Education initiatives

We at Shree Public Charitable Trust understand the dire need for making education accessible for the rural kids. Like before I would like to first give you the present education scene in India.

INDIAN EDUCATION SCENARIO:

Though the Indian government is making a great effort to make education accessible to the masses, India is still lagging behind other developing nations as far as education is concerned. India's literacy rate is 64.8% (53.7% for females and 75.3% for males). The literacy rate for Youth (15-24 years of age) in the middle-income countries is 87.8 per cent whereas in India it is 73.3 per cent (Human Development Report-2003). Out of 94 developing countries, the position of India is 76th so far as educational development index is concerned. Percentage of students who enrolled in Class-1 and reached to Class-Vth standard is 77 in the developing countries, but in India it is only 60. (The State of World Children-2004). Even among the working class, 40% of the of workforce is illiterate and another 40% almost illiterate.

Through the Shree Public Charitable Trust, Shri Chakra Foundation is engaged in sponsoring the School Education of children below the poverty line, encouraging rural based job oriented education and fostering other talents and skills in under-privileged children.

1. SPONSORING SCHOOL EDUCATION
In India it is very difficult for the under privileged to afford education even in Government schools as each poor family has many mouths to feed. When a family is unable to pay the fees, young children are often removed from school and sent to work in order to earn for the family.

According to the surveys conducted by Education Science and Technology Ministry, India, 39.70% boys and 41.90% girls drop out of school between Class I and Class V due to poverty. 53.30% of the students drop out of school before they reach Class X. As per the 7th All India Educational Survey of 2002, 17 million children in India are engaged in child labour.

Shree Public Charitable Trust identified 1695 under privileged children in Bangalore who could not afford to pay their school fees and is sponsoring their education so that they could continue their schooling. The details of the schools where these children are studying are provided below.

1. Government Primary School, Halagevadera Halli – 155 children
2. Government Primary School, Mallatha Halli – 229 children
3. Government Primary School, Uttarahalli – 353 children
4. Government Higher Primary School, Hosakerehalli – 329 children
5. Government Higher Primary School, Jnanabharati – 48 children
6. Government Higher Primary School, Channasandra – 279 children
7. Government High School, Uttarahalli – 302 children.

Our Volunteers at some of the above schools

Wipe a Tear, Remove a Pain!!

Inspiring video on the importance of helping people

Parama Pujya Shri Shri Nimishanada Guruji, the Divine force behind Shree Public Charitable trust talks to the youth in Toronto, Canada about the importance of helping people. This was part of a question - answer session at a youth meet in Toronto, where someone asked Pujya Guruji, if its our duty to help other people in need?

I am sure youth like us, need such talks to keep us motivated in working towards our society,
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=V4odKUcX9Ns

Enjoy the Video,
Wipe a Tear, Remove a Pain!

Preventive Health Care inititiatives

There is a saying prevention is better than cure and we at Shree Public Charitable Trust believe in this. We give equal importance to preventing the occurance of diseases.

To give you a background on Preventive Healthcare,

Preventive Healthcare
Prevnetive health is the science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, public and private organizations, communities and individuals. It is concerned with eradicating the threats to the overall health of a community by increasing the awareness of all the members of the community. In this context

Shree Public Charitable Trust is engaged in organizing periodical counselling Programs and awareness drives in various spheres of Public Health.

COUNSELLING PROGRAMS AND AWARENESS DRIVES

Infectious diseases are still the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in India, and also Southeast Asia region. They are still a major contributor to the global burden of the disease. Acute diarrhoeal diseases have been recognised as the major cause of morbidity, under-nutrition and mortality. Nearly 0.7 million children die every year due to diarrhoea. To prevent
infectious diseases and increase awareness about nutrition, cleanliness, personal hygiene and sanitation, counselling is provided to the under-privileged, illiterate, rural dwellers and women through appropriate counselling programs.

According to the Seventh All India Educational Survey of 2002, 3 percent of Indian children are physically or mentally challenged.

Shree Public Charitable Trust organizes Counselling Programs for specially challenged children like spastics, autistic children, children with learning disabilities, mentally retarded children etc. to diagnose their problems, counsel their families and route them to the appropriate supportive and care giving facilities.

The population of India has swelled to around 1 billion now. We have 2% of world area supporting around 17% of the world population. Also it is estimated that 2 – 3.1 million Indians have been infected with HIV/AIDS so far according to National AIDS Control Organization, India. Since there is no cure for AIDS, the emphasis continues to be on educating the masses, particularly the vulnerable groups about the causes of the disease.

To meet this need, Shree Public Charitable Trust organizes Free Counselling for family planning and HIV AIDS periodically.

Awareness campaigns are initiated for the youth on the ill effects of tobacco, alcohol, drug abuse etc.

Health Care Initiatives

As most us know the health care system in India and we all must have read and seen the number of people suffering and dying each day due to lack of good medical care. Shree Public Charitable Trust is also working towards providing the medical help to the economically backward in India.

Before I go on to explain what our Trust is provinding, let me give you a reality on the health care in our country.

HEALTHCARE IN INDIA

The United Nations' World Health Organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Health is a major factor that influences the rate of growth and development of a country. There is a vast discrepancy in access to health care and public health initiatives between developed countries and developing countries. In the developing world where public health infrastructures are still in the formative stage, there may not be enough trained health workers or monetary resources to provide the required level of medical care and disease prevention that is necessary to cater to the entire population.

In India, though the Government has set up many progressive health programs, the ever increasing regional, economic and gender disparities continue to pose challenges to the health sector in the country. About 75% of health infrastructure, medical man power and other health resources are concentrated in high income urban areas where 27% of the population lives. The people in the rural areas and slums still suffer from ill health due to lack of awareness, inaccessibility of health care facilities and poverty. This is where the non governmental organizations play a crucial role in reaching out to the masses.

Our initiatives:
A. Curative Healthcare
PERIODICAL FREE MEDICAL CAMPS

Free medical camps are arranged periodically for the slum dwellers in Bangalore where more than 1500 patients are treated at each camp.
Starting one week before the medical camp, an awareness drive is launched in the chosen slum by putting up posters, distributing leaflets, public audio-announcements and door to door visits.
Free transport is arranged to bring the patients from the slums and drop them back and they are also given a good nutritious meal.
Medical Specialists from the fields of general medicine, surgery, ENT, gynaecology, paediatrics, ophthalmology, dentistry, geriatrics, orthopaedics, oncology and dermatology offer their expertise to the patients.
Basic diagnostic facilities and medicines are also provided free of cost to all the patients.
Free eye check up and spectacles are provided to patients with eye defects.
In special cases where there is a requirement for surgery like kidney transplantation, cardiac surgery, cancer surgery etc., the entire expenditure of the surgery and post surgical treatment like chemotherapy, radiation etc. is taken care of.
Medical Camps are also conducted on special days such as World Heart Day, World Diabetes Day etc. to address specific health problems.

We also believe in providing preventive health care facilities, about which I will write in my next post!

Till then, Lets Wipe a Tear, Remove a Pain!

Current and Ongoing Project - Visiting Old Age Homes

It must be sad when your children, whom you raised and brought up show their back on you in your old age , or they decide to move to another country and leave you on your own terms or it can even be that your other half has left the world and your children live in the other side of the world. Living in an old aged home can be extremely difficult, lonely and depressing.

We at Shree Public Charitable Trust recognise this and we visit old age homes in Bangalore to interact and cheer up the inmates. We sing with them, dance with them, distribute sweets and celebrate festivals and special days like Diwali, New Years etc.

Current and Ongoing Projects - Supporting Orphanages

According to the Times Group, India, there are more than 11 million abandoned children in India as per the survey conducted in 2007. Support structures like orphanages are needed on a large scale to care and nurture the growth of these children.

Shree Public Charitable Trust is supporting an orphanage called Geetha Chowdappa Ashram with 130 children in Bapuji Nagar, Bangalore. We provide them with all the necessary and required groceries every month. We also donate blankets, books and other stationery items which the orphans need at the beginning of each academic year.

Volunteers at Geeta Ashram

Our Trust is always looking for opportunities to support other organisations who are engaged in charitable activities. We, volunteers periodically visit different orphanages and spend time with the young children by playing, singing bhajans etc. This also helps us in understanding their needs and requirements so we can equip them with it.

Our Volunteers at other Orphanages

Ongoing projects - Daily mass feeding project

Daily Mass Feeding project

Did you know that every 3.6 seconds a person dies of starvation, and it is usually a child under the age of 5 and about 300 million children go to sleep hungry every day? UNICEF states – “Poverty contributes to malnutrition, which in turn is a contributing factor in over half of the under-five deaths in developing countries. Such is the situation of our country. Many families in our country are living below the poverty line are not fortunate enough to have even one meal a day. It hurts to see people go hungry and beg for foodSo to address this issue, Shree Public Charitable Trust, started this project of Daily Mass Feeding Project in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bangalore, where free lunch is provided every day to the under-privileged. More than 24,000 people benefit from this program every month.