tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121454562024-03-13T08:08:20.518-07:00dalbhatjournal for friends and family of mustard seeds -- and beyond!!
connecting people to people, sharing info, and supporting some valuable NGO projects in Kolkata...in the 'small is beautiful' fashiontik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-2220866992992717922014-12-14T16:58:00.000-08:002014-12-19T15:25:05.800-08:00mustard seeds Calcutta 100 Club December 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 22.0pt;">mustard seeds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Black"; font-size: 22.0pt;">Calcutta 100
Club<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">December 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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I’d like to introduce the next Calcutta 100 Club campaign.
As you know, the idea for this club is that no one breaks the bank but together
we all add a donation of $10 (or more if you feel like it) in order to reach a goal
that may have meaning to someone else’s life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For this particular project I have already received a portion of the total
donation of $450 so I am looking for approximately $100 more to begin a vocational
skills program at a school that runs alongside a brick factory in Kharmagachi. The program was introduced to me by my friend Willeke van Nieuwenhuijze from <a href="http://www.help2help.nl/">Stichting Help2Help</a>, who does fundraising in Holland for several projects in West Bengal. I felt this request was well suited to Mustard Seeds: as the children are
already doing studies in the morning this will allow the school to get an arts
and crafts teacher and basic materials in order to keep the children out of the
factory (where they end up working without being paid) and occupied for more of
the day.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Our friends at Stichting Help2Help have pledged
to provide for a crèche to be set up at the school since many of the students
bring along small babies that sit in their laps and require their attention
during classes. We would like to help get the vocational program in place. Our pledge is for the vocational Arts and Crafts program
(teacher and supplies) that will run for the 7 months of the year that parents migrate
to Kharmagachi to work at the factory. We hope to help support this in the future if it takes off well.</div>
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**A special THANK YOU TO Chris Rickerd, Lisa Malaney, Mary Hurley and Jude Hill, who have already donated the first $350 for this Calcutta 100 Club campaign.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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BUDGET FOR Vocational Training center (9:30 am to 2:00 pm)<o:p></o:p></div>
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School sharing grounds of the brick factory / target: 30
senior students<o:p></o:p></div>
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Art & Craft teacher: Rs. 2,000<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>x<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>7
mos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>= Rs. 14,000<o:p></o:p></div>
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Art materials: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rs. 2,000
X 7 mos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>= Rs. 14,000<o:p></o:p></div>
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Total: 28,000 (US$450)</div>
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HOW TO CONTRIBUTE:</div>
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If you would like to contribute to the vocational program from the US, please send your donation by paypal with a note that says CALCUTTA 100:
mseeds.maura@gmail and if you prefer to send a US check please email me on the
same mail and I can tell you how.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you would like to contribute in Japan, please use postal
transfer yuubin furikomi: <o:p></o:p></div>
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mustard seeds, japan<o:p></o:p></div>
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00980-9-30045<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghuQHbAUc34FPOTjlMLCnem0dE5WI3uLZucLNKyQjbPfiz38mbNh02p702sH5-E3nT_oCk8EjcY0GpUOB7UNUI6dOQvOf-BOA_Bs7olscA87pe3so3MJ7Dghyb6FFDovRst0BAg/s1600/IMG_0030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghuQHbAUc34FPOTjlMLCnem0dE5WI3uLZucLNKyQjbPfiz38mbNh02p702sH5-E3nT_oCk8EjcY0GpUOB7UNUI6dOQvOf-BOA_Bs7olscA87pe3so3MJ7Dghyb6FFDovRst0BAg/s1600/IMG_0030.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Background</b></div>
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Nandankanan Sristwi Mahila Unnayan Samity (NKSMUS), founded by Shelley Chatterjee, has
successfully been running a school in the factory area of Khamargachi Bricks.
Approximately 56 students are receiving education and medical help. Students
are provided with school supplies (books, copies, pencils, erasure etc.) and
take drawing classes as an extracurricular activity. They attend the drawing
classes very joyfully. Most of the students are very regular in class. The
school runs from 7 to 9 am in the winter and 6:30 to 8:30 am in the summer.
After running the school for three years we found that some families return the
next year, so we are getting some of the old students back to our school. They
are encouraging the other students to be regular in their classes. Guardians are
also very interested to send their children to the school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tiffin is one of the attractions for the
students at the school; they are very happy to get a balanced meal. 50 students
received woolen sweaters last winter. They are very happy to get those. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The group would like to expand the program so that
children have more to do after school and also so that they do not have to care
for the young siblings they bring along with them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Problems faced<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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All parents head to the brick factory for work after dropping
their children at school. This means that some children are coming to school
with their younger brothers and sisters in their laps; these are infants and
toddlers who are too tiny too walk (between 8 months to 1 ½ years old). There
is no one at home to look after these babies so the older siblings, aged 7 and
8, bring them and keep them in their laps all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These students are unable to fully
concentrate on their studies. The situation is disturbing to the whole class
because the babies cry, wet and require special attention.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This organization
opened in the grounds of the factory in order to provide education to children,
while putting a stop to child labour at the brick factory. The owner of the
factory is of the same mind and has provided a school room, however after
school finishes at 9 am most of the children run to work at the factory. They
are between 10 and 14 years old. Some are working and others are disturbing the
work their parents are required to do (the opinion of the factory owner). This
is hampering our efforts to stop child labour so we have set forth the
following new proposal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">PROPOSAL</span><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<i>NKSMUS is planning something new to support education at the
Brick factory school and we ask for support.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]-->For the babies coming with older students,
we propose to start a crèche. In order to care for the babies, we need: a room ,
a staff person, toys and food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(THIS
WILL BE FUNDED BY STICHTING HELP2HELP)<o:p></o:p><br />
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]-->For those children working in the brick
factory after school (10 am - 1.30 pm), we propose vocational training classes
(VTC). We hope to have art and craft class, music class, handicraft classes,
and exposure to other types of work to help them settle in a different way in
future. The class will help them understand their talents and skills since not
all children excel in studies or have the means to do well in a school
setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through this program they can
progress in their life in different way. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need: a room, materials and at least two
staff people. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(MUSTARD SEEDS WOULD LIKE
TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE LAUNCH OF THIS PROGRAM)<o:p></o:p></div>
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tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-71736071649247757502013-12-10T02:03:00.002-08:002013-12-10T15:45:56.134-08:00CALCUTTA 100 CLUB: Please help us recondition a friend's home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Some of you have signed up for our Calcutta 100 Club project. The idea is that we get 100 people to donate just a small amount of $10 each time when a specific project comes up that we feel could easily be funded with the strength of our group. The C100C appeals are usually very personal projects where I see that a $150-$300 could really benefit someone. We welcome new members and if we go over our goal, money is automatically put into the next project. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjtD6UQYiiyRWe_KPGGo8HBAIbZDojEU390vOmfKwaCfVVTYOyFLvHF3spS6EK3XavpO6LbFHMQ5nIaijvEDAJimvbbBl7nCIEO5E3kfI3g5IG5FSp_8gCh81eEcrdtJ9aqL_qXQ/s1600/bittuhome3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjtD6UQYiiyRWe_KPGGo8HBAIbZDojEU390vOmfKwaCfVVTYOyFLvHF3spS6EK3XavpO6LbFHMQ5nIaijvEDAJimvbbBl7nCIEO5E3kfI3g5IG5FSp_8gCh81eEcrdtJ9aqL_qXQ/s320/bittuhome3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_R6MXIvemTIFAnmPee8sGyKidrpWEtTBou9K1RDS7l2jclft-w2pdxWxrAoF8eUuc_OfQPHOuJ5iK3TvOaGCCbA2rrs7J0YFFQ2eVczM0oCUm2rIaATByEdd1QwNXNafn_FNrQ/s1600/bittuhome7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_R6MXIvemTIFAnmPee8sGyKidrpWEtTBou9K1RDS7l2jclft-w2pdxWxrAoF8eUuc_OfQPHOuJ5iK3TvOaGCCbA2rrs7J0YFFQ2eVczM0oCUm2rIaATByEdd1QwNXNafn_FNrQ/s320/bittuhome7.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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This time I'd like to ask your help in reconditioning the home of one of our young library members. Bittu attends our Sunday library sessions. His father lives elsewhere to earn money. His mother lives in Bihar and his grandfather runs a business out of their home in the complex where I stay. "Dadu," the grandfather irons clothing for all the people in our complex and Bittu helps by delivering the clothes when they are ready. They live in a very small, temporary dwelling in the park. For quite some time, we have been talking about a few repairs and reconstructions we could help out with. The idea is to set a few rows of brick at the bottom, build up with bamboo, cover with plastic tarps and then add woven bamboo walls so that the structure is a bit more sturdy and warmer than it is now. We estimate this will cost about Rs. 8,000 - 10,000 (approximately $170)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHriWyDJRtbkMJqSxWt83FWb5Sd-_v232kSYFN3lUYB3JNYI6ihkoRQyrGnamNhiP_EOpC84mqW5P1YEetfeA5roUwhm5jMKlzFVLA91lM6EIDEr6oSeuerZMwkUn8y-Dd5gGu3Q/s1600/bittuhome9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHriWyDJRtbkMJqSxWt83FWb5Sd-_v232kSYFN3lUYB3JNYI6ihkoRQyrGnamNhiP_EOpC84mqW5P1YEetfeA5roUwhm5jMKlzFVLA91lM6EIDEr6oSeuerZMwkUn8y-Dd5gGu3Q/s320/bittuhome9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you would like to donate $10 or more to help make Dadu and Bittu's home more comfortable for the coming cold, the best way is through paypal. If you don't have paypal there are other ways -- Please email me for details if you'd like to participate: <b>mseeds.maura@gmail.com</b><br />
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For me, small-scale is still beautiful and your continued support always means so much to me. I look forward to showing a photo of their home after the work is finished.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JF9-F8-SA6F-qkLOfZ4O33vav8IkLqY_4qmAP-AG5BhjT9FiMESc8C3PHryP0no0tPOw0j9vrrQAMu6d_vGZeoYoJbl4MNvnbk3O7N6C8oEbp3TiOBpHJTe6-6SdB84lkFrMXg/s1600/bittuhome10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JF9-F8-SA6F-qkLOfZ4O33vav8IkLqY_4qmAP-AG5BhjT9FiMESc8C3PHryP0no0tPOw0j9vrrQAMu6d_vGZeoYoJbl4MNvnbk3O7N6C8oEbp3TiOBpHJTe6-6SdB84lkFrMXg/s320/bittuhome10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Thank you! Thank you!</div>
tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-86022680196267886992013-10-04T02:51:00.000-07:002013-10-07T01:04:11.257-07:00A small income generation project with Paripurnata<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Swapna Nath was once living at Paripurnata, a half-way home for the psycho-social rehabilitation of women. She now goes there only when Mustard Seeds places orders for her wrapping paper. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZOivxjyElxrNLtdoR_0Up5i-G4V85IJPNEYBupDxcoSVJ7Kt7LYfoODL1Em5ymSap5s84FWOGtnanagTXetUeF8qp-PNf5J8r4Mn7_Ib406XxuJpDIFJQjfTw1aPOIOrbwu2kIg/s1600/swapna.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZOivxjyElxrNLtdoR_0Up5i-G4V85IJPNEYBupDxcoSVJ7Kt7LYfoODL1Em5ymSap5s84FWOGtnanagTXetUeF8qp-PNf5J8r4Mn7_Ib406XxuJpDIFJQjfTw1aPOIOrbwu2kIg/s320/swapna.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swapna picture on right block printing on a saree</td></tr>
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As part of its effort to offer some support to organizations addressing the problem of mental health for underprivileged people in Kolkata, this holiday season Mustard Seeds is once again selling beautiful handmade woodblock print wrapping paper made by Swapna. It offers her an income to help her become more independent now that she is back at home. We have some beautiful new colours and designs this year.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBOsNTl-8Yof3bOoiksNDUth02MaNL9Z3TqYd_oFLpHREGNjJDGvFT1ZB9B8y3Yr9KFyXJdnQS1II0ATb4i_DWMVSMBMzsJOuZLZ3Tf28xcyFwTdfLi5i8gJ3MP_1oZ1A7DF4TQ/s1600/wrapping+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBOsNTl-8Yof3bOoiksNDUth02MaNL9Z3TqYd_oFLpHREGNjJDGvFT1ZB9B8y3Yr9KFyXJdnQS1II0ATb4i_DWMVSMBMzsJOuZLZ3Tf28xcyFwTdfLi5i8gJ3MP_1oZ1A7DF4TQ/s320/wrapping+2013.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even a small personal order will help us make this project work. </td></tr>
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Block printing is just one of the activities that make up Paripurnata's rehabilitation program, the women work alongside the teacher when they feel like doing this activity and try other handicrafts, etc. when they feel more inclined to do those.</div>
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You can purchase this handcrafted woodblock print wrapping paper (on unbleached paper) from Mustard Seeds by sending an email to: mseeds.maura@gmail.com. We can send abroad no problem ($1 per sheet + postage) and if you think you can sell it at a craft fair or other venue, let's discuss the possibilities by email. I ship by regular Indian mail and it takes about 2 weeks. I fold the pieces to send.</div>
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Your purchase not only helps to support Swapna's beautiful work, but all the different positive seedlings we try to plant through Mustard Seed efforts aimed at art, education and the environment. These wrappings look beautiful in use, with a string of jute or tinsel! Look forward to seeing your packages or other ideas for putting these to use.<br />
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Here are the latest colours and patterns. Let us know if you want an assortment or specific types:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">square flower.ob</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">square flower.xmas</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">star flower.blk</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">star flower.db.r</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">star flower.xmas</span></td></tr>
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tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-85846174833543127542012-07-30T02:43:00.001-07:002012-07-30T03:08:26.568-07:00Calcutta 100 Club Project • August 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello to my Calcutta 100 Club friends. We have two projects that I'd like to fund with your help.<br />
<br />
1) Every year we use funds from Mustard Seeds to cover the cost of rice for one year at Basha school. That time has rolled around again. With the rising cost of living, this time we need to raise about Rs. 8,000 ($144) to help Basha serve a nutritious meal to its students for the year ahead. We have been helping to support Basha in various ways since it began six years ago. On my recent visit to the school, I was happy to hear that the curriculum now also includes sports and dance! All the children are doing so well and some of the mothers now come twice a week to make products for sale. Basha is growing beautifully!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_iSLl0MJLqufWV1cBFOMcI3p9VHbMXOiACcwnDbAdskMfqbIjiWrmIpnQhyphenhyphen6cd-GfAkGwDkqX52f3PFNCyxGsR1sK4HYOIY5ke-xynmQssx1wDcXE1aNr1ckaiwvPup9XgvICQ/s1600/DSCF7658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_iSLl0MJLqufWV1cBFOMcI3p9VHbMXOiACcwnDbAdskMfqbIjiWrmIpnQhyphenhyphen6cd-GfAkGwDkqX52f3PFNCyxGsR1sK4HYOIY5ke-xynmQssx1wDcXE1aNr1ckaiwvPup9XgvICQ/s320/DSCF7658.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saswati, who runs Basha, serves up the rice!</td></tr>
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2) The patua painter, Karuna Chitrakar, will need to go in for surgery as the doctor has found a tumor in her stomach. She is a diabetes patient so they have been waiting to stablize her blood sugar but it seems like they will need to go through with the operation soon. In the meantime, Karuna needs to purchase medicines and has requested help with about Rs. 15,000 ($270) for the surgery and meds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22pv13LmNEI4MPEusLjvZYt1k86nARSRrDuXRx8ZtBRz4pomXBeveFw6AIUIAihgFc-0h9fM6jHBlxbwTBAOathaIGT_L2IyRZM_MdakWbEAsCX_wdRkCwQQen0ws1Nsd5yz3eA/s1600/karuna1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22pv13LmNEI4MPEusLjvZYt1k86nARSRrDuXRx8ZtBRz4pomXBeveFw6AIUIAihgFc-0h9fM6jHBlxbwTBAOathaIGT_L2IyRZM_MdakWbEAsCX_wdRkCwQQen0ws1Nsd5yz3eA/s320/karuna1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karuna Chitrakar</td></tr>
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If you can make a small contribution to either of these funds, please email me at mseeds.maura@gmail.com. The idea behind our Calcutta 100 Club is that if several people (say, around 100 people!) make a small donation of $10 or so toward a specific goal, we can easily help someone in need. I usually request support when specific funds are needed. Let me know if you have any questions. Any amount above what is needed will be saved for a future project when it arises or used to purchase handicrafts from our vocational skills groups to support the producers and sell at Mustard Seed sales.</div>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-15721494316791097862012-01-30T20:35:00.000-08:002012-01-30T20:45:49.487-08:00Way to go, Sophie!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWLxc7m3GQHHVYWSU8T1tW6iqh7PqTIkpKiDxC3KyET_XQlfxN1kx2sysbKY0QTUTYJjmApXKJ1TVCcX7ApcbteCRbHg0LhdB1UJWDm8lQxNxQY_so0FwGuDZvRnOT0ttCOtX2A/s1600/100_3188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWLxc7m3GQHHVYWSU8T1tW6iqh7PqTIkpKiDxC3KyET_XQlfxN1kx2sysbKY0QTUTYJjmApXKJ1TVCcX7ApcbteCRbHg0LhdB1UJWDm8lQxNxQY_so0FwGuDZvRnOT0ttCOtX2A/s320/100_3188.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Sophie Rust and her mother visited us in November last year. One of the places they visited was <a href="http://suchana-community.org/">SUCHANA</a>, a rural learning centre for tribal children outside of Santiniketan. Last week, when Sophie had her birthday party, she decided to collect donations for the school from her friends. She collected $200 and her parents matched the amount bringing the total to $400! Way to go, Sophie! Her mom reports that everyone was happy to give a little to make this a success. Thanks for sharing your birthday fun with other children who are in need. Your efforts are truly commendable!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Be sure to have a look at the website and see the good work SUCHANA is doing to support education possibilities for the children in their village!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span></span></div>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-79673507552885319832011-11-23T22:00:00.001-08:002011-11-23T22:00:13.783-08:00WRAP IT IN KINDNESS!<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/6393153427/" title="Block print wrapping paper"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6220/6393153427_0109b575da.jpg" alt="Block print wrapping paper by dalbhat" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/6393153427/">Block print wrapping paper</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/">dalbhat</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>I recently visited Paripurnata Half-Way Home Centre for Psychosocial Rehabilitation for women after meeting some of the very dedicated people working there at a mela being organized by our friends at Ankur Kala. I was so happy to see the beautiful handicrafts being made through the rehab program here that I quickly placed an order for some of my favorite designs. I hope that we can have a lasting friendship with this organization.<br /><br />As part of its effort to offer some support to organizations addressing the problem of mental health for underprivileged people in Kolkata, this holiday season Mustard Seeds is selling beautiful hand-printed wrapping paper made by the teacher and residents at Paripurnata Half-way Home.<br /><br />Block printing is just one of the activities that make up Paripurnata's rehabilitation program, the women work alongside the teacher when they feel like doing this activity and try other handicrafts, etc. when they feel more inclined to do those.<br /><br />If you are in the US or Japan, you can purchase 6 sheets of assorted paper at $5 plus postage. This not only helps to support Paripurnata, but all the seedlings we try to plant through Mustard Seed efforts. Please send an email to mseeds.maura@gmail.com if you are interested in making a donation and receiving some handcrafted brown wrapping paper for the holiday season.<br /><br />Mustard Seeds would also like to thank FAIR shop in Brighton for placing a large order with this group. We hope everyone there likes the new designs!</p>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-39025009174697013032011-09-10T18:31:00.000-07:002011-09-11T18:33:21.397-07:00Calling our Calcutta 100 Club<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-3Gdbk4lEsmaZ3bREwmdlNQD_lVEBBARRYxAF9gKTDDEOVHofukTszpW1b8xa9IvpWu9bnxUgQHc4UnmUYkL02PzQlJGuBG442tHb_EuTB3VhVKhCIs7TL_OYKAZYykmLX8SqA/s1600/karuna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ead1dc;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-3Gdbk4lEsmaZ3bREwmdlNQD_lVEBBARRYxAF9gKTDDEOVHofukTszpW1b8xa9IvpWu9bnxUgQHc4UnmUYkL02PzQlJGuBG442tHb_EuTB3VhVKhCIs7TL_OYKAZYykmLX8SqA/s320/karuna.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cfe2f3;">Karuna Chitrakar</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #660000;">12 September 2011</span></span></span></i></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #660000;">THANK YOU TO</span></span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #660000;">OUR COMMUNITY OF</span></span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #660000;">MUSTARD SEEDS FRIENDS: </span></span></span></i></div><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #660000;">I look forward to telling Karuna this morning that we raised the money to help her do house repairs in response to the message I wrote below. Thank you for your concern and generosity, everyone. I am touched by how quickly responses came in.</span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #660000;"><br />
</span> </i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #660000;">=====</span></i><br />
<br />
Last night we received a phone call from Karuna Chitrakar asking for some emergency help from those friends who helped her build her house in Medinipur some years back. Karuna is a patua, a story-scroll painter and singer who lives in the village of Nadia in Medinipur. Several years back, friends of Mustard Seeds helped to build a house for Karuna and her family. The house, however, is built of mostly natural materials which means that it is fairly impermanent.<br />
<br />
Karuna told us that there have been heavy rains for the past two weeks and because her house is made of bamboo with a mud-straw covering for the walls, the water logging has caused the wall to collapse on one side of the house. They need to repair it right away.<br />
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We asked her what her plan would be to repair the house and she says that she needs to elevate the house with a cement foundation and she would like to build up the wall again but in bricks this time. She estimates this repair work to cost about Rs 12,000 - 15,000 (Approx. $320)<br />
<br />
Karuna lives with her two sons, their wives and the grandchildren. The rainy season is always a difficult time.<br />
<br />
If you would like to donate some money towards an emergency repair for Karuna's home, please email me at:<br />
mseeds.maura@gmail.com<br />
<br />
Remember, the idea for the Calcutta 100 Club is that we can do something for someone else by giving just a small amount – and that amount can add up to something that really makes a difference. In this case, if just 3.5 people can get 10 friends to give $10 - we have reached our goal. <br />
<br />
If donations over the amount are received, I will keep them aside for the next such project that comes to us.<br />
<br />
I will let you know when we have collected the money - I know that times are tough but if you can donate even $10 or ask a few people to donate $10 I know that we can help Karuna out in this time of need.<br />
<br />
Please email me for more details on how to donate.<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-57887089699081024612011-08-20T19:10:00.000-07:002011-08-20T19:13:03.845-07:00Mustard Seeds Joins Greenpeace in saying 'No More Fukushimas!'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvQRvvX4nGGueTU1TAcX4RElK16WQT6EyLJUQuZ2Y6G4XNmpyEreAH7q5cDk8J713edG0gqPOo7-F9BwgMzU7tg0VMqs3Z94nVliW06y1PelKTpZObKA7l92sLPLWG56zts_IpA/s1600/KOLKATAd+045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvQRvvX4nGGueTU1TAcX4RElK16WQT6EyLJUQuZ2Y6G4XNmpyEreAH7q5cDk8J713edG0gqPOo7-F9BwgMzU7tg0VMqs3Z94nVliW06y1PelKTpZObKA7l92sLPLWG56zts_IpA/s320/KOLKATAd+045.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbG8rYuIzldaXGz9hxgi6zk-JZFdjQqF8xqRkXnmfnXym7lMOdj_fBEg0Aj8ltBs-Gl3iJyBN2_1w6UXhq_N_nmQYOY0yLzDt1Q1cYXbv-gRPzf7m2JQgXW7OjznmitFJ9mSpmNg/s1600/KOLKATAd+096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbG8rYuIzldaXGz9hxgi6zk-JZFdjQqF8xqRkXnmfnXym7lMOdj_fBEg0Aj8ltBs-Gl3iJyBN2_1w6UXhq_N_nmQYOY0yLzDt1Q1cYXbv-gRPzf7m2JQgXW7OjznmitFJ9mSpmNg/s320/KOLKATAd+096.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Mustard Seeds took part in a rally to send support to Japan and to voice the message that nuclear power is not the answer to India's energy needs.<br />
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We worked with Silence, a fair trade organization in Kolkata that provides training and employment to disabled artisans, to design special candles for the event.</div>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-85865355663592344602011-07-25T21:15:00.001-07:002011-07-25T21:15:43.807-07:00dig it<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/5868839945/" title="dig it"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5151/5868839945_bde52c7061.jpg" alt="dig it by dalbhat" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/5868839945/">dig it</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/">dalbhat</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p></p>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-27255804716373668632011-07-23T06:01:00.000-07:002011-07-23T16:14:26.156-07:00Enacting the Mustard Seeds Storybook: To the Local Bazaar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">A while back I was contacted by a woman by the name of Rita Basuray. She asked if I would give permission for she and her friends to use our storybook, To the Local Bazaar, which she came across at CIMA gallery while visting Kolkata. They had a plan to enact the simple story for a Durga Puja performance being done by their Bengali language club. After writing back and forth, we found that we were connected by a number of friends and acquaintances. Rita raised money for some of the art projects Mustard Seeds was working on and for some supplies for the budding artist, Noor Islam at Shikshamitra. The show was held and the results are amazing as this video clip shows:<br />
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We thank everyone involved. I look forward to showing the clip to Karuna when she comes to visit next! This is an excellent way to spread information on the patachitra culture and to study Bengali!<br />
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</div>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-15838237763019812942011-04-15T06:11:00.000-07:002011-04-15T06:12:26.515-07:00Please Send Messages of Hope to Japan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">message of hope by a student of shikshamitra school</td></tr>
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Mustard Seeds has sent off its first packet of messages to Japan with beautiful drawing and simple notes of friendship and love from children in India. I continue to collect messages for Japan in various forms and let others know that the messages are being received. You can send a simple postcard or greeting card.<br />
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At the moment I know of two close friends of Mustard Seeds that are helping to get notes from around the world to people in Japan, to offer our support and let them know we care. They have both asked for our help. If you would like to, get a group of people and write short notes or make one card that you all sign and get it out in the post as soon as possible. <br />
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1) KOLKATA SEEDS-JAPAN/CHAUTARY<br />
Mustard Seeds works with Kolkata Seeds-Japan in Nara to provide financial support to schools here in Kolkata that provide education to children from impoverished backgrounds. They have been extremely supportive and this is something we can now do for them! Here is the letter we received:<br />
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<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Helvetica;"> </span> Dear Maura-san</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">Hope you are well. I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"> am sorry that I haven’t talked to you since our phone call. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">It has been a big disaster in Japan. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">Because of the atomic power plant, the country is not well we are all worried about our future. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">Japanese people are uniting together to recover. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">Chautary is attending an event, Earth Day on 24th and coordinating a fund raising event at the Chautary on 29th. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">From both of the event, every single yen we receive from people are going to be sent to the disaster areas. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">I pray for people whom they are affected by this disaster for a long time.</span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"> I have a favor to ask. Could you write messages to encourage people in those disaster areas and sent it to me in Japan?</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">I would like to have as many messages as possible. I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"> am going to introduce them at the event for fundraising and eventually, I would like to send them to the disaster areas with our money raised. I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">f we can received by 24th, it would be great, but if you can send me by 29th, that’s fine, too. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">Please support us.</span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Thank you,</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">Etsuko Yamaguchi</span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;">C/O CHAUTARY SHOP</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;">5-1-1 Ayameike Minami</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;">Nara-shi, Nara-ken 631-0033 JAPAN </div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;">2) KAYOKO NADAMOTO worked with me at the Japan Environmental Exchange and Green Action in Kyoto. We both worked together on anti-nuclear actions in the early 90s. She has sent this note:</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"></div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Dear friends,</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;">Hello, how are you? Hope you all are doing well, busy with your wonderful projects. Please forgive me not contact so often. The time is just flying as like a light. I am still living in Sandpoint, a small town in north Idaho where Moose, Bears are around. I am working and studying hard. Since last month, when the great earthquake hit Japan, my birth place, I have been having hard time to concentrate my life here. I have been so frustrated not being there helping. Last night I made up my mind to do one little thing. I'd like to introduce and invite you if you want to join. I wrote a letter to all my friends, people I know around here and the world. Please give me a minute to read the letter. I wish you my best and enjoy your life.</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;">Peace from Kako (Kayoko Nadamoto)</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Here is the letter:</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Dear Friends,</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">As you know, yesterday is the one month anniversary of the great earthquake & Tsunami that hit in north eastern Japan. I have received a letter from a friend who lives in Sendai city, where one of the city that affected strongly by the quake. I am so happy to learn that she is doing all right. I sent her a little card a day after the quake - not fancy just a simple card. She wrote me back that my little card that only saying “Are you OK?”, made her so happy and gave her a hope to live. I have been thinking what I can do for people in my birth country beside sending a little money.</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">My friend in Sendai doesn’t use a computer. I found that there are a lot of people who don’t use a computer in Japan (especially elderly people). There are millions of web sites that give them messages and news goes through online. But I have to realize that those messages reach only people who knows (or have) computer.</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">I’ve got an idea what I can do. I’d like to collect written messages. IF YOU WANT TO send a word to Japan, write your short message on a sheet of a paper. If you have a group of people who wants to join this, make a card (doesn’t need to be fancy) and let your friends to write a word on your card.</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">For those who don't live close, please mail it to me. I will translate each of your messages into Japanese, and write it beside your message on your paper (or card). I am planning to go to Japan in Mid May. I’d like to collect many messages as possible. So I can bring messages and send it to Sendai. I am sure, your message will give people a hope and a strength to go through this difficult time of their life.</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Here is my mailing address:</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Kayoko Nadamoto</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">P.O. Box 2582, Sandpoint, ID </div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Thank you,</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;">Kako</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;">=====</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;">Lastly, I'd like to draw your attention to this blog called <a href="http://jasonkelly.com/2011/04/drowning-hearts-at-lady-river/">Drowning Hearts at Lady River</a> which clearly shows the devastation but also shows a simple, beautiful gesture to help people. </div><br />
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</div>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-89277118219152089332011-01-24T20:13:00.000-08:002011-01-25T20:20:30.669-08:00Mustard Seeds Gets Active in January<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before the holiday season had a chance to even taper off, Mustard Seeds got moving and began the year 2011 with lots of activities and planning.</span><br />
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</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the early days of the month we had a visit from a very special friend and supporter, Michael Yamaguchi from Kolkata Seeds-Japan/Chautary. In three short days he managed to tour all of the projects our friends in Japan give financial assistance to so that he can report back on how each of the programs are going. The projects included BASHA, a school for underprivileged children living in slums around the Gol Park area run by the lovely Saswati-di and her excellent team of friends and family. Michael also visited SHIKSHAMITRA where Kolkata Seeds for the past three years has generously been providing the money to rent our space in Alipore. We visited two projects run by EMPOWER THE CHILDREN, the school and vocational learning program at Prayroyna 1 (P1) in the expansive Dhakindari slum was the first stop. Children performed a segment of their mime presentation which was done on a big stage at the end of the year, along with other schools. We were warmly welcomed here and also had a visit through the local area. Michael also visited a newer program being run in Khestopur, Prayroyna 3, which conducts a school, free lunch program and vocational skills training in tailoring and embroidery. He also loves to stop in at PRABARTAK whenever he is in town and as usual we a wonderful time there too interacting with all of our friends and the manager, Mr. Tanmoy Ganguly!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vocational group at the Dhakindari school, P1</td></tr>
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</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the same night his plane back to Japan was going to depart, Michael and I visited PRABARTAK home in Salt Lake. Michael was given a few of the pianikas by a member of their organization who is a teacher at a primary school in Japan. He gave these out as gifts as we went from place to place. It was at Prabartak, however, that they turned into magic! Arjun, a member at Prabartak promptly started playing his tabla and another boy pulled out his harmonica. Suddenly a new boy, about ten years old, got up and started dancing. We had a full-on concert happening. Leave it to music to break the ice. After we had all become friends, we passed the pianika around and almost everyone had a go on it. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making music and creating smiles at Prabartak</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also in January, Mustard Seeds planned two successful workshops with a volunteer group visiting Empower the Children from Connecticut in the US. On 17 January, Malini and I organized a pouch stitching workshop with young women taking part in the vocational program at P2. Each of the women had already embroidered their name and the name of the volunteer they'd be working with on that day into a piece of fabric that would become the lining of the pouch. On the day of the workshop, volunteers were paired up with the girls and the pairs set out to stitch a lined bag, add a snap and decorated the front. The results were beautiful and everyone was quite surprised that they were able to stitch quite a nice, practical gift item. The bags were presented to the volunteers, perfect to be used to hold a passport or camera!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our proud stitchers with their finished products!</td></tr>
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</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On 19 January, again in cooperation with Empower the Children and the group from Connecticut, Mustard Seeds helped to organize a presentation by the patua scroll artist, Karuna Chitrakar, at RCFC (Rehabilitation Centres for Children). After Karuna presented the scroll that tells the story of her own life story in pictures and song, each child worked with volunteers to draw a </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">scene from their own lifestory in a pata-style story frame. Thanks to friends from Shuktara who also participated!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning about the pata tradition and letting off some creative energy!</td></tr>
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</span> </span></div><div><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We'd like to thank everyone who was involved in this flurry of new year activity - and look forward to reporting on more networkings and activities through the year ahead. </span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Special thank you out to Chris Rickerd who sent holiday contributions for the SUCHANA Early Learning Group in Khanjanpur and our Calcutta 100 Club. We will let you know how this generous gift was used.</span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also thank Mary Hurley, Kate Goldman, Pascale Maclean and Marianne Tokita for purchasing assorted cards from Suchana and Silence and Mustard Seeds. They are our loyal customers!</span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In October, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Catriona Takeuchi hosted a fun India Day event at her English school in Nara, Japan. After woodblock printing and a cooking class with dal and chapatti, there was a Mustard Seeds handicraft sale that raised funds to keep us doing projects back in Kolkata.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arisa and Naoki, who run Ragamala in Nara, Japan, recently visited and handed us money from pata and handicrafts that were sold at their shop over the past year. Thanks so much for your long-time support!</span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A big thanks to Carol Lanigan and Moira Jones who raised money for Mustard Seeds in Ireland by selling handicrafts by Jeevika Development Society, Ankur Kala and various other small producers at Coffee Mornings they hosted and at a school fair. This money is "re-invested" into vocational programs by ordering more items that Mustard Seed friends and family can sell at fundraisers. Thank you so much for this needed boost!</span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friends in Kentucky wrote to ask if they can use the story line of our children's book, To the Local Bazaar, as a small skit they will perform as part of their Bengali studies. We look forward to hearing how it turned out and have been promised photos too!</span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, if you are on Facebook, you can now 'like' us at Mustard Seeds Kolkata too!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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</div></div>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-80019430732913411212010-12-07T19:21:00.001-08:002010-12-07T19:24:18.869-08:00Reena<div style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4892687934/" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/4892687934_50506f9b50_m.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4892687934/">Reena</a><br />
Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/tik-tiki/">dalbhat</a></span></div>Her full name is Durgesh Nandini Das but at Mustard Seeds, we know her fondly by her nickname, Reena – much simpler to say.<br />
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Reena was born and brought up in Assam. She moved to Kolkata after she married in the year 1976. Her father, the Late Kali Prasanna Das, was a well known freedom fighter and an All India Trade Union Leader. The prime minister asked him to accept a nomination for Member of Parliament but he refused this offer because he didn't want to work under someone else. He was one of the first 'rail roko andolan' in Indian Railway (stopping trains as a means of non-violent protest). West Bengal's late Communist leader, Jyoti Basu, wrote a letter to him asking him to stop the railways.<br />
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With a lot of inspiration to respond to the injustices present in the world around her, Reena began her lifework in 1999. When she was living near a refugee colony that set fire one day, her father gathered up all the family belongings and began to cook food to give to those who had been victimized by the fire. Reena never forgot this act of generosity, she grew up in a home where she learned that if someone has a problem you should always help them. <br />
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Later in her life, she was working in an office on Middleton Road and began teaching Muslim street children on the footpath. She continued doing this work quietly on her own after work for one year. <br />
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Finally someone gave her support and she was granted one room from the building owner to start teaching the children there. She gathered the students after office hours and the total number of students reached 90 at that time. She now knew that this was her lifework, and that she did not want to work in an office anymore. Although she was only working part-time, she eventually decided to give her job up so she could fully dedicate herself to developing education opportunities in extremely marginalized communities. <br />
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Some people in her family told her to stop doing this kind of work and make money for her own family but she knew she wanted to continue. Around this time, she met up with our dear friend, Rosalie Giffaniello, who said she would be very happy to support Reena's important work. Now, by teaming up with Rosalie's organization, <a href="http://www.etc-empowerchildren.org/">EMPOWER THE CHILDREN</a>, and gaining a much wider support network, the two women have opened several beautiful schools: one school in Ulta Danga (vocational skills training), one school in Dhakindari (a large slum/literacy and skills training program), and one school in Krishnapur (mainly vocational skills with some literacy). An NGO near Middleton Street continues her literacy work for disadvantaged children there.tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-32845992267757969732010-10-24T23:30:00.000-07:002010-10-24T23:44:04.662-07:00PUJA CLOTHING DRIVE COMPLETE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAKQfyRE9DeCTNl-_O_fLrl6CtyYFimItJ-bdfOSnRoB-C3ANPDhtD0VrsMw12yjNoO6OpJyRToMZ0d1K4KYfysvr5LlACznjwEZvocS2cE1lqVvZMM8k-wajAn-k5ltHINrszA/s1600/100_1139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAKQfyRE9DeCTNl-_O_fLrl6CtyYFimItJ-bdfOSnRoB-C3ANPDhtD0VrsMw12yjNoO6OpJyRToMZ0d1K4KYfysvr5LlACznjwEZvocS2cE1lqVvZMM8k-wajAn-k5ltHINrszA/s320/100_1139.JPG" width="238" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">During the week from 27 September to 1 October, 2010 Mustard Seeds conducted a used clothing drive at Calcutta International School. We had great help from Mrs. Pratima Nayar, Lee Ann Merrill, and Joydev Das who took charge of the whole operation by helping to set up the collection centre and make sure that donations were cleared from the school on a daily basis. CIS students, Joselyn, Malini and Rahul helped a lot with carrying the bags out of school and sorting. </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">Bundles and bundles of used clothing, still in good condition, came in each day with the help of the entire CIS school community. These were then carried out of school, taken home, and sorted in specific bundles for WOMEN, YOUNG WOMEN, GIRLS TOPS, GIRLS SLACKS, MEN, BOYS TOPS, BOYS TROUSERS, BABIES, ETC. to make distribution more straightforward on the receiving end. Lastly, a big t</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">hanks to Lalu for driving all the way from Santiniketan and back to help us with the distribution! </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWllHv5SoQ1EXQEUlzJ5Fi9uq1uvzDqZmrJkmoB2g2l9nmx8C_PMi2A5jAPLhJdxC3ZaVcGx5pFajhRZk2jF179P4kfxBKpBkL6af0PEWo4mSlhHDKAuTsRQoyCndL5KrpWTM_GQ/s1600/DSCF0246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWllHv5SoQ1EXQEUlzJ5Fi9uq1uvzDqZmrJkmoB2g2l9nmx8C_PMi2A5jAPLhJdxC3ZaVcGx5pFajhRZk2jF179P4kfxBKpBkL6af0PEWo4mSlhHDKAuTsRQoyCndL5KrpWTM_GQ/s320/DSCF0246.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk27T_58WJbaOmeG-t8hu6WgX6IfQv6xWu-4WAdQFu_XyYpSiVbjKkam6-HBbm2MWXZP8TCPuzzvaGGHboYj3414ClIOasEs7722UyQTGk7NxNpWm1OcuSmP_5ktyZBOgcRkFGDQ/s1600/DSCF0259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk27T_58WJbaOmeG-t8hu6WgX6IfQv6xWu-4WAdQFu_XyYpSiVbjKkam6-HBbm2MWXZP8TCPuzzvaGGHboYj3414ClIOasEs7722UyQTGk7NxNpWm1OcuSmP_5ktyZBOgcRkFGDQ/s320/DSCF0259.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></span></a></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"> The clothing was then sent by truck to Suchana Community School in Khanjanpur Village (W. Bengal). Donations of clothing for teens and older people were also made to Prabartak Home in Salt Lake. More children's clothing is also being sent to Belun village and Shikshamitra school. There was such a large amount that we decided to spread it around wherever we felt it could be useful.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">As you can see from the beautiful note and photos we received from SUCHANA (see below), the clothing was well received and it seems our efforts made a real difference to the children and families in the Suchana community. Don't they look grand in their 'new' clothes!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">Thank you to everyone who made this effort a success. Hopefully we can make the Puja Clothing Drive an annual event at CIS!</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVArHyK1LA7NPW3PWtdbZJ_MfZNVlSZNNwZGWR8DawgrGBwzI_hSFPKSubrQuD79BycvRSkHpnroRivzZvRWRLAV2uSPoeTEyw47eksznhDnQk2-92o_vVyFJbnMqucxRNSDaUpA/s1600/Household+and+suchana+pics+2010+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVArHyK1LA7NPW3PWtdbZJ_MfZNVlSZNNwZGWR8DawgrGBwzI_hSFPKSubrQuD79BycvRSkHpnroRivzZvRWRLAV2uSPoeTEyw47eksznhDnQk2-92o_vVyFJbnMqucxRNSDaUpA/s320/Household+and+suchana+pics+2010+022.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">“We spent a happy morning on 24th October giving out 230 sets </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">of clothes to Suchana children and other family members. </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">These were collected, sorted and sent to Suchana in an inspiring </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">effort by Mustard Seeds-Kolkata and Calcutta International School. </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">Teachers spent Saturday making up sets for individual children and </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">Sunday admiring everyone's outfits. This was recycling for joy!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">Many thanks to all those who donated clothes at CIS, </span></b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">and to those who painstakingly helped Mustard Seeds </span></b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">with sorting, sizing, and ordering. </span></b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">You created a lot of smiley faces today.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></span><br />
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</div>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-48010863369507950392010-08-07T20:51:00.000-07:002010-08-07T20:51:38.678-07:00Magic School House Donations Welcome at Shikshamitra School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPTS9SDnkBFPv_frU5W-Q7d1Qu_rzZkNIl_PfHoJA-UMuzL94Tt1g9rnZFTVH28c5-3Z6iS8l3y0zsr4EOGVqqkcKodbBtgwDgu-NE2YBzrtu4xYt9BxKR5zTgpT36hAaiYequgw/s1600/magic_school_bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPTS9SDnkBFPv_frU5W-Q7d1Qu_rzZkNIl_PfHoJA-UMuzL94Tt1g9rnZFTVH28c5-3Z6iS8l3y0zsr4EOGVqqkcKodbBtgwDgu-NE2YBzrtu4xYt9BxKR5zTgpT36hAaiYequgw/s320/magic_school_bus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">Do you have children who have outgrown the popular Magic School Bus book series, and these books are now just sitting on a shelf gathering dust? If so, please consider donating them to SHIKSHAMITRA open learning centre in Kolkata (where I work).<br />
</span> <a href="http://shikshamitralearning.blogspot.com/" onmousedown="UntrustedLink.bootstrap($(this), "a1628", event);" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">http://shikshamitralearnin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><wbr></wbr></span><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">g.blogspot.com/</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br />
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We have several students who have started to read at this level and are extremely interested in these books. We are hoping to try to collect at least some of the titles; used books from well wishers would be very appreciated. There is also a need for certain titles in this book series in our Education Resource Centre; they can be adapted for teacher training as well (into Bengali).<br />
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Please help us to make these books a part of our curriculum which aims to make learning fun and accessible to underprivileged children!<br />
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No donation is too small. Just pop the book(s) into an envelope or box and send them to us directly at:<br />
</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">SHIKSHAMITRA: An Open Learning Centre<br />
62B Alipore Road<br />
Kolkata 700027 INDIA</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> In particular, we are looking for the following titles for our library:<br />
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The Magic School Bus: And the Climate Challenge<br />
The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses<br />
The Magic School Bus At the Waterworks<br />
The Magic School Bus And the Electric Field Trip<br />
The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane<br />
The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body<br />
The Magic School Bus The Search for the Missing Bones<br />
The Magic School Bus Twister Trouble<br />
The Magic School Bus The Giant Germ<br />
KICKS UP A STORM: A Book About Weather<br />
INSIDE RALPHIE: A Book About Germs<br />
GETS EATEN: A Book About Food Chains<br />
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To be honest, any titles are appreciated. Thank You! </span> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">If you have any questions, you can email me at mseeds.maura@gmail.com</span></span>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-76942779322690918182010-05-13T09:56:00.001-07:002010-05-13T10:01:23.075-07:00BOOKMARKS by DESTINY REFLECTION<div style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4533519359/" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4533519359_1355537da6_m.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4533519359/">Mseeds bookmarks</a><br />
Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/tik-tiki/">dalbhat</a></span></div>Some time ago, I met a woman from the States who has co-founded the organization Destiny Reflection here in Kolkata. This organization seeks to empower young women who have been trafficked in the sex trade or who are at risk of becoming so.<br />
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Seeing this as an important issue, especially in the porous border regions where Nepal, Bangladesh and West Bengal borders meet, Mustard Seeds is happy to give support to this group in the form of product development and marketing. Whenever Mustard Seeds comes across a vocational skills unit with goals and projects that echo our own, we try to identify and develop at least one product that we can produce and sell for them. Through this product, we can tell the story of the women who make these and create a network of people who want to learn more. Placing orders with the organization is one of the best ways of showing our support and creating meaningful work.<br />
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I am delighted to announce that <a href="http://www.destinyreflection.org/?page_id=7">Destiny Reflection</a> now has an official website so please take some time out to learn more about this small, but quickly expanding organization that is working hard to address the issues of exploitation and poverty, especially amongst women.<br />
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If you wish to show your support with the purchase of bookmarks, please be in touch by email. Thank you to Susie McNaughton and Neil Haran for offering to host a small coffee morning fundraiser with Mustard Seeds in Ennis, Ireland this summer. These and other products by the groups we network with in Kolkata will be on display! Also, please let us know if there is a cooperative or bookshop that might be interested in selling these.tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-7530911985610594552010-05-05T17:08:00.001-07:002010-05-05T17:08:46.257-07:00Earth Day Design Contest: 2010 Winner<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4580508744/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4580508744_05dc04c798_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4580508744/">Earth Day Design Contest: 2010 Winner</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/tik-tiki/">dalbhat</a></span></div>Mustard Seeds would like to thank ALL of those who participated in this year's eco-design contest. The task this year was to design a flag for Mother Earth. Our participants were from various schools both in and out of Kolkata!<br /><br />The design shown here is one of the winners for design and artwork, by Akash M-B, age 11. We also acknowledge others whose designs really wowed us: Rahul C., age 9, for his original design which incorporated real leaves; Elizabeth R, age 9 for her friendly reminder to HELP Mother Earth; and Aman, age 8 who created a dramatic and colorful image of a peace sign protecting the planet. We have some nice eco-prizes for those who won and certificates for everyone who entered. These will be distributed next week.<br /><br />We chose this flag because the artist was careful to describe each element in the design:<br />"In the flag, the blue represents water, the green represents trees and forests, and the white represents snow. I've drawn some endangered species in the places where they live. I hope you like it" His work has a bold design, a heartfelt message about an issue that concerns him, endangered species, and a well planned, succinct explanation of his work. We do like it – and would be proud to fly this flag high!<br /><br />The winner for the written part of our contest is Anuja B, age 9, who took out some time to gather her thoughts on an issue she cares about, water. She shows how she tries to protect the planet:<br /><br />Water<br />Water is a very important natural resource. If we do not conserve it, we WILL run out of this precious resource sooner or later. Whenever I brush my teeth, I think about the Earth – and turn the tap off. You may think that we have a lot of water left but you are wrong. You might not see it, but when you do a simple thing like turning a tap off you are saving a lot of water. I hope this essay inspired you and now you will also join the quest to save Mother Earth!<br />- Anuja B, age 9<br /><br />+++++<br /><br />All the work that came in is beautiful and is now adorning the walls of Mustard Seeds Library so please come have a look if you are in the area. Here are some more of the nice writings that our Earthinkers sent in. We thank them for taking the time to spend a moment thinking about this planet home we all share:<br /><br />Plant Trees<br />I am worried that the trees are finishin on the Earth. I am worried about the Earth getting drowned in water. If global warming happens fast all the world will melt and become water covering the land. Where will we live? We should plant more trees to cool the Earth. Stop cutting trees.<br />-Viraj, age10<br /><br />The environment around us is changing a lot. There are many things we should be concerned about, but I am mostly concerned about the pollution. This is not an issue in many other countries or places but I can see that it is in Calcutta. Everywhere I go, I see some trash around me. If this keeps on going, soon Calcutta will have trash covering the full roads! Then what will we do? There are many ways to stop this from happening. One is that more trash cans can be put in places. That way people will throw their trash in the bins and not litter the roads. The government could also make a law stating that anyone who is caught littering will have to pay a fine. The first way will probably be more effective since there are so many people in Calcutta! These were just two of the many ways we could stop having trash everywhere we go. Just keep in mind that this is just one problem and that there are many more!<br />-Avantika, age 12<br /><br />THANKS EVERYONE!<br clear="all" />tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-46035252925329215392010-04-18T20:34:00.001-07:002010-04-20T09:11:57.257-07:00Fair Trade Begins at Home<div style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4533683702/" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2748/4533683702_a84a2fa828_m.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4533683702/">Ankur Kala Squash</a><br />
Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/tik-tiki/">dalbhat</a></span></div>The number of useful products available from NGO vocational skills production units here in Kolkata is truly impressive: drink concentrates (see photo) by Ankur Kala, greeting cards, soaps, wrapping paper, matchboxes, hand-woven wash rags, spices and spice mixtures, eco-tote bags, blankets, gift items. I think we all know by now that making purchases directly from NGOs and village artisans means you are able to decide exactly what your money is being for.<br />
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If you live in Kolkata, in the summer months, you should definitely know about Ankur Kala's Jam, Squash and Pickles production unit. The women trainees at Ankur Kala produce bottles of squash in seasonal fruit flavours. I highly recommend the naturally made Lemon Squash as an alternative to any of the cold drinks you might normally reach for during the hottest months. Other delicious flavors are the Pineapple, Mango and the new Lemon-Orange Ginger combo! All you need to do is add a bit of squash to a glass, add water, stir – add ice if you like – and enjoy this deliciously refreshing summer drink cooler! You can also prepare a full bottle to keep in the fridge. An added bonus is the glass containers which are earth friendly and allow us to avoid more plastic bottles which are not recyclable. Ankur Kala will take back bottles when you are finished. For the health conscious, there are selections such as karela juice, carrot juice, and mousam (sweet lime) juice.<br />
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</div>I order several bottles at a time and have even become a distribution outlet for those who like this product in my neighborhood and at my children's school. THey make the perfect gift for teachers as school lets out. I've sold 30 bottles for Ankur Kala in the past two months! If you place a large order, they will deliver, or you can call and order for pick up from their workshop on Park Street (close to Park Circus). It's a nice way to give this dedicated organization your support. Please place an order and spread the word!<br />
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ANKUR KALA was started in 1982 by a dear friend of mine, Annie Joseph. The organisation aims to provide impoverished and marginalized women opportunities to break free and stand on their own by developing business skills and training in various crafts and food production. Ankur Kala provides skill training in batik, tailoring, catering and the production of jams, squash, pickles, etc. The group is commited to holistic training so that the women trainees will be agents of change in society.<br />
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Opting to stay out of shops like Archies and the big shopping malls cropping up all over the city for gift items means you can use your spending power to support excellent projects and spread the word about these NGOs who are always in need of our ideas and support.<br />
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If you would like to order, please be in touch with:<br />
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Annie at Ankur Kala<br />
3 Meher Ali Road<br />
Kolkata 700 017<br />
Tel : 033 2287 8476 / 2283 5990 / 6517 6649<br />
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* Ankur Kala squash is also available at Sasha Shop on Free School Street<br />
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Exercise your purchasing power by putting your money where it can really benefit locally!tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-67597073368221692862010-02-06T18:33:00.000-08:002010-02-06T18:40:16.854-08:00Calcutta 100 CLub 2010: Supplies for the Kitchen at BALO<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqpiC_yYZEG2jI_tqLyHoQ9rvtkCp3lsEzj85Fdxzx2ZtA2VOcGCRgaGvRMXTyJwrgAXEctQuTOCDG22wgp4Z405cMpZQ8Yr6umg0Cwdst5SOREMzTg6vJUMSSAhCQlV45Y1fCCw/s1600-h/kolkata+sett+09+075.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqpiC_yYZEG2jI_tqLyHoQ9rvtkCp3lsEzj85Fdxzx2ZtA2VOcGCRgaGvRMXTyJwrgAXEctQuTOCDG22wgp4Z405cMpZQ8Yr6umg0Cwdst5SOREMzTg6vJUMSSAhCQlV45Y1fCCw/s320/kolkata+sett+09+075.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435325038142357954" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.balo.it/">Balo</a> is a small, volunteer organization working in the Howrah district of Kolkata, a satellite town of Calcutta, that is in an extremely dilapidated state. Howrah is situated beyond the river Hooghly and connected to Calcutta by the famous Howrah Bridge. It is an extremely marginalized area that is known to have been the inspiration for Dominique Lapierre's famed novel, The City of Joy. Residents in the area where Balo is working to provide some basic relief and education services must cope with open sewers and garbage pits on a daily basis, along with scarcity of water taps and lack of any toilets. Most families live all together in a single brick room or shanty, with the door being the only source of light.<br /><br />Balo aims to involve the local people in all aspects of its initiatives. In particular, Balo' is involved as much as possible in the training of young women from this Howrah area. Balo runs a program that provides young women with technical sewing and embroidery skills. The courses are run by a local Indian woman and an Italian seamstress, Elisabetta, who journeys back and forth to Howrah share her skills and designs. The young women are producing handmade fashion clothing and accessories, which are sold in Italy at special events and venues. The women are receiving very fair salaries for their work and are supported with livelihood needs. This activity provides funds to support the other work being done by Balo'.<br /><br />Balo also runs programs to sponsor the education of children in English-medium schools and to provide nutritious meals and day care to youngsters. Recently they purchased a small flat in order to have a permanent place where healthy meals can be prepared for the younger children, especially. They are hoping to set up a kitchen in this flat and have asked help from Mustard Seeds. <br /><br />For the next Calcutta 100 Club project, I'd like to propose we collect the amount they need to purchase the cooking pots, gas stove, utensils and other basic kitchen items. The estimated amount for this is Rs. 8,000 which is approximately US$ 150. Please email me if you would like to put your C-100-C $10 contribution towards this (mseeds.maura@gmail.com).tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-65296078223680929102009-11-09T00:07:00.001-08:002009-11-09T00:08:56.251-08:00Suchana cards 2009<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4082278139/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2742/4082278139_dc36cdac4d_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4082278139/">Suchana cards 2009</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/tik-tiki/">dalbhat</a></span></div>As some of you may know, Suchana designs and prints a set of six beautiful greeting cards each year as a means of raising funds for their learning center project in Khanjanpu. Here are the latest designs, all created by students at Suchana.<br /><br />You can choose from two different inside greetings: "Season's Greetings" or "With Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year" or blank.<br /><br />If you know of a place where these can be sold we would appreciate hearing from you. And, if you would like to purchase a set (or more) for yourself, please be in touch with me by email and I will be happy to get them to you right away. Each set of six costs US$6 = postage. I have a big stock of these! (mseeds.maura@gmail.com)<br /><br />This year all the funds will be used to expand the curriculum at the newly built school. <br /><br />There are also cute memo pads for $1 each.<br clear="all" /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-6vCJYEqFhqftwmB45LUmOZb4bA5M5OoW-wUcwOs2P-BtwVPCO7QwdBb1BNibTuAcynSMSeMVdgvALG5VHMGG16j9EVafEdirzmLFJJ1Utnd9RFKHFHjut6kdMUxx6dUBcQXGA/s1600-h/DSCF2091.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 303px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-6vCJYEqFhqftwmB45LUmOZb4bA5M5OoW-wUcwOs2P-BtwVPCO7QwdBb1BNibTuAcynSMSeMVdgvALG5VHMGG16j9EVafEdirzmLFJJ1Utnd9RFKHFHjut6kdMUxx6dUBcQXGA/s320/DSCF2091.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402012812829305522" /></a>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-65519987592937975202009-11-05T21:15:00.001-08:002009-11-05T21:18:25.749-08:00Anandneer<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4078917301/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2571/4078917301_8bc8240987_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4078917301/">Anandneer</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/tik-tiki/">dalbhat</a></span></div>This week I visited Anandneer to purchase some of their paper products for an upcoming holiday bazaar. I was very excited to see the beautiful, well-organized workshop and other facilities at this bright space located in South Calcutta.<br /><br />Anandneer is an initiative of the REACH school, developing training and employment opportunities for a very talented group of mentally and physically challenged artisans. The organization seeks to provide security for those students who have graduated from the school and are moving onto independent livelihoods.<br /><br />Some of the beautiful products being made here include wrapping paper, shopping bags, and envelopes. I got a very nice demonstration of the printing techniques used to design the wrapping paper.<br clear="all" /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzacdy4MjF9qKHF4GVkOsHKTSPsN36CWLeahp58KMiiD7INuzneTXTd_zqSCduJdghvHnzL_R-p0KrUbWQM8vw2u3JJlKitVQB_RkTKnLICXUlt8FMLBbWMnc5ssaeQBcqAtVOw/s1600-h/DSCF2080.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzacdy4MjF9qKHF4GVkOsHKTSPsN36CWLeahp58KMiiD7INuzneTXTd_zqSCduJdghvHnzL_R-p0KrUbWQM8vw2u3JJlKitVQB_RkTKnLICXUlt8FMLBbWMnc5ssaeQBcqAtVOw/s320/DSCF2080.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400855352082474418" /></a>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-79889411580381304432009-10-21T20:21:00.000-07:002009-10-21T20:39:03.606-07:00"Uplifting" efforts by Suchana<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghz95YvpVIMkPf2oCT4Fk2UM-93weCZvccrFzGHdTiI71q_FA6mSqmSHDnxCaQz7ce3fZEWolN4QGPdSBa_9oATxEIQsLpSE0vPqfpyseheexR-t3z5PBThtPUNdfb-zPfT2qIhg/s1600-h/DSCF1449.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghz95YvpVIMkPf2oCT4Fk2UM-93weCZvccrFzGHdTiI71q_FA6mSqmSHDnxCaQz7ce3fZEWolN4QGPdSBa_9oATxEIQsLpSE0vPqfpyseheexR-t3z5PBThtPUNdfb-zPfT2qIhg/s320/DSCF1449.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395263305692745106" /></a><br /><br />Book Project by Students of Suchana<br /><br />For those who contributed to the Suchana Centre building fund, I thought you might like to have more information on the kind of education program going on there. <br /><br />You may find <a href="http://infochangeindia.org/200910217993/Children/Stories-of-change/The-koel’s-song.html">this article</a> to be of interest. It is a review of the book that Suchana recently published in Bengali, featuring creative writings and illustrations by the students. The review goes on to include interviews with teachers and shows the spirit of Suchana's philosophy! <br /><br />Please note that the article has one misinterpretation: it seems to say that the children at Suchana don't go to the government schools because they cannot access them - but nearly all of them do go, and suchana acts as a back up to that.<br /><br />If you are interested in getting a copy of the book, you can email me or Kirsty at:milward.bose@gmail.comtik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-36169357965300355192009-10-20T21:55:00.001-07:002009-10-21T00:19:04.425-07:00Thanks to our guest<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4030579595/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2581/4030579595_2d2928f9e1_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/4030579595/">tamio: diary workshop</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/tik-tiki/">dalbhat</a></span></div>A friend of ours often has <a href="http://www.couchsurfing.org/">couch surfers</a> staying with her and since two people were coming from Japan she pointed me in the direction of their websites. When I had a look at <a href="http://www.creativestudiobrasil.com/">TAMIO'S</a> website I got very excited by his collage and writing talents. He has self-published his travel diaries. Ruchira and I rigged up a way for these two couch surfers to visit Mustard Seeds on the way to their couch, and in so doing... I was able to snag another guest to come visit my students at Shikshamitra.<br /><br />Last Thursday, we all sat in a big circle and talked about diary writing. <br />How many of you keep a diary?<br />When would you keep a diary?<br />What sort of things do people write in their diaries?<br />Why would someone keep a diary?<br />What sort of things would go in a diary?<br />After a discussion prompted by these questions, Tamio and I passed around our own diaries and let the children look through them. Then we talked again about what kind of things a person can include. <br /><br />Using a book-origami fold we turned big sheets of brown paper into small notebooks for each of the kids and then we let them start making their own collage-filled diaries. Most of the kids got the idea right off, and started making beautiful works of art but we ran out of time so I will continue the class next week.<br /><br />Thanks so much to Tamio and Jody for joining us and sharing their ideas and creativity with us!<br clear="all" /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVoqSm6RV-gpd5TGKNAtjChe4F0TE8E1VgfM-xzReZVTYWj8adxEM0oVIEdYKUnIdrNxBVt8ToBq_0kV2IjQlkgCtDeu5NHsy6Z0D3ofXyLnQyTj_5R_JBEmeLsGka0v0gDizwQ/s1600-h/DSCF1762.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVoqSm6RV-gpd5TGKNAtjChe4F0TE8E1VgfM-xzReZVTYWj8adxEM0oVIEdYKUnIdrNxBVt8ToBq_0kV2IjQlkgCtDeu5NHsy6Z0D3ofXyLnQyTj_5R_JBEmeLsGka0v0gDizwQ/s320/DSCF1762.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394913020987107730" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdxHeZP4JhcmURNkiJJ1wjGFjIhNgt5XYAC8ytsVB5if-AtEzzZC5iv_4UbM1msadNYElQJ0ScETMK2kJM4fZJuveIIiZtqlD42h5HtAaLxgO1h4ayvdeaVCjz2XL_AjoXaNEew/s1600-h/DSCF1761.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdxHeZP4JhcmURNkiJJ1wjGFjIhNgt5XYAC8ytsVB5if-AtEzzZC5iv_4UbM1msadNYElQJ0ScETMK2kJM4fZJuveIIiZtqlD42h5HtAaLxgO1h4ayvdeaVCjz2XL_AjoXaNEew/s320/DSCF1761.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394913018004853586" /></a>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-40295068813646251972009-09-06T06:45:00.001-07:002009-09-06T07:01:22.480-07:00Our annual gift of rice to Basha<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/3888925123/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3506/3888925123_ce773e2369_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tik-tiki/3888925123/">MSeeds again</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/tik-tiki/">dalbhat</a></span></div>An update is needed on some of the recent fundraising and giving Mustard Seeds has done with the help of friends in Japan and the US:<br /><br />This photo is a receipt showing our second annual donation to cover the purchase of rice at BASHA school. The money came from sale of handicrafts in Japan and donations received by well wishers. Basha runs on a pretty low budget but believes that providing a nutritious meal each day offers more than just an incentive to attend, it offers a chance at good physical and mental health too. They do not want to scrimp on the lunches provided to children every afternoon. I visited Basha in early August and was happy to see how big all the kids are becoming -- and smart too!<br /><br />Also from funds collected in Japan, we were able to pay for new crutches for Ashok Sarkar who often visits our home in Salt Lake, and for Karuna Chitrakar's second eye surgery.<br /><br />Thanks also to the Portland International Gourmet Society (PIGS), who raised money for Mustard Seeds at one of their monthly gourmet gatherings! This money will go toward Shikamitra's Learn and Earn Program.<br clear="all" /><br /><br />Ashok Sarkar<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C1LJ2ev1CN8SRfBmbTR0Wq4OUof-EQXyg7CDvhCbOh_iRZ4pjyVn4NvQTLTo4Nw0AfCozYvYH69EzP-sdcU_NY941oP0AiEoYyeDJiwZrhnuit0igYRLanXZqhdrCHF1_BTn3Q/s1600-h/DSCF0793.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C1LJ2ev1CN8SRfBmbTR0Wq4OUof-EQXyg7CDvhCbOh_iRZ4pjyVn4NvQTLTo4Nw0AfCozYvYH69EzP-sdcU_NY941oP0AiEoYyeDJiwZrhnuit0igYRLanXZqhdrCHF1_BTn3Q/s320/DSCF0793.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378352038693349570" /></a><br /><br />And for those who gave to the Calcutta 100 Club effort to help get the new Suchana building up and running, here is the latest photo from Kirsty and Rahul! It's looking great and reports have it that there is a flurry of activity at the new school! I hope to be visiting very soon for a first-hand view!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMa-rq1rtONJyo47jE2RrxVKsK-6Aya4iGtDk8-RA6t1sKy5KSwVbvUGzE-FtNDMCghyPNm-9OS4ogn26ZiI9UdIjFxZ37Xx1Zw6IkqgRawR6p7SbDrTQh9vh0pQ74Vr1aLTdUg/s1600-h/P8300141.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMa-rq1rtONJyo47jE2RrxVKsK-6Aya4iGtDk8-RA6t1sKy5KSwVbvUGzE-FtNDMCghyPNm-9OS4ogn26ZiI9UdIjFxZ37Xx1Zw6IkqgRawR6p7SbDrTQh9vh0pQ74Vr1aLTdUg/s320/P8300141.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378353958188248050" /></a>tik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12145456.post-68178919977969278232009-05-17T18:12:00.000-07:002009-05-20T09:32:21.932-07:00Calcutta 100 Club Fundraising Update 2009A special thanks to each and every one of you who responded to our shout for funds to help build Suchana's new education resource center and some other programs happening in Kolkata. Through your most generous contributions (amounting to over Rs. 37000) Suchana has been able to achieve its goal of getting the building up before the monsoon rains. It is very exciting to hear updates as the building work takes place. It looks like the Suchana community will actually be using the new space from July! I have to say that it really was with great pride that I handed over the funds to the Suchana Committee as it trickled in, and I hope that once the building is finished we can also help them to stabilize their all-expanded curriculum and help some other important projects here – in our Mustard Seed-size way!<br /><br />In the latest Suchana newsletter, Kirsty writes:<br /><br />Watching this building come up is not just exciting...it’s incredible! It is the result of a combined effort by so many people –Suchana’s teachers, Committee, builders, helpers, advisors, fundraisers, friends, family, and all those of you who have helped us with donations. It’s also inspiring – this is the space where we are finally going to be able to pull together all the potential gathered over the last 4 years and put it into a structured but flexible full-time programme. That is a big responsibility – but there’s a lot of anticipation and enthusiasm here about taking this responsibility on.<br /><br />The veranda roof, which many of you have specifically helped us build, is due to be completed by next week. If all goes well, we will be ‘moving in’ during the June holiday and from July, Suchana will be in operation from the new site! Through July and August we will be running our current ELG and Health programmes, and in September we will begin the new elements of the full-time programme in phases – ‘tuitions’ for middle school children; extra pre-school mornings; computer training; full-time library and supervised space for reading, completing homework assignments or working on art projects. By December, we hope to start working on extending the library facilities to new members from other villages. <br /><br /> Construction is never completely plain sailing though. Having finally gathered together the paper work to make an application for an electricity connection (funded by another great combined effort by the Calcutta100 Club and Mustard Seeds) we discovered that we couldn’t pay the local building tax required before an application will be accepted until after the General Election. The election has been phased and has just been finalised so if we’re lucky we can now make the application and will have electricity for our July start. <br /><br />The ELG library is really flourishing, and we would be very grateful for help in expanding this extremely effective literacy resource. We have the site – now we just need more books! We especially need children’s Bengali books. Simple English books (Ages 1-6) are also useful. The books we ‘manage’ are read by many, many children!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJI1uBzqEzj6BokgwDj_ISYBjVUUP5hhIfRne9oBlqf37tibNgOaGQiXjBr1iLlyA5Y51atQyjMZW5eRA17AB43XGnDY0SkibVYLPsKvEeXq2HFdWQKzZ55X0i_k9gAV2LCJtVcw/s1600-h/DSC01014.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJI1uBzqEzj6BokgwDj_ISYBjVUUP5hhIfRne9oBlqf37tibNgOaGQiXjBr1iLlyA5Y51atQyjMZW5eRA17AB43XGnDY0SkibVYLPsKvEeXq2HFdWQKzZ55X0i_k9gAV2LCJtVcw/s320/DSC01014.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336969705124124466" /></a><br /><br />==============<br /><br />So, hats off to each and every one of you who contributed and to my sister, Margo Baker, who has been helping me with this project! Suchana is making an effort to improve its work with the older children now studying in middle school and much of this new work will be in the early evenings. Having electricity is vital to this part of the programme in particular. In the new building, Suchana plans to open up a free study room so that children can read and work on projects in the evenings – most of the Suchana students have no electricity at home. We are making this possible!<br /><br />2009 Calcutta 100 Club contributions (Jan-Aug):<br /><br />SUCHANA: Kate Goldman, Jan Fujikawa, Rajita Majumdar and Family, Chris Rickerd, Rick Pestana, Jean Sullivan, Mary Clock-Rust, Sagaree Sengupta and Family, Kyoko Hosoki, Domi Long, One World English School, Jen Blain & Family, Marguerite Shaddy, Nancy Anchor, Ann Overton, Stephen Mackerras, Atula Ahuja, Susie McNaughton, Neil Haran and the Nara Team (Rex Tanimoto, Catriona Takeuchi, Makoto Takeuchi, Kiyomi Asada, Mr. Asada, Fumie Fujimoto, Junko Tsuda, Darlene Itoh, Steve Nishida, Brock McKinnon)<br /><br />Jenifer Douglas and Family have made a contribution to SHUKTARA, a home for young boys and girls with disabilities.<br /><br />Mary and Peter Max gave the amount to pay for this school year's donation of rice for the students at BASHA school. Calcutta 100 Club covered this cost last year and when I visited Basha recently I was told that they are counting on us for this each year!<br /><br />Kolkata Seeds Japan continues to pay the rent at SHIKSHAMITRA, an alternative curriculum secondary school and also sponsor the education for six of the students at BASHA.<br /><br />TO DONATE: Please email me for further details.<br /><br />1. US • Check payable to: Maura Hurley<br />Send to: Margo Hurley (Calcutta 100 Club)<br />285 Brewer Hill Road<br />Batesville, AR 72501-5228<br />Mark ‘Calcutta 100’ in memo space<br /><br />2. JAPAN • Please send by postal transfer to<br />The account:<br />mustard seed, japan<br />00980-9-30045<br />Mark ‘Calcutta 100’ in memo space<br /><br />3. UK • Post a cheque made out to 'Friends of Suchana' to :<br />Friends of Suchana<br />Clare's Forstal / Throwley Forstal / Faversham / Kent ME13 0PJ<br />* UK tax payers should ask Angela to send them a Gift Aid form so Suchana gets a 28% tax rebate on the donation: angela@claresforstal.plus.comtik-tikihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419233204373567824noreply@blogger.com0