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The kids were divided into pairs (according to age) and each pair was assigned one tutor. The low tutor-child ratio was to ensure that each child will receive maximum attention.

Every tutor assessed the child under their care’s proficiency and it was planned that the teaching will be according to 4 levels.
Level 1 – mastering of the alphabet
Level 2 – the ability to associate every letter with objects & colors
Level 3 – the ability to form sentences
Level 4 – the ability to form conversations

Each student was given a notebook to record the day’s lesson so that the child’s progress can be monitored. The teaching was made easier with picture books that easily captured the attention of the younger kids. The children proved to be very eager students and had many questions for the volunteers which were just too pleased to answer them.

After the lessons were completed, soft drinks and biscuits were served. The children were quick in organizing themselves into two straight lines and said their prayers before eating.

When the music stopped, all the kids scrambled to get a seat. It was a game of musical chairs and the volunteers smiled with satisfaction as they watch the kids have fun.

Hands waving goodbye, the volunteers left the place at about 5.30pm and every one was determined to be back next week and to do whatever it takes to help the children who had greeted them warmly the moment they set foot at the orphanage.

 I grinned at her and replied, “I’ll come again next Saturday”. Then I continued teaching her how to spell ‘Udupi’.

 She is one of the 60 orphans (age ranges from 6 to 17 years) who live at the Nittur Government Home for Girls and is from Shimoga. The other 2 girls who were slowly writing ‘d…u…p..’ are from Mangalore and Mysore.

 The date was 30^th May, 2009. 21 volunteers from Batch 20 & 24 arrived at the orphanage with the hope of improving the level of English of the girls and they wasted no time in doing so the moment they were seated down in a circle with the girls in a small class room. Given the time of an hour, the volunteers assessed the standard of English of the girls under their care before proceeding to helping build upon that foundation. Every girl was made to possess a small note book so that when a new group of volunteers teaches the girls, they’ll be able to refer to the note book that will have a record of what have been taught.

 “If you don’t answer correctly, you won’t get a banana”

 I chuckled to myself silently as I watch my friend told the other girls to not say a word while she poses a question to one of them. 

***

“No, sister….no”

 I tried taking the empty paper plates and cups on the floor to dispose them when the girls stopped me and quickly took them away from me. The attempt to take an empty cup lying not far away resulted in the same reaction from the girls.

 “Such well-mannered girls,” I thought to myself as they hastily cleared the floor.

 Some were greedy, some were shy and some were just delighted when biscuits and soft drinks were served during tea time.

 I looked at my watch. It showed 5.00 pm and it was time for games.

 ***

 Different set of games were planned for the younger and older girls.

 Older girls:

Game 1 :

“Hurry up! Hurry up!”

I imagined that was what the girls were shouting in Kannada as their friends ran towards a bucket full of water, filled their plastic bottle which has holes at the bottom with water and continued running towards their respective group’s bottle to fill it up.

 Game 2:

“Aaaah..!”

Another girl screamed when a water balloon burst at her feet because her friend failed to aim properly at the bucket placed in front of her.

 Game 3:

“Wa ha ha ha…!”

She tried to control her laughter as she placed the basketball between her knee joints, quickly made a turn around the bucket and returned to her group to pass the basketball to the next girl.

“Is it over?” asked Sunthari, the person in charge of the visit, when I stood beside her.

 “Yeah. How were the games for the younger ones?” I asked in return.

 She smiled and said, “It was very fun watching them”

***

“Chapatiiiiiiii!!!”

 A small light flickered and then everyone’s chapati smiles were captured by the pink camera.

It all started when the president of Huluran Kasih, Kent Yap, found out about this place through an intern working in a hospital. After explaining a little on that place, the intern also suggested that Huluran Kasih could make a visit there to increase the awareness of the club members’ on AIDS, and also to bring some fun to the residents.

After an exhilarating 2 hour bus ride, we reached Bharath Mall, Mangalore safely but had to take an auto to the Aids rehabilitation centre.  Approximately 40 minutes later, we reached the Aids Rehabilitation Centre and were welcomed warmly by Father Joy, who’s one of the administrators of Snehasadan. Father Joy, like his name, was a rather jocund person. He brought us around the centre eagerly and told us more facts about the place.

Much to our surprise, Snehasadan is very well managed in terms of its appearance and cleanliness. Snehasadan is actually a permanent home for 35 children, with the age ranging from 5- 15. Besides that, there’s also a treatment place for adults. Any adults who have infections and needed treatment could stay there and the best part is, the treatment there is free of charge!

On top of that, Snehasadan has part-time doctors who are volunteers to look after the patients there five days in a week. They say that the best care is not only treating the body but also, treating the mind. For that reason, they also have two counsellors to make sure the patients have healthy minds.  There are also 6 caretakers in charge of the welfare of the children. Looking at how the administration is run, this place was definitely a hope to many people.

After listening to Father Joy’s elucidation on the place, we were also exposed to some case histories of the children there. Generally, most of the children who stayed in Snehasadan are orphans.

One of the stories was really heart wrenching. Little Pricillia was actually ‘picked up’ from the streets by some NGO bodies and she was sent to Snehasadan. No one knows how old she is but can only deduce that she’s about 5-7 years of age. Father Joy told us about 6 months ago, she was ill with serious lung infection. It was life threatening. However, miraculously, she survived and lived well after being put on oxygen for 6 months. As of now, the current Pricillia’s smile coruscated across the room, giving us hope and warmth. She’s one of the most boisterous children there, often bursting into raucous peals of laughter. Her story somehow just taught  us one important lesson – we should never, ever give up in life because miracles DO happen.

Father Joy also told us that most of the children there are too young to know what illness or disease are they faced.  They came from a traumatic broken family background and a lot of psychiatry help is required to make sure that they grow up with a correct mindset. Therefore, he expressed his hope -  he would be very happy if Huluran Kasih can spend some time there to accompany the children, teaching them how to walk through this hard path, and bring them some warmth and comfort they never had.

We left at the place at 4.30, with a promise to Father Joy that we’ll be in touch and would plan a visit there as soon as possible.

Time : Every Saturday, 2.00pm

Every Friday night, the committee members of Huluran Kasih will give a short briefing for those who are going the next day. Please submit your name to the committee members  if you’re interested. Only those names which are given during that time will be called for briefing and  for the visit.

We embarked the journey at 2.00pm together with some light snacks and drinks for the kids. Unfortunately, when we reached there, we found out that most of the children went back for summer holidays and they will only be coming back on the 27th of May. Hence, we had the opportunity to teach the remaining children there with one to one attention. We taught the younger kids about alphabets while for the elder ones, we taught them how to speak English. The kids were rather attentive and it gave us a satisfaction of teaching. Besides that, they were all very cooperative as well.

The whole visit ended at 4.00pm. It was a rather pleasant trip and we plan to be back with more volunteers. Hopefully, by next Saturday, there will be more volunteers coming along with us to teach them English. The caretaker there told us that he will be anticipating our next visit!

A small announcement – The T shirts will be ready in 2 weeks time. For those who had paid, thank you! And for those who had not paid, please do so! For those who are interested in ordering, you can still do so by contacting your batch representative of Huluran Kasih.
Thank you for all the help ! This raising fund campaign will not be a success without everyone’s support and contribution !
Have a great day ahead!

In a nutshell,
Amount collected : Rs 52200 ( and still counting)
T shirts sold : 247 ( Hope this number increases more! )

 We went on walking towards the pondok where we will place all the sacks of clothes we had brought along with us.

 Earlier in the morning, members of the Huluran Kasih were sorting out unwanted clothes donated by MMMC students and lecturers.

 “Male clothes on one side, female clothes on the other side,” said Kent as some of us started pouring out the clothes that were placed in the gunny or plastic bags by the Batch 19 students. These were actually the excess clothes from the ‘used clothes collection drive’ initiated by Batch 19.  

 Making sure that the shirts and pants had no holes (to save the new owner of the clothes from unnecessary embarrassment), the clothes were stacked accordingly.

 Interestingly, I spotted a shirt which had a bleached spot in the shape of the map of India right below the front design. Either the previous owner of the shirt didn’t pick out the resemblance or he just wasn’t too happy with the new added ‘graphic’.

 “Seriously, I will actually pick some of the clothes if I were to see them in the shops,” Haz commented while we were going through some of the kurtas, salwars and Punjabi suits. I had to agree with her as I folded them. “Maybe the owners couldn’t fit in them anymore. That’s why they’re here”, I replied.

 “We can send the male clothes to the slum area but what about the female clothes?”

 Clothes in the middle of the seminar room, everyone were seated and were figuring out on what to do with the clothes that have been lying in the store room beside the conference room in ICHS for months.

 “Previously, the people in the slum area only accepted saris. So this time, we’ll give the Punjabi suits, kurtas and salwars to them”

 “Well….we can give the rest of the clothes to the akkas in the hostel” someone suggested.

 Everyone agreed with the idea and soon enough, 3 autos were waiting outside the ICHS entrance as we loaded the clothes into the auto and begin our Rs 15 journey to the slum area. (Clothes that will be given to the akkas will be kept temporarily at someone else’s home)

 All seated in the auto, we passed by the Madhava Kripa School (the hemophilia camp was held there a few weeks back) and I remembered fondly the well that is situated at the school’s compound. I’ve read about wells, I’ve seen pictures of it and when I finally got to set my eyes on it, it was much bigger than what I imagine it to be.

 We finally reached the pondok made from wood and dried leaves and placed the clothes at one corner.

 “Want to take a look around the slum area?” Kent asked. It was my first time there and I couldn’t wait to ‘explore’ the area that was situated not far from a lake.

 Homes in the shape of camping tents were built on either side of the uneven pathway we were walking on and the number of houses multiplied as we walked further. Plastics and canvases draped the sides of abodes. I stooped a little and sneaked a peek in one of the houses to find no beds, no tables, no fans and the ‘rooms’ inside….well, I wouldn’t call them rooms at all. There were no other walls apart from the 4 walls that support the roof and protect the occupants from strong wind or rain.

 “Share it with the others”

 The families that were picking through the clothes at the pondok did not understand a word of English or Tamil (Sunthari attempted conversing in Tamil with them but to no avail) save for a young boy who goes to school.

 Looking at the faces of the slum people, the clothes and with a hand pointing towards their home, “Share it with the others”, the same thing was said with the hope that they will understand better with the hand gesture.

 As more faces begin appearing like mushrooms emerging from the ground after a heavy rain and more clothes were taken out from the sacks, we turned and made our way back to the barren field to flag down a few autos.

How do people get this bleeding disorder?

What happens to Hemophiliacs?

Do all these questions pique your curiousity?

Well, now is the chance to find out more about Hemophilia! After working hard on the website for several days, we, Huluran Kasih is proud to announce the birth of the website for Manipal Hemophilia Society. This website is dedicated to Manipal Hemophilia Society which is a patient organization assisted by the medical and paramedical fraternity. This society aims to collect more data about Hemophiliacs around Manipal, provide anti- haemophilic factors, comprehensive care and etc.

Besides that, Manipal Hemophilia Society also organised a few camps for the Hemophiliacs. Recently, Manipal Hemophilia Society collaborated with Huluran Kasih and organised ‘ Asha Kiran 2009’.

There’re just so much more to talk about Manipal Hemophilia Society but we shall leave the website to do the talking. Be sure to visit it at : http://hemophiliasociety.weebly.com/

Thank you !!!

7.45 am - The 3rd day of Hemophilic Youth Camp Ashan Kiran commenced with light yoga exercises on a serene morning. Each and every of the members were taught to do stretching at certain joint areas. This enabled them to make full use of the movements that were once thought impossible in their everyday lives. Thus by practicing yoga, it will enforce their limbs as well as to prevent muscle weakness.

However, born with such disorder led to difficulties and precautions were always of top priority given to them to avoid internal bleeding. Some were only able to do nonstrenuous exercises while others can’t even do so. There was one member who had a hard time lifting his arms upwards. Even before his hands cross shoulder-height, it was seen that he struggled and his arms were trembling vigorously trying to reach over his head.

For them, giving their all is everything and they put faith high above any other, hoping that the routine will help them. If they put on too much stress when working out, they might injure their joints. Even a slight wound can lead to disastrous calamity. Therefore it was practically avoided. If there’s a word to depict this scene, it would be heart wrenching. The participants actually struggled and put in much effort just to lift up their hands above their heads.

The yoga session continued on with another approach through breathing and meditation, where one has to relax and respire calmly while in a sitting position. The yoga instructor insisted that they do these exercises twice everyday for about 15 minutes or so; in the mornings and evenings. It was stressed that they were to repeat this life-long lesson for their benefit. A manual of yoga steps were also given to every one of them. The session concluded with the participants having breakfast together.

*****

9.30 am – Excitement throbbed in their hearts as soon as the word “swimming” was mentioned. They were looking forward to this new experience as some of them never had the chance to even lay their eyes on a swimming pool.

The crowd gathered around and travelled to KMC Swimming Pool by a bus. As soon as they went inside the building, some were a little skeptical and decided not enter the pool. It was depressing to know that they were anticipating this event, but with precautions nagging in their minds, they can’t fully enjoy it.

Still, those who did not enter the pool had their fun while watching those who went in to play. Some of them were taking pictures of the scenery. Due to the disorder they inherited, they do not have enough confidence in themselves to pursue the activities they want to do.

A helping hand is needed and the society should note that hemophilic patients in India need all the support they can get in order to live normal lives. Once the event ended, it was time to leave and head back to the camp. As they exited, smiles were plastered across their faces.

12.30 pm – The volunteers of MMMC Huluran Kasih were given an opportunity to get to interact with the participants of the camp. It was indeed a worthwhile experience.Through one-on-one interaction, the volunteers got to know more about the participants. The participants, on the other hand, spoke out their problems and shared their most discreet feelings with the volunteers.

Through the interaction, we found out about their background, their family, their dreams and expectations in life. Little by little, we came to know about their troubles in terms of financial support, difficulties in life and their fears.

While understanding alone itself is not enough, we planned to share what the members’ thoughts were to the society and to create awareness of their whereabouts and conditions to the society. From what we observed, hemophilic patients in India experienced a lot of difficulties. As India is still a developing country, those who inherited this disorder do have a lot of disadvantages like inadequate access to the factors, poverty and unemployment.

After the interaction session, the participants were all prepared to leave the camp. Dr. Annamma Kurien, president of the Hemophilia Society came to see them off. The participants thanked her with gratitude and for her sincerity.

We sincerely wish them all the best in their future undertakings. With all the experience gained and the awareness made to the society about the conditions of these hemophilic patients, we hope that discrimination in aspects of work and social life will be abolished in the future. Hemophilic patients deserve better.