School in the Slums Project Began Yesterday and Holi 2011!

Yesterday we started our first day of teaching at the new school in the slum area! Here is a picture of the view from the school and its vicinity. Though today we didn't have any volunteers go to the project, we met with the teacher for the school and began the first class with the children. We have about twenty children from the neighborhood in the slum areas, all who are completely illiterate up until now. To get them accustomed to school, the teacher passed out supplies for the children, among them pencils, which they had never used before. They all practiced grasping the pencils, and were getting used to properly holding a pencil so that we can eventually teach them writing skills. After the children we used to the proper technique for holding the pencils, they began some scribbles and doodles, and at the end of the day they a chance for creating their own art. Although today their artwork was not so artistically impressive, the children's dedication to their task and their satisfaction with their own creations impressed us by far! We are very happy that the first day was a success, and look forward to more improvements with the school!

Also, we would like to wish everyone a very happy Holi! May your day be as filled with color as it will be for all of us in India!

Launching a New Orphanage Project and a New School Project

Here is a picture of a new orphanage we are creating: this orphanage is especially geared towards helping children who are disabled. We will be hosting five children when we begin on April 1st, 2011! We are still working on refurbishing the home and some construction on the exterior of where the five children will live, which is why we have not begun the project yet.

Also, our school project has been coming along nicely as well. We currently have our student body ready, and the students' parents have agreed to allow us to provide their children with a free education, school supplies, and one meal daily. Approximately 20 students will comprise the student body. We have made the arrangements for supplies for the school (a blackboard, chalk, a carpet, etc.) and will be beginning this project later on this week too. Though we will be the size of a small classroom, we hope that we can spread awareness of the need for education to more students in the neighborhood, and we hope to raise more funds to support a larger student body!

Though we have been unable to write on the blog as often as we would like to, our projects have been running continuously, and we are finding more and more ways to give back to the community with each passing day! We will try to update as regularly as possible. If you would like to learn more about the program, please check out our website, http://www.aimabroad.org. We look forward to meeting more altruistic volunteers with a passion for inspiring and helping the needy in India and around the world!

Donations from the Local Community!

Last night the children at the orphanage had special guests visit them for dinner! A local family in Delhi NCR decided that they wanted to come and spend time with the children, and brought dinner for each of the children at the orphanage: The family was also interested in spending time and making donations for the children, for which we are extremely grateful. In other news, one of my husband's acquaintances has a connection with the people who own a restaurant at the park, which the children love to visit, and he has requested that we mention his name, and the children will be able to order anything that they like! Though we will not spoil the children and tell them, we are certain that whenever the children go to the park, they will have the opportunity to eat at the park, as a chaperone would use the connection and provide the food for the children! Here is a photo of the children at the same park, as they enjoy their morning together in the park with some volunteers! It is a true inspiration to see the kind of help that so many people in the neighborhood are eager to offer.
http://www.aimabroad.org

New School with Aim Abroad!

We are sorry that we have been unable to post this week, but things have been very busy here in Delhi NCR as our volunteering programs are expanding and helping more people in need! We have some wonderful news as well! This week, we have been working on opening a school for slum-children in the neighborhood, and we have received the funding for start-up costs! We plan to open the school close to an area of very needy people, who cannot afford food or basic amenities for their families. Most of these families prefer not to send their children to school, as they would rather have the children work or earn money. We plan to offer the children at the school one meal daily, school supplies, and a set of school clothes and shoes for the summer and winter, to help persuade local parents to enroll their children in our school (for free) and invest in their own children's education and future! For the past few weeks, we have been meeting with some real estate agents to find an affordable yet convenient location for our mission, and we believe today we have found the right spot! Here is a picture of a girl nearby, who we believe will be one of our future students! We are very much looking forward to this endeavor to reach out to help more people in a different way, as this can help sustain children who have families yet are trapped without a means for education.

Also, the volunteers who went to Delhi this past weekend had a great trip. They described that they changed their itinerary a bit while on the road, and went to Chandni Chowk and Red Fort, otherwise known as "Laal kilaa" in Hindi, reserving Sunday for a trip to Connaught Place and the Lotus Temple before heading back to their host families with Aim Abroad!
http://www.aimabroad.org

Volunteers in Delhi and Weekend Plans

This weekend a group of three volunteers went to the central area in Delhi to visit some of the tourist attractions such as Delhi's famous Qutab Minar, the Lotus Temple, and Connaught Place, Delhi's famous shopping district. The volunteers headed out early in the morning, and we are certain they will have an interesting time, as other volunteers had advised them based on their previous traveling experiences. Also, this morning, a pair of volunteers went to the orphanage to help the children get ready for their half-day at school today. In the afternoon, a few of them will go with the children to Town Park, a very nice park in the area! I have attached a photo from when the volunteers took a few of the children from the orphanage over to the park a few months ago. We are looking forward to a nice day with everyone!
http://www.aimabroad.org

Volunteering at the Orphanage

At Aim Abroad, our volunteers have been continuing their work with us, especially with the orphanage and our newest addition, Khushi ji! One of our volunteers has been diligently waking up every morning at 7:00AM to help the children get ready for school. She has been with us for about five months, and her hard work and dedication are much appreciated by all of us, especially the children! After school, the children spend time with the rest of the volunteers, as they improve their English communication, which is a long, but worthwhile work in progress! Also, some volunteers are making plans to visit the main areas in Delhi on the weekend, and visit some of the tourist sites such as the Lotus Temple and Connaught Place, Delhi's major shopping district. We are looking forward to their exciting plans as it's always nice to explore every facet of the volunteering experience while in a foreign country!
http://www.aimabroad.org

New Child at our Orphanage!

We have been very busy with Aim Abroad this past month, and thus we had not had time to update our blog in a while! We are sorry about this, but we hope to continue to be able to post as often as possible, as we want to keep everyone updated about our volunteering projects and programs! Firstly, we have some wonderful news! We have a new addition to our orphanage, Khushi, age 3! She is the second girl we have hosted at our orphanage, and now Muskan (holding Khushi in one picture) has a new friend who is a girl! We have all been very happy together, but with the new addition to our family, our work has increased a lot! The other kids have been adjusting well with Khushi ji (a respectful way to refer to Khushi in Hindi), and the volunteers have been enjoying working with a new individual as well! Our volunteers, in the mean time, have been continuing their volunteering projects in the orphanages and the medical projects, and a few have been volunteering at the schools for the children who live in slum areas. Mostly the volunteers have been working with our orphanage, since we have been making adjustments with Khushi ji, but everyone is having a nice time while we are all working together to make advancements!
http://www.aimabroad.org