GWEI Grant Supported Projects | Sunanda Gandhi Residential Girls School and Washi Gandhi Center for Learning | We are excited to unveil Sunanda Gandhi Residential Girls School, built on an acre of land, a beautiful example of cross culture cooperation. Next, the Sunanda and Arun Gandhi Memorial School* will be developed by the Mahatma Gandhi […]
Arun Manilal Gandhi, 5th Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi Passes
May 2, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Very sad news to announce. Photo of Arun Gandhi at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, India. April 14, 1934 Durban, South Africa – May 2, 2023 5:04 a.m. Kolhapur, India Arun Gandhi, 5th grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, son of Gandhi’s second child Manilal and Sushila Gandhi, brother to Sita and Ela, and father of Tushar […]
Anuradha Bhosale on Castes, Religion and Her Sacred Mission
November 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Anuradha Bhosale is a highly cherished hero to thousands of impoverished children and their families. Ms Bhosale is a renowned grassroots women’s rights and anti-child labor activist based in Kolhapur, India where more than 35,000 children are involved in daily labor for local industries. A former child-laborer herself at the age of six, she has […]
Two Leaves and a Bud (cont)
October 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
— Two leaves and a Bud (continued from part-1) Free English rendering : Arun Chavan Original Marathi by : Anuradha Bhosale Akshay’s granny is no longer working for a living. Age has finally caught up with her. For the past two years she is more or less tied to her hovel. I was able to persuade Saurabh […]
Two Leaves and a Bud
October 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
TWO LEAVES AND A BUD AVANI office and school is at one end of the town, the southern end. The main market, the shopping centres and the government offices are near about one another and are situated at its other end. My work often takes me into these sections. Our main stationery supplier, Neta Stores, the printing service […]
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 […]
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 […]
Remove Poverty’s Underpinning: Rescue and Educate!
July 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Character Education, Social Emotional Literacy and Emotional Intelligence are “hot” terms used in the world of Education today. The definitions and structures of these initiatives are by no means new. Philosophers, Sociologists and Educators have focused on this for centuries as being a critical component of our success as a species. In a recent conversation […]
AVANI’s Rescue of a Child Results in Freedom for Her Mother
July 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Nagama’s name means “snake,” the name her father gave her when she was born because he was hoping for a son instead of a daughter. For the past three years, Nagama has been the top student at Avani school in Kolhapur, India, winning awards and receiving straight A’s on her report card. If she had […]
A Dream Called AVANI
June 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Hal Edwards has traveled to India and Egypt where he became personally involved with Arun and his family. In addition to being a pastoral psychotherapist and spiritual director, he is involved with Contemplative Outreach, Ltd, a worldwide movement that teaches the ancient meditation method of centering prayer. He has four children and ten grandkids. Gardening, […]
AVANI’s First Graduate: Sunil Kamble’s Story
June 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Sunil Kamble was the first in his family to graduate from school. The SSC exam (Secondary School Certificate) is a state board final exam all students must pass out of their 10th grade of secondary school education. Once a student passes the exam, they are eligible to enroll in junior college for the next […]
AVANI Impacts Children’s Lives, Please Help
June 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Akanksha’s Story The Avani organization provides a home for displaced children where all the basic necessities are delivered for 38 children. Each child has a compelling story that pulls at the heart strings.* ……..*See: Gandhi Sponsor the Children Fund As an example, Akanksha was only five years old when her father died as a consequence […]