Age is just a number
Interviewed and written by Asha Devi
This is a story of a 60-year old headteacher of South Sherpur Shishu Shiksha Kendra of Baduria Block in West Bengal, Dipali Dey. Dipali is a perfect paradigm of the saying- Age is just a number. At the age of 60, she is so passionate about upgrading the education system for the underprivileged children that she has been relentlessly working towards the cause, by learning new teaching practices and passing them on to the newer generation of teachers.
After her retirement, she has still been partaking in the training conducted by Swanirwar to keep her knowledge up to date with regard to the teaching methodologies.
Dipali is aware that Vibha has been closely working with Swanirvar to enhance their strategy and organizational structure through constant mentoring. When Asha Devi asked her about Vibha, she said; “Vibha has made this possible for us because Vibha supports Swanirvar to uplift schools like ours, which are often overlooked as minority schools. Vibha has provided us with the required resources and necessary skills, by financially supporting Swanirvar. I am grateful to Vibha for that.”
Vibha has always acknowledged the dedication and commitment of teachers like Dipali Dey who have dedicated their live to the amelioration of the young minds.
Read more here
Vibha welcomes Ebby Vidyasagar and Sasi Tadepalli to the India Board
Ebby Vidyasagar has been connected to Vibha as a volunteer since 2005 when he and his spouse, Viv started a Vibha action center in Houston, Texas. Ever since he moved to Bengaluru, India in 2010, he has been an active member of the Vibha Bengaluru Action Center. He has also played a pivotal role in starting the Vibha Dream Mile in Bengaluru, which has been a premier fundraising event for the Bengaluru action center for the last 5 years.
Sasi Challa Tadepalli has been a volunteer at Vibha since 1996. She was one of the founders of the Dallas Action Center and was involved in several events in Dallas, including the first 5K Walk. Since moving to India, Sasi has been involved closely with projects. She has played the role of a project monitor and now is a part of the Projects Team. She is also involved in driving pan India events, like YED (Year End Drive) and Dream Mile X, for Vibha.
Read more about Ebby and Sasi here
Vibha’s Partner Highlight – Inspiredu (https://www.iuatl.org/)
Inspiredu, is an Atlanta-based educational nonprofit, which seeks to support education with its commitment to underserved youth and their families, through training, device distribution, technology, and career development. It is the state’s only nonprofit focusing on opportunities to use technology as a part of children’s learning support system while addressing the challenges of digital literacy and access. They have over 44 education partners, have trained 25,000 individuals, and have deployed nearly 14,000 home computers.
Vibha’s funding of $5000 will help them close the digital divide, especially in Atlanta’s high-need communities.
Read more about Inspiredu as well as Vibha’s other local partners here
Dream Mile X 2020, an incredibly successful virtual fundraiser with 4,400+ participants from 4 continents, 13 countries, and 38 US states Written by Vaishnavi Pattabiraman
Paramount Software Solutions DREAM MILE X (DM X) has been Vibha`s Global fundraising event that transformed the annual Dream Mile (DM), Vibha’s annual flagship fundraising event for the year 2020 into a virtual one amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a dual goal of improving fitness while supporting a great cause, the DM X event consisted of month-long challenges and single-day challenges. By October 10th, the activities data reported by 1,230 participants showed 81.5 MILLION STEPS, 46,500 M, and 11,200 KM of walking/running.
A total of 410,000 dollars was raised through the Dream Mile X which will help Vibha to continue its steadfast support to the existing programs and projects in India, and 10% of the proceeds from this event will go towards supporting children’s educational and health needs across the USA via non-profit organizations such as Children`s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) and Inspiredu in Atlanta; Schools on Wheels Massachusetts and Communities in Schools of Chicago.
All this was possible because of the continued generous support from our patrons, sponsors, participants and a team of dedicated volunteers. So, a big THANK YOU to all of them!
Read more about the event here
Volunteer Highlight – Anuja Singhal
“Coming from a family of educators, education has always been a big part of who I am. Vibha’s focus on education is what got me attracted to this organization” reflects Anuja Singhal, who recently transitioned from her role as an Executive Director for Vibha’s Bay Area (California) Action Center. Since 2009 Anuja has steered 7 large scale fundraising events, effectively leading volunteer groups of varying sizes, engaging a patron/donor base of almost 950+, and raising more than half a million dollars over the last 3 years, Anuja has created a strong base for Vibha’s growth in Bay Area and beyond. We thank Anuja for her selfless & dedicated volunteer service to Vibha for almost 11 years and for taking others alongside her on this inspiring journey to bring better opportunities to those underserved.
Read more about her journey here