This has been a very productive and long week at Tender Heart. On Tuesday the other volunteers and I had the opportunity to see a Grammy award winning musician, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, play at a nearby school. This school welcomed us with open arms, and we were able to enjoy an hour of beautiful table and mohan veena playing.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were spent at three different affluent schools throughout Delhi with stalls of our products for sale. Each day we set a goal of how much we wanted to sell, and amazingly, we hit our goal every day! We set up our display of our 20 different products, along with our banner and pictures of what we do at the school. Each sale came with a brochure with more about us (that I helped design), and we tried to tell the customers as much as possible about our NGO.
On Thursday we were at the school that the prime minister's daughter attends. Unfortunately, she did not attend the open day, but I did sell a bag to a former Ms. India, as well as a fashion designer. Of course, I had no clue who these people were until Tanya pointed them out to me post sale. We quickly fell into our own jobs based on our skills. A fellow volunteer took over the sales area with his expert marketing skills. He would greet each person that walked past, point out that we were an NGO, and talk until someone felt that they had to buy from us. I am not one to do such things, so I handled the money and kept a tally of all the products that we sold. Each day we would set up our stall by 8 am and would stay until the teachers had all left and we had hit our goals.
The money that we raised, which totaled to about 80,000 rupees, will go to the women that created the products, as well as the upkeep of the school and programs. Even with our amazing sales, Tender Heart is in great need of funding. I have provided a link to their website in the "Why I'm Here" section, but I feel that I need to do more for this amazing place, where I have already grown attached to the women and children. I have set up a gofundme for Tender Heart in the hopes that we can raise enough to purchase a generator for the school. At the moment a lot of resources are not being utilized because of the frequent black outs and power surges. My first computer class got cut short when the small generator that they have now failed and the three computers that we had working shut off. The women are unable to use the sewing machines provided that would make their work so much easier and faster, which would allow more products to be made and sold. The well that they have dug in the back yard has to be pumped by hand because the electric pump does not have enough power to function, which would allow all of the children to drink clean water. Finally, the slum children have their classes held outside of the classroom because by 2:30 the power has shut off and it is too hot inside the concrete rooms. Having desks where the children could work and chalk boards for them to see would greatly benefit their learning.
I know my aim is high, but if I don't try something, then they may never get the generator- something that they really deserve. Every little bit counts, and together we may be able to help Tender Heart for more than the six short months that I am here.
Here is the link- http://www.gofundme.com/4k2x9k
The money that we raised, which totaled to about 80,000 rupees, will go to the women that created the products, as well as the upkeep of the school and programs. Even with our amazing sales, Tender Heart is in great need of funding. I have provided a link to their website in the "Why I'm Here" section, but I feel that I need to do more for this amazing place, where I have already grown attached to the women and children. I have set up a gofundme for Tender Heart in the hopes that we can raise enough to purchase a generator for the school. At the moment a lot of resources are not being utilized because of the frequent black outs and power surges. My first computer class got cut short when the small generator that they have now failed and the three computers that we had working shut off. The women are unable to use the sewing machines provided that would make their work so much easier and faster, which would allow more products to be made and sold. The well that they have dug in the back yard has to be pumped by hand because the electric pump does not have enough power to function, which would allow all of the children to drink clean water. Finally, the slum children have their classes held outside of the classroom because by 2:30 the power has shut off and it is too hot inside the concrete rooms. Having desks where the children could work and chalk boards for them to see would greatly benefit their learning.
I know my aim is high, but if I don't try something, then they may never get the generator- something that they really deserve. Every little bit counts, and together we may be able to help Tender Heart for more than the six short months that I am here.
Here is the link- http://www.gofundme.com/4k2x9k