 new furry friend ‘Shiv’ into their animal shelter in Jaunapur. The puppy was rescued from Sikandarpur in Gurgaon. We brought him to our shelter and got him vaccinated. Earlier he was scared, used to cry and missed his mother a lot. But his indomitable spirit is undying - now he is settled down with his other furry friends, he is comfortable at the shelter and loves to race around in the garden.
During the lockdown, Angaja Foundation’s General Secretary Ms. Raka Sinha Bal came across three dogs in the area between Sultanpur Estate and Jaunapur. Unfortunately, just like every other distressed stray, they became prey to the mange disease.  She gave them medicines and took great care of them. Now all of them are okay and thriving happily.
Innocent animal lives are seen as disposable in our country where even human lives on the streets are not valued. Covid-19 has disrupted our lives and brought hardship and grief to many. It is a tough time for most of us, but we feel that it is even tougher for the helpless and the voiceless. This pandemic has impacted negatively on our animal population. Animals have lost their access to human interaction and most importantly food and water on the streets due to the lockdown and curfew. To save these animals, our General Secretary Ms. Raka Sinha Bal have been regularly feeding the cattle and dogs and have also setup water troughs for them in Jaunapur, Chattarpur, Sultanpur Estate which are all farm house areas in South Delhi and also in Gwal Pahari which lies in Gurgaon District of Haryana. We have also been feeding cats, dogs and cattle in Kotla Mubarakpur, which is a part of South Delhi District.
Maggots is one of the more common problems that the dogs face. At Angaja Foundation’s shelter, three street dogs living there were affected with deep maggot infested wounds. It creates severe pain and itching for dogs. Once maggots have been infested, there is trouble in eating, drinking, just overall pain that the dogs have to endure and lead to chances of prolonged infections. It is a very terrible experience for the animal as they start eating up the flesh. At the shelter, we take a lot of care of the dogs when they get maggots. Had they been not taken care properly, maggots would have got them very seriously affected and they would have died of septicemia. a. Kalicharan - One of his ear was totally damaged with a wound inside eaten away by maggots. The caretaker at the shelter spent a lot of time trying to bring some relief to this sweet boy. He injected the medicine first, removing all the maggots and then took him to the nearby govt. dispensary where he was given injections for five days.
b. Kareena – She was bitten by a dog near her ribs and the wound was being away by maggots. After removing all the maggots at the shelter, she was also taken to the dispensary where she was given injection for five days. Later at the shelter, the caretaker did her dressing twice a day so that she can live comfortably and isn't in forever pain.
c. Rohit – He had a dog bite on the spinal cord with a deep wound. The maggots infested in his wound due to which he was having a lot of trouble. He was also taken to the govt. dispensary and his treatment took about 12 days. He also required dressing twice every day until the wound started healing.
On 29th June, 2020 an abandoned baby calf was found badly injured in Jaunapur Farm House Area, ahead of Mehrauli. We are regularly feeding grass, bananas and water to the cattle in that area as they are abandoned and undernourished. When we found the calf, it had a cut several inches near the neck and there were high chances of it being infested with maggots. The calf was rescued after our Animal Welfare coordinator, Raju found it injured. We contacted ‘Dhyan Foundation’ who are actively working for the animal welfare to pick up the calf and keep it where it could be treated and looked after. They came to rescue the calf and it is now recovering in their animal shelter.
Our General Secretary, Ms. Raka Sinha Bal came across a stray cat outside her office in Defence Colony. The cat was in a miserable condition and was very thin. Despite being a busy road, no resident came to help. Ms. Raka fed her milk every morning and evening. Now, we take care of her and she looks healthy and strong. More people need to feed and look after these stray animals.
Angaja Foundation’s General Secretary Ms. Raka Sinha Bal came across a baby myna in Defence Colony which got separated from its mother and could not fly back to its nest. The mother looked worried being separated from her baby. Our coordinators took it to Frendicoes Seca where they kept the bird and took care of it. On 19th August, when we called up the shelter home to find out about the baby myna, we were informed that on 17th August, the bird had flown away happily.
To save animals from dehydration and diseases caused by polluted water, Ms.Raka Sinha Bal, General Secretary of Angaja Foundation, initiated to setup water troughs for animals like dogs and cows in an industrial area Udyog Vihar Phase I in Gurgaon. It is a very congested area and there is no water trough set up for animals. The water is changed daily to ensure that stray animals and birds get fresh water. It is a wonderful feeling to see the dogs from different localities coming to drink water and also cocks and hens which are living nearby. The lesson to be learnt from this is that everyone should put up water bowls near their homes and work places so that thirsty animals are able to quench their thirst.
International Women’s Day is a world renowned event which celebrates respect towards women, promotes women’s right and shows appreciation for their economic, political, and social achievements. It is celebrated on March 8 every year. To mark this important day, we celebrated it at Mansarovar Park and Kalyanpuri Slum Area with much joy and enthusiasm. The programme began with a short speech by Ms. Surbhi marking the importance of the day. The speech began with a belief that even in today’s time, the quality of life of women is more or less the same as it used to be. As a part of her everyday routine, she does the household chores, prepares food for her husband and children, send them to work and school and then leaves for her own work. We focused on the hardship faced by women and how they overcame day to day challenges and moved ahead. Despite so many hardships, she still does not get the status she deserves. They are also victims of eve-teasing, harassment, acid attacks, rape and often face domestic violence at home. The speech was concluded by asking the audience, especially the men, if our attitude towards the women will ever change.
The International Day of Happiness is celebrated worldwide on March 20, and was conceptualized by philanthropist, activist, statesman, and prominent United Nations special advisor Jayme Illien to inspire, mobilize, and advance the global happiness movement. In 2011, Illien brought the idea and concept of creating a new global day of awareness, the International Day of Happiness. Every March 20 since 2013, the International Day of Happiness is celebrated in 193 UN Member states, 2 observer states, and 11 territories. The philosophy behind the day is that the “pursuit of happiness” is a basic human right and goal. All of us agree that for children, playing sports is one of the best contributors to experiencing ‘happiness’. It has great potential for improving mental health and emotional wellbeing. In order to mark Happiness Day, Delhi Child Rights Club organized a full day sports event ‘Happiness Day – Children’s Right to Play’ on 25th March. The event was held at Thyagraj Stadium, New Delhi. The stadium is adjacent to Kotla Mubarakpur. It is a huge stadium, constructed over an area of 16.5 acres with a seating capacity of almost 6,000 people. It was built as a venue for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Around 650 children from several organizations took part in the event. Thirty children from Angaja Foundation took part in the several games that were organized. The age group was between 10 to 18 years. The games were Kabaddi, 100 mts race, Dragon and Tail, Fish and Fisherman, Passing the Ring and Relay Race. The children also enjoyed playing Dog and the Bone. Our children played together and interacted with children from other organizations. Sports teaches discipline, confidence, team-work and cooperation which adds to their mental and social development. It also prevents children from engaging in anti-social behaviour by navigating their energy into activities which are fun and productive. Many of our children secured positions in various games. The children and the coordinators were thankful to Butterflies for a joyous day.
Angaja Foundation has begun a non-formal educational centre underneath the Sewa Nagar Flyover, Near Dhobi Ghat in August this year. The main focus is educating the underprivileged children living there under difficult circumstances. There are a total of 39 children out of which only some of them go to the school. At the centre, we teach basic English, Hindi and Math to the children and also help the school going children with their homework. Apart from imparting education, care is taken to involve the children in prayer, national anthem, stories, games and