1) It was observed most men didn’t use any measure of birth control. They made their wives take precautions etc.
2) Some men had their families back home, but had already planned their families. They were encouraged to spread the message of birth control among their friends in the community.
3) Bengali Men were told to talk within their community, and Bihari Men within theirs, to ask how many are interested in getting themselves a vasectomy.
4) A few of the women had already gotten themselves operated. Citing their examples, we encouraged the rest to do the same. This resulted in a few willing to get permanently operated but asked for time to discuss the same with their husbands.
5) Women who had their daughter’s recently married, or daughter in law with them, were told about CuT. Queries of spacing came up which were resolved.
6) It was observed that some women wanted to get themselves operated; however, they feared their husbands would not agree. For the same, our volunteers addressing the male community were given the names of the husbands. They interacted with them and were able to partially convince them.
7) Cases of abortion came up; we told them about the possibilities of continuous abortion resulting in cervical cancer.
8) Some woman asked for contraceptives and pills and refused to even listen to the benefits of CuT/Tubal Ligation.

Follow up plans:

- A male and female who have already adapted to the birth control measures would be chosen as community leaders. He and She would guide the rest on the same and solve their queries.
- Individual Follow up would be done for those who showed partial hesitation towards permanent methods of birth control.
- If hesitation persists due to fear, we would call upon an activist/Doctor who could further convince them.
- Helping the women interested in getting tubal ligation. These would also serve as an example for the other hesitant woman, who would be able to see the benefits and remove their fears.

General Information we gave:

The experience of imparting informal education, on various family planning methods available, to the local community at Pehal project site was phenomenal. It’s been a long time since we have had such an open session on this mostly hesitated n timid topic. People are also hesitant because of the medical and prohibited terminology. This is always the hot focus and an ever demanding issue for public health personnel.

Well, I m scribbling down about this area of focus to make the other non medico volunteers acquaint themselves with the terminology of family planning methods. This is the brief overview of the barrier control methods which are commonly known as FAMILY PLANNING METHODS.

The common methods are:

• Temporary: Male Condom, Oral Pill and CuT 380 A
• Permanent method: Vasectomy in males and tubal ligation in females.

1) Temporary:

a) Male condom: Easily available without prescription.
b) Oral Pill: Available to women with prescription (Mala D. Mala N, Saheli,etc.). These have some side effects.
c) CuT 380A: The females have always some or the other fear in her mind while inserting this device. Firstly, it irritates and secondly, it brings excessive vaginal bleeding. Regarding irritation and excessive bleeding, one can explain as it would take 2 to 3 days to come into normal life. It’s important to make them aware to check the left out thread to assure it is in place, which is probably the third most fear of the device being misplaced.The advantage of this device is that it is the long lasting; lasts for at least for 10 years and never needs to be replaced.

2) Permanent solutions are the best possible methods if the couple does not want any more children. They are available for both men and women. But male sterilization or vasectomy is easier than female operation or tubectomy. The male can start working normally after 48 hours of the operation. Nowadays, it is conducted through telescopic method, which requires only 2-3 stitches.

It is a black and white brief to give the basic picture of the most wanted topic.

Happy volunteering!!!

The Cold FOGGY Morning


Usually a late riser, I got up at 7 am yesterday and was bubbling with excitement to celebrate Republic day at Pehal. After I finished schooling, I had never paid much heed to national holidays. Thus Republic Day and Independence Day were just like any other holiday for me. However, this year I went through a fantastic experience.

We had spent almost 2 weeks preparing the children for all the activities. As most of them are of Bengali origin, it had been a constant fight to make them learn Hindi for last 3 months.

It was a foggy morning and sun was nowhere to be seen. After idling around for some time we decided to start the decorations at around 10am. More volunteers and children along with their parents poured in and within an hour, the stage was set. The walls were covered with frills and balloons. Almost all the volunteers were in dressed in one of the tri colours and the children, as always, looked adorable.

Flag hoisting and salutation

At 11:30 we started our program. Our teacher, Uttam sir, at Pehal centre was the chief guest. Sir addressed the parents and children and spoke to them about the importance of Republic day. This was followed by a prayer, flag hoisting and rendition of the Indian National Anthem. The children saluted the National Flag and then performed a well organized drill and March past which was the highlight of the day.

Cultural Events

Everyone was then seated and the cultural event began. The children sang a patriotic song “ Saare jahan se accha, Hindustan hamara” to perfection. Next was role playing, where 6 children from basic elementary level enacted as freedom fighters, Ashadul as Mahatama Gandhi, Babu as Subash Chandra bose, Arijina as Indira Gandhi, Ayub as Pandit Nehru, Sapna as Rani Lakshmi bai and Debashish as Bhagat singh. The last act in this segment was a dance performance on “Suno ghor se duniya walo” by the children and volunteers.

Literary Events

Next in line were two plays performed by the children- The first was a funny act and the second was to communicate the message - ‘how to stay away from addiction’. There were poem and story recitations by the children from beginner’s level. The audience applauded enthusiastically to each act.

The children were, then, given fruits and Rasgullas were distributed to everyone.


Sports

Then, came the much awaited sports event! It started with the Frog race between the children of age group 4-7 years. The winner in this race was Ajidul.

Three legged race between boys of age group 8 and above was sheer fun. Some fell, some cheated but Debashish and Ayub emerged as clear winners as they finished the race with no hassles. Om and Babu came second.

Book balancing race between girls was really difficult. Ajima came first followed by Sharda.

Prize Distribution

It was then the time for the Prize Distribution ceremony. All the first prize winners were awarded with Sweatshirts and second prize winners were given Pencil boxes.

Two students, Ashadul and Arizina were given the best students award for their dedication, regularity and discipline.

Community connect

In the end, Kamesh and Ashish spoke to the parents about the importance of education. They urged everyone to send their children to school regularly. They were advised not to carry out any activities that may negatively influence their children.

Pehal volunteers were rewarded by the positive response from the community. The families were really happy watching their children perform. The feeling to give to the society is always pleasant, however, the feeling is unmatched when the society gives back. We at Pehal today are proud that within a span of 3 months, we have been able to achieve much more than what was expected. We all walked back from the site beaming from ear to ear. A well deserved pat to our volunteers,Nikita, Zulaikha, Deboshree, Ashish, Anandita, Reetu, Preeti, Vipra, Swastik, Asam, Surabhi, Kamesh, Pinky. Also thanks to all the friends who attended the event.

Pehal wishes everyone a Happy Republic Day. May we always stand United for our cause.

For pictures, please visit
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=140155&id=516999320&l=adb94b42f8

Christmas is associated with a feeling of warmth and love which reaches out to the ones we care for. It is all about sharing and feeling the joy of giving.

The best part was the role played by SANTA! (Swastik). He did a marvellous job of making the children laugh and literally spread the joy! After the toffee distribution by Santa, snacks were distributed amongst the children who ate them with great relish.
Then it was time for a game!

All in all, it was a wonderful day celebrated with the true essence of Christmas.


MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Health Camp

On 12th December, a Health check camp was held at Pehal, which involved a thorough check up of all the 45 kids studying at Pehal. A health record of each child has been set up, that bears his/her Height, Weight, and Diagnosis. An eminent doctor, Dr. Vikram, did a detailed checkup of all the kids. The following was observed:
1) All most of the children suffers from Protein Energy Malnutrition and one of the major symptoms includes potbellies and flaky hair.
2) Around 15 children were diagnosed with Anaemia.
3) Most of the children have worms and medicines would be given for the same.
4) 1 child was diagnosed with double squint and will require proper ophthalmic treatment
5) 1 child was diagnosed with ear problem and will be given ear drops for the same.
6) Few children have vitamin deficiencies and would require Vitamin Supplements.
7) 3 children were diagnosed with Rickets
- A detail analysis will be done by the doctor again next week and as per the requirements medicines will be given to the children.
- It was observed that most of the children are malnourished and thus a nutrition program was worked out which will be implemented from the next week onwards.
- Nutrition Program will be managed by Preeti and Vipra. They both will consult the doctor and will come up with a weekly chart of food items to be distributed
One of the major observation was that the kids have not been vaccinated ever and thus we plan to get them vaccinated in a near by hospital.
Also, we plan to distribute sweaters to the children as they lack proper clothing so please ask your Friends and relatives to please donate warm clothes for the same.
We plan to have a similar health check up again in April. Lets all work towards eradicating the current problems by then.
I would suggest we also make their parents aware about health and hygiene ( Child development team can take up this along with Community Connect Volunteers).
 
Cheers!!
 
Prachi

Hey, I crib about almost everything that i dislike. Perhaps 3-4 years into corporate life, you just live to crib about every godamn thing that goesn't go as per your expectations. My idea of a perfect weekend is to catch up with friends, go outdoors, have fun and party hard. But at the end of it all, I had still been cribbing about the pathetic state of our income distribution system and social infrastructure. Yes, that's one of the things i have always cribbed about while sitting in my a/c car and listening to the best of Rolling Stones or Kailash Kher. I would just pass a comment on a kid, begging at the roadside, for money or food, but wouldn't dare to do anything concrete for them. No matter how much of money I give to any noble cause or how much of my time I give to an orphanage, but I couldn't dare to be a change myself i.e. to get my hands into dirt to clean it up.

Heard about Pehal from somewhere and felt as if it would be another of those NGOs which are money making machines, rather than a facilitator of social infrastructure and change to the society. Reached the so-called "DT City Centre" (I always thought that DT City Centre was in Gurgaon) at 10.10 AM and didn't know what to do. Started calling up all those people who always complain that I never talk and am always busy for them, and then Prachi called up and talked about the construction building opposite to the Mall.

Woahhhh .... that was a not-so goodlooking sight!! Traffic Police guys (just outside the building) asked me where i am going, and my reply was "Sirji, yeh construction building mein jaana hai!". The guy said, "yahan parking nahi hai; kahin aur karo". My reaction to him was "FO, I'm taking it into that construction plethora; None of your business, Sir".
Anyway, I was in there - the site for my first experience with Project Pehal. There she was ... Prachi ... ummm ... Why would a girl like her be standing in the mid of debris, waiting for people to pour in for the session? And the moment she started talking, I could easily judge the passion for the cause and the project in her voice. Oooops, the girl had just so much to say and that too so quickly - probably a zillion things going in her mind in a fraction of a second. And the first thought was - Is she a fakester who is just running a money-making business?? we will come to that later... ;-)

So Prachi and I reached a secluded room where around 30+ kids had assembled with an expectation that they can be a part of our formal education system. She started telling me about the initiative and how we plan to help these kids with proper education and a sense to live a dignified life. Fair enough, let's wait for the others to join in...

Then came a couple of more volunteers - Swasthik, Nikita ... ummm these are all the names i can remember for now! :-(
We started making arrangements for the health camp - getting our ammunition ready!! You know the funniest part about the morning - Mariam would pronounce her name as Mairam, and Ashradul would say it in such a way that you would hear it anything but Ashradul ... "Ashu, dost ... inke liye kuch tuo karna banta hi hai" ... ;-) Bas yahich tha woh moment when I could associate myself with the cause!

The health camp went quite well with basic profiles of the kids created by us and observations made by a nice looking Dr. couple! And they had a very cute baby ... touchwood!! Toh all in all sab mast tha, but i failed to understand how anyone can determine the age of kids by asking them to open their mouth. :-) Yaar, Swasthik ... yeh hamare saath inn medical waalon ne dhoka kiya hai ... aisa koi funda nahi hota! Sorry, couldn't resist talkin about it ... ;-)

On a serious note, the health camp made us aware of where we stand and what all we need to do for the kids, so that they can live a life with clothes on their body and dignity in their mind. We need to work for the infrastructure, their personal hygiene, nutritional requirements and everything that a respectable life commands from the society. Trust me ... they need a life better than this! As humans, they deserve a life better
than this.

Oooops, I missed an important part of the morning ... Story telling session"Cindrella" and guess what - Nobody knows the actual story of Cindrella ... ;-)

Well, I think the morning made me think about the value that I can add to the team and the initiative. Miles to go before I sleep ... Trust me, that's true for all of us if we need to convert this into success!

Take care,
Ashish

Colors at Pehal

Whenever i would see a child or a handicapped person on the streets asking for money, i felt a pang of pain. Sometimes i donated to a cause, sometimes gave money to beggars and sometimes just felt helpless.Gradually, i realised they don't need my money or my pity, what they really needed was support and opportunities so that they could lead their lives in a more dignified manner.

Thus, this strong urge led me to join AID, where i met so many like minded people who helped and guided me throughout, to enable/empower me achieve this dream.

After working for AID Aashayein for nearly 9 months, i decided to start a new project for people who are devoid of the basic necessities of life. After a series of discussions and site visits and with the help and support of our Aashayein team we started, Project Pehal.

Project Pehal started on Children's day ie. 14th November, and caters to children of construction workers, who are mainly Bengali migrants. These children usually spent their day playing with mud, running around and at times getting into socially unacceptable activities. The main aim is to introduce them to education along with making them realise their potential.

Getting this project in place was not an easy task and initially we met with a lot of reluctance from the workers. They feared they would have to spend money for enrolling their children with us and suspected our intentions. But, thankfully, Deboshree, A Pehal volunteer, who happens to know Bengali , struck the right chord with them and convinced them that it was for the benefit of their own children, that would educate them and none of their expenses was required.

A well qualified teacher has been employed to provide them with primary education whereas our volunteers conduct the skill building classes.

It is just the beginning, as the name suggests, its our first step. However, i am confident and hopeful that with the dedicated efforts of the Aashayein team and guidance of AID NCR, Project Pehal will cross many new milestones in future.