Trip to Science City with the kids.

Swaroop Venkata is a sponsor for TCS READS.

While all Saturdays are celebrated by most of the IT guys by "sleeping", this Saturday was special.Because, this was the day when we had planned to go alongwith tiny tots to Science City. 3 of the non TCS READS guys went to collect the food packets and then reached the Islamiya library where the tiny tots had their school. When we reached, the TCS READS guys were already there, spending the time with the children. As a surprise, we also had people who had come from Norway, Iceland and America (though 3 of them were completely getting "baked" in the Indian Sun). The food packets were distributed. But, the excitement of going to Science City had overtaken the urge to have lunch. So, away we went!
2 of the teachers were kind enough to escort the children. All the children were
divided into groups, each TCSer being asked to manage the one of thhe groups. We took 7 taxis (courtesy ... dont remember the bhai's name). Once the cars took off, the children could be heard shouting "Driver saab! Hamara gaadi first jaana chahiye". After a short ride, we reached our destination, Science City.
While some of the guys went to buy the tickets, the remaining guys got the children to finish off their lunch. Then, the umbrellas were distributed to the children who took them and opened them to shelter themselves from the hot sun. Then, started our "Sky ride" into Science City! The excitement could be seen on their faces. This ride took us directly into Science City.
Our first destination was the Science Experiments section. Kids went hopping from one section to another.
Special attraction was the cycle pedal machine which was pushing the ball in a plastic tube up. Then, another one was the voice analyzer where the children shouted their heart out. Then, the whole group was rounded up and we took the lift. This lead us to the spiral staircase which showcased many of the scientific wonders.
The major attraction on the spiral staircase were the fishes on display. (I was fascinated with the piranhas).
Then, we moved onto the Dinosaur theme park which had excellent animatronics. Some of the children got frightened and had to told that all these were just robots.
Once we came out of the theme park, we made our move towards the Space theater. However,
this was hindered by entering into the Mirror maze. After many people banging their heads and losing the way innumerable times, finally we were able to make it out of the maze.
Space theatre, here we come! Let me tell you, this gang of tiny tots is the one of the most disciplined children I had seen. This can be proved by the fact that we did not go mad at the end of day! All the children sat patiently and lost themselves in the high quality visuals of the sea.
With our final task in our plan completed, next was the turn of the ice cream. Everyone, mainly me,
enjoyed the ice cream. Then, we took the return cab back to the school. With this, the day ended, with
everyone tired but fully rejuvenated.

- Swaroop Venkata

HR Speak......

Who says Dreams should begin with a nice sleep.I realized my dream in broad daylight.I got to see the shining faces of the futurity being nurtured at Rajabazar.I was surprised pleasantly to see what we have done to preserve the dreams of those kids and their mothers.It is essential for any organization to commit themselves to the core cause of nation building.We being the members of the respected Tata Fraternity are pioneers in that.I could see how delighted Madam(Mrs Ramadorai) was to see the seeds of Maitree that she had sowed has grown to a tree that shelters love,dreams and most necessarily smiles.Way forward our goal of the journey will be how we can bring about a change in the perspective of our industry as a whole to this call of humanity.I am certainly sure our team ably led by Shivangi,Kishan and now Saswata will defeat the adversity by scores of goals.Come what may...we have started not to stop...but to emerge victorious for the humanity and those smiles.

---Tomojeet Chakraborty

The kids' day out with Mrs Mala Ramodorai

It was a big day for TCS READS family as it was the day that Mrs Mala Ramodorai, accompanied with a few TCS dignitaries visited the kids and spent time with the kids and their teachers.
Mrs Sarmila Datta Choudhuri, who accompanied Mrs Mala Ramodorai in her visit writes a few words on her experience....

' I was immensely impressed by the spontaneity of the kids and the dedication of the teachers. Computers or just a basic awareness to face the world, the teachers are mentors ,guide and friend for those beautiful children .They have a long way to go and if all of us can contribute in whatever small way we can to enrich them,either by giving time talent or money the process will fasten up and can take a better shape. I am sure this blog will help in spreading awareness and bring closer, those who need help to those who can help. You know what , many of us are there who would love to do something but are confused as to how to go ahead.At Reads I have seen a very focused way of handling things. Was touched by the small hands pulling you to watch their performance, the sparkling eyes, the beaming smile and the ever flowing enthusiasm. The young ladies, proudly displayed their stiches and the dresses they were wearing which were made by them.I was also awe struck and humbled to see Mrs. Ramadorai's patience. Though she was having a bagful of scheduled programs and was running late, she sat through the full performance and constantly applauded the little-ones. She made some practical suggestions which showed how much she actually thought on these social activities and how deeply she was involved.My heartfelt best wishes to all of you who are willing to take this forward, with so much fervor and dedication. Wish the team and newsletter all the best ! Keep it up. '

- Sarmila Datta Choudhuri

The Evolution of TCS READS

A mail from the Kolkata CSR reached my inbox on a sultry day of July 2007 mentioning the requirement of some volunteers from TCS to go and teach the students at Rajabazar. As I was too keen on undertaking my share of responsibility in doing social reform in some form, I took the initiative promptly and visited the place the very next weekend. Kolkata was a new place for me, Rajabazar even stranger. Commuting to the place alone was not safe and even though, the cofounder of READS, Mr. Ali helped in every way he could, things remained challenging. The local mob was not very comfortable with my visits to their locality and the same got reflected in their harassments in the form of demeaning comments and lude remarks every time I went through the lanes and alleys.But the conviction in me always said - 'Hold On!! With the passage of time,they'd discover the intentions and acknowledge that this all is for their children, their future, their betterment'

Time passed on..and with the awareness campaigns of CSR Kolkata inside TCS offices, people started joining in.One, Two, Three..and the head count of volunteers increased. This eased up the process and sharing of work gave us time to think new, plan innovative and implement the best. Apart from taking classes, we started taking the kids and their parents for planned picnics where again the main purpose was to create awareness amongst the parents so that they encourage their children to take interest in studies and be regular in the classes.We conducted Food charity along with the students from foreign universities, celebrated Children's day at TCS premises and conducted umpteen number of events at all levels so as to give children an opportunity to unearth and express themselves.
Expanding our work, we started focussing on Girl education, Health and Hygiene awareness and employment generation for women. Prayas aand Sahyog emerged as two meaningful and directive umbrellas under which we tried to cover both, the children's education and funding And their mother's skill enhancement.
Apart from the financial problems we faced, it was the lack of space or accommodation that came to picture. But slowly, with some adjustments, we could carve out the space for ourselves. Soon the children became a part of our extended family. The weekends which we used to kind of waste wandering or chit chatting with friends, when utilized properly made such a huge difference to so many lives. Teaching them was and is such a contenting job .We often learn from them more than what we teach them. Seems It was rightly said by Wordsworth "The Child is father of the Man".

- Shivangi Sharma

Random Snaps

The kids busy learning to operate computers.














The kids and their teachers, associates from TCS.

FAQ

What is TCS-READS?
READS (Rajabazar Educational and Awareness Development Society) is a non profit organization that arranges sponsorship for the education of children belonging to economically backward families and also monitors their education. READS also helps women to be self dependent by arranging stitching classes for them. TCS-READS is a branch of TCS CS that works in collaboration with READS in arranging sponsors for the kids and tutoring the kids.

Who are the target audience for this initiative?
Target audiences of this initiative are mainly of two broad categories. The first category comprises of the kids belonging to economically backward families who benefit from the initiative. The second category comprises of the sponsors and the volunteers who provide the benefits to the kids.


What are the activities that take place in the TCS READS initiative?
TCS READS initiative is divided into two broad categories.
1. PRAYAS
Activities taking place in this initiative includes:
a)Sponsoring the education of one (more than one) kid(s).
b)Volunteering to tutor the kids on weekends.
There are currently 30 students being funded in this initiative. The students are from standard 1 to standard 10.
2. SAHAYOG
Sahayog helps arrange stitching classes for women. This includes arranging for stitching machine, raw materials and also faculty for the class.
There are 15 women availing this facility as of now. Aim is to help them earn a living for themselves with the skill aquired.

What are the location(s) where the classes take place?
The curent location is:
Islamiya Library (Opposite TaswirMahal Cinema Hall)
Gas Street, RajaBazar
Route direction:
Take a Karunamoyee-PhoolBagan auto From Salt Lake and reach PhoolBagan . From PhoolBagan take College Street / Sealdah bound auto and get down at Taswir Mahal Cinema. From any other place, take AJC Bose Road and reach RajaBazar junction.
Taswir Mahal is very near to that junction.

Am I eligible to be a part of this initiative?
The only criteria required to be a part of this initiative is the urge to make a difference by sponsoring a kid or volunteering to tutor them. If you have the urge, you are eligible.

Since the initiative involves teaching local children, do I need to be conversant in Bengali to be of help?
The children are mostly from Urdu Medium and Hindi-speaking. They understand little English and Bengali. So being conversant in Bengali is not necessary. You might consider learning Urdu numerical (0 to 9 ) in Urdu since the maths textbooks of the kids are in Urdu.

What is the cost of sponsoring a child for a year?
Cost of sponsoring one child for one year is Rs 1200/- only.
However, like any other kid, these kids too like many other things other than text books. And, they like visiting places other than school. All of which needs funds. Hence we welcome any donation that you might want to make in cash or kind throughout the year.

Do I get to know about the progress of the child I sponsored?
Yes. You will be mailed the report-card of the kid after every exam.

What should be the mode of payment?
You can hand over cash to any of the volunteers.
Or can do an EFT to this SBI account : SBI A/C No. 20012217092
Incase you opt for EFT, we request you to kindly mail any of the volunteers after doing the EFT.

Who do I contact to be a part of TCS-READS?
To be a part of TCS-READS drop in a mail or call any one of our volunteers:
Koyel
(Koyel Ghosh/KOL/TCS@TCS; 9331019565)
Satyasekhar
(Satyasekhar I/KOL/TCS@TCS; 09748489684)
Azim
(Azim Khan/KOL/TCS@TCS; 09903632117)
Santanu
(Santanu Gh/KOL/TCS@TCS; 9874411083)
Arpit
( Arpit Gawande/TVM/TCS; 9748265261)
Saswata
(Saswata Kar/KOL/TCS@TCS; 9432142793)

Lets give dream a chance...

.. and it's not your own dream that I am talking about. There are also numerous others who do dare to dream, but unfortunately do not have the means to fulfill those dreams.
There are countless people who go without 3 square meals a day, but who still dare to dream that their kids would be educated some day. There are numerous kids, who labour throughout the day and earn for their family, and yet dare to dream that they would attend school someday. It's their dreams that we are talking about.
Most of the time even though we are willing to help, we are not aware of the ways we can be of help. At times, with our stringent work schedules we also forget our duty to society. This compilation is a humble effort from TCS READS group to make you aware of the means by which you could help make a difference. Please go through our FAQ section. You will be surprised to know how simple it is to sponsor a child's education.
This is not a magazine, it's not a news letter either. We like to call this an archive. Through this we would like to keep all our current, could-be and would-be sponsors and volunteers informed of the activities, events and future plans of TCS READS. In short, this archive is aimed for one and all.
We also would like to hear from you. Do write to us about your views, suggestions and ideas about the initiative.
So welcome to the world of these kids. And let me warn you, these kids, with their bright eyes and winning smile are actually very addictive. Before you realize their dreams would become your own!

- Reshma Mitra (reshma.mitra@gmail.com)