National Association for Blind) for more than one year with special emphasis on the paper bag project. The employment cell of NAB helps capable blind youngsters to get a suitable job in the industry. The time and effort required for this purpose is phenomenal. This can be judged as only about 20-30 youngsters get placed every year. Self sufficiency in this period becomes an important task. Teaching them the craft of making paper bags, candles, envelopes etc enables an earning opportunity and a skill for lifetime. The project was taken up by the batch of year 2005. The initial efforts were put in to develop the paper bags and work out a cost structure. Efforts were put in to market the paper bags which were not successful during the initial stages.

At present, improved quality paper bags have been developed and new range of products have been made available like carry bags, gift envelopes, wine bottle bags, jewelers bags etc. The bags can be customized as per requirement. Efforts are put in to market these and also to integrate these with the products of other SIFE communities. Some success at this juncture is expected. The students provide insight to these youngsters on how to market their products and together they have been able to garner a few business deals in and around Ghatkopar area.

Picture shows person from NAB handing over the first batch of Paper Envelopes to Naina's Gift Shop Owner,Ghatkopar(E)

As far as the students are concerned, the onus lies in handing over the reins to the community and making them self sufficient. This is done by involving the community after the initial marketing contact has been made. This process which needs to be more organized is being looked into and will be taught comprehensively to the members so that SIFE Somaiya works only as a support system , a system which helps these people to prosper.

PROJECT UNNATI – giving talent a chance

Basic Issue

The current income levels for the families are just about sufficient for their survival. The future of their children remains uncertain. They need to find alternative sources of income in order to realize their dream of a better life.

Target Community

Dhokali – Thane

Objectives

• Economic empowerment of the women from the lower strata of society.
• To create entrepreneurs out of these women.
• To build a sustainable business model for income generation in the community.

Methodology

Current Status• Kits containing a tailoring book, pair of scissors, thread, measure tape, drawing book, pencil, eraser, chalk & needles have been provided.• Training in tailoring has commenced for both the batches.• 8 Sessions have been held.

No of hours put into project -450

Team Members - Snigdha Tripathi, Nimsha Bhardwaj, Srikanth Reddy B, Pramod Boga,Aravind VS,Saikat Ghosh ,Sujeeth Shetty, Premlakshmi,Ela Johri,Neha Gupta,Ruchika Wadhwa,Raghav Grover,Suveni Tameri.

Project Shiksha

Project Shiksha

" For some education is a right...

For many, it’s a privilege. "

Project Shiksha aims to mentor and tutor students in the age group 12-16 years in order to reduce the current drop out rate in schools in the target community, i.e., Behrampada. This will be done through educational workshops held over weekends. The objective is to make children realize the importance of education and opportunities it provides for a sound future.

We also aim to set up a library in the community to supplement the education project, encourage the reading habit among children and give them exposure to quality educational material.

The project team has surveyed the community to identify the feasibility of setting up a children’s library. We sensed an acute problem with respect to huge rates of dropout in schools after standard seven. This is owing to the poor teaching standards in municipality schools at lower levels. Thereafter, these students are unable to cope up with middle and high-school curricula when they join secondary (private) schools at the next level.
Moreover parents were more than willing for any effort to help their kids study and grow. This made the group think of starting tutorials/ workshops for the kids who are dropping out of education system due to unavailability of proper guidance.

We are in the process of collecting old/ second-hand books for starting up the library and aim to have it up and running by end of February. The main sources of books are colleges across SIMSR campus and private schools in Mumbai.

Meanwhile we will conduct workshops in the community over weekends. One workshop has already been conducted, which comprised the mixed age -group of 7-13 year olds. The workshop comprised a memory game and story telling by children through pictures. This workshop was enjoyed by the kids, and has paved the way for and encouraged Shiksha team to carry on with the workshops in future with fervor. The aim of the workshops would be to mentor students, tutor them and encourage them to develop the habit of reading.

The team currently consists of 6 members, and we would like to welcome all interested SIMSRites aboard. We would appreciate if you pour in your suggestions/ comments/ feedback about the project through this blog.

Pictures of Children Attending the Workshop

Mehendi Team, SIFE-Somaiya

Scope of Mehendi Project :

This project aims at bringing together a few ladies of Prateeksha nagar & training them in mehendi art, tattoos and other skills like nail art so as to enable them to earn a living and become independent.

Number of students involved-7

A group of 7 women were identified from the area . We have also identified a mehendi art trainer among these ladies, who will be training the other ladies in the required skills. We hold regular workshops with them in the college teaching them how to maintain the accounts, keep diaries, communicate with clients, note down their telephone numbers, address and finally fix appointments besides teaching them other etiquettes and manners needed for interacting with customers.

Achievements:

We have successfully setup Mehendi kiosks in Inorbit Mall, Malad. The kiosks were set for 3 days from morning 10 to evening 8. Many customers were attracted and it was a good deal. These attempts have brought a lot of confidence among the ladies and they are slowly learning & developing marketing skills.

Discrepancies:

The following discrepancies were observed when the kiosk was set up:
1) The ladies could not converse comfortably with the customers.
2) The confidence level of the ladies was quite low.
3) They could not keep the accounts.

Plan of Action:

1) An attempt was made to train the ladies to improve their communication / interpersonal skills.
2) They are being trained to handle accounts, keep diaries, fix appointments.

We plan to setup kiosks in other malls, multiplexes and Vidyavihar campus itself and are looking out for opportunities for the same. Besides this, we are also working towards getting associated with popular matrimony sites inorder to promote our services are reach our target customers soon. We are having talks with Standard Chartered Bank for their association with SIFE and especially Mehendi.

Presenting " The MicroFinance Team "

The Idea

To use the successful modal of microfinance in the SIFE Somaiya projects to encourage sustainability of projects.

The Objective

· Encouraging the concept of self-reliance.
· Ensure serious involvement of the community in the project.
· Empowerment of weaker sections especially women.
· To self sustain the projects.
· To encourage the concept of microfinance.

Proposed benefactors

Banks which are interested in the process of development.
NGOs which are working for financial self reliance.
Microfinance Institutions

Beneficiaries

The communities associated with SIFE Somaiya projects.
Women of weaker sections.
The women associated with Sahas (Somaiya)

Intended plan of action

Convince the beneficiaries and approach Mr. Qazi of SBI Bank with the plan.
Assist the beneficiaries for the process.
Ensure that there is a timely recovery of loans.
To guide and felicitate them for smooth working progress.

Workshops

We have organized 2 workshops till now for the formation of the SHG. These workshops were attended by some of the eminent members of the society who encouraged these women to form the Self Help Group. Some of these speakers who attended the workshop were Mrs. Kumud Kapadia (Active Social Worker and also assisting in the embroidery project), Mrs. Madhu Panjabi (Bank Manager NABARD), Mrs. Nirmala Shetty (Founder Owner of the Nirmala Beauty Clinic), Mr. Qazi (AGM SBI Microfinance and Credit cell), Mrs. Shobha Javalgekar (Officer and Trainer in Maharashtra Cell for Entrepreneurship Development), Ms. Ranjana Kaushal (Leading Social Worker and Sahas Coordinator).

Mr.Quazi -AGM SBI Microfinance and Credit cell ,talking to the Self Help Group as Ms.Ranjana Kumar,SAHAS coordinator looks on during the Workshop held in Somaiya campus on 13th December,2006

Current Status

The SHG has been initially formed and as of now 19 ladies have formed part of the SHG.

The women are trained by Sahas Somaiya in different fields to start some income generation activities.
Ms. Ranjana Kumar of Sahas Somaiya and Mr. Qazi of SBI are assisting us in the process.

SHG team members

1) Amrupali
2) Meena
3) Mahima
4) Geeta (Embroidery)
5) Anita
6) Roshni
7) Anjali
8) Suvarna
9) Jagriti
10) Monika
11) Pramila 1
12) Maya
13) Suman (Embroidery)
14) Abhinatri
15) Ujjwala
16) Pramila 2 (Embroidery)
17) Shabana (Mehendi)
18) Neelu (Mehendi)
19) Priya (Mehendi)


Future Plans

The primary objective of the group will be ensuring success of the SHG formed by providing adequate assistance. The group is planning to implement the model in the other areas too. We are also planning to develop street plays to educate the women of the lower strata.