My visit to Saakshar will come to an end in a couple of days and I wanted to share a selection of pictures from the four Saakshar schools and their communities taken during the last week. Everyone here is full of enthusiasm for their work and for the future, and the children are working hard. They have all taken end of year exams over the last two weeks and will get their results at the end of the month.

Ralph Williamson, Saakshar School Appeal trustee, is in Delhi until March 27th, visiting the four Saakshar schools. During his visit he will have consultations with parents about the challenges they face and hopes they have for their children, and he will interview and photograph some of the children as they go about their learning. The pictures here were taken on the first day of his visit, at a craft workshop for children at Saakshar 1, in Mahavir Enclave. 

Saakshar trustee Ralph Williamson will be visiting Saakshar again in March, thanks to the support of Christ Church, Oxford.

The 'Fit For a Queen' concert took place at Christ Church on April 23rd and was a great success, with approximately 200 people attending in support of Saakshar's work, to hear the Cambridge Chamber Consort sing a programme which celebrated the 60th birthday of Queen Elizabeth.

I have been visiting VVF's Saakshar schools for slum children this month, and write from Dwarka, SW Delhi. The visit, kindly supported by Christ Church, Oxford, was to see how Saakshar's work has been progressing over the last year.... (written by Ralph Williamson in Delhi)

A workshop on Personal Hygiene was held at Saakshar 1 on Saturday 17th of March 2012, and about twenty children came with their mothers to receive instruction on washing, cleaning their teeth and hair care. Each child was presented with a special personal hygiene kit, made up of a small case containing a toothbrush and paste, a facecloth and soap, and a hair brush or comb.... 

The Cambridge Chamber Consort

Fit for a Queen

A choral concert on the occasion of the 86th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen in aid of the Saakshar School Appeal

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford 

8pm Saturday 21st April 2012

featuring

Handel Zadok the Priest, Parry I was Glad and music by Vaughan Williams, Stanford and Paul Mealor 

The Oxford Lent Concerts, which take place in the Chapel of Queen's College, Oxford, have chosen Saakshar as one of the beneficiaries of their collections this year. The concerts feature music by Bach and illumination by Modern Icons.

Concert dates are Tuesdays March 13, 20, 27 and April 3rd at 6.15pm.
Admission to the Chapel 15 minutes before each concert. Each concert will last approximately 45 minutes.

Concerts are FREE with a Retiring Collection for Oxford Gatehouse and to the Saakshar education programme for slum children, Delhi. 

We are delighted to report that two Oxford schools have raised over £600 between them for Saakshar's work in the last few months. Following visits and assemblies from Ralph Williamson which presented the work of Saakshar in Delhi, and emphasised the importance of education for girls, Rys St Anthony (a Roman Catholic secondary school for Girls) raised £276 at their Charity Day, and Oxford High School Junior Department (a Prep and Pre-Prep school for girls) raised £330 through a "Home Clothes" day...

It is with great sadness that we must report that Professor S.Ramachandran passed away on Saturday 25th February 2012. Professor Ramachandran was one of the founders of VVF and Saakshar, and he was both an inspiration to me, and the person who first put me in touch with Saakshar, so without him there would be no Saakshar School Appeal.