Care & Share Alumni on TV

This video was telecast on N TV (a Telugu News TV channel). The quality of this will be low because we compressed it. Sorry about this.
To view this Video please visit this link.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6878467877225281592&hl=en

"Express Yourself"

A Two-day Workshop - "Express Yourself" - was conducted for the children of Daddy's Home by the former students of Care & Share. Nikhila Henry, a Journalist from The Times of India, Rajesh Mandhapati from N TV and Ramesh Babu Para from The Central University of Hyderabad conducted this Workshop.

A Day with Colours...

An ART WORKSHOP for the children of Care & Share at Daddy's Home was conducted on 26 October 2008. Artist LALITHA DORAI from Hyderbad went to Daddy's Home to conduct the Art and Yoga classes. We are indeed grateful to her for sharing her time and skills with our children.

Sekhar Babu BUNGA

A simple man with many good qualities, Sekhar Babu BUNGA, is from a village called Pedapatnam. He did his Elementary and High school studies at Machilipatnam. Later he did his Intermediate and Graduate studies at the Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada. He is an MBA from Andhra University. He completed his Masters in Business Administration in the year 2006. His first job was with ICFAI University as a Marketing Executive. He is now working for Care & Share in the Accounts Department. He is a very humble and religious minded man. His father and mother are agricultural labourers and the family owns some fields in which they grow Rice. Sekhar has a younger sister who got married two years ago and a younger brother who has joined the Jesuits and is now studying in the seminary. He has a big family of relatives. His Grandfather had 4 sons and 2 daughters.

Sekhar's Daddy
Carlo Gamboso &
Mummy Patrizia

Karunakar VURA

Karunakar is studying to be a Chartered Accountant. He completed his CA Inter and ICWA. At present he is working in RSM Associates, an Accountancy firm in Vijayawada. He has a younger sister who is in Dubai. His father is a farmer and cultivates Rice. His mother does not keep good health since she is a diabetic patient. The family recently built a new house. Karunakar is also from Pedapatnam village, an island near Machilipatnam. He started schooling late, but he always stood first in his class. He is a hardworking person. He never gives up easily. He is a cousin of Sekhar Babu Vura. Both of them studied together since childhood.

Sunil smiles when he thinks of his Mom Silvia

Sunil LELLA also called Sunny is from a village called Pedapatnam. He completed his Masters in Business Administration from the Universtiy of Pune. At present he is working for ICFAI University as a Marketing Executive. "Tenacious" is a word which describes his character well. He is also very hard working. He was fortunate to travel to Italy to visit his Sponsors - Mummy Silvia & Daddy Massimo. They offered him this trip to Italy last summer. It was a thrilling experience and he says that he learnt a lot from the trip. He did his early school studies at Machilipatnam and then his Graduate studies at Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada. He says that his Mom Silvia is like an Angel for him. He never sleeps without remembering her. He owes his success and achievements to her. She is his strength!

Sekhar Babu VURA

My name is Sekhar Babu Vura. I am from Pedapatnam which is a small village on the sea shore of the Bay of Bengal. When I think of Care & Share I remember the story of Jesus and his disciples. Mummy Carol Faison and Daddy Noel Harper started Care & Share with a few students, most of them from this small insignificant village of Pedapatnam as Jesus called the simple fishermen from Galilee. Coming to my personal life, I completed my Bachelor of Commerce from Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada, in the year 2003. After that I joined the Jesuits to become a priest. My inspiration was Fr. Yadala Balaswamy, the priest who picked us up from Pedapatnam and who was part of the journey of Care & Share in the initial stages. For personal reasons I left the Jesuits in 2006. I wanted to do MBA (Masters in Business Administration) after leaving the seminary but the family financial situation did not permit and I had to go to work. I hoped to study at the same time. I went to Chennai and found employment in a Call Centre working for Dell Computers. My work with them for 2 years was a great learning experience for me. A couple of months ago I met Mummy and Daddy again after a gap of several years. It was a happy reunion. When I shifted to Hyderabad and was looking for another job they offered me the opprtunity to work with them. This is how I landed in Care & Share from where I first learnt to fly.

Regarding my childhood and family. I studied upto Class 5 in the School and Hostel at Manginapudi Beach with Fr. Balaswamy where Care & Share took roots. My father was a farmer and my mother also worked in the fields. I have an elder sister who is a school Teacher and an elder brother who is now working at the Farm in Daddy's Home. All through my school and college studies I stayed in hostels. That was a difficult experience to be away from home. Sometimes I am terrified reliving life in the Hostels. Of course talking about the positive side I learned to be disciplined and self-controlled.

Mummy and Daddy are my living gods and angels. They have given life to so many children. The kind of love and concern both of them show towards the children is awesome and amazing. I am ever grateful to them.

They Redefined Love

Raju SALI is from a village called Bhaskararaopet near Machilipatnam. India is a country of thousands of villages. One of the problems in India is lack of good education facilities in rural areas. Poverty in India is also caused by the difficulty in getting a good education. With the help of Anna & Michele Rossi, Raju Sali finished his MA (Master of Arts) in Economics & M Phil (Master of Philosophy) from Andhra University.
Anna & Michele Rossi are not from India but Raju calls them Mom & Dad. This new family began 17 years ago. They redefined the sense of love and relationship in his life. Raju is happy with his adopted Mum and Dad and loves them more than anything in the world. He is thankful to Care & Share because it created the roots for many new relationships like his.

Love Changed His Life ...

Swamy is from a village called Pedapatnam. It is an island on the shore of the Bay of Bengal near Machilipatnam in India. His parents were poor farmers and could not afford to give him an education. He was helped by Care & Share to study upto his MBA. Paolo, his adopted father from Italy helped him to study and took care of all his needs. This was a real father and son relationship. A relationship that knew no boundaries and no distance though they lived in two different countries. Care & Share helped to build this relationship. Both of them are in contact with each other writing letters and sending e-mails. Paolo used to come to India every year during the winter season and would spend several days with Swamy. After completing his Masters in Business Administration Swamy began to work for the ICFAI University as a Marketing Executive. He recently got married. He proudly says that Paolo changed his life. It was a long journey of 17 years. Now he would like to give back the care he experienced. This he says is the only way he can show his gratitude to Care & Share and to his Beloved Daddy Paolo.

MUMMY

It is difficult to find words to describe Mummy Carol and what she is to us.

Carol Faison is the Founder of Care & Share. She is an American. She went to Venice, Italy, when she was a young girl and lived there ever since. The Care & Share Journey began 17 years ago. In 1991 her brother Tony visited Manginapudi and saw us boys and girls in the Hostel. The photos he took back touched her heart. She and her family and friends began to sponsor some of us. Her charitable heart supported our care and education. She gave us love and care. When we saw her smiling face for the first time as little children we were captivated. What began with a few of us in a small orphanage on the Bay of Bengal soon became a programme reaching out to hundreds and thousands of children. So many have joined hands in this great work and so many children have benefitted. We, the first children, who received her love and care are testimony to it. This is the story of a Mother with 6,000 plus children. Maybe she is the only Mother who has so many kids! In spite of the fact that she has done so much she still wants to do more for the children. There are so many things that one can say about her and write about her but maybe we can just say that she is a MUMMY ... in capital letters...!

At the bottom of her e mail she has these words :
"We find joy in life, when we find people who help others, for no other reason, than it is the right thing to do." She is an inspiration to us urging us to find joy in helping others!

We love her
We are proud to be the children of Carol Mummy & Noel Daddy
We follow in her footsteps
We don't say: "Thank you" but we say to her: "We in turn will SHARE with others the CARE that we have experienced" !

DADDY

NOEL Daddy...A man of simplicity. He is always peaceful and serene. He is a man for others. He is very committed and hardworking. Love is his Address. He loves every child and cares for each of them. Patience stands first among his good qualities. We are proud to be Daddy's children. He is working for a noble cause - to help children have a better life.

Memorable Moments...

Foundation Day

We, the Old Students of Care & Share decided to start an Alumni Association. We are very happy we come together to remember the "care" we received and to "share" our love with the present children of Care & Share. Once...hands reached out to help us....now we are raising our hands ... and joining hands... to reach out to the less fortunate children and all those in need. We are proud to be part of the family of Care & Share! 15 August 2008 : Foundation Day! The first batch of students of Care & Share come together to form the "Care & Share Alumni Association"(CSAA) There were moments of fun when we, the Old Students, played a cricket match against the present Students. Though we lost the game we were happy to recreate moments of our childhood...! ...and there were serious moments when we spoke to the present students and shared our feelings, our thoughts, our experiences... and we hope that this will motivate them to "do" more and "be" more!

THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF CSAA:

Sekhar Babu Bunga, MBA (working in ICFAI as a Marketing Executive)
Sunil Lella, MBA (working in ICFAI as a Marketing Executive)
Sekhar Vura, B Com (working in Care & Share)
Rajesh Mandhapati, MA (Communications) (working in N TV)
Raju Sali, MA, M Phil (working as an Accountant)
Swaminadham, MBA (working in ICFAI as a Marketing Executive)
Francis, MSc (working in Birla Sun Life Insurance)

OFFICE BEARERS:

The following were elected Office Bearers at the first CSAA Meeting held on 16 August 2008:

Rajesh MANDHAPATI, President
Sunil LELLA, Vice President
Sekhar VURA, Secretary
Sekhar BUNGA, Treasurer
Raju SALI, Programme Coordinator

An Untold Story - Rajesh

With hope in my heart...hope for a new life...fearful of new struggles... I started my journey in life. I am from a small village called Pedapatnam which is near Machilipatnam on Bay of Bengal. Though my village is surrounded by water I don't know how to swim. But I learnt how to swim in my life with the helping hands that reached out to me! A new Mother entered my life! A voice told me to take courage and move on...and it shaped my life. She held my hands and showed me the way. A hand once passed on to me a Rs 20 note...a gift from her... I still remember...it was the first time I touched a "large" (to me at that time) sum of money. It touched my heart. It gave me hope. My Mom's hands..! Those hands that helped me... cared for me...held me..! Now I am a new creation...a fruit of her love and care. She made me what I am today and my life has now started in the real world... I completed my Master of Arts in Communications from the Central University, Hyderabad. I am presently working in N TV, a local language News Channel, as a Programme Producer. I recently received an Award for the Best TV Documentary Film. I dedicate this Award to her...my Sponsor...my Mom...Sandra Nalin! I never saw her until now. I hope to meet her one day... But even if I never do I will always remember her ... and feel her love for me!

A Son waiting to see his Mom,

Rajesh MANDHAPATI

Reaching-Out Day

13 September - It's Daddy's Birthday! We celebrated it as "REACHING-OUT DAY". We wanted to make this day meaningful and so we decided to spend this day for others. In the morning, we (the children of Daddy's Home and the Former Students) cleaned the streets of Buddavaram village and gave them 20 big plastic garbage bins. In the afternoon we spent time with the children - Talking to the children, motivating them and playing games with them. This how we made Daddy's Birthday special. We hope to make this an annual feature.

Rajesh in the News

From an article published in the HINDU Newspaper. You can find the link at: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2007/04/02/stories/2007040201190100.htm

Probing an Asterisk

Students from the city campus participate in the festival with a film inspired by reality. SYEDA FARIDA finds out :

SHOOTING STARS - The young filmmakers of "Nageswara Rao 'Star' " look beyond hep and happening to explore larger issues.

An admission list on a campus notice board with a few asterisks, denoting reservation categories, bag eyeballs. No memorandum here. The disquiet against this practice takes the shape of a film that students make as part of a campus assignment. The film - Nageswara Rao 'Star' - was screened at the recently concluded Hyderabad International Film Festival.

Citing the asterisk, "Outside the campus we don't have a different identity. We decided to write a script relating to our identity and linked to historical incidents. The film was inspired by the Tsundur massacre. Nageswara Rao, also the protagonist in the film, hails from a place near Tsundur. The massacre affected some part of his existence," says the young filmmaker Rajesh Mandhapati, a M.A Communications fourth semester student, SN School, University of Hyderabad.

Moving beyond regular News Bulletin productions that most Communication students produce, making a short film of festival standards on campus was a feat for the young achievers who decided to select a sombre theme for a narrative. "Discrimination is in-built in any set up -be it on class, caste or gender. Further, it is easy to speak on hep and happening things. There are issues, such as reservation, which you come across in hostels and classrooms. Just that people don't talk about them. When you have a student sitting next to you telling the story, you start thinking," says Nikhila Henry, who worked on the film script with Shonreichon. Rajesh and Nikhila, who edited the film, have public service messages on the Girl Child for UNICEF and Prasar Bharati Awards to their credit. Siva Kumar comes on board on the concept.

Journalist-turned-filmmaker William Nessen's narrative set in Indonesia served as an influence for these filmmakers. As part of the course we have to see a lot of films. What inspired us to make this film in the format was The Black Road - Inside Aceh's Struggle for Independence screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival that we attended. We used the self-reflective mode of narration that the film showcased. It is good that Hyderabad is coming up with Film Festivals," says Shonreichon who aims to be a Writer.

The two months of production saw the team travelling. " We went to the villages and met the families of victims. Most wanted to let the wider audience know about the issue. The film was shot in various locales in the city and on campus. We did not want it to sound as a dry documentary. Further it is not victimisation but identity assertion," adds Nikhila.

Talking about the striking title for their flick - "We did not decide upon it till we edited the film. We never expected to screen the film at a festival," says Nikhila who plans to be a media professional, much like the journalist in The Black Road.

Post festival plans ahead for the stars include working on their untitled short film, a 10-15 minute fiction film and class assignment. "It is again about discrimination. I think we are obsessed by the concept. This one looks at class discrimination through a narrative that features an encounter between a raddiwala and a rich girl," says Rajesh as he looks forward to making feature films in some time for a vocation.

An Award for Rajesh

NENUNNANU Programme of N TV was given an Award for the Best Feature video. This Programme is Directed by Rajesh Mandhapati (a Former Student)