Mike the Messiah

Mike Handcock, Founder of Rock Your Life (www.rockyourlife.net) recently came to India and rocked the lives of hundreds of villagers in the villages adopted by SAGE Foundation. Mike spent quality time with the SAGE team and gave five precious days of his life to understand and interact hands on with the projects undertaken by SAGE. Seeing the vast canvas of SAGE, Mike preferred to go vertical instead of horizontal and decided to focus his energies on the SAGE villages.

The Chairperson of SAGE Foundation, Maya Shahani along with the SAGE team, took him to the Rajgurunagar villages where SAGE has a cluster of 35 villages run by the Bombay Mothers and Children Welfare Society (www.bmcws.org) While visiting one of the schools there Mike observed that there was no light in the classrooms. On inquiring he was told that there is a power shortage in the villages and the light goes off for eight hours every day so the children could not use the computers donated to them, and tailoring classes were being conducted in darkness. Mike immediately wrote out a cheque of Rs. 50,000/- ($ 1250/-) so that the villagers could buy a generator . In the picture Mike is seen handing over the cheque to the vice-chairperson Dr. Dolly of Bombay Mothers’ and Children Welfare Society. He came, he saw and he gave them light !

The second cluster of 65 villages in Panvel had Mike going into ecstacies about the simplicity and beauty of the village folk and the surroundings in which they lived. He saw the rudimentary medical centre and a very basic pre school with innocence abounding. In the second picture Mike is seen looking delighted, surrounded by the angelic children and the supportive SAGE team. He came away feeling blessed and with a heart overflowing with wanting to give.

In Mike’s own words Rock Your Life exists to transform lives and help create wealth above words. Rock Your Life has pledged to raise $ 5,000,000 for SAGE Foundation. This money will go to help establish schools in India, and to help starving children not only to get fed, but to get an education so that they become leaders in their communities as they grow.

Mike is organising SAGE Tours to India which would be an experience of a lifetime. From one of the most vibrant cities on the planet, Mumbai, you will be transported to the poor villages on the outskirts of Mumbai where you would work with the villagers to improve their lives and in turn get enriched. It will be an incredible experience of living with and helping the poor. Take a shovel and dig a well, look after children, be a handiman, sports coach, teacher, mother, strategist or whatever your passion is, it is needed in India. This could be the social experience of your life and you will love every minute of it. Your contribution will also help SAGE Foundation provide much needed education and assistance well after you return to your life. Spend two days in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, where one of the world’s richest industrialists Vijay Mallya lives in a palatial bungalow next door to the slums. Mumbai, a colourful palet of riches and squalor, national and international cuisines, a cultural couldron steeped in history and housing Mani Bhavan, home to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

For more on SAGE Tours, get in touch with Mike Handcock (mdh@rockyourlife.net) or Maya Shahani (maya@shahanigroup.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Hundred Lives Saved

A knight in shinning armour appeared just when he was needed most, writes Maya Shahani of XL Life Member Paul Dunn.

Paul Dunn, the wizard of WOW, recently salvaged the lives of 200 slum children whose school was in danger of closing down due to lack of funds. Geeta Nagar, a hub of sprawling hutments, is situated in the heart of south Mumbai and has a population of over 40,000 slum dwellers. SAGE Foundation with the help of Helping Hands in Service, a registered Trust, has promised to take care of the education, health and vocational training of the children and their families by adopting over a 100 families living there in subhuman conditions.

An SOS for Funds

With funds running dry in Geeta Nagar, SAGE sent out an SOS for raising funds in order to keep the school doors open for these hapless children. Paul came in like a knight in shinning armour and immediately donated U$$10,000 from his company Envision Enterprises, through Buy1Give1.

Paul has a special corner in his heart for the Geeta Nagar slum dwellers. On one of his visits to Mumbai, I took him and Masami to see Geeta Nagar. They spent several hours with the children there and became part of their lives. Paul asked Rajesh, one of the slum children:”If there was one thing you would like to change in these slums, what would it be?”The little boy of nine, in all his wisdom, replied,”I would like to change the people” “And how would you change the people?” asked Paul “By educating them,”the little boy replied.

Thank you, Paul. By donating &10,000 you have helped Rajesh’s dream stay alive. (He is in one of the pictures with Masami)

Thank you, Buy1Give1, for being the channel of JOY in the lives of hundreds of children. The sale of Masami’s book JOY helped SAGE to buy pencil and compass boxes for the children.

Dave Roger’s donation of $1,000 through Buy1Give1 to the Midday Meals scheme helped feed the children of Geeta Nagar slums for so many months.

Buy1Give1 really transforms lives every day in every way.

Maya Shahani

Chairperson,

SAGE Foundation

Mob +91 9820212290

Ph +91 22 23682488

+91 22 23683033

Fax +91 22 23611206

Email : maya@shahanigroup.com

www.TheSageFoundation.com

Educating and Empowering for creating Extraordinary Lives