From The President’s Desk

(A monthly newsletter published since April 2012 by Dr. Neelima Desai and edited by Kanaka Cadambi on behalf of Navkshitij)

From Top: Celebrating Nag Panchami; Everyone in Navkshitij has received the first dose of the Covid vaccine; Launch of Miyawaki Project at Marunji

Visitors, meetings, festivities... a busy month

WE opened the month with resuming our Core Parents Meeting on August 1. We conduct this twice a year. A very important event in our calendar, here we discuss important issues that impact our Friends and their families. At the meeting, it was decided to go ahead with the plan to open our door to small groups of volunteers, and parents and siblings of special friends. A crucial part of the rehabilitation agenda includes regular interaction with mainstream society, which was sadly not possible these last few months.

On August, 4, a small group of volunteers from Alltech Biotechnology Pvt Ltd visited Marunji. This was done in coordination with Social Responsibility Group, Pune. Needless to add, our Friends were thrilled to have visitors at Navkshitij.

On August 7, we launched the Miyawaki Forest project at Marunji, in the presence of Dr. Neelima Desai and Dr. Chandrashekhar Desai. The project is being financially supported by Mr. Sameer Kelkar, CEO, Grind Master Machines Pvt. Ltd., Aurangabad. He was represented by his colleague, Mr. Siddharth.

We are happy and proud to share with you that everyone at Navkshitij has received the first dose of the Covid vaccine.

We celebrated India’s milestone 75th Independence Day at Marunji. Dr. Prakash Jadhav, Dy RTO, Mumbai, was the chief guest. Trustees Dr. Neelima Desai, Dr. Chandrashekhar Desai, Mr. Suneel Kulkarni and Mrs. Vasudha Divekar were present on the occasion. Our celebrations included a game of musical chairs and a group dance, followed by a special lunch of vegetable biryani.

August 12 and 13 were marked by festivities in preparation for and in celebration of Nag Panchami. Raksha Bandhan (on August 22) was celebrated with the usual gaiety and passion, as was Dahi Handi (on August 31). On all the festival days, we feasted on traditional delicacies such as narali bhat (Raksha Bandhan) and puran poli (Nag Panchami). Our Friends are now waiting for their favourite Ganpati festival. We also celebrated the birthdays of our August-born Friends at both Marunji and Asawali units.

Take care, stay safe.

Dr Neelima Desai

Miyawaki Forest Project at Marunji

THERE were three major steps taken in Navkshitij in August. First, we opened our doors to small groups of corporate visitors, parents, and volunteers. We also enrolled two Trainee Social Workers from Karve Institute of Social Science for a month.

The second is that we have adopted the Miyawaki Forest concept at our Marunji campus. Miyawaki is a technique pioneered by a Japanese botanist by the name Akira Miyawaki. It involves planting dozens of native species in the same area. The area becomes maintenance-free after three years. Our Friends love tending to plants. This is also a good opportunity to preserve nature and tradition. We are thankful to Mr. Sameer Kelkar from Grind Master for extending financial support for this activity.

Lastly, we have created a Children’s Corner for the children of residential staff members at Marunji. The children can now enjoy rope climbing, Zoka, see-saw, and merry-go-round, or sit in a tree house made with available resources. The children will also be introduced to traditional games such as marbles (Kancha), cards, Gutte, Lattoo (Spinning top), Nondi, Anthakshari etc. On Sundays and holidays, our Friends join the children for these fun sessions. The activities will also keep them away from television and smart phones.