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Contents
Ruhani Vol II : Message from Ruzan Khambatta ..................................................................... 4
Expansion of work areas and Activities .................................................................................. 5
Bal- Killol Balvadi : ................................................................................................................ 6
Problem Area: .................................................................................................................... 6
Solution: ............................................................................................................................ 6
Impact: .............................................................................................................................. 6
Jyoti: ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Solution: ............................................................................................................................ 7
Impact: .............................................................................................................................. 7
Pradhanmantri Aavas yojana ................................................................................................. 8
Problem Area: .................................................................................................................... 8
Solution: ............................................................................................................................ 8
Impact: .............................................................................................................................. 8
Jandhan Yojana - Demonitization Effect ................................................................................. 9
Problem Area: .................................................................................................................... 9
Impact: .............................................................................................................................. 9
Effect of Demonitization: ....................................................................................................... 9
Impact: .............................................................................................................................. 9
Awareness campaign: .......................................................................................................... 10
Solution: .......................................................................................................................... 10
Impact: ............................................................................................................................ 10
Awareness Campaing for Divyang (Specially abled) .............................................................. 10
Kishori Shikshan Kendra : .................................................................................................... 11
Impact ............................................................................................................................. 11
Adult Literacy training ......................................................................................................... 11
Impact: ............................................................................................................................ 11
Counelling cum guidance center: ......................................................................................... 12
Impact: ............................................................................................................................ 12
Productivity......................................................................................................................... 12
Result .............................................................................................................................. 12
Aadhar Card : ...................................................................................................................... 13
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Solution: .......................................................................................................................... 13
Impact: ............................................................................................................................ 13
Aadhar Cards Phase II .......................................................................................................... 13
Impact: ............................................................................................................................ 14
Case study 1 & 2 : Stopping Domestic Violence ................................................................... 14
Case study 3 & 4 : Stopping Domestic Violence & counselling .............................................. 15
Case study 5: Stopping Succide & life of dignity ................................................................... 16
Case Study 6 & 7 : Demonitization effect & struggle for livelyhood ...................................... 17
Thanks giving to our unsung heroes - Fire Men .................................................................... 18
Report from my team:...................................................................................................... 18

Ruhani Vol II : Message from Ruzan Khambatta

Friends, I am glad to share that in a span of just 5 mths we

have expanded our operations form 3 chalis to 15 chalis.

In

this newsletter you will read about lot of activities being

done, challenges faced, concrete steps taken and the impact

created, the results achieved and Lives changed.

Our mission is to provide positive catalytic impulses to every woman to stretch their inherent
capacities and potential

through empowerment process. Wajra O' Force Empowerment

Foundation is trying to find uniqueness of each woman and child belonging to economically,
socially, politically and culturally marginalized and trying to nurture them by knowing and
pushing their abilities and interest of subjects and potential.

Our Foundation is working in such a way that it

leads to the attainment of the full potential

of the women and adolescent children. Our endeavor is to equip our adolescent children and
young children of slum areas with life-skills to face the real world - be it planning, organizing,
deciding, questioning, reasoning, analyzing, team-building, communicating effectively or
dealing with challenges confidently. Our best efforts to make them aware about their rights and
duties.

Our focus is to make women financially independent and have active involvement in decision
making process in family and in their communities. We are creating environment in such a way
that they can become self-motivated, independent, confident decision makers to take up a
leadership roles in their families and in their societies.
We at Wajra O' Force Empowerment Foundation provide opportunities to women and children
for their holistic growth and development which boost's up there empowerment process.
Furthermore, we are trying to generate awareness amongst women, men and children on
Violence Against Women especially on Domestic Violence and how to manage money sources
effectively .

The biggest reason we are able to find hope among our community members

because of all

the unwavering love and support from our donors,well-wishers, my team leaders and team
members. We would like to thank each and every one of them.

Expansion of work areas and Activities

Wajra O' Force Empowerment Foundation has been working in the various challis of Saraspur,
Ahmedabad. We started our work in 3 Chalis of Saraspur. In a span of 6 mths we are now
covering 15 chalis. - The 15 chalis are

Judgesahebni Chali, Vakhapurani Chali,

Prabhashankarni Chali, Old Laxmishankarni Chali, Fulshankarni chali, New Laxmishankarni

chali, Gala Raghani Chali, Mulshankarni Chali, Bapalal kadia ni Chali, Manilal Kadia ni chali,
Popatlal Sevantilal ni chali, Bai Rukhi ni chali, Mahajan nu dahelu, Uncha Tekra vali chali,
Kaival chowk. Which constitute a majority of Devipoojak, Muslim, Schedule Caste along with
ethnic and language groups like Marwaris, Biharis and Bhaiya of UP .
We tried to win the trust of members of our integrated areas and wanted to make them aware
about our objectives, vision and strategy. Fortunately we have succeeded to some extent.
Some new and innovative activities have been launched in this second quarter of the year.

Follwoing activites have been put in to practice during the second quarter:

Balkillol Balvadi

Jyoti : To provide information and guidance on government schemes ,coordination and

convergence with the government department ,

Awareness campaign: The women and girls who are beloinging to socially, financially,
educationally and culturally marginalized in various social groups , are able to raise their
voice against unjust and exploitation.

Kishori Sikshan Kendra :

Teaching math, science, English and gujarati to adolescent girls and boys.

Soft skill development

Awareness on gender issues

Literacy class : to impart training to illiterate women

Counseling and guidance centre :

Cleanliness and Hygiene campaign

Micro finance and money management

The process of Aadhar card

Bal- Killol Balvadi :

Problem Area:
The children of Judgesahebni chali, Laxmishankar Chali ,Vakhapuar and Ramdevni chali did not
attend the Aanganvadi(Pre Primary Center) and were playing at the dirty places of Chailis, as a
result, many of them got sick due to unhealthier condition of the Chalis.

Solution:
We opened up Balkillol Balwadi for the children belonging to age group 2 to 7 years. The
children love to come to Balvadi . Various joyful learning activities
are part of our curriculum such as singing songs, dance, play, story
telling by children and by our team members. We play with children
by using our creative imagination. That helps a lot to develop their
congnitve and motor development skills. One amazing thing is that
the mothers are enjoying all these activities and sometimes, they
play with us too. The challis are narrow and houses are very small
and congested. There is no playing place for the children. Therefore, children would love to play
in our office because they get fresh air and free space to play. Children play, fight, cry, eat with
each other in the office.
Bholu is only 2.5 years old. As he sees us, he will hug us and say,
",(teacher ) I have come to study here". He sings and dances

in a corner of our office for 10-15 minutes by himself . Then he will

tell "I have completed my todays lessons."
The children are expecting constant attention from us. If we dont give attention to any child,
they will feel bad.

Impact:
Around 20-25 children are attending Balvadi regularly. The Children will wait outside the office
at around 10 am before we open the office. They stay with us around 2 hours. Apart from that,
during the office time, children visit our office 8-10 times a day and share various matters with
us in the prattle speech. The older children take care of the younger children. When they go
outside the chali, on returning they visit us first and then they go to their home. Parents of many
children leave home early in the morning for business purpose and come back late in the
evening. These children are being taken care by their grand parents or relatives or neighbours.
Such children stay in our office and do different kinds of activities.
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Jyoti:
We provide information and do counseling on Goverenment schemes. Moreover, we do
convergence and networking with the government organization and non governmental
organizations.

Four widows wanted to take benefits of Widow

Pension Yojana, however, they dint have ample
documents for the Widow Pension Scheme. It is
very hard to get income certificate and get the true
copy on documents. For that, we have to move
aroud to various departments.
Moreover, canceling name from the ration card of a deceased person is a very difficult process
for the illiterate persons of these areas. This procedure consumes hours and hours. If the female
members accompany with us, they will lose livelihood of that day.

Solution:
That is why we five members do all required procedure to get the documents or to gather
information from other government offices in this regard.

Impact:
We filled up around 150-160 forms of no. 6, 7 and 8 during the election card campaign. Moreover
we also checked 42 filled forms in this regard. Consequently as they get Election card, they inform
us first. Moreover we provide information on various subjects in the weekly meeting and the
information get repeated in many meetings too. We update them on various government schemes
in the meeting.

Pradhanmantri Aavas yojana

As soon as we came to know about Pradhanmantri Aavas yojana, we informed the women
of our integrated areas in this regard.

Problem Area:
The women stood in the queue for three days, but could not get the forms due to some
unknown reasons. So, Trupti and Hema met bank mangaers of various banks in this subject to
push the procedure, but the bank mangers were unable to help us.

Solution:
One of our team members Shabanam took 27 members of
our working areas early in the morning around 5 am and did the
required procedure on behalf of 27 members who were standing
in the queue along with Shabanam. For this Yojana, women
needed to get Income Certificate immediately and the dead line
for the submitting forms was just round the corner. We adopted strong measure and procceded
for the income certificates of 35 women and men in two days along with the demand draft of Rs.
7000 per form from the bank .
Whether we have to visit lawyer office or to any government office, all we do at our
expenses. We have to visit Mental Bari , Collector Office ,Civil Hospital,
Police Station ,Municipal Corporation office of Khamasa /Memnagar /
Apana Bazar office very often. The women of our areas are such a poor
that they cannot afford the bus fare or auto fare. In these circumstances,
we bear the expenditure of them as well.

Impact:
Other Women got motivation from this occasion and more 65
women applied for the Pradhan Mantri Aavash Yojana.

Jandhan Yojana - Demonitization Effect

Problem Area:
When we started working with women and girls of Saraspur Chails, we gave priority to open the
bank account under the Jan Dhan Yojana scheme. We approached several women but they were
not interested in opeining up the bank accout.

Impact:
After lot of persuasion four female members got ready to open up bank accounts. Slowly our
attempt reaped fruits and total 222 women opened bank accout up to Novermber, 16. Some
women opened the bank account reluctantly also.
Surprisingly the women who opened up their bank account reluctantly, thanked us for
opening up their bank account under Jan Dhan Yojana when government of India annocuned
demonetization on 9th November201.

Effect of Demonitization:
Announcement of demonetization made many women
upset. They made around Rs. 10000 to 25000 during this Diwali
Festivals. They spent small currency for the Diwali Celebration
and kept big notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 for the big expenditure
such as to pay instalment to private money landers or for the
procurement of material or for the marriage of their children.
Moreover, they borrowed money for the marriage of their children which were solemanized in
November and December 16. It was both in Rs. 500 and in Rs. 1000 currnecy notes. Some
borrowed money around 1 lakh to 1.5 lakh for the marriage in well in advance.

Impact:
During the first week of demonetization, many women and men queued up early in the morning
and deposited their money in a week and got some money back too due to their account under Jan
Dhan Yojana. Moreover we constantly guided them in this regard. Sometimes it is very hard to
explain the rules and regulations to them. Manytimes we have to explain the whole procdrue
minimum four to five times. But we have not lose the patient and
they appreciate our approach and behavior. We reaped the fruits of
it. Many women and men want to open the bank account
immediately. Unfortunately, the nationalized banks are not ready to
open the bank account till January 17.
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Awareness campaign:
The women were feeling helpless because they were getting polluted tap water everyday for a
long time.Many leaders from the Saraspur chalis met the concern officers of Municipal
Coropration numbers of times. But, it was in vain. Due to polluted water, around 45-50 men,
women and children got severe skin diseases. Many of them spent 10 to 15 thousand, but the
recovery is very slow. Many of them got the treatement done from the government hospital for
two to three months, but it didnt help much to them. Meanwhile the disease had been spreaded
on many parts of the body. Many of them borrowed money on credit with high interest.

Solution:
For that we all female members of the Chalis decided to fight against polluted water. We got
these 170 female members of Saraspur chalis start a Signature campaign against dirty polluted
water. The women waited for a month, meanwhile our team members Trupti Sheth and Hema
Makhavana met concern officials of Saraspur manytimes. But the result was nil. So the team
members and the female members of Saraspur chalis decided to do further process. As a result,
Trupti Sheth met Hon. Mayor of Ahmedabad Municipal coroporation and handed over the
application in this regard. Fortunately, the Hon. Mayor took the initative and informed the
concern zonal offcers.

Impact:
The Assi. Commissioner of Memnagar provided good support and the polluted water problems
was solved .

Awareness Campaing for Divyang (Specially abled)

We have launched awareness camapaing for the disabled persons. Firstly, we conducted survey
of disabled people and children. Total 52 persons found disable during the survey .We informed
them about their rights and duities . They are feeling good that somebody is taking care of them
and understanding their pain. They are illiterate and poor, so, they cannot talk about their rights.
We meet them once a week and motivate them ,so they dont get discourage. We are working
for their disable Identity card, so that they can travel free of charge and get other benefits of
government schemes.

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Kishori Shikshan Kendra :

Impact
we are teaching math, science , English and Gujarati to adolescent girls and boys. So far total 25
adolescent girls and boys learned various subjects from our team. As a result, 6 girls and boys
are doing preparation for the Board Exam. Furthermore, they dont get privacy for the self study
in their houses. So, our office is providing reading space for them too.
One more thing, the majority of the girls and boys used foul language very often and quarreled a
lot. We are working constantly on these issues patiently. As a result, they are not using foul
language much in their conversation. Even, their parents are not using foul language much in
their conversation.This is our one of the biggest achievements because we can change their
mentality and approach.
In the devipoojak communitie , the girls and boys cannot see each other before marriage. We
discussed this issue with parents and explained them the benefits of communication between
girls and boys before marriage. Therefore, 2 girls are able to talk to their fianc on phone. Thus,
we can see the transformation on social issues in various communities of Sarapur .
In addition, we are teaching Mahendi, computer and hand embroidery to adolescent girls.
Unfortunately, we cannot pay much attention to them sometimes due to overwork.

Adult Literacy training

Women have been occupied in the work after Dashama Vrat. Majority of them started working
long hours because of Diwali Festival and due to demonetization . So the attendance of elder
women was sparse. They work or stand in a queue and do household chores. Hence on getting
tired they are unable to attend the literacy class.

Impact:
However 11 women have learned to write their and their family members name.

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Counelling cum guidance center:

Counselling cum guidance center is becoming gradually very popular. Many women are
approaching us regarding the domestic violence issue.

Impact:
Total 39 cases are registered in three months of domestic violence.
Many members take advice from us in subjects like choosing life partner for their daughters
and sons, especially women discuss various issues with us in this regard.
When husband -wife fight with each other, the woman approach us for settlement because
majority of the womea don't want to leave their children on mercy of their in-laws relatives.
When women approach our team members, our first priority is to get compromise done between
husband and wife. However if the women want to get some other solution, we respect her wish.

Productivity
Many adolescent girls used to sit ideally at home and watch TV whole day. We had series of
meetings with them regarding their unproductively
activities.

Result
As a result, six girls are going to appear in the 10th class
examination. Many adolescent girls have become
helping hands of their mothers for their livelihood
struggle.

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Aadhar Card :
The first survey was conducted in June and we found 550 men, women and children without Aadhar
cards. We did one- to -one contact for many times and oriented
them on how to get documents. We explained the procedure in
four meetings as well but it was very hard to convince them for the
procedure. Some thought we were appointed by govt. agencies.
They humiliated us and verbally abused also. It was very long and
tiresome procedure. As we started collecting documents in August
16. We found that it is a very difficult task because majority of them
didnt have enough documents. Especially, they didn't have pictorial ID cards.

Solution:
For that we consulted experts and contacted the Hon. Mayor and other top officials of Ahmedabad
Municipal Commissioner in this regard.But we could not solve the problems of ID proof. We realized
that the rules and regulations are not poor people friendly and the system is type of rigid and stubborn..
Moreover the agency which was assigned for the Aadhar card procedure for us was not supporting us at
all. We had heated arguments with the agency for the receipt for Aadher Card and then we got the
receipts from the Agency.
Fortunately MLA of Bapunagar and one lawyer (Mr. Bhavasar) of Saraspur provided great support to
get the address proof because many of them didnt have either light bill or other evidences for address
proof.

Impact:
In the first phase total 105 men, women and children did the procedure for the Aadhar Cards. It was a
long and tedious procedure for us because collecting required documents for the Aadhar card is an
Herculean task .

Aadhar Cards Phase II

We have learnt valuable lessons from the first phase of Aadhar Cards procedure. We decided to focus
on getting pictorial Id in the form of Affidavit from schools .
So we conducted survey again on how many community members are dropped out /never enrolled. We
found that out of 175 members 138 are dropped out. Out of 138 community members, 107 were
dropped out from the government primary schools of Sarspur and its surrounding areas. We contacted
headmasters of 12 government primary schools / secondary schools and requested them for the
affidavit . Many schools didnt give positive response. We worked very hard, met those many times and
whenever they called us, we went at the same time. The teachers were very busy and didnt get time to
look for the documents. We helped them also and received 103 affidavits from government and private
primary and secondary schools. It took us three months to collect the affidavit from the various schools.

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Impact:
At last, in the second phase, total 108 members of various challis of
Saraspur completed the procedure for the Aadhar Cards and received
receipt the same day.
This has created long term and short term positive impact on our work
and many members are stepping forward to help us .

Case study 1 & 2 : Stopping Domestic Violence

Let me discuss one incidence. Komals maternal

Charus husband is alcoholic and

uncle passed away and she went to her maternal

beats her up almost everyday. when

house to attend the last rituals of her maternal uncle.

Charus husband beats her up , she

Her uncle passed away in young age and her uncles

would uses furious language aginst

family members were comfortless and she wanted to

her husband . So her husband would

help her uncles family members by staying at there

get more infuriated and he would

house. She talked to her husband in this regard. But

throw at her whatever was handy.

her husband didnt respond Instead he grabbed her

Manytimes she got serverly injured.

from her uncles house and beat her up brutally in

Solution:

public. He scolded her that she had developed very

We wanted to find a way of there

bad habits due to our organizational training. she

violent struggle. So whenever she

approached us next day of the incident and cried a lot

used

while describing that painful incident.

husband we intervened and tried to

Solution:

explain the adverse impact of there

We sat with her and her husband for an hour and tried

conversation on them and there

to understand the problems between them. We let

children. This counselling went on

them speak without any intervention. They argued a

for four months.

lot with each other and quarreled also. As the burden

Result:

of their mind got lightened. They listened to each

Our counselling has worked and she

other and it was decided that Komals husband would

has stopped using foul language

not hit her in the future and she would not fight with

agaist her husband. Her husband

him regarding trivial family matter.

hasnt beaten her up for three

Result:

months. This is like a fairy tale for

As a result, he hasnt beaten her up for more than

the members of Judgesahebni chali

two months and living peacefully.

and Charus relatives.

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filthy

language agaist her

Case study 3 & 4 : Stopping Domestic Violence & counselling

Ranjans husband is having some serious health

Varsha got to know about her

problems and not able to work hard. Her

husbands disability at her wedding

husbands two brothers are mentally ill and not

day. She felt cheated but she could

doing any livelihood activities for a long time.

not raise her voice because she was

Thus Ranjan is having responsibility of the

only 14 at the marriage time.

running house on her shoulder. She sells

Moreover, she was not allowed to

coriander, green peppers and eggs and earns

say no for marriage because of

around 120 to 150 rupees a day. Her mother-in-

there castes customs . She had a

law was suspicious about her income. She thought

baby within a year of their marriage

that Ranjan is putting her earnings out of sight and

and she went back to her maternal

use it for her personal use. Therefore her mother-

house with her 2 months old baby.

in-law used to verbally abused her and sometimes

She returned to her husband house

beat her up also. Her husband also got suspicious

at age of 17 and became a mother of

about her integrity towards the family and beat her

two children at age of 19. All three

up with hosepipe untill it broke in two to three

of them are girls. Her husband got

pieces. One day he tried to beat her up before us

furious and blamed her for not

and we intervened.

giving birth to a male child. Not only

Solution:

had he beaten her up but the

After that incident, my team members sat with

children also. She was kicked out

husband and wife and listened to their feelings

from her husbands house three

anger for each other. We explained him that she is

years back.

working very hard from morning to evening and

Now,

she has right to do saving which would ultimately

unorganized sector and making

help the family. Then, he admitted that he didnt

Rs.50-60 per day. Furthermore she is

give his 100% earning in the house, but, keeps

bringing her

some money for his pocket expenses also. He

herself without any support.

repented that he was ruthless with her without

Result:

knowing her pain and hard work. As a result, they

When she gets tired of her suffering

stop fighting brutally. Her mother in law has gone

or

nuts and doesnt allow her to participate in our

feelings and sorrow with us. She is

programmes, meetings, events.

taking interest in our work also. That

Result:

process soothes her anguishes and

But, she is happy because she is living her life

helps her to carry the burden of her

with dignity and respect for the first time in her 10

life.

years of marriage life.

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she

is

frustration,

working

in

the

three daughters by

she

shares

her

Case study 5: Stopping Succide & life of dignity

Radha is living in the Gala Raghas Chali in Saraspur. She came up to us

and described her situation. Her husband was suffering from deadly TB it
was such an infectious TB that doctors were not ready to keep her in the
hospital. Her husband was totally bed ridden; not able to move around
without help. She has five children, the eldest daughter is 15-16 years old
and bread winner of the family. She used to sell vegetables, but, due to her
husband illness,she cannot go for the work. She is living with her in-laws.
She got tired of harassment and insecurity in her life. A few days back ,
she told us that she would commit suicide with her five children because
her husbands younger brother hit her brutally on her face. Moreover, her
mother in law doesnt want her and her children in their house. She is
homeless and very poor. She has borrowed money from the private firm
for her husbands treatment and has to pay back. Moreover, she wanted to
file complain against her in-laws, but, the police didnt listen to her.

Solution:
We explained her to restart her vegetable selling business, so that she can
be occupied in the positive things and feel better.

Result:
She started her vegetable selling business from 17/11/2016 after six
months of break and now feeling much better. We are planning to buy
secondhand Hathlari for her, so she can live her life with dignity and self
respect. Her husband died few days back and we are proceeding for
widow pension for her.

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Case Study 6 & 7 : Demonitization effect & struggle for livelyhood

Monas Bhabhi is very active and takes

Suman got married at age of 14 year

part in our all activities. Mona didnt like

Her husband used to sell vegetables

her Bhabhis passion for our activities

in Chiloda. One year back, while

and active participation. Whenever her

selling vegetables, a truck moved

Bhabhi visited our office, she would get

over on her husband and he died on

mad at her and would fight with her. We

the spot. Police department issued

had requested her many times to open

certificate naming unknown dead

the bank account under Jan Dhan Yojana

body. The postmortem department

, but she refused ; not only that she also

issued postmortem certificate with

made fun of our office staff before the

her husbands name. Whereas, the

members of Challis. The same Mona

funeral home has issued a certificate

consulted us after the Government of

with incorrect name.

India announced demonetization policy

It is very difficult to get the

in November 16 because she had

correction done in the certificate

borrowed 1.5 lakhs for the house

issued

payment from the private money lender.

department.

Neither she nor her husband had their

pass and not able to read and write

own bank account. She got scared and

except able to write her own name

approached us for further guidance.

and the last name. She is extremely

Solution:

poor too. Moreover, she has two

We listened to her carefully and called

children; one is 5 years old and

on

another is 1.5 years old. It is not

her

brothers

and father.

We

by

the

government

Suman is only 5th

explained the procedure for the cash

possible for her to go

deposit in the bank. They followed our

office to another office with her two

instructions and received 1.0 lakh back

young children.

in 10 days.

one office to another office is very

Result:

time consuming and costs money.

She paid money to the house owner in

Result:

the stipulated time period and was able

Therefore, our team members are

to move in her new house within a

doing the require procedure on

month.

behalf of her free of charge.

17

from one

Also, going from

Thanks giving to our unsung heroes - Fire Men

Past 3 years we are celebrating Rakshabandhan (we call it Surakshabandhan) with Police men,
Traffic cops, Coolies, Hospital staff, Home guards and thank them for helping and protecting us.
But we never realized that during Diwali these Fire men have a great responsibility and
they are our unsung heroes. So we decided to go and meet them and thank them for there
selfless services 24x7 . A day prior we took permission from Shri. M.F Dastoor Chief Fire
Office of Ahmedabad. Who himself was surprised but also very happy that we had thought and
appreciating the Fire Men

Report from my team:

They visited 3 fire stations in Ahmedabad on 7th November 2016 with a team of 23 women
from Saraspur area.
We started with Danapith Fire station and we reached at 11:15 , our team met the Asst.
Manager who was eagerly waiting for us. We communicated with him and his staff. He told us I
have been working for 36 years with this department , nobody has appreciated our work. We
dont celebrate any festival because we dont get leave on holidays. We sacrifice our family life ,
our happiness, but , nobody recognizes our devotion and dedication. We are overwhelming from
your gesture.
The family members of staffers were looking at us astonishingly. Many staff members were
suspicious about our intention. When we admired their hard work and expressed gratitude, they
delighted. The newly appointed staff and trainees were also joined with us. The garland of
flowers was worn to staff members by our team members , female members and adolescent
girls of our working areas offered sweet to them. Total 56 staff members participated in the event
of Danapith. The Asst. Manager and its staff members gave a l of Danapith fire brigade. Women
and girls were very happy. They showed different types of fire trucks which were equipped with
the latest technology. 8 crore rupees fire truck was a talking point in the Saraspur Chalis.
The discussion on why women are not in the Fire Brigade was very interesting. The manager
had gone to Gandhinagar, so, we handed over thank you cards to Assi. Manager.
Our four team members met the officials of security and Call Centers and visited the security
room also.
We reached Panchkuva Fire Station at around 3.00pm. I tried to talk to Head of the Panchkuva
Fire Brigade Dept. they didnt give respond in the initial stage. The staff and Head were looking
at us like we were aliens.

18

I talked to him and explained the reasons behind the celebration. He and his staff understood the
concept behind the celebration and called other staff members. The staff members came outside
their office rooms and were asking the reasons for calling. When they heard the intention of the
celebration, they were astonished.
Total 23 staff members participated in the event. Our members of Saraspur chali greeted them
with Card, Sweet and Garland.
Everybody appreciated our attempt and filled thrilled and joyous. The head and the three senior
officers told us Bahen, we are overwhelmed , nobody has appreciated our tedious , hard and
risky work in the history of fire brigade. This is a motivational deed for us. they offered us tea,
but, we were getting late and left the place around 3.55pm. we reached to Shahpur Fire Station
at 4.15. when we reached there, six to seven staff members had gone on rescue operation. The
Head was on sick leave. The Asst. Head was there. We had discussion on various issues and
problems of their work. They talked about the hardship of their daily life life, facilities and
benefits which are offered by the state govt, and municipal corporation and challenges in family
life. Our conversation had made the atmosphere lighter.
As the staff members returned from the rescue operation, they joined with us. We provided
information on Wajr-O-Force Empowerment Foundation and greeted them for their
humanitarian work. The staff members were overwhelmed and their words got frozen for few
seconds and some of the staff members eyes got watery. It was a memorable moment . We gave
them sweet ,garlands of flowers n cards. Everybody was in celebration mood n enjoyed the
event. One mischievous person removed his garland & gave it to union leader. Everybody
followed him and honored the union leader by their garlands. Our Baheno enjoyed this event.
They offered us cold drink. They assured our Bahenos that whenever they need help they would
love to help us . They wanted to thank us but they their throat recuperated. Many members
couldn't say bye to us. We left Shahpur Fire station with heavy heart but a promise on our lips
to return next year

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