Indian Sisters

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noreply@blogger.com (ATMT Team) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:39:00 +0000

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noreply@blogger.com (ATMT Team) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:10:00 +0000

Recently we started thinking about offering at our office premises

1.Family counseling and Guidance

2 Job Placements for women and girls in the slums.

Many women and girls become aware of our office premises and the work we are doing as women for women. They are interested to approach us and talk to us. Often this is th first chance they have had to be completely open about their life or family situation and their problems. It is a real relief for them!

The Job Placement scheme we want to run in cooperation with one of our projects, Karuna Computer Education Centre. We will look for other Trusts or NGOs who can place girls and young women from slums or poor economic backgrounds -even placements for women who have been in trouble with the Law.

The Karuna Computer Education Centre – a pioneering project

noreply@blogger.com (ATMT Team) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:57:00 +0000

Viashali answers questions about the Karuna Computer Institute.

What made you want to start this project?

We wanted to give the benefits of computer literacy to girls. It is now an IT world, and if they do not get access to IT skills, this is a lack in their education. We started with girls from the local hostel.

What sort of things do you teach in the Institute?

Most of the slum students are totally unfamiliar with the computer. Sometimes they are afraid to touch the keyboard. So that's why we start with basic fundamental knowledge of computers and an introduction to basic MS office. When they are interested in further courses, we teach them an accounts package and DTP, leading to a state government recognised qualification.

How do the slum children manage with computer programs being in English?

We provide them with study material and teach them in their native language, Marathi. Some of the students are from a Muslim background and we teach these students in Hindi. But we tell them that all the literature for computers is in English, so you must try to learn some English for computers. But while teaching them we use their mother tongue. All children in India are now learning some English but often the standard is not very high. So this year we will offer English classes in the computer Institute.

The Institute has expanded to be working with more than just the hostel girls. What is your main goal now?

The main social goal of the Institute is to concentrate on other slum students especially women, because they are still socially oppressed. Their family situation and social conditions are difficult, resulting in low levels of confidence. Because of lack of skill they miss out on good job opportunities. Through this computer course, they will get important skills and develop independence.
We are now including not just the hostel girls (80 girls), women and children from the slums but also boys from a neighbouring hostel.

Introducing the Dhammajyoti team

noreply@blogger.com (ATMT Team) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:27:00 +0000

The Dhammajyoti team of seven women has been operating for the last three years, taking the Buddha-Dhamma out of Maharashtra to other Indian states and to more remote rural areas. What does the team say about this important work.

Jnanajyoti: Through the Dhammajyoti team, I am able to reach many different areas throughout India, where many women are in difficulties. I want to know the difficulties of these women and I want to help them.
Vijaya: Most important is self development. We are helped by teamwork to learn about our own nature and our habits. And through this we can help the situation of other Indian women: village women and women from other states. Cultural conditioning may be different but we have a common goal - we are doing very good work. We can help women come out from their situation. I love my project!
Sraddhajyoti: Through the Dhammajyoti team I am trying to fulfil Dr Ambedkar's dream. I am able to visit many different Indian states and especially helping women. I am very happy to do this.
Vajrasuri: My joy is working with our team, developing our programmes, our friendships, supporting one another. We develop ourselves in order to take the Buddha-Dhamma to Indian women, moving out of the cities into the villages and further. We are encouraging other women who need this confidence, through the Buddha-Dhamma which says everyone can gain enlightenment.
Vimalasuri: Because of the Dhammajyoti project we are spreading the Dhamma, we are working for Dr Ambedkar's movement, we are fulfilling Bhante Sangharakshita's dream to help Indian women
Karunamaya: Through working together as a team, we are able to achieve much more than working alone. Our teaching can move beyond just words and we aspire to exemplify what we are trying to teach. So many women have not had much opportunity to experience the Buddha- Dhamma. You can't separate the so-called spiritual and the social, they are really one.
Tarahridaya: It's a platform where we can develop ourselves, spiritually, emotionally, the whole personality. We are learning to work as a team. We are reaching different kinds of women in different parts of India. We are learning about their culture and understanding their pain. In some ways this work is our small effort to relieve their pain. We are offering the opportunity for women to develop their spiritual lives - more opportunity than was there in the past. In summary it is the Bodhisattva's work.*

Domestic violence in India

noreply@blogger.com (ATMT Team) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:04:00 +0000

Last October’s new legislation against domestic violence addresses a wide spread problem in India. BBC South Asia research reported:
1. Overall, a crime against women is committed every three minutes in India.
2. ‘We have been trying for long to protect women from domestic violence. In India alone, around 70% of women are victim of these violent acts in one or the other form’, said Renuka Chowdhury, Junior Minister for women and child development.
3. A survey by the International Institute for Population Studies showed 56% of Indian women believed wife beating to be justified in certain circumstances. The reasons varied from going out without the husband’s permission to cooking a bad meal.”
Many of us involved in the Arya Tara Mahila Trust have frequently met women who have to endure ongoing violence in their marriages. This abuse occurs across the different social strata in India. There is much fear, shame and insecurity around this matter. Most women will only reluctantly speak about it because of economic dependence and the fear of l losing access to their children.

ATMT’s response

THE FIRST PHASE
From December the ATMT started a training programme with a Canadian NGO to empower young women to face challenging and potentially violent situations arising in many homes. We anticipate that from these courses at least one woman will emerge as a trainer for other women (perhaps becoming the basis of a new right livelihood, working in the area of domestic violence).
THE SECOND PHASE
Working with Indian legal advisors in women’s rights, ATMT plans a programme of advocacy and counselling.
To continue this important programme we need funds to pay training costs and also travelling expenses of women attending the courses.
Each training course will cost the ATMT Rs.46,000 (approx. £600 or US $1000). If you can support this project, please contact us on atmt@vsnl.net

The Training so far ……..

We interviewed one of the participants in this training. We were advised not name the participants, as in the past some of the women have been violently attacked for attending the training programmes.
Editor: How is this training useful to you and other women?
P: We look at how to protect ourselves and how to teach this to others. We need to concentrate on our mind. We were told that 98% of women know that they are in trouble but that they cannot hear their inner voice. We need to identify what is happening both inside and outside so that we can protect ourselves.
Editor: So it’s not just like learning physical moves in karate but it’s about mental states as well?
P: Yes, we learn both. We learn some physical moves but we look at our mental attitude, too. We have also been trained in non-violent communication techniques.
Editor: What are your impressions of the course?
P: It is good for women. After doing this training I feel very confident and I wish all women could learn it.

noreply@blogger.com (ATMT Team) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:42:00 +0000

Young women's empowerment project.
Arya Tara Mahila Trust celebrates this new project and welcomes Karunaprabha and her team to the Trust. The Vishrantwadi project is based in five slums in the Vishrantwadi area, Pune. The project is for teenage girls from 11 to 20 years of age who either go to school or have dropped out for some reason. We are including aspects of personality development, helping to develop self-confidence, negotiation skills, communication skills and also vocational courses so that they will be able to earn something and develop confidence about life. The vocational training will include computer training and basic office skills so that they can get work in situations such as doctors’ dispensaries or hospitals.

In a recent Pune University survey, 89% of girls/young women living in slum areas were found to be suffering from anaemia. Our project arranges anaemia detection camps for the girls and then provides treatment. We will also organise sessions designed to change behaviour in the area of nutrition.

We work with girls and young women including young married girls and we chose this group because if the woman is educated about health and nutrition, then her whole family becomes more effective. If a healthy mother gives birth to a healthy child then the whole family and community benefits.

Pune is a fast-growing city, with many new shopping malls and IT parks but in this big city, there are also many slums and those people are not getting good medical services from the city authorities. Something like 40 to 45% of Pune’s people are slum dwellers.

The project is mostly funded by the Karuna Trust, UK and we have donations from an Australian charity called Bodhi. But we would like to expand the project because there are many other girls/young women in other slums who would benefit. If we can get more funding for that we can expand the programme to all the girls in Pune slums.

Activities and Projects

noreply@blogger.com (ATMT Team) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:42:00 +0000

Education and child welfare

ATMT staff support project workers who run hostels for girls and for boys and give access to education in calm, caring living conditions.

Training is provided for hostel wardens, carers and teachers.
A new computer institute run by women focuses on computer education for women and children from the hostels and from slum areas.

Medical facilities

ATMT members provide mentoring and capacity building training for women workers in Pune's slum areas. These women are involved in:

outreach work where local community workers befriend and advise families in their area
leprosy, HIV/AIDS, anaemia and TB clinics offer diagnosis and treatment

public health and health awareness programmes educate communities and work against superstition and ignorance

vaccination, eye and dental check up and treatment camps.

Creating sustainable livelihoods

We aim to encourage the growth of existing projects and to support new initiatives through the work of the Arya Tara Mahila Trust, for example:

Small business development e.g. screen-printed greetings cards and small-scale manufacturing projects based on the idea of 'fair-trade'.

The Buddha-Dhamma and Women in India

noreply@blogger.com (ATMT Team) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:42:00 +0000

Re-establishing the Buddha-Dhamma in India

For more than 700 years, Buddhism had virtually died out in India, the land of its origin. In 1956, following the conversion to Buddhism of the great leader Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, millions of Indian people began to follow the Buddha-Dhamma. After his sudden death a short time after the conversion, the new Buddhist movement was left leaderless, without direction.

This situation led to the formation in the late 1970’s of Trailokya Boudha Mahasangha Gana (TBMSG) whose members since that time have been teaching the Buddha-Dhamma, running meditation and study retreats, encouraging and training men and women to teach the Dhamma to others.

The work of TBMSG has encouraged the growth of the Dhamma throughout Maharashtra and into other states in India. With its emphasis on education and social change, TBMSG has helped many people to escape from the prejudice and inequalities of the Hindu caste system. Now many more millions of people from all caste backgrounds are talking of conversion to Buddhism.
Under the auspices of TBMSG, the Arya Tara Mahila Trust (ATMT), a new trust run by women, has been established to address specifically the difficulties faced by women in India today. The members of ATMT are actively engaged in teaching and promoting the Buddha-Dhamma to Indian women.

After the conversion to Buddhism of Dr BR Ambedkar, many millions of those formerly known as "untouchable" in the Indian caste system converted to Buddhism under his leadership. To be born an "untouchable" literally meant that even the touch of such a person was considered to pollute a caste Hindu. This prejudice led to persecution and even violence. The most menial and degrading work had for centuries been assigned to this community and opportunities for education and social change were rare.

The situation for Buddhist women in India

Because of poverty and very challenging past conditioning which reinforced feelings of inferiority, many women who have converted to Buddhism face personal and social difficulties -lack of confidence, low self-esteem, inability to take initiative.
Through the Arya Tara Mahila Trust, we are building on some 25 years of experience of humanitarian work to alleviate poverty in the social, medical, educational and economic fields for women and their families.

Our Buddha-Dhamma activities

Ongoing part time Dhamma work

Currently, nearly 50 women members of our order along with several hundred other actively involved women are engaged in teaching and supporting meditation and Buddhist study in many parts of India.

Meditation and study retreats

We offer a varied range of residential retreats for women from 2 to 10 days, (occasionally longer). These provide an excellent opportunity for women to deepen their understanding and practice of the Buddha-Dhamma in a peaceful environment away from the pressures and stress of their everyday lives.

The Dhammajyoti team is a group of seven women whose main purpose is to help run retreats, take the Buddha-Dhamma to other Indian states and to remote rural areas.

Residential women's communities

These allow women to support one another as they live and practice the Buddha-Dhamma in a residential situation.

You can help

noreply@blogger.com (ATMT Team) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:42:00 +0000

Why we need your help

Since our activities began we have helped thousands of women to change their lives. There is still much work for us to do.
For many women the cost of traveling to a Buddhist class in their city or the cost of 50 Indian Rs (just over one US dollar) per day for our retreats is beyond their means. In the past, we have found various ways to subsidise these women. However, potentially there is a huge interest and desire to learn about the Buddha-Dhamma and many more women will need financial help. We need your support to meet this demand.

In the next two years our main areas of development will be:

Taking the Buddha-Dhamma to more rural areas
Continuing to take the Buddha-Dhamma to other Indian states
Training more Indian women to be able to teach and promote the Buddha-Dhamma
Developing more residential women's communities
Building a project to help women deal with domestic violence
Beginning more small business development building financial sustainability for the Arya Tara Mahila Trust and providing livelihoods for women in poverty
further development of our hostel warden training programme and the possibility of new hostels
health awareness training especially in the area of sexual health/HIV/ AIDS
the development of an increasing number of micro finance savings groups for women
launching another computer institute
the development of a team of women to initiate and advise new social/economic projects

A women's retreat centre for India

Currently we are using retreat facilities managed and run by teams of men. We would like to be able to offer more retreats for women and to give some women the opportunity to live in the residential community which would oversee the running of the centre.

Many Indian women live in cramped and noisy living situations, sometimes several families to one small hut. For these women, coming on retreat in a peaceful and beautiful setting is a respite from the difficulties of everyday life.

We are looking to raise US$250,000 to begin developing this vision for Indian women. We ask you to help in whatever way that you can.

How you can help us

For more information, please contact us at:

Arya Tara Mahila Trust
Flat 3, Aan Residency,Survey no.32

Vidaya Nager,(Tingre Nager Road no.14)

Pune 411-032, INDIA

E-mail: atmt@vsnl.net , atmtrust@gmail.com
or GOOGLE arya tara mahila trust
Phone: +91(0)20 6524 9960
Web address: http://www.indiansisters.org/

How your money will be spent

To help us to support a child in a hostel for one-month costs 800 Indian Rs (US$18)
A three-month course in basic computer skills for a woman or child from the slums costs 1400 Indian Rs (US$32)
Monthly payment of one health worker costs 5000 Indian Rs (US$112).

You can contribute by filling in this form:

FWBO (Dhammaloka) Standing Order and Gift Aid Form

The most convenient method for making donations to FWBO (Dhammaloka) is by standing order. Please complete the form in full and return it to FWBO (Dhammaloka), c/o Turanya, Windhorse Evolution, 9 Coldhams Business Park, Norman Way, Cambridge, CB1 3LH. We will then forward it to your Bank.

If you wish your donation to be used for a specified purpose or transferred to a specific Dhammaloka partner in India, please advise us in writing. We will endeavour to honour your request and will contact you if there are any problems. We will not forward your mandate to the bank until these are resolved.
Additionally, UK taxpayers can increase the value of their donations through a Gift Aid declaration without incurring any extra costs to themselves, by completing the Gift Aid declaration at the bottom of this form. This applies to gifts of any amount or any duration, but you must pay income tax or capital gains tax equal to the tax we can claim. If you choose to give through this method, please ensure that both parts of the form are signed and returned. Thank you. For more information please call Turanya 01223 868568, or Lokabandhu 01458 281750 or 07852 281750.

Our website is www.dhammaloka.org
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Standing Order Mandate

To the Manager………………………………………………………...……(Your Bank’s Name)

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Please pay The Co-Operative Bank, P.O. Box 250, Delf House, Southway, Skelmersdale WN8 6WT,
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To support an essential administrative worker costs 5000 Indian Rs (US$112).

Contact us

noreply@blogger.com (ATMT Team) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:42:00 +0000

ATMT Contact Details

Arya Ta Mahila Trust
Flat 3, Aan Residency,
Survey no 32,Vidya Nager (Tingre nager road no.14) Pune -411032 India

Email:atmt@vsnl.net atmtrust@gmail.com
http://www.indiansisters.org/
or GOOGLE arya tara mahila trust
Phone: +91(0)20 6524 9960, 65003465