Cletus also shared about the Women Empowerment Project which CG had supported through the funds released for Mumbai Marathon.
Tuesday 29 December 2015
Orientation for Volunteers of Crompton Greaves
Tuesday 22 December 2015
Christmas Celebration for Children at Bandurpakhad, Kandivali on 22nd Dec, 2015
Christmas Celebration for Children
Date:
22-12-15
Venue:
Holy Cross Chapel ,Bunderpakhadi
On
22nd December, 2015 the
Mahila Mandal (Holy Cross) organized a Christmas Program for 42 Children from the area of
Bunderpakhadi.
The day began with an opening prayer which
was conducted by Ms. Mishal Dabre (Staff of Centre for Social Action) then she
spoke to the children on the theme environment and Christmas. Mr.Reggie(Gurav
Garden) and his friends had sponsor gift hampers for Children.
After the Christmas message
children were given Christmas gifts
and snacks. Children were very happy.
Mishal Dabre
Sr. Social Worker
Thursday 17 December 2015
Children's Christmas and Diwali Celebrations, St. Andrew's, Bandra - 17th Dec, 2015
On 17th
December, 2015 the St. Andrew's C.C.O. at Bandra organized a Christmas Program for
marginalized children from the areas of Chimbai
and Bandstand. Although it was just
for a day, the children enjoyed themselves thoroughly. 
The day began with an
opening prayer conducted by Sr.Sharddha with a ‘Power-point’ presentations. Ms Premlata (Staff of Centre for Social
Action) then spoke to the children on the theme Personal Hygiene and self
development.
Then Sr.Suzen conducted an ice breaker game. The children got to know each
other through this game called ‘Self
introduction ‘and the children made new friends in the process of game.
Later
the children were shown Videos by Deacon Anthony Alphanso on personal hygiene & self development which was followed by a short input on the same topic. He had an interaction with
the children on this and they participated wholeheartedly.
After this the
children performed a short dance programme and enacted a Christmas play. It was
very appreciated by all and enthused all the children. The children were very
smart to put up such a programme solely on their own steam.. All the children
were able to show their talents on the stage singing songs and doing skits.
A
big thank you to our Parish Priest, Fr. Caesar D’Mello for his support and
encouragement in conducting this one day program with less privileged children
and also to all the CCO members, and
our donors for making this day a
pleasant one. Light snacks and lunch was served to the
children.
Premlata
Thakur
Staff,
Centre for Social Action
CCO
office, St.Andrew’s Church, Bandra
Wednesday 16 December 2015
A Vision Unfolds…Becoming Home Managers!
“Visualizing a change from being
mere ‘Domestic Workers’ to becoming ‘Home Managers’, is the dream that this
program seeks to achieve and I want to see this change and also measure this
change” is the challenge that Mr. Vinayak Dalvi, the CSR Regional Head of
Crompton Greaves, put to the 18 domestic workers and the organizers.
The eyes
of the 18 registered participants of the “Domestic Workers Skills Enhancement
Training Program” literally lit up with a hope as they looked towards the organizers,
Centre for Social Action (CSA) along with St. Pius X CCO the implementing
partner. Looking at the potential that this group held he promised that once
they completed this basic course they could look towards specializing their
skills with further advanced courses and CG would be happy to extend their
support further to making this a reality.
An inauguration to this training
program was held on the 16th December, 2015 at St. Pius X School
Mini Hall at 3.30pm. The program began with an introduction and the lighting of
the lamp signifying a light that will enlighten the lives of the domestic
workers as they seek to transform their lives through sharpening their current
skills.
The chief guests of the Inauguration of the Domestic Workers Skills
Enhancement Training Program - Mr. Vinayak Dalvi and Ms. Bhawna Solanki from
Crompton Greaves along with Fr. Cleophas Fernandes lit the lamp and inaugurated
the Program. Mr. Cletus Zuzarte the Program Manger of CSA gave a brief of the
organization and explained the objectives of the Training Program.
The training
seeks to enhance the current skills of the women through a basic comprehensive
course on hospitality and care so that having enhanced their skills, gaining
self esteem and an identity they will be empowered to discuss, negotiate and ultimately bargain with their employers for
better emoluments. 
Sr. Alison the energetic Director
of St. Pius X CCO along with Mr. Sandip Hire the Social Worker from CSA
regularly visited the various local bastis of Indira Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Salfadevi,
Nahur Village, Gavnipada, Gaushala and Ramgadh and have developed a good
rapport with the community.
The domestic workers who meet regularly on one
Thursday of the month were briefed on this proposed training program. 20 of the
women registered for the program and hopefully those who did not attend would
soon realize that they missed something good.
Fr. Cleophas Fernandes the Parish
Priest and Managing Trustee of St. Pius X CCO encouraged the women present to
attend the training and gain from the opportunity placed before them and wished
them the very best in well articulated Marathi. 
The inauguration ended with a
word of thanks by Sr. Alison to the organizers and the support organizations.
She exhorted the women to continue to attend with the same enthusiasm and learn
in such a way that change is visible and their employers themselves communicate
to the parish that this course has made a difference.
Ms. Shilpa Kashelkar the
resource person for the first session on Personality Development led the women
through action songs and interactive games enabling them to develop a healthy
self respect coupled with etiquette and manners that would help in them in
their daily interaction within the homes that visit for work. The women left
the hall with a sense of gratitude and expectancy towards all that they would
learn in the coming four months.
~ Reported by Mr. Cletus Zuzarte
16th Dec, 2015
Wednesday 9 December 2015
A Healthy Woman is a Happy Woman - Babrekar Nagar, Kandivali, 9th Dec, 2015
A
woman’s health is her last priority. This is what the social workers observed
while working with women in the community. They rush to the aid of an ailing
parent, child or spouse but always put their health last. With this objective
in mind an, the CSA Staff of thought asking
women what kind of activities or sessions
do they want as a groups to be conducted for them.
So
the women suggested that they wanted a workshop on Health. So the social worker Premlata made an arrangement to
conduct the workshop on the Importance of Women’s Health. The
resource person selected for the program, Dr. Evelet Sequeira is a Public Health developmental
professional with an MD in Preventive & Social Medicine. Her career spans over
15 years in this sector and has worked with UN agencies (UNICEF), government
departments, academic institutions and NGOs. She has been in the field of Self
Development since the last 6 years and has been counseling people on Self
Improvement, relationships, etc. She says that if you want to cure a
person of a disease, you need to take out the “dis” in ‘disease’ and you will
get “ease”. Through her workshop on 9th
December, 2015 with 20 women of Babrekar Nagar she helped them understand
how simple lifestyle changes could bring about a change in their health and
well being.
Dr. Evelet started with the food one must eat from
morning to night and then proceeded to the topic of mental well being, the
increasing risk of breast cancer and addressed several other queries of the
women.Dr. Evelet being a joyous & bubbly soul kept the women entertained
throughout with her simple tips, suggestions and positive thinking. After this
she proceeded to different meditative techniques, breathing exercises, and very
interesting healing and loving exercises. Some were individual exercises and
some were group exercises .She explained how one must be able to love oneself
first and then that love will spread to our family and others. Post these
exercises the women felt relaxed, calm, and happy and some were also very
emotional. Some even fell asleep during the meditative session giving them the
much needed mental rest and break from household tensions and worries. She then
performed a small aarti of the woman to make her respect the God within herself.
Feedback from the women was positive as they
had several queries about their health and many felt the need to tell their
children and grand children about the things suggested. Most found the sessions
very simple and light and felt the resource person really came down to their
level and helped them understand basic concepts. There were 6 women who met the doctor personally
and shared their problem with her.
The workshop was highly appreciated, with anticipation for more
sessions like these in the future. We express our gratitude to the resource person Dr.
Evelet Sequeira, who accommodated us despite her busy schedule. I in fact
thanked the women for their contribution and coming in good numbers to attend
the session on Health and benefited.
Ms.Premlata Thakur (Centre for Social Action -C.S.A), Ms. Anucia for giving us
the hall to have programme.And Amali who helped me in mobilizing women of Babrekar
Nagar.
Premlata Thakur - Social Worker
Centre for Social Action
Legal Aid Workshop at Roshani Gruh Community Centre, Poinsur on 9th Dec, 2015
LEGAL AID WORKSHOP
Day/Date : 9-12-2015 Wednesday
Organizers: Roshani Gruh Community Centre ,Poinsur
Venue: Our Lady of Ramedy Church hall
Resource Person: Ms.Bhagyashree Joshi Mahale –
Advocate
A workshop was conducted by the Roshani Gruh Community Organization
on the 9th of December 2015. The topic was legal rights with a
specific focus on the Domestic Violence Act (2005). The resource persons for
the workshop was Advocate Ms.Bhagyshree Joshi Mahale.
The session was very
interesting for the participants as most of them knew a thing or two about the
DV Act; also she spoke about the Rights
of a Woman at a Police Station, filing of Zero FIRs, things to keep in mind
when filling an FIR, how to talk in the language of the Police, and other small
tips that social workers could use in various cases. She gave information on
property rights. Simple strategies and tips were provided so as to reduce
mistakes that would otherwise hurt the client and her case.
Although the
workshop was a short one the participants felt empowered with more knowledge
and information that they could take back to the community and their homes.
Feedback from the participants was positive with a stress on more sessions on
other laws as well.
Mishal Dabre
Senior Social worker
- CSA
Thursday 26 November 2015
Legal Aid Workshop at Jeevan Dai Community Centre, Sahar, 26th Nov, 2015
LEGAL AID WORKSHOP
Day/Date: 26-11-2015 Thursday
Organizers: Jeevan Dai Community Centre ,Sahar
Venue: Jeevan Dai Hall, Sahar
Resource Person : Ms.Chitra
Joshi is a well known person in ‘Dilaasa’, an NGO since 2001. She is the counsellor
of the Baba Hospital, OPD Counseling department. She is fully engaged in
women’s rights base work, her specialty being women and children issues. She,
in fact, gives all kinds of awareness programs for women, to motivate them and
make them aware of their rights. She helps women to open up and fight for their
rights. 
A workshop was
conducted by the Jeevan dai Community Organization on the 26th of November 2015. Ms. Indu (community
worker)began with awareness song.Sr. Nirmal had introduced the resource person. The
topic was legal rights with a specific focus on the Domestic Violence Act
(2005). The resource persons for the workshop were representatives of the well
known organization Dilasa which is a legal and counseling centre that offers
legal services, legal awareness trainings and also work at Baba Hospital to
counseling the cases. The session was very interesting for the participants as most
of them knew a thing or two about the DV Act; 
Two State appointed Protection Officers also
addressed the gathering as to what their duties and responsibilities were and
the various initiatives of the State to make these services more accessible to
the public. Several trainings and sensitization workshops were also conducted
for the Police and other staff to improve their understanding of their
responsibilities as representatives of the law enforcement. the participants
felt empowered with more knowledge and information that they could take back to
the community and their homes.
Mishal Dabre
Senior Social worker
- CSA
Saturday 21 November 2015
Let’s Learn Creativity Of Craft Articles With Salvation Community Centre. Dadar - 19th to 21st Nov, 2015
Salvation Community Centre, Dadar Ms Sunita Borkar and
Ms Rasika Bhandari organized a three day
Diwali camp program on the 19th, 20th & 21st November
2015, for the community children of women
who belong to SHG’s and House Workers groups. 
A total of 24 children participated. Ms Angeline
Pereira & Ms Melita Pereira were the resource persons for the three day
program. The event topic was flower making and card decoration. 
On 19th and 20th November
children learnt to making flowers & flower bouquets of different shapes and
colors by using duplex paper. On the 21st
November children learnt to make envelopes & card designs.
The children learnt to receive various good skills of
arts and other crafts articles through this event.
Report noted by- Ms Rasika Bhandari
Tuesday 3 November 2015
Participation in the BMC Exhibition of SHG products held at Mulund East
Date: 2nd and 3rd
November 15
Time: 8 a.m to 7
p.m
Venue: Chintamani Garden
Objective: Empowerment of the poor and
marginalized women
The T ward
officials i.e. community development officers invited St.Pius CCO to
participate in the SHG women’s stall. The purpose was to allow the women to
display and sale their home made products. The women would get the profit and
BMC had provided the place for the various SHGs. St.Pius CCO participated both the
days with lots of enthusiasm and zeal. Three women participated who had sold
home made bakery items and Diwali sweets.
The women got an
opportunity to come out in public and build confidence. They learnt a lot as it
was very new experience for them. There were around 34 SHGs along with St.Pius CCO.
Sr.Alison got a chance to explain about the various activities of St.Pius CCO. It was heart warming to see the overwhelming response from the people. Many
came and asked about the various services provided by the CCO.
The bakery items
especially the cakes were sold very fast. People liked it so much that they
came asking for the next day. We thank many people who helped us a lot in
putting up the stall. Thus the stall put up by St.Pius CCO helped the women to learn many things.
Friday 23 October 2015
Empowering CCO Staff through Capacity Building - Karuna Kendra, Pokhran - 23rd, Oct, 2015
Date: 23.10.2015
Time: 10am to 12:35pm
Venue: Karuna Kendra CCO,
Pokhran
Nature of the Training: Capacity
building training
Resource person: Ms.
Shilpa Kashelkar
Members Present: KK staff and
CSA staff (15 members)
The training started with a prayer song
after which there was an ice breaker game conducted by the resource person. She
led the participants into the process of collaborative efforts. The whole
purpose of it was to strengthen the staff and work together as Karuna Kendra CCO.
She explained ASK- A- Attitude, S- Skills,
K- Knowledge which are very much required in the field of social work.
She started with the brief Social Work-History, Meaning & Ethics/Principles
Understanding History- Service by
Family, Community, Kings, and Religious Groups etc. to aged, differently abled
people, destitute, widows, and people with poverty etc.
Meaning – Social work is a
helping profession; the main goal of social work is to improve a society’s
overall well-being, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Acting to bring about social or systemic
change to reduce social barriers, inequality and injustice.
Ethics/ Principles-To believe in
people’s inherent worth, dignity and capability of continuing development, To
work towards well being of people, To work with people with values such as
honesty, peace, cooperation and accountability
Social Work Methods
Individual Work/Case Work Method- Social case work is the method used by social workers/organizations to
help individuals to cope more effectively with their problems.
Group Work Method - Social
Group Work is a method of social work which helps the individuals to enhance
their social functioning through purposeful group experiences and to cope more
effectively with their problems.
Community Work Method- Community work is a primary method of social work. Community
Organization is the process of people coming together to address and work on
the issues that matter to them.
Community Organization –(Different
from Charity, Different from Individual and Group work) CO is using human
rights approach, with legal framework, it is work for justice and rights, based
on empathy, decision making and ownership with people, process is participatory
and transparent, working towards empowerment.
Community Work Methods
Principles -
Acceptance of Community, Understanding & identification of problems, Needs
& resources, Self Determination & Democratic Decision Making,
People’s Participation, Intergroup Approaches, Maximum Utilization of
Indigenous Resources, Evaluation,
Steps in CO- Identify the
problem, List the problem, Give Priorities, Select problem, Redefine problem,
Formulate achievable objectives, Work out alternatives, Select an appropriate
alternative, Work out a plan of action, Mobilization resources, Implement the
plan of action, Evaluate the action, Modification, Continuation, Select the
next problem
Role of CO- Communicator,
Guide, Counselor, Collaborator, Consultation, Innovation, Role Model, Catalyst,
medium, Motivation, Advocate, Mediator, Educator, Facilitator,
Characteristics of CO- An organized
personality, Free & open mind, Understand community situation with
cause and effects, Good observer, listener, Can develop communication
& networks,
Skills of CO - Problem
analysis, Resource Mobilization, Conflict resolution, organizing meeting,
Writing reports, Networking, Training
Strengthening CCO- Action Plan
Identifying leaders,- motivating them to take leadership, sharing
information, knowledge building, networking, using space for people to come
together, organizing meetings at center and communities, helping core members
of each group to identify needs, problems, and also to work on same
Identify Community Issues- Water,
Ration, Livelihood, SHG, Environment, and Food Security, health, Peace, Income
generation, Implementation of Government schemes, Law & rights, safety
Rights of – Children, Youth,
Women, Senior Citizen, Men
Use of Human Rights perspective and Community Organization for
empowerment of community people and sustainability - Participation,
Involvement, Network, Leadership, Responsibility Sharing, Information sharing,
Learning from each other, Community Ownership
The training ended with the few tips to work in collaboration with the
likeminded organizations in the cco which would enhance the activities of
karuna Kendra cco.
By: Sr. Anjana Parmar, CSA
Tuesday 8 September 2015
Girl Child Day Celebration - St. Pius X, Mulund - 11th Sept, 2015
The Supplementary Class being conducted at St. Pius X CCO, Mulund, hosted a programme - “Girl Child Day (8th Sept)” on the 11th September 2015 from 5.00 to 6.00 pm inviting
girls, boys and their parents to bring awareness of the girl child in our
country.
The programme
was conducted by Mrs Josephine Fernandes and Sr. Anjana. Sr. Anjana introduced Mrs Josephine
Fernandes to the audience and it was well taken care by the teachers. Josephine
did her best to draw attention to the parents the reasons why girl child is not
given importance when she is in the prime of the family. Looking after the
needs from sunrise to sunset e.g. making breakfast, cooking food, washing,
bathing children, teaching, showing love and care to the family. The mother/wife
works tirelessly for the family. She gets no income from her family members for
the love, care and sharing she shows in the household chores.
They showed how to respect a girl as she
represents mother, wife, sister or a friend so it calls for awareness in the
minds of our family. Treat a girl with goodness and kindness not for festivals
celebrations like Rakhi, Dassera, and Diwali etc. but through her whole life as
she is a model to her family and the world.
Women should
stand up for their rights. One woman shared how she stood for her girl child
when her husband did not take up the responsibility of the child. She took care
of the girl child single handedly in spite of all the struggles she had to undergo.
All clapped for this courageous act. Also girls showed interest in taking life
seriously and of choosing their career to be Doctor, Teacher, and Engineers
etc. All were appreciated for their determinations. Appreciation towards them
boosted their morale. Teachers spoke to the parents of individual child about
their performance in studies and encouraged their parents to do well and keep
them happy at home.
The program
ended with the strong determination and firmness to do something for the
humanity.
Wednesday 8 July 2015
Capacitated Leaders in Action, Poinsur - 8th July, 2015
On 8th July 2015,Roshini Graha Community
Centre had organized a Capacity Building Program for community women. CSA staff
– Ms. Mishal Dabre conducted a session on Leadership. 23 community women had
participated in this session. The objective of the workshops was to allow
community leaders to reflect on, and practice their values as well as build
their knowledge and use resources to improve community performance.
The workshop began with an icebreaker .Mishal spoke on
different styles of leadership that help them to develop skills and confidence.
Also she discussed leadership qualities and gave a recipe to become a good
leader. Women had shared their community issues like, toilet, water, garbage
etc. She guided the women on how they can take an initiative to solve these
issues at the community level.
As a result of the training after one week one of the
women from the community, Ms. Selvi P. had taken an initiative to solve the
toilet issue. She clicks pictures of the situation and then drafted a letter
with the help of CCO staff which will be submitted to the Ward Office. Her
ration card was cancelled but with the help of CCO staff she contacted the
Rationing Office and reactivated her card and solved the problem. The CCO staff
and community leaders have gained confidence and have sharpened their skills to
deal with authorities.
Mishal Dabre
CSA- Social Worker
Tuesday 3 March 2015
Women's Day Celebrated at Bunderpakhad, Kandivali 8-3-15
On the 8th of March Holy Cross Mahila Mandal, Bunderpakhadi had organized a Women’s day
program for men and women under the guidance of CSA staff Mishal Dabre. The
purpose of the program was to give awareness on gender equality. 
Mrs. Helan
Futardo was the main speaker. She expressed her valuable thoughts on men and
women equality. When women and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities
across all sectors of society, including economic participation and
decision-making, and when the different behaviors, aspirations and needs of
women and men are equally valued and favored. 
Fr.Elias D’cunha expressed that
women should take initiative to give better education to their children. Men
and women both have to take responsibility to bring change in the society.
The program
began with a prayer dance.300 men and women were present. Welcome song presented
by men and they did welcome all the woman with a flower .Women presented a skit
on women identity.
One of the representatives of Men and children read out a letter to
appreciate the valuable work of women. A cultural program was presented to celebrate the occasion. Mrs.Depali Vaity, the President of the Mahila Mandal was the compere of the
program.
by- Mishal Dabre
CSA Staff.
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