ABOUT VIBHA “Vibha”, is a vision of providing every child with a better future by quality education. An NGO which is a “volunteer-driven social catalyst”, as they widely regard themselves, their projects are committed towards Motivation, Learning, Training and Technology. We are based in India and the US, wherein most of the operations are carried…
Community Outreach Program (CORP), a day care center program for underprivileged school kids is based in Mumbai. Vibha’s partnership with CORP began in 2006. A few success stories of children supported by CORP are described in this post. Sohel Sayyed, a 14-year-old was supported by CORP since childhood. His journey at CORP began when he…
Vibha was honored to be the Implementation Partner in this philanthropic venture –a 96 bed Modular Hospital Extension at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest diseases, Bangalore, a synergy of Texas Instruments (TI) India and the Govt. of Karnataka. Team Vibha and Team TI from all over the globe received support and gathered resources for enhancing…
Vibha partners with Akshara Foundation to create “a brighter future for children”. It supports Akshara’s Mathematics Program called Ganitha Kalika Andolana (GKA), in Mayurbhanj and Ganjam districts, Odisha. Key accomplishments for 2021-22 under the ambit of GKA were: out-of-school learning like the Ujjwal classes; capacity building of teachers; community engagement; and engaging with the Department…
A hero is an individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles – Christopher Reeve In my long journey in the social sector, I have met many heroes whose journey in life has been incredible, inspiring and awe inspiring. But nothing prepares me for my meetings with people with…
Over the last three decades, my summer trips to India from the United States were primarily about visiting family and friends and leisurely travel. The trip in July 2022 was very different, life-changing in a way. Was it my two-day visit to an organization called Swanirvar in West Bengal that made the difference? Was it…
Meet two enterprising girls, Muskan and Khushbu from the Samavesh project in Bhopal. Muskan’s team was one of the winners of the Wipro Earthian Award (2020). Unfortunately, she couldn’t continue her education due to financial constraints and had to drop out of school after 8th grade. Khushbu is a grade 6 student. Eager to help others continue their educational journeys, this…
Let Learning continue – Learning during Summer Holidays at a Summer Camp, May 15 – June 1, 2022 Most of us are well-versed with summer camps and the excitement among kids. However, for some kids, summer camp is an alien concept. This is the story of Urala village of Durg district in Chhattisgarh, where the…
Vibha consistently strives to positively impact the lives of the underprivileged children in various ways such as by supporting their education, health and living conditions, by facilitating ways to improve their employment skills and recently by partnering youth mentors in the US with the underprivileged children in India through the Pair 2 Care program. Through this program,…
On 13th Nov 2021, Vibha Shah, Riddhi Shah, Ashwini Kumar and Anvi visited the CORP India Girl Shelter Home in Thane, Mumbai. It is a three level building on a small street, with 3-4 small rooms on the upper levels, and a small living room and kitchen on the ground floor. The wonderful teachers and staff…
Rohini Sheeba and Ritesh Thakur (the executive directors of the Dallas Action Center) would like to take a few minutes to dwell upon a recently concluded, super successful Diya event by the youth volunteers of the Dallas Action Center. Over the past several weeks, almost 50 volunteers in the action center have been tearing around…
On September 6, in Atlanta, a cricketing excitement was building. The cricket contest at the Sharon Springs Park in Atlanta was a five-over blitzkrieg! The final match at the Sharon Park between Rapid IT Monsters and Paramount United CC reached the nerve-wracking stage of requiring fourteen runs in the last over. To introduce new excitement,…
This summer ICS’s halls were buzzing with activity. Whether they were performing cool science experiments or reading and discussing books as part of a book club, the kids were having a great time, learning was just a byproduct. ICS or International Community School located in Decatur GA, is a charter school that caters to immigrant/refugee…
Brief Summary of Training Workshop for Field Staff Project Name: Comprehensive Education Initiative (CEI) Project Area: Paderu Tribal Division (11 Mandals in total), District Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh Training Dates: 4th Aug 2021 – 8th Aug 2021 Place of Training: BCT Campus Haripuram, Vishakhapatnam. Trainers – Lt Cdr Kapil Sangwan (Vibha);Pranil Naik, Larissa Lopes and Chaitanya Chakravarthy (LeapForWord); Sri Ram Murthy (Bhagavatula…
Vibha is honored to be the Implementation Partner in this philanthropic venture – 86 bed Modular Hospital Extension that has been set up at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest diseases, Bangalore, a synergy of TI India and the Govt. of Karnataka. Team Vibha and Team TI from all over the globe has been collating support…
LeapForWord partners with Vibha to conduct a training workshop for teachers One of Vibha’s partner Leap For Word along with Vibha, Shikshana Foundation and BCT, conducted a 2-day training workshop at Paderu, Andhra Pradesh, wherein the objective was to train the mentors and teachers on Elementary and Advance Reading levels and get to know the challenges faced…
Vibha shifts focus to long term goals in Covid relief Vibha is slowly shifting it`s focus to long term goals in Covid relief and one of them is vaccination drives. Vibha`s partner, SEA was founded in 2006 by Community development workers and enthusiastic young people from the fishing hamlets around Mamallapuram (Tamil Nadu). Since then, the team has…
Ray of Light Campaign: On-ground Updates Mission Oxygen: > Procuring and providing oxygen concentrators to people in need Food supplies and livelihood support: > Our partners came up with prompt actions to support the marginalized communities, by providing basic food supplies, livelihood to the communities where they have been working for many years. Read the story of one…
Vibha’s Ray of Light Campaign: Save India, Save Lives Thanks to your overwhelming support, we have already raised $1.75 Million in the global campaign. Here is what we have done so far: $900K disbursed for COVID relief $650k – Partnered with Texas Instruments and Govt. of Karnataka to set up a 100-bed modular hospital in Bengaluru 1100 oxygen…
The Dream Mile is a flagship initiative by Vibha which aims to raise funds for underprivileged children in the US and India through a plethora of physical activities, held annually in September. Our aim is simple: to make a meaningful impact in the society while creating a positive and fruitful experience for all participants. Since…
Vibha Dallas’ Annual ‘Some-More Fun’ Summer Camps were held over a period of 3 months from June – August this year. Fifty youth and two adult instructors conducted 48 whopping summer camps. There were 450 participants and total $7500 were raised. The numbers were double compared to last year. There was a large variety of…
One of Vibha’s partners, School On Wheels of Massachusetts (SOWMA)(https://www.sowma.org/) is a non-profit organization that has been working towards betterment of homeless children by supporting their academic, social and emotional growth. Vibha, along with SOWMA, has continued to strive to educate the underprivileged children even during the tough times of the on-going COVID19 pandemic. Vibha…
Ritesh Mathur is the executive director of Vibha Dallas and has provided leadership for several charity fundraising and service projects. On the occasion of India’s 75th Independence Day, he was given the Award honoring Philanthropists and Covid Warriors!! Below is an account of Ritesh’s work by Inspiration Masters LLC during an event called Udaan- …
Vibha is slowly shifting its focus to long term goals in Covid relief, one of which is vaccination drives. One of Vibha’s partners, SEA, in Mamallapuram area in Tamil Nadu, operates in remote villages. These villages are so distant that they fall even outside of the reach of the government. Hence, the state organized vaccination…
Amidst of the pandemic, when the entire nation has come together in support for those afflicted by COVID, 14-year old, Ayesha Jacob, from Mumbai, also came forward this summer and planned to utilize her hobby of baking to raise funds for underprivileged families to survive through this difficult time. She not only served 100 cupcakes to…
About Saaras Foundation Vision Empowering the lives of disadvantaged communities by increasing their access to welfare policies. Mission Bridging the gap in access by working in collaboration with all stakeholders involved i.e., community, civil society and government. To be driven by the use of technology, research, advocacy and data analytics as levers. Introduction Covid Situation…
Cohesion Foundation Trust During the Covid 19, Second Wave, the sitaution of community was more pathetic as this time the Covid virus influenced the rural areas also. A detailed planning was done for conducting the awareness campaign on Covid and the inuguration was done by inviting Chair Person of District Education Committee, Mr. Narsingh Rabari,…
The online singing contest received an overwhelming response and immense love from across the globe. There were close to 300 entries that came in from ten countries making this a truly global contest. The entries were divided into three categories: Little Champs (age 3 to 13 years), Junior Champs (13-20 years), and Super Champs (age…
After raising awareness about COVID-19 in the different villages of Baduria and Sunderban, Swanirvar has also collaborated with the government to provide support to migrant workers for their COVID tests to ensure proper medical support wherever needed. After the COVID tests when the number of COVID-19 patients increased, Swanirvar started working towards creating more infrastructure…
While India is in the grip of the second wave of COVID-19, there are many families in remote areas of India who are not able to get medical assistance. The lockdown added more to this problem where even if people want to, they are not able to travel to medical centers and avail medical support.…
There was excitement to hand deliver the life saving goods, there was anxiety to ensure things went well. This photo/video shoot was a memorable one for multiple reasons. We started our day with everyone arriving at EmberLights warehouse and having breakfast. When NDRF (National Disaster Relief Force) realized this was not the routine business of…
Click here to view a video containing pictures of the COVID relief activities, described below through joint ventures of Swanirwar and Vibha. On 5th and 6th May 2021, thousands of people who had moved to major cities of India like Mumbai, Delhi, Noida, Bangaluru and Pune for work started moving back to their homes in…
During the second wave of COVID-19, Vibha extended support to one of its on ground partners in Tamil Nadu (whom it has been supporting since 2005)- SEA (Society forEducation and Action). When the crisis hit hard, the people with special needs started losing their jobs. Hence, SEA started an initiative to support these people so that…
Vibha’s Ray of Light Campaign: Save India, Save Lives India is facing a dangerous surge in new COVID-19 infections. It is overwhelming the healthcare system of the nation leaving many families with no medical assistance. Vibha – A Ray of Light – is stepping up during these challenging times with an immediate disbursal of over USD$100,000 through our trusted partners…
Leap For Word – Teaching a global language locally – Asha Devi This is a success story from one of Vibha’s partners in India, Leap For Word (LFW). It describes how LFW’s training positively influenced the English-learning journey of a 10-year old girl, Sidhi Yuvraj Patil, a daughter of a farmer in a small village…
Inclusive Collaboration Swanirvar, Vibha’s on-ground partner in Baduria, West Bengal started their on ground work on COVID response in full swing after the West Bengal’s election results were declared on 2nd May, 2021. Swanirvar team distributing leaflets to raise awareness in villages and markets The first step was to meet with the Basirhat district officials…
During the second wave of COVID-19 in India, Maharashtra is one of the most affected states in the country. Though the government has been taking measures, adequate help to far-flung areas is yet to arrive. In the dire need of support, people from the underprivileged communities are looking for any form of support with the…
When the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc all over in India, Vibha’s on ground partner in Ajmer, Rajasthan Mahila Kalyan Mandal (RMKM) is taking actions at fast and furious pace. Below is a list of actions the team had been engaged and working on; They have been meeting medical officials of government primary health care…
Gandhi, Lopez and Keshava Family donate $10,000 towards Vibha’s Ray of Light campaign in memory of Dr. Sulochna Pradhan “Dr. Sulochana Pradhan was a young, pleasant, beautiful medical doctor who specialized in the field of pathology. Our family loved her very much. There was a sort of competition between us to get the sports page…
Vibha Dallas had around 20 events since the beginning of 2021, with their youth and adult volunteers contributing around 3000 hours, towards school counseling, science fair, writing camp, food drives, bake sale, fast food fundraisers & hygiene/ books/ blanket/ recycling drives. The year began with an initiative related to climate change that sought to eliminate…
Vibha Chicago’s BollyX Dance Fundraiser Vibha Chicago’s Annual BollyX event was held on March 26th 2021 . With their ability to run the event virtually Roshini , a Vibha Chicago volunteer & a BollyX instructor collaborated with 13 different instructors from all over USA to celebrate Indian Heritage & raise funds for Vibha . It…
This is a success story from Language Learning Foundation (LLF)’s Har Ghar School campaign. Vibha partnered with LLF last year in 2020. Vibha is partially supporting LLF’s Neev: Early Learning Improvement Program, a project in Durg district of Chhattisgarh. This project covers 200 schools in total, out of which 50 schools are supported by Vibha.…
This is a success story from one of Vibha’s partners in India, Leap For Word (LFW). It describes how LFW’s training positively influenced English-learning journey of a 10-year old girl, Sidhi Yuvraj Patil, a daughter of a farmer in a small village in Kolhapur. Sidhi’s mother Shubhangi was sitting in her courtyard, when some tourists…
Learning in the time of Covid– by Asha Devi(Source: Language Learning Foundation’s fortnightly report) Bhuneshwar Prasad Garg, a teacher at one of Language Learning Foundation’s (LLF) target schools, teaches Hindi to grade-1 students in Government Primary School Changori, Durg district in Chhattisgarh. When the schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers enrolled themselves in courses provided by LLF.…
Kaksha – by Asha Devi Rachana is an initiative by Swati Chavan, envisioning a community that would come together empowering the children through education programs. Rachana runs remedial classes in various talukas of Pune district for children who are unable to receive basic education because of a variety of factors including inadequate community support for education. Vibha has been funding supportive education and integrated development programs…
Learning in the times of COVID-19 – by Asha Devi ‘Learning in the times of Covid-19’ is a tale of Prakashdeep (a mentor at Prerana, one of Vibha supported projects) who acted as a one man army in Hamsabanda village in Andhra Pradesh to convince parents and other adults of the village to let him teach…
After central government of India imposed a countrywide lockdown, a local government agency ITDA (Integrated Tribal Development Agency) of Andhra Pradesh also imposed a lockdown. Paderu region in Andhra Pradesh is a hilly area and because of its such location, people in the villages around this area find it very difficult to have access to…
The year 2020 was a rollercoaster ride that nobody signed up for. It brought with it a pandemic, horrendous natural calamities, and unexpected celebrity deaths, to name a few. But, it was also a year that taught us about community, and the importance of unity in the most adverse circumstances. We, at Vibha, never put…
Vivek started his non-profit journey in 1997 and worked with multiple NGO’s until 2005. In 2005 when he moved to California with his wife, Vibha was looking for a finance manager to handle accounts. It was serendipitous, after working for so many years with NGOs in India, he had this great opportunity to continue his…
Education in rural India – the real picture Approximately 67% of India’s population stays in rural areas While the percentage of children in the age group 6 to 14 years enrolled in schools is an impressive 95% (ASER 2018), the dropout rate in secondary and higher secondary groups is also high. A wide majority of…
Manas, a Beneficiary of Rachana Remedial classes “If I get a power to make changes, the first change I would make is I would make every day, one games period where we all could just go out and play for hours. We have it in Rachana classes but not in our school.” -Manas After my…
On December 12th, we forgot the gloom of the pandemic as we participated in Vibha’s first virtual Ray of Light Gala, which showered us with sparkles of inspiration, melody and warmth. The list of luminaries who spoke was long and varied, and each contributed to creating a thought-provoking evening about using our power, voice and…
The Monthly Newsletter Team was formed earlier this year. Led by Ruchi Iyengar, Himaly Shinglot as the lead editor, and Sharanya Kalasekar as the design lead, the newsletter has seen a major shift in its visual appeal, content, and release schedule. Ruchi Iyengar, a Dental Surgeon by profession, has been volunteering for Vibha for almost…
Students learning with a volunteer using teaching learning materials created by LLF (Source: Language Learning Foundation’s fortnightly report) “Earlier, I used to drain myself teaching letters to children throughout the year. But through incessant trainings and by the guidance and support of Neev team (an LLF project, supported by Vibha), I have improved a lot…
Vibha partners with Language Learning foundation (LLF)By Asha Devi Vibha’s new partner, Language Learning Foundation (LLF), has been working towards providing quality education by addressing the problem of language and literacy since 2015. They work primarily with government schools, mainly in five states: Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh. They provide training to school…
Age is just a numberInterviewed 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…
Thanks to the volunteer work of a community member, Vibha receives $50,000 grant Vibha has been recently awarded a $50,000 Love Takes Action Award from the New York Life Foundation. The grant will support Vibha’s commitment to every child gaining quality public education in the U.S. and India by enabling scalable solutions to drive excellence…
As Neeta reflects on her very first Vibha experience she says “Growing up, I was surrounded by both sets of grandparents running schools, where they were constantly supporting youth that were eager to complete their undergraduate education by either providing financial or housing aid. It was ingrained in me that education is the 4th key…
With the Holiday Season around the corner, all of us are going through similar thoughts and sentiments…the longing to be with family and friends. We are all thinking of that home cooked comfort food for Thanksgiving or finding ways to head home even with the Covid challenges, so that we can snuggle up in our…
A strong numeracy and literacy development in early grades is the foundation for all future learning. However, children studying in government schools are not learning due to lack of understanding what is being taught in the classes. According to an ASER (the Annual Status of Education Report) report of 2019, of 6-year-old children in Class…
“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. Anuja started volunteering in 2009 with…
Dipali Dey, A head teacher who has been receiving training from Swanirvar (one Vibha’s partners) -Interviewed and written by Asha Devi Is age just a number or does it make us old to do something different in our life, something our heart always persuaded us to go for? This question always comes to my mind…
Vibha, a non-profit and volunteer-driven organization, is a social venture catalyst that brings together those likeminded people who are passionate about making a significant positive impact in the lives of underprivileged children by seeding, growing and scaling sustainable projects that impact quality of public education in India and in the US. The Paramount Software Solutions…
Inspriredu Led by CEO Richard Hicks, Inspiredu inherits the history, tradition, and passion of the Greater Atlanta Regional team and continues its programs and partnerships with schools, districts, and other non-profit organizations in metro Atlanta. Founded in 2007, Inspiredu seeks to support education equity with its commitment to youth and their families, through training, device…
Ebby Vidyasagar Ebby works at Texas Instruments in Bengaluru, India as, Director – APP (Analog Power Products) Engineering Team. He has 20+ years of success driving product development across hardware and software on a global scale. He has been a volunteer of Vibha since 2005 when he and Viv (his spouse) started the Vibha Houston…
Inspriredu Led by CEO Richard Hicks, Inspiredu inherits the history, tradition, and passion of the Greater Atlanta Regional team and continues its programs and partnerships with schools, districts, and other non-profit organizations in metro Atlanta. Founded in 2007, Inspiredu seeks to support education equity with its commitment to youth and their families, through training, device…
Mohalla Gatividhi Kendras:Alternate Strategies to Ensure Learning in the Times of Covid19-Written by Deep Ranjani Rai Eklavya, one of the projects Vibha partners in Madhya Pradesh, was set up in 1982 and is an organization deeply embedded in concepts, notions, thoughts, and actions, all geared towards a better education for children. Their focus has not been only…
A Tale of Many Dreams –Collected and written by Asha Devi Hasina Anand has been working for CORP India for 37 years now. In CORP India, she has been working simultaneously on three projects; Thane project (Shelter Home for the street Children), Amarnath Project, and Durga Devi Project (Street Children). When I asked Hasina Anand about the board examination results,…
Eklavya, (www.eklavya.in) one of the projects we partner within Madhya Pradesh, was set up in 1982 and is an organization deeply embedded in concepts, notions, thoughts, and actions, all geared towards a better education for children. Their focus has not been only on academic development but has also emphasized the need for the holistic development…
Vindali Vartak is a senior executive in the healthcare industry leading Clinical and Revenue Cycle Innovation including applications of Artificial Intelligence. She is a trained Dental Surgeon with a Masters in Business (MBA) and Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) and is board certified as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). She…
IN THIS ISSUE SUCCESS STORY: Tale of Many Dreams PARTNER HIGHLIGHT: School on Wheels Massachusetts DREAM MILE X | Volunteer… Read more August 2020 Newsletter
As a volunteer-driven organization, keeping our volunteers motivated, appreciated and always poised to take new opportunities on, is one of the most challenging tasks for the organization’s leaders. Priti Sarda, as the National Director of Volunteer Relations, did just that and in a very thoughtful and thought-through way. Priti’s journey with Vibha started in 2004…
Priti Sarda, as the National Director of Volunteer Relations, did just that and in a very thoughtful and thought-through way. As a volunteer-driven organization, keeping our volunteers motivated, appreciated and always poised to take new opportunities on, is one of the most challenging tasks for the organization’s leaders. Priti Sarda, as the National Director of…
Hasina Anand, Program Officer in CORP India Last month, results of Board Examination (both State Board and Central Board) were announced in India. Amidst the uncertainty due to the global pandemic, the Board Examination results triggered hope for better tomorrow in the mind of the youths all across the country. Likewise, the students from CORP…
The Dallas action centers has a tradition of conducting summer camps for underprivileged children in the local community for years. Initially we used to partner with local organizations such as Margaret’s Treehouse and City of McKinney’s services. Recently we adopted the local Bhutanese refugee children into a program of year-round tutoring services and summer camps.…
A tale of grit and courage is a success story of 22-year old Deepali Dhwale, written by Asha Devi, the Program Manager in India. Deepali lost both her parents very early in life and after that she came under the care of CORP-India (Community Outreach Program), where she grew and flourished to become an independent…
The NJ action center hosted a virtual Bollywood Trivia event on 28th June. The idea came from a rising junior volunteer Rohan, who wanted to have this event earlier and then COVID 19 scare arrived and we could not manage to have this event at a physical venue. But then Rohan came up with the…
Deepali Laxman Dhwale, Corp India- Community OutReach Program “Don’t lose confidence or hope if the situation in your life is bad. You can achieve anything through hard work, will power, persistence and hope for a better tomorrow. Trust yourself and things will definitely change for you”. This strong message comes from a courageous and strong…
On May 20, 2020, Super Cyclone Amphan hit Bangladesh and West Bengal in India around 1:30 PM and continued until 11 PM. Wind speeds were calculated to be 170 to 185 km per hour. Evacuation efforts started one day prior on May 19, 2020 with 16,000 people being moved to safer locations. At the same…
In the previous edition of the newsletter we introduced the initiative of Project Swarnivar in partnership with Vibha to assist with the response to Cyclone Amphan in the North and South 24 Paraganas in West Bengal. Some of the worst affected villages were in the Deganga, Sandeshkhali, Hingalganj and Baduria-Swarupnagar zones and this is where…
Vibha Bay Area hosted its very first virtual cooking class on May 30th to help raise funds for Vibha’s Ray of Hope campaign. To organize this event, Vibha volunteers reached out to Hetal Vasavada (of Master 6 Season 6 fame and @milkandcardamom) and Amisha Gurbani (of @TheJamLab and a previous Vibha volunteer herself) – both…
The online singing contest received an overwhelming response and immense love from across the globe. There were close to 400 entries that came in across all continents. The entries were divided into three categories: Little Champs (age 3 to 13 years), Teen Champs (13 to 19 years), and Super Champs (age 19 and above). The…
(Case study collected by Deep Ranjani Rai, Program Director of Vibha in India) The role of a school in a student’s life is more than just providing a space of learning. A school also provides a network of support and it acts as a catalyst for the academic and social growth of a student. However,…
In May 2020, Cyclone Amphan caused widespread damage across West Bengal and Bangladesh. Amphan is the most powerful cyclone recorded in the Bay of Bengal. Damages were reported to amount upto $13.2 billion, according to a government source(1). At least 85 people were reported to have been killed mostly from falling trees or electrocution. Power…
Vibha’s newsletter for the month of June focuses on one success story from India, a relief camp for victims of the cyclone, Amphan by Vibha’s partner Swanirwar as well as fundraising activities done by action centers in the US as a part of ‘A Ray of Light’ campaign’, for COVID affected families. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Journey towards…
Vibha – Celebrate to Educate COVID-19 Pandemic has brought in novel ideas on how we live, share and celebrate our blessings. Graduation 2020 is no different. The new graduates are showing grit, resilience and optimism as they step out in their individual new worlds in addition to our collective new world. We, at Vibha, are…
Vibha is a 100% volunteer driven organization and youth volunteers are integral part of it. We decided to take experience accounts from a few of these young volunteers, who are based in Georgia and New Jersey. You will read, below, 7 inspiring stories about what these young volunteers would like to say about their experience…
“My son could read and write English at very early age. I was intrigued by my child’s ability to write stories in the 4th standard. Hence, I took personal interest to know about the methodology and system so that I could spread the same talent to other children.” -Anjura. Even though women venturing out for…
Vibha – A Ray of Light in the times of COVID-19 The last few weeks have tested our humanity, empathy, and patience in a rapidly declining environment as the globe faced the wrath of the COVID-19. The world missed solid data, leadership, hope, and a clear path towards humanity’s ability to return to normalcy. Our…
Vibha Dallas successfully completes exclusive, Black tie event- Vibe 2020; raises $90,000. On Saturday, February 29th, at the Grand Center in Plano, six couples -our ‘Stars”, came together to compete in a dance-off show- Vibe. They had been paired with professional choreographers and had worked for over three months to create individual dance routines based…
The Houston Metro Area gets enlightened every year during the Navratri season. Navratri means “nine nights” and it symbolizes the victory of positivity, truth and goodness over evil. VIBHA once again organized their Navratri Garba celebration at University of Houston (UH) on Saturday, October 5th 2019 in partnership with BRC International. The VIBHA – BRC…
Now that summer is in full bloom, you may see children and young adults hold a car wash, lemonade stand or garage sale around your neighborhood. Sounds like a fun way to spend your weekends or summer holidays. Did you know there are indirect yet lifelong benefits to holding such events? This month, a handful…
This year, on Saturday, March 30th, Vibha LA had organized the Dream Mile event. The Action Center had planned this event after a 7-year gap, but this time they came back with a twist- they made it a ‘color run’, combining Holi celebration with Dream Mile. In the basic planning and execution, about 20 core…
As winter chills start melting away, and spring begins to blossom, Vibha Boston takes the opportunity to do some yoga, and help the community along with it. On the bright afternoon of Saturday March 2nd, a small group gathered at Todos Studio to learn and practice yoga from Lisa, the skilled instructor at Yoga Nova…
Sasi Challa Tadepalli is one of the veteran volunteers of Vibha. She has been associated with Vibha since 1996. Sasi first began to work with the Dallas Action Center. She is now in Hyderabad, India but is still connected with Vibha as a Project Lead for Aid ET Action, a new project Vibha Hyderabad recently…
Vibha Minnesota recently attended the Indian Association of Minnesota’s (IAM) event “Connect India” on February 2nd, 2019. As has been the case for the past few years, the event was a great success for Vibha Minnesota. With more than fifty Indian organizations coming together and sharing their ideas, missions, and goals, Vibha Minnesota had some…
Martin Luther King, Jr. is known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent activism. King’s life was based upon a strong Christian ideology, ‘Put others before yourself’. During one of his speeches, he mentioned life’s most persistent and urgent question, “What have you done for others.” The Presbyterian…
Samyukta Munagavalasa (a Sophomore at J.I. Case High School in Racine, WI) and Janavi Munagavalasa (an 8th grader at Walden Middle School in Racine, WI) are both members of Racine Kenosha Vibha Youth Club leaders and, since Dec 2017, have been regularly volunteering their time for fund raising activities for Vibha, helping geriatric residents of…
Indian classical dance and arts are known to be full of colors, elegance, richness, and spirituality. They have been a symbol not only of expressing rich culture, but also of elevating the audience and facilitating their experience of the divine. On October 6th, members of the Vibha Chicago action center held the event Nritya Sandhya,…
Vibha action centers have been planning and succeeding in Dream Mile events at local levels throughout the US since many years. This year, for the very first time, the national team came up with a very innovative idea of uniting people from all over the world for a great cause that Vibha has been working…
The 2nd edition of the annual Vibha NY/NJ Dream Mile 5K Run and Walk was a fabulous success! youth Held on Saturday, September 15th in Skillman Park, NJ, the event had 450 registrations, with many new registrations from people outside the immediate volunteer network. The success was possible only due to the tremendous energy and…
Let’s think about what most of us do when we are 10-11 years old: Play in the neighborhood all day? Complain about school? Maybe beg to our parents for the latest toy in the market? This, however, is not the story of all kids. 211-year-old Dishi Shah and her 10-year-old friend Ilhaam Attaar are youth…
On that warm summer day, They soar by high… My spirits shiny and bright, Glistened like the colors of the kite… It was a warm summer day of June 17th on Father’s Day that Vibha volunteers of Boston organized the annual Kite flying festival at NARA park. We are a group of 15 volunteers, many…
Racine Kenosha Vibha Youth Club was formed in Dec 2017. We have 12 active members who regularly meet once in a month and spend time at nursing homes once a month since the inception of the club. This is their first fundraising event wholly conducted by the club members with the club coordinator Sapna Patel…
Atlanta volunteers recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of their Cricket event. The event was held in Roswell, GA on 3 consecutive Saturdays, April 21st, 28th and May 5th. The planning for this big event started 3 months in advance, in January 2018. Regular meetings were organized on a weekly basis. The action center adopted a…
At the various action centers, Vibha is best known for its flagship event, Vibha Dream Mile, as well as its artistic equivalent, Vibha Vibe. However, a group of dedicated Vibha volunteers in New Jersey wanted to experiment and grow Vibha’s fundraising event base. As one of the core NJ Vibha volunteers, Aiman Laila, explains, the…
As Vibha expands its volunteer network and explores new avenues in fundraising events, Vibha Atlanta successfully repeated their Dancing For a Cause event, Vibha Vibe 2018, proving that breaking the traditional fundraising model can pay off. Mirroring the structure of Dancing with the Stars, with locally sourced competitors, choreographers, and designers, Vibha vibe raised $184,000…
One of the hallmarks of the Vibha organization is the dedication of all of its volunteers ranging from the adults who have been part of Vibha for decades to the youngest middle school students eager to help their peers across the sea in India. When not preparing for Vibha-sponsored events such as the Dream Mile,…
Sapna Patel, a physician by profession, is one of the passionate and dedicated Vibha volunteers in Kenosha, Wisconsin Action Center. In December 2017, she came up with this idea of taking the youth volunteers to a Nursing Home in Kenosha, WI. Brookside Care Center is a Nursing care and rehabilitation center. It has a group…
As it is known, all Action Centers frequently come up with novel ideas every now and then to raise funds for Vibha supported projects in India. Recently, on November 11, 2017, NJ/NY Action Center had organized a high profile and high-energy dance competition, ‘Vibe- Dancing for a Cause’, where total 13 teams involving a choreographer…
The Dream Mile, often the largest fundraising effort held by Vibha Action Centers, is a major undertaking with volunteers beginning preparations months in advance. While the New York/New Jersey Action Center executed their Inaugural Dream Mile this year, the dedication of their volunteers made it seem like they had years of practice. Beginning the sunny…
‘She is clothed in strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.’ – Proverbs 31:25. These are the words that first came to mind when I looked into Sajan’s eyes, the color of glowing coal, dancing with joy, excitement and anticipation, eager to see what the new day would bring. One of…
Over the years, Vibha has proved that it not only works toward education and empowerment of children and women, but also extends hands to people in need. In 2015, when parts of Tamil Nadu were damaged severely by floods, causing destruction of entire human life by ruination of crops, loss of livestock, deterioration of health…
In February 2017, I volunteered at Jan Madhyam, a non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of economically challenged children and those with special needs. At Jan Madhyam, therapies, music, dance, yoga and life skills training are carried out by teachers and volunteers in order to prepare such children to go out into the…
On the morning of 14th June 2017, our party of 5 headed for Motaganahalli Government Higher Primary school in Magadi village on the outskirts of Bangalore. The party consisted of Kannan Udayarajan, Ashwini Kumar and myself from Vibha USA and Venkatesh Reddy and Sunil Nanjundappa from Sikshana Foundation, Bangalore.IMG_3485 In a case of sheer and…
Throughout the year, various Vibha Action Centers along with local volunteers conduct fundraisers to raise money. These volunteers and the patrons of such events are all dedicated to helping students in India receive help and education they deserve, but few understand the specific use of these funds. Vibha is a catalyst charity. That means it…
To organize and energize a group towards an agreed upon goal is a task that sometimes takes more than one individual. The Vibha NJ/NY Action Center did just that through ‘Game Day 2017’ on June 3rd at Johnson Park, Piscataway, NJ. A core group of volunteers, under the leadership of Dimple Kapoor, organized this event,…
Bhagvatulya Charitable Trust (BCT) is a non-profit organization in the villages of Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh; since 1976 actively working towards transfiguration of these villages by employing its highly participatory approach to teaching and learning. Its aim is to promote continuous self-improvement in the quality of lives of the villagers by creating insights for their…
Have we ever imagined how a fisherman’s life can be? What kind of lives families in fishery business would be leading? What kind of challenges they would be facing to earn bread and butter? Most importantly, how much would they be earning after working so hard-day and night, risking their lives in sea waters and…
While Vibha Atlanta has various fundraisers planned year-round, this year, the Action Center came up with a singular concept -“Vibe“. Vibe was a cultural fundraising event that involved the local leaders, with an intent to create more visibility for Vibha and having the patrons form a personal connection with the cause and celebrate the joy…
Gandhian Organization for Rural Development foundation (GORD) was first established in the year 1990 and since then has been working towards improving the state of rural villages through agriculture, school and community development activities. Vibha joined hands in this great cause with GORD foundation in 2009 and introduced Sikshana model in over 45 primary schools…
Americans often don’t have to worry about limited access to education. Every child, from age six to age sixteen, is required to spend eight hours learning subjects from basic math and reading to world history and computer science. While India has instituted a similar mandatory schooling law, the Right to Education Act, its protections do…
This past fall most residents of Morgantown, WV had never heard of Vibha. I was new in the town and was faced with the challenge of finding a medium to spread awareness about Vibha. It took a lot of brainstorming to come up with an idea of meaningfully contributing to Vibha, being away from any of Vibha’s…
Graduation parties are times to celebrate the efforts and achievements of students who have gone through a grueling educational journey and come out successful. Graduates usually get a bunch of presents helping them transition to a next level of their lives. Few forego these gifts and even fewer use their celebrations as a way to…
Recently, the Unnati Social Foundation has organized a campaign in Pune, India that strives to raise awareness for a Plastic Free Pune City among Punekars. The Unnati Social Foundation (www.unnatifindia.org) aims to implement sustainable, social change–specifically for the lives of women and underprivileged youth. Many of the social issues The Foundation works hard to solve…
Sikshana was founded in the year 2002, with a mission to evolve scalable and replicable models for an effective public school system. To achieve this goal, over the year, Sikshana developed a unique way for students’ motivation to drive improved learning outcomes and has been recognized for its efforts and insights by the Govt. of…
NGO Expo is an international event, organized with the aim to bring together World’s leading NGOs, NPOs, Charitable Trusts and Foundations. The recently-concluded Asia Edition of the event, was co-sponsored by Vibha. This two-day event, organized by CSR Live Week at the World Trade Center in Mumbai, brought together over 150 non-profit organizations, 300 corporate…
Alamb in Uttam Nagar, West Delhi, is one of the projects that Vibha supports in India. Alamb was established in 1992 with the main aim to help people, especially women and children of socio-economically weaker sections of the society, be aware of their rights to education, well-being and self-respect. Vibha has been funding Alamb’s girl…
Sri Tanmoy Roy Chowdhury, Superintendent of Police, inaugurated Prayash, on January 9th, 2014 as an initiative to mainstream the child laborers working in brick kiln and adult literacy centers in collaboration with Baduria police station. Mr. Chowdhury urged Swanirvar to open a school for children of migrant laborers since he was concerned about the increasing…
SEA is a community-based organization that works with children of fisherman and saltpan workers. Often in these fishing communities, children begin fishing or salt panning from the tender age of 10 dropping out of school and entering the family tradition is a way of life. However, many find it a difficult occupation since traditional fishing…
The Tamil Nadu floods of October-November 2015 severely damaged vital service infrastructure and community support structures. The houses, schools and motivation centers sponsored by the Society for Education and Action (SEA) in Kancheepuram district fell under this umbrella of destruction. Excessive flooding ensued in the region due to an overwhelming 1007 mm of rainfall (600…
Vibha’s partner project HEARDS (Health Education Adoption Rehabilitation Development Society) received an award at the SWAG (Social Welfare and Growth) Awards 2016. Mr. K. Sajan, the chairman of HERDS, on behalf of the organization, accepted the award. Nominated by Vibha under the category of “Women Empowerment and Child Welfare”, HEARDS was awarded the 2nd prize…
The Chennai floods of 2015 left in their wake mass destruction of property and lost lives. In the advent of this disaster, Vibha was one of several relief organizations and individuals that sprung into action to help revitalize the deluge-struck region and rehabilitate its survivors. Vibha provided funds to the grassroots Rural Development Organization (RDO)…
CORP (Community Outreach Program) is an India-based organization that helps communities, women, and children. The program provides children access to education, shelter, food and water, as well as health care, in hopes of giving them more opportunities. It recently achieved a major accomplishment with thirteen of their children passing the challenging Board Examination. These Board…
DSS (Door Step School) was established in Mumbai, India in 1989 with the aim of addressing literacy amongst the marginalized sections of society. The slum at Cuffe Parade was the first initiative with core programs viz. non-formal education classes, pre-primary education centers, mobile libraries and study classes. How DSS came into existence: Foundation of DSS…
This is a success story of Jahirul Molla, an 11-year-old son of Sukhzan Bibi (a bidi binder) and Mujibar Molla (a van puller). After dropping out from a government school because of his inability to focus and lack of inclination for study, Jahirul was brought to Prayash School 4 years ago. Prayash is a remedial education center that…
At times, Life comes with surprises. Life brings big lessons packed in tiny incidences. I had such an experience in my life, which compelled me to change my perspective. A tribal woman taught me an act of SELFLESS GIVING. It was around a decade ago when I had just started working in a tribal community…
The Community Food Bank of NJ (CFBNJ) works with the mission to fight against hunger and poverty by assisting those in need and seeking long-term solutions. It tries to engage, educate and empower all sectors of society in the battle. The Food Bank aims to fill the emptiness caused by hunger with FOOD, HELP and…
Vibha Bay Area Youth volunteers meet and discuss mission and work with Nobel Peace Prize Winner Kailash Satyarthi.
By: Anita Ambalavanan March 19th was quite a colorful day at Washington’s Lake Sammamish State Park as Vibha Seattle successfully celebrated their second big Holi Event, ‘Holi Hai’. The festivities were a hit, as children and adults of all ages and backgrounds came out to support Vbha and partake in the vibrant activity accompanied with…
Every year, the Vibha Volunteer Conference is held in different action centers for volunteers to share accounts of past events and discuss new plans and strategies for the upcoming year to reach set goals. It is used to update the different coordinators across the nation as well as provide networking opportunities for Vibha volunteers and…
Every day we come across photos of children dying of malnutrition and diseases in several parts of the world and we can’t help but feel sorry for the way their sad eyes stare at us, the way their silent lips scream for help and how their bony bodies crave for food. But feeling sorry is…
By: Sneha Kadiyala In 2014, Vibha became a certified organization to earn Presidential Service Awards through. This year, six youth volunteers from the Vibha Atlanta Action Center earned this prestigious award. As the name indicates, the award is sponsored by the US government and given to volunteers who complete a number of service hours. Different…
By: Sneha Kadiyala The Vibha Youth chapter in the Bay Area action center has been an inspiration in their dedication and perseverance these past few months. Already, they pulled off not one but two events in January of this year. The first event held on January 24th was a Vibha The second youth run event…
We can’t all be Clark Kent and step into a telephone box an ordinary guy, step out with superhuman strength. We can’t all don masks and wipe the streets of crime, shoot spiderwebs out of our wrists, or wield Mjolnir. But we can, in our own way, be superheroes. Image via Flickr / Flickr Superheroes,…
Image via deviantart / deviantart Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, is a time for happiness and renewal. Image via Wikipedia / Wikipedia A time for families, celebration, food and fireworks. Image via Flickr / Flickr Not every child is so lucky as to get to celebrate these things. Every night, thousands of children across…
Vibha Raleigh is a relatively new action center that pulled off an incredible Dream Mile last month. The Vibha volunteers in Vibha Raleigh carried the event out successfully. This dedicated team worked steadily helped grow different sectors of Vibha Raleigh, including the youth group who took on more responsibility this year even establishing pledge pages.…
by: Sneha Nayar Vibha helps many different projects in India by providing them the funds raised through various fundraising events. One of those CORP- India began with a single center and three staff in Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi, with a four year grant from the World Hunger Project of Methodist Churches in South Asia. Today…
By: Priya Balachandran Vibha-Chicago conducts events for awareness, fundraising and community service making the volunteer’s time beneficial to the community as well as to volunteer himself. The Art of Giving was aimed at creating awareness about child welfare, the Vibha’s cause, as well as to raise funds for the cause all while still having fun.…
What do you schedule automated payments for? Utilities? Magazine subscriptions? That shiny new iPhone that you’re still not convinced is actually any different from the last one? Image via Wikimedia / Wikimedia Did you know you can also use automated payments to give a child a meal? A bed? An education? It is an unfortunate…
You have just bought a new car. There is a car gathering dust and rust in the garage. The call to do your bit for the environment and reduce your carbon footprint is making you consider reducing the number of vehicles in your household. However it’s happened, you have a car that you’re not using.…
Image via Pixabay / Pixabay Is it time for you to upgrade your vehicle? Are you not sure what to do with your old one? How about donating your car, truck, boat, or even RV to the Vibha Vehicle Donation Program and helping them to change the lives of thousands of children? Vibha, with over…
Vibha Minnesota recently had their 12th annual Dream Mile Event on Saturday, August 22nd, 2015. The event was a huge success due to the combined efforts from all of our volunteers. The efforts put into planning and promoting the event were reflected in the successful execution of the event. Many volunteers set up pledge pages…
BY: Sneha Nayar-Bhalerao As an immigrant in United States, I always desired to contribute towards my country and always attempted to look for opportunities that would allow me to do so. Very soon, I came across Vibha – a NGO that works for underprivileged children in India and U.S. I have been associated with Vibha since…
Every child deserves an equal opportunity to succeed. However, not every child receives the materials necessary for them to reach their potential in their education. Foster children, in particular,are at a disadvantage. The Foster Care Support Foundation (FCSF) helps ease their burden by providing them with guidance and tools for success. On Saturday, August 1st, Vibha…
Vibha-Chicago, for the first time in history of the Vibha Organization, announced a creative Facebook contest, The Art Of Giving Contest. This contest by offering a platform to showcase the talent raised the awareness about Vibha and its mission to educate, empower and enable every individual who wishes to make a positive difference in the…
Vibha Bangalore recently completed their 3nd annual Dream Mile event on Sunday, July 5th, 2015. The impressive efforts that the volunteers put into the event truly showed on the event day. From planning event day logistics to getting permission for the event, the meticulousness of the volunteers led to a great event reflected in the…
You have seen movies with subtitles, but have you ever heard of or seen a play with subtitles? Seattle Theaterwala teamed up with Vibha to present Jaysa ka Taysa – a Bengali play with English subtitles. The storyline, set in 19th century West Bengal, revolves around how a determined nanny gets a young girl married…
by Priya Balachandran Vibha-Chicago Action Center organized a local community volunteering event at Feed My Starving Children (FMSC.org) Aurora center on a fine Saturday afternoon (06/20/2014). Vibha-Chicago Volunteers and their family members including children under 18 years hand packed meals at FMSC center, turning hunger into hope with their own hands. This is the second…
by Saloni Shah The 2015 Kite Flying Festival was held on a warm afternoon with a light breeze. It was the perfect setting for our joyous event. Our volunteers at Vibha successfully hosted a kite-flying event, a happy playtime for children and adults alike. It was a wonderful day with parents teaching their children how…
Vibha volunteers across the world don’t limit themselves to volunteering with just Vibha. They participate in charity work with numerous other charities. Recently, members of Vibha Boston volunteered with Cradles to Crayons (C2C). Cradles to Crayons is a non-profit much like Vibha that helps children in Boston and Philadelphia receive the “essential items they need…
It was Déjà vu for the Future Tech cricket team, almost! Being the title sponsors and one of the best teams of the Future Tech Vibha Cricket Tournament over the years, reaching semifinals and finals on several occasions, they have never won the prestigious cup. They are often compared to the South Africans as the…
by: Pranayi Pala Hello! My name is Pranayi Pala and I am a proud ninth grader from Liberty High School, Frisco TX. I recently received a gold level Presidential Volunteer Service Award for completing over a hundred service hours for the year of 2014. 2014 has been an amazing year for me at a…
How to create the account Go To: https://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/register-vo Create a login per child. Parent can operate the account if child is under 14. Please add Birthdate to keep track of the age category for the award. After you create the account, go to Profile for the account by clicking on the…
Imagine giving a child a beautiful edition of a classic book, ornately decorated and written in an elegant font. Now imagine that child hasn’t been taught to read. Maybe they will appreciate the rough feel of the paper beneath their fingertips, and perhaps some of the illustrations will tell parts of a wonderful story.…
By: Anjali Gonuguntla It was a beautiful, bright, sunny, and moderately windy Saturday afternoon at Frisco Commons Park, Frisco Texas. I stepped onto the pavilion, which was swarming with people clad in identical neon green shirts, busily working to arrange kites, briskly opening toys, quickly organizing boxes, and laying out drinks in a hurried, but…
By: Prathibha Tammana and Photo Credits to Anjali Gonuguntla It was a beautiful sunny afternoon in Plano, Texas when a large group of Vibha Dallas Youth volunteers and parents arrived at Parr Library. Amidst friendly hugs and warm welcomes, everyone was greeted and seated in anticipation of the Award Ceremony. TV Asia media coverage team…
It’s the first day of the new school year. A group of nervous but excited five year olds are eyeing each other warily from their new desks in their new classroom, from behind new lunchboxes, new satchels and new pencil cases. Fingers brush against the unfamiliar-feeling uniform, and you can be sure that some of…
There is an idiom that says prevention is better than cure. If you treat a wound, you’ll be dealing with a smaller problem than if you let it become infected. If you add the right spices at the right stage when you are cooking, your meal will taste better than if you throw everything in…
“Excellent planning”, “Smooth execution”, “Well organized”, “Great competition” were some of the comments being heard during Vibha Atlanta’s 12th annual Dream Play event sponsored by North Fulton Smiles. The dedicated Vibha Altanta and Vibha Youth members worked tirelessly to make the event happen. The Vibha Youth members planned the fundraiser, designed the fliers, spread the…
By Vibha Denver Vibha Denver organized a Painting and Drawing Competition for children from ages five and up on Feb 28, 2015. This is our first event for 2015. The event was used as an awareness event to raise awareness about Vibha and attract new volunteers. This event served also as a team building activity,…
By Sneha Kadiyala Vibha Atlanta youth volunteers recently worked with Meals by Grace at a volunteer event on Sunday, March 15th. Meals by Grace is an organization that packs and provides meals for socioeconomically challenged children. They make, pack and deliver nutritious meals to households with limited or no transportation. About twenty youth volunteers received…
By: Sandhya Honnavalli There are a lot of “firsts” in life, don’t you agree? Some, we look forward to with much anticipation. Some are just out of the blue and we are caught totally unaware. Then there are some others where we know are coming, but don’t know quite what to expect. Well, one such “first” for…
By: Priya Balachandran Vibha-Chicago Action Center conducted an event at Feed My Starving Children (FMSC.org), Aurora location, on 02/13/2014, Friday. This local volunteering activity was aimed at creating awareness about Vibha in the local community and to attract the attention of both adults and children who are interested in helping the community. A team composed of Vibha…
As a social entrepreneurship organization, Vibha sponsors a number of Non-Governmental Organizations(NGOs) in India which focus on improving the quality of life of children, especially those in challenging circumstances. Jan Madhyam in New Delhi is one such NGO. Jan Madhyam’s mission is to reach out to “the disabled children from marginalized sections of society aiding the…
Ever since the organization was started in 1991, Vibha has challenged itself on several occasions “to do more” for the benefit of the underprivileged children. “Target One Million” is one such challenge that the entire organization rallied behind and achieved the goal with enthusiasm, excitement and a sense of purpose. This will enable to increase…
I am honored to receive Presidential Volunteer Services Award for the year 2014 and I want to thank Vibha for nominating me. I was introduced to Vibha four years ago by a group of Milwaukee Action Center volunteers who left a flier tucked under the windshield wiper blade of my van. Since then, I’ve had…
Calling all Vibha Members of Charlotte! Recently, a new action center has been started in Charlotte, North Carolina by Neha Ghai. Ghai was a dedicated member of Vibha Atlanta, and after her move to North Carolina, decided to open up an action center in Charlotte. Supported by her family and friends, Ghai became the new…
SWETA When Sweta and her younger sister were very young, their family was going through difficult financial times. Their parents were illiterate and unemployed. Sweta and her sister never went to a school or received formal education. But the family aspired to do better, and they were approached by CORP – Community Outreach Program in Mumbai – a project supported by…
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY India is the first country to adopt a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) legislation mandating companies with a net worth of Rs. 5 Billion or more to give 2% of their net profits of the last 3 years to social causes. This is a great boost for a Social Venture Catalyst like Vibha. Our goal is to…
Dear Vibha Patron, It gives me great pleasure to inform you about how you have enabled Vibha to meet its goals for 2014. At the end of 2013, we launched a Year-End campaign to raise an additional $100,000 so that we could expand our model to seed, scale and grow new projects in new geographic locations across India.…
“It is always exciting to identify new projects to support funding, to enter into new geographies, to understand the problems and the innovative solutions attempted, and finally to be able to make a difference. Thank you for giving us this opportunity” – New Projects Team (Zankhana, Deep, Jyothi, Vijay, Murthy, Lux, and Badri) A Promise…
“One good teacher in a lifetime may sometimes change a delinquent into a solid citizen.” The story of Samiul Gazi, is a very inspiring one, and fills our heart with immense pride and motivation to continue our efforts with our partners, to enable a child to be educated and self-sustained. Samiul, 17 years old, comes…
Opportunities are hard to find but when young people like Manek Jana get an opportunity, they make the best of it by working hard and provide path for others to make something out of those opportunities. Manek is now 20 years old and comes from an extremely financially challenged background. Manek became a part Sarada Kalyan…
Mother Nature once again shows her dominance with the extensive devastation caused to Vizag and the neighboring coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, India, by cyclone ‘Hudhud’, with wind speeds close to 200Km/hr. Bhagavatula Charitable Trust (BCT), an organization that Vibha has been supporting for the past 8 years, did not escape the destruction. Vibha is currently…
As many of you know that India was the first country to have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) legislation mandating companies with net worth of 5 Billion Rupees to give 2% of their net profits for last 3 years to charitable causes. Since this legislation was passed – Vibha has been aggressively working with various Corporations…
A father who abandoned her and her family of her mother, 2 brothers and one sister (who was abandoned by her husband)…. Priyanka dreams a good life for herself and her family. With a meagre income and every day struggles, Priyanka was encouraged by HEARDS (Health. Education, Adoption, Rehabilitation Development Society) to join one of…
The 16th annual flagship fundraiser of Vibha, a not-for- profit organization, focused on childhood education and health, the Dream Mile, 2014 saw more than 1700 participants, organized at the upscale lifestyle shopping destination, The Collection at Forsyth. This was by far the hugest turnout of participants for Dream Mile, coming together for one single cause-…
Diwali means “Festival of Lights” The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair. Vibha’s mission resonates with Diwali where we are focused on bringing victory to the aspirations of the underprivileged children in India and US and giving the ‘Gift of Hope’ over…
We are frequently asked by our patrons and donors if their donations can be dedicated to a particular project. The answer is Vibha Beneficiary program. Through this program, an organization or an individual or a group of individuals can dedicate their funds to a project of their choice, thus “adopting” it. Organizations, Corporations and Individuals…
Vibha Denver was happy and proud to present their first fundraiser and awareness event in 2014, called Nritya. Nritya was a collaborative showcase of Indian classical dance forms. It aimed toward unity in diversity. Nritya received a great response, having both Indian and American audience. Everyone enjoyed and appreciated the performers and the event efforts.…
Find out more about Vibha Atlanta’s annual cricket tournament in this coverage video by TV Asia.
The Power of Persuasion and Reaching Out to the Community for help always works. Recently Vibha Milwaukee had the opportunity to volunteer at The Color Run in Milwaukee on July 6th 2014. The Color Runs – also called the Happiest 5K is a big international running event conducted in 30+ countries and all big cities…
Dear Vibha Patrons, Thank you for being a champion for the cause of underprivileged children. Today, we have some exciting news for you. We all are well aware of the myriad problems children face and how we would like to change the situation for good. However there is always a trust issue when it comes…
Despite freezing limbs, borrowed gloves, wet socks and no source of heat, 15 volunteers gracefully braved the chilly winds and successfully raised money for our noble cause. It all happened on a Sunday morning of April 27th when Vibha Boston volunteers organized the first ever “Six-a-side” Cricket tournament on Wrentham fairgrounds in partnership with Eagle…
“My summer holidays are getting over, Dad, and I am tired of moving from one place to another. Can I please go to school at this new place? What is this place called?” That’s a question that a typical child of a construction worker asks. Door Step School (DSS) focuses on providing education to children…
In its 11th year, Vibha’s Dream Play, a one-of-a-kind chess and table tennis tournament, delivered a memorable event, once again. With a few major changes and the same excellent standard of execution as always, Vibha Youth put on a highly successful experience for its ever-commendable cause. Known for its determination to help underprivileged children in…
8 Child Laborers from Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, India; gave their 10th grade Board Examinations in March and today we learnt that 6 of these children passed and scored above 80% in the exams. This is a VERY BIG DEAL !!! These children who grew up in extreme poverty and worked in local cigarette factories,…
The Silicon Valley Giving Foundation (SVCF) in Bay Area are celebrating their 100th Anniversary in a most innovative & philanthropic way today. They are doing a One Day Only Crowdfunding Campaign for 700 non profit organizations registered in Bay Area. Ofcourse Vibha is part of this campaign as well and we have been spreading the word…
You can volunteer with your local Action Center and help with their activities or be a member of any one of our National Teams. You can donate your professional skills – we are constantly in need of specialized skills in various professional areas including Public Relations/Marketing, Financial Accounting, Project Evaluation and Selection, Graphic Design, Web…
After conducting Vibha Vibe successfully for the last 5 Years in Milwaukee the volunteers were running out of ideas on how to make it bigger and better. So March 29, 2014 – Milwaukee is bringing an internationally acclaimed Bollywood Musical Dance Extravaganza called Mystic India. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgOKSVKYkDQ Mystic India is coming to Milwaukee with a troupe…
VibhaScope is a newsletter that highlights significant stories to share with the global Vibha community. We are looking for youth volunteers to help compile and edit content for VibhaScope. Please contact vibhascope@vibha.org for information.
In 25 days, in an amazing display of volunteer support, we managed to raise $110,687, going well beyond our target of $100,000! This will support approximately 6,640 underprivileged children. $20 funds educational materials for a child $50 funds rehabilitation of a child with learning disability $120 funds quality education for a child $200 funds libraries…
Last year, Vibha was approved as an Official Certifying Organization for the President’s Volunteer Service Awards program. We are proud to congratulate four volunteers who qualified for this prestigious award. More impressive still is the fact that three of these are youth volunteers! Award recipients can choose among different options for recognition: The official President’s…
The Times of India recently discussed Vibha’s role in implementing a corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandate: “In early October, Vibha, a not-for profit body that works on behalf of some 30 other NGOs dedicated to solving problems of underprivileged children, brought together representatives from a host of companies to discuss the new corporate social responsibility…
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…
HDRsoft Kalakaar 2013 was a smashing success! Vibha’s second annual international online photography contest commenced 1st November and concluded 1st December, 2013. Anyone and everyone could participate for FREE! This year a separate category was added for children under 16 years to encourage children to help other children. Kalakaar invites amateur and skilled photographers alike…
The North Carolina Youth Classical Arts for Charity (NCYCAC.org) organized a two-day long charity music festival on Saturday August 31, 2013 and Sunday, September 1, 2013. The festival was held in Seasons at Tandoor Banquet Hall, 5410 NC Hwy 55, Durham, NC. This 4th annual Youth Music Festival was organized by school and college…
"The urge to create, the urge to photograph, comes in part from the deep desire to live with more integrity, to live more in peace with the world, and possibly to help others to do the same.” Wynn Bullock With the strong belief that there is a kalakaar or an ‘artist’ in each one of…
Thanks to Raleigh team for hosting the wonderful Vibha National Volunteer Conference! Some of the volunteers flew from West coast to East coast, and some drove 11 hours to attend the conference. All these people sacrificed weekend time and personal life. People who could not join in person due to various reasons participated remotely through…
Hundreds of volunteers and thousands of participants thronged Shakerag Park in the wee hours of Saturday September 21, 2013. The occasion: Vibha Atlanta’s 15th Annual Dream Mile. The purpose: to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of children across the globe. In the last fourteen years, The Dream Mile has become a social…
Pragati is Vibha’s endeavour to organize Bi-Annual conference that brings all its partner projects on one platform and with a mission to “Connect, Share and leverage”. This year, in addition to the usual practise of working closely with their project’s, Vibha included Pragati CSR 2013 in its agenda. It was held at United Theological College, Bangalore on October…
Vibha Milwaukee Action Center marked its annual Dream Mile 10K/5K Run and 5K Walk event on Sunday, Aug 18th with 350+ registrants – largest turnout in four years. Sweet victory was felt when people from different walks of life converged at the Veteran’s Park on this effervescent, bright morning in support of Vibha’s mission. The…
From the Volunteer Match newsletter. According to new research published in Psychological Science, people who volunteer actually feel like they have more time in their days. The research article, titled “Giving Time Gives You Time,” found that helping others increases our feelings of time affluence. So even though we can’t expand the 24 hours we…
Nine year old Rohan Vasavada from Milwaukee shares his “Hero Celebration” project that he did in school. Rohan’s precocious writing and presentation skills shine through in the article he wrote! I am writing to share my Hero Celebration experience. For the Hero Celebration, each student in my class picked a charitable cause to research and…
The room had an enthusiastic and peppy air about it. There was laughter and giggling and the tables were strewn with colorful paper, marker pens, crayons and color pencils. Colorful cards were being made and everyone had donned their creative hats. No, I am not describing a kindergarten art classroom filled with super active 5…
Someone once said “From small beginnings, come great things”, and that’s exactly what we at Vibha Boston are determined to achieve. Our small but very energetic group made a successful and enthusiastic beginning at the 64th Indian Republic Day celebrations hosted by the IAGB (Indian Association of Greater Boston). This event presented us with the…
The Vibha Youth of Atlanta spent their summer not only having fun outdoors, but also playing their part in helping the community by creating awareness and volunteering. On June 22, they visited the Fostercare Support Foundation to help sort, stock, and clean up various items that were going to be donated to children at foster…
The secret to the success behind the 1500+ runners for Dream Mile this year was the power of team work. This is purely based on volunteers working collaboratively having only one goal in mind — helping the underprivileged children. Here is a snapshot of the workmanship behind Dream Mile 2013: Innovations- Larger water cups on…
Vibha, the name that is synonymous with empowerment of underprivileged children is also known for successfully hosting the FutureTech Cricket tournament for 15 years in a row. Year after year, the Vibha FutureTech Cricket tournament conjures images of selfless volunteers working feverishly to make this historic event better than the previous years. The dedication and…
This article was written by Milwaukee Volunteer Subarna Bhattacharya, and with the help of Milwuakee ACC Naveen Kodam, published in the newsletter Hi India, found in all the Indian Grocery stores in Milwaukee and Chicago. You can read the version published online here: http://hiindia.us/?p=12104 The reflections of the fifth Vibha Vibe witnessed the Centennial Hall…
1. Why did you join Vibha, and how long have you been with Vibha? I joined Vibha to help the children in need in India. Since I am in the United States, it is difficult for me to work closely with the children in India by directly helping them out in the form of tutoring…
This March, Vibha Dallas, in association with MCOR, hosted its 10th Annual Kite Flying Festival. Vibha’s youth group of twenty youth volunteers, along with thirty others, organized a kite flying festival and made it possible in order to raise money, as well as for children to know about the science and history behind flying kites…
In recent times, motivated Vibha teams across the USA have striven to volunteer, conduct, and organize fundraising events that play a crucial role in achieving Vibha’s goal: to seed, to grow and to scale grass-roots ideas that can solve systemic problems related to the underprivileged child and his or her future. In this feature, we…
Innovative. Well planned. Excellent place for fun sport. These were just some of the words that were making their way around the arena, on the 16th of February 2013 when the 10th Annual Vibha DreamPlay was hosted at South Forsyth Middle School. The Vibha DreamPlay is an annual Chess and Table Tennis tournament. In addition…
Vibha’s philosophy is that of a social venture catalyst. We seed, grow and scale grass-roots ideas that can solve systemic problems related to the underprivileged child through a cure that involves minimal external intervention with large scale societal impact. Such solutions are typically hard to find and involve closely working with all players related to…
1. Why did you join Vibha, and how long have you been with Vibha? I’ve been a volunteer for Vibha for about one year now. I joined because Vibha is a great organization which allows an individual to be him/her self when it comes to contributing ideas and time to help underprivileged children. Growing up…
The youth is the hope of our future. Jose Rizal, Phillipine Nationalist Youth volunteers were asked the following three questions: 1. How long have you been volunteering for Vibha? 2. Why do you volunteer for Vibha? 3. What is your most favorite event of the year and what do you do to prepare/what is your…
National Volunteer Week is coming up on April 21-27, 2013! Since its inception in 1974, National Volunteer Week is a period to celebrate the power and impact of service. National Volunteer Week is bolstered by the support of President Obama, Congress, governors and mayors. Indeed, as Obama stated in 2012: “As we continue to pursue…
Posted by: Ron Victor, President of Vibha I visited India in Dec 2012 and met a couple of our project partners as well as some other NGOs (Non-governmental Organizations) that I know. This was all in the midst of the horrific rape incident that gripped Delhi and the rest of India. I visited Jan Madhyam in…
Vibha - A Social Venture Capital Organization Reproduced from Atlanta Dunia News Vibha, the organization always on the forefront of innovation has reaffirmed the notion that it is an organization with a difference in making a difference! As the year comes to a successful conclusion for Vibha, exceeding its goals both in Atlanta and nationally,…
Get to know updates in India from Rajesh Haridas, Chief Operating Officer of Vibha: Finance Workshop: A total of 19 participants from 10 partner organizations attended. Rachana & Amravati Blind School attended at Bangalore as the dates for Jaipur venue was not convenient for them. Vidyarambam & Devnar neither attended nor responded to our request.…
Vibha-DSS Outreach Workshop was a 3 day event being organized by Vibha in collaboration with Door Step School in Pune, India from Dec 6 – Dec 8 2012. This post summarizes the third day of the event. The final day was reserved for sessions which equipped the participant with working knowledge of the model and…
Vibha-DSS Outreach Workshop was a 3 day event being organized by Vibha in collaboration with Door Step School in Pune, India from Dec 6 – Dec 8 2012. This post summarizes the second day of the event. The first half of the second day was reserved for field trips by the participating teams to various…
Vibha-DSS Outreach Workshop was a 3 day event being organized by Vibha in collaboration with Door Step School in Pune, India from Dec 6 – Dec 8 2012. This post summarizes the first day of the event. Vibha – Door Step School [DSS] Outreach Workshop was formally kicked off today at YMCA Club, Pune. Vibha…
Vibha Pune volunteer Anjeli recently featured on a Pune radio show “Play Your Music Day,” where she talked about the various causes Vibha supports and how loves to volunteer in both the US and India. Hear out our loving Anjeli from Pune in the link attached! Vibha Pune Broadcast
All the projects supported by Vibha are exclusively targeted towards children. However, they span a wide range of focus areas. The broad areas of our current focus and the corresponding projects in each category are outlined here. Vibha selects child development projects without any discrimination based on gender, caste, religion, political affiliation or language. We…
This article was published at http://www.examiner.com/article/giving-back-through-vibha-to-help-educate-an-underprivileged-child by Fatema Baldiwala. Deepak Kumar is a professional engineer who came to the US as a bachelor. He now has two kids and is well settled here. He had the opportunity to a better life here because of his education. He wants to give back to children who may…
A Successful Comeback Over fifty volunteers came together to put on another groundbreaking Vibha Bay Area event, Dandia on October 20 and 27, 2012 at the Centerville Jr. High School, Fremont CA. Even after a year’s absence, and despite multiple competitions, Vibha Dandia once again proved to be one of Bay Area’s best Dandia ever,…
Vibha-DSS Outreach Workshop is a 3 day event being organized by Vibha in collaboration with Door Step School in Pune, India from Dec 6 – Dec 8 2012. Stay tuned for the latest from Pune. The YMCA Poona Club, Pune was set buzzing with enthusiasm earlier today when 32 changemakers from around 15 different citizen…
Great, great, and simply amazing! These were just a few of the phrases circulating around on the cool morning of September 22nd, 2012, when the 14th Annual Vibha Dream Mile 10K/5K Run/5K Walk was hosted at John’s Creek for the cause of underprivileged children. Since 1998 when it was first started in Atlanta and now…
Devnar was founded in 1992 by Padma Shri Dr. Saibaba Goud, a recipient of several awards apart from being the first Ph.D in Community Ophthalmology. Now, the foundation has 480 students, the biggest foundation (in terms of enrollment) in the world. To an individual deprived of their sight, the provision of a school with no…
Introduction My name is Kishore Vedala. I am a Biochemistry and Economics major at the University of Georgia. I am just starting my third year at the University. In high school, I was very involved with the Vibha Organization. With the help of my mother and some friends, I helped initiate the Vibha Youth branch…
Vibha presents Digital-Nirvana Kalakaar 2012, a free international online photography contest for amateurs, that promotes expression of creative photography skill and imagination towards a noble cause. The contest is open from October 15, 2012 to November 15, 2012. Visit the contest website to participate: http://kalakaar.vibha.org/ Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VibhaKalakaar
Two updates from the team at Atlanta: 1. Juniper Networks has just approved a grant of $24,072 to Vibha (towards the Sikshana project). This is the result of the painstaking effort by our national grants team (These guys spend 2 hours every Thursday night!) 2. AKKA (Kannada National Association) is giving us a donation of…
“Once I knew only darkness and stillness. My life was without past or future. But a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness and my heart leaped to the rapture of living.” Helen Keller Hi. My name is Rishi Mocherla. I am a 13 year old Vibha…
We have featured responses to the Question of the Month from Vibha Dallas. Dear Vibha, My favorite Vibha event is the Kite Flying Festival. Each year, we go to Bob Woodruff Park and celebrate the idea of kites. Additionally, this is a great community event where people from all over Plano gather and meet each…
Vibha Cricket Cup 2012 was an exciting and thrilling tournament with its many teams and nail-biting games. Games started at 6:30 am instead of 8 because of increased participation. From Creek Hollow itself we had more than 4 teams rather than 2 as in the past. Many more teams means more people were introduced to cricket and playing this…
VibhaScope introduces the “Question of the Month”, an opportunity for both youth and adult volunteers to provide their perspective on a selected topic. The best answers will be highlighted in a following article published the next month! This month’s question is: “What is your favorite Vibha event, and why?” Send your responses (no more than…
On July 1st, five like minded individuals got together over dinner in Raleigh and started discussing their desire to start an action center in the Raleigh-Durham area. After 2 hours of getting to know each other and having some delicious Indian food, we walked away with the goal of setting up the first event to…
June 3rd 2012 marked the successful completion of Vibha LA’s third annual Vibha Vibe. This year’s show included Indian classical dance, music, Bollywood dance, music, and belly dance. The show started off with the traditional introduction to Vibha and the work we have been doing by Siddharth Philar and Remya Nair. The performances started off with…
The secret to the success behind the 1000 plus runners for Dream Mile this year was the power of team work. This is purely based on volunteers working collaboratively having only one goal in mind — helping underprivileged children. Conviction, Commitment, and Consideration, the three ‘Cs’, drive our Vibha volunteers to deliver success year after…
Roshni’s family was going through severe financial constraints. Her mother managed to find a small job at Gulf. The dire situation forced Roshni to discontinue her studies after 6th standard. She made flower garlands (Gajara) on contract to support her family. After HEARDS’ intervention she was able to attend Thottapatti School for 2 years. She was…
Mubina Taj has three children: 13 years old Kesar in 8th standard, 14 years old Gaushia studying in 9th standard, and 15 years old Siddhik in 9th standard. Mubina’s husband is an alcoholic and had abandoned his family few years back when they were going through financial crises. As a result, her children discontinued…
“The defining factor is never resources; it’s resourcefulness.” Anthony Robbins As Sugata Mitra has said at the TED conference, the will to learn is a powerful force. The Gandhian Organization for Rural Development (GORD) seeks to cultivate just that. By funding government schools in villages, GORD aims to “create excitement among students and decrease dropout rates.” While…
My heart pounded with excitement as we drove to Bob Woodruff park. I was wondering about how I could help, what job I’d get, and what kind of kites they would sell. SCREECH! The car was parked and my thoughts came to an end. I smelt a barbecue going on, and I giggled. There was a…
It was a beautiful day for cricket on April 21st, the day of the pitch-off for Vibha’s flagship event : the FutureTech Cricket Cup 2012. In what started out to be a day with variable weather and slight drizzles was very rapidly converted to an afternoon filled with intensity and cheers for the respective teams…
“Put a girl on the path to education and she’ll teach the entire community,” quotes Rani, a 13 year old, when asked about the importance of education. The statement has a profound impact when coming from a teenage girl in a remote village of India. At this tender age, she’s already been hardened by the…
On the evening of the performance of the Madras Chamber Orchestra, an unforgettable spectacle could be seen at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Hall, Chennai, India. Each musician was reputed, and all (but one: myself) had performed Oscar winning “Jai Ho.” With an eclectic medley of musical masterpieces ranging from Indian Carnatic to Western Classical resonated…
Well organized. Excellently planned. Top competition. These were just some of the words buzzing around the stands and ground on the 24th of March, 2012, when Vibha Dream Play was hosted at South Forsyth Middle School. The Vibha Dream Play is one of the annual flagship charity chess and table tennis tournament hosted by Vibha…
The first time a mother holds her bundle of joy in her arms she starts dreaming for him the best in life. He would wear the best clothes, eat quality food, get the best education and have a healthy life. This is what every mother wishes for her child but many simply cannot realize this…
Started in 1986, in Mumbai, AURED focuses on habilitation of children with hearing impairment, through therapy sessions. This broadly involves the following steps: a. Evaluation of each child to confirm and determine the extent of hearing loss, assess residual hearing and parental counseling. b. Fitting of hearing aids or cochlear implants based on extensive scientific…
VIBHA DALLAS FORT WORTH This entire text is written by a team of two enthusiastic nine-year olds, with only minor grammatical corrections made by tyrannical adults. My mouth let out a satisfying burp. Boy! I just had a scrumptious dinner at the 5 Star Taj hotel in India. My tummy was all happy and the doorman…
VIBHA WASHINGTON, D.C. Vibha (meaning effulgence or radiance in Sanskrit), is a volunteer driven organization dedicated to uplifting the lives of underprivileged children in India and the US. The DC Action Center organized the Spelling Bee 2012 event on March 4th at Nysmith School, VA for the second time. Vibha DC commends Nysmith School for…
VIBHA BOSTON Our first fundraiser, Bowl for a Child, was to take place at Boston Bowl on March 10th, 2012. Even though the Boston Action Center was in its infancy, Arvind, Prabhu, and I seized to opportunity to have our first fundraiser. With only one week to pull it off, we sent out emails in…
Why was Vibha created? Vibha is very unique in that it was created to fill the desire of those who felt they could create change but were not able to for a plethora of reasons (location, lack of confidence, extremely daunting work, no support community etc.) Thus, while Vibha substantially impacts the lives of underprivileged…
“India Shining” seems like a distant reality as it continues to host one of the highest numbers of child laborers in the world. Our country sadly has not been able to tackle child labor in spite of all the globalization policies which is supposed to be branding our country as a progressive and developed economy.…
Kasim and Arbaz in October, 2011, transitioned from their special class (exclusively taught by a special educator) to Preparatory (taught by regular educators). These children now sit with the normal children and slow learners in that class and study the syllabus designed for Preparatory by Prayas. Both these children are now considered as Slow Learners…
This publicity leaflet may appear strange to many, especially if one can read Telugu. This one was brought out by a Sikshana school months back- even I did not know about its existence till yesterday. It is from the Government (ZP) High school in Mukalacheruvu ( Madanapalle Cluster), in which GORD and Sikshana worked together…
By Akshat Shukla This series of posts brings live action from Pragati ’11 – a two day project wide conference being organized by Vibha in Pune, India The Day 2 of Pragati, focused on Social Metrics and its importance to bring out the true potential of the works of the organizations, functioning of the projects…
by Ansy Mathews Reminiscing back to what we did over the past weekend (Nov 5-6), volunteers here in Bayarea did a phenomenal job managing Vibha’s 1st ever Vibhasana Yoga Conference. During the conference we got to experience first hand the meaning of Yoga which is ‘to join’, ‘to unite’ or ‘to attach’. This spirit of…
by Chinmayi Bhavani Shankar The second part of Day 1 of the conference involved with all the breakout groups presenting their solutions to the three buckets of issues that were presented to them by the executives. After a rigorous Q&A to understand what each solution is aiming to address, the group evaluated all the proposals…
by Chinmayi Bhavani Shankar Welcome Address The day started off at 9:00 am with an opening address by Rajesh Haridas about Vibha, the growth of Vibha, and Vibha’s success stories. The Welcome Address focused on the fact that this conference is meant to bring all the volunteers together to address three main areas that Vibha…
This post has been contributed by Alija Sule, a volunteer with Vibha Pune Action Center. During Pragati ’11, she went around talking to some experienced volunteers about their journey with Vibha. Here’s the compilation. The Vibha Pune action centre was launched in January 2008, with a strong motive of making a difference in the life…
It has been a busy year so far for Vibha with a number of exciting activities. Here are the highlights. 1) Launch of Adopt-a-Project: With this new program, a patron can donate his or her money to particular projects pre-selected by Vibha that focus on child development initiatives. This is great news for patrons who…
That seems to be the motto of Tufaan Entertainment Group, the student’s organization at Northwestern University in Illinois, which donated $10,000 to the Jan Madhyam project in New Delhi, India. Tufaan Entertainment Group organized a national level Bollywood fusion dance competition in March of 2011. Nine dance teams from all over the country participated in…
This series of posts brings live action from Pragati ’11 – a two day project wide conference being organized by Vibha in Pune, India Sunday, 2nd October 2011 – Its 8.30 am. The participants and volunteers take their respective positions for next words of wisdom from Ron’s mouth. The theme for the opening session was…
This series of posts brings live action from Pragati ’11 – a two day project wide conference being organized by Vibha in Pune, India Volunteering, besides giving us exposure to ground breaking work being done at grassroots and a platform to connect to like minded people, also helps us make new friends and enjoy little…
This series of posts brings live action from Pragati ’11 – a two day project wide conference being organized by Vibha in Pune, India. Saturday, 1st October 2011 – The stage was set. The crowd was buzzing with excitement. Ron, as charged up as ever, did more to warm everybody up than probably breakfast could.…
This series of posts brings live action from Pragati ’11 – a two day project wide conference being organized by Vibha in Pune, India. Friday, 30th Sep 2011 – “This is a stage for you to speak, and everyone else to listen and learn” stated Ron Victor (President, Vibha India), as he welcomed over 50…
This series of posts is leading to Pragati ’11 – a two day project wide conference to be organized by Vibha in Pune, India. This particular post is written by Alija Sule, a volunteer with Vibha Pune. Alija is currently a third year Graphic Design student at the MIT Institute of Design. It is rightly…
This series of posts is leading to Pragati ’11 – a two day project wide conference to be organized by Vibha in Pune, India. As a field of study, delivering education through different public, private and entrepreneurial initiatives in India is well established; as a practice, it has been around even longer. Despite the passage…
This is part two of the two part series of posts which highlights Vibha’s contribution to Indian education sector and beyond. This series of posts is leading to Pragati ’11 – a two day project wide conference to be organized by Vibha in Pune, India. For the previous post, click here. Vibha directly translated from…
This is part one of the two part series of posts which highlights Vibha’s contribution to Indian education sector and beyond. This series of posts is leading to Pragati ’11 – a two day project wide conference to be organized by Vibha in Pune, India. The classes were empty. While most of the boys were…
One cannot alter a condition with the same mindset that created it in the first place~Albert Einstein SHE is a beloved mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife, a friend. What part do we play when the very right to exist is taken away from the female child? This is a question we must all ask…
‘Only when we give joyfully, without hesitation or thought of gain, can we truly know what love means’~ Leo Buscaglia This quote explains, to a large extent, what volunteering means to me. I volunteer to be able to love myself. I wake up at times beaming with pride and joy, thinking about the little but…
1. How and when did your Vibha journey begin? It was the summer of 2008, when my wife introduced me to Vibha. The ‘Vibha-Cricket Carnival’ was scheduled for August 2008 and a small team of volunteers in Milwaukee were busy planning and working towards the event. I thought I can contribute a little and I volunteered…
We don’t realize the importance of doing small things until there is a big result. A good example of this is what our Dallas volunteers achieved by setting up regular and consistent booths. An action center that was facing volunteer crisis last year, around this time, has done a phenomenal job and turned things around…
It is time someone wrote about Private schools vis-a-vis the Government schools, bringing out hard facts to the exclusion of opinions. I am taking for this exercise the State of Karnataka as the base; the data presented are all validated by NUEPA/ DISE / Govt of India. Let us first take the reach of these…
– E S Ramamurthy It is ironical – and sad too- that the entire subject of Right To Education (RTE) has been hijacked by one issue: the reservation stipulated under the Act for the neighborhood kids in private schools. In the context of solving the problems faced by the country in the field of Education, nothing…
– Dilip G and Harshad Parakh Scientists claim that doing good deeds helps you lead a happy and content life. Monetary contributions are one such well established way helping those in need. A carefully chosen and well thought contribution not only epitomizes generosity but leads to a more satisfying giving experience due visible results on the…
In October 2009, Vibha organized the first ever Pragati Conference in Bangalore for all project partners and it was a tremendous and exciting opportunity to meet everyone from across India to learn about the inspiring and path breaking work being done. We believe that the conference was a first step towards forging strong relationships between…
As per latest statistics India tops the world in child labor, there are approximately 60 million kids engaged in child labor, a lot of them in hazardous jobs. Apart from poverty one of the main causes for this tragic situation is the lack of education; both for the parents and the kids themselves. One way…
It is ironical – and sad too- that the entire subject of RTE has been hijacked by one issue: the reservation stipulated under the Act for the neighborhood kids in private schools. In the context of solving the problemAs faced by the country in the field of Education, nothing can be farther in terms of…
The Milwaukee Vibha action center is going to support a local non-profit organization called Cops’N Kids! We will be doing so as a member of WCAIO (Wisconsin Coalition of Asian-Indian Organizations) in partnership with the police officers of Milwaukee City and Julia Burney-Witherspoon, the founder of Cops’N Kids. CNK is a unique program with a strong impact on local communities. It has a Reading…
How and when did your Vibha journey begin? In early 2009, I was looking for local volunteer opportunities and found Vibha’s website. I found out that the local action center was conducting their monthly meeting and I decided to attend. What was the main motivation behind becoming a Vibha volunteer? I feel that I am…
How and when did your Vibha journey begin? I started volunteering for Vibha during our first Vibha Vibe in 2009. I kept hearing about the event through Orkut and e-mails. It looked like a fun event, so I joined the group. We have had 3 awesome Vibes, 2 Dream Miles and I look forward to…
We are looking for volunteers who are interested in getting associated with the Vibha supported projects. There are multiple opportunities that you could choose from depending on your level of interest. Projects and Fund raising are both critical and interlinked and every volunteer should be closely associated in one way or the other with these projects that…
How and when did your Vibha journey begin? I started volunteering for Vibha in late 2000’s. We were still CRY then. The first event I volunteered at was a Hari Prasad Chaurasia Concert in early 2001. I was assigned to parking duty for that event and it was one heck of an experience. Right after…
How and when did your Vibha journey begin? My first introduction to Vibha was in the year 2005 when a close friend participated in the Vibha Dream Mile marathon. Subsequently I attended the Vibha MN SP.Balasubramaniam concert where I got the chance to visit their booth and check out their posters and brochures. At this…
On April 29,2011, more than 130 children and their parents braved rain and bitter cold to participate in TAAL, an annual Indian dance and music competition for children organized by the Twin Cities, MN Action Center of Vibha. This is the third consecutive year that Vibha is organizing this event in the Twin Cities metro. In three…
Did you know that 2011 is a special year, yes it is the year India became the Cricket World Champions again after 28 long years, and if you happen to be a Wisconsinite then it’s the year the Packers became the Super Bowl Champions; but what I am referring to is the fact that the…
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not…
Mahatma Gandhi once said ‘Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will’. It’s this indomitable ‘will’ and ‘strength’ that AURED (Aural Education for the Hearing Impaired) aims at instilling in the hundreds of hearing impaired children that it works with by habilitating them and integrating them into mainstream schools. Their…
– Chinmayi Bhavani Shankar By one definition, autism is defined as a developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, and affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills. At first glance, it seems relatively harmless. It doesn’t affect regular bodily functions, it doesn’t cause deformities, and it just affects…
– Abraham Pabbathi 1.5 million, that’s the number of kids who go to sleep without a home each year. No we are not talking about some third world country; these are statistics from America (homelesschildrenamerica.org). Most of these kids don’t know where their next meal is going to come from. Most of these kids are…
Vibha in association with Sikshana conducted a 4 day outreach workshop from 8th to the 11th of July 2010. The main objective of this workshop was to create an opportunity where the Sikshana model could be demonstrated as a learning model to other like-minded players in the field of education. The intended strategy was to…
Navjyoti India Foundation was established in 1988 by Kiran Bedi and a group of police officers to promote welfare policing which resulted in the drug de-addiction program. Since then Navjyoti has focused on a wide variety of issues such as education, women empowerment, family counseling, rural and urban development, health, HIV/AIDS, environment. Over 12,000 people…
On March 05, 2011, approximately 800 Atlanta area residents braved cold weather to watch Vibe 2011 at the Rialto Center for Arts at Georgia State University. VIBE 2011 was perhaps Atlanta’s first International Dance Festival involving some of the very best from Atlanta’s dance world. This event gave a platform to over a hundred artists,…
– E S Ramamurthy [Founder of Sikshana Foundation] I visited the school at Kothavarapalle in the Madanapalle cluster recently. This one looked no different from the others till I saw a box in the office marked ‘Life Line’. Curiosity drove me to ask the HM what this so-called life line was about. She told me…
– Ramesh Kasondra and Vijay Vemulapalli Vibha-Sikshana partnership has crossed another milestone. Vibha approved a new project with GVT (Gram Vikas Trust) in Gujarat implementing Sikshana model in 15 schools, starting October 2010. This is the direct result of the 4-day workshop Vibha jointly conducted with Sikshana in July 2010. This is the second time…
Vibha has been supporting Door Step School(DSS) for the past few years. In 2010, Vibha provided over 65K in funds to DSS. Vibha’s involvement with DSS is not just limited to funding though. Vibha also provides guidance and innovative ideas to DSS. Vibha volunteer Mukesh recently visited DSS and some of its sites to carry…
– E. S. Ramamurthy (As published in http://indiatogether.org/2011/jan/edu-rtepds.htm) Most private schools are not elite at all, contrary to public perception, and the Right to Education Act will let them run amok at the expense of the public education system, writes E S Ramamurthy. 20 January 2011 – The economics of owning and running a Ration…
The children of Sevalaya school in the village of Kasuva near Thiruninravur about 42 kms west of Chennai participated in the 2010 Design for Change contest along with 250,000 children in 38,000 schools across 24 countries. The Design for Change contest initiated by Kiran Bir Sethi, Founder, Design for Change gives children from schools around…
Dwarka is a very big posh colony in south west Delhi. The people serving them have developed slum areas in and around the colony. One such slum is in Sector 16-A. The people living in the slum have mixed culture because of varied cultural background. They have migrated from different parts of the country to…
Dear All Friends, This is to share with you all on how the joint venture of GVT – Sikshana is shaping up: The GVT – Sikshana venture took off with a simple inauguration function on 22nd December. Mr. Ramamurthy had an in-depth interaction and discussion with the GVT and the govt school staff on the…
— Ron Victor Given that its been a tough year for most of America, and we’re all still recovering from the recent economic melt-down, it’s a fabulous achievement and we, the volunteers of Vibha along with our fellow 39 social entrepreneurs sincerely thank you! You made this possible and this is what gives us the energy…
Yahoo! Employee Foundation (YEF) awarded a cash grant of $30,000 towards Sikshana project in 2010. This is the second year in a row that Vibha has been successful in getting a grant from YEF. Just last year in 2009, Sikshana received a grant of $40,000 from YEF. What’s the story behind this success year after…
Put your art in the right place This holiday season take the leap…give a loved one, or yourself, a gift with a difference – contemporary art. Aicon Gallery offers an expanded line of Aicon Editions. These Editions are carefully selected works, specially commissioned, by Aicon Gallery from its most successful and sought-after artists. Each work…
Three year olds in Ganne, a village south of Allahabad eat dried mud and silica because they are hungry. Tribals in Madhya Pradesh are increasingly found on the doorsteps of hospitals and are being refused treatment because of their social and economic conditions. Even as you finish reading this sentence, 5 more people in the…
I have been a Vibha volunteer for close to two years now. I have always been overwhelmed with the volunteer response we get on event day. We might not see all our volunteers very often because of their conflicting schedules. But come event day and they magically show up, take up tasks and complete their…
Kick starting the 2010 Navratri season, Bay Area’s Dandia team pulled off a hat-trick with sold-out shows on Oct 2, 9 and 16. All the more amazing, given there were at least ten other Dandia events on these days. Here is what the volunteers had to say about the event. Hitesh Iyer & Ansy Mathews,…
Ever imagined what type of lives the fishermen community in India lead? Due to economic difficulties that fishermen and fisherwomen face, they send their children at an early age to earn a living. There have been difficult times like the tsumani that struck Tamil Nadu in December 2004 resulting in fishing opportunities being affected but…
When I entered the room for my first ever Vibha meeting, I was very nervous and excited. I honestly expected a bunch of serious looking people discussing Vibha plans in a corporate conference like fashion, but I was pleasantly surprised! All the people in the room had a smile on their face, cookies and snacks…
Can you imagine a world without computers? Even those of us, who were born before the advent of personal computing and the internet, cannot survive a single day without logging on to some site or the other. Well, you wouldn’t be reading this if it wasn’t for the Internet. As we all know IT can…
I believe in signs. Which is why I had to be writing this at this precise moment; cocooned in the emotion I am feeling right now. Saturday, October 16th, 2010. This day gave me a perspective for which I am grateful. Twelve long drawn out hours passed me by, in a heartbeat. After a hectic…
Whenever I walk into a room full of Vibha volunteers, it always brings in a renewed vigor and spirit in me. The amount of collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas I typically see in any Vibha meeting, constantly amazes me. ‘Peer enthusiasm’ is truly what drives, the success of Vibha as an organization. One of the…
Almost two years ago, Ashwini (Vibha MN volunteer) had asked me to make a video for Vibha. I was busy to work on it at that time, but an idea had already formed in my mind. Filmmaking has always been a passion for me, but it took me a while to realize that I must…
As a twenty-six year-old young professional living just outside Washington, DC where the cost of living ranks near the top around the country, it is impossible to support financially all of the causes that are near and dear to my heart. What inspires me to be involved with Vibha is that the organization enables me…
The growth has been phenomenal…with fewer than 15 schools involved at the time of its inception 7 years ago, Sikshana has today reached out to 400 schools and over 35000 children. But the journey forward only looks more promising. Sikshana now aims to extend its reach to 100, 000 students in two years by initiating…
The year 1998: On a bright sunny October morning, 7 year old Kishore accompanies his parents to the Georgia Tech campus to participate in the very first 5K walk to support Vibha (then known as CRY). His friends Siri and Sheila are there with their parents too. They may not fully understand the significance of…
Back in my school days, I always looked forward to Friday afternoon. It was that time of the week dedicated for extra-curricular activities. Children from different classes would perform on stage in activities like singing, dancing, drama, debate and so on. We would have spent days together rehearsing our singing or practicing our dance steps.…
“Heads or Tails” is a new section of Vibhascope where we aim to get volunteers to present arguments about two sides of a topic. The idea is to generate a healthy debate about issues which NGO’s normally face on the road to achieving their goals. We hope to bring out new ideas and give better…
My journey with Vibha started a few years ago as an event volunteer, and consequently, steered into handling volunteer relations in the Bay Area. Over time I’ve met some truly amazing volunteers who’re like the Bunny from Energizer battery ads – they just keep going and going! Unfortunately I’m not one of them, which means…
The kite festival in Dallas is usually one of those fringe events that is conducted every year to gain visibility in the community and spread awareness and encourage folks to join our volunteer ranks. This year, the event was held at the Bob Woodruff Park in Plano, under spring skies dyed to a robin’s blue…
There are many moments in our lives when we see young children involved in child labor or begging on the streets for money. It tugs at our heart to see them in pain and we really get the urge to help them out, and we do so mostly monetarily. Rajesh Haridas, COO of Vibha also…
Last month saw the Dream Mile conducted in a few other cities, two of which were in Atlanta and Washington D.C. In stark contrast was the magnitude of the events, but similar were their success stories. While Atlanta was hosting their biggest event in 12 years raising more than 100,000 dollars, D.C more than doubled…
Mrs. Rajani Paranjape, popularly known as Rajani Tai is the founder of the Door Step School, a non-profit organization that focuses on providing primary education for children of migrant workers. Rajani Tai has always liked to work for and with people. So after nearly 15 years of graduation, which was also 15 years of her married life,…
I spoke at length with Mr. E. S. Ramamurthy, founder of Sikshana about his thoughts on Right to Education Act. We looked at the first part of this interview in an article published last month. For those of you who didn’t catch it earlier, it’s available at http://vibhablog.wordpress.com/2010/08/14/interview-with-mr-ramamurthy-founder-of-sikshana-on-right-to-education-act/ Let’s continue on this note to catch…
The cricket carnival event recently conducted at the Minnesota action center was a grand success. The event was very well received in the community and feedback from the participants and spectators was unanimously positive. The participants were impressed with the organization and professionalism of the tournament. The event was conducted at Minnesota for the second…
Ahhhh, summer. The lazy days, the “mom-aggravating” bedtimes, and the heat! It didn’t seem so bad, especially with the tempting ternion of months out of school, until the glaring eyes of the thermometer that forever seemed to indicate 104°F. But who was to let such a petty thing stop us? We were the Easterly Beasts, a coterie…
Have you ever used a “shake table” in school to understand the effects of earthquakes on buildings? I haven’t! I had never seen one, let alone build one. So I was pleasantly jolted (no pun intended) to see a “shake table” kit being built along with many other innovative modules at the Resource Area For…
We all know several people working in the IT industry, and also know how busy their work lives can get. But seldom do we meet, IT people who have invested a major part of their time to do something for the people of their country and the community. Meet Vijay Vemulapalli, Secretary and member of Vibha…
–By Nikhil Vora From the traditional Bharatnatyam to the multicultural folk dance, from the bollywood fusion dancers in black and white to the glamorous and colorful ladies in the Miss India Beauty pageant, from the Middle Eastern belly-dancing to the South American salsa, from a simple evening for one to winning an Apple iPad for…
Some problems are so complex that even attempting to solve them would seem crazy, at least to most people, organizations or even governments. Sometimes though, when a couple of organizations with unwavering determination and resourcefulness join hands, they can tackle the most complicated problems. Following is a description of how Door Step School, Vibha and…
Mr. E.S. Ramamurthy is the founder of Sivasri Trust, which operates Sikshana, a non-profit organization focused on improving the quality of education in the public school system. Mr. Ramamurthy served as the CEO of a large organization with a long and distinguished career in the industry for over 30 years. He subsequently functioned as…
– By Sreekanth Bhaskaran, veteran MN volunteer The Goliaths are Down: Blame it on the economy. Blame it on reduced consumer spending. Today, the corporate teams had no one to blame but their own lack of preparation. On Day One of Vibha Minnesota Cricket Carnival, big names fell one by one. 3M, Boston Scientific, Cargill,…
We all have 24 hours in a day. But I have always wondered that while majority of the people complain about not having enough time, how a select few are able to accomplish greatly in the same amount of time. Ron victor, President and founder member of Vibha shares his secret to time management and…
The clear blue skies that hark the beginning of a Texas summer were a perfect accomplice to the delirious joys of cricket at the Dallas VIBHA Cricket tournament last month. Every year in June, VIBHA Dallas proudly sponsors the VIBHA cricket cup, which is our flagship event. Indeed, in its fourth year running, it’s no…
As we together envision the future outlook of Vibha, there are many ways we can all contribute. For a Vibha volunteer, it’s important to understand the characteristics of the organization and the significance of being part of an Action Center. Apart from bringing awareness about the cause we work for, an important task at hand…
The success of Dream Mile 2010: How to organize a successful race
The projects team at Vibha is looking for enthusiastic volunteers who are interested in getting associated with projects as Project Lead and few other important roles. This is your chance to take the initiative and get involved in exciting new ways with projects. For a Vibha volunteer in the US, this is the closest you…
Vibha Bay Area had their annual Dream Mile 2010 event on June 27 2010 in Shoreline Park, Mountain View, CA. This is the 12th year that Vibha has organized this 5k/10k run event. Having started on a small scale in 1998, this event has become hugely popular with its numbers growing each year. With 427…
Can you believe it’s July already? It seems like just yesterday that I attended my very first Vibha meeting which was also the first meeting this year for the Atlanta ACC. Well, half the year just flew by in a blink of an eye but not without an impact. We at Vibha have a lot to…
Eight year old Rekha and her brother Mahadeva, aged ten are children of quarry workers. Both children spent their days playing at the dangerous quarry completely disregarding school. Ms. Chandrakala, a teacher talked to their parents about Chiguru and appealed to the young children that school was not only about learning, but could be fun…
“From hope to reality one child at a time.” This line really struck me when I first heard and learned about Vibha. What is it that Vibha is doing? What should we say to someone who does not know what Vibha is? I thought about it long and hard when I first got involved with…
I have been a volunteer with Vibha for almost three years. I just recently signed on to be the Event Lead for this year’s Dream Mile 5K in Washington, DC. I’m ashamed to admit that I hesitated when I was initially asked to serve as the event lead. Did I have what it takes to…
– By Prashanth Ganapathy, Vibha Bay Area As I was listening to leads of Dream Mile(DM) 2010 churning out ideas and action items to push the publicity into high gear for the last three weeks of the campaign, my thoughts went back to Dream Mile 2009. The first thing that came rushing back to me…
The right of children to free and compulsory education act (RTE) was passed by the Indian Parliament on August 27, 2009 and came into effect on April 1, 2010. As per the act, every child from the age 6 to 14 years has a right to free and compulsory education in a neighborhood school till…
The advent of summer brought on a flurry of graduation and school year end activities. All around me I saw parents and children equally occupied with College graduations, High school graduations, proms and what not. We even celebrated our daughter’s pre-K graduation! As these kids look towards the next phase of their lives with pleasant…
– By Ashwini and Deepti Kalakaar is a unique “first of its kind” e-contest for kids and adults. The idea behind the contest was to help people explore their creativity and talents in photography, painting and writing and make a significant difference in the lives of these needy children.
It feels so great when you plant a seed and see it grow gently into a tree. What is even more delightful is to get an opportunity to nourish many little saplings; relish the vision of a greener future and when it is finally there you can elatedly say I was there……I was there to…
In April Vibha observed ‘Autism Awareness’ Month. Most of us were probably not even aware of the existence of ‘Autism Awareness Month ‘or may be some of us just shrugged it off as one of the plentitude of ‘awareness months’. For about 0.66% of people worldwide and their families, autism is a part of their…
– Mahua Chatterjee Impact and results are the real parameters of the success of an initiative. Pragati 2009 was an effort to come together, be together and work together to connect, share, and work towards enhancing the existing efforts of Vibha and its project partners. The objective was to culminate ideas, practices, and experiences. The…
Nanjunda is a daily wage worker at the construction site in Marathahalli, Bengaluru. Shiva, age 14, now in 9th standard is the eldest among his three children. He has to choose between continuing his studies at the local government school to complete his SSLC exams and dropping out of school to take responsibility of his…
It’s Sunday night and I’m fighting to clean up my e-mail inbox filled with Vibha e-mails. The Vibha budget for 2010 is still not complete, and I have an e-mail from March 2009 which I haven’t removed from my inbox because that’s the only way I won’t forget it. I am sure the other Vibha…
We are excited we will be reaching 5,000 children with this $40K grant. The win reinforces our confidence in Sikshana as a project that can deliver and make a long lasting impact. Kudos also to the grants team for working through the year persistently and putting together a great application for this.
Vibha recently got an invitation from Manjula Gupta who runs the TV show “Chai with Manjula”, to talk about our mission and vision, our fundraising, and the projects we focus on. On behalf of the Bay Area, I accepted her invitation, and recorded the session with her on Oct 15th. The show is available at this…
During the period between Sep 20th and Oct 20th, more than 70000 people visited the GreatNonprofits Web site, and over 3500 reviews were posted about more than 70 nonprofits serving India and Indian communities abroad. Reviews spoke for themselves, and the result ….. “Best of USA Medium Non-profit” winner is ….. Vibha!!!!
There were children who walk miles upon miles to the nearest school because they simply want to learn. It is their faces that come to mind on cold, cloudy mornings when I would rather stay in bed than attend my 8 am class. I can no longer justify looking for every excuse not to go to class.
The second day of the conference started off in a much more relaxed manner, thanks to the excellent ice-breaker “skits” by all the participants and Vibha volunteers!
Pragati 2009 – Connect, Share, Leverage. Pragati 2009, a first of its kind conference for all the grassroot projects supported by Vibha, started this morning at Vishranti Nilayam in Bangalore. At 9:00am today, Pragati 2009 kicked off the first day with participants from 29 NGO projects and volunteers from across India and the US. Ron Victor, the President of Vibha and a long time volunteer came from San Jose, CA to attend the conference. He is the CEO of Quantawav, a stealth-mode startup in wireless networking and is one of the founding volunteers of Vibha.
Every year, about 20 or 30 of us wake up at 5am on a weekend and assemble at the pavilion in Lake Phalen before sunrise. We organize a fantastic race. At the MN action center, we organize quite a lot of fundraising events- be it Bowling, Cricket, cultural shows and the like. And we often enjoy organizing these events. Sometimes I tend to forget the real joy that we are working for- and that is making a difference in the life of an underprivileged child. I chanced upon the following photo slide show at the website of The Hindu, one of India’s leading newspapers in a piece titled, ‘India’s Little Laborers’.
The Bay Area recently held their 5K/10K Dream Mile on June 28 2009, and it turned out to be the most successful Dream Mile ever. Do you want to know how it happened, what the volunteers did, how they felt after? These are some voices from the Bay Area Dream Mile 2009 team – they…
If you think you can, you can! This is what comes to mind when Vibha volunteers, along with organizations Rachana & Door Step School (DSS), conducted two successful Health Check-Up camps on 18th & 26th of April, 2009 for 300 kids from various slums and villages in and around Pune. Watch a video capturing the experience below. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObYO9YLkNPM]…
Underprivileged kids….the cause…the challenge…the satisfaction…the friends we made…or just plain old simple conscience? Reasons aplenty, I thought I’ll go down the path of soul searching and put down on paper why I volunteer for Vibha. About 4 years ago, I moved to the Bay Area and at that time my wife was (and still is)…
I can move the earth…
The Vibha Volunteer conference moved me, motivated me, impressed me
It engaged, inspired and consumed me
It enabled, empowered and encouraged me
It energized, drove and compelled me
To believe that I am Vibha, and Vibha begins with me…
For the villagers of Sunderbans devastated by Cyclone Aila, the long road to recovery has just started. The flood water has receded and most villagers have gone back to their homes, or what remains of their homes. The flood has destroyed many of their huts and carried away most of their precious belongings. Many people do not even have clothes to wear, apart from what they were wearing when they fled to escape the gushing flood waters. The saline water has infiltrated ponds and cultivation fields, and thus robbing many people of their main source of livelihood. There is still an acute shortage of drinking water and food in many areas.
An area blighted by seasonal floods encountered one of the worst during the waning days of May 2009. Destroyed crops, salinated fresh water ponds, breakout of communicable diseases, short supply of medicines – such are the dire circumstances in the coastal areas of Sunderbans, West Bengal, India today. Click here to Donate Now! Cyclone Aila…
A few years back, I was visiting Bombay on vacation. I was standing in front of the McDonalds waiting for a friend, for without Yahoo maps, I had no choice but to wait at a place that I knew well rather than move around in autos and taxis to places I didn’t know. I was…
On Jan 2, during my visit to Mumbai, I visted a project there called “Aural Education for the Hearing Impaired”. AURED as most of you know is a project we fund in Mumbai that works with children that are hearing impaired. Here is my report from the visit. AURED pretty much survives on grants and…
On December 29, 2008, I visited Pune. Along with a few Vibha volunteers from Pune, I first visited DSS (Door Step School) and met Rajani Tai and her staff. I introduced the “Child Friendly Builder” campaign to her – something that’s been on my mind regarding getting the overall community involved in making sure that…
Venky and myself met with 4 Delhi volunteers on December 28, 2008 to get the Delhi Action Center going. We introduced all of them to Vibha and what we stand for and how we do what we do. One of the volunteers is from Atlanta and thus we do have some continuity from the US…
In 1991, a few people in New Jersey decided to start an organization in the US that would provide a platform for individuals who want to make a positive difference in the lives of the millions of underprivileged children in India. Over the next 16 years, the Vibha family has grown from a few volunteers…
