Tag: Guria

shuktara - Chaturdashi

Chaturdashi – the evening before Kali Puja

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Lighting of 14 candles at Anna Bari

Chaturdashi is observed on the night before Kali Puja. Fourteen lamps were lit and placed around the house to remember 14 generations of those who have died.

In the video Sunil is lighting the candles around Anna Bari.

VIP Guests at the Kali Puja Inauguration

On the same evening Pappu took Guria, Prity, Aakash and Bappa to a Kali Puja inauguration where they were VIP guests and Pappu was able to speak to the audience about the work he does at shuktara.

shuktara - Guria

Gift Aid Awareness Day

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shuktara - Guria and her physical therapistGift Aid allows UK charities to claim back the basic rate tax already paid on donations by the donor (only UK donors are eligible). This means we can claim back from the government on your behalf 25p for every £1 donated, boosting the value of the donation by a quarter.

We are grateful for your donations, both the one-off gifts and the standing orders that you have set up.

This extra money makes so much difference in Kolkata, it means we can do things like pay for more physiotherapy classes for Guria, who has cerebral palsy and lives at Lula Bari.

If you are a supporter of shuktara and haven’t filled up a Gift Aid Declaration form please think about it.

It’s really easy and all the information is available here:
shuktara.org/donate/
So, if you pay Income Tax in the UK your donation can go much further if you take a few minutes and fill out the form.
Thank You!

shuktara

Mahalaya and a Birthday Weekend at shuktara

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On Saturday 28th September we celebrated Mahalaya, this is the day that Durga comes to earth and the beginning of the celebration of Durga Puja which starts when her face is unveiled on the 4th October.

28th September is the day that Subhash celebrates his birthday and also a day when visitors come to shuktara with gifts for everyone because of Mahalaya and the forthcoming festival.

This year we had a lot of gifts – clothes, food, umbrellas and blankets and a promise of a water filter machine for Anna Bari. Pappu’s friends Navin and Rajesh filled up a car with food (see photo) enough for both our homes.

When everyone found out that Guria celebrates her birthday the following day, on the 29th September, our guests rushed out to buy cake for her, to be kept in the fridge. So Guria ended up with 3 cakes on Sunday including the one that Pappu had organised for her.

Nobody arrives at shuktara with a date of birth. But everyone has a birthday that they choose or is chosen for them if they are unable to do so.

Thank You to all our friends and supporters here in Kolkata, India and around the world.

shuktara homes - Moni balancing a ball

Physiotherapy update

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Since April of 2018 Sandeep (our physiotherapist) has been coming to shuktara twice a week. We thought you might like to see how the girls at Lula Bari are doing – check out the photos and short videos below.

Sandeep visits Anna Bari as well for Subhash, Bappa, Aakash and Sumon.

Prity

Prity is most comfortable sitting – but Sandeep is trying to get her to stand for longer periods to strengthen her legs.

Pappu says:

“Prity is concentrating more now with physio because as she is 18 years old her study at REACH school is over. She has more time to improve herself with the help of the physiotherapist and she is doing well. It will take a long time for Prity to improve her movement.”

Moni

When Moni came to shuktara she would only crawl. Now with regular physiotherapy she is standing and walking more confidently.

Pappu says:

“Moni is improving a lot and Sandeep thinks if she listens to him then she can walk freely.”

Guria

Physiotherapy for Guria is all about straightening, stretching, strengthening. She works very hard at her exercises twice a week.

Pappu says:

“Guria is trying hard but her disability [means that] most parts of her body don’t act together. His aim is to coordinate Guria’s movement however that will take a long time.”

shuktara home for disabled girls

Stitching with Guria

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The shuktara girls are quite accomplished in stitching and have created many samplers over the years – you can see more of their work in the video below. The second short video shows just how much Guria can do despite her difficulty with fine motor skills. We think you’ll be absolutely amazed at Guria’s stitching technique.

shuktara home for disabled girls
shuktara homes for disabled people

Lula Bari goes pink

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Kolkata International Women’s Club (KIWC) has been very supportive of the girls in Lula Bari. At the end of March they sponsored the painting of the ground floor of Lula Bari and chose a very shuktara colour – pink!

Members of KIWC Nikita and Caroline came to Lula Bari to see the finished job. We think it looks amazing and really highlights the handmade stitching samplers done by our girls. Thank you KIWC!

shuktara homes for young people with disabilities

Spa Day at Lula Bari

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Sunnie Niklaus is visiting shuktara and that always means exciting activities for the girls. Last Sunday she went to Lula Bari for a "spa day" - let's just let Sunnie tell you about it in her own words...

"Home "spa days" are one of my favorite things. I do them with my young nieces, my roommate, my friends, etc. It’s basically relaxing and catching up with a little nail polish, face masks and probably some glitter mixed in.

A spa day with everyone at Lula Bari seemed like a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

There were cleansing face wipes, aloe moisturizer and face massages, epic amounts of sparkly blush and lipstick.
After lunch it was manicures, pedicures, a lipstick color swap and crafting some floral hair accessories.

The afternoon ended as everything should, with pizza. 🙂 All in all, a fantastic girly afternoon at Lula Bari!"

Tamina took the prize for epic amount of blush

Muniya for working the heck out of a flower hair accessory

Guria for lipstick color swaps (red, pink, red, pink)

Lali for pure enthusiasm

Prity for rocking a hint of blush with just a touch of lip gloss

Moni for a solid braid game

Puja for mastering the art of relaxation

Thank you Sunnie for the wonderful "spa day"!