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Welcome to the May 2011 edition of umeed e-newsletter. If you would
like further information on any of the topics covered then please visit www.umeedonline.com
or email us and we will be delighted to forward
it to you. |
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KNOW ARVIND KHANNA
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Hello everyone,
I welcome my well-wishers and supporters to the first edition of our monthly e-newsletter.
From political and social issues that I have been involved in to the activities of our NGO, Umeed,
this newsletter will update you on everything that has been happening in our state of Punjab.
I would like to congratulate everyone at Umeed for winning the Amodini award. The award
was conferred on our NGO for empowering underprivileged women in Sangrur district and
the adjoining districts of Punjab. This recognition of Umeed’s selfless service has given us the
impetus to work harder for the welfare of disadvantaged people in society.
Umeed also took a significant step in creating employment opportunities for Sangrur youth
with the opening of our rural BPO. Now, educated people of Sangrur will not need to step out
of the district in search of jobs.
Umeed’s awareness camps, held in collaboration with Punjab State Social Welfare Board,
Chandigarh, in five villages of Sangrur also went a long way in educating women about the need
to root out the disgraceful practice of female foeticide. The latest census report -- highlighting
the skewed sex ratio in Punjab -- was shocking. It is unfortunate that no remedial steps have
been taken to rectify the problem. We should all come together and start a movement to save
the daughters of Punjab.
This month, I distributed notebooks among primary schoolchildren. It was a delight interacting
with the children and seeing the joy on their faces as they got their stationeries.
I also attended three public rallies, along with Captain Amarinder Singh, at Samana district
in Patiala, Patti district in Tarn Taran and Talwandi Sabo. The turn-out at all the places was
stupendous, proving that our good work is being appreciated by the people.
I hope all of you will like this edition and please feel free to share your feedback, comments and
opinions on my Facebook link.
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ACTIVITIES AT UMEED
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UMEED WINS AMODINI AWARD
March 15 was a Red Letter Day for Umeed. The NGO won the prestigious Amodini award for empowering disadvantaged women in Sangrur. Sponsored by Godfrey Phillips, the award was given away at a function held at Hotel Taj in Chandigarh. The zonal award for women’s empowerment had four states – Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh – vying for the honour.
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EVENTS IN APRIL
Eleven SHGs, comprising 128 members, have been formed this month. SHGs from Rajgarh Basti, Bakhtara and Rure-ke-kalan received a loan of Rs 50,000, 15,0000, and 12,0000 respectively. This month, 29 women started income-generation activities such as dairy, stitching/embroidery and petty shops among other things.
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ACTIVITIES AT UMEED
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UMEED PRODUCTS A HIT
Crochet and embroidered products made by women at the six Umeed social and economic development centres became a hit at the Fashion Forecast’s summer fashon festival in Amritsar from April 23 to April 24. Umeed displayed products such as wine bottle covers, gift envelopes, table runners, bed throws, mats, doilies, baby blankets, feeding bottle covers, tea cozies and several other items at the festival.
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AWARENESS CAMP FOR WOMEN
Umeed, in collaboration with the Punjab State Social Welfare Board, Chandigarh, conducted awareness generation camps at five villages in Sangrur. The main objective of the camps was to sensitise women about the importance of health, hygiene and education. The participants were also told to come together and root out social evils like female foeticide and dowry deaths.
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ACTIVITIES AT UMEED
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DAIRY TRAINING FOR SHG MEMBERS
A dairy training session was organised for self help group (SGH) members at Verka Milk Plant in Sangrur with the support of the Dairy Development Board, Sangur. Twenty-five SHG members were taken to a dairy farm in Saron village for a hands-on training on all aspects of dairy farming. Each participant will get a loan of Rs 1 lakh, with a 25% subsidy for general candidates and 33% for SC applicants.
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PROJECT IN FOCUS: RURAL BPO
Realising the need to create employment opportunities in villages to stop migration and reduce the pressure on the fragile infrastructure of cities, Umeed set up a rural BPO in the district in January this year. The BPO has been developed under the aegis of Umeed social and economic development. The initiative has already provided jobs to 15 people.
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ACTIVITIES AT UMEED
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NOTEBOOK DISTRIBUTION IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Arvind at Umeed
In keeping with his pledge to provide education for all, Congress leader Arvind Khanna embarked on a mission to make notebooks available to primary schoolchildren in the district. Khanna aims at distributing 20,000 notebooks. Till date, 3,516 notebooks have been distributed among 1,156 children in 10 primary schools.
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MEETING PATIENTS IN BALIAL
Arvind visited Balial village to interact with patients as part of Umeed’s health-at-your- doorstep initiative. He enquired about the patients’ health and and inspected the equipment at the disposal of doctors. He also asked for suggestions to improve the existing medical facilities.
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ACTIVITIES AT UMEED
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ARVIND IN SANGRUR
Arvind Khanna attended a board meeting, along with Capt. Amarinder Singh, at G G S Public School, Sangrur. He stressed on the need for education to meet the unemployment problem in the state.
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BJP WORKERS JOIN THE CONGRESS
BJP party workers, disillusioned with the policies of the state government, joined the Congress under the leadership of Arvind Khanna at Munsiwla block in Bhawanigarh. The workers were welcomed to the party by Khanna at a function. A similar function was held in Saron to welcome BJP workers into the Congress fold.
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ACTIVITIES AT UMEED
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IN MEMORY OF
Arvind paid condolence to Gurdev Kaur on the death her sister at Bhattiwal Kalan village. It was a touching moment as Arvind consoled Gurdev Kaur and paid respect to the deceased..
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MEETING SELF-HELP GROUP MEMBERS
Arvind visited Jalan and met women SGH members in Rupaheri and Jalan. He discussed various upcoming projects to empower women and asked for their suggestions to extend the self-employment programme in Sangrur.
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ACTIVITIES AT UMEED
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YOUTH CLUB FUNCTION
Arvind attended a function organized by Aman Chopra and members of the Salam Zindgai Youth Club and Crystal Youth Club of Sangrur. He was honoured for his voluntary services in the area and promotion of youth clubs.
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AID TO RICKSHAW UNION
Arvind gave financial assistance of Rs 21,000 to the Sangrur Rickshaw Chalak Malak union for the construction of a memorial hall in the memory of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev at a bus stand.
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ACTIVITIES AT UMEED
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TEA BREAK
Arvind visited Pramod Kumar Garg at Gaushala Chowk in Bhawanigarh and engaged in a conversation over a vast range of subjects over a cup of tea.
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KABADDI TOURNAMENT
Arvind in Punjab
Arvind showed his love and support for indigenous sports by attending the Kabbadi Cup Tournament at Zirakpur district in Mohali. He keenly watched the game and gave away prizes to the winning team.
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ACTIVITIES AT UMEED
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RALLIES WITH CAPT AMARINDER SINGH
Arvind, along with Capt. Amarinder Singh, attended public rallies at Samana in Patiala district, . Patti in Tarn Taran district and Talwandi Sabo. The rallies were a huge success.
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CONDOLENCE VISIT
Arvind, along with Capt. Amarinder Singh, paid condolence to Jasbir Singh Sekhon, father of late Gurkirat Singh Sekhon, at his residence in Jalandhar.
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ACTIVITIES AT UMEED
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SHAHEED PARIVAR FUND
Capt. Amarinder Singh and Arvind attended the 104th funds distribution function of the Saheed Parivar Fund. An aid of Rs 25, 00,000.00 will be given to 125 families, which are victims of terrorist activities, in the form of fixed deposit receipts. A truck containing relief material for 300 migrants of Jammu and Kashmir will also be flagged off on this occasion.
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