Popping Tags, Popping Bulbs

Thanks, Macklemore, but here in Delhi we’re popping bulbs, not tags.  Due to reasons both entertaining and unfathomable, we pop lightbulbs on the daily.  Every night when I come home empty corrugated paper tubes, the packaging for lightbulbs worldwide, litter the trash.  These are the Indian version: pale blue or orange,  standard-issue flimsy.  Are the light bulbs so weak that a few days worth of work exhausts them?  Or is the wiring in our 40-year-old house so antiquated that a mismatch occurs, with no update in sight?  Or maybe the inevitable surges and spikes of the erratic supply from the…

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Shalom Hospital

I first visited Shalom Hospital almost two years ago when they were preparing to move to a new location.  The new facility is on the northern outskirts of Delhi -  a very long trip for staff and doctors, but close to where most target group patients are. Shalom provides compassionate, home based, palliative, and critical care to people living with HIV/AIDS.  The Indian transgender and homosexual community is particularly affected and Shalom caters to them. Read more about Shalom Hospital here   

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Delhi House/Sewa Ashram

"The Transformative Power of Compassion" - this is Sewa Ashram.  Practical, flexible, basic, compassionate - they help the poorest of the poor, the ill among the poor, the most marginalized and abandoned. Read about Delhi House/Sewa Ashram here  

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Sewa Ashram/Delhi House

It's over an hour from central Delhi to Sewa Ashram on the northern edge of the city. Here 125 destitute men - not just the poor, but men who are ill and the mentally physically or disabled - are given treatment, a home, food, and comfort.  Tuberculosis and HIV patients dominate.  Most men are picked up from the streets, but some are left at the door to Sewa Ashram.  This is human care for those who have no one - and where there is no safety net. Hospital beds are perched around in the courtyard. One older man does not…

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Alpha Montessori

Alpha Montessori As a committed Montessorian, I was curious about what Montessori schools were in New Delhi.   The first ones I visited were very disappointing. The Montessori name has been an advertising slogan for many years, often disguising schools with little to no Montessori practices or philosophies at work, and that is what I found here. So I was delighted  when I found Rajesh Batra, school director, and he led me to Alpha. "The Alpha Montessori School, located in Mandawali, an impoverished community in East Delhi, India, was founded to provide high quality education to low-income children and provide them…

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Culturama Magazine

Culturama Magazine - November 2013 Very Special Arts India (VSAI) was the topic of my article in the November  2013 issue of Culturama, a prominent magazine highlighting living in India for the Indian and expatriate audience alike. Very Special Arts India provides art opportunities and life skill opportunities for the differently abled. Read the full article - page 63 - here.

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C4AC – Cocktails for a Cause February 7

C4AC In Gurgaon February 7: Our Second Annual 'School Lunches for Diksha' was a great success.  Diksha provides hot school lunches for each child - almost 200 - every day.  For many children this is the only hot meal they get.  Partygoers raised over 54,000 INR on Friday alone. Contributions can be made at the AWA Delhi office throughout February or anytime directly to Diksha.  Many thanks to Richa for hosting and to Shanta, the fearless leader of Diksha, for coming and telling us more about the school.  

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AWA Mela

AWA - American Welcome Association - Mela November 17, 2013 For the second year in a row I coordinated vendor selection, registration, and sales for the AWA Mela, an effort beginning in June.  The end result was the most successful Mela ever, with over 180 vendors selected to offer a huge range of goods and services to approximately 3,000 buyers: carpets, shawls, jewelry, handicrafts, fusion clothing, sporting goods, organic foods, artwork, children's items, modern and antique household items, travel services, and loads more. This year featured an expanded section for NGOs selling products.  I am thrilled we could offer space…

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