| CINI NEWS December 2004 |
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This year, CINI is celebrating
30 years since its foundation and I wish to express my warmest gratitude
to all colleagues, past and present, who have worked long hours with little
compensation to make CINI what it is today, reaching almost 500,000 people
in various corners of the country. The past year has been full of new initiatives seeing: • The launch of a new care and support programme for women and children in the Farukabad district of Uttar Pradesh. • The establishment of a project in Jharkhand to reduce the incidence of low birth weight and all the problems this brings in remote areas. • The construction of a new centre for the training of health and development workers in West Bengal and nearby states. • A pilot project focusing on how best to help the children of working mothers in the slums of Kolkata • And the launch of India’s first ever NGO voluntary counselling centre for HIV/AIDS |
 Dr Samir Chaudhuri Founder and Director of CINI |
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SHARING THE LIFE CYCLE
APPROACH WITH OTHER CHARITIES
| A growing number of staff from
other charities are coming to CINI for training in the use of the Life Cycle
Approach, developed by the charity over the last few years. The Life Cycle Approach is based on focusing care and support on the most critical stages in the life cycle for laying the foundations for long term health. This means providing advice to mothers and their families during pregnancy and the first two years of the child’s life – as malnutrition and disease during this period can lead to lasting disabilities. The other key stage that has been identified by CINI’s researchers is adolescence, as this is when attitudes about sexual health and safe sex practices are formed – which are becoming increasingly important as forecasters currently predict that there will be more people with HIV/AIDS in India by 2010 than in the whole of Africa. CINI’s commitment to innovation and learning through monitoring and evaluating all its projects means that we are leading the way in these key areas for India’s future. We are actively seeking to share the knowledge we have gained with other NGOs so that we can work together to overcome the challenges we face. Right: The Life Cycle Approach in action – a local health worker gives a young mother advice on preventative healthcare measures to protect her child |
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SELF HELP ON THE STREETS OF KOLKATA
Lucy Cleland, editor
of Grove Magazine and The Resident, visited CINI earlier this year. Below are
her impressions of the CINI Asha project in Kolkata. CINI actively encourages
supporters to visit Kolkata and see the charity’s work in practice.
Photo: CINI Asha volunteer, Baby Tabassum (centre), with her female relatives
at the entrance to their one room home
I am following Baby
Tabassum through the cluttered alleyways of the maze that is Bibi Bagan, one
of Kolkata’s most densely populated slums. 7,000 people are said to live
in this area that spans just 1km squared. Baby deftly manoeuvres her way through
the alleyways past ragged little children, goats, chickens and piles of rubbish..
Baby tells me she is 18 although she looks about 14. She is a volunteer worker
for the urban wing of CINI, CINI Asha, dedicated to the protection, health and
education of Kolkata’s thousands of street children, picked for her outgoing
nature and respect of her peers. CINI’s ethos is to work within communities
and find volunteers from among the people they are trying to help. Baby is taking
me to see where she grew up.
The slum is quite empty, says another CINI worker. At night when the men return
you can’t get through for all the people sleeping outside. Lots of the
children are either out begging, stealing or working in the slaughterhouse next
door. India was supposed to have eradicated child labour – but then it’s
supposed to have done a lot of things, she smiles grimly.
Finally, we arrive at Baby’s house, a tiny room which tonight will sleep
12 people. The family has lived here since her parents married in 1975 and every
child has been born on the floor I am now sitting on. But Baby is one of the
lucky ones - she has her family, a roof over her head and a volunteer income
of 200 rupees per month (£2.50). Many others are not so fortunate and
it is these women and children that Baby works so tirelessly to reach. CINI
Asha run night shelters, vocational training, day centres and a fulltime sickbay.
Three days a week, they operate a drop-in clinic that mostly deals with queries
relating to family planning, complicated pregnancies and urinary infections
from poor sanitation - hard to avoid when urinating and excreting in the gutters
is commonplace.
It is through people like Baby, who refers people to these services, that CINI
Asha has the most chance of making a difference. As she delightfully told me:
'my cousin is going to stop having babies after her second child.' A forward
step if ever there was one.
CHAIRMAN’S LETTER
A very warm welcome to our new Director, Anna Taylor, who started working for
CINI UK at the beginning of October, replacing Melissa Spiteri who left her
post to join her husband in Bangkok. During the few months she spent with us,
Melissa had been diligently promoting the cause of CINI and initiating the two
events held in October. The Exhibition by a family of Bengali artists and the
recital by Patricia Rozario, both efficiently managed by Anna, helped raise
CINI’s profile as well as provide funds towards the crucial work carried
by CINI in Kolkata.
Our Spring event will be a campaign to coincide with Mother’s Day in March,
thus stressing the importance of CINI’s ‘Adopt a Mother, Save her
Child’ Programme to celebrate that very significant day.
I am delighted that Lady Forsyth and His Honour Judge Witold Pawlack have agreed
to join the Board of CINI UK and I have no doubt that, like the other Trustees,
they will do their utmost to help foster the projects initiated in Kolkata by
Dr Samir Chaudhuri and his team in Kolkata.
A very healthy and peaceful 2005 from everybody at CINI.
Lady Odile Slynn (Chairman of CINI UK)
CINI USES POWER OF SONG TO SAVE LIVES IN INDIA
Leading Indian soprano Patricia Rozario helped CINI celebrate its 30th anniversary
with a recital of German, French and English melodies. Patricia, accompanied
by her husband pianist Mark Troop, gave a superb performance, her eyes flashing
mischievously, as she sang a playful collection of songs specially chosen to
fit in with the childhood theme of the event.
"I was moved to give this concert, by CINI’s work with pregnant women
and new mothers", she said. "Children in poor families can be given
a good start in life if those around them are helped to understand the need
for proper nutrition during pregnancy. And basic healthcare measures can prevent
babies from dying needlessly of preventable diseases."
The evening was introduced by Sir Mark Tully, born in Kolkata, who said how
much he admired CINI’s hands-on approach. "One of the main things
that has struck me about CINI is the way it doesn’t patronise its clients.
This is an Indian-run organisation which has become the leading authority on
mother and child healthcare and nutrition in India."
"When I first visited CINI’s projects eight years ago, I found doctors,
nurses, social workers and researchers who realised that to fulfil their mission,
they had to understand those they were serving."
"They realised, it was no good curing a malnourished child in hospital
and recommending a diet the Mother couldn’t provide. They had to understand
what food was available and how mothers could be helped to provide it hygienically."
The event has raised nearly £5,000 for CINI UK, which will help the charity
to extend its services to a greater number of mothers and babies, and we would
like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Patricia Rozario, Mark Troop and Sir
Mark Tully who made the event possible and to all of you who were able to attend
this remarkable and inspiring evening.
CINI is seeking to set up a regional network of groups to run events on behalf
of CINI throughout the UK. If you would like to establish a group in your area
please ring 020 7358 0309 for more information.
INDIAN ART LIGHTS UP WESTEND
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A family of painters
displayed their stunning Indian-inspired work at a prestigious Mayfair gallery,
with some of the money from each purchase going to CINI UK. The exhibition, featuring work of Indian and French artists, Sakti Burman, Jayasri Burman, Maya Burman, Maite Delteil and Paresh Maity ran for a week, attracting hundreds of visitors. The family all share a deep almost spiritual commitment to their painting - with Maya Burman describing it as the force which gives her life its rhythm and dynamics. At a packed private view, Mr Raj Loomba, Patron of CINI UK, launched the exhibition, followed by another Patron, Lord Dholakia. They were both lavish their praise of the invaluable work carried out by CINI in Kolkata for the last 30 years. The paintings were widely admired and the rapidly multiplying red dots, marking the pictures which had been purchased, showed that these distinctive vibrant works were a hit with the London art crowd. |
The exhibition was curated
by Visual Art, which champions the work of Indian artists in the UK – in
association with Shyamal Burman Roy, another member of the Burman clan. Together
they have generously agreed to make a donation from each of the exhibition sales
to help CINI combat child malnutrition and ill health in India.
Further information about the works of this unique group of artists can be found
at www.visualartuk.com
EVERYONE CAN LEAVE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
Currently 70% of people support the work of charities, but only 0.04% remember
a charity in their Will. You may have seen posters for Remember a Charity, a
consortium of charities that tried to raise awareness of the value of giving
through your Will last year. It is difficult for such an endeavour to have a
long-term impact, but the main point of the campaign was to bring to people’s
attention the fact that leaving a legacy is the most cost effective way to show
your support. It costs you nothing now, and is extremely tax effective.
Obviously for most of us, the priority is to make sure that our loved ones are
properly cared for, but after this is allowed for, please consider setting aside
a gift for CINI UK as this would help ensure that your support for society’s
poorest and most disadvantaged children will have a lasting impact on the lives
of future generations.
For further information of leaving a charitable legacy please contact Anna on
020 7538 0309 or email info@ciniuk.org
UPCOMING EVENTS
SCHOOL CHILDREN GET CREATIVE FOR CINI – 6thto 10th December
Each of the 1,200 children at the Viilliers High School in Southall are being
asked to come up with a creative fundraising idea to raise at least £10
for charity. Children will get a chance to test their entrepreneurial skills
as they think up ways to bring in the money, while at the same time being to
encouraged to think about helping people more disadvantaged than themselves.
If you know a school that might be interested in running a similar scheme, contact
020 7358 0309 for further information.
ADOPT A MOTHER FOR MOTHER’S DAY CAMPAIGN – March 6th 2005
We will be running a major campaign to promote the Adopt A Mother programme
to coincide with the run up to Mother’s day on March 6th. If you would
like to run an event to help us raise funds or awareness of the scheme in the
last week of February or first week of March please get in touch. The current
cost of providing nutritional and healthcare support to mothers during pregnancy
and their child’s first two years of life is £150, which is just
£5 a month over 30 months or 15p a day. If you would like further information
about the campaign and how you can help to give a child a better start in life,
please call Anna on 020 7358 0309.
MAYA – 19th November 2005
Rabishikha – the school of Tagore Music and Indian Classical Music have
donated their services to put on a performance of MAYA, back by popular demand
after it’s great success at the Bloomsbury Theatre. Amit Roy of Eastern
Eye said "I have never before witnessed Tagore songs being used in such
an imaginative way". We hope you will agree. Tickets will be available
from mid 2005, so watch this space.
THANK YOU
CINI would like to extend its warmest thanks to the corporate sponsors of the
Patricia Rozario concert – MUSICO, Grahams Hi Fi Ltd and The Cinnamon Club,
our volunteers – Joel Taylor, Camilla Thomson, Justin Williams and Claire
Davies – and of course last, but not least the stars of the show, Patricia
Rozario , Mark Troop and Mark Tully, who gave their time for free and put in
an enormous amount of work behind the scenes, for which we are eternally grateful.
Thanks as well to Visual Art and Mr Shyamal Burman Roy, and all the artists
whose work was exhibited in Mayfair for their support for CINI’s work and
to Mr Raj Loomba and Lord Dholakia for speaking at the Private View of the exhibition.
Further thanks are due to the Burman Roy family as Dr Burman Roy organised a
delicious Indian meal for a gathering of paediatricians and passed around a
hat at the event, raising enough for the group to Adopt A Mother.
And of course, thank you to all of you who have supported CINI’s work in
the last 6 months.
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REPLY SLIP
I would like to help
CINI UK improve the lives of women and children in India.
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I enclose a donation
for £_________________ (cheques should be made payable to CINI UK)
CINI UK, Suite
631, 456-458 Strand, London, WC2R 0DZ
Tel: 0207 358 0309 Email: info@ciniuk.org Web: www.ciniuk.org Registered charity:
1092674