Birthdays that truly mean something
After retiring from the Reserve Bank of India I started Sona SarovarTrust on 21.3.2007 with the help of my daughter Miss Priya Kumar. (priya-kumar.com). We conduct coaching classes in Anand Nagar, Jogeshwari West, Mumbai, to help Slum Children complete their Homework, and revise tables, questions & answers. 75% of slum children are malnourished as a result they would often miss school & score low grades or fail, thus forcing them to drop out of school. We pa ayttention to this aspect. We get them medically checked and provide them with medicines, tonics etc Trust also provides a Banana, 2 dates, black chana, sprouts & a special laddoo They are also encouraged to take part in extracurricular activities. They danced on stage and won many inter-school competitions. Their Birthdays are celebrated monthly so they look forward to attending the classes.
Once a friend of mine wanted to celebrate her son’s birthday with slum children to make him aware of the condition of the underprivileged children.
They came with a huge cream cake, snacks, drinks & props etc.
It was an eye-opening experience for him & our slum children too.
They were very excited and sang a happy birthday song.
Many children’s birthdays could not be traced as they were born in villages.
Because of lack of funds & awareness, their birthdays are not celebrated.
We found it and made Birthday Certificates as they needed them to appear for SSC.
To encourage them to get the Birth Certificate made, we decided to celebrate our kids' birthdays every month.
We bake a cake, decorate it with fruits etc.
We cook Puri Bhaji, Pav Bhaji, Fruit cream, etc..
The children cut the cake, are given gifts, served food in the class & have fun.
Our Motto is to make them happy.
It is a Memorable Day for them.
It motivates them to attend the classes.
Once I went to a Municipal School for Tamil for a meeting.
While I was passing by a Classroom, a child shouted something in Tamil.
I asked the teacher what did the child say.
She said that the child said, “ Nani celebrated my Birthday”
I was so happy.
By Sona Kumar
