Engage
Empowered to Lead: Being in the fellowship provided both Siddaramu and Annapoorna an opportunity to understand and challenges faced by the PLHIVs and their family members, especially the growing-up children. This helped them to face the hurdles of the selection process successfully and be promoted as Program Officers – Annapoorna is the coordinator of the Vihaan Project – Dharward District and Siddaramu leads the HIV care intervention with adolescents and youth, supported by ThoughtWorks, owing to their dedication and commitment.
SwaPrerit: Towards Sustainability
In collaboration with Mother Theresa Charitable Trust and Garima foundation, the SwaPrerit project was launched to empower community girls infected and affected by HIV. The project is aimed to address Gender and livelihood issues. The 10-monthly program consists of a bridge course designed by I’mPossible fellowship and Mother Theresa Charitable Trust. Of the 20 girls who participated in the selection process, 12 were selected through an interview process. The program consists of the following key areas of intervention:
- English writing and communication.
- Computer skills.
- Life skills.
- Interview skills and
- Personal development
Meghana, a fellow is placed to train and monitor the needs of the program as well as support the students, successfully complete the training, and be placed in the skill-based program.
Life Skill and Leadership Skill Training
With support from Dasra project, the fellowship team, addressed the needs and wellness of HIV+ve adolescents and youth from the districts of Belgaum, Haveri and Dharwad conducted 05 camps wherein 125 participants participated. The activities focused around to educate, enable and empower HIV-positive adolescents and youth to stabilize their own lives. The camp addressed their concerns and trained them on life and leadership skills. The sessions were conducted in collaboration with the Asha foundation.
The camp focused values, life skills, treatment adherence, that are required in their workplace, house, schools and colleges for better performance. The camp also helped to develop their capacities for leadership and use responsibility in their groups and community life and the activities also brought in the values of working together and develop group skills for sharing responsibilities and taking ownership of their lives.
Empower
World Aids day
This year the world AIDS Day theme was "Equalize" and it focuses and calls for an attention to the inequalities faced by individuals living with AIDS and work to end discrimination and bias. This day serves as a reminder to address the inequalities that are hindering progress in ending AIDS. It is also a day to create awareness and encourage people to get tested and take steps to prevent HIV. At Snehagram, where all the children are infected with HIV, this day holds a significant importance in their lives. We spent time learning more about the disease and working to deepen our understanding of it. It was also an opportunity to inspire the children that HIV does not have to hold them back from achieving their dreams and being successful in life.
This year during the world AIDS Day, the ImPossible Fellowship mentors participated in the program Mr. Kaleshwar was invited to represent the youth living with HIV and the need to grow and become sustainable. The state world AIDS Day event was celebrated in Chikkaballapur district. Mr. Lakshimikant was honored during the world AIDS Day event in Bangalore District Program.
KER Revolutionary Retreat 2022 : Moments of Impact
Chitra, a fellow and Kaleshwar is a Program Officer of ImPossible Fellowship, run by Sneha Charitable Trust in Bangalore, Karnataka. Both are HIV positive from birth. They shared their journey of self-acceptance and finding a balance between pursuing their dreams, academics, and health. They also shared their trajectory from facing setbacks with their savings every time they fall ill and learning to see life in 5-year cycles with the perennial uncertainty that clenches their life to getting treated to live a healthy life and advocating for education and health among others in their community. Chitra and Kaleshwar taught everyone that there's much strength and beauty in being vulnerable and honest. Also, how we show up matters; that change happens by example, not by opinions
The International School, Bangalore Visit
Students from TISB visited and it was an unique opportunity to expand knowledge and gain new perspectives. The day started with a nourishing breakfast. We were all divided into five teams, each comprising of Snehagram and TISB students. We embarked on a tour of the campus as well as worked together to plant vegetables and flowers. For many of the TISB students, this was their first time working in a garden, but they were all eager to learn and willing to lend a hand. Together, we completed the planting at the earliest. The TISB students also provided individual lessons on various topics that we had been struggling to grasp. We ended the day with a cultural program, during which we shared a meal and had fun filled recreational activities. In the evening, we even had a friendly football match with the TISB students. Though we were strangers we formed strong friendships and bond by the dusk.
Partnership
On October 26th, we were honoured to have Mr. Ganesh, from the Learning Companion fellowship in Nagpur, visit Snehagram. we had a fantastic experience learning about their fellowship, and we had the opportunity to share information about our own fellowship, the I'mPossible Fellowship. During our collaborative discussion, we discussed the challenges we face in implementing and sustaining our fellowship programs and exchanged ideas on how to overcome those challenges. One valuable lesson we learned from the Learning Companion team is the importance of giving selflessly, with no expectation of receiving anything in return. They shared with us their goal to help children in Nagpur receive a proper education and prevent their parents from having to migrate and search for schooling elsewhere. Their fellowship has been instrumental in providing many children with the foundational education they need. This interaction has laid a strong foundation for a positive relationship between our two teams, and we look forward to future collaborations.
North Karnataka Partners Coordination
A joint Meeting with Partners in North Karnataka was held to understand the challenges and areas of improvement; the objective was to collaboratively bring in changes to qualitatively and jointly address the needs of the community, through strengthening the network and support system. The ImPossible fellowship will guide the fellows and peer leaders in the zone to facilitate and ensure quality services are effectively planned the outreach are effective and planned well. The suggestions were proposed –Need for conducting activities for children, adolescents and youth from north Karnataka through camps, workshops, training, or online-based activity involvements.
- The discussion was to identify organizations and partners who could get involved in implementation.
- Planning a 100 member’s camp for children below 13 years old with the support of the Asha foundation.
- Need for collaborative implementation of ‘Positive Running’ Program.
- To build a strong resource team as they become lead players in conducting events and programs without any failures.
- Connecting to employment opportunities and creating a space for career up skilling.
Ranipet Marathon
The Ranipet Marathon ULTRA Run 2022, organized by the Jollyboys team, is an event that promotes the integration of running into one's lifestyle and encourages individuals to explore the world on foot. Not only is running a great form of exercise, it also serves as a platform for socialization and stress relief. The ease and enjoyment of running make it accessible to all, regardless of prior experience.
Personally, I have always had a passion for running, starting from my childhood where I would participate in short runs and outdoor sports. As I grew older, my love for running only intensified and I challenged myself to run longer distances. I trained for and successfully completed 10km runs at various events for over five years. This year, I set my sights on a new goal and trained for a half marathon, which I completed at the Bangalore Marathon. This experience instilled in me the confidence to push myself further and participate in the 25km Ultra Run at the Ranipet Marathon.
On the day of the event, I set off with determination and confidence. At the halfway point, I found myself struggling to find a pacing partner but pushed on. I encountered another runner who was having a difficult time and I slowed my pace to assist him. Unfortunately, he had to drop out due to cramping, but I continued on. As I approached the 22km mark, I began to feel the strain in my heels and thighs but the thought of quitting never crossed my mind. I took a short break, replenished myself with glucose water and pushed through the last 2km. The finish line was in sight and I sprinted to cross it. The Ranipet Marathon ULTRA Run 2022 was a challenging yet rewarding experience that taught me the importance of perseverance and the camaraderie of fellow runners. The most important thing is to aim to finish and not to quit.
SELCO Solar Team
SELCO Solar Light Pvt. Ltd. is a socially-conscious enterprise based in Bangalore, India, that has made a significant impact on the quality of life for poor households in rural areas, particularly in the state of Karnataka, through their implementation of solar energy and low smoke cookstoves. The team visited Snehagram to assess our electricity needs and offer support. Due to unforeseen weather conditions, we often experience power outages, which can be disruptive to our computer classes and studies. A solar-powered electrical system would provide a reliable source of power, allowing us to continue our activities without interruption and save money on electricity bills. The interaction with the SELCO team was extremely productive and they were more than willing to assist us in setting up a solar power system. This is a major step forward in addressing one of our key challenges and we look forward to their continued support.