NO PACKAGES PLEASEAs Christmas approaches, we remind sponsors not to send packages to their sponsored friends. Packages cause unnecessary receiving costs and labor for our project staff and are often lost or stolen in transit. The best thing you can do is send a personal Christmas greeting to your sponsored friend and donate to our Christmas fund so that all sponsored members have a happy holiday.

GIVE THANKS BY GIVING TO OTHERSGiving Tuesday is a time, following the Thanksgiving weekend, to share our blessings by supporting charitable causes we believe in. Please remember Unbound on Dec. 1 by sponsoring a child or contributing to our education initiative. Learn more at unbound.org/givingtuesday

CULTURAL DIVERSITY

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OCTOBER 2015

IMPACT

The sounds of fireworks fill the air. Big booms accompany

bursts of light against the sky. Smaller bursts sound

off closer to the ground as children run about lighting

fountains and firecrackers. Though a new moon hangs in

the sky, the autumn night is lit by thousands of small clay

lamps called diyas.

For many in India, the noise and light signify one of

their most important holidays. Diwali is a Hindu festival,

also known as the festival of lights, and marks the Hindu

New Year. Though the date changes each year, Diwali falls

sometime between mid-October and mid-November. In

southern India, the festival celebrates the victory of light

over darkness as seen in the story of Lord Krishna’s wife

Satyabhama, who defeated the evil Narakasura.

According to Bhavana Jayanthi, correspondence

coordinator for Unbound in Hyderabad, India, “Diwali

upholds the spirit of the warrior in a woman, which can

confront evil and conquer it for the good of the world.”

Diwali is a multi-day festival, but most celebrations take

place during the new moon.

“The day starts with burning firecrackers around 4 a.m.,”

Bhavana said, “followed by prayers, temple visits and

eating delicious sweets the whole day. Then, in the

evening as the sun sets, clay lamps are lit.”

A LIGHT THROUGH THE DARKNESS

Sponsored children and their families celebrate Diwali by lighting fountains and other fireworks.

1 ELMWOOD AVENUE, KANSAS CITY, KS 66103 800.875.6564 MAIL@UNBOUND.ORG UNBOUND.ORG ©UNBOUND 2015

Arun and her daughter Kavya, who is sponsored through Unbound in India.

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The light symbolizes knowledge and divinity and attracts

prosperity to the home.

For 11-year-old Kavya, who is sponsored through Unbound

in India, Diwali means learning family traditions by helping

her mother with household tasks.

“On other holidays, I don’t get to help my mother in the

kitchen,” Kavya said. “But on Diwali, I help her in putting out

dolls and also in cooking. On other holidays I do homework

or play with friends. But on Diwali I will be with my mother.

“In 2014, for the first time I went along with my mother

to buy the diyas. … [In] previous years my maternal

grandmother used to present them to us. But last year we

bought them for ourselves. So it’s special for me.”

In some neighborhoods, women have contests with each

other to see who can create the best rangoli. A type of Indian

artwork, rangoli is made on the ground using colored sand

or other natural materials, and is featured during Hindu

festivals such as Diwali.

“Rangoli is put out to invite goddess Lakshmi (Hindu

goddess of prosperity) into the house,” said Kavya’s mother,

Arun. “We decorate the designs with flower petals and

different colored powders to look beautiful and attractive.

And it is also our culture to put rangoli in front of the house

for any auspicious event. At evening time we decorate the

rangoli with diyas.”

Diwali is also a time of gift giving. Many families purchase

new clothes, household items, sweets, coins and jewelry to

give as gifts. Bhavana keeps the memory of her grandmother

alive through the collection of coins she received from her as

Diwali gifts, one each year.

Varun Bobbala, a young man formerly sponsored through

Unbound, says family is the most important part of Diwali.

“I lived in a boarding school for 11 years,” he shared. “We

would get three days off for Diwali, and my favorite part was

spending time with my family.”

It is also our culture to put rangoli in front of the house

for any auspicious event.

Arun uses colored powder to make a beautiful rangoli outside her home.