Music for a charitable cause
Paintings for charity
SOCARE-IND's letter to Zansam
Corporate Social Responsibility
Music washes
awayfrom the soul, the
dust of everyday life
—Berthold Auerbach
|
Music for a charitable cause
Welfare of underprivileged children has been close to the hearts of all of us at Zansam. As a non-commercial group, none of the Zansam members seek revenue out of our concerts. Our concert is in aid of Society’s Care for Indigent (SOCARE IND), a social organization set up for children of life convicts. Below is a brief profile of SOCARE IND.
Society’s Care for Indigent (SOCARE IND) was formed in 1999, by Subramaniam Mani and houses over 100 such underprivileged children today. These children receiving support are afflicted with social backwardness and economic deprivation. Either parents are prisoners of crimes. Very often it is the father who has murdered the mother in a rage of drunken stupor or the mother who killed an unfaithful, abusive husband. With the kids as a blood splattered witness to the crime.
Mani and his staff nurse them through their nightmares and teach them hope along with inculcating some middle class values through stories. SOCARE IND provides them with food, shelter, clothing, education and a hope to make a life of their own—away from the stigma of prison or criminal parents.
SOCARE IND runs and maintains a hostel “home” for children born of life convicts in Karnataka jails. It takes comprehensive care of the children like boarding, lodging, health, education, training, etc… free of cost. These kids range from the age of 3 to 16. All have been put in decent schools. It maintains a guest house (retiring room) for life convicts (on parole) and their families.
All this has been funded by well meaning middle class families so far. But as the strength of children coming has grown from 15 to 100 in the last 9 years, so have the challenge of maintaining the Home for these children.
Last year the Home celebrated the achievements of one of the boys who got 94% in SSC board exams. He has got admission in one of the better colleges in Bangalore. But the fear looming over him is whether he will get enough funds to complete his education, and set an example for the other children too.
These children are the innocent victims of crimes committed by their own parents. Often too young to comprehend the seriousness of the crime, but aware that their parents have done something “bad”, they fail to understand why they are outcasts in the society. They are taken to meet their parents in jail once in 3 months. But they relate more to their uncle Mani as most have been in the Home since early childhood and their entire life is the Home and the love-affection they get there.
The goal of SOCARE IND is to impart training to the children and render them fit to take up jobs/develop entrepreneurship for self employment, enough to support themselves and their families. And the bigger goal is to prepare the children to shoulder responsibilities as they grow into responsible citizens doing their duties as citizens. Live their dreams like any other child, to become a police officer or an engineer, and a good human being like their Uncle Mani.
SOCARE IND issues Greeting Cards to fetch some funds and food is often donated by well wishing public. But it still need more people and organizations to come together to ensure that these kids have a fighting chance at making a life of their own. Let’s ensure that they grow in a free society and not behind prison walls serving time for crimes not committed by them.
When members of Zansam met SOCARE IND, we knew we wanted to get associated. Our forthcoming concert is a start of an association that we at Zansam hope will give a better future to a few innocent children. After meeting the expenses of the concert, Zansam will donate 50% of all surpluses generated by the concert to SOCARE IND. The balance 50% would be retained as development and sustenance fund by Zansam to continue to hold similar events in future. In addition, Zansam will also sponsor, develop and maintain SOCARE IND’s website.
Help us contribute the maximum to a noble cause. To associate with Zansam in this venture, or to know more, write to us at charity@zansam.in or call us (Lakshmi) +91 99002 80307; (Aniket) +91 98867 21844; (Rujuta) +91 98453 55598 |
|
See paintings done by members of Zansam to support the cause of SOCARE IND |
