Connecting Names to Faces... 2

The Team @ Indiahelps
L-R Front row - Nihaas Basheer, Sumita Naik, Kiran Manral, Sangeeta Irani, Suma Nagmote, Shyaam Nagarajan, Dr. Patil.
L-R Back row - Aparna Nair, Dilnavaz Bamboat, Sayantani Dutta

Missing from Picture from the Mumbai team - Parul Sharma, Rohini Haldea, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Prachi Gupta, Lavanya

Connecting Names to Faces

Meet four of our members from the Mumbai chapter: (L to R) Aparna Nair, Suma Nagmote, Dilnavaz Bamboat, Shyaam Nagarajan. This picture also appeared alongside the article "The Changemakers" on page 29 of the Mumbai Mirror on 26/11/09. We only wish the whole team could have been in the picture!

Photo credit: Sebastian D'Souza

Chennai chapter

Welcome aboard IBH. IBH is taking charge of the Chennai chapter of
India Helps. If any reader in Chennai would like to be part of this
chapter, or knows of any cases where we could help out, please do
write in at indiahelps@gmail.com or info@indiahelps.org.

Delhi Chapter

This appeal from sscribbles who is spearheading our New Delhi chapter:

Whom have you helped today? With that motto in mind, we would like to kickstart our Delhi chapter as well. We are keen to extend a helping hand to those who feel we can make a difference. If you know of a disaster victim who needs a shoulder to lean on, please contact us. If you know of anyone who is in need of assistance, please share the details with us.

Like our Mumbai counterparts, we in Delhi would like to bring a smile to unhappy faces. We will evaluate cases before deciding how best we can help. Do write in to us at indiahelps@gmail.com for we are just a click away.
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Delhi Chapter

Sscribbles has taken on the onus of building up the India Helps Delhi Chapter. Kolkata is already built up and waiting to swing into action with Ahana moving to Kolkata. Pune is in its infancy, Gunjan who has offered to be Pune coordinator is tied up currently (getting married, yaay!).

In Delhi we have Abhilasha and Valentine who have offered to be on the team. We plan to have a meet up of Delhi volunteers soon to discuss what causes can be taken up soon. If anymore Delhiites would like to join in, do write in to indiahelps@gmail.com.



Any folks from Chennai, Bengaluru?





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Delhi chapter

India Helps has a core team in place in Mumbai, a chapter in Kolkata and volunteers in Pune and Bangalore. We now are looking at putting a Delhi chapter in place. If any Delhi readers would like to join up, do write in to us at indiahelps@gmail.com.



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India Helps at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon

Did you spot us around?
(From left, Aparna Nair, Sumita Naik, Bala, Priyanka Chaturvedi and Rohini Haldea)

(Our brave men on hire who held up our banners for tired runners to glance at.)
It was the first major event of the New Year Mumbai city was seeing, and India Helps was there. In a small way.

So there were our brave lasses, and one brave lad, braving the heat and the crowd to spread the message, hand out leaflets, put up banners and get some visibility for the group as well as cheer our runners, Nihaas, kbpm, Orange Jammies and Parul.

Here's what Rohini wrote about her experience yesterday.

Will just write a quick update on what happened:

Priyanka, her husband Vickram, Suma, Aparna, Bala and I all met up at Churchgate station and made our way across to Azad Maidan. We fumbled around a bit to arrive at a good place to stand with the banners and leaflets. We finally decided the Finish line was the best place. Though even there, we realised that the runners had other priorities just then, like quenching their thirst and taking photographs. So we moved up just beyond the refreshment counter and got a much more positive response.

We managed to get our banners up, by hook or by crook. The first was given off to two guys standing on the road divider who agreed to hold it up in return for some small compensation. Another one, we put on the divider just where we were standing, held in place by two boulders. And used safety pins to pin the last one on a black fabric screen on the other side of the road.

We gave away all the leaflets we had on us and most people were happy to take one, though the odd exceptions did refuse. We did get quite a few queries on what we were doing over at Indiahelps and what kind of help we were looking for.

Here's hoping that today's efforts traslate into more interest and contributors (financial and otherwise) for India Helps...

So, if you did spot us there, I do hope you stopped by to say hello!

We're going to be there at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon...

We're not all running for India Helps. India Helps didnt even exist when the registrations closed for the marathon. But we will be there next year. I promise you, knees willing, I will do some running too.
But we think this is an ideal event to be present at to salute the spirit of our city, cliched as that phrase might sound, and to talk about ourselves and what we do to folks who might be interested.
And of course, to cheer on our team members OrangeJammies, kbpm, Parul and Nihaas who are running, for various causes, and for India Helps.
Watch out for our banners and runners at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon on Sunday, January 18th, 2009. We will be distributing information and answering questions, so do say hello when you see our logo (on our blog header). We'd love to meet you and talk about how we can combine efforts.

Indiahelps at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon

This from kbpm:

It is January. The beginning of the year. This is a particularly special year for all of us as we look ahead, eyes shining with hope. Hope that we have put the worst behind us, hope that the events of 2008 will make us stronger, hope that we will not forget, and hope most of all that we will continue to believe in ourselves.

Befittingly, the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is around the corner, and will be held on Sunday, January 18th, 2009. This marathon is one of the most wonderful events of our city. The sheer positive energy that is seen on the streets during the marathon is remarkable. I hope that many of you will have the chance to experience it.

Much of the effort of runners and other participants in the Mumbai Marathon is directed toward fund-raising for various causes. The event, in addition to being a satisfying exhibition of fitness levels and meeting of personal physical goals, has become remarkably efficacious at promoting myriad noble causes.



We at Indiahelps have a very modest goal for the Mumbai Marathon this year - we want to tell people about ourselves. We have a number of our team members participating in the event. You will find the young and energetic Nihas; and the veteran of four SCMMs, kbpm, running themselves sore at the Half-Marathon. The brilliant ladies Parul and Orangejammies are participating in the Dream Run. Along the way, the enthusiastic team consisting of Sayantani, Aparna, Priyanka, Bala, and Rohini will not only pass on information about Indiahelps but also inspire and cheer our runners. Watch for us near the CST main stage and around Nariman point; look out for our tag-line "Who did YOU help today?"



Wish us luck! Watch for us! Come chat with us!





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And so we met...

...This morning, from scattered parts of Mumbai, Cuffe Parade to Kandivali, to Kopar Khairane, to Bandra to Andheri to Powai. All brought together by nothing but their desire to help. Ideas flowed and were discussed, opinions voiced and faces put to names and blog ids. Yes, bloggers and non bloggers met up today. Sat down with victim lists. Worked out a plan to reach out. And gave ourselves a couple of weeks.

We are starting with the bereaved families and the victims of the Mumbai carnage. We hope we can help. Longterm. Not just handing over cash and moving on but handholding families through this painful transitional phase till they're back on their feet. Helping with education, training, jobs and whatever rehabilitation we can offer. We have no resources but our desire to help out.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be visiting individual homes and bringing you the stories. First hand. And yes, we are going to try our damnedest to make a difference.



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