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‘Bholu 3’ to give wings of freedom to kids

DNA Newspaper

ANGANWADI, LAUNCHED WITH FOREIGN AID, WILL GIVE EDUCATION & HEALTH SERVICES TO CHILDREN

AIDILA RAZAK. AHMEDABAD

The Vadaj Tekra slum area of the city, a section surviving with inadequate means for long, was enlivened with excitement when the third anganwadi was inaugurated on Friday last. The anganwadi, which stands on land donated by a local resident, will provide pre-school education, health services and nutritious meals to more than 30 children in the area. Meals will also be provided to young and expectant mothers in the community.

The Vadaj Tekra slum area of the city, a section surviving with inadequate means for long, was enlivened with excitement when the third anganwadi was inaugurated on Friday last. The anganwadi, which stands on land donated by a local resident, will provide pre-school education, health services and nutritious meals to more than 30 children in the area. Meals will also be provided to young and expectant mothers in the community.

The establishment is built as part of the anganwadi project, which is jointly initiated by local NGO Manav Sadhna, Australian organisation Architect Without Borders and Sydney-based home ware company, Bholu.

The anganwadi, named Bholu 3, is designed by AWF volunteer Leeanne Marshall, who along with fellow Australian Harry Gardiner and other local builders, spent about two months to complete the project in record time.

Addressing parents, volunteers and other community members present on the day Marshall said, “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of this community, and for the many things which I have learnt during my stay.”

A number of AWF volunteers are making their way to Ahmedabad which means more anganwadis can be expected to crop up soon. Plans are in place to rebuild six existing anganwadis and renovate six more before the upcoming monsoon season.

“It is my dream to see the 86 anganwadis in the Tekra slum get reconstructed and renovated through the Anganwadi project. And I am sure we will be able to do this with the help of AWF volunteers,” said Bholu founder, Jodie Fried, who also celebrated her birthday yesterday.

Bholu, which has received multiple awards for responsible business in Australia, was inspired by the sophisticated skills and craftsmanship of the women artisan in the region of Kutch.

Bholu helps colour the world of Indian schools

22 April 2010

Bholu 8 School has been designed by Architect Without Frontiers (AWF) volunteers working in India.

Children at the school have been involved in painting the school a bright yellow.

The school’s architecture is focused on reusing water as an educational and hygiene tool as well as using recyclyed materials and objects to create exterior shade cloths and the children’s playground.

Volunteers are involved in designing, documenting and supervising the construction and repair of the anganwadis (preschools) in the slum areas of Ahmedabad, Gujurat, India.

Each anganwadi currently consists of crude one-room galvanised or brick lean-tos which have little or no ventilation and light.

The anganwadis are constructed by local labourers and use largely recycled materials in order to support the Manav Sadhna philosophy of ‘reuse, recycle and reduce’.

Bholu 9 School is currently underway and is expected to be opened before the Indian Summer hits and monsoon sets in. Land for Bholu 10 has been found and is being prepared for the next school to be built next season starting in September.

The Anganwadi Project was initiated through the work of Jodie Fried, the founder of Bholu in 2005 after an nine-year association with the NGO Manav Sadhna, based in Ahmedabad.