Two Weeks Left!

As we told you a few days ago, there are two weeks left of Summer Break until schools reopen, including the 109 balwadis (nursery schools) that Bombay Smiles supports in different slums in Bombay. Two weeks to play and enjoy themselves without thinking about homework. No letter or numbers are acceptable in the games and jokes of the children!

Photographs: 100 familias indias

Bit by Bit Towards Normalization...

Leprosy is still a bad word in India, corresponding to a disease stigmatized as many Indians still consider it “a wicked disease.” One of the objectives of Bombay Smiles is to move forward, slowly but surely, until the full social integration of these people

Through and alliance with Bombay Leprosy Project, a prestigious Indian company with more than 30 years of experience in the fight against leprosy, Bombay Smiles has been developing different projects to increase the rate of detection of new cases in the slums and reintroduce rehabilitated patients into the professional world.

A new step on this path has been the recent incorporation of the Dharavi zone (the largest slum in Asia, found in Mumbai) to the programs of direct attention implemented by the doctors at the clinic in Sion (Mumbai), financed with your help.

Thanks for being part of this path and walking by our side.

Photographs: Juan Pelegrín Sergio de Celis, Bombay Smiles

· Following our promise, these photos have been provided with the previous consent the patient and following all ethic codes about patient dignity.

Without Uniforms!

One of the best parts of summer break, apart from playing without stop in the streets, is not having to wear the bothersome school uniforms… ;-)
This is the case for the students at Yashodhan School, who take full advantage of this vacations to have fun playing a thousand games.
Enjoy yourselves, you still have more than two weeks of vactions!! :-))))))))

Friends that come

Estamos muy contentos de seguir recibiendo tantas visitas, amigos que venís a vernos desde tan lejos para ver con ojos propios los pequeños avances diarios en esta lucha pacífica contra la pobreza en Bombay. ¡Gracias!

Photographs: Bombay Smiles

Preparing for next year...

This month the professors of the 110 balwadis (nursery schools), that opened last year in the slums of Bombay, are thoroughly preparing the so that everything can be ready for next year (which starts in a few weeks).

Meanwhile, the location coordinators are exploring each zone to rent the building for another year or, on the contrary, looking for a new location close to the old one.
Next year the balwadis will continue giving the opportunity of a future to thousands of children in these zones in Mumbai.

And all thanks to you…

Time to Play!

Nothing is better during Summer Break than playing, playing and playing. A great option to have a lot of fun in this time is Carom, one of the most typical games in the country.

It is the best memory that we will take home with us!

Dear Ana, Shila and the Bombay Smiles team,

We just wanted to write you a few words to thank you for taking us to visit the leprosy Project this week. It was a great experience for us. It was incredible seeing how integrated Bombay Smiles is in the local communities in Bombay. The way that you interacted with Nanda and the rest of the team in the center showed that your work stems from Truth, Respect and Love. It impressed us.

Bombay is a great city with a huge soul. And Bombay Smiles contributes, without a doubt, to the growth of that soul. We cannot find more words than an enormous THANK YOU for you and everyone in the team. The time and dedication that you have shown us is priceless. It was a more incredible experience than we could have imagined.

The experience that we had yesterday is the best memory that we will bring with us from India.

Thank you for everything!
Mariangel and Enrique

Photos: Bombay Smiles

I Passed!!

The happiness of seeing the board full of the student's wonderful grades was priceless...

But seeing the scene from the point of view of the board produced an even greater happiness.

We could not miss the opportunity of sharing it with you :)

Women in Power!

As they say: Women are generally more dedicated to their studies than men. In Yashodhan School, at least, that has shown to be the case. The girls that achieved the highest grades this year are very content and proud. It is exciting see proof that they are taken advantage of the amazing opportunities given to them through an education, especially when one keeps in mind the limited options that these women from the poorest neighborhoods in Bombay generally have.

Photographs: Bombay Smiles

Grades!!!

The grades for the students at Yashodhan School are finalized and ready to be viewed by the students and their families.
Very few arguments can start over these grades, as the student’s effort is obvious: The grades are fabulous!!! : )

Photographs: Bombay Smiles

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation

Every year more than 300,000 new cases of leprosy are detected in the world. According to the WHO, there are more than 3 million people handicapped from this disease and that 70% of all the lepers in the world are in India.

One of the numerous programs developed jointly between the Bombay Leprosy Project and Bombay Smiles against this disease is to promote physiotherapy and obtain the orthopedic materials necessary so that the people with this sickness can improve their situation in life.
This is the case of the best people in the program, which is run in the clinic in Sion (Bombay) along with the rest of our Leprosy projects.

Photographs: Bombay Smiles

Red Pens Correcting Exams!

This first photograph seems like a class of adults. But no. They are professors in the Yashohan School correcting exams without a break. And as it is, as you know, a month of vacations, they are correcting them as fast as they can so that the students can know as son as posible their final grades and whether or not they passed and can move onto the next course.
Thus, with all of our encouragement… Keep grading!!! ; )

My first trip to India, My last day in the city. I wanted to get personally acquainted with Bombay Smile’s projects but I couldn’t have imagined the caring treatment I received or the ease in which my visit was arranged. My visit was without the kids, who had just started their break… I have to come to play with them during recess… (an excuse to come back!).
Thank you for your work and generosity.
Good luck!
I had a very fun and interesting day with you, Shila.

Laura

They say that everything that you do comes back to you like a boomerang, because of this I that all of you receive the happiness that you are giving.

Verónica

There are people who fight for one day, and its good. There are people who fight and change some things, and its better. But even more are those who make fighting to change things their mission, and these people are indispensible.
Thanks for this taste and this smile in my last instant in India!
Wish you the best of luck,

Karen

Work Weeks

Yesterday we focused on some of the students that are enrolled in classes during summer break. But they are not the only ones. The coordinators of the balwadis project also have work ahead of them in these next few weeks.

Such is the case with Saroj and Leela (photograph), coordinators of the various balwadis (nursery schools) in the northern Bombay, who go family to family monitoring the state of the children, assuring that the family education is correct and that the children will continue at school the next year.

The work of these coordinators is very important and we offer them all of our gratitude.

Photographs: Bombay Smiles

Review Classes

Although it is Summer Break, some students need a bit more review to prepare for the next school year. This is the case of some of the students at Yashodhan School.

The students in the 10º Standard (16 years old) finished their governmental exams a few weeks ago, and, depending on their grades, they will decided to study in the College (pre-university degree) specializing in Business, Health Sciences, Humanities, etc… We hope that the grades this year are equal to those of last year, and that 100% of the students pass the test, and more, that with their results they can pick what they want to study without problems.

We are very content that we could give these students a quality education in our centers, as evaluated by the government. But the merit is theirs… They are very good students!! :-)))

Fotographs: Bombay Smiles

Deliveries for Smiles

Today we want to say thank you to some very good friends of Bombay Smiles who have been with us for the last two years.

As many of you know, we are always trying to reduce our structural costs in order to assure that the maximum amount of money possible is going to those who deserve it most: the more than 5,000 beneficiaries in the most poverty stricken zones in Mumbai.

This is thanks to friends that can help us avoid elevated office expenses. This is the case with Mailboxes, a company in Granollers (Barcelona) that ships our packages and documents for free.

Thanks to this company, Bombay Smiles is not charged for the things it mails and is able to give the money it saves directly to the projects. This is also the reason that our Newsletters and monthly monographics are sent via email.

In these lines we want to send our deepest thanks to Mailboxes, especially to Eduard Castellsagué for his implication in the project.

Thanks friends!!