Connexions

helps

Connect

People

and

Events

to make

Mumbai a

More

Enriching

Experience.

Every little bit helps and the smallest donation or contribution goes a long way in India. Read on to find out who we help, how we help and how you can help.
 

Who and How We have Helped:

1. Contributed towards the treatment of breast cancer 
2. Funded cataract surgeries for the under-privileged 
3. Bought shoes and sports equipment for children in a village near Pune 
4. Sponsored three girls at Prem Dan 
5. Bought a chest freezer for the Society of the Helpers of Mary 
6. Paid for a new roof and kitchen for Mary's Clan 
7. Organized a day out with picnic for the girls of League of Mercy and Regina Pacis 
8. Sponsored Nagpada's day trip and annual picnic 
9. Funded transport for the Byculla Street Kids annual day out 
10. Paid for a night nurse for Shepherd's Widows Home 
11. Paid for a cook at Byculla for Street Kids 
12. Bought fans for Regina Pacis 
13. Bought beds and cupboards for seven units at St. Jude's Childcare Centres for children undergoing chemotherapy
14. Bought bedding and two high-capacity water purifiers for people receiving cataract surgery
15. Provided funding for seating and shelter at the Karjat Eye Camp
16. Provided funding for the English program at construction site slum schools
17. Bought two fridges for a new unit at St.Judes Childcare Centres
18. Funded a 2-seat swing at Helpers of Mary Orphanage
19. Funded gym equipment for handicapped children at a special education program at the YMCA, Andheri (W)
20. Provided funding to support education programs at Udaan School in Powai
21. Provide ongoing funding for the purchase of basic food provisions for a group of HIV people at Nagpada

Besides raising money and volunteering our time, we also:

• Collect dry goods for charity from our coffee mornings 
• Organize or sponsor trips and activities 
• Teach English and maths or help with homework 
• Regularly supplement groceries and provisions 
• Buy and make up gift bags for summer and Christmas parties 
• Collect toys, books, stationery, clothing, etc. 

How you can make a difference:

Volunteer regularly at one of our charities

1. Swimming with Blind Boys 
2. St. Catherine's Orphanage 
3. Bingo at Shepherd Widows Home 
4. Bingo at Helpers of Mary
5. Vision screening for slum children
6. Homework Clubs
7. Teach English to children and adults


Volunteer your time
 

1. Help with an event or function 
2. Write lesson plans for volunteers who teach English and help with homework clubs 
3. Provide ideas for crafts and activities 
4. Help prepare materials for crafts and activities
5. Help fund basic food provisions for HIV adults
6. Provide transport for picnics and the eye screening project
7. Help on the administration side of the eye screening project


Sponsorship/donations
 

1. Fund a special meal at an orphanage or senior's home 
2. Help pay for schooling for a child for a year 
3. Help fund an event or activity for children or seniors 

The only 'qualification' for volunteering at the charities we support is that you be able to make the commitment to attend on a regular basis. This is important so that the Sisters and other Coordinators can plan accordingly and make the best use of our time and theirs.

We are always looking for new volunteer opportunities. If you know of an organization that we may be able to work with, please let us know.

For more information, please refer to the current issue of Chalo for contact information or email Mumbaiconnexions@yahoo.com  (Please put ‘Charities’ in the subject line).
 

Volunteer Opportunites 

For all charities in the following section you need to put your name on the list of helpers so you are kept informed of date and time changes etc. However, you DO NOT need to attend every week, just come as and when you can. Your help will always be appreciated.
NB For the benefit of newcomers I have categorized locations into north or south Mumbai. This is a very rough description and basically refers to whether the location is north or south of the Worli SeaLink Bridge.

Swimming With Blind Boys 
Breach Candy Club, Breach Candy (South Mumbai,)    Monday, 2-3pm
About 10 to 12 boys come from the Happy Home and School for the Blind in Worli to swim and play in the water. You do not need to be a member of Breach Candy Club nor be a fantastic swimmer to help – your role would be to keep the boys in the area they are permitted to swim.

Shepherd Widows Housie 
Byculla (South Mumbai)  Third Monday every month, 10:30-11:45am
Approximately 20 women and a few gentlemen from a nearby residence, play Bingo with a money prize, and socialize with a small celebration each month for their birthdays. As they do not speak much English we play the cards for them, but they win the prizes.

St. Catherine's Orphanage
Mount Mary, Bandra. (North) Thursdays, 5-6pm
A group of about 45 children between the ages of 4 to 7 practice their English, sing action songs, do a craft or similar activity and have a snack. We also sponsor an annual Christmas party for around 250 children here in early December. 

Helpers of Mary Housie Bingo
Veera Desai Rd., Andheri (W) (North)  First Monday every month, 10:15-11:45am
A group of approximately 50 seniors play Bingo/Housie for small prizes, and birthdays are also celebrated monthly with the group. Similar to the Shepherd’s widows group but this is in the north of Mumbai and many of the residents are English speakers.

English Class at Agripada
Near Dhobi Ghats. (South)    Mondays, 8.45-11:30am*** (see note below)
Approximately 45 construction site children come to learn English through a variety of activities. This is a fun program that is starting to see real results. For the children in the class this is possibly their only chance to learn English and we all know that English is essential to succeed in India today.
No experience is necessary and no preparation is required.

*** Do not be put off by the 8.45am start, volunteers need only arrive by 9.30am.  Children begin to arrive about 8:45 and we have playtime and activities until we start at about 9:30am.
Where: Agripada - which is Bombay Central, just near the Mahalaxmi laundry and train station. It does not have to be a weekly commitment. If you can come just once a month, it would be great, but please let us know beforehand when you intend to come. 
 

Other Opportunities

Eye Screening Project

We do vision screening as needed /identified on an irregular basis.
Basic vision screenings are done at centres/schools with which we are already associated and are meant to identify children in need of further testing and/or corrective lenses or even surgery (though we cannot promise to fund operations). Once the centre is identified, an e-mail will be sent out to members who have already expressed an interest in helping. The Lotus Eye Hospital will follow-up with a second screening for those who require it, but Mumbai Connexions volunteers will do the basic testing. If you would like to be added to the list of helpers please see ‘Chalo’ for details. There will be regular training sessions for newcomers. Volunteer activities may also include transporting children for follow up appointments and helping with the admin side of the process.

To help in the following centres you need to commit to a regular time on a regular day.

St. Stephen's Church Homework Group 
Mount Mary, Bandra. Every weekday, 5-7pm
This church-run homework club and study centre is for children of domestic workers. The children come after school to do their homework and to get help with their school work. Most of the help is given on a one to one basis and entails teaching Maths or English.
To help here you need to commit to a regular time on a regular day.

Prem Dan (Apollo Bunder) – this school would welcome volunteers at any time, but they do ask for a regular commitment. 

Society of the Helpers of Mary (Andheri West) – This multi-functional facility would welcome volunteers to assist their students with homework, daily or weekly, but asks for a regular commitment. 

One International (Khar) – This is a school for slum kids located in the fishing village in Khar. Again, regular commitment is essential.

Udaan (Powai, Wednesdays and Fridays) – Volunteers are needed to help teach English to slum children.  Assistance is also needed with the library.

Muktangan (Lower Parel) – English speakers are needed to help explain the idiomatic English to the children during library periods. 

Note:
Anyone with a teaching qualification can help the Muktangan teachers with the weekly planning sessions for the children’s lessons. Muktangan is an innovative and unique educational initiative. It offers low-cost, high-quality, inclusive and child-centered English medium education to children from socio-economically marginalised communities, through the training as teachers of young women from the same communities. Currently, they have created a cadre of 150 teachers to teach their own community children in the 7 local Municipal Pre- and Primary schools that they run, serving at present a total of 1500 children. Each of these schools adds a higher standard every year until they reach Std 10, thereby benefiting an additional 310 children each year. 

The Foundation for Mother and Child (Mahalaxmi East) – volunteers are needed to help teach basic conversational English to women from a nearby slum. These are generally the mothers of the children attending Muktangan school who would like to be able to converse with their children in English. The English program has been set up as a 10 week (20 session) program. Lesson plans and materials are currently being developed for this program, to be used on an on-going basis. 
 

Aseema, Apsara, SPCA 

If you have a special qualification or area of expertise please do let us know. Many of our charities also need professional help on a voluntary basis, and there may well be a match between your career experience and their needs.
 
 

Sponsorship

1. Help provide a quality education for a child by sponsoring their education:  this includes books, uniforms and tuition for a year.
2. Fund a special meal at an orphanage, school or senior's facility . It can be as simple as providing an egg or a piece of meat to supplement the regular meal provided. This could be one time, once a week or once a month. This is such a small thing, but makes an enormous difference in someone's life.
3. Assist with funding or fund an activity at any of the outings or events we support. 

opportunities are

always of interest

to Mumbai 

Connexions.

If you know of an 

organization that we 

may be able to work 

with, please 

let us know.