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Frishta News - Issue 15 - Winter 2008

In this copy of Frishta News:

Welcome to a shorter pre-Christmas 2008 edition of Frishta News and a special welcome to our new readers. We would like to wish you and your family a happy Christmas and peaceful New Year!

Nigel Studley writes:

Christmas is (almost) here!

75% of all UK consumers will use the internet for shopping this Christmas and a Deloitte & Touche survey showed the average spend per person last Christmas averaged £706 (wow!). So it is easy to see what a difference you could make to Frishta over the next few weeks if you did your surfing and Christmas shopping through www.everyclick.com. Frishta supporters have already raised over £400 by using everyclick.com - why not join them and make a difference just with a click of your mouse?

And...

What makes India, India?

It is impossible to describe India and capture all its vitality, extremes and contrasts in just one sentence or with a string of numbers or statistics. But maybe a picture can? The image to the side should be instantly recognizable as the Taj Mahal. I've had the privilege of visiting this beautiful place and it must be the most famous image of all India. But the picture is not just an example of my bad photography, but a mosaic created from pictures of India's children and street children - with thanks to Andrea Mosaic (www.andreaplanet.com).

The well-being of India's children has not kept pace with the country's recent economic development. Half of all Indian children are undernourished (nearly double the rate for children in sub-Saharan Africa). Six out of every hundred babies die before their first birthday; and half of all children do not complete eight years of schooling.

Q: Why don't Oysters give to charity?

A: Because they are shellfish!

Press Cuttings

Indian Cabinet clears Right to Education Bill

In a major boost to education, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that the New Education bill would create a legally enforceable duty on the Central Government and the States to provide free and compulsory child education.

According to the Bill, every child between the ages of 6 and 14 years has the right to free and compulsory education. This is stated in the 86th Constitution Amendment Act added Article 21A (December 2002). The Right to Education Bill seeks to give effect to this amendment.

Government schools will provide free education to all children and Private schools will admit at least 25 per cent of children without any fee. The National Commission for Elementary Education will be constituted to monitor all aspects of elementary education including quality.

[Source: News Post, New Delhi,31 October 2008]

"If you are planning for one year, plant rice.
If you are planning for ten years, plant trees.
If you are planning for a hundred years, educate!"
Chinese proverb

Driving in India

I have tried to tell a few friends back in the UK what it is like driving on Indian roads, and probably failed so here are some videos that are better than a thousand words (with thanks to Christina Greenwood).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjrEQaG5jPM

This other video will give you an idea of what it's like to cross the street in India. There are a few Zebra Crossings but no-one stops for you. You just have to do your best not to get hit, and the drivers do their best not to hit you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9DLlMMXhKg

What is it like to be a child of the street?

The term 'street children' is used because it is short and widely understood. In reality however, street children defy such convenient generalisations because each child is unique. We must acknowledge the problems of labelling them or assuming their stories are all the same as it is difficult for any of us to imagine or understand what an abandoned or runaway child feels as they live day after day as an outcast.

Many images and stories portray street children either as helpless victims, dangerous criminals or heroic survivors. The reality is usually somewhere in between. They show incredible resilience and initiative in the face of desperate circumstances. They have to be resourceful and strong in order to survive. But some do not survive. Others only do so by breaking the law.

We should respect their individual stories and characteristics. Wherever possible we should ask the children what they think. Here are some statements from the children themselves…

Amir, age 10: "I used to earn money for my mother by selling incense sticks. One day I lost the money through a hole in my pocket. My mother scolds and hits me all the time. I feared that when she found out I had lost the money, she would beat me badly, so I got on a train."

Rahul, age 10: "My Uncle had one truck at the Wholesale Vegetable and Fruit Market. Every Morning he woke me up and I had to work from 4 in the morning. So one day I got on the Kalka train which comes from Shimla, and I came here. My uncle came to find me but I ran away again."

Suraj, age 12: "We want people to leave us alone so that we can live our lives peacefully. We want to stop them labelling us as thieves, pickpockets and beggars. We should be treated with respect. Even we are human beings; we are not animals."

Bal, age unknown: "Why does every person hate us or trouble us? Are we children not part of the society, don't we have two hands, two feet, two eyes? After all, what do they find so bad in us? Due to work we look dirty, we do not have a house, we do not have bedding and no one to take care of us – this is the reason isn't it?"

"In the end, what matters is...
not so much what you bought, but what you built;
not so much what you got, but what you shared;
not so much your success, but your significance;
not so much your competence, but your character;
not so much what you said, but what you did."
Anon

Project Progress

Our Tube Well building is just about complete (see photo opposite) and the pump, motor and other electrical equipment has been purchased and is being installed.

At last we have received Planning Approval for the Frishta Children's Village Project. At the beginning of November our Project was approved by the Chief Minister of Punjab's office no less!

When Rachel and I started out on our Frishta journey we had no idea what was before us. We have had to learn many new skills and the latest is being a lobbyist! We are now negotiating with the Departments of Social Welfare and Urban Development about waiving the very high development fees levied on us. It doesn't seem right that we should have to pay the government to do social work that they should be doing! We are lobbying these departments and all concerned parties to draft a policy that will be then approved by the Punjab Government so that we (and other NGOs that follow us) can spend our budget helping poor children and not swelling government coffers.

And to close...

"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."
Matthew 18:10

Right now the newspapers and TV are full of bad news. If the financial crises around the world weren't bad enough, the terrorist attacks in Mumbai have added to people's fears. The vision of Frishta is all about bringing a message of hope to Indian children who have had plenty of bad news themselves.

There are 3,000 children working here on the streets of Chandigarh. When the Police act on a tip-off from the public they can only keep the children for one or two days in Police Cells while trying to locate their family, but then have to release back to the street and 'owners' who want their cheap labour.

With your help we are committed to restore these children, by helping those trapped by poverty, socially excluded, and discriminated against, to gain an education, life and work skills that will lift them out of child-labour and the poverty cycle.

...and a last reminder to please include Frishta on your Christmas present list and help us give disadvantaged children in India a gift of lasting value, of love, a home and a family.

God bless you. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a safe and peaceful New Year.

How to become a Friend of Frishta
Nigel Studley

Help us spread the word about Frishta's vision of Giving street children a home, an education, a hope and a future. If you have found this newsletter interesting, please forward it to a friend.

If you have any comments, questions or offers of help, please contact us - details opposite - or email us at the address info@frishta.org.uk

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Registered Charity No. 1100368

"Jesus said to them, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you, anyone who doesn't have their kind of faith will never get into the kingdom of God." Then he took the children into his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them!"
Mark 10:14-16