Any festival seems to be incomplete without celebration, singing, dancing and several enjoyable and creative activities, be it a National festivals or religious festivals. Independence Day is one such day, which is celebrated with lot of vigor, enthusiasm and patriotism. It reminds us about the struggle, sacrifices and hardship of our freedom fighters and great leaders, who sacrificed their life for our country.

The day was celebrated at Deepalaya Schools, learning centers, Deepalaya Childrens’ home and at Head office too. It was observed on 12th August, 2016 at almost all the places except the Childrens’ home, where it was celebrated on 15th August, 2016. Here are a few snippets:

Deepalaya Loesche India learning centre: Loesche India project staff and children celebrated with 170 students, their siblings and parents. The hall was packed toDeepalaya - Loesche Learning Centre celebrated Independence Day with community. the fullest. The programme started with a short speech on Independence day and its importance followed by a song ‘Mere Desh Rangeela”. Then the children recited English poems and Hindi Kavita. Some children recited them so beautifully that the audience was spell bound to hear them.

Children then staged a play on ‘Swachchhta’ in which they tried to depict the importance of cleanliness and the consequences of throwing garbage on the streets. Thereafter we gave away prizes to the best performers who gave their best.   

It was the first event for some children who joined the center this year. To their utmost surprise, we had planned small prizes, mainly comprising of things for their regular use in the learning center. It was observed that there is so much to improve upon as far as their latent talent development is concerned.

Deepalaya Learning Centre, Sanjay Colony: The 70th Independence Day of India was celebrated in Sanjay Learning Centre Sanjay Colony celebrated India's Independence Day with patriotism.Colony Premises with a lot of excitement. The computer vocational Centre students together with the students from the Learning centre and FAD made the day memorable. A variety of activities were conducted. The children of the Learning centre had more educational and Patriotic activities to showcase. They had speeches about the significance of the day; Patriotic poems and songs marked the day and gave it the national flavor. British School sent refreshments for the children. There was juice, biscuits and chips. The students enjoyed the day and were even able to answer questions put up by the audience.

Deepalaya Learning Center, Gole Kuan: Little kids at Deepalaya Center, Gole Kuan were very happy as they Deepalaya Gole Kuan celebrated India's Independence Day with full of patriotism and enthusiasm.held the Tricolor in their tiny hands, recited short poems & sang some patriotic songs with their teachers. While students from class IInd onwards sang songs like Taqat watan ke hum se hain, Hind desh ke niwasi to pay tribute to our leaders, delivered speeches about some freedom fighters & their sacrifices for which India got freedom & we could be independent. Students showed respect to our National Flag, they were told about the importance of the day. Students also drew National Flag, described the message of the tri colors, they prepared charts, decorated class rooms & the funnel boards. Poems were also recited about our National Flag & Country. Students enrolled in remedial classes also drew National Flags, presented small cultural programs by singing songs, delivering speeches & poems etc. Teachers distributed toffees to the students to encourage them.

Deepalaya Childrens’ Home:  The DCH children celebrated the day on 15th August, 2016 with the musical Deepalaya Children's Home Celebrated India's Independence Day band. The students paid homage to the freedom fighters. The DCH staff decided to celebrate the day by showering blessings and appreciation for students who performed well in studies, extra-curricular activities, behaved very well throughout the last one year. The children also participated in different activities like singing, dancing and skit competition between girls and boys. This was the first time that the girls were challenging boys.

Sumant hosted the program beautifully and all children participated in the activities. Program began with a speech on Independence which kick started the competitions between junior boys vs. junior girls and senior girls vs. senior boys. After different competitions gifts were distributed to the winners and the best performers of the year in the different categories. Gungun was given the voice of the year award for her melodious voice and Reema was adjudged as the nest entertainer. Ranjeet bagged the trophy for the student of the year and Abul was given the comparer of the year award for his excellent leadership qualities and hosting different programs in the home. In the end gifts were given to winners of the competition. The Girls group won skit, dancing and junior competition with just 1 point where as the boys group won the senior singing competition with huge margin.