It gives me immense pleasure to report that Vibha has been having some exciting times! We are able to educate, enable, and empower people in greater numbers for the cause of the underprivileged child. With 2068 registered volunteers in USA and 746 in India, our volunteer strength continues to grow. We started new action centers in Michigan, Denver, Chicago, Raleigh, Austin, Boston, New Jersey, Seattle, and Buffalo and our existing centers are spreading awareness to a wider section of patrons through a variety of fundraisers and media outlets. More importantly we are able to make a bigger difference in the lives of more children in the projects we support, through successful replication of proven models.
I am personally very pleased with the growth of Vibha-Youth, where our youth volunteers as young as middle-schoolers are volunteering in local communities and in fundraising events. In the process, they are becoming socially aware and grooming their leadership potential that will enable them to make a bigger impact on society at large. Vibha is very proud to be providing this platform and nurturing their potential.
Our bi-annual conference, Pragati, this year brought together corporates, grassroots organizations, and experts in the field of child development to one platform in Bangalore. In view of the newly passed Companies Act in India, by which it is now mandatory for companies of a certain size to participate in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), this was a major step in Vibha’s efforts to enable corporates to participate in the scaling-up of our partner projects.
Vibha is proud of its role in the growth of Sikshana – a model intervention in the public school system, started in Karnataka, scaled up and later replicated in Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat. Following up on the philosophy of identifying and scaling up successful models, we are now focused on replicating the success of Door Step School (DSS) – a model for education of the children of migrant construction workers. What is especially satisfying about this project is that we are able to change the mindset of the builders – today 75% of the budget of these study centers is taken up by the builders themselves. That is real change, at the grassroots.
Together, we can do more! With a strong volunteer movement, backed by an efficient monitoring team in India, Vibha is poised to scale up a number of existing efforts and identify new projects in other states.
Please join the movement and make your annual donation to make a bigger difference in 2014 and beyond! Please make it online at vibha.org or send a check!
Let us do more!
Written by Vijay Vemulapalli, Secretary, Vibha
To read the full publication: Vibha 2013 Newletter