This year again, we intended to bring Christmas to those who missed out on it. As a teacher there mentioned, “Oh, you are the Santa Clauses for our kids.”  We nodded with grins on our faces but secretly admitted in our hearts that this is the least we can do. As we talked to the principal of the school, the stories that emerged about these children were heart-wrenching. From receiving no gifts for Christmas to going home where there’s no heat, each story is equally moving. We waited on all the children from 2nd and 3rd grades to finish lunch. We took about 127 gifts for the children hoping to cover as many as possible.

While we waited, we were visited by their special education teacher. She was really excited to know that there are groups like us that actually take the time and effort to make a day special for the children. After our conversation with her and exchange of email addresses, we’re looking at the possibility of establishing a unique program to help the children learn and expand their global knowledge.

By then, the children were extremely excited when we unveiled the gifts and laid them out on the table. After a short rendezvous, the kids lined up and with an unending stream of thank-yous reinstated in us the feeling of making a positive difference in the lives of the less privileged.

The best part? Getting a hug from a little boy stepping out of line as he leaves the room to get back to his class.

This visit has brought up a lot of new ideas towards which we as a group can move and also brought up new issues that need to be dealt with to ensure that, really, no child is left behind.

We heartily thank every single person who’ve donated their time, money, and gifts in a variety of ways to make this possible for the children of Burns Elementary School.

As we look forward to establishing a deeper partnership with Burns, here’s some food for thought as we start 2011 as a group: Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.  ~Neil Postman. What message do we want to pass on?

The day began with most of us setting up the banquet hall, decorating the tables and having a good time at the same time. That’s how families work and that’s exactly how it felt sharing the day with the fellow volunteers.

Finally, the time arrived when guests started trickling in. Within minutes, the banquet hall was buzzing with guests filing in. Once everyone had settled in, the hall was filled with the words ‘Mera bhi toh adhikaar hai’ (I too have the right…)

The performances for the night were exceptional. The keynote speech by the CRY America President herself was moving and inspiring. The donors generously opened their wallets, irrespective of the current turbulent economic times. The volunteers stepped up to the task and made every little detail of the night seem easy.

The music that filled the ambience was perfect and helped wrap up a successful fundraiser with tunes everyone present could dance to.

Everything happened like clockwork. All the preparations for this day that seemed to take an eternity had materialized into a wonderful event. The evening turned into night in the blink of an eye and still each one of us had only thought: Is it over already?

Raising funds was the main idea for the dinner. However, we raised something more than just money. We raised the level of consciousness in everyone. We raised the level of commitment in everyone. We raised the level of belonging, the level of connectedness.

When we parted that night with aching feet and innumerable fun memories, we knew we had made a positive difference in the lives of children we most likely will not get to meet. We had managed to give the phenomenon of unconditional compassion another boost of momentum.

At nights, now, we sleep a little better ‘cos we know for sure…

A time will come…when they [children] will rush to school, not to work. We believe it will.

By: Shama

As everyone settled down, the magician, Eli, yelled out, “How’s everybody doing today?” and the kids responded in an equally audacious manner. The thirty odd minutes of the magic show flew by. Every kid laughed  his or her heart out at Eli’s jokes and stared amazed at how objects were disappearing and reappearing in front of their eyes. It was a total delight for the adults as well.

While the magic show was going on,we also talked to a couple of teachers there. We were asked what CRY really is and also  found out that one of the teachers does the same for a small village near Ghana in Africa. We all really connected on that level. They were really excited about the work that we were doing. The magic show was brilliant.We enjoyed it as much as the kids did. After the show, we went out to thank the magician personally.It was totally wonderful of him to do the show for us.

It felt amazing how every time a kid would just smile at me when I would say ‘Picture time!’ When it was announced we were going to give gifts, they were thrilled. We took some more pictures  then the kids went back to the classes for some cake. The teachers invited us to go along. So we visited the 3 first grade classes.

The first class we visited, the kids were excited about Obama’s inauguration.They invited us to join them for a live telecast. When we were leaving to go to the next class, they gifted us Obama bookmarks.

In the next room, the kids welcomed us and it felt as if we had known them for a long time. We walked around the room, talking to the kids. We hi-5′d as we talked about the gifts that each of them got. They thanked us as the gift was always exactly what they had wanted.

There were a few moments when we got really emotional. One little girl pointed to each one of us and said, “She’s Indian, he’s Indian. When I grow up, I want to go to India.” She made sure that each one of us got a piece of cake, fork and napkins before she had her own piece. Another moment was when a little girl came up to us and said she loved her new Disney fleece blanket as she will not have to share a blanket with her siblings anymore.

It was exhilarating to be witnessing all this. We didn’t need to express to each other in words what this experience meant to us. As it stands currently, CRY Detroit is in talks with Burns Elementary for setting up a reading program as well as initiate a cultural show.

Like someone rightly said, “There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.” Our duty as grown-ups is to ensure they get to witness every single one of them.

Written by Shama Mehta

The night began with an anxious air, patiently waiting for people to come in hoping we can make the difference we hoped for. Then the party began, people started coming in and the room filled up fast.

From bhangra lessons to dancing the night away to the alcohol flowing from the bar, it was a magical night, that started with just a few innocent smiles, children who are unaware of how many hearts they have touched. I looked at the room and saw it full with people I know are here to bring those smiles; hidden behind dreams to reality, and those dreams have touched each one of us. We all hope we have made a difference, even if it be small. Though it was a night a lot of us were there to unwind and let go, our motivation to be there after a long week were those children on the posters, their smiles made everything worth it, the reason to get ready and come here to make this night happen, their dreams are worth it all.

By: Shruti Garg

This feeling.

The day started with each one of us waking up with this feeling, looking forward to the day that belonged to children thousands of miles away. Every minute was dedicated to every single underprivileged child. Every smile was devoted to every hope. We quickly recapped the last three months that went by, the initiative of the leaders, the passion of the planners and the will of us all. We reached the venue, considered it as a blank drawing board and painted it with flowers, saris, candles and determination. We marched by the afternoon to acquire perfection. Why? Because we wanted to make sure that everyone who came to dine, to support, left the room filled with this feeling. And they came, danced, dined, smiled and donated. They all cared, traveling from other cities, traveling in spite of busy schedules, enjoying in spite of the economy.

Yes, this feeling is contagious.

The evening began with dreamers and doers, one by one, each sharing their experiences as volunteers and achievers. Then came the changers, the ones that make you move, a mile at a time. They projected stories of sorrow and talked about expressions of change.  The children danced in black and grace, in color and passion, with diyas and dreams. And they all expressed this feeling in their own beautiful way.

This feeling is special.

The volunteers raised questions and answered with facts and firm beliefs. While one journeyed the audience through child marriage, the others addressed upon child labor and rights.  Others collected, displayed and raised care with the help of silence and handicrafts. Some of us served, registered, took care of the logistics, with a hope to make this a successful conversation rather than only a successful event. Some orchestrated tunes and notes, keeping the energy level of all those on the other side of the stage over hundred percent. They played music and everyone danced, the ones with sprained ankle, the ones with heels, the ones with two left feet and the ones with curfews. We all danced, irrespective of age, irrespective of color, irrespective of time. We all danced this feeling.

This feeling is priceless.

We walked out of the room to our own comfort zones, saying silent promises of never quite becoming too comfortable in our lives that we forget those who need us. We were already trotting next steps, missing the days that had gone by, wishing we all could be together again and do this all over again. Because the feeling that we got because you came, you volunteered, you lead, you donated, you dined, you served, you danced, you enacted, you announced, you organized, you sang, is not temporary. It lives for more than a day.

This feeling is permanent.

Author: Mansi

At the spur of dawn, dozens of volunteers dressed in white and love for humanity ran around with sheets of papers, posters, ribbons and tables, to make sure they welcomed the honorary walkers like they deserved.

One by one, the hope bearers came, in colors, in smiles, in strength, in unity. They registered while the volunteers greeted them with smiles on behalf of every single child who was being helped today.

A few months back, two volunteers took the first steps while a battalion of harbingers joined in. What had started as an idea for an event a few months back had become an important landmark in each of their lives. All of them tread on a path with their strong torches and hearts filled with care. They chanted the prayers of the children while they stomped every foot on the ground with determination to fulfill dreams.

The words of Nelson Mandela were repeated in the spirit of child rights, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” A crowd of us stood facing north bowing to the two flags that sway in proud wind, flags of United States of America and India. We beamed with pride while a 12 yr old sang America’s prestige and a Mom sang India’s honor.

CRY Detroit’s initiator stood on a pedestal and led everyone through an emotional journey of the cause and the reason we all cared. We didn’t have to say it. Everyone knew why. As three girls mounted their feelings in the form of a beautifully enacted skit, everyone sat spellbound and teary-eyed. We all witnessed ourselves on the right; the ones who lived happily but wished we were all there on the left, for the ones who barely lived.

And then we walked. Our care today might have stretched three miles long but with each mile we remembered, we supported, we commemorated, we recognized, we protected, we gave and we cared.

As a Henna painter painted everyone’s hands in shades of orange and green, she etched feelings of patronage in each of the lives. As a green clown with a cherry nose, walked around spreading smiles and bubbles of laughter, painting faces with fairies and mermaids, she led them to the road to compassion.

Today as everyone walked, watching the light grow in their eyes, seeds were sown. Seeds of hope, of a better tomorrow, of a better future, of a better life for millions of all the children who sang in unanimity, “mera bhi toh adhikaar hai, jivan ki har khushi par, zindagi par (lt is my birthright, to be happy, to live )”.

Today, we walked. We put our best foot forward and fought for that adhikaar (right). We walked for happiness. We walked for life.

Today, we walked.

- Mansi

It was a regular Saturday afternoon, sleeping in late, maxing my credit cards, whining about the Michigan weather, lunch at Indian buffet and then something. That something changed the meaning of today for me. Relay for life, organized by American Cancer Society. And I just don’t mean changed my today as in June 22nd, 2008, I really meant that it changed how I would look at my everyday todays.

We all walked amidst all the thousand candles covered in golden luminaries, all sketched in colors with names of Cancer survivors, Cancer fighters and Cancer victims. We were not just a crowd of three hundred people walking in silence on the path of hope for Cancer cure but we were accompanied by thousand others whose aspirations sat on our shoulders while we walked. Aspirations of a better tomorrow. Aspirations of a tomorrow.

We all stood under the dusky skies, unsurpassed by the beeping time, uninterrupted by the Saturday hypes, choosing to walk for life over our regular Saturday sundries.  “Dear daddy, we miss you”, “Age: 12 years, cancer survivor since 10″, “In loving memory of Smita Masi”, one by one we walked by each life loved and commemorated.

Tonight, we might not have held hands or shed tears, we might not have shared memories in silence, we might not have looked at the sky with our hands joined together in search of answers but we celebrated, we laughed, we danced and we laughed some more. Because while we raised money to find cure for cancer, we appreciated in awe, a guitar player fifty feet over our heads, we smiled at the idea of auctioning cutesy mannequin heads, we cheered along beautiful henna carved in our hands and celebrated. We celebrated those are fighting, who did. We celebrated those who had won the war and those who would. We celebrated at the idea of hope that in a few years no being would have to hear the three words “you have cancer”.

And we did know that hope will change to cure someday, we did know we needed to love our todays, we did know that in life, all there was to do was to live.

In life, all there was to do was to live. And happy.

-Mansi Trivedi

The loud thuds of enthusiasm sprung from Mr. Mohan Singh’s dhol while he tutored all of us on how to shake a leg or two. We carefully followed. “Make flowers with your palms and move from side to side”. We all beamed high with smiles, slightly overjoyed at the idea of finally becoming Bhangra pros.

SPIN started with a volunteer’s creative thought and DJ Ramsy’s spirit. And then, On May 10th, 2008, we all witnessed SPIN as nothing less than a million moments of magnificence contained in one memorable night. Spinners came from various walks of life with various cultural backgrounds carrying expertise in a variety of fields. All under one roof, to support one enormous cause: Child Rights.

The dimly lit magenta walls carried messages of Child Rights and You (CRY). The room was beaded with conversations of the cause. The disco lights spilled enough life on the dancers’ faces to tell you how much fun everyone was having. The music synchronized everyone’s energies into one great experience. Everyone tapped their feet on Bollywood and Bhangra. Everyone swayed on the constant rhythms of the irresistible beats. Everyone sang along with Amitabh, Madhuri and Abhishek! Everyone let out some fancy steps and lived the night out.

SPIN was one night where we witnessed a lighting of a proverbial candle of hope by four hundred hands. SPIN was one night where we had 200 volunteers all ready to reach out their hand for those who needed it, million miles away. SPIN was one night where we consider everyone a volunteer.

For selling the roses and the beads, for buying the roses and the beads, for dancing away, for making everyone dance away, for teaching lessons, for taking lessons, for initiating, for following, for caring.

For caring

SPIN recognizes you as a torchbearer for the future because you came and you supported. You danced your heart out and you believed that even by shaking a leg or two, even by being a million miles away, even by doing what you love doing most – dancing, you made a difference.

So hold this night in your head and frame it up, you ought to be proud of yourself because a kid will be looking up at the unknown, and thanking you soon, for spinning away and supporting CRY.

- CRY Detroit team (Article by Mansi Trivedi)

For more photos click here

This little dream made a huge difference. With Sur-Taal.

Let’s rewind to January. One volunteer amongst us brought up this idea in a room filled with ten people. She hesitated for a second but she spoke aloud. “Will it be possible? This idea of kids for kids.” We all looked at each other, seemingly curious about where this was going to lead us? She directed us to a beautiful idea about a kids’ show for all the underprivileged kids in India and US. She had set a step by step approach towards the plan. She had a vision with one motive – remember the little dream? All of us held hands and took the first step with her. We witnessed a miracle. We were introduced a part of us who believed so vivaciously that we could dedicate all of ourselves to someone we have never met but we all knew personally. We all share an undecipherable connection with the little kids of domestic workers in Mumabi, sex workers in Faridabaad, construction workers in Cochin, homeless in Texas. The kids who tell us their stories every day through their minds sending us a message of hope from lands far away.

We spent hours and days trying to get majority of people involved in this little dream. We wanted to tell a story. We wanted to raise care. We wanted to grow the chain. And on March 8^th, in an auditorium filled with 400 people, we did. Today, we look back on those 4 hours that made a difference to a thousand lives and we say:

To the teachers

You took your talents. You took your armors. You took your tools. You took your experiences. You took your intentions. You taught. You taught the kids how to care. You taught us how one person can make a remarkable difference. You taught without anything in return but a thousand smiles sitting in their little worlds and thanking you. For what you did today, for who you are and for how much you cared. You really taught us all.

To the talents

You danced. You sang. You smiled. You practiced. You perfected. In all your beautiful ways. In all your elaborate ways. You made the show splendid. You made it all worthwhile. You, at such a young age, saved the world. You are heroes. You are heroes and you are now carrying the torch of hope for all of us. You made us all proud.

To the show-runners

You orchestrated. You organized. You ran the show. You hosted. You put your warm arms around everyone involved in the show and made sure you took us from start to finish. You gave us and the little dreamers a big happy ending.

To the volunteers

You dreamt. You sacrificed. You ran around. You prioritized. You hoped. You brought everyone together. You took your time. You smiled. You stood up. You united. You raised the bar up high. You created a whole new meaning of hope. You left all your worlds behind for this new world. You are the everyday soldiers of this war against fate.

To the audience

You applauded. You laughed. You cried. You watched. You watch the conception of an idea to a plan to a perfect picture. You helped from start to end in every way you could and more. You held our hands. And you were there. When we all needed you the most. You supported.

This was our first step of 2008 and you helped us make it an enormous one. Let’s all hope you take milestones and leaps with us all through this journey of this little dream called CRY.

-Mansi Trivedi