In February 2016 we opened our Nandri Centre. This is a training and administration centre for our mothers and children built on 2 acres of land in a rural part of southern India. Previously we had to move every 12 months as our mothers who are members of the Dalit so called low caste community are like travellers in Ireland. They are not welcome anywhere.They are proud to be members of Nandri. They proudly wear their Nandri saris. They even pay for membership which is helping to make the organisation self sustaining.We have one large training room with full audiovisual facilities and a computer room with a dozen computers. We run regular training courses. Our large reception area is used for regular cheque presentations for loans.A few weeks ago we had 200 mothers attend what is called an RPL (recognition of prior learning) course which is funded by the Indian government. This particular course was to teach the mothers how to pack and pick vegetables. The mothers are each paid to encourage them to attend the course and Nandri Foundation are compensated for running the course including providing food for the attendees. These mainly illiterate mothers are proud of the certification and it will be easier for them to get daily work and will also become an important part of our income following our major investment in the centre.
Every day almost 200 children attend English language courses in local villages. They learn spoken English through song. They get help with their homework and are provided with some nutrition before they play games. We now have a playground for them and a cricket training area in the centre and they will be invited there on a regular basis.We are pleased with the success of the centre which was funded by large donations by Irish donors and directors.
Nandri Success Stories
This month we are starting to share some of the stories of the people that have been helped start a new path in life with the help of Nandri's support. We want to share some of the amazing journeys and to let you see how effective our loans, sponsorships and training programmes have been and what they can achieve.A success Story of Jhansi made possible by Nandri.orgMy name is Jhansi. I belong to a poor family from Thalayampallam, Thiruvannamalai Dt. My mothers name is Arulayee. I am the eldest in the family. I have one sister and two brothers. My brothers are mentally challenged. My mother is member of a Mothers Group called Vasantham, which is one of the mother groups formed by Nandri. I received sponsorship from Nandri when I finished my schooling without any difficulties.
I wanted to go for higher studies at college. But my parents could not afford to send me to college. Instead they asked me to find a job and help the family. I was determined to go for higher studies. I was able to meet the field staff of mothers group. I told them about my goals and the difficulties I was facing at that time. She took me to meet the Managing Trustee of Nandri. I narrated my actual aim and ambition to him.The managing Trustee heard my plea's fervently. He then decided to put me in a college. He got me an admission in Sacred Heart College of Nursing at Velledu. He took all the responsibilities to himself and saw to that I was taken care of well at the college and the hostel. He paid all the college and hostel fees until I finished my Nursing course successfully. Now I am doing my six months intern course at Delhi. I hope I will get a job as a nurse soon. My dreams of finishing a college course were made possible only by Nandri and Mothers Group.While I was studying in the college Nandri gave a loan to my mother to buy a cow. My mother bought a cow and from the milk she sold in the market she was able to run the family with ease. In both ways Nandri and Mothers Group helped me attain my goal and at the same time for my mother to run the family without difficulty.I will be forever grateful to Nandri and Mothers Group, also I promise to help poor children like me to pursue their studies in whatever way it is possible.
Nandri Tuition Centre's
The parents of the children from rural villages where Nandri is working are very poor and illiterate. Sadly, these parents are unable to help their children with their homework or help them with learning outside of school hours.This makes the children roam the streets and without proper guidance they get disconnected from learning within the school system.
To respond to this problem Nandri has initiated Nandri Tuition Centre's in three villages now and more villages are on the list to start operating from June 2018 onwards. Nandri tuition is one of the activities of Nandri Service Centre's new initiatives. Through these centre's, children are helped to do their homework correctly, organise games, and other extracurricular activities to develop their talents. Each centre is managed by a mentor who identifies the innate talents of the children and they encourage all children to develop their own individual talents.
Special attention is given to speaking English. Our children who study in the Tamil medium schools are apprehensive about speaking English. In these centre's, we try to make learning english a joyful experience for the children.
At present we have five centres in three villages and about 150 children are benefitting from this programme. By June we would have another eight centre's, catering to more than 500 children. Thanks to Electric Aid from Ireland for supporting this initiative of Nandri.Jude Thomas
International Women's Day
Nandri.org is very proud to join women all over the globe who come together today to celebrate International Women's Day with a voice of unity. Acknowledging this special day and the women who lead the charge when it comes to giving the not so fortunate voices of the world a chance to be heard to be one.The Nandri ethos has always been simple, empowering women. How we achieve this is also simple, we support and encourage our members to be self sufficient. Through our self help groups, loan scheme's, education and training programs. Nandri has been providing, nurturing and supporting the women of rural, Southern India to strive for a better life for themselves and then in turn they support their families and the wider communities in Tamil Nadu.
Our Mothers Self-Help group is fundamental to our success. Nandri works with mothers groups at village level to administer loans. The income generated helps the mother keep children in education and provide for healthcare.The earliest Women's Day observance, called "National Woman's Day," was held on February 28, 1909 in New York. It was organised by the Socialist Party of America at the suggestion of Theresa Malkiel who was an American labor activist, suffragist and educator. She was the first woman to rise from factory work to leadership in the Socialist party. Her 1910 novel, The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker, is credited with helping to reform New York State labor laws.In 2012 the UN theme for International Women's Day was Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty. In 2013 - time for action to end violence against women. In 2014 - Equality for women & it was declared that this would be progress for all!.In 2016 The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukheriee, in his message issued on the eve of International Women's Day said: "On the occasion of International Women’s Day, I extend warm greetings and good wishes to the women of India and thank them for their contributions over the years in the building of our nation." The ministry of women and child development announced the setting up of four more one-stop crisis centre's on March 8, in addition to the eight already functioning across the country. Ahead of Women's Day, the national carrier Air India operated what it claimed to be the world's longest non-stop flight where the entire flight operations were handled by women, as part of International Women's Day celebrations. The flight, from Delhi to San Francisco, covered a distance of around 14,500 kilometres in around 17 hours.This year the United Nations call for action is this "Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights challenge in our world."— UN Secretary-General, António GuterresThe Nandri message remains simple today and every day, give women the tools to empower themselves. Women of the world we salute you!
Nandri Mothers’ Convention 2017 my experience
By Tony Shaku
What a wonderful sight to see 3500 mothers, plus a few hundred children converging on the Nandri Centre in their purple Nandri saris. They arrived in buses on foot, on motorbikes. in trucks and tuk tuks (called 3 wheelers here).I had been told about this event prior to heading out to India and that I should definitely make it in time to participate. It’s the biggest day of the year for the Nandri Foundation as thousands of empowered women who are receiving support from Nandri come together to celebrate and raise awareness of this movement.However, I should start by mentioning the hard work gone in to produce a successful event. It no doubt had started much earlier than when I arrived, led by Joe- the driving force of the organisation in India. And the preparations went into the early hours of Sunday morning as staff, other volunteers and I finished making banners, signs, decorations and organising the raffle among other duties before the big day! It provided a glimpse of the sense of community as local kids and elders alike pitched in during the day to ensure things ran smoothly.
After a few hours of sleep, I awoke and put on my veshti or dhoti, the traditional garment tied around the waist worn mainly in South India, normally in white for special occasions. It was time to attend the street rally/parade organised in the nearest town with hundreds of women coming from many villages. In true Indian fashion, the rally only began when it should have finished!The rally helps raise awareness and the profile of the organisation in its goals relating to support for agriculture, rural life, children’s education and the empowerment of families.This year it was also held in conjunction with CanKids, a non-profit working to improve the treatment and support for children with cancer in India. It was great to see our signs and banners used in full with leaflets given out to the public with info on issues that both foundations tackle. It was my first rally and I feel people took notice with the surge of women in matching purple saris walking through town. Also with the press and some local politicians attending it should reach a wider audience around the state.Then we headed back to the newly constructed Nandri Centre where thousands more women, children and locals joined for the convention. The land around the centre had been transformed with a stage and two large marquees set up to protect from the searing heat. To begin Joe spoke about the values that underpin the work that the organisation and other senior staff gave a summary of the annual report in which Nandri has continued to expand its support to the women and children of the Tiruvannamalai district in Tamil Nadu.
There was also a prayer held in remembrance of the movement’s founder, Tony Barron, who passed away recently. The major events of the day were the opening of the computer and language teaching room which will undoubtedly be crucial to improving the prospects of a better life for numerous children in the area. Concurrently the solar power generation room was inaugurated with the centre now running on power generated from the newly installed solar panels which shows the commitment of Nandri to being environmentally sustainable which was pleasing to see.Back on stage there were speeches from the invited dignitaries ranging from people involved in higher education, pro-agriculture and feminist groups as well as politics. Admittedly I didn’t understand quite a bit from the speeches but they were certainly impassioned and seemed to resonate well the mothers. There were also cheques and certificates given to continue the work of Nandri with a new education fund set up in honour of Tony Barron.Then I got a big surprise Joe unexpectedly called me on to the stage as a representative of Nandri from Ireland and I received a ponnada- a ceremonial shawl usually given to acknowledge dignitaries or important people.So, in a moment I went from a volunteer to the chief guest from Ireland. It will most likely be the first and last time in my life!The generosity extended to the local folk as the elderly gentleman sitting beside me in the crowd insisted on buying me ice cream, which was very welcome given the heat. As I savoured my ice cream there were plenty of energetic dances and singing performances to be enjoyed from children in their various village groups (including a memorable freestyle from Fr. Joe) Although most enjoyed their day, I’m sure some left a bit happier as they took home the prizes they won from the raffle.Overall it was a unique experience, one which I’ll remember for a long time. The strong turnout of women who came from far and wide in the district highlighted the reach of Nandri and the community spirit it can foster which was particularly nice to see. Among other work I look forward to volunteering in the new solar powered computer and language lab which also shows the progress the foundation is making just a year since the centre opened. However, that might take a while as I re-adjust from being a VIP back to an eager volunteer!Tony Shaju
Fr Joseph returns to sunshine
Fr Joseph, who is the CEO of our partner organisation in India has been in Ireland for the last few weeks. He has been very busy every day meeting sponsors in Dublin and Cork.Joe has been in charge in India for about 10 years and during that time he has implemented many unique changes. We are the only charity in the world where every one of our sponsored children has their own bank account. The child's mother manages this account. This gives her a great sense of status and pride. Dalit women do not normally own a bank account. He has successfully implemented a micro-finance programme where since 2012, 850 mothers have benefited and are now the proud owners of a cow or a sewing machine or some other assets which they use to earn an income. He also implemented third level education loan program. Already 250 children are benefiting from that.None of this would be possible without the support of our hundreds of sponsors who pay by standing order or direct debit every month. Remember €1 is a days wages for the mothers we serve. We have also had some very kind and generous donors whose donations have enabled us to build a rural development centre which will ensure that our partner in India, Child Aid Trust.Father Joseph received many donations while he was here and all of that money will be invested in our various programmes in India.Fred Crowe