Aapatsahaaya FoundationActivity Report for period April 2010 to December 2011

“Activities & events are not because of us; we are because of what activities we do… and these activities at AFN have made me realize quite a few things.. Above all they made ME a better human being. Heartfelt thanks to AFN for the insightful experiences & wishing them lots of more such activities & God’s choicest blessings to implement the shows…”

- An AFN Sevavrathee

Table of contents

Experiences shared by sevavrathees

Foreword 2010 -2011 ; 2012

School Kit 2010 and 2011

Spoorthi competitions 2010-2011

Aapatsahaaya Foundation ®Experiences shared by members

“ Small acts of kindness always go a long way in making a difference to lives of both the beneficiary and the donor. A true example for win-win ”

- An AFN Sevavrathee

“What is the purpose of my birth ? The purpose is to be of some use to this world,.. to live, love and leave a legacy… what do I get from this ? A kind and compassionate act is often its own reward…”

- An AFN Sevavrathee

Aapatsahaaya Foundation ®

The journey for the last one and half years has been very inspiring and humbling.

A few projects which we completed by God’s grace : 1. School Kit program for 2010 & 2011 – benefitting over 2500

students in various rural schools and needy children. 2. Aacharya Sambhavana 2010 & 2011 – a token of salutation to

committed teachers with a meager income but plentiful devotion to nurture young brains

3. Vidhya Nidhi - 2010 & 2011 - providing monetary assistance to more than 10 needy & deserving children for pursuing their education

4. Benches & Desks – 2011 – facilitating delivery of benches & desks for the semi-tribal government schools of Srirangapura Tanda and Vadrevu

5. Spoorthi 2011 - cultural & literary competitions for school & needy children

A few projects we have planned for 2012 are :6. School kit 2012 7. Vidhya Nidhi 8. Aacharya Sambhavana9. Aacharya Dakshina10. Other need based facilities like computers, benches & desks etc11. Spoorthi 2012

A few other projects like prawas, science kit would be taken up based on availability of necessary resources.

Heartfelt thanks to all sevavrathees who are supporting us in this small attempt

AFN family

Foreword

About the place & school :

• Govt Lower Primary School - established in 1965• Students are children belonging to poor, agriculture-based families• Classes – Ist Standard to Vth Standard• No. of students – around 35• Head-Master – Mr. Faiyazulla • Activities monitored by SDMC – of 12 members• Nali-Kali system introduced from 1st to 3rd std.

Vadrevu, Pavagada Taluk, Tumkur District, 10th July 2010

What did AFN do ?

Sri Gaayatri Vidya Mandira, Hoskote11th July 2010About the school

• established in 1983 by sevavrathees of Hindu seva pratishthana, under the auspices of Mangala Shikshana Samithi • Currently, about 240 students are enrolled in this school (50 students in Kindergarten, and about 190 students from 1st to 7th std)• There are 11 teachers in the school, headed by Sri. Venkatesh. • The school is one of the leading schools of Hoskote. Apart from curricular activities, the students are trained in 'Panchamukhi system‘ This includes five different disciplines - Yoga (includes an introduction of Ashtanga yoga and different exercises), Physical training, Sanskrit, Music and Moral training. Once the students are trained, they are also provided an opportunity to exhibit their talent through the Pratibha vedike

About the event : • Cultural program by school kids - including Geetha recitation, bhajans prayers etc • School kit comprising of Notebooks, Drawing books, Graph books, Pencil box (3rd std and below)/ Geometry box (for 4th std and above), Pencils, Pens (For children studying in 4th std and above), Eraser, Sharpener, Metal scale, Bag, Shoes, etc

About the school • Government Higher Primary School, Konesandra (Kanakapura taluk) is a government school serving to provide basic education to children of this village since several decades • Presently, about 45 students are studying in this school, from 1st to 5th std. • Activities of the school are conducted under the supervision of a School Development and Management Committee, which includes staff, members from local panchayats and parent-representatives• Apart from the regular curricular activities, students from the school have made a mark for themselves in the 'Pratibha-karanji', hobli and taluk level talent-showcase competitions organized by the Education department every year. They also take part in various sports meets

About the event : • Bhajans, prayers, lecture by Guests and invitees etc were conducted. • School kit comprising of various necessities were provided

Government School, Konesandra, Kanakapura17th July 2010

About the School Sri Veena Makkala Mandira, Tyamagondlu

• Government recognized school run by Mangala shikshana samithi, in Nelamangala Taluk. Was established as a shishuvihaara (nursery) in 1983 • Presently, about 340 students are studying in this school, from Kindergarten to 7th std• Many extra curricular activities are organized by the school, like, Rakshabandhan event. The school has students from about 18 villages. On the day of Raksha bandhan, all the villages are visited. More than 8000 people participated in this activity last year. • There are also programmes to develop safety awareness among Autorikshaw drivers, promote environmental awareness, etc. • During Krishna Janmashtami, fancy dress, story telling and Bhagavadgita competitions are organized. • Ganeshotsava is celebrated on a grand scale• Every year, blood donation camps are organized in the school• Students from the school regularly participate in the sports fest and talent fest organized by the Education department and bag prizes. •They have also participate in the district level Science exhibition (Vijnana mela) and sports meet.

Event : Elaborate cultural programs, with school kit distribution including uniforms & shoes

17th July 2010

Govt Primary School, Srirangapura Tanda14th August 2010

About Srirangapura Tanda

• Government school provides primary education • 2 teaching staff members, 2 support staff and around 60 children

• Classes are conducted from 1st std to 5th std• “Nali-Kali “ system being implemented for 1st, 2nd and 3rd standard students

• Government provides textbooks and mid-day meals • No other aid received by the school

• Dropouts are high in number due to alternate employment opportunities

• school kits comprising bags, notebooks, pencil box, crayons, drawing books etc. • few sports items, like volley-ball, throw-ball, Skipping ropes, badminton sets, etc

• gifts for teachers • small token of appreciation to support staff.

• spoke to the kids, and stressed the importance of education in their lives • also spoke to the local people about the importance of sending the kids to the school

• Remote village, in Tumkur district• Located more than 10 kms away from nearby towns

• No proper transport modes to connect to external world • Inmates of the village are very poor and uneducated

• People belong to a local tribe called 'lambanis' • They do not have lands or means for agriculture• Mostly sustain themselves by manual labour

About the school

What did AFN do ?

Sri Omananda Ashram, Vijayanagar, Bangalore 15th August 2010

• home for destitute orphan boys • run by Sri Omananda Swamiji & Mata Lalithananda

Swaminiji• provides free food, clothing and education to about 80

boys from poor background, ranging between 5 and 25 years of age

• students attend nearby Government schools, and are provided additional coaching at the Ashram

• Sanskrit, Veda and moral classes are conducted for the children in mornings

• Ashram does not receive any aid from the government, and is run purely by voluntary donations

About the home

What did AFN do ?

• school kits comprising Notebooks, Drawing books, Graph books, Pencil box (3rd std and below)/ Geometry box (for 4th std and above), Pencils, Pens (For children studying in 4th std and above), Eraser, Sharpener, Metal scale, Bags, etc. • small token of appreciation to support staff.• spoke to the kids, and stressed the importance of education in their lives • AFN also has proposed a long term tie up with the home for cultural & literary competitions/ coaching etc.

School Kit 2011 – summary

Sl No. Location

School Kit (approx no. of

students) Remarks

1 Hoskote 290Full set - School Kit + Vidhya Nidhi

+ Aacharya Sambhavana for 14 teachers + token for support staff

2 TYM 405

Full set - School Kit + Vidhya Nidhi + Aacharya Sambhavana +

Aacharya Dakshina commitment (for 13 teachers ) +token for

support staff

3 Vadrevu - Pavagada 35

Full set - School Kit + Vidhya Nidhi + Aacharya Sambhavana + token

for support staff

4 SrirangaPura Tanda 65

Full set - School Kit + Vidhya Nidhi + Aacharya Sambhavana + token

for support staff

5 Paaranga 436 Only Uniforms6 Omananda 25 Only shoes

7 Halasur/ Somapura 250 Bags + Notebooks only

8Other needy

children around our houses &

workplace50 Available stock of bags, notebooks

& stationery

Total 1556

Spoorthi Competitions – 2010-2011AFN conducted cultural-literary & sports competitions for various schools under Project Spoorthi. The competitions were aimed at bringing out the innate & acquired talent of our little angels and to prepare them for the external world. This was also used as a platform to do the follow up/ feedback on the school kit activity conducted during the p prior months. Further, AFN used this opportunity to bond and strengthen their relationships with these little seraphs.

The various competitions conducted were :1. Padaranjani - Crossword2. Multiplication Tables3. Passing the ball4. Identification of flashcards5. Colouring the Picture6. Rhymes Recitation7. Musical Chair8. Bhagavad Geetha9. Extempore10. Quiz11. Talk on 'Aim of Life'12. Memory Game13. Story Telling14. Thematic drawing15. Patriotic Song 16. Number Games 17. Counter Games – like shooting the baloon,

mini bowling, breaking the pyramind, Catching the fish, Dart, Coin in the bangle etc.

18. Carrom Board19. Balancing Race 20. Kabaddi

Spoorthi Competitions – 2010-2011

Schools/ Locations covering over 700 cute little angels were :

1. Omananda Geetashrama – 10th Sep 2010 , Saturday, 1pm to 6 pm

2. Gayatri Vidyamandira – Hoskote – 13th Nov 2010 , Saturday, 9 am to 2 pm

3. Veena Makkala Mandira – Tyamgondlu – 11th Dec 2010, Saturday 9am to 3 pm

4. Govt School - Sriranga Tanda - 18th June 2011 , Saturday, 9am to 1 pm

5. Vadrevu Government School , Pavagada – 18th June 2011, Saturday, 1am to 3 pm