YOGA FUNDRAISER at the Yoga Lounge in Toronto

Saturday, February 27th, 2010 5:00-7:00pm

THE YOGA LOUNGE
103 Church St, 3rd Floor
Toronto, Ontario
Tel: 416-864-1973

The Yoga Lounge is located at the southeast corner of
Church St. & Richmond St. (two blocks east of Yonge St.).

Donation: $15

In 2005, Helene Armbrust went to India as a volunteer teacher to teach English in a vocational school for for underprivileged young men and women. She met Joice, a board member of the organization, and her husband Selva who introduced her to their plans to open a daycare for the women in KodaiKanal.

The women of KodaiKanal carry fire logs all day long. Most of them are single mothers forced to do this work to support their children. Although they work long and hard, they barely make enough money to sustain themselves and their children. Their children are left at home without food, toys or supervision.

About the Daycare:

“Foundation for Social Development and Research” (FSDR) is run by two volunteers who are connected with a network of small, grassroots NGOs in Tamil Nadu. The volunteers are a couple; a high school math teacher in an international school and a college professor of economics. The Foundation and Daycare are collaborating funding and management through the Sri Sakthi Trust.

The daycare would services about 20 local children. The children receive 1 meal and 2 chais a day (a light tea made with a lot of milk). They receive care from a teacher and an assistant, who conducts activities compatible with oral language development as well as cooperative games. A cook makes meals and helps supervise children.

Why is this daycare needed?

There are many women in Kodaikanal, a beautiful mountain city in Tamil Nadu, India, who are single mothers living on daily wages. Most of them carry large piles of firewood on their heads for many hours, seven days a week, in order to feed themselves and their children. Children are left at home, in dirt floor, small constructions, without any food, toys or supervision. The women do this in order to maintain the children’s’ survival, not because they wish to abandon their children.

How much does this cost?

The cost for rent for the building, paying for the cook’s, teacher’s and assistant’s wages for a year of operation is 300 000 rupees (approximately $8000 Canadian). It can be that cheap because things are cheap in India, and nobody is making any kind of income off this except the full time teacher, assistant and cook/supervisor. The people implementing it are volunteers and the people in Canada raising funds for it are volunteers as well.

The photographs attached are from my own camera. The couple shown are Selva and Joyce, the couple mentioned above. They gave me a tour of the area where the women work and live. Unfortunately, I could only take a few pictures of women who gave us permission.

Thanks so much for your interest. You are creating positive change in the lives of women and children.

Helene Armbrust

~ volunteer

A Note From Dear Lil' Devas ~ If you would like to contact Helene regarding the fundraiser, please drop us a line at dearlildevas@dearlildevas.com; we will forward your message to Helene, who will then contact you. Thank you for supporting this event. Sending good vibes your way, Rosie, DLD