Celebrating 10 Years

January, 2008 Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon '08 We had a great time at this year's international marathon, both on and off the route. There were several runners from our projects, covering all three main events - marathon, half marathon and Dream Run. We also had several runners who raised pledges on behalf of Saathi, notably Suchitra Krishnamoorthy and Franzisca who both participated as part of the Dream Team, Tejgouri Mirje who ran the half marathon, and Corporate Challenge teams from KPMG and Transocean. As always, one of our team members also added some masala with a fancy dress. March, 2008 - Update on funds raised Through the support of all those who ran and/or gave pledges, a total of Rs 16,03,600 was raised for Saathi through SCMM 08!  Thanks to everyone who contributed!

May, 2008 Juvenile Justice Act Training expanded to other issues As mentioned in a previous "What's New" item, Saathi began conducting training for the Railway Protection Force constables in October, 2007. At the same time, it began similar training for the Government Railway Police personnel. The training with both groups has continued and now covers not only the JJ Act, but also issues of anti-trafficking and the Anti-Trafficking Act, handling children's and youths' railway accident cases, ways to spot and approach a child on his/her own, and similar topics related to protection of vulnerable groups.

May, 2008 Outbound Trainees now Graduates and available for hire Over the past few years, we have chronicled the progress of the youths participating inn the Outbound Professionals vocational training program. We are proud to present these trainees as "Graduates", having participated in Saathi's in-house training program, achieved diplomas through Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in both Basic and Advanced Mountaineering, as well as workshops in wilderness First Aid, ecological sensitivity, and related topics. The group has been Apprenticing on camps under strict supervision and has now passed out with commendations by industry veterans. They are available to facilitate technical aspects of camps through sites developed by them or with organization's having their own camp sites. Call M. Inam at +91 (22) 2300 9117 for details

March, 2008 Saathi has grown! As we finish the 2007-08 financial year, we look at how the organization has grown to meet the many facets of the work being addressed. In this year, we added 13 team members to raise the total Human Resources of the organization to 43 people. The coming year will continue to see similar growth. This growth is part of a planned strategy to tackle issues from several angles and via multiple routes - from hands-on work on the streets to policy intervention and advocacy campaigns.

June, 2008 Saathi Internship aligned with Wake Forest University Over the years, Saathi has hosted many interns - over 30! - from around the world. They have come through placement organizations, as individuals, and via fellowships. This month, we host our first intern who has come directly through an internship slot developed in partnership with a university. Cameron Carter, an MBA student at Wake Forest University's Babcock School of Business (North Carolina, USA) will be with us in to August, 2008, and will be working primarily with our Kria Income Generation Programs as well as Administrative systems such as Human Resources.

   

April, 2008 Moving on to the world of Professional Runners In 2007, Laldev, a participant in Saathi's projects, was heralded for finishing 50th out of thousands in the Mumbai Marathon Half Marathon event. In 2008, he ran in the Full Marathon and finished 78th out of 4,000 runners at 4' 15". It is apparent to his coach and all of us cheering him that he has the potential to be a Professional Runner.  Ramesh, a fellow participant who has started running in this year has already start showing the same level of talent and commitment to the sport. Saathi is committed to finding sponsors for them to pursue this very realistic dream. If you would be interested in sponsoring Laldev or Ramesh, call Mohd. Inam on our office line at +91 (22) 2300 9117.