Bhumi Pune chapter is expanding and reaching out to a larger number of underprivileged kids is our

aim for 2015-2016. From 9 centers in 2014, we have been able to expand to 13 in June 2015, and we

hope to include more by September 2015. Volunteer recruitment and orientation drives to cope up

with the increasing centers are simultaneous processes. With the help of “Each one get one” drive

almost 50 volunteers were registered on the Bhumi website. We conducted an orientation on 6th

June 2015 and one on 28th June 2015. On 28th June, to welcome new volunteers, Bhumi introduction

presentation was delivered by our new regional manager, Ms. Meghna Raveendra and Nilanjan. C

(LES Project Cordinator) presented the volunteer impact. The orientation had various fun activities

to make it a lively and engaging session.

“A wonderful experience. The energy and passion with which the sessions were conducted blew

away all my sunday morning laziness. The orientation session gave me a good insight of the

organization and helped me decide the education project I wanted to join. The pedagogy session

conducted by Sai helped me explore many interesting ideas which I will definitely use in my teaching

sessions. Pointers on how to conduct the class, how to conduct various games and activities to make

learning fun and interesting for kids, things to do and not to do while teaching were a great help and

made me confident for my teaching sessions. All the volunteers were friendly, and the informal

touch to the sessions was refreshing and comfortable. The activities conducted involved everyone

present and helped break the ice with fellow volunteers.”

Meghna is the latest addition to our little family here at Bhumi Pune Chapter. Although, technically

the oldest volunteer of the chapter who had taken the initiative along with her friends to start the

Bhumi Chapter way back in 2011. She lives in Mumbai with her family and has taken up the role of

Regional Manager (Western Region) at Bhumi. She is a sweet, lovable and awesome person who is

fun to work with and has a lot of enthusiasm and zeal towards the cause. She brings a lot of positive

energy with her. She was a Teach for India fellow and is experienced in social work. We welcome her

to the family whole heartedly.

“When I joined Bhumi in June I was told by the central team about the energy and passion that our Pune team had.

But when I met them I saw that there was much more to the energy and passion. The dedication and empathy that I

saw in the team made me feel this is exactly where I belong. I was apprehensive first as to how the team would take

in a new member.. but once I met them they made me feel at home. Love the way you guys work. It’s amazing to see

people who volunteer with so much dedication and love for the cause! Wish you the best of things”!

– Meghna Raveendra.

Post little hurdles start last year, with great hope we kicked off this year’s Speak Out batch at Eklavya

Balgram. The excited, somewhat nervous volunteers slowly showed up at the centre, as the

excitement levels of the kids already began to skyrocket. We started off with a quick introduction

session. Whoever possessed the ball had to introduce themselves (in English) and then pass it along

to someone who hadn’t yet. That way, everyone had to be alert enough to remember who did and

who didn’t. The kids were then mapped 3:1 for each volunteer leaving us with 6 teams to battle it

out for the next round, which was Who Am I? Each team was given a small chit with clues in English.

The volunteer would explain the clues to the kids in preferred language and once the kids had

figured it out, they had to paint it on the sheet provided to them. All the necessities were already

provided. The activity helped the volunteers to connect on a much deeper level with the kid. As I

collected the sheets, I could see a stronger bond between the children and the volunteers. Though

no prizes were there to be given away, the volunteers had gained much more, not just the kids.

Another interesting activity that was suggested by our own volunteer was to begin and end each

session with a prayer. The video shows the enthusiasm of the kids during this activity.

We asked our volunteers to give a write up about what they felt about giving their “One

day for Bhumi?” We got a lot of interesting write ups. This one by our new volunteer, Shamli, is an

engaging piece. Hope it touches you as it did us.

Shamli Telrandhe says:

Speak out

Remember the time when you learnt to ride a bicycle, you fell, you got hurt, it’s not bad if you

remember it now. Because you had someone to pick you up. Someone to heal the pain. But not

everyone is that lucky. Millions of kids out there need help. Your help. Change is what we all strive

for in our country, why not be a part of it?

HOW?

Be a volunteer at an NGO, spread the knowledge that you have . You just need to give a few hours of

your weekend to make a difference. NGO, non-governmental organization is run only by the

volunteers who seek happiness by helping others.

WHAT DO I GET IN RETURN?

Immense amount of happiness, inner peace, hope, motivation, social skills and small things that

money can’t buy.

Change Today. Change tomorrow. The motto says it all. BHUMI is one such NGO where all your

dreams of helping someone are fulfilled.

You don’t need a superman costume to be a hero. All it takes is to help someone in need and you

could be their HERO.

Yes or no. In or out. Live or die. Hero or coward. Fight or give in. Human race is made up of choices.

Make sure you choose and choose for a better tomorrow.

Nakshatra is Bhumi’s annual inter-orphanage art, literary, cultural, science and sports talent fest

for children. Over 5,500 children from 100 children’s home have benefitted across Chennai,

Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi and Triruchirapalli every year. This year we are planning to

conduct the one day Nakshatra event in Pune. Over 400 children from 15 orphanages are

expected to take part in various events organized by our team. Priority events include:

Arts: Face painting | Pot painting | Rangoli | Junk art | Clay modelling

Cultural: Adaptunes | Group song | Group dance | Mimicry | Skit | Solo performances

Literary: Adzap | Elocution | Extempore | Memory games | Quiz | Spelling bee.

The experience I had was very good. The kids were very curious to see the historical place and learn more about Mahatma Gandhi. They were listening intently to the guide who was telling us interesting facts about the place. We also had set up some activities for the kids and they showed great enthusiasm. Really thankful to Sciformix for arranging this trip.