FFL Vrindavan is dedicated to the poorest of the poor, educating and guiding them in pursuance of a fulfilling life, enabling them to become exemplary members of society. FFL Vrindavan is also dedicated to protecting and developing Vrindavan’s natural environment.

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On 9^th February 2009, all were invited to a 'boomi pooja' (land sanctification ceremony) for the third Sandipani Muni school. Children from the current Sandipani primary and secondary schools attended, as did a tour group from the UK. The five volunteers currently working at Sandipani Muni School and fifty local villagers also witnessed the ceremony. The head of the construction company that will organize the building of the school played a leading role in performing the boomi pooja. In this traditional ritual, attendees pray for the safety of the construction site, the building and its inhabitants. After the ritual burying of bricks, sweets were handed out to the children and guests to symbolize the sharing of a sweet occasion. Brijesh Chandra, a head of department at Sandipani Muni School said, "it was really nice to attend this ceremony with so many children and well wishers. The children really enjoyed singing and running around on the land that will soon be home to a brand new Sandipani Muni School". The construction of the new school will begin immediately and is due to be completed in July 2010. It will have places for 864 children from primary to junior high school level. Food for Life Vrindavan also plans to build a nursery and a senior-high school so that eventually, the Sandipani Muni School in Kikinagla village will cater for the entire educational needs of thousands of poor rural children.

One kind sponsor, Vicky Kakkar from Germany, is determined that no children at Sandipani Muni School will be cold this winter! Vicky and his mother recently visited the school and personally distributed 1,000 blankets. They seemed to really enjoy handing out blankets to the kids and even returned in the evening to hand out more blankets to children who attend the after-school tuition at Sandipani Muni School. Vicky's father also recently visited the school. His visit inspired him to sponsor a child and to get his whole family involved in helping the children of Sandipani Muni School.

Hundreds of village women gathered at rallies recently conducted by Food for Life Vrindavan. The rallies were held to lobby the government to amend laws so that women farmers have equal rights to land ownership. Over 100 non-government organisations held similar rallies as part of a state-wide campaign to increase recognition of the rights of women farmers. Between the 1^st and 5^th February, Food for Life Vrindavan held rallies in five different villages. At each rally, hundreds of women gathered and community leaders mobilized women to sign a petition for their right to equality. On the 6th February, a delegation of 70 village women went to the District Magistrate's office to present the petition. The delegation presented a petition signed by over 500 women. Similar documents were presented to District Magistrates all over the state. Partha Sarthi, a veteran Food for Life social worker said, "It is extremely important for grass roots organisations like Food for Life Vrindavan to lobby governments for policy change. With elections just around the corner, it is a good time to bring this issue to the attention of the government so they know they can’t ignore the issue of women's rights." Food for Life social workers were assisted in organising the rallies by two students from K.I.I.T School of Rural Management. The students have been placed with Food for Life Vrindavan to complete the practical component of their master of business (MBA) course. The students were enthusiastic helpers at the rallies and, under the guidance of Food for Life social workers, they were able to participate in this state wide effort to fight for women's rights.

Food for Life Vrindavan has entered into a partnership with two Government agencies who will provide funding for a course in “Fashion Technology Design - Garment Making”. The women selected for the course have little or no other job skills and are forced to rely on their husbands to support their children. Most have not completed year eight and some don’t remember going to school at all. The ability to be self-reliant is on of the key factors leading to improvements in the condition of women. That is why Food for Life Vrindavan has a continued focus on vocational education for girls and women. After a lengthy interview process, twenty local women have been selected for the course. All had some sewing skills and are eager to develop their skills to a professional level. The course will run for 6 weeks and will cover traditional Indian clothing and modern clothing designs.

Imagine this, forty children getting on the school bus at 6.30am for a 3.5 hour journey to one of the most exclusive schools in the state - Pathways World School in Guragaon. Now imagine the preparation for this... Organising a fleet of staff to pick up the children from their homes starting at 5am because their parents have no transport to bring them to school. Sounds impossible? Not for Sandipani Muni School! When they arrived at the elite private school, Sandipani Muni school kids were awestruck by the Pathways campus, which is like a 5 star resort. Impeccable grounds, immaculately clean, and surprisingly low noise level. After a delicious snack, the kids went out to the school's huge grassy field for some fun outdoor activities together with the pathways students. All enjoyed themselves thoroughly as was evident by their joyful smiles when they returned an hour later. Next, it was time for Sandipani Muni school students to prove that they do not lag behind in cultural accomplishment. An Odissi dance, two bajans and a karate performance had Pathway's students off their seats with excitement. When it was Pathways students turn to perform for the Sandipani Muni school students, they sang a rap ecology song they had written and designed a power-point presentation for. At the end of the visit, the students were given another snack, a gift, and heartfelt appreciations for their performance and for coming such a distance. On the bus ride home, the kids could not stop talking about how nice the Pathways students were, how much fun they had, and how excited they are that Pathways students will visit our school later in the year. Not only were the kids exuberant from the experience, the teachers who attended also spoke about how enlivened they were by seeing different teaching techniques. They were also amazed at the sweet way the kids related to each other, despite being from completely different backgrounds.