SEED
Madras
Projects
Meeting Minutes
Date:
Nov. 23, 2003
Melli:
SEED background for new volunteers.
Karthi,
volunteer from the Karumbalaya slum. Father is
a
municipal sweeper. Ted Adams met Karthi and helped
in
funding, and played the role of a mentor.
SEED
children go to government schools. They are
alienated
etc. SEED runs a tuition center that tries
to
provide an environment where each child can explore
her
full potential. The center runs several clubs
(drama,
science etc.) which are very effective.
Children
go on excursions, local temple, Kerala etc.
Study
center caters to anyone who is interested, from
the
slum. 160 odd children. 40 children are part of a
support
a child program. Donors commit to supporting a
child
through and through in their education.
Karthi's
plan:
1.
Training government teachers
2. Etc.
Proposal:
Support
Karthi as a SEED coordinator in the short
term.
Amount: Rs. 4000-5000 per month.
Issues
with funding SEED, accounts etc.
Vote:
To fund Rs. 4500 for SEED coordinator for 1
year.
Yes: 12
No:
Abstain:
Questions:
What is his plan for the next year?
---------------------------------------------------------
Melli
Annamalai
Email
Note (from Ted Adams)
November
1st, 2001
I have
said this before, I can't help saying it again. This is the 3rd
SEED
father to die of alcohol and the 5th to die in the time I have been
associated
with SEED (about a year and a half).
The statistics are mind
boggling
and heart-wrenching and show the pressures they face. Its not
just a
question of not going to school.
(the
mail from Ted below was mainly addressed to American supporters
hence
the explanations. Selvi and Thandapani
are Ambika's sister and
brother-in-law).
Melli
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thought
you'd want to know that Ambika's father died last night. He
apparently
put his wife's Deepavali bonus to the same use as he
regularly
did with most of her salary, and the alcohol was just too
much
this time. (He's the 3rd SEED student's
father to die that way
this
year.)
Ambika's
obviously shell-shocked - no sleep, and her emotions are all
tangled
up. Selvi & Thandapani came by
overnight bus... being the
child
most abused by father's demands, Selvi showed virtually no
emotion. She's developed an inner strength that
Ambika has yet to
find in
herself, so I think it was helpful that a dozen of her SEED
female
friends surrounded her as we waited for the corpse to be taken
from
Karumbalai on a palanquin; several of them also walked her home
afterwards. (Females aren't allowed to go beyond the
neighborhood
boundary
on the way to the cremation grounds.)
Beyond
the immediacy of Ambika's turmoil and grief, we're all
concerned
about her near-term future as well.
It's very possible
that
her mother may decide to move to the Coimbatore area, where they
have
relatives from her side of the family - as well as Selvi &
Thandapani
- to help provide support (social and/or financial) for
them. (Rumor has it that father had at least one
other wife, not in
Madurai,
so there's also a chance that his family here might not get
normal
government death benefits.) Ambika's
been growing so
wonderfully
as a person in the past couple of years that we'd dearly
miss
being part of her support network if she were to go. We'll see
how
things shape up in the coming weeks, and if it seems necessary -
and
right for Ambika - we might even look for a place for her to
continue
to live here if her mother decides she needs to move
elsewhere.
I'll
keep you posted as the situation begins to sort itself out. For
now -
Ted