Upgradation

Dear Readers/Volunteers

Many of you might be wondering that We Volunteer has shut down or something , as there hasnt been any news/updates since our first anniversary celebrations in Jan.
Actually, we've been working on the planning and conceptualisation and also reworking on the Branding of We Volunteer.

• New Brand Image - Logo / Stationary
• Website coming up
• Launch of our New Magazine targetted at the Youth primarily
• Online Radio Show
• Regular Yuva Parliament Sessions

So, I am thankful to those, who've granted us this little break, to revamp our organisational structure and processes.

With your support and blessings, We'll be back with a BANG soon :) :)

We Volunteer's 'First' Anniversary Celebrations...13 Jan 08

O! Bonfire O! Bonfire!.. Let the flames of thy bring prosperity in the world...warmth to the homeless and those little souls. Let the pious thee, bring together the atomized we.

Lohri, as you know is one the very important festivals in North India.
Celebrating the 1st Anniversary of We Volunteer,

Let's celebrate Lohri with the grandpa's and grandma's at the Old Age Home at Sector 15, Chandigarh at 3 pm on 13th Jan.

No riches, no bugles.
no trumpets, no cars....what they need is time...and we have ample of hours...

Join us at the event and show that today's youth partys' hard but for good cause too...

call Nipun
(Event Co-ordinator), 9888469076 or email at wevolunteer.chd@gmail.com..

Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way....................

By Nipun

This Xmas was celebrated by We Volunteer at Pustak, a school for slum children in Sector 25. We already had collected the wishes of the kids on the Wish Day celebrations at Pustak. Unfortunately, not enough people stepped up to fulfill the wishes and we had to do with a common gift for all the bachalog.

Disappointed, but not dejected, we proceeded with full enthu to make this Xmas a special one for the little ones. Over a brainstorming session at CCD, we decided upon the gifts. Bas fir kya, the funds were raised, snacks ordered, the gifts bought and packed. Did I forget something? Oh yeah, Santa of course! How can there be a Xmas without a Santa, huh? After a choti moti si fight with Deepika who was to play Santa, I finally snatched the much coveted role and got a chance to play Santa! Oh boy, what great fun it was. The kids went absolutely bonkers on seeing Santa unkil. I was mobbed, my fake beared pulled at, my nosy pinched and my gifts sack ransacked! In short, it was fultoo masti being a kid with the kids again!

The kids put up an absolutely enthralling show with their dance and singing performances. It must have been tough to select the three winners, I am glad I wasn't the one doing it :)

And the best part of the day was giving the gifts to the children. Their eyes shone with pure joy, faces lit up with innocent smiles (and hands itched to unwrap the gifts!)

For years I have been asking my parents for gifts on Xmas, but never ever have I been so happy. The true spirit of Xmas is in giving rather than receiving, and I hope more n more people discover this joy!

By Neha

We wish you a Merry X'mas and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Ah!! atlast the hiatus was over and 25th December came with all its fervor and jolly. We Volunteer organized a special event - Christmas Celebrations, for the kids at Pustak School. It was the culmination of the hard work that we put into the arrangement of the event. With continuous planing and discussions occupying the week before the event, it was really satisfying to see all the chalk board drawings turning into reality and of course, the smiles and the giggles that the kids spilled all along the datum. The event started with a small skit enacted by Charan and Varun leaving the kids agape with astonishment. And then it was time for our very own Nipun dressed as Santa Claus to appear. Oh man! the smiles and those wide eyes brimming with excitement on the faces of those kids was really worth the effort:) Their happiness seemed to have no limits and they seemed to have gone into a world of frenzy. After these surprises, the kids started to perform one by one. While they were displaying their talents, the crowd was getting difficult to handle but all thanks to the WE VOLUNTEER team, they did well to control them. It was really amazing to see the confidence these kids have in themselves. A good judging was done by Ajay bhaiya, Aman and Auro000ooo. Our very own personal favourite "Varsha" bagged the first prize:) She was amazing and everyone in the audience was spellbound to see her taping her feet on the song "aaja nachle". Another kid, "Sagar", was no less while performing, surprising all of us with his cool dance steps on 'jhalak dikh la ja'

We all were very happy to see such sweet and winsome smiles on those innocent faces. Our job was done for the day. Nothing in my life had made me feel better then those pyaare thank yous' , when those children got there gifts:). This event with kids and their ebullient happiness has encouraged me more to carry on the work I am doing.

"INNER SATISFACTION COMES WHEN WE MAKE OTHERS FEEL HAPPY, WITHOUT ANY SELFISHNESS"

and hey not to forget ----this event would not have been a success without the help of our hard working, energetic and dynamic volunteers ..thanks to all for your amazing support:)

regards-NEHA CHUGH - love you alllll ...take care:) and hey not to forget, keep up the good work, keep initiating....


By Navjot

jingle bells jingle bells...our Santa made the kids dance to the tune of jingle bells.......Santa who fulfills everyone's wishes......i wish the kids get what they wish and admire the most....... hope Santa listens to my wish.....

helooooo friends.... it was total fun today at Pustak with kids..... oooh my goodness those kids dance so well....... it was a great show put up by the kids.. and the we volunteer team ws gr8.... did a lot to bring smiles to those cute little faces........the blessings the kids got were th most imp..... i hope the kids remember hamesha this Christmas party set up for them

.... the dances the poems..and yeh! :)my song...hehe.....I am glad i attended the event..... will remember everything forever

We Initiate...........Do you?

Merry Christmas

hello people!

Enough of sleeping and enough of exams!

We Volunteer is back to what it does best

We Volunteer will be organizing an event at Pustak School in Sector 25 to celeberate the spirit of christmas with the little angels at the school.

The event will be held on Dec 25 from 12 PM to 3 PM.

So do join in to share some moments of joy with the kids or call them angels and let them know the charm and fun of the Christmas

And if you want to help in organizing the event then do mail us at wevolunteer.chd@gmail.com

ho ho ho ho!!!

Santa is coming........are you???

Make a wish day ---- ' Wish List '

Hi People!!

Here is a wish list of our little angels.
Mail us at wevolunteer.chd@gmail.com or call at 9855166855 in case you
are intrested to fulfill any of the following wishes.

S.No. Names Wish
1 Rahul needs a bat,ball,wickets
2 Prabhat wants to become a doctor
3 Sandeep wants goggles.a bag,and wants to be a doctor
4 Rimpy wants a gift
5 Sonia wants a gift
6 Kiran wants a gift
7 Sumidha wants an embroidered suit
8 Kamal wants a bat
9 Rimpy wants a wrist watch
10 Suraj wants a bat and a book
11 Heena wants a cycle,and wants to become a doctor
12 Suraj wants a cycle and wants to become a police man
13 Rahul wants a bat
14 Monika wants a bag
15 Pinky wants a wrist watch
16 Laxmi wants a cycle
17 Jyoti wants a wrist watch
18 Neeta&Babita want to become a nurse
19 Rakhi wants a cycle
20 Shivani wants a cycle
21 Anjali wants to stand first in class
22 Sagar wants a bat and a bag
23 Poonam wants a wrist watch
24 Neha wants a pair of shirt-paint
25 Karan wants a bat
26 Bharati wants a bat
27 Roshni wants to be doctor
28 Vishal wants a bat
29 Jyoti wants to become a house-wife
30 Ravina wants to be a teacher
31 Akshay wants a ball
32 Manju wants an ice-cream
33 Pinky wants ear-rings
34 Neha wants a bat
35 Aman wants a violin
36 Sapna wants a ring,and wants to become a teacher
37 Vijay wants a ball
38 Monika wants a book
39 Kajal wants a bat
40 Laxman wants a bat and a ball
41 Monica wants to become a doctor and wants a camera
42 Sandeep wants a bat
43 Sapna wants a sewing-machine
44 Sapna wants a necklace set
45 Jyoti kumari wants an alarm-clock
46 Harpreet kaur wants a necklace set
47 Vijay wants a flute&sunglasses
48 Rahul wants a cricket kit

'Make a Wish Day' at Pustak

Swiss pie and We Volunteer conducted a make a wish day on 18th october thursday at Pustak school in Sector25. The aim was simple: to bring out the wishes in those kids, which have many, yet are buried deep down within them for want of resources. And it is for this cause, of helping those which we can, this "make a Wish day" was celebrated.

Around 50 kidz along with 30 volunteers were asked to draw their dreams of what they aspire to be when they grow up on a drawing sheet,the volunteers helped them with the drawings and on the back of it mention their Diwali wishes or gifts they wanted to be fulfilled. Some of them wanted to be doctors some teachers or policemen. Their wishes were also simple like some kids want books others bag,bat,earrings and such stuff.After which was a cake party celebrating everyone's birthday on 1 day. All sang together happy birthday to all.To see the joy in the kids eyes was truly awesome.

The object was not only to cut a cake, but to provide the kids a celebration of their own in this festive season, as also bring out the true wants and desires.

Fun with Little Angels at Missionaries of Charity

By Nipun Jain

So, we had planned for some mauj n masti with the kids at Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity Home, Sector 23. Some mauj masti. Not even in our wildest imaginations did we think this some would turn into helluva !! Oh boy, what a helluva day it was! The bachalog were so enthu, so versatile, so talented, so chirpy and I am so out of words to describe what an awesome bunch these kids were!

Surprisingly, it was the kids who opened up to us first! So the didis and the bhaiyas began by giving rides to the kids on the numerous jhoolas in the playground. Not to mention that most of us couldn't resist hopping on the jhoolas ourselves! So there we were, sharing the rides with these lovely kids when one of the boys brings out his cricket bat and ball...and so an interesting game of cricket begins. The volunteers began by bowling some easy ones to kids, only to find that they these kids are no less than Sachin! No matter how hard we tried, the kids hit every delivery flying for boundary. It was a miracle we didn't break any windows! I must say that the bachalog played cricket very well, okay okay, they played better than I ever can! My only consolation being Kaval's cricket skills, which I am happy to say are worse than mine. Unlike her, I can get the ball to reach the batsman! :)

Tired by our playground adventures, we sat around this awesome guy, who could easily be the Indian Idol! He sang such a variety of songs, from Hare Ram Hare Ram to Himesh Reshamiya's songs (minus the nasal touch!). Boy, this place was full of talent.

And how could I forget that sweet little girl...jiske (in her own words) "daant tut gaye!". Gosh, she was sooo cute!! I hope kisi ne uska photo liya ho!We had such a great time that I hope We Volunteer returns to Mother Teresa's Home for another day of hullava mauj n masti. I know I will...

Puppet show in PUSTAK

By Neha Chugh
It was 7th october,,one of my last holiday,,time was coming near for college to start again,,i got up vd a wish of gud morning by kaval ,,havin a tormoil going in my mind that how will the thing end, it was for the first time that i was one of the organisers of a show,,
i landed up at pustak school at 2.30,bit confused,not knowing k what will happen,,atlast the time came..the school no no Our school,was all filled with children,who were very excited to know wts happening,,
we volunteer team came,some of our frens also turned up to see our work and cheer us..
aman,ravneet,navreet,shama,nd me wished eachother nd started the ''PUPPET SHOW''
we could hear children laughing,giggling,nd talking nd enjoying the show.they got knew the purpose of the show-
to let them know that if they are in need or in some problem they kan contact the Child helpline and call '' dus no aath-1098'' and a volunteer wud cum and will solve all there problems,vl help them by money,medical aid,or sum kinda help in education to make the future of india brightening vd d smiles on the faces of the young generation,,especially to those children who are needy,nt blessed by God vd all the needs of a child ..nd those children were happy with that,nd we all were happy seing them happy,,and by the end of the show I was contended from inside,satisfied thinking dat atleast i cud make sum faces smile:)
and achieved my aim for that day,,thanx to the other team members for their support..

By Ravneet

Heyzzz!!!!well Well,, sumthin very xciting we did on D 6th of October!!!!!!!!well a lil Hard to guesso,,,,,.... "PUPPET SHOW" yUp u heard that rite...v had Raju, Bantu, DiDi, pApa.... N yess Not to forget- 'TiLLu' D cutedoggy!!!!!!

it was a story bout a small boy in a problem..jise childline ki didi ne Solve kar diya... oh buh not to forget k VOwOnder didi was none otha than Meeeeeee!!! :))))))tillu was so funny k Dialouge bolte bolte It was too hard fo me to control laughing!! Lollzzz .. Original doggy awaazz!!we went in pustak n hour before d shw,, found a place fo d set up nfInally D great sHow began!!!!!!

taaliyaannn!!!!!! lollzzBuh wid God's grace, kidz were Happy n all :)in Afta d How n Haan
cAndies bhi v all got !!!!!!!!!!ya yaa u r rite .. bachon Ko pehle wer given!!!!!!!!oooPPsssss yaaaar aap e phul gi dassna....!!!!!! :pkidzz wer also memorized d childline no. 1098!!Hd a lootttttttttttaaaaaaa FUnnnnnnn!!!!!!will keep doin d funny mAzzeedaaar sTUFF!!!!!!!!!!!:)))))))))))))))))))))))))))
God Bless alll

By Aurodeepa Rath

Oh yaar… bus yaaran ne tah phatte hi chak ditte…. "puppet show" at 'pustak' Not jus entertaining but full-on EDUCATING Educating the children bout a helpline and how it empowers them.. Was jus a fantabulous idea… my team knows what their children need… wow wow…
The event was really inerestin.. Reminded me of those doordarshan educational/promotional documentaries… like.."ek tittali…. Anek tittaliyan…."
…"didi! Yeh anek kya hota hai…" Ha ha…. Bravo!! Kudos to Aman, Neha and Ravneet. Lemme here u say- "Dus.. Nau.. Aath"… Yes!! Next PGI (Children's ward).. Rite!

We Voluteer simply rockin… What do u know!

By Nipun Jain

It should be fun...I thought...moreover I needed a break...I said to myself, justifying my ending the drudgery of my studies and deciding to go to the Puppet Show at Pustak. And boy was I right! It turned out to be a perfect saturday afternoon, à la We Volunteer style. I don't think I have ever seen a puppet show as lively as this before! The puppeteers were very spontaneous, the bachalog very enthusiastic, and storyline totally bollywood ishtyle! Complete with a catchy soundtrack... dus no aath...dus no aath...still can't get this tune outta my head! :)

All in all, the event was a huge success. Everyone (including the volunteers!) learned something (for the benefit of those who missed it, what we learned was that the Child Helpline No. is 1098, toll free). Though we could do with some more sweets to distribute to the kids (and me, I didn't get any!). Here's hoping for more such fun events in the future!

Yuva Parliament III

By Aurodeepa Rath

This time Yuva Parliament (3rd session) … it simply rocked!!…. With a strong issue like 'eve-teasing' … all kudos to my sweet dudes n dudettes of we volunteer. No wonder the session dwelled well under the presence of APA Shergill and IPS Madhur Verma.. So no doubt it felt 'empowered'…
There are 2 major concerns that attracted my attention

1] people don know bout what all kinda social harassment is punishable by law.. (considerin eve-tesin as one of them).. They don know when their right of livin free n independent starts getting violated due to uncivilized creatures (unfortunately) walking along with them… [guys… v can work on it.. Pehel!]
2] and secondly… for guys.. "Sajjanon, Live n Let Live".. We gotta create a good environment that is conducive of healthy living.. Where's that sense of equality amongst the two genders of the society. [ki karen… kutten(in punjabi) kanjaran nu..] but the idea of deglamourizin the culprits thru posters… can work out big time.
……….. Let's get out of this attitude of first 'shrug' and then 'sulk'..
Ok… back to my darling team… muah muah n community hugs!! Well done! Great job… n KEEP IT UP... :)

By Neha Chugh

Manwa mein mere aandhi hai udi aur stabadh khadi hun main,,saanson mein bbandh apni he saans nishabad khadi hun main!duniya se jeeti jeeti ,,khud se haari basdwasth khadi hun main..aaina main aur aks main,madmast khadi hun main,meri laaj bhi main-chunar bhi main,,chunar pe daag bhi main...................


krish contributed these lines,,i heard them 4m his cell and found them awsum,telling the reality of the women,,being in 21st century still she has to suffer a lot,her self respect does not matters where as the self respect of a man is of utmost importance for him..a woman is teased whr ever she goes,,no matters wtever she wears,,she is no whr secure..always seen as a object for amusement by men,,is this the life of a women..
i ask u this QUESTION-Is this the life of a woman?
yuva parliament III ,,chose this issue 'Eve Teasing'
and man it rocked..we were successful in atleat making people aware
about the laws related to it,the true status of woman in the society..she also has a dignity,self respect,and not an object to entertain others,nt a peice to be teased at,,
the team of We Volunteer was successful,and now is workin 4ward to start the project like dat of Blank Noise,,presentations for school children,,self help classes for girls,,to tell them to how to tackle the road side ROMIOS,,nd commentators..

CHEERS!!! to the team of We Volunteer..especially our President..and thank you to all the alumni members for their Wishes..
keep up the good work

Thanx to- krish 'fish'

Roshini At A ScHooL For BLind Kidz

Today was a perfct day for me ...it had to b coz the strt was so
awwwwwwwwwwwesomeeeeeee :) I was all alne in BLIND SCHOOL ....ws alne coz
excitement mein i landed ther bfre time ;) I was really early i guess coz i
hd to wakeup the grlz in grlz hostel...i becme their didi jus in 5 minsss.
..v wtched tv 2gether...Voice of India shw ....sme fan following man!!! n
woopz hogayaaa thy had examz frm monday grlzzz here wer very disciplied had
to study so coludn't join us in hall.

Chalo i head 2 the hall n here Manish,Aman,Neha,Andi wer alrdy interactin wth the
boyz.V had a special Chotu Guest'NONU' Neha's brther...he was reaaally nonu.
Sab ka intro liya ...humsab ne bhi apna intro diya ...n all of a sudden v all
turned into didi's n bhaiya's which was a total joy 2 be ...especially me
bein the youngest in family ...hardly get u hear Didi, n frm sch angelzz was
toh a complete joyy :D :D

Kya Karien kya karien ....karna hai kuch kaam...toh shuru karo antaksharii
...yup yup wohi kiyaaa ...v strted wth antaksharii ...whch went on to boys
singin their fvrte sngzz ...punjabi was in demand .....n choclates khayiii
...gappe bhi marii ...evry volunteer alwyz findz a fvrte kid to chat wth
...yahaan bhi wohi hua ...evry1 was busy chattin ....me 2 me 2 maaroed
gaappaz wth Dinesh n Amanvirrrrrrrrrrr :) .....he realy pronounced it wth mre
stresss on vir ...n yes by the end of the event i knew it ...he was a
vir.Remember ths nme u gonna hear mre abt him ...N Dinesh was a cute shy boi
:) who also sang 4 all of us ...BOI'S hve their examz later...n thy all
prepared for it ...amazin confidence yaaar!!!

Get Exctedd ...v cmin to the Best Part ....Kricket ..yo!!! I lke it wth a 'K'
yaar :p Two teams New zEALAND V/S Australia ......India ne kal hi naak katvaaii thi
...so no1 wanted 2 b India ...awwwwwww maybe nxt tme :)Ankita & Navneee ..thy
really wanted an Indian Team naaa...

Did The thght cross ur mind these kids r Blind ...n v all wer playin Cricket
here ....i Tld u v had sme stars here ...infact all wer Starsss :) It was
amazin to c thm maaro shotzz ....yes the ball had sme particles in it which made a special noise ..jisse thy managed their sachin type shot ...yeah here cmez Amanvirrr ...he was r
liltle sachin ...wht shotzz man ...amazinn ....volunteers toh bas audience
ban ke reh gaye ..thy wer playin so gudd ......Andi & Manish wer the rival
captainzz ...Krish was r commentator :) Whch team won...ths wld b revealed in
r nxt blog ...:) so dn miss it ...haha match ended well ....v shared tofees
amngst the kidsss n volunteeerzzz ...n it was buh byeee time :( can i get saddd
???

So ths was my sunday fUNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDAAYYYYYYYYYYYY :) now me zombieee itz
lke 2.45 am ...n i need sme sleepp ...so gudniteyyyyyyyyyyy

KaVaLJeET

zOMbIe :)

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It ws a GREAt eFfort guys!!!!!!!!!!!!
i hv nvr been a part of such kinda thng earlier...........wen kaval msg me abt dis dat day i thot i wud definitely go thr bt 2day wen i got up in d mrng i ws feelin lyk to go nowhr..........as i got a sunday aftr a longgggggggg longgggggggg tym n lyk always i ws confused......."JAON KI NA JAON" n atlast i dcided to go..........
n wen i went thr it ws realy gud...........one chotta sa bacha ws singin a realy gud pbi song.............n krish fish ( 2day we got a new name 4 krish....hahaha) ws lyk d pesrn hu'l sing a song wud get a chocolate...........bt d bst singer awrad goes to "PREM" ..............he sung realy wel..................al othrs were also amazin......... n tbi krish said ki nw deepika wud sing..........arrey m to nt evn a bathroom singer..............bachon ko bhagna to ni tha na!!!!!!!!!! so muje chocolate nhi mili.............vry bad na.......:) bt last me i got 2 toffees.........hahaha
n d best thng ws cricket..........ina njoy to india pakistan k match me ni kia hoga maine jitna wahan kia..............bacha log were really gud............spcly wo sachin tendulkar n dat guy jo kisi ko b battin ni de rha tha............dey played a gud ckt ...........i think 1st team mange to score arnd 40..........muje b battin chaiye thi bt kisi ne len i ni di...........

hey wahan pe waise to sbi bacha log mere frn the bt i made 1 spcl frn.........dats vikrant.........thoda chup chup tha bt wen i talked to him na he ws realy nice..........usne muje ek acha sa pbi song b sunaya..........n he told me abt his frns n family..........it ws a grt xperience talkin to dem n spendin sm quality tym wid dem........frns ke sath v daily share our lifes bt wid dem is totaly different n really gud............
nw at d end of d day m thinkin it ws a viable decision dat i tuk............maine to khub njoy kia n khub tannin b krvai itni dhoop me.................n i lovedddddddddddddd it ppl............

dEEPikA sHaRmA :)

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me and navnee were as usual late for da event...da moment we went inside we were a bit puzzled....didn't know how to interact with those kids...this ws the first time we got a chance to be with the blind ... bt after a while it became quite easy nd fun too..... i talked to a kid named ANUJ SHARMA... he ws good to talk to.. a huge fan of SACHIN TENDULKAR he even knew hw much did he score in the last one day...this guy from himachal pradesh was full of spirit...the best part was that the kids out there were independent enough... they did their stuff on their own without anybody's help... but unfortunately i missed the CRICKET MATCH... i really wanted to b a part of it... neways.. it was a nice and an innovative idea 2 hangout with the BLIND...for me it was a new n intresting experience....waiting for more such events to come..!!!
Ankita Jain :)

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It was such a wonderfulexperience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!unforgettable......now when i think about it..,it seems so tough to put it into fewwords....i can write a complete book about it now.They are so verycooordinated.....they are no less then someone,infact they are the "SPECIALPEOPLE" and we need to value them.They are full of zeal and energy,alwaysready to mingle with new people.,we met them as strangers but now theyare a part of our friend circle already.I am looking forward to seethem again!!!!!!!!!!

Sonal Kapoor :)

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Rakhi celebrations with our LITTLE ANGELS

by Ravneet





I arise in d morning torn between a desire to improve the world, and a desire to enjoy the world, well this makes it hard to plan aday....lolzzrakhi isnt just all about tying a thread and getting the money!surelymore than that.!but this was not the perception that these kids had........ Ask themabout the day, the answer starts from tying the thread to having rupees 20/- or more..A thought then came, to why not celebrate rakhi with these kids..


On monday, 27th of august, we went to pustak.. a small school in sec 25 opened by an NGO.. The event started off with a little story kinda intro about the whole affair of rakhi.. We saw many enlightened faces.. :-)


As far as the competetions we had 2.. Card making and rakhi making..Well looking at the prizes kids were oh so motivated..!! A lot of zealcould be seen surely through the consequences..!Prizes made all happy in the end followed by a little treat....A happy rakhi we had....!! :-) :-) :-)To waken interest and kindle enhusiasm is a sure way to teach easilyand successfully...!! :-) :-)

“Rakhi Celebrations”

Organizing Team : Ravneet, Neha and Aman

Volunteers Present: Ravneet, Neha, Aman,Navnee, Ankita

YUVA PARLIAMENT 2nd Session-The Youth wants to BAN TOBACCO

Hey guys ,after a successful first session , we had an awesome 2nd session of “YUVA PARLIAMENT" on 28july, 2007. Majority of people were from the age group of 18 to 25. There was a discussion on cause and effect of Tobacco.This time , YP was supported by BURNING BRAIN SOCIETY and CHANDIGARH ADMINISTRATION.The session stated with a movie clippings on the use of tobacco in the films and media. The actors in the movies deliberately flash the cartons and cigarette cases to display the brand logos and names. Surprisingly, most of them claim to be “Socially Responsible Citizens”. This was followed by presentations, discussions and debates on various issues relating to tobacco abuse, facts and misconceptions.A lot of prominent personalities of the likes of Toursium director Vivek attray, who was a guest of honour , G.S Channi a theatre personality and V.N singh ,director of museum, also participated in session
It was a planned and organized parliament which knew everything ie we started the interaction with discussion then cause and effect, and with solution(action plan on the issue).Sushma and Rekha, two school girls from Morni – a village in Haryana about 35 km from our Chandigarh, attended the session to give a rural perspective over the issue. We all got to know that the awareness about the danger and lethal consequences of tobacco was growing in urban areas; people in rural areas remain ignorant of the possible outcome.Youngsters also discussed why tobacco should remain a legal product for consumption.SOME SHOCKING FACTS, WHICH THE YOUTH PARLIAMENT GOT TO KNOW:Indian govt indirectly gives subsidy to biddi,( yes , biddi …which is mainly sold in the villages and also by lower income group in cities)The total revenue generated (only revenue ,not net profit of companies ) is 5000 crore but the health infrastructure and spending to combat the diseases from the tobacco ,costs the Indian government more than 5000 croreThere was also debate that when net loss occurred from tobacco industry goes into govt revenue/ expenditure account, then why for just a handful of people as compared to the masses, the governments keeps this item as a legal product.Do they know that every year 10 lakh people die due to the harmful effects of taking tobacco?

YP concluded with creative action plans, where all groups decided to take initiatives with their skills to make people aware about detrimental effect of tobacco.The initiative of action plan taken by groups shall be made public during the next session of youth parliament in September.

YUVA PARLIAMENT

Second Session

28th July, 2007 (Saturday)

10 AM to 1 PM

Art Gallery Museum, Sector 10, Chandigarh

Entries Open!!

Apply at yuvaparliament@gmail.com

Yuva Parliament - First ever time in Chandigarh !

Continuing on the objective of ‘Changing Mindets’ & ‘Initiating Volunteerism’ amongst the Youth of today, We Volunteer has initiated a concept named Yuva Parliament for the first time in the city.

Yuva Parliament, is a platform for the youth of Chandigarh to come together and

Connect - Discuss - Formulate

action plans on how the youth can impact the society.The first session was held on 29th June, 2007 at Punjab Kala Bhawan.

The idea behind Yuva Parliament is to bring together the youth from sundry domains and provide them with a common forum where they can share their views and opinions on the most imperative issues in Chandigarh and also formulate methodologies to work collectively to alleviate the problems.
The basic idea lies in letting the particpants decide how they can impact the society in their own ways, using their own areas of interest or profession.
So, to create a CHANGE you need not wear a khadi-kurta, carry a jhola & set off to the slums. Society can be impacted in a lot many other ways & that’s what We Volunteer is working on, to redefine what people call “Social Work” !

For the first session, the major umbrella domains were,

> Performing and Visual arts
> Creative arts
> Media
> Sciences
> Activism
> Miscellaneous

85 participants from the above domains were present at the first session. Youth Icons, like Dr. Gaurav Chabbra (spearheading an NGO called Hum Log in Chandigarh and also winner at the WHO short film awards, for his film titled “MudCake”, Mr Gaurav Gaur, a leading social activist in Chandigarh were present at the session.
The session had an NGO Resource Panel chaired by the heads of various progressive NGOs in Chandigarh. The chair comprised of Col. Bedi (YTTS), Mr. Bhullar(Educare), Mrs Harleen Kohli(CEVA), Mr Ajit Tomar(a leading RTI activist from Burning Brains Society).

The first session started with an open house discussion on the impending issues that are affecting the society today.Issues related to Depression problems in youth, Slum Education, HIV/AIDS, child beggars, and environment formed the crux of the debate.

The second stage of the session comprised of the youth being divided amongst teams based on their areas of interest, that were Performing & Creative Arts, Activism, Helath & Sciences & Media. The teams chose their own issues , brainstormed on them, discussed & then formulated Action Plans to find solutions to these issues.
It was really an interesting view to see the youth being so actively involved in the discussion & formulation, being eager to contrubute their share.
The last stage was the presentation of the Action Plans formulated by all teams, one by one, to the dignitaries present there as well as the parliament. The parliament was open to suggest any modifications for the plans or to offer any help with the resources the teams would be needing during the execution of the plans. The projects were critically analyzed by the dignitaries. The dignitaries proposed to provide support and resources for the projects of the youth.

The parliament session was declared closed after a small presentation on Volunteerism 2.0, which is all about redefining how people take the term Social Work.

Not a complete instantaneous impact, but “a Perfect Start” is what we could call it. The work for next session has already begun. Its going to get BIGGER & BETTER each time.

“CHANGE INITIATED”