SANKALP-IN AID OF DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLE CHILDREN

Dear Kind Hearts,

Greetings from team Sankalp!

Before the year 2019 came to end, it took away our founder Chairman of the trust Dr. Balkrishna Desai. He unfortunately passed away on 26th of December due to sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 87 while he was in the US. A condolence meeting was arranged on 31st December in his memory at Sankalp where everyone paid their tribute to the departed soul. He left us with his blessings, love and fond memories. The values and ideals he taught us will always be a guiding light for us at Sankalp.

During the last quarter of the academic year 2019-20, besides undergoing their normal in-house regular training/academic/therapy sessions as per their Individual Education Plan (IEP), children also participated in following activities:

• Christmas was celebrated on 24th December with merrymaking, dancing and cake cutting by the children.
• Six of our children participated in a Talent competition organized by another NGO for developmentally challenged children on 3rd of January and they won 2nd prize in group singinng.
• Our children also took successful part in the Vadodara Marathon on 5th of January in the “Disabled category walk”.
• Festival of Kite Flying (Uttrayan) is celebrated every year in the state of Gujarat by everyone with lot of passion and gusto. Sankalp children also celebrated the same in the nearby Akota garden on 12th January. All the children enjoyed kite flying followed by lunch and everyone had lots of fun.
• India’s Republic day was celebrated by the children on 24thJanuary. They learned making national flags from paper and sang National Anthem. Special lunch along with Sweets was served to all of them after the function.
• This year Sankalp’s annual sports for its children were organized on Saturday 1st Feb at a gaming arena having artificial turf. Children participated in various Sports activities with lot of exuberance. We at Sankalp strongly believe that Annual Sports Day helps children to explore their hidden sports capabilities and talents and they enjoy a healthy competition with each other. All children very much enjoyed the fun of playing sports, the joy of teamwork, achievement of throwing a ball, hitting a target, or crossing the finish line. Everyone was delighted to see the enthusiasm and the enjoyment on the faces of children. Teachers and support staff also participated in the sports. Sports Day has left a tangible and quite a visible impact on the lives of the children. All the winning children were given prizes. The sports activities were followed by dancing and merrymaking and cake cutting for Birthday celebration of all the children born in February and lunch before returning home.
• A fundraising event has been planned on Sunday, 8th March in which the children are going to give dance, song and instrumental performance. This will be followed by a musical performance by local artists. The Police Commissioner of Vadodara has consented to be the chief guest of the evening.
• Until the next report a big THANK YOU for your support to our project. We will be updating YOU regularly & what impact YOUR donation is making in the lives of mentally/developmentally challenged children at Sankalp. We are also enclosing herewith few pictures for your perusal.
• Gratefully yours