VIDYA Integrated Development forVidya Annual Report 2012 1 About VIDYA VIDYA is a registered...

Vidya Annual Report 2012 1

About VIDYA

VIDYA is a registered not-for-profitorganization, started in 1985, on thecampus of IIT Delhi, for the education andempowerment of underprivilegedchildren, youth and women throughmicro-level intervention. We have made adifference in the lives of more than200,000 families over 27 years, byproviding nationally recognized, grass-root level programmes that includeschools, remedial education, computertraining, adult literacy, skills training,microfinance and social entrepreneurship,in some of the poorest neighborhoods ofNew Delhi, Haryana, Mumbai and havestarted recently, in Bangalore. VIDYA’steam of about 200 people includes localand foreign volunteers, teachers and staffand a large circle of committed friends,donors and well wishers. More than120,000 people across 20 rehabilitatedslums in Delhi and Mumbai have benefitedfrom VIDYA’s programmes. Over 5250volunteers have worked with VIDYA.Sponsors span across India, the US andEurope, some providing constantsupport to us over two decades.

VIDYA’s History

VIDYA was founded by Rashmi Misra in1985 in her home, on the campus of IITDelhi, with a class of five little girls whobelieved till then, that only boys went toschool. With the help of volunteers includingfamilies of the faculty of IIT Delhi, the classgrew into Bal Vihar, a primary school whichhas been operating for 28 years, to cater tonon-school going children from the pooreststrata of society. It is here that VIDYA’svision of social transformation through aholistic integrated education for needychildren, their families and communities wasfounded. We strive to empower ourstudents to take back the learning to theirfamily and community to treble its effect.For instance, in our English learningprogramme, the students are required totrain in computer usage and life skills and inturn, hold lessons for their mothers in theevenings. VIDYA has truly transformed thecommunities that it works in.

VIDYA in Delhi & Gurgaon

VIDYA’s activities can be divided into twobroad areas – holistic education andwomen’s’ empowerment programmes.

In Delhi the Bal Vihar Schools andcommunity programmes are in threelarge slum areas. They support a crèche,remedial education for children, adulteducation, vocational training for youth

along with women’s empowermentthrough skill training and provision ofmicro-credit.

The VIDYA School in Gurgaon is the rolemodel institution offering the bestopportunities of a holistic education tosocially challenged children.

The remedial education programmes arein Munirka, Pappankalan, Okhla & IITcampus. The Youth Managementprogramme uses a multi-prongedapproach to help the under priviledgeddropout youth return to main stream.These Bridge Courses are currently atOkhla & Sainik Farm. Vidya UdyogKendra at Gurgaon empowers the underpriviledged women of slums to learnspecial skills and empower their liveseconomically.

VIDYA in Mumbai

The VIDYA Mumbai programme in Powaistarted in 2001 and has grown both inquantity & quality. The Beyond SchoolProgramme (Umang), The ComputerLiteracy & Resource Centre (CLRC),National Institute of Open Schooling(NIOS) and VIDYA Margam has made ahuge impact on the Powai community.

In Mumbai’s municipal schools, VIDYAconducts “Bhavishya-yaan”, a skillsenhancement programme that addressesthe lacunae of the present schooleducation system at a micro level. Theprogramme provides students ofstandards VII, VIII & IX, traditionallyschooled in regional languages, aneducation in English, life skills andcomputer usage. VIDYA operatesBhavishya-yaan in seven largegovernment schools in Mumbai, inpartnership with the “Education for All”committee of the Rotary Club of Mumbai.

VIDYA in Bangalore

In Bangalore, the Bhavishya-yaanprogramme emulates the best practicesof the Mumbai program to support 330children in two government schools inGottigere, a semi-urban area on theoutskirts of south Bangalore, supportedby Rotary Bangalore Mid-town club. Awomen’s literacy programme has beenlaunched in Whitefield, in March 2012 andin July 2012, we set up our own Bhagini(women's programme), in MaliFoundation where 85 women learncomputers, English, life skills and sewing,craft classes from Monday to Friday.VIDYA aspires to launch many moreprogrammes in Bangalore, for which weseek support.

VIDYA Integrated Development for

Youth and Adults

VIDYA's visionTo be a significant force of change

for India's less privileged.

VIDYA's missionAn effort to educate and empower

the less privileged through

integrated methods and to

initiate and implement

progressive social change.

2

Creating Capabilities & Capacities...The Future Vision

In the years to come, the vision for VIDYAincludes both growth to provide care tomore people and expansion, to offer themeans to create more skills andcapabilities.

In the next two years, we hope to reach fullcapacity at the VIDYA School Gurgaon,from our current strength of 460 children, to1,000 children, who will be taught tobecome good citizens of India, with lovingteachers, good infrastructure, amplegrounds to play and encouragement tostrive with creativity.

We plan to grow and sustain our oldestestablishment, the Bal Vihar primaryschools in New Delhi, from serving 450children currently to a capacity of 750children. VIDYA believes the foundation forexcellence should be created by the youngand therefore sustaining the work of the BalVihars is very important to fulfil our vision.

We also plan to resurrect the vital work thatwas being done at the Udyog Kendra inNew Delhi, but could not be sustained dueto lack of funds, by reviving the women’s

vocational training programme under our“Bhagini” programme, across Gurgaon,Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. “Bhagini” isa complete package of support forunderprivileged women in India to fulfill theirpotential and take their rightful place in theworld. The programme is customised ateach of the locations it is rolled out, to caterto the specific needs of the community itserves. Women can complete theireducation including learning the basics ofspoken English and computer usage, learna skill to earn an income, obtain micro-credit to become small entrepreneurs andget support for marketing and sale of anyproducts they develop. Our plan is toinclude upto 1,000 women in the “Bhagini”programme nationwide, over the next fewyears, expanding from the current strengthof the women in diverse learningprogrammes across our locations.

In Mumbai, we will expand from supporting7 government schools currently, to 10government schools, conducting our verysuccessful “Bhavishya-yaan” programmewhich has been pioneered in Mumbai overa decade. There is also opportunity toexpand our Powai hub to include moreactivities and programmes.

In Bangalore, our plan is to grow tosupport upto 1,000 children, over the nextfew years, from the current strength of 350children, in the “Bhavishya-yaan” program.We will also establish a centre for learning,development and support for womenaround the newly launched “Bhagini”programme, where we have a currentstrength of 75 women.

As VIDYA grows, we feel the needto create more professional

systems and operations,for which we have beenadvised by KPMG, onfuture proofing our internalsystems and improvingour funding and donormanagement.

We are indebted to ourdonors in all cities, for theunstinting support and lovethat makes VIDYA what it is.We solicit your support tohelp us meet the growingneeds of the underprivilegedin our country, particularlychildren, who deserve abetter future and women,who are the bedrock of oursociety and the catalysts forany social transformation inIndia.

VIDYA PATRONS

Prof. M. G. K. Menon,

Padma Vibhushan,

Former advisor to the Prime Minister

of India

Former Director, Tata Institute of

Fundamental Research, Mumbai

Former Chairman, Board of Governors,

IIT Bombay, India

Dr. Ashok Chauhan

Founder President, Amity Group, India

Prof. Anil Seal

Trinity College, University of Cambridge

Former Director Cambridge

Commonwealth Trust, UK

Peter Simon

Founder Director, Monsoon

Leading fashion retail chain in UK

Atul Punj

Chairman, Punj Lloyd Group, India

VIDYA DELHI

GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS

Rashmi Misra, Founder Chairperson

Dr. Rekha Chaturvedi, Vice Chairperson

Malavika Goyal, Treasurer

S. K. Gulhati, Manager

Rashmi Menon, Secretary

Prof. Ashok Misra, Member

Pratima Goel, Member

Indu Mahajan, Member

Alpna Manchanda, Member

Dr. Mandira Mukherjee, Member

Col. R. P. Madan, Member

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Prof. S. M. Ishtiaque

Mohit Goyal

Rajendra S. Pawar

Lekha Srivastava

Leila Kabir

Geeta Dudeja

Sanaya Nariman

Basant Hari

Chanchal Bawa

FINANCE MANAGEMENT

COMMITTEE

Chandan Roy

Prof. Ashok Misra

Ranjani Rangnathan

Rashmi Misra

S. K. Gulhati


In a New Spirit of Service...Founder’s Message

Dear Friends,

Warm greetings from the entire VIDYAfamily of students, teachers, volunteersand leaders!

VIDYA celebrates 28 years of joyfulgiving!

In these wonderful 28 years we havecelebrated each day, each moment,celebrated our mission to educate andempower children, youth and women andmake their every dream a reality. Wedelight in the success of our students andwe consider each one of the VIDYAstudents a role model, a leader, a personwho has brought tremendous change notonly in their lives, but also in the lives oftheir family and community.

Since its inception in 1984, VIDYA haseducated over two lakh students,impacted several communities and hasmade a tremendous difference through itsprojects across Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbaiand Bangalore. Several success storiescontinue to abound and this newsletteraptly encapsulates VIDYA’s memorablemoments through the year!

I count the reason of our success to bethe incredible leadership of the VIDYAcore team, the enthusiasm that theteachers, staff, volunteers and mentorsbring each day to the programme. Theyhave given their precious time and skillswith great dedication and sincerity, toensure that VIDYA’s mission becomes areality.

VIDYA has scaled new heights in the pastyear and this wouldn’t be possible withoutthe encouragement and immense supportwe have received from each one of you. Ithank our VIDYA family of donors,partners, advisors, supporters andmembers of our Boards.

VIDYA has always endeavoured to‘educate, empower and transform’ all ourbeneficiaries and this motto wasadequately manifested this year.Academic excellence, creativity, computerand English literacy extra circular activities,vocational training was the focus for ourSchools beyond School and youthmanagement programmes pan VIDYA.

We almost doubled our strength ofnumbers across all our programmes in2012.

Our Womens’ programmes - evolvedacross metros to create confident, literate,full-fledged entrepreneurs, some startingtheir own self help groups, others takingon the responsibility of being the breadwinners of the family. VIDYA offers themthe opportunity to learn, earn and be agreat and equal citizen of India.

We are working to professionalize ourfinance, HR and administration systemsand work on forging links andpartnerships to impact our beneficiaries ina more complete and unified way.

Our greatest need is operations costs forall our educational programmes, panVIDYA and we seek your help. If youcould sponsor a VIDYA Child/Woman, orsponsor a VIDYA programme or help useven with a small donation, it would makea huge difference.

As you read the VIDYA Annual Report andlearn more about our work and see thepictures of our beautiful children, youthand women, I would urge you to think ofhow you could be a part of thismovement that is VIDYA today. I wouldlike you to summon a new spirit ofpatriotism, of service and responsibility,where each one of us resolves to pitch inand give back. Every programme ofVIDYA needs volunteers, advisors andmentors.

We would be delighted if you could visitand encourage our students andteachers, lend your support to ourprogrammes and help us in making ourdreams come true! We really cannotmake this happens without you.

I once again take this opportunity to thankyou all for your continued support andblessings.

Warmest wishes from us all at VIDYA!

Rashmi Misra

Founder Chairperson, VIDYA

“VIDYA has always

endeavoured to

‘educate, empower

and transform’ all our

beneficiaries”

“I would like you to summon a

new spirit of patriotism, of

service and responsibility,

where each one of us resolves

to pitch in and give back”

4

The VIDYA School, GurgaonA School with a Difference

Meenakshi Roy, Principal

Raji Nambissan, Head Mistress

The VIDYA Schoolis a dream cometrue for the VIDYAfamily!

At the VIDYASchool we strivefor excellencetowards the growthof the personalityof our children.

VIDYA for manyyears has workedout of borrowedspaces at otherinstitutions. We arevery proud to havethe VIDYA Schoolon our own landand are committedto establish a role-model School forIndia, wheresocially challengedchildren are giventhe bestopportunities tobecome the futureleaders. Ourchildren have adoubleresponsibility ofsupporting thefamily’s meagerincome at homeand fulfilling theirown dreams. TheVIDYA Schoolprovides themboth theseopportunitiesthrough anoutstanding allround educationand skill-sets tohelp them achieveall their goals. Forus, every child atthe VIDYA Schoolis a success story.Our effort in VIDYAis to bring out theirtalent and potentialin order to helpthem achieve theiraspirations. Wehave excellentfaculty as well asfacilities for themand we would likeour children toenter the best

universities, in India, like the IIT’s.

The VIDYA School was established in 2002and today has classes from Nursery toXI. The total strength of the school is450.The academic session begins in Apriland final exams are held in March.

VIDYA School has come a long waythanks to the loving support fromcommitted donors, Bill and NathalieComfort, Mr and Mrs Ajay Rehlan, TheUnited Health group, Punj sons andKamla Charitable Trust, The MonsoonTrust to mention a few and many individualdonors, partners and dedicated Patronsand Board members. The VIDYA Schoolis poised to be an institution of excellencethat India can be proud off.

Awards and Recognition

Various processes involved for seekingrecognition from the State Governmentare now in the final stages and areexpected to be completed this year. Thiswould be followed up by Central Board ofSecondary Education (CBSE) affiliation ofthe school. This year too, the students ofstandard X were successfully registeredwith National Institute of Open Schooling(NIOS) through online application.

• The school strength has progressivelyincreased over the years and nowstands at 450 in comparison to 325 lastyear. In 2012, there was an addition ofone more section in Nursery andstandard I.

• In April 2012, Academic Awards forstandards III onwards were held.Special awards, namely, Sushila MisraAward for the ‘Best All Round student’,Ram Lubhai Mela Ram Charitable TrustScholarship for ‘Academic Excellence’and ‘Excellence in Sports’ and Libraryawards instituted by Manohar Arorawere given.

• The students of VIDYA School passedout with flying colours in the standard Xexamination conducted by NIOS. Thebest performer from the school wasAnjali Mehra who secured 86 per centin English, 83 per cent in Maths and 80per cent in Hindi. Six students scoredbetween 80 and 86 per cent in English.This has been a stupendousachievement, given that this was thefirst batch of students from VIDYASchool taking public examination.

• All the five students the VIDYA Schoolwho appeared in the entrance testconducted by the Sanskriti School,

Sushant Lok, Gurgaon for standard XIadmissions cleared the exams.Sanskriti School is a recognizedgovernment school with a huge waitinglist of students for admission.Therefore, the achievement of thesestudents speaks volumes about theirability. This also is a testimony of thehard work put in by the teachers of TheVIDYA School in grooming thestudents.

• In an effort to generate interest in Mathamong the students of VIDYA School,a Math Lab was set up in the schoolduring May 2012. Similarly, DigiSchoolSmart Boards by HCL were also setup in six classrooms in line with themodern day teaching techniques inschools. The audio visual interactiveboards have been an effective learningtool for the students and havecontributed to a substantial increase intheir class room participation.

• As a part of ADOBE Youth VoicesProgram, an International programme,films made by the children of variousschools were screened during theirFilm Festival at NCUI complex, in Delhi.A short video film ‘Corruption’ madeby the students of VIDYA School waschosen among the best and screenedduring the occasion, received anappreciative response from theaudience.

• National Cyber Olympiad was held inthe School for the first time besidesNational Science Olympiad,International Mathematics and EnglishOlympiad. 171 students appeared inthese examinations. Significantly, sixstudents qualified for the next round ofScience Olympiad.

• For the first time, the students of VIDYASchool were invited to participate in theIndependence Day celebrationsorganized by the Resident WelfareOrganisation at DLF Ph I CommunityCentre. Our children showcased theirtalent and bagged most of the prizes inthe painting competition held fordifferent age groups.

• The VIDYA School has been selectedone among the 20 prestigious schoolsin Delhi/National Capital Region forinnovative TOD FOD JOD Projectorganised by the National InnovationCouncil headed by Sam Pitroda. Theaim of the concept is to provide ahands-on learning environment wherethe students can deconstruct,reconstruct or re-purpose every dayelectronic products that they see or


use. These sessions are being heldregularly in the school and the resultantlearning is being passed onto thestudents to evoke their interest invarious products and the technologygoverning these. The concept wouldalso help the students to align variousproducts to larger concept andapplications. The Council haspromised to provide meta-mentorshipand conduct regular workshops for thebenefit of the students.

Activit ies

• VIDYA School works from 8:30 am to2:30 pm in summers and from 9.00 amto 3.00 pm in winters. The students areprovided breakfast and lunch.Students are engaged in differentactivities like Club, House meetingsand co-curricular activities. Every dayone period is allotted for Prep andRemedial classes.

• The students are trained in varioussports such as football, taekwondo,cricket, basketball and yoga. Theclasses are held round the year.

• All important national days and festivalsare celebrated to apprise the studentsof the importance and significance ofthese vital days.

• Regular meetings with the parents areheld to discuss students’ progress.

• Excursion and educational trips are aregular feature.

• NIIT IT Wizard programme forComputer Education is an integral partof the School curriculum for standardsI to X.

• Two main examinations are held in oneacademic year consisting of twoformative assessments and onesummative assessment each term.Academic reports are regularly sent tothe parents and sponsors.

• Apart from regular school activities,several competitions like debates,elocution, art, music, dance and postercompetitions are organised in theschool.

• The students continue to contributecreatively and enthusiastically to the

school newsletter “VIDYA Vibes”.

• 28 students visit the UnitedHealthGroup office every fortnight to interactwith their mentors.

• KPMG has started a mentoringprogramme in English for standard Iheld on every Friday.

• Remedial Classes in mathematics byManohar Arora are being held onevery Saturday.

• The American India Foundation Trusthas continued to support Adobe YouthVoices six years Program 2011 toprovide breakthrough learningexperiences using multimedia, video,digital art, web and animation forstandards VIII and IX. This is thesecond year.

• The VIDYA School in participation withNational Institute of InformationTechnology (NIIT) Foundation launchedBasic IT Course of 3 ½ months foryouth belonging to EconomicallyWeaker Sections (EWS) of the societyof nearby slums of Nathupur,Sikenderpur etc. 16 people haveenrolled in the programme and sixwere declared outstanding. One ofthem, Jai Kumar who was a fieldworker is now working as a ComputerAssistant.

• A teacher and two students of theschool participated in a campaign titled‘Steer to Safety’ an initiative by PVRCinemas called PVR Nest. The aim ofthe campaign was to create awarenessabout the road safety.

• Regular health check-ups are held forthe students of all classes and theirparents in partnership with Dental Life-OMEGA Medical Centre and QuotoInternational of DLF City, Gurgaon andNeelkanth Hospital, Gurgaon.

• A painting competition on EnergyConservation-2012 was organised forthe students of standards V and VI tocreate awareness about the need forenergy conservation.

Workshops…

• All the teachers of the school wereprovided with in-service training on

Lesson Mapping, Life Skill and valuesand Differentiated Teaching Techniques.

• A disaster management drill wasorganized for the school students. Theschool students were apprised aboutthe natural disasters such asearthquakes, fire etc. and the requiredprecautions to be taken in case of suchan event. The students were guided tothe open area under the supervision ofthe teachers as a part of the drill.

Special Events/Visits

• Sports Day: The School celebratedSports Day on 30th March to inculcatethe importance of physical education.Rupendra Singh, Chairman, KPMGFoundation was the chief guest on theoccasion.

• Plantation Day: In order to promoteawareness and regard for ourenvironment amongst children, aplantation day was organized whereinstudents planted trees in the schoolbiodiversity park.

• William Comfort with his wife visited theSchool and interacted with the childrenand staff of the School.

• Eric Mayer, the Advisor to SorosFoundation and Chatterjee Group,U.S.A visited the school. HisFoundation is actively involved incombating HIV/AIDS, hunger &poverty and champions the cause ofhuman rights and further stem cellresearch. VIDYA is lovingly nurturingthe hibiscus sapling planted by Mayerat the entrance and awaits his return tosee it bloom!

• The School had important visitorsthroughout the year who promised tosupport in various Schoolprogrammes. Some of the dignitarieswere Peter Simon from The MonsoonTrust, Chris from Leaders’ Quest,Kathy Cassidy, Eric and Gregs –Heads of GE Treasury, RupendraSingh, Chairman, KPMG and KrishnaKumar, CEO, Avanti Fellows.

6

Sachin Scores

Against All

Odds

Sachin Yadav, astandard VII studentof The VIDYA Schoollost his father at a

very young age. His mother andgrandmother though illiterate realized theimportance of education and did not letSachin bear the brunt of this misfortune.His mother started working as a tailor inorder to support Sachin’s needs.

Sachin is an extremely courteous andpolite boy. He can easily be termed as anall rounder being excellent in academics,sports, art and all other activities atschool. He is always full of creative ideasand displays high levels of enthusiasm foreverything that he is entrusted with. Todaythe winds of misfortune are a left behindSachin only to steer him ahead towardshis goal of becoming a scientist. TheVIDYA School proudly awarded Sachinwith the award for ‘Best OverallPerformance’ in grade six for the session2011-12. A bright future awaits him. Mayhe keep moving ahead in pursuit ofhappiness.

Khushbu’s

Fragrance

Khushboo, astandard IX student isan inspiration to allthose who strive torise above set backsand emerge winners through sheerdetermination. Khushboo comes from asocially challenged family with both herparents working as housekeeping staff.Misfortune struck this friendly andbeautiful girl when she met with anaccident in March 2011. This tragicincident killed almost 16 people travellingwith her including some of her familymembers. Though Khushboo survivedthe accident miraculously, she was left withsevere spinal injuries, broken arm andbroken jaw bones. She was in coma forthree days and later she spent threemonths in hospital and underwent manysurgeries that left her face permanentlydisfigured. Through small and steadysteps she moved ahead in life andembraced it with full courage. Today shedances gracefully and her taekwondoperformance on Sports day was a joy tobehold. After her miraculous recovery,she feels that Doctors are living Gods.And she aspires to be a Doctor one day!

THE VIDYA SCHOOL GURGAON

GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS

William Comfort

Chandan Roy

Ajay Relan

HimanshuKohli

Urmila Dongre

Prof. Ashok Misra

Mohit Goyal

Lokesh Prasad


G. Ramakrishnan

Mike Manwaring

Sunil Sahni

Latika Thukral

Sudhir Kapoor

Ashish Singh

Mark Parkinson

Brig Sawhney

Volunteers Welcome

Volunteers can make a difference

• Supervise Prep after-school toprovide assistance in one or moreacademic subjects like Maths, Science,Social Studies, English, Hindi and toassist a student develop a betterunderstanding of in-class andhomework assignments;

• Help run the Clubs.

• Coach before and after School SportsTeam.

• Counsel the teens and pre-teens anddiscuss various emotional andgrowing up issues.

• Organize Book Fairs in the school

• Design a new database

• Help organise the cultural events/ talentshows

In addition, volunteers can also help duringmeal times, teaching during leave vacancy,be available on call to fill in on short noticewhen a teacher is on emergency leave, inthe library or supervise the playgroundduring school time.

Pride of The

VIDYA School

Wish List

CD/DVD Players-5, Computers-4,Photocopier Machine-1, Music Room

(with instrument & furniture) Rs. 200000,File Cabinets-2, Cupboards-6,

Inter Coms-10, Fly Track Machines-20,Shoe Racks-4


Bal Vihar, DelhiVIDYA’s Flagship Programme

Bal Vihar is VIDYA’s oldest and its flagshipprogramme. The Bal Vihar School, wasborn on the IITDelhi campus and haseducated approximate 12,000 children inthe last 27 years. It has provided needychildren from the poorest areas of SouthDelhi, an empowering education toprepare them for higher education, to beleaders of change in their communitiesand has helped them to dream big! BalVihar is proud of its faculty, its committedvolunteers and donors, many of whohave contributed to the programme forover 20 years. The atmosphere in BalVihar is one of enthusiasm in the joy oflearning and discovering, of compassionand love and of learning from all thevaried experiences that we provide tocreate a 'total child'. A child who has apositive attitude to address all thechallenges of life, a child who knows thatwith a sound education, hard work andfocused commitment his dream can berealized.

VIDYA’s mission at Bal Vihar is to providean outstanding English medium academicand creative education so that their is joyand participation in learning and the thechild’s confidence and awareness isheightened. Yoga, music, dance,computer training are all part of regularcurriculum. The school has over 400children enrolled for nursery to standardV. All our students come from the poorestneighborhoods and are first generationlearners. Some are children of domesticservants, others children who are workingas household help, dropouts from theschool system and children withdisabilities. Today Bal Vihar is running intwo shifts at S – 162A, Panchsheel Park,New Delhi -110017 from 8:00am to5:30pm. We celebrate all festivals at BalVihar! Be it Children’s Day, Sports Dayfever in December, Founder’s Day, interhouse interactive session house activities,Republic Day, Independence Day, Diwali,Dusshera and Christmas, or Id! Bal Viharworks like a family and through thesecelebrations we share with them thecultural heritage of India.

Activit ies

Bal Vihar activities are broadly divided intotwo streams namely academics and co-curricular activities.

The students are divided into four houses,Liberty, Quality, Freedom and Sincerity toorganize varied activities and encouragehealthy competition. Throughout the yearvarious inter-house competitions are

organized providing an all rounddevelopment that creates the Total Child.

Beneficiaries

Besides our 400 students at the School,more than 10.000 are indirect beneficiariesat our feeder communities at MunirkaPhase – I & II, Lal Gumbad Basti,Panchsheel Park.

The Impact Bal Vihar has

achieved

• Improved quality of curriculum andteaching methods to make learning fun

• Lower drop out at mainstreameducation

• Advance the health education ofvulnerable children, who are attendingprograms through mid-day meal

• Raise the self confidence generalknowledge creativity of our Studentsand helped them to dream

• Increase community participation ofeffectively support educationprograms

• Value education has helped to reduceanti social activities among children

• Decrease the exploitation of children byparents and family members

• Able to sponsor and monitoreducation of children even afterprimary education

• Able to mold students into a goodhuman being and a proud citizen with apositive attitude!

• Assisted Admission of children intogood public schools of Delhi afterclass V

Workshops / Events /

Educational tours

• Workshop in February by MaaPurnanada on “Empowering Youth” byright way of living.

• Workshop on “Six Thinking Hats” byMrs. Ahlawat held in March where shediscussed Edward Debno perspectiveto thinking.

• Zal Davar conducted workshop onusing audio-visual aid to teach socialstudies to students of standards IV & V.

• Two days workshop in June byresource people from the HindustanTimes, the leading national newspaper.Rishabh Khanna & Deepika Dutt, led aworkshop aimed at developing variouscommunication patterns, the teacherneeds to follow in order to teach

children. More than verbalcommunication, its non verbalexpression and body language makesteaching effective.

• Workshop by Survinder Kaur fromNaya Severa, on importance ofseparation of waste for recycling andfor producing bio-gas.

Events

• 24 students of Bal Vihar participated inan online art auction organized byDeutsche Bank on “My dreams andhopes” and won pride for theorganization.

• Standard V went to Pragati Maidan inFebruary to attend an exhibition “BetterAgriculture through Plastic Culture”,where they learnt plastic cultureapplication which are being usedcommercially, playing a significant rolein agriculture and allied sectors likenursery bags, pots, baskets, pondsand reservoir lining drip and sprinkleirrigation system etc.

• Two students from Bal Vihar went forInter School Poster MakingCompetition on “Threat to Water Life”held at Walden School in August.

• Eye check -up by Inner Wheel Club,Delhi South, held in August. Specialcases were directed to the optician for

Independence Day

Towards Freedam of Mind

Indu Mahajan, Advisor

Gaytri Kapani, Principal

Ranju Dahiya, Promila Kataria, Rajesh - Head Mistress

8

Gracious Thanks…

The mission would not have been

achieved without the help and support

of many people. We are grateful to

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),

Delhi for the initiatives to give us the

premises to work from. The Open Air

Theatre at IIT, Delhi for 18 years has

been abuzz with multiple activities. The

volunteers and faculty wives have

provided their support in VIDYA’s

education programme for the children

and women. We are also grateful to

Panchsheel Co-operative House

Building Society and Rainbow

Montessori School where we have

been housed for the last seven years.

We are also grateful to Manju

Bharatram and Shri Ram School,

Vasant Vihar where we have been

given beautiful premises for the last six

years. Due to shortage of school time,

this year our classes from Shri Ram

School have shifted to Panchsheel

Park providing more time for classes.

For financial support, we are grateful to

Peter Simon from Monsson Trust,

Deutsche Bank, Jim Lawrence from

Sikri Trust, Accenture and others like

K.C. Mahindra Education Trust,

Rabinder Nayyar, Kunta Agarwal,

Deepak Kapoor, P.C. Chandan, Anil

Joshi and many others.

treatment, free of cost.

• To support anti corruption drive andAnna Hazare, group of students andstaff members went to Ram Lilaground in August. They motivated thecrowd by singing songs and shoutedslogan in praise of Anna Hazare. Theyspoke to media people, public andspread the message of Gandhi ji“Achieve goal by means of non-violence”.

Functions

• To celebrate the 63rd Republic Day, acultural program held at Bal Vihar. Thestudent also elected a head boy andhead girl and brought in a democraticparliamentary system into the school.

• Come August and the spirit offreedom patriotism, nationalism &celebrations took place in the school.On August 15 at Panchsheel Club, ourstudents inspired the residents with aoutstanding cultural presentation. P. C.Chandan, a resident of Shivalik unfurledthe national flag and blessed thechildren.

• Major event of the year was the 27thFounder’s Day of VIDYA Delhi held onDecember 24, 2011 Prof R. K.Shevgaonkar, Director, IIT Delhi,graced the occasion as our chiefguest. The Highlight of the programmewas a 30 minutes play on“Panchtrantra” depicting stories onmoral values in which over 200 childrenparticipated.. Outstanding studentswere awarded for their academicsachievements.

Visitors

• Vinita Bali, MD of Britannia Industries, asuccessful entrepreneur blessed thechildren at Panchsheel Park. Herdetermination and hard work toachieve this position is a lesson forevery woman.

• Deepak Kapoor, chairman Price WaterCooper and his team for theirhospitality and generosity extended tostudents of VIDYA on ‘World LiteracyDay’.

Abreast with the Best

Summer programme is organized forstudents every year. Apart from fun filledactivities, VIDYA also concentrates onstudents who are weak in academics.Regular remedial classes are held duringsummer break. A complete health checkup is organized for the students. Eye anddental checkups were organized by Dr.Shikha Sharma and Rotary Club DelhiSouth. Children with weak eyesight weregiven free spectacles.

The challenge at Bal Vihar is themainstreaming of our students to otherschools at different level. We are happy toshare that five students of age group 4+and 5+ were integrated to public schoolbecause of their improved academicperformance and the positive attitude ofparents.

An alumni, a physically challenged child,Atul is studying in standard XII in agovernment school. We thank Geeta

Founder’s Day(from L-R) Prof R. K. Shevgaonkar, Director IIT Delhi, Dr. Rekha Chaturvedi, Vice Chair VIDYA,

Lokesh Prasad, Vice President, United Health Group

& VIDYA’s precious child

Malik for her kind sponsorship for hiseducation. Amit, another physicallychallenged alumni of Bal Vihar, nowstudying in standard XII and also workingfor Vishal Technology as a computeroperator needs a sponsor for his furthereducation.


Wish List

• Daries for school

• Musical Instruments (harmonium and tabla)

• 10 Computers

• Nutrition @ 1260/- per child per year

• Uniform @ 1015/- (summer & winter per childper year)

• Books & Stationery @ 1200/- (per child peryear)

• Transportation expenses @ 4000 /- (per childper year)

• Water cooler

• Water tank

• Plants and manure for garden

• Music system

Volunteers Welcome

• For administration in April andOctober

• To teach English and Mathsfrom 1pm to 2pm to std. IV & V

• To teach English & Maths from 2pm to 5 pm to std. I & II

• To teach dance, theater, sports,computers, help with the library

• Mentor children and help withmainstreaming them after classV

• Plan events, organize educationtours

• Help us to find sponsors for ourchildren and our programmes

Pride of Bal Vihar

Kamaal ki Khushboo,

Amazing Acheivements

Khusboo Jain,cleareded herstandard V fromVIDYA in 2001 andwas integrated intoGargi SarvodhyaSchool at GreenPark. She excelled inacademics andsuccessfully

completed her standard XII in commercestream.

Khushboo’s mother runs a small generalstore in the community. Unfortunately shelost her father in 2004. She has five sistersand one brother. Khushboo had tosupport her big family as it was difficult tomeet even day to day expenses. Shedecided to continue her educationthrough correspondence. Now,Khushboo is in final year of B.Com.Honours, Delhi University and is workingas a receptionist at Bhartkhande SangeetVidyalaya. Being a first generation learnerto break this line of poverty was not aneasy task. Right education and positiveattitude not only helped her to rise in lifebut also her family to live dignified life.

Sonu’s Stepping Stones…

Sonu Jha son of asupervisor andstudent of Bal Viharcleared his standardV in 2001 and joinedgovernment boyssenior secondaryschool for his furthereducation. He

cleared his XII in 2008 and joined B.ComPass at Sri Aurobindo College, New Delhi.Sonu Jha is now working as an AssistantAccountant in A.S. Commodity TradingCompany. His strong primary educationnot only motivated him to pursue hiseducation but also helped him to earn hislivelihood in dignified manner.

Major Challenge

Our urgent need is for funding of our operations cost of the Bal Vihar School. We arelooking for sponsors who will 'adopt' the School and we offer a naming opportunity forthe same. Of the 400 children on our rolls at present we are short of funding for 181children for the year 2012 -13. You could sponsor and individual child or a class orchildren of Bal Vihar. we share the details below.

We need your help to help us support this excellent institution that has made such a hugeand impact full difference. Education is the best gift that you can give a needy child andbuild a better India! Please do get in touch with us.

Sponsor a Child

10

Community Development Programmes

for Children, Youth and Women

Munirka, Delhi

Advisor: Dr. Rekha Chaturvedi

Coordinators: Ruchi Raj,

Academics

Manjulata, Social Worker

VIDYA’S Programmes are indigenouslydeveloped, volunteer based and cohesivewith their roots firmly grounded in therealities of the communities. Being at thegrassroots VIDYA is actively involved insustainable development for theunderprivileged community.

We are striving hard to make thesesustainable changes through micro-levelintervention or through multi faceted needbased and community basedprogrammes which directly or indirectlyimpact the community at large.

Children’s Hope

Munirka Community development hasbeen VIDYA’s agenda since its inceptionwith the main focus on education. Variousprogrammes catering to different agegroups have been running successfully.The Saral Shiksha project initiated by theIndia Sponsored Foundation is supportedby Children’s Hope. It is a programmedealing with the remedial and non-formaleducation. It runs in two shifts and coversclasses from KG to standard XII. Thereare currently 276 students attendingregularly.

This Programme has had a strong impactand all the girls now in educational streamare doing extremely well in their X and XIICBSE Board Exams. It is stated with pridethat 49 students have got admission inreputed government and public schools.

The children who have cleared XIIstandard and joined Delhi University andhave done extremely well in their colleges.These stories reflect that there is a changein the mind of the parents. Thus, we areachieving the goals of sustainabledevelopment of underprivileged in theurban slums of South Delhi with thesupport of donors and volunteers.

Avenues of Growth

VIDYA has vocational training program foryouth in different areas. They are trainedby government recognized trainingcenters and are being placed for jobs.

VIDYA has adult literacy classes forwomen who take time out of their busyschedule to learn to read and to write, 90

women are enrolled at the center.

Young girls and women also spend thetime at our Skill Centers learning skills liketailoring. There are 25 women enrolled forsewing classes. This Programme is beingconducted in partnership with Sarthi.

Health care and awareness forms anintegral part of the communityprogramme. Regular health checkups areconducted by Inner Wheel Club, DelhiSouth. Cancer detection camps byCancer Patient’s Aids Society, awarenesstalks by Family Planning Association ofIndia, keep the issues of good health wellaccepted. Following the four prongedapproach to health Care VIDYA continuesto follow prevention by diagnostic,curative and rehabilitative measures toimprove the primary health of thecommunity. The VIDYA team working inthe community regularly addresses andgenerates awareness about issues onsanitation, safe drinking water,adolescence, sexual health, deficiency,diseases prevention, etc. The Inner WheelClub Delhi South is always lendingsupport in all our health programmes rightfrom the inception of VIDYA.

TMI (International Management Institution)organized a mini marathon on 14thOctober 2012 to support CommunityDevelopment Program. Youth and ladiesfrom the community actively participatedand supported the cause.

42 children on 2nd October, from thecommunity, went to Raj Ghat to support“Achhe Ghar ka Sapna” organized byBani Trust. Children wore T-shirts statingvarious slogans and marched in hope ofbetter standards of living.

There are two creches in Munirkacommunity programme. These crèchesprovide the tiny taughts of the slumsprovide an innovative pre schooleducation. The aim is to address the basicneeds of the children and give them careand attention. Supplementary nutrition andbasic health care are also provided. Over100 children between the ages of two -five years are taken care of in thesecrèches. Our very big thank you to LaliBagai, Bani Jagtiani Trust and their teamfor supporting these creches.“VIDYA has been working

at the grassroot level to

create awareness

regarding issues related

to health, education and

development”


Pappankalan, Delhi

Advisor: Malavika Goyal

Coordinator: Indu Uniyal

VIDYA’s Pappankalan Project wasestablished in a resettlement colony ofWest Delhi in 1996. The Pappankalanproject aims at women empowermentand providing education to the under

privileged children of this locality . All theseyears, VIDYA has been working at thegrassroot level to create awarenessregarding issues related to health,education and development to the peopleof Pappankalan.

Highlights

• The highlights of this year were, aworkshop conducted in Pappankalanwith Collectif La Scierie(Group of

six artists from France). Duringthe workshop, teachers, students andwomen of the programme participatedin activities in preparation of thepresentation of a show. During theworkshop, the children of Pappankalangot to write their own play, act in it,create costumes and props, plusinvolve puppets that were made by thewomen’s sewing class.

• This year, a Lotus Club was set up

for the students where they now get achance to learn music, dance andyoga The aim is to provide a creativeoutlet for the children, and also to buildself-confidence and awareness, and toenhance useful skills in their lives.

• Two exchanges with a school fromAuxerre in France and with Edirisa

NGO in Uganda were fruitful Apartfrom their sewing class, women gotto learn cooking with Laura! LauraGildemeester, a chef and volunteerfrom Canada has started cookingclasses at the Pappankalan centre. Thewomen have had the chance todiscover exotic dishes like banana

muffins, oat- chocolate and raisinscookies, apple crumble and a kiwipound cake. The recipes are providedin Hindi, translated by a teacher.

• A new program Kid Powered Mediawas started for a group of 15 youngwomen of the community which willgive them the confidence in themselvesto speak about social issues related totheir community.Kid Powered Mediateaches the young women to write,produce and act in socially relevant,educational films. So far, the youngwomen have been working atstorytelling and writing, theater andmovement with the support of fourfacilitators.

• Teachers got a chance to attend a twodays workshop at VIDYA’s Bal Viharschool, about the multiple intelligenceand mental status of the students in theclassroom.

• The Be! an Entrepreneur-Going toSchool team based in Delhi visited theproject. Be! an Entrepreneur is amultimedia skills education initiative toteach entrepreneurial skills to childrenin India, who live in poverty, so thatthey can use their education totransform their lives. The team came totest several of their new activities,books and movies. The children andwomen’s group had the opportunityfor two days to work in teams anddiscuss potential skills and ideasrelevant for creating their own smallbusinesses for their community.

• This year the teachers from Okhlaproject joined the Pappankalanteachers for a series of workshopsgiven by Daniel Lalande. Throughmultiple activities, they got to exploretheir own creativity, discover newprogrammes to implement in thecommunity project, make contacts,share ideas and develop a greatersense of communication between thetwo groups. This was an opportunitythat got ideas flowing and should berepeated at all costs for the benefit of all.

Impact

• Many students stand out because ofvisible great changes in theirpersonalities. They look moreconfident and joyful. Some of themare Raj Kumar, Bhoomi andRakesh. Sunny was an averagestudent initially, now he has shownimprovement in studies and alsoparticipates in all the extra-curricularactivities at the center.

Pooja Kumari had no interest in writing inEnglish, now she not only writes but alsotries hard to speak English.

Fatimais is now an all-rounder and shealways tries to pick up new words andspeak better in English. She is a keenstudent wanting to discover more beyondthe curriculum proposed by the teachers.

In K.G. a young girl called Rakeebashows remarkable improvement in herstudies whereas from the nursery groupone of the students Prakesh has gotadmission in N.K.Bagrodia Public Schoolunder the Economically Weaker Section(EWS) scheme.·

Children’s need for developingcompetence and care is being providedby the team of VIDYA teachers. Many ofthe programme conducted in Pappankalanare art based. By providing healthyenvironments, children have fun and learnbetter. This contributes a great deal to keeptheir focus in their academic studies andavoid dropping out of school. In thewomen’s programme, several womenwho trained and completed the curriculumof the sewing programme have startedtheir own small businesses. Now Devi,Sadaf, Usha, Ladli, Shama, Nazia, Rani,Neha and Malti. They are earning moneyby stitching garments mostly for womenand children from their homes.

Pride of Pappankalan

• Pooja Kumari is growing up as a

charming young women. The

earlier shyness has given way toconfidence and amarked improvementin academics. Today she not only takespart in all the activities but also helpsand motivates other students.

• Fatima was an average student in hergovernment school but after joiningthe remedial programme, she stoodfirst in her class in the annual exams.

• Om and Ankita cleared the examsand got admission in MRV PublicSchool this year under EWS admissionscheme.

Being groomed to bloom

12

overwhelming response. Most of thestudents have performed well in theirexams making their parents proud oftheir first generation children.

Library

VIDYA’s prized donor Fena Foundation, acorporate house has donated 194 booksin this academic year. An initiative wastaken to issue books to the students readat home after giving them an orientationsession to understand the value ofpreservation and care of books. Overall126 books were issued. The studentsenjoyed creating stories with the help ofFlip Books. Daily reading sessions havehelped imbibing knowledge in a pleasantway. The children of lower grades get anexposure to a new exciting word throughbooks. They listen, tell and enact storiesand walk through the pictures with picturebooks. This is a rare and novel experiencefor them as they come from home wherethere is absolutely no exposure to printedword.

Other Events

• A summer workshop was organizedfor the children of school and thecommunity in May. There were excitingsessions of games, role playing,drawing, music, dance, taekwondo anEnglish speaking. The students weretaught moral values, personal hygienethrough story telling and poemrecitation. The closing ceremonydepicted the learnings in a colorfuldance and song performance.

• Besides Independence Day, RepublicDay, Teachers Day, Children’s Day wasa great success with Diwali lighting upthe lives of the community. OnChildren’s Day (November 14) fourstudents from Indian ManagementInstitute conducted a quiz competition,students also participated story telling,drawing etc. and were duly awarded.The annual sports day was wellattended, the chief guest being thelocal community leader who alsodistributed the prizes. The classicalIndian dance performance by thestudents was well appreciated.

• February was the month for a regularhealth checkup conducted by theAmerican volunteer Mariana in thismonth long health programme, 130were examined and advisedaccordingly. The gynaecology outpatient department run by AdharshilaFoundation is held twice a week since

January 2011. The medicines andtreatment are provided at nominalcharges, benefiting the communitywomen.

New Students

There are 333 students in the school and20 awaiting admission. In September2011, the school saw maximumenrollment. Regular home visits aninteraction with parents is painstakinglyundertaken to sustain enrollments.

Youth Management

*(The total number of children is 154. There is an

overlap, as this is the enrolment in each programme,

some children are enrolled in both programmes)

• Computer exams were conducted inNovember. 41 students appeared and36 cleared the exam for Certificate inBasic IT. One student topped the batchwith 95%.

• 46 students appeared for exam inDecember 2011 out of 53 students.Result is awaited because somechildren have to submit project report.

• Admissions for fresh batches started inmonth of January 2012.

Looking Ahead…

• New computer batches with examcertification from a recognizedcomputer training institute namelyNational Institute of InformationTechnology.

• Renovation of computer centre andupdating the existing infrastructure.

• More skill enhancing programmes.

Okhla Basti Vikas Kendra

Advisor: Dr. Mandira Mukherjee

Coordinator: Javed

The school at Okhla continues to run intwo shifts and has a total student strengthof 319 students of which160 are girls. Newteachers have been recruited to improvethe quality of teaching while parentsinvolvement is being ensured throughregular Parent Teacher Meetings and visitsto the community .81 students havecompleting a basic course in computerknowledge.

Fresh admissions are encouragingbecause students will be able to getcourse certification from a recognizedcomputer institute. About 100 studentshave already enrolled in computerclasses.

The Library and reading room is a strongresource centre in inviting students toimprove their speaking and reading skills.

Happenings

It has been a busy calendar of events witha number of workshops, orientations,celebrations and examinations. Variousfestival and cultural events have kept thecommunity well-knitted. There have alsobeen visits by volunteer, mentors and wellwishers.

Academic Highlights

• With the new academic sessioncommencing in April 2011, admissiontest were conducted and 113 newstudents have been admitted. After anin-depth admission process wascompleted, student orientation aboutthe centre and the rules was carried outand a new time table was implemented.

• Parent Teacher Meetings (PTM) werewell attended and the parents werepersuaded to send their children toschool regularly.

• Along with studies, music, dance andtaekwondo are an integral part ofcurriculum. Classes have been in fullswing in rest of the year with regularexam and assessments.

• March is the month to assess what thechildren have learned and how muchthe teachers have succeeded in theirefforts. The exams date were decidedwith the students’ consent for a suitabletime.

• This idea of students’ participation hasworked wonders showing an


Advisor: Indu Mahajan

Coordinators: Sushila Sharma,

Taruna Nagpal

Sainik Farms and Okhla, Delhi

The Youth Management Programme usesa multi pronged approach to helpunderprivileged dropout youth return tomainstream. Regular classes of X and XIIstandards through the National Institute ofOpen School (NIOS) are held. The aim isto give the same atmosphere as a regularschool with all its related activities, as wellas develop their personalities and givethem a sense of self worth and value.Their confidence is enhanced to give themthe values and ability for a better futureand overcome the label of being called adropout. There are two centers SainikFarm and Okhla where classes are heldon a regular basis. A holistic approachtowards learning is adopted. Enrolmentstarts with an orientation programme andthere are classes in art, yoga, Englishspeaking and other awarenessprogrammes.

Moreover, there is an interaction withdifferent Youth Managementorganizations to ensure that all thestudents go through life skillsdevelopment and vocational training. Inpartnership with Dhriti & Youth Reach, theBusiness Skill Development Programmewas conducted successfully. The MentalHealth Programme was conducted byManas Youth Reach. Youth had training inphotography, dance and western dance.Some of the students have attended theone year Travel and Tourism Managementcourse at Travel Management Institute.VIDYA is also sponsoring talentedstudents for the Cricket Academy atNational Sports Club of India. 100 childrenhave undergone training in Hospitality andRetail and all of them are placed inrespectable jobs.

Campus and Beyond

The Ministry of Tourism, Government. ofIndia is imparting Vocational Trainingthrough “Campus and Beyond” and aftersix weeks training the youth get placementin respective spheres. So far 40 childrenhave enrolled with the Ministry of Tourismthrough Campus and Beyond underHunar Se Rozgar Yojna.

Since 1993, many dropout youthregistered with VIDYA have gone aheadsuccessfully. They attended the EducationProgramme, acquired various skills,

Bridge CourseYouth Management Programme

along with life skills and emergedsuccessful individuals in personal lives. Sofar, 2500 youth have graduated fromVIDYA’s Youth Management Programmeand about 100 have been equipped withHospitality and Retail Management skills.

VIDYA Thanks…

VIDYA is grateful to GE for providing kindsupport and mentoring for so manyyears. The GE executives visit the schoolregularly and interact with the students. InJanuary they distributed woolen jackets toall the students providing warmth ofconcern in Delhi’s harsh winter. Sweetsand gifts were also distributed. Executiveof GE Money interacted with the students.Kathy Cassidy (Global Manager, GE), EricDuenwald, Gregory Devis and ValerieNelson were enlightend with the progressof the students in Okhla.

VIDYA thanks Bani Jagtiani Trust forsupporting Sainik Farm centre andDeepak Kapoor, Chairman, PricewaterHouse Coopers Pvt. Ltd. for running theOkhla Centre. He has been a pillar ofstrength in our hour of need.

Arvind Verma has been a great supporterof VIDYA since 2000. When in trouble,Arvindjee stands like a rock and solvesthe problems. The Computer Lab wasupgraded with three new computersdonated by him and a laser jet printer(scanner and photocopy machine) wasadded to the Lab. He has also setup acomplete computer lab in Okhla.

Vinod Poddar is another person who hassupported us constantly with our suddenneeds and demands – smilingly.

Special thanks to Rama Tandon to give usa free place to run our Bridge Courseclasses in her school, Ankur CharitableTrust in Okhla and Madhu jaju, RotaryClub South Central letting us run ourschool in Sainik Farm.

Activit ies

• The visit to Ramlila ground to attendAnna Hazare’s rally against corruptionwas an eye opening event for theyouth. They realized the power ofyouth and the ability of the people tobring about change. They boughtcaps, flags, made tattoos and activelyparticipated by singing songs with theband.

• The attempt was made to givevocational training to the students by

sending them to “Campus andBeyond” for hospitality training run byMinistry of Tourism. They were givenuniform and a stipend of rupees 1500/-each . Most of them got placementsduring training program such as withKFC, CCD etc.

• Independence Day,Annual Day, Lohri,Holi festivals were celebrated. Variouscompetitions and sports events wereheld during the year such as kite flying,diya making, rangoli , mehndi, cricket,khokho and dance etc.

· A workshop on moral values was heldby Maa Purna Nanda of ChinmayaMission for teachers and students atPanchsheel School providing valuablelessons.

• The VIDYA students won the shield inthe programme run by AmericanIndian Foundation on audio viduals.

They teach the students the correctway to make documentaries on socialissues.

• GE runs a regular mentoringprogramme twice a week for 12 – 15students in their premises in Gurgoan.

• PWC is also starting their volunteeringprogramme in Okhla twice a week.Already interacting session has takenplace.

Beneficiaries

One of our students, Sanjay Kumar ofstandard XII, was sponsored to F-TEC forone year computer course ( Multi – SkillsDevelopment) by Anil Dev. Sanjay hadcome to Delhi from his village to study ashe had shown interest in continuingcomputer studies. Seeing his standard Xresults and keen interest, Anil Dev agreedto sponsor his studies. He is staying withhis sister and will complete his course inOctober 2012.

Nazia joined VIDYA in 2011 because shegot compartment in Maths. She had

Certified Adobe Youth Voices

14

scored good marks in all the othersubjects. Seeing her keen interest instudying and inability of her family tosupport her, Anil Dev agreed to sponsorher. She did well in standard X scoring anaggregate 71% with 82% in Hindi. He iscontinuing to sponsor her in standard XII.

Another student Shibbu, join the AREENAInstitute in South Extension for MultimediaCourse.

Impact

The overall impact of Bridge Courseprogramme on the students is on theirself confidence. They have started takinginterest in studies as well as others sportsand cultural activities. They are morecompetent and better groomed,disciplined and physically and morallysound. A well maintained computer laballures the students to attend regularly andbe more conversant with computerapplications. Moreover, a peacefulenvironment motivates the students to beregular and attentive.

Pride of Bridge Course

Daring Divya

Divya joined VIDYA in 2008, as she hadlost her father and her mother wassupporting the family. Tragedy struck thefamily again. She lost her mother also andwas on the point of leaving school whenshe was persuaded to somehow finishher standard XII. Her grandmotherstepped in to look after the children. Shetoo died. Being the eldest in the family, thewhole responsibility of looking after herbrother and sister fell on her. Courageslyshe carried on and with the support of herrelatives she completed her XII with goodmarks. Divya has now got a job in LifeInsurance Corporation. At the momentshe is working as well as doinggraduation from Delhi University bycorrespondence.

Ashish Moves on…

Ashish joined VIDYA in standard X as he

got compartment in Maths and Scienceand dropped out from CBSE. But hemanaged to complete X and XII fromVIDYA and now he is working forMunicipal Corporation Delhi.

Promising Pooja

Pooja got admission in standard X in April2008 in VIDYA Bridge Course. Later shecleared her XII also. She belongs toNepal. Her father is a driver and mother ahousewife. She has two younger brothersalso studying in VIDYA Bal Vihar atPanchsheel.

With the help of donation provided byMrs. Suri she got admission in KhazaniWomen Polytechnic, Delhi for one yearcourse in Computer Science. Poojacompleted her course with good grades.

Now she is working as a computeroperator on accounts software at PunjabOpticals, Green Park, Delhi. She is earninga decent salary to support her family andempower herself.

Rotary VIDYA Kendra

Sainik Farms, Delhi

Coordinators: Madhu Jaju, Ruchi

Tulshan

Rotary VIDYA Kendra (RVK) at SainikFarms is a primary school which beganas a Creche with five children in 1999. It isa joint project of VIDYA and Rotary Clubof Delhi South Central.

Today more than 150 under privilegedchildren upto standard three are providedwith a holistic education, They are givenmid-day meals, school uniforms, booksand stationery. School bus is provided atnominal rates.

Every year, RVK adds one more class.RVK aims at creating a strong foundationfor the children and empower them, toface the challenges in the competitiveworld.

IIT NSS VIDYA Remedial

Education Programme

Advisor: Dr. Rekha Chaturvedi

Coordinator: Jyoti Naik

VIDYA is honoured to have thepartnership with Indian Institute ofTechnology (IIT), Delhi. The support fromDirector IIT Delhi and cooperation of theIIT National Social Service (NSS) studentsand IIT faculty wives has beentremendous. Very special thanks toDr.Ravi Kumar his wife Sangeeta and Dr.Mrs. Pathak for their consistent support.

IIT remedial education programmecommenced in July 2006. Today there are125 beneficiaries in this programme whichfunctions every afternoon in KendriyaVidyalaya IIT Delhi Campus. The classesare from nursery to standard XII. Theystudents attend remedial classes afterregular school. Sports activities are heldtwice a week in the evening. PTA meetingsare held once in a month. Four teachersteach the children of various classes. It isa continuous programme with no durationlimits.

Activit ies

• Remedial education from nursery to XII

• Computer education from VI to XII

• NIOS – X & XII

• Adult literacy

• Awareness programme for womenand children

• Extra curricular activities includes artand craft, dance, music, story telling,yoga and meditation

The main objective is to provide remedialeducation to children, holisticempowerment of dropout youth througheducation, vocational training and adulteducation.

Staff and Volunteers

Besides three regular teachers namelyJyoti Naik, Renu Johri and Umesh Pal,Pramod Dabas is the visiting faculty. Two


NSS volunteers from IIT and threespouces of IIT faculties reach out to thestudents every day.

Achievements

• Regular attendance of the students hasenhanced.

• With intense remedial coaching eightout of ten NIOS students have clearedexams.

• Students have access to computerlearning.

Sunita Says…

“I am a student of standard X of Open

School. My parents are illiterate. I am a first

generation learner. When I joined VIDYA

three years ago, I did not know how to

read and write properly but the guidance

and dedication of my teachers, I learnt the

basics. I have now cleared four papers.

Besides education, I also learnt dance. As

a result now I can conduct dance classes

and earn a decent living. VIDYA has

inculcated courage and confidence in me

and showed me the way to a dignified life.

Sunita (Child’s Desk)

VIDYA Udyog Kendra

Since 1993 this program aims toempower underprivileged women for alivelihood by giving them opportunitiesand skills to work. New skills throughworkshops and training in lifemanagement are provided with emphasison health care and literacy. Udyog Kendrahas made a difference in the lives of over2,100 women in the last 19 years.

The Udyog Kendra center shifted toGurgaon in December 2011. A volunteerShashi Jain conducted the stitchingclasses and from March 2012 onwards,the center has functioned as a showroomfor the products.

In May, the women who had beenempowered by the Udyog Kendra tomake art & craft products for sale movedon to form an independent group underthe supervision of Geetanjali who hadbeen working as the Udyog Kendraproduction controller and social workersince the past 10 years. This group ofeight women focus on working fromhome on production orders under thebrand name “VISHESH”- products madeby women empowered by VIDYA.

In June, an order of assorted handicraftswas executed for a client Anna fromNetherlands. She was appreciative of thequality of the items supplied, and hopesfor a profitable sale in the forthcomingfestive season in her country.

The stitching classes for the women havestarted in October 2012 in the premises ofthe VIDYA School, Gurgaon. VIDYA hopesto replicate the Udyog Kendraprogramme by initiating this new chapterand later moving on to advanced trainingso that these women can also form anindependent group to be economicallyindependent by taking up jobs or workingon their own to make items which cangenerate income.

The VIDYA family continues to support the‘VISHESH’ group by directing therequests for stalls and customized items

to them, so that they can earn theirlivelihood and showcase their talent.

Computer Literacy

NIIT Guides the Way…

The first batch of Basic InformationTechnology training has just beencompleted, courtesy National Institute ofInformation Technology (NIIT) Foundation.This three and a half months training forthe less privileged youth from the nearbyslums provides a starting point for abright future. 16 students were givencertificates after being trained in basiccourses of MS Word, MS Excel,Poweroint, Internet etc. VIDYA thanks AmitArora and Vishal Dube from NIITFoundation for sponsoring andconducting the training. Second batch isset to start soon.

16

VIDYA’s Mumbai chapter started in April2001 on the IIT Bombay campus,supported by the IIT Bombay HeritageFund. In a span of ten years, VIDYAMumbai has worked for the sustainabledevelopment of the lesser privilegedcommunities in and around the vicinity ofPowai and Colaba. Using education as anempowering tool, the programmes arestructured to encourage children, with aspecial emphasis on the girl child, topursue learning, the drop out youth to bemainstreamed and the women trained andequipped to walk towards financialindependence.

It operates with the organizationalstructure headed by the Chairperson, theVice-Chairpersons, and a core team,along with professional staff consisting ofprogram heads and coordinators,community outreach officer, counsellors,teachers, resource persons and officesupport staff. VIDYA’s Advisory andManagement Board comprises qualifiedand well known professionals from allwalks of life.

VIDYA Bhavishya-Yaan

Advisor: Neeta Pradhan

Bhavishya-yaan is a skills enhancementprogramme that addresses the lacunae of

VIDYA Mumbai

the present public school educationsystem at a micro level. It has beeninitiated by Vidya-Mumbai in partnershipwith Education for All committee of theRotary club of Mumbai.

The program fast tracks selected publicschool students of class 7, 8 and 9,traditionally schooled in regionallanguages, by providing them witheducation in English, Life Skills andComputers at no cost.

Successfully running in seven schools inMumbai namely, Colaba MunicipalSchool, Babasaheb Ambedkar School atWorli, Banganga Municipal School,Byculla Municipal School, Vile Parle andJogeshwari Municipal School enrichingthe education of about 700 students.Plans are underway to expand thisprogram in other municipal schools.

The Computer Literacy and

Resource Centre

Powai and Milind Nagar

Coordinator: Manvi Singh

Set up by a group of VIDYA alumni,volunteers and a committed mentor, the

program today has 200 studentsregistered and 300 who have alreadycompleted the course in the last year. Thefirst indigenous batch of programmes-First Byte and then Big Byte has beenavailed by more than 150 students in thecommunity and seeks to reach out to 500over the year. The VIDYA batch ofscholarship students certified in Hardwareand Networking are today the proudteachers at the centre.

A partnership with the NIIT Foundation hasbeen a great boost to enrolments. Theteachers to had the benefit of theupgrades.

Beneficiaries : 500

Impact : Bridging digital divide and

spreading computer literacy.

Success Stories : Many participantshave been able to improve their jobprospects and are empowered withtechnology.

Important Event : The inaugurationceremony by Syntel Sprayas, certification1st and 2nd NIIT batches was an honour.

Wish List : LCD 32 inch Monitor for trainingpurpose.

Beyond School Learning

Programme

Chaitanya Nagar, Gautam

Nagar and Phule Nagar

Centre

Coordinators: Sudhakar Pednekar,

Geeta Kakra, Sunita Raikwar

This programme provides holisticeducation at pre-school, primary andsecondary levels through threecommunity based programmes (VIDYA

Umang programme)

Beneficiaries : 300

Impact : Cent percent pass results inSenior School Certificate exams withdropout rate stemming in thecommunities where VIDYA works.

Success Stories: Master UdaySonawane comes from Gautam Nagarcommunity, a slum area. He joinedUmang – GN as a nursery student. Hewas very young and couldn’t understandany other language other than Marathi. He was given extra attention. Slowly hestarted picking up and became active inclass. Now he is in standard one.

The programme coordinator andteachers identified that he is very intelligentand has a good grasping power. As hewas studying in a Municipal School thestaff members convinced his parents toget him transferred to a better school. Hisparents found it unfeasible with theirlimited resources as they were unable tobear the financial burden of better schooland studies, VIDYA suggested his namefor scholarship.

Through intervention of VIDYA staff he wasable to secure admission in a well-knownEnglish medium School “Powai EnglishHigh School”. The Principal of the school

Bridging digital divide


personally took his interviews and wasvery happy to see his performance at theinterview.

VIDYA has arranged for the monthlyschool fees to be paid with the support ofVolunteer friends.

Now Uday is studying very hard, and theteachers at VIDYA are giving him extrasupport to cope up with the transition.Uday’s parents are very happy andthankful to VIDYA

Volunteers Welcome

Wish List : study material, cupboard,laptop, digital camera and cooler.

VIDYA National Institute of

Open Schooling (NIOS)

Coordinator: Supriya Singh

The NIOS is a government of Indiainitiative and VIDYA is proud to be apartner facilitator. The vision of the NIOSprogramme is to offer opportunitiesthrough open and distance learning,provide access to learner centriceducation, upgrade skill and training,resulting in an inclusive learning society,human resource development, nationalintegration and global understanding.

NIOS is run by VIDYA at Powai EnglishHigh School near IIT Powai, on weekdaysbetween 6:30 to 8:30 pm. VIDYA currentlyhas six teachers including a coordinatorwho conduct classes in English, Hindi andMarathi Medium students. This year thereare 90 students who have registered withus for standards X and XII. As a part ofthe VIDYA holistic learning, life enrichmentthrough awareness, life skills, soft skillsform an integral part of our curriculum.For an exposure to a greater world view,we invite speakers every month to sharewith our students information on what theydo, the relevance and its impact onsociety at large, and encourage interactivesessions.

Beneficiaries : 100

Impact : Empowering Youth with secondchance at Education . Opening upemployment opportunities to them.

On the Right Path…

“I work as an office assistant in the VIDYAadministrative office. Alongside I am alsostudying at the VIDYA open schoolprogram NIOS Std XII in Hindi Medium.

Financial constraints, followed bymarriage and then two children preventedme from completing my schooling. My in-laws were unkind to me and I wassubjected to verbal and physical abuse.My husband was a heavy drinker anddied in 2009. Soon after, I was thrown outof my home with my two- year-olddaughter and separated from my son. Icame to Mumbai to live with myparents.With the help of VIDYA MARGAM,I was able to apply for permission to visitmy son, who has been admitted to aresidential school by my in-laws. I cannow hope to have him with me during thevacation. I am getting lot of support fromVIDYA. Everybody at the office helped meand directed me on the right path, that is,to complete my studies and becomeindependent”.

As narrated by Sushma Kishore

Volunteers Welcome

Wish List : Laptop and camera

VIDYA MARGAM - The

Pathway

Coordinator: Sunanda Newase

The Women’s Empowerment Centre atVIDYA is fondly called ‘Margam’ whichmeans ‘pathway’ - a centre for women

that shows them the pathway to theirfuture through imparting variousvocational and life enriching skills. ThisVIDYA program aims to empower womenby helping them make informed choicesand equipping them with skills leading toeconomic and social betterment. For thepast seven years, nearly 300 adolescentgirls and women have been trained indifferent skills like making exclusivehandicraft items, making paper productsto candles, embroidery and sewing topainting and spoken English.

Presently about 70 women attend theprogramme, which runs daily - Mondaysthrough Friday - from 11 to 5. The skillstraining focus on revival of folk art likeMadhubani and Warli paintings using eco

friendly products, and also sewing andbeautician courses. Spoken EnglishClasses, personality development,classical dance training and yoga alsoform part of the programme. Awarenessprogrammes on health, financial literacyand legal rights are held with the help ofresource persons. Orders fromCorporates for workshops on folk art andstalls to put up on sale the handcraftedartistic pieces help the women hone upthe business skills.

Moreover, one of Margam’s significantcontributions in the recent past has been‘Aurat ki Adalat’ which providescounselling and legal advice to thosewomen who approach us seeking helpwhile being victims of domesticpersecution and violence. Besides,counselling is also required for those whoare interested in receiving vocationaltraining but face resistance from theirfamilies.

Success Stories : Chanda Chauhan isecstatic. She is from the Gautam Nagarcommunity in Powai, and recentlycompleted a six month tailoring coursefrom VIDYA Margam. Last month she gotplaced with a garment company andwhere she is drawing a salary of Rs.8000/- and now is able to take care of herfamily comfortably.

Ashwini, after completing studies tillstandard XII from VIDYA NIOS joinedMargam. She got trained in tribal Warli artand perfected her artistic skills over ayear. She is now the assistant co-ordinator at Margam, taking art forms likeWarli, Madhubani and Jamini Roy to moreand more women with every batch.

Volunteers Welcome

Wish List : Tailoring machine

Teaching life enriching skills

The National

Institute of Open

Schooling (NIOS)

is a government of

India initiative and

VIDYA is proud to

be a partner

facilitator.

18

VIDYA Bangalore has two hubs of activityin the city.

We have been providing after schooleducation to children in governmentschools through the “Bhavishya-yaan”program, in South Bangalore from twoyears, with the support of the RotaryBangalore Midtown club. Pioneered bySucheta Kalappa Srinath in 2010, with 110children, the program has now expandedto 350 children in two governmentschools in the Gottigere area, under theable leadership of Rekha Srinivasan whois the current coordinator for the programin Bangalore. Teachers Anabarasi,Rashmitha, Suma Balakrishnan and MaliniRavishankar’s experience, love andattention are responsible for theexemplary record of 92% passpercentage this year, in the schools.

In North Bangalore, VIDYA has twocentres of learning for women, in theWhitefield area, conducting the “Bhagini”program, started in March 2012. ShylaDwarkanath and Manisha Sengupta areresponsible for pioneering the program inBangalore and provide leadership andguidance to conduct English, computerusage and life skills programs, taught bycommitted teachers, with rich experience,Rowena Gideon, Asifa Ayub and Monisha.

Academic curriculum planning and overallprogram oversight for learning isprovided by long standing VIDYAvolunteers Ajanta Puryakastha andSucheta Kalappa Srinath.

VIDYA Bangalore

Bhavishya-Yaan Programme

Coordinator: Rekha Srinivasan

VIDYA’s successful Bhavishya-yaanprogram, with best practices learned fromalmost a decade of teaching ingovernment schools in Mumbai waslaunched in 2010 in the government highschool at Gottigere, in South Bangalore.We are indebted to the Rotary BangaloreMidtown club, for their support of VIDYA’sfunding requirements in the programme.

From a modest start, supporting 110children in one high school, theprogramme has expanded to support 2government schools and 350 children,studying from class V to class X.Bhavishya-yaan aims to bridge the gapbetween the school system and the skillsneeded in the real world. We provide thechild with a holistic education after schoolhours, where the English reading, writing,understanding, vocabulary and speakingcapabilities of the child are improved.Basic computer knowledge and life skills,career counselling and support for higherstudies and job placement is also a focus.

Many children work before and afterschool, to augment their parents’ income.Venkatachalapathi and Mohan Babu arebrothers. They are energetic, loud firstbenchers who make the teachers wonderhow to keep them challengedcontinuously. Their day starts at dawn,when they set off to wash cars, beforecoming to school. The boys love poring

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

(VIDYA MUMBAI)

Rashmi Misra, Chairperson

CORE MANAGEMENT TEAM

Sangeeta Gupta, Vice Chairperson

Chaitali Gupta, Vice Chairperson

Jayshree Murali

Neeta Pradhan

Priyanka Agarwal

Sunita Kumari

Vasudha Madhavan

Ritika Bajaj

Manvi Singh


Dinesh Jasani

D. S. Gupta

G. P. Rao

Manju Sharma

Minoo Mantri

Pradeep Deshpande

Adv. Zeeshan Syed

Donors

have

made a

dif ference!

Air India

BA Continuum

Charities AidFoundation,India

Capita

Deloitte

HDFC

ICICI Prudential Asset ManagementCompany

Lions Club of Byculla

Mahindra Insurance Brokers

ONGC

Ranjit and Anjal Malkani

Ravindra Patni Family Charitable Trust

Rotary Club of Bombay

Sackhumvit Trust

The Women’s Association of the UnitedKingdom

UBS

United Way of Mumbai

Rashmi Misra, Chairperson

Ranjani Ranganathan, Vice Chairperson

Igniting young minds


over the encyclopaedias and books withpictures, immersed in the joy of learning.

VIDYA would be able to support manymore such children, with help fromwellwishers. The list of needs, in order toprovide more facilities and cover morechildren includes story books in Englishfor primary grade level, educationalDVD’s, Craft Supplies, a printer andsports equipment like nets and mats forcricket and badminton racquets.

Synergy Property Development ServicesPvt Ltd. provide scholarships for highereducation for the top ranking children. Inaddition, other donors like the SmileFoundation, Hypercity and SherwoordHigh School have provided support toarrange field trips, which enhance theunderstanding of the child, of the worldaround them and provide them with muchneeded exposure. The exciting first timeexperiences for our children range fromunderstanding science through modelbuilding to eating their first burger andusing a shower in the washroom!

Success stories

Venkatachalapathi & Mohan Babu arebrothers. They are energetic, loud firstbenchers who make the teachers wonderhow to keep them challengedcontinuously. Their day starts muchearlier than many of their classmates, asthey have already washed cars for a fewpeople and then come to school. Theymake sure they say good morning, helpthe teachers with their books and papersand always have an opinion. In class theyalways sit together, encouraging andmotivating one another. They love poringover the encyclopaedias and books withpictures. They ask a lot of questions andhave a healthy imagination to being in a lotof fun in learning. There was an incidentwhen we were trying to select students totalk in from of a stage, andVenkatachalapathi came before class andtold the teacher “miss, take my brother totalk. He speaks English very well unlikeme and I will make sure he practiceshard.” While one craves to do very well inEnglish the other is constantly dreamingfor it to be the end of the day. Whatintrigue me are the unflagging energy andthe positivity they have.

Tabassum

I do not mind coming early at 8 am tolearn English and computers. I likeBhavishya Yaan because they take us on

field trips where we learn a lot and visitplaces that we would not have gone. Iwant to be a computer software engineerwhen I grow up and I think BhavishyaYaan will help me .

Wish List

• Story Books in English for primarygrade level

• Educational DVD’s

• Projector

• Stationery

• Craft Supplies

• Printer

• Sports equipment (nets and mats forcricket, badminton rackets etc..)

Volunteers Welcome:

• To teach sports (cricket, football etc.)

• To train students in dramatics anddance

• To assist with life skill classes

Bhagini - Women’s

Empowerment Programme

Coordinator: Shyla Dwarkanath

VIDYA’s Bhagini programme waslaunched in Bangalore on 10th March2012. Starting with 18 women, theprogramme has now expanded to twolocations, supporting 75 women inclasses that are conducted on all days ofthe week.

The programme entails theimplementation of education andlivelihood programs for teenage and adultwomen in Whitefield, Bangalore. Thecommunity consists of marginalisedmigrant labour and local people with lowincomes, who have, with the rapid growthof Bangalore, seen their semi-ruralcommunity absorbed into the urbanlandscape. Women in the community aretraditionally home makers, with little or noformal education, ill equipped to deal withtheir newly urbanised environment.Unless efforts are made to supportwomen to uplift their skills, communitiessuch as these will continue to bemarginalised in the urban sprawl. Theproject offers an adult literacy program inEnglish, computer usage and life skills toenable women to learn skills that will allowthem to get jobs and augment familyincome.

Women at Bhagini are encouraged tobecome aware of their rights as freecitizens of India and develop skills,capability and self help groups, tochallenge social stereotypes that pre-determine their fate. Volunteers helplearners get exposure to the world outsidetraditional boundaries and operate withconfidence, creativity and strong values,to create a world of opportunity forthemselves and their families. “Bhagini”means sisterhood and the programimparts the value of bonding with otherwomen to learn and support each other tosucceed. The core learning moduleshave been developed by customizing thesyllabus of VIDYA’s very successfulBhavishya-yaan program of remedial

20

instruction for school children, that istaught across more than 10 locations inMumbai and Delhi.

We are indebted to Synergy PropertyDevelopment Services Pvt Ltd, who havegenerously equipped a computer lab forthe use of the Bhagini program, AnthemBiosciences who provide support foroperations, the Mali Foundation andWhitefield Global School, who allow us theuse of their premises and IBM India, whoprovide us volunteers and support forteaching.

VIDYA’s Bhagini program in Bangalorehas made rapid strides in six months ofoperations. Starting with literacy classes,the programme has now expanded toinclude vocational training in tailoring andmaking several craft products, with theobjective of helping the women earn asthey learn.

There is already a waiting list of womenhoping for admission to the Bhaginiprogramme. The key challenge VIDYABangalore faces currently, is the lack offunds to start more classes.

If funds are available, VIDYA’s Bhaginiprogramme in Bangalore will expand toinclude:

• More programmes in vocationaltraining to include embroidery, tailoring,

painting, handicrafts, cooking,gardening and other skills designed toleverage the women’s creative skillsand provide an income

• Creation of cooperatives andproviding marketing support for saleof products created by the women

• Advancing of micro-credit to fundsocial entrepreneurship activities of thewomen

• Offering NIOS coaching for women tocomplete 10th std. School leavingcertification

• Financial and academic support forhigher education.

Success Stories

Fouzia comes from a traditional muslimfamily, from interior Tamilnadu, living inBangalore was a challenge. Fouzia, usedto shut herself inside the house as shewas afraid to interact with others. She didnot even let her child out of the house.

But now the story is a complete ‘u’ turn.With the support of her husband’s aunt,she slowly started coming out of thehouse. She started attending classes atVIDYA. She says her husband’s attitudehas also changed and he encourages andsupports her to be outgoing.

She is very talented. She can do stitching,embroidery, mehendi designs. But herdreams don’t stop here. She wants tolearn English and computers, confidentlycommunicate with others in English. Shesays she feels very proud when she talksto her daughter in English.

Returning home after classes each dayshe thanks VIDYA for opening a new wordand is willing to work hard to learn andachieve more, she awaits next day so thatshe can return to VIDYA with new spirit.

Akhila had to face several problems allthrough her childhood. This stopped herfrom continuing her education. Now she isabout 24 years, married with a child. Fromthe time she has started attendingclasses, her confidence andunderstanding in spoken English hasimproved. With the help of VIDYA andsupport from her family, she wants tocontinue her education, completegraduation and become an IAS officer!

There are many more in the class who areaspiring to learn English and computers,complete their graduations, work inoffices, teach......

Volunteers Welcome for teaching basicand advanced level English classes andcomputers.

VIDYA is grateful to Rotary

Mid Town Bangalore for

their generous support


VIDYA is a people’s movement of socialchange. We have gone from strength tostrength through the dedicated andunselfish efforts of our teachers andvolunteers. Today, volunteers of all agesand social groups including students,housewives and professionals from allcorners of the world help to educate andempower VIDYA’s less privileged children,youth and women.

The success of every VIDYA programmecan be traced to the passion and energyof its volunteers from across the globe.This dedicated group of people havecontributed greatly to the spirit anddevelopment of the institution.

Each volunteer makes a difference. Thereis immense joy and satisfaction fromseeing the wonderful transformation in thelives of the less fortunate women andchildren.

VIDYA has been privileged to havevolunteers from U.S.A., U.K., Canada andEurope. One of our regular volunteerDaniel Lalande who worked at VIDYA’sPappankalan centre for 6 months.

The Volunteer with a Hand

that Gives and Gives…

He is the President of “Gives a Hand”, aCanadian organization, and has been aninvaluable volunteer since 2007. He is amuch loved Sirjee for Pappankalancommunity in Delhi. He has given his heartand soul to Pappankalan for 6 years.

Daniel is one of the 15 Canadian Heroes(Outpost magazine 2007) who

Vibrant Volunteers...

the Backbone of VIDYA

contributed to changing the world throughvolunteering. He is essentially a CostumeDesigner, Painter, Writer and a man with apassion for International Development beit in Bali, Brazil, Guatemala or India, hishorizons are ever expanding. Hepresently lives and works in Brazil onprojects for young social entrepreneursfrom low income communities.

In the Pappankalan community, Danielinitiated an educational integration projectfor children and training programme insewing and embroidery for women. Withthe help of ‘Give a Hand’, Daniel’s dreamof putting the ever increasing groupsunder one roof came true in 2010. Movingon to the new venture, called The LotusClub, Daniel wants to maximize the use ofthis new centre. The Lotus Club is usher anovel new world full of dreams andpromises offering an environment wherechildren can develop and flourish throughvarious funfilled activities like sports,yoga, music, visual arts, computer literacyetc. The Club will be under the supervisionof five suitable teachers, of the centre.

VIDYA receives a large number ofvolunteers from CCS every year whocome from all over the world.

VIDYA receives the largest group ofvolunteers/interns from the Lady Shri RamCollege, Delhi, Symbiosis Institute ofMedia and Communication, Pune andIvolunteer, Delhi.

How you can Help

• Fundraising. You can help usprocure donations from individuals,philanthropists, corporate houses andhelp us in resource management. AtVIDYA we maintain a wish list of ourneeds.

• Administration. Help us with yourmanagement skills in finance,networking, developing publications,marketing of products, liaison withdonors, create income generatingprojects.

• Classroom teaching. Enrich theclassroom with your teaching andknowledge. Right from Kindergarten inthe remedial education programme allthe way upto class XII in the openschool programme.

• Audiovisual teaching. Learning canbe a joy through audiovisual meansand computers. VIDYA’s students willenhance their knowledge througheducational computer discs.

• Reading programme. The sharedbook reading sessions for primaryschool childrens’ always requiresvolunteers to keep the sessions alive.All it requires is the love of telling astory dramatically.

• Spoken English. These classes area part of remedial education, womenempowerment as well as computerliteracy programmes. A template is inthe making but a curriculum online isavailable to suit your availability.

• General awareness. VIDYAstudents need talks and workshops tofoster general awareness. You canenlighten them about yourself, yourwork culture, the need for efficiency,good work habits and better quality oflife.

• Fine Arts. If you have a special talentin music and fine arts, you can delightour students by encouraging them toparticipate in creative activities.Womens’ group will cherish the specialcrafts that you can teach. For thoseinclined towards theatre special timeslots can be created for you to reachVIDYA’s children.

• Sports and games. Can you sparesome time to teach and motivatestudents to get involved in outdoorand indoor games?

• Excursions & events. You canopen up an entire new world when youaccompany VIDYA students forexcursions and educational tours. It isan ideal time to learn and interact andexpand horizons. Your help isinvaluable in organising in-houseevents for festivals, special days,marathons, fund raiser events anddocumentation via write ups andphotographs.

• Documentation. With your skills andtime, help us in our documentation andpublications.

We gratefuly acknowledge thecontribution of Mathew Hestler. Thisvolunteer created immensely useful VIDYAand Volunteer manuals.

“Volunteer are the backbone of VIDYA. Our

vision is to empower women and children

and give them a wider and stronger

perspective in life. Being involved in this

interaction gives me extreme satisfaction

and fulfillment. It is like giving something

back to life that has given us so much.”

Malavika Goyal, Vice Chairperson

Advisor: Malavika Goyal

Coordinator: Pallavi Chaman

24

Financials 2011-12


Financials 2011-12

26

Name & Address of

Auditors:

M/S Grover, Lalla & Mehta, Chartered

Accountants,

90/20 Malviya Nagar,

New Delhi 110017

M/S Malhotra & Associates

309, Delhi Chamber, Delhi Gate,

New Delhi

M/S Vishal Madan & Co.

306, Chhoti Subzi Mandi, Janakpuri,

New Delhi

IDENTITY

We are registered as a non-profit

organization under Societies

Registration Act XXI of 1860.

(Reg.No.S-21626, dated January 1,

1991) with RoS, Delhi.

Memorandum of Association is

available on request.

We are registered u/s 12A of the

Income Tax Act, 1961, and with the

DIT (Exemptions), Delhi u/s 80G. Reg.

No. DIT (E) 2008-09/V-257A/2138.

We are registered under section 6 (1)

(a) of the Foreign Contribution

(Regulation) Act, 1976 (FCRA Reg.

No. 231650839).

Name and Address of Main

Bankers:

State Bank of India

I.I.T. Hauz Khas Branch

New Delhi 110016, India

CITI Bank

33, Basant Lok,

Vasant Vihar

New Delhi 110057, India

Financials 2011-12


The VIDYA Head OfficeVIDYA Head Office is the nerve centre of pan VIDYA!

The VIDYA Head Office is the centre of action, planning, meetings and debates. It is

sometimes a war room and sometimes full of adrenalin pumping moments. The best

time is when all the homemade delicacies come to the table and we laugh and share the

same. Here is where the finance, human resource, fundraising, volunteering and

administration groups are in full swing. VIDYA Head Office has recently shifted from

Vasant Kunj to Gurgaon where it all happens and it is here that you can get information on

all VIDYA Programmes.

A monthly E-newsletter “VIDYA VARTA” sends out regular updates on VIDYA’s activities. It

is available on the website.

The Head Office Team

Founder Chairperson

Rashmi Misra

Vice Chairpersons

Dr. Rekha ChaturvediMalavika Goyal

Director Finance

S. K. Gulhati

Chief Operating Officer

Promila Adhana

Finance/Accounts

Swarn GulatiSumant Singh

Fundraising & Administration

Pallavi ChamanGirish Kumar

Publications

Sujata Kaushic

Production Controller

Vinay Goel

Consultant

K. C. V. Georgie

Assistant

Mukesh Kumar

Contact Information:

VIDYA DelhiD-2, 2442, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi -10070, IndiaTele/Fax: 91-11-41740019, 46065056Email: [email protected], [email protected]: http://www.vidya-india.org

The VIDYA School, GurgaonBlock - S, Plot No - 3126, Sec 24, DLF Phase - III, DLF City, Gurgaon-122002Tel: 0124 - 4224714 E-mail: [email protected]

VIDYA MumbaiLakshmi Niwas, Nair Welfare Society, Navy Compound, Chaitanya Nagar,Powai, Mumbai - 400076

Tele: 022-25787317 Email: [email protected]

VIDYA Bangalore68, Adarsh Vista, Basavanagar, Vibhuthipura, Bangalore-560 037, IndiaTel.: 91-80-42037779 E-mail: [email protected]

28

VIDYA an NGO is registered Under the Indian Societies

Registration Act XXI of 1860 and Under Section 6 (1) of

the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 1976. (FCRA)

Non FCRA

Cheque Name : VIDYA

IFSC Code: SBIN0001077

Bank Account: S.B.A/c No. 1077 357 1899

Name of the Bank and Branch address: State Bank of

India, I.I.T. Delhi Branch, Hauz Khas, New Delhi -110016,

India

Donations to VIDYA are exempt under section 80G of

Income Tax Act 1961.

FCRA

BANK TO BANK TRANSFER

Please send through

“SWIFT” - Code No. SBI NIN BB 547"

FOR CREDIT TO : - “VIDYA” “S.B. A/c No.

10773571617”

State Bank of India

I.I.T. New Delhi Branch, Hauz Khas, New Delhi – 110016

IFSC Code : SBIN0001077

INDIA

NOTE : While Transferring the funds please obtain your

SWIFT No. of your Bank and forward the same to us for

issue of Receipt.

Donations to VIDYA in U.S.A. are TAX EXEMPTED.

Please send THROUGH :-

Friends of VIDYA Office

India for Collective Action (ICA) *

3838, Mumford Place,

Palo Alto CA 94306, U.S.A.

OR

Ms. Aparna Dave

Law Office of Aparna Dave

107, Alderwood Drive

Gaithersburg, MD 20878, U.S.A.

Email: [email protected]

*VIDYA is member of “India for Collective Action”, which

is a federally tax exempted organization described in

IRS Code Section 501 ©. All Contribution to ICA are tax

deductible to the full extent permitted by law. The ICA

corporate no. is D561953IF8CA. Its Federal Employee

Identification No. is 23-7027461 and its California State

Registration No. is 11181.

For further queries about sponsorship email us on:

[email protected]

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