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It's April already - and Vibha continues its 2008 journey with full gusto.
There are so many exciting things on the horizon to look forward to.
Volunteers are busy with the Dream Mile in the various action centers,
and the first one will be kicked off as early as June. The Dream Mile is Vibha's most most
critical fundraising activity. As a build up to the actual event, we are trying through this
newsletter to zoom in on the efforts of some of our action centers and give you a flavor of
what goes on behind the scenes.
In our March edition we talked a bit about our Volunteer Awareness Week, April 7th to 13th. Here are a few facts our volunteers can commend themselves on and you as our patrons can be especially proud; as none of it would ever be possible without your support.
825 Volunteers worldwide; 150,000 children touched by Vibha, 401,000 Dollars raised in 2007....
Our Volunteer conference is coming up and this edition gives you a brief look at the conference and its goals. Our two guest speakers are particularly interesting and admirable, and their amazing life choices have enriched the worlds of so many.
So read on about how the organization you partner with is going the extra mile everyday to make sure that every dollar you contribute meets its mark manifold.
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Index
Dream Mile 2008
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Sikshana is the brainchild of a set of individuals committed to the cause of primary education in the Public Schools of the State of Karnataka, India. The goal is to improve the quality of education in the state-run public schools with the children being the sole beneficiaries. Per Sikshana founder E.S Ramamurthy, there are over 9 million children in Karnataka, of whom 8 million attend the public school system which were failing a vast majority of the children. Sikshana believes that the fundamental recipe required to positively change the life of a motivated child is a dedicated teacher and a good environment.
The program currently serves 5000 children. The dedication of the teachers, volunteers and the innovative ideas of this program such as educational trips for deserving students to the capital city of New Delhi, a science program and exposure to computers have resulted in excellent results. Recently, the schools under the Sikshana program were challenged to a 100% pass rate amongst the students. Both faculty and children rose to the occasion achieving the goal in the same academic year.
Currently, the state has 48,000 primary schools of which 50 have adopted the model developed under Sikshana. For better credibility and more universal acceptance, Sikshana would like an entire school zone to be selected for the program under Phase III. The Kanakapura school district has about 135 primary schools, of which 35 are already in the program. This phase targets the remaining 100 schools which will benefit about 12,000 children. The new phase will have a project coordinator at Kanakpura, Karnataka who will be in charge of the data collection, analysis and dissemination. Five mentors will visit the schools at least once a month to ensure compliance to the Sikshana model and philosophies, backed by a team of ten volunteers. Three field workers will provide logistical support.
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Vibha has committed $150K over the next three years towards the Phase III expansion of Sikshana. This is in addition to the $20K per year towards the support of the Kanakapura block of 15 schools in the same area, which mans Vibha has tentatively committed $210K over the next three years. 41 schools with a strength of over 5,000 children will benefit from Vibha's funding.
Sikshana has gained a strong reputation coupled with tangible results by evolving a sustainable model that lends itself to replication on a larger scale. From Vibha's perspective, in order to tackle problems as widespread as the poor quality of education, we need organizations that can show good ideas to be implemented on a larger scale, thereby benefiting a larger number of children. The goal is for the successes of these programs to reach a tipping point, so as to be adopted and implemented by the government or by organizations across the country. Sikshana is making great strides on this front - the local communities of these schools are excited and ready to take the ownership of their schools to the next level.
The leadership and goal-oriented approach of Mr. E.S. Ramamurthy and Sikshana's volunteers is very impressive. Vibha is pleased to be able to contribute to the scale-up efforts of this worthy program.
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The Dream Mile started off in Atlanta with a small dream to make a big difference... Prior to 1998, most of the fund-raisers were small or had an artist as a point of attraction to raise funds and awareness for the cause of helping disadvantaged children. Sreekanth Pannala, coordinator of the local chapter at Georgia Tech (GT), thought it was time to get out of the mold and dream big. Having personally participated in some walks and runs, the idea of organizing a Run/Walk grew with him and he presented a plan with the following objectives:
- Increase awareness not only for the Indian community but also for the mainstream American community,
- Raise much needed funds,
- Engage the community in child relief by increasing its participation through volunteering and other means, and
- Raise much needed funds.
All the volunteers at the first meeting were apprehensive as it was the first-time we were undertaking an event of this magnitude. However, the team cast its doubts aside and forged ahead. The team got a significant boost in the form of Syam Yellamraju, a local supporter and someone who had organized mega events. He advised the team to expand the event and make it even bigger and aim higher. So, the kids carnival was added to make it more attractive for the whole family to participate in the event. A National pledge drive "Pave A Path" was also launched to engage supporters from all over the nation in this historic event.
The Atlanta AC received logistical help from organizers of local Atlanta walks and runs, most notably, the Aga Khan Foundation walk and the Sickle Cell foundation walk. Volunteers from GT were extremely enthusiastic and were successful in raising $4000 as initial sponsorship from the University. This was in addition to free access to all University facilities and publicity from its local radio station WREK. Success at the University energized the team to get additional sponsorships from several mainstream companies. The local Indian community leaders and media also provided enthusiastic support.
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On Oct. 10th 1998, a sparkling, sunny day, people from all sections of the community came together in support of Vibha's great cause. Large number of enthusiastic participants turned out for the 5K Walk/Run, Seniors' Walk and Kids' Fun walk. Kids under 3 years of age and senior citizens over 70 walked stride-in-stride and made the event memorable. Some proud parents were seen taking part with their 1-2 month infants in strollers. It was encouraging to see the enthusiasm shown by some of the kids, who refused to stop after the 1K walk and went on to complete the 5K Walk.
While the funds raised were substantial, the most important legacy of the 1998 Walk/Run lies, perhaps, in the 130+ band of volunteers that made this event successful. These volunteers went on to become future leaders of Vibha and beacons of hope for cause of children.
The walk/run expanded to other centers and has become one of the flagship events for Vibha over the last decade. In 1999, the walk/run was organized in three action centers (Atlanta, Bay Area, and Dallas). In the following year, it was organized in nine action centers. Since inception, this event has raised close to $700,000 towards Vibha's cause.
In 2007, the event was branded as "The Dream Mile" and will continue to be one of the signature events of Vibha. The event aspires to scale to its full potential and raise millions of dollars as well as spread awareness towards the cause of underprivileged children.
Remembering the first Walk/Run, Sreekanth Pannala said, "We ventured into this dream project of organizing a walk with very modest resources and we are very happy today for having undertaken that intimidating task. To see all the volunteer and community effort culminate into this wonderful and growing annual event is a source of immense satisfaction and gratification. The first Walk/Run Atlanta'98 was a true representation of Vibha's mission in all forms. It also demonstrated how volunteers can realize their true potential by making most of an opportunity to reach their dreams while helping underprivileged children reach theirs."
Atlanta's Dream Mile for 2008 has been planned for September 27th. Please visit www.thedreammile.org for details on registration for walks at all Action Centers. Additional details on the Atlanta AC's activities and plans for 2008 are available at www.atlanta.vibha.org.
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Scheduled for May 31st and June 1st 2008 in Atlanta, the Vibha annual conference is a forum where volunteers can meet, represent their respective action centers and help plan and strategize for the coming year. Volunteers, existing and aspiring, will benefit greatly from this weekend long interaction with each other and with members of the executive committee and the stellar guest speakers. What better way to strengthen one's commitment to a cause and to be inspired than to be in the presence of those who are consistently and selflessly dedicating their time, effort and spirit to it?
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Rajani Paranjpe
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Rajani Paranjpe is the President & Founder of Door Step School. This organization was started in 1988 at a slum in Mumbai, to deal with children who weren't going to school. Last year they ran 15 non-formal education (NFE) classes at construction sites in Pune and enrolled 500 children. It is estimated that there are about 30,000 out-of-school children at the 1500 construction sites in Pune, the "Oxford of the East". Such statistics are charting the future path of Door Step School, it's programs and it's focus. They recently launched "Project Foundation", aimed at systematically identifying construction sites, conducting a survey of children and rapidly setting up a class to deal with mobile groups.
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Becky Douglas
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Becky Douglas and her husband, John, are the biological parents of seven children. In addition, they adopted two children from Lithuania, one of whom is paraplegic.The Douglas' have long been advocates of disadvantaged children and adults. Over the years they have cared for many children in their home who were in tremendous need. Some were refugee families sponsored by the Douglas's, some were run-away children needing a home, some were from mental care programs, and some were simply troubled youth. In an extension of these efforts, Becky is one of the founders of Rising Star Outreach. Rising star has subsidized more than 3,000 micro-loans (typically ranging from $25 to $100 for the purpose of starting small businesses) to about 1,000 residents of more than 40 leprosy colonies, helping former beggars to move toward self-sufficiency. It funds a mobile medical clinic for treatment of both the people in the colonies, as well as their children, and another is scheduled to be added this year. A permanent clinic also is being built. About $250,000 was raised after the December 2004 tsunami in Asia, mostly for repairs and replacements of destroyed fishing boats.
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Douglas has traveled to India four or more times each year since then and has devoted much of the rest of her time to raising money for Rising Star. The agency now has four paid workers, whose salaries are paid with donations from board members. Everyone else is a volunteer, paying his or her own expenses. One hundred percent of all the other donations go to direct aid programs, Douglas said, adding that the agency's annual operating budget is about $750,000.
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Your feedback is important to us. Vibha welcomes any comments, suggestions or questions you may have about our projects, programs, products, monitoring etc. If you are particularly interested in a topic and would like to see Vibha showcase it please let us know.
Together, we can do much more!
Dream a little! Do a Little!
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Vibha 1030 E El Camino Real, #424 Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Phone: 408-997-9992 | Fax: 775-593-1061
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Vibha is a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit, non-religious, non-political organization that seeks to restore; underprivileged children, their basic rights to food, shelter, health and education - in short, a future. All donations to Vibha are tax exempt in the US.
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