Guria India Blog

Maria Stahl, a supporter of Guria, and her friend Mylie set up a Guria stall at the Annual Christmas Fair of the International Women’s Club in Reigate, Surrey in the UK. The stall featured hand-made beads from Benares glass and clay, and hand-painted wooden toys and statues also from Benares. They sold greeting cards made by the children at the Non Formal Education centre in Varanasi as part of an art therapy project, as well as beautiful hand-woven Benares silk scarves and shawls made by marginalized women who have received help from Guria.   In addition to the Guria stall, Maria was invited to a special birthday party hosted by her friends Patricia and Gary Phillips from Bermuda at a well-known restaurant in London. There, she gave a short talk about Guria, and received  £ 150 in donations.  Altogether, Maria raised  £500 for Guria! 

On Saturday November 10 th , Guria’s Non-Formal Education center in Shivdaspur hosted a Diwali celebration for the children in the area and visitors. The children were split into two teams, one team in charge of decorating the new building (Kabir House), and the other in charge of decorating the old building (Sahid Bhagat House). They spent the week leading up to the celebration decorating their respective buildings with streamers, signs, drawings, dias, clay, rangoli art, and paper chains. Both teams did a fantastic job. By November 10 th , the buildings were covered in colorful decorations, and lit up by dias. The children had a great time preparing their buildings for the celebration and competing with one another for “best building.”  Visitors from India and abroad attended the event at the Non-Formal Education center. The children of both buildings proudly showed the visitors their work. After a week of preparation, Sahid Bhagat House and Kabir House were beautifully...