Dear Friends :

Welcome to the second issue of the GOONJ.. newsletter.

April was a month of new initiatives for us.
The big one is work taken up to channelise as a resource over 100 trucks load of unutilized cloth donated for Tsunami, lying unused in the Tamil Nadu government godowns.

Our talks with AWWA (Army Women's Welfare Association) has made GOONJ’s entry possible in many more inaccessible parts of India through the Indian Army- extending a relationship begun with joint work in Jammu and Kashmir.

GOONJ.. is getting better at disaster preparedness with the RAHAT- FLOODS launched in April itself for collection of relief material and directing it to flood prone areas well in advance.

Before I go into other highlights of the month I have a thought to offer, especially to the women among you.

Have you ever thought how women in the poorest parts of the country deal with their
monthly periods? Remember one can go without food for a day but not without a piece of cloth during periods. While working towards making cloth a matter of concern we discussed this issue in many villages with hundreds of women and found out about some very disturbing practices. Stretched as they are for the basic needs, expenses on a sanitary napkin is unthinkable. They end up using the dirtiest and possibly the most useless cloth available in the house. After washing it they even reuse that dirty piece, which perhaps causes various diseases in their lives. I am keen to know your thoughts and experiences on this issue. GOONJ.. is in the process of developing a very low cost sanitary napkin made out of used cloth. For this, we immediately need large quantity of old/new cotton bed sheets & soft cotton clothes, cotton & financial support.

• GOONJ launches ‘RAHAT FLOODS 2005 ’-
  Floods in some parts of India are an annual feature during the monsoons, happening every year, but yet not considered a disaster. In 2002, GOONJ.. initiated Rahat Floods - an initiative to provide relief to people affected by this annual disaster. This year too we started the campaign in April itself. In these past years, we have been working in the worst affected villages/ districts of Assam, Bihar & West Bengal with our existing network of local NGOs, social activists and Ashoka Fellows.

  Our appeal - Without waiting for the monsoons to arrive or floods reports to appear in the papers, Please support this initiative to help us reach relief well in advance. We may save some people from becoming just a statistic in the death toll.
  Rahat -Floods

• Un-utilised Tsunami cloth for the needy
  We all know that the entire country generously donated clothes and other material for the Tsunami victims in Tamil Nadu. What most of you don't know is that a lot of this cloth, which was not suitable given the weather etc is lying in huge godowns of the Tamil Nadu government. GOONJ.. approached them to channelise this cloth to the needy across the country. Given GOONJ 's track record and credibility in the successful use of cloth as a resource, this proposal has been accepted. We have a massive task of sorting and packing of more than 100 truck load of material.
  We need support in terms of manpower, transportation and finances to make use of this huge resource.
  
  
• Supporting Kashmiri migrants -
  
  Most of you are aware that every year thousands of Kashmiri migrants temporarily shift to Delhi & other areas during the severe winters and go back once the snow melts.
  They live in some of the most unhygienic and pathetic conditions at Shastri Park in Delhi near sewage lines with limited employment opportunities due to their short stay. GOONJ..with the help of volunteers, has been supporting them for the last few years with essential items like dry rations, clothing, blankets etc. This year till April alone GOONJ.. provided 3 TATA 407 full load of necessary material.
  
  
  
  
• April touched 12000 kg mark -
  
  In the month of April GOONJ has been able to dispatch over 12000 kg of sorted material to various states.
  
• SCHOOL to SCHOOL -
  
  Most of you may be aware of this initiative introduced last year, having won world-wide recognition after winning CHANGEMAKER's INNOVATION AWARD this year. Our aim is to motivate urban schools who can not only dispose off their under-utilized school material and save the environment but in the process give a rural school student an opportunity to realize his dream of schooling.

  Many new schools have joined this initiative and we are targeting many
  dispatches immediately after the summer breaks are over. One case we are particularly proud of- Panchayat Union School (secondary level) is in Kuthambakkam -a village in Tamil Nadu, headed by Mr. R. Elango, an Ashoka Fellow. After two years of sustained efforts by Goonj and Mr. Elango, now about 600 students of three schools have similar school uniforms and everyone now has a mat to sit on, developed by GOONJ.. out of waste cloth.
  More support is required to make this happen in many other village schools across the country. We also require material like fans, old bicycles etc. to provide to these schools and students.
  

  Most of the rural schools can't afford furniture or mats. GOONJ.. has developed School mats ( Asanas & pattis ) out of waste cloth which are washable and very handy.
  This is an oppurtunity for everyone, who feels strongly about this to make an impact. You can sponsor these mats for one entire school at a cost of Rs. 3,000/- to Rs. 5,000/- .
  Here are some pictures of a school in Uttaranchal, which recently got mats from us, sponsored by a well-wisher.
  The image on the left is of a school in Baflia block in Kashmir, which got water bottles and stationery, collected from an urban school in Delhi.
  
  
• Major Dispatches-

  We’ve dispatched about 12000 kgs of material to various remote areas including some local NGOs of Delhi & NCR in the month of Arpil 2005.

  Serial No.	Date of dispatch	Name of Organisation	No. of Bags
  1	9/04/05	Gram Vikas Parishad , assam	100
  2	9/04/05	Kuthambakkam Panchyat, Tamil Nadu	14
  3	13/04/05	The Necard, Assam	50
  4	13/04/05	Harijan Adivasi Mahila Kendra, Bihar	40
  5	16/04/05	Pragati Sevayatn Kendra , Bankura, West Bengal	50
  6	16/04/05	L.N. Mishra College of Business Management, Muzaffarpur, bihar	50
  7	30/04/05	Center for Rural Development , Guwahati, Assam	125

Immediate requirements - ·

• Given the growing scale of operations we urgently need two computers and printers to manage our work more effectively.
• Volunteers and financial support for taking care of trucks loads of unutilised clothes in Chennai.
• Financial support for our initiative of developing sanitary napkins out of
  waste cloth.
• Support for RAHAT- FLOODS & SCHOOL to SCHOOL.
• Commitment from 5000 people for their old newspapers and magazines

Please log on to the VVolunteers Page get a list of activities in which your participation as a volunteer can play a critical role in the effective implementation of these activities.