Six years ago I had been to the village of Udgaon to have a look at the brickyards on the river bank. There I came across two kids in a family of migrant labor employed at the brick kiln. There I met Krishna of 6 years and his younger brother. Upon asking if they were […]
Why I Contribute My Little Drop
September 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment
WHY I CONTRIBUTE MY LITTLE DROP Almost every day my mailbox receives at least one letter from a worthy nonprofit outreach agency. Like many of you, I set an annual goal for my financial contributions. Just like you, I want to serve and give and participate in ways that lessen poverty, injustice and inequality in […]
Beware of Pity Part 2
September 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
> Continued from Beware of Pity part-1 … We looked to her for the past few years as our showpiece, our success story. We have tried all possible alternatives but to no avail. She likes cooking. Therefore we thought of giving her training in hospitality or catering. but she did not show any interest in building […]
Beware of Pity
September 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Original Marathi by: Anuradha Bhosale English rendering: Arun Chavan Come to think of it, the students of AVANI Residential School are the flotsam of the turbulent oceans of life. They are living embodiments of pain-filled stories and traumatic upheavals that are far beyond the tolerance thresholds of their tender souls. Having known the stories whose pathos […]
GWEI and AVANI: A New Revelation
September 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
As it appears right now, people may get the impression that we are still planning a Sunanda Memorial School and that is not right because the Board of Directors has taken a decision to call it “Gandhi Center for Learning.” I think this write up will put everything in perspective. GWEI and AVANI Partnership After […]
Pariah By Association Part 2
September 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Original Marathi by: Anuradha Bhosale English rendering: Arun Chavan For a long time the nethermost deprived sections of society were not taken notice of by the economic planners of the country. Now we are in the XII five year plan period and the 66th year of independence. Yet the special development needs of these sections, which mainly comprise nomadic […]
Pariah By Association
September 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Anuradha Bhosale continues with another story of life and the struggle to bring a better life to the nomadic children of Kolhapur India…. There was a bit of controversy about the prevalence of child labour in Kolhapur district. When I enquired of the concerned wing of the district administration about the incidence of child labour […]
Hoping Against Hope
September 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
In 2005 we received heavy showers within a short time span. Kolhapur’s main river, Panchganga and its major tributary, Bhogawati, burst their banks and flooded vast areas. That year is particularly memorable for me and my co-workers because our fledgeling residential school for deprived children near the river’s high floodline at Donawade village got severely damaged. We had at that time 23 […]
The Many Children Who Died
September 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
This is part two of Arun Gandhi’s Swedish adoption post ‘My 132 Grandchildren. Readers are cautioned, this post contains graphic images and content. The Many Who Died By Arun Gandhi Pain and pleasure are like the two sides of the same coin. If saving 128 children brought us joy, there were many heartaches as well. […]
Arun Gandhi Reunion with Swedish Grandchildren
September 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Arun just returned from Sweden where he had an amazing reunion with his special 132 grandchildren… enjoy! Source: Arun Gandhi My 132 Grandchildren! By Arun Gandhi Just got back from Sweden where I had a reunion with 32 of my 132 grandchildren! Sounds goofy? Maybe, but it is a fact. In another life, when Sunanda and […]
Anuradha Bhosale Receives Prestigious Award on National TV
August 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
KOLHAPUR, INDIA: Anuradha Bhosale was recently presented with a very prestigious award on national Indian television from the well respected Indian Supreme Court Justice, Mrudula Bhatkar. She brought several children from AVANI with her. The award was presented on Zee Marathi TV, one of the most popular Marathi channels and that has carved a niche […]
Discover the Living Legacy of Gandhi
August 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Source Gandhi Legacy Tour: The Legacy of Gandhi Beckons by Tushar Gandhi Welcome to a journey of discovery of the living legacy of Gandhi. Mohandas K. Gandhi, Mahatma, Bapu as we call him with affection said ‘My life is my message.’ The Legacy tour revisits the philosophy of Gandhi by visiting various places where the […]
Remembering Sushila Gandhi 1907-1988
August 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Our Ba (grandmother), Sushila Mashruwala Gandhi born August 24,1907, was a lady of grace and beauty, a force to reckon with, (for the apartheid government of South Africa), a wizard in the kitchen, a fabulous story teller, dignified simplicity personified, had the funniest sense of humor and above all was the most loving Grandma […]
Miracles Rising In Kolhapur!
August 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
As GWEI president and founder, Dr. Arun Gandhi, has stated: “It is a sad commentary on our civilization that millions of children all over the world are denied basic amenities like, food, shelter, clothes and education. If civilization is measured by the way it treats its children then we are far from being a civilized […]
What is it about our obsession with terrorism?
August 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment
[Editor’s note: Originally posted to my blog @ What’s with our obession with terrorism?] Our obsession with terrorism has driven many of us into such a frenzy of fear that it often borders on the ridiculous.* I recently met a middle-aged gentleman from the upper middle class economic. He was very curious about my frequent travels […]