Hi friends  –  Greetings of the season from HCL ! 

We start this newsletter with the good news that Abhilasha, a young lady who has been a very active member of the library since her 7^th standard, has secured admission to the 4 Yr. BSc. Nursing course starting 2022 at PAL College of Nursing & Medical Sciences, Haldwani. As one of our initiatives, the library is part funding her course of study with support from a wellwisher.

We wish Abhilasha all the best and hope that she does her family, the library and her village proud.

The lean months for the library activities started from 1^st Oct due to the changes in the school timings  and onset of the winter.  However, October remained packed with a host of activities in addition to the regular ones.

Tuitions –

These now happen in the mornings (7 AM – 9 Am) for about 20 senior children.  Vijay’s commitment continues to be a great source of support and encouragement to the children and us.

On an average 25 kids from Class 3 to 8 attend the evening sessions for about 2 hrs from Monday to Thursday, with Kripal Bisht and Rita holding fort. The remaining two days are allotted for library and activity sessions.

Computer Classes –

In addition to helping out with the tuitions, Bhawana continues with the computer training for the younger children, college going girls and women from Seem and surrounding villages.

Library outreach –   

We continue to support the primary school at Darmadi. Since November, we have provided the services of Shrishti as a para-teacher to the Govt Primary School at Dhauna.  This was also done keeping in view the number of children attending the school as well as the fact that most of these kids are active attendees of the library during the summer but are unable to attend due to the distance and the winter school timings.

On 24 Dec, Jaya and Atul  conducted a Career Counseling session for students from Class 9 – 12 at the  Govt Inter College, Garjoli. The children were advised of the various career options open to them and the documentation that should be ready for timely and complete applications.  

Career Counseling at GIC Garjoli

Theatre Sessions –  Gillo Gilheri, a Mumbai based children’s media group visited on 12 & 13 Oct.  Four theatre professionals performed two plays followed by a theatre appreciation session for about 60 odd children at the library on 12 Oct.  This was the first exposure for the kids to professional artists. They were thrilled to know that the visitors were associated with and had performed in mainstream cinema as well.

The sessions at that library were followed up the next day with a performance at the Dhauna Primary School where 27 kids witnessed two plays.

We hope to have them over again in the coming years as part of their Kumaon outreach and spend more time with us and cover more schools in the area.

Gillo Gilheri perform at the library

at Dhauna Primary School

Zoom Meeting –  on 18 Oct we facilitated a zoom meeting for young women attending the library for interaction with B2R ( a rural BPO in Nainital district) for future employment opportunities.  This was both a test for our young girls as well as for our networking systems.

The girls thereafter attended a physical interaction session at Almora and have been shortlisted for training and engagement as and when employment opportunities are announced.

Celebrations

Garba – On 2nd  Oct  we celebrated the Navratri festival with a garba session.  Nidhi & Jayesh, the dance and theatre couple taught the children the various garba steps for the perfect feel.  They then had a great time dancing to garba music dressed in traditional outfits.  The atmosphere and the scene at the library premises could better any garba venue in Gujarat !

Garba

Diwali –  was celebrated with traditional fun and gaiety on 22nd Oct.  The children decorated the premises with flowers and homemade diyas. There were also some fun games for the children and gifts for all the winners. Prizes were also distributed for the various competitions organised in the library in the past few months.

Diwali

Workshops –

Calligraphy – On 1 Oct Aditi, a friend from Fagunia Farmstay conducted a workshop for about 15 young people.  They were taught the art of calligraphy and are now being able to use it for their school presentations and projects.

Environment & Sustainability –  Alex,  from Local Futures, an NGO based in Ladakh, conducted a session on environment and sustainability thru’ documentaries and discussions on 26 Oct.  The children then tried to understand the concepts through examples and discussions based on the films shown.

We hope to have more such workshops in the future on such important topical subjects.

Documentary and discussions on the environment

Career Counseling –  a very heartening development was the session conducted by Shushmita, a young graduate from the village who was also part of the library during her final school years. After completing her studies, while preparing for her competitive exams, she also works for a career guidance and support company in Haldwani.  On 27^th Oct, she briefed the senior kids on the various opportunities available to them after Class 12 and how to go about professional college admissions etc. 

We hope she does well in her career and continues to support these children in future also.

Health and Hygiene –  On 28th Oct Priyanka, another young lady from the village, who is now a senior Govt Nurse manning a Primary Health Centre near Almora, conducted a session on first response  medical intervention & management for about 30 children.

She explained in detail the do’s and don’ts of how to attend to basic medical emergencies that could occur anywhere. Many myths of how to look after a patient were busted  

Shushmita (L) and Priyanka (R) conduct their sessions

Dental  Camp – Drs. Abhinav and Geetika Gangola conducted a much needed dental camp on 27 Nov.  A very basic setup was arranged in the library and about 85 children and adults were examined.  Almost 25 procedures like extractions, fillings and cleaning etc were carried out.

Geetika also counseled the children on dental hygiene & practices and the young girls and women on menstrual health issues.

Considering the many cases of toothaches resulting from lack of dental hygiene among the children such a camp and guidance was a dire need.

Dental Camp & Counseling

Taekwondo – Sundays are now allotted for Taekwondo and games sessions. Kamal conducts these sessions very competently for about 30 children from class 6 to 11. The enthusiasm shown  by the children is very infectious and it is really great to see them participating with full josh from 10:30 AM to 3 PM – we have to force them to stop so that the trainer can have a well deserved lunch!!

Taekwondo Session

The children get a playground!! – Seeing the zeal with which the children participate in taekwondo, badmintion etc. we have realized how much they need games and other such training. They are physically tough and given the proper environment, they can excel as sportspersons in the future.  With a view to allocate a dedicated space for sports and games, we approached Mr & Mrs Harish Joshi from the village to lease out one of their fields that was adjacent to the premises.

Once they agreed on a three year term, the children got down to the task of clearing the vegetation, leveling the area and generally making it fit for use.  The “playground” was formally inaugurated with the taekwondo session on 4 December and is now being utilized fully. We hope to also use this area for our annual day programmes and trainings in the future.

The children developing the ground and the inauguration

Volunteers –

Sonal  – who has been a great source of learning for the children bid goodbye after a four month stay on 6^th Oct.  The children sorely miss her presence and had severe withdrawal symptoms!   We are sure that Sonal will continue to find time to spend more time with us each summer.  

’52 Parinde Fellowship’ is a programme run by Tavellers’ University,  in which the fellows travel for six months and spend time learning through interaction with people who are doing meaningful work in their field of interest. Zehara, a fellow, with interests in alternative education chose Jaya as one of her mentors and spent one week in early October at the library.  She studied our initiative and interacted with Jaya and the children.

We hope she had a useful stint and gained a lot from us.

Zehara with some children

Documentary on HCL –  Paras and Shruti had spent more than a month in June/July in HCL and the village capturing a lot of footage. Their efforts and expertise have resulted in a a slickly produced documentary on the library – see Library Seems Happy (Documentary Film) @ https://youtu.be/QzZ6kandKuk

Documentary screening & discussions

Community Outreach –  The library was once again used by for the ICDS sponsored Aanganwadi programmes for ‘gode bharai’  of the expectant mothers and the ‘annaprashan’ ceremonies for the infants.  Other village women also participated in these ceremonies wherein sweets and gifts were distributed among them and the babies.

Community  activities

VTC – The SHG continues with its activities and the women are coming everyday from 11 Am till 3 PM.  They have now started handling all their affairs independently with just a once-in-a-while input from Tautik. In October they gained further exposure by setting up and taking turns in manning a stall at the “Grameen Haat” organized by Aarohi.

At the  Grameen  Haat

Ankit with his published story on the local lepoard Toddlers at play

Goodbye for now

&

Here’s wishing you and your family

A VERY HAPPY NEW 2023 !