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akshara
Inside this issue:
Foreword 2
Meaning of Sankalp 3
About Sankalp 4
Projects in considera-
tion for 2013
5
Recent Projects 6
Sankalp - making a
difference
8
Sankalp - a personal
experience
10
Visionary - one man’s
dream
12
Fundraising Activities 14
Getting Involved 15
Acknowledgements 16
akshara
Resolve for a progressive India Volume 5, March 2013 Sankalp
Page 2 akshara
FOREWORD
Greetings! It gives me great pleasure to be associated with Sankalp and write this foreword for Akshara. In my view, Sankalp not only has the noble mission of helping communities in India, but also provides a platform for our students to learn and practice entrepreneurship. In particular, projects funded by Sankalp includes primary education, women empowerment, and natural disaster relief. For the past 16 years, Sankalp has been marching successfully in achieving its mission through the support of Iowa State University, dedicated student volunteers, Ames community, ISU alums and well-wishers, and of course the NGOs who execute the projects. Revival of this newsletter is a positive step for Sankalp in its endeavor. It will help in keeping touch with Sankalp patrons and keeping them abreast about its ongoing efforts. It will also help in increasing awareness about Sankalp's efforts to the local community. Over the years, Sankalp has tried different methods for fundraising, such as football volunteering, coin collection etc. One of the efforts started in 2007 was Daawat, which has been highly successful since its inception. A lot of members from the community including students, faculty, and well-wishers look forward to attending the event to learn about the new projects and help out Sankalp in some ways, and to watch the cultural performances. The members put in lot of effort and preparation to make this event a memorable one. In the context of India, although steady progress has been made over the decades in literacy, poverty eradication, and women empowerment, there are still major challenges in spreading the opportunities and benefits to a vast population living below poverty line, esp. in rural India. Therefore, every small step taken to address these issues is worth it and that's what Sankalp's core mission is. I take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone for your continued support, advice, and good-will, which make Sankalp sustainable and growing! I hope you enjoy reading Akshara and your suggestions and feedback are most welcome. Dr. Manimaran Govindarasu Sankalp’s Faculty Advisor, Professor & Associate Chair, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University.
akshara Page 3
Meaning of Sankalp In Sanskrit, ‘san’ means to come together and ‘kalpa’ can be traced to originate from ‘kalpana’ or thought. Sankalp, thus means the merging of (many) thoughts. It signifies the visualization of the positive outcome of an experience well before we even reach that point. To have a sankalpa is to harness the energies of the subconscious, conscious and the physical levels of the body and direct them to flow through us, thus facilitating the resolve to reality. According to Richard Miller, PhD, a clinical psychologist and teacher in the Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir nondual traditions, “a sankalpa arrives with everything needed to fully realize it. This includes iccha (tremendous will and energy), kriya (action) and jnana (the wisdom of how to de-liver that action)”. Each one of us has, consciously or otherwise make a ‘resolve’ to complete a designated task or goal almost everyday. The satisfaction and joy on experiencing this is unparalleled to any other, whether it came from signing documents for a major company takeover, or writing letters to loved ones that we meant to, for quite some time. On a more familiar note, for those of us that regularly practice yoga or meditation, ‘Sankalpa’ may be a integral part of the routine. Repeating to oneself, the innermost deep desires that we aspire to be, is a very powerful technique of transforming the core of our inner selves. Joining the Cyclone family at ISU in Fall 2011, after having crossed a number of hurdles and challenges (like all of my fellow batch mates) to realize this ‘goal’ took a lot of grit, and dedica-tion. But the more heart rending realization - of the many fellow Indians are still waiting to ‘start’ a life, to have access to what ‘basic amenities’ as we term them here, to have a school to go to, to have a good meal from one’s own earnings- came after reaching here, and taking a good long look back at the journey so far. Sankalp at ISU - has many answers to putting some proactiveness to these thoughts. It makes perfect sense to have everything- the name, the goals and the spirit of the organization- attrib-uted to one complete word - ‘SANKALP’. Founded with the desire to make a difference, proactive efforts towards making the change, and the coming together of ideas towards the proactive effort. I am very proud to be part of Sankalp, of a bunch of live-wires with extraordinary ideas, yet grounded with the knowledge of Indian culture, and working towards the ‘resolve to make a difference’. - By Gauri Ramasubramanian, Student, ISU
SANKALP – an initiative
Page 4 akshara
Education is the manifesta-tion of the perfection al-ready in man.
- Swami Vivekananda
Little Star School Project Year: March 2003 Location : Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India Contribution:$2500
Education is the most pow-erful weapon which you can use to change the world.
-Nelson Mandela
Sankalp is a non-profit volunteer organization formed by highly motivated students of Iowa State University to help improve the socio-economic conditions of the poorer sections of the society in India. Started in 1995 at Iowa State University, as India Literacy Fo-cus Group, the organization was dedicated to the cause of improving the levels of literacy in India. Sankalp, which means resolve or deter-mination, signified the intention of this organization to contribute in some measure to the development in India. Since its inception, the organization has broadened its focus from literacy to include other aspects of development and has contin-ued its efforts in funding deserving grass-root development projects. Currently, Sankalp has a core group of 8-9 students, and a vol-unteer base of numerous enthusiastic students. In additional, local professionals and alumni contribute to the cause of Sankalp. Sankalp hopes to continue its fine tradition of thoughtful project selection and evaluation, and raise the money needed for these pro-jects with its hard work in the local community.
Goals
Create awareness in local and non-local communities about the problems of illiteracy and other related issues in India
To sponsor and nurture projects in India on a sustainable basis Create awareness about work done by various organizations in
India and USA and effectively network and collaborate with such organizations
Projects in consideration for 2013
Page 5
Organization Amount* Project Synopsis Target Area
Aarambh $ 1720.00 To provide quality education to 150 chil-dren in age group of three to five years and 100 out of school children in age group of six to twelve years.
Slum areas in Navi Mumbai
Bhumi $ 1890.00 To help improvement of academic per-formance of 1500 children at orphan-ages, slum and village community cen-ters based in various cities and going to
Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi.
CSS $ 5660.00 To completely sponsor 10 girls for one academic year which includes personal
Hyderabad & Chennai
Deep $ 3300.00 To provide additional livelihood opportu-nities for elderly people by setting up a Pickle and Tomato Sauce making plant that utilizes locally available raw mate-rial.
Solan, Himachal Pradesh
Nirmaan $ 1200.00 To provide academic/carrier guidance to students from 26000 villages and 1700 towns by setting up a library for providing tele- helpline services and conducting career counseling work-shops.
Andhra Pradesh
Shantidaara $ 2070.00 To facilitate education of 40 children, coming from areas with no access to school by providing safe and adequate living accommodation.
Vishakhapatnam
Snehadeep $ 5500.00 To enable 55 visually challenged youth from low-income families to be eco-nomically sound and independent by providing vocational education and ac-
Bangalore
* Amounts mentioned above are based on the currency conversion rate 1 USD = 53 INR
akshara
Project : VIRD (Voluntary Institute for Rural Development )
Project Goals:
To empower women from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, by actively involving them in agricultural activities and animal husbandry, hence providing them with means for future income.
Contribution: $9200
Year of funding: 2012 - 2014
Recent Projects
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Project : Mahek (Avbodh IQG Rural Empow-erment Program )
Project Goals:
To train women in making incense so that they have a monthly income of Rupees 2500-3500(roughly $50-$70).
To rent a place for this purpose and buy ma-chines required for making incense.
Contribution: $8100
Year of funding: 2012 - 2014
Project : Wadi (Haritika)
Project Goals:
To ensure sustainable source of income for tribal families though the concept of Wadi (orchard plantation)
To split a plot of land equally among tribal families to grow fruit plants.
Contribution: $5000
Year of funding: 2012 - 2014
akshara Page 7
Project : Ruipathar Electrification (Maitri)
Project Goals:
Harness the extra capacity of the solar panels already installed in the village for powering wa-ter pumps by providing electric lights to each family as well as street lights in the village.
Contribution: $4000
Year of Funding : 2010 - 2011
Recent Projects
SANKALP – creating a difference
Page 8 akshara
Since it’s
inception 16 years ago,
Sankalp has funded over $150,000 to around 42 different projects
related to education and development.
The Project The Scheduled Tribe community in the Talmul Patna village in Orissa state had been struggling for 3 years since their houses burned down in 2010. 40 families have been affected by this disaster. Through the government's Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), only two fami-lies got assistance. The Centre for Development Service (CDS) in Orissa was funded by Sankalp to help restore the living conditions of the poor community in the affected area. This was achieved by giving them money to buy goats and bi-cycles. Both of these are instrumental in generating income for the affected families and helping them stand back up on their own feet through goatery and leaf-business. Project area Talmul Patna village (Kandha Sahi) under Talmul Gram Panchayat of Banarpal Block in Angul District, Orissa, India Year of Funding : 2009 - 2010
Activities Sanctioned & Implemented (i) Providing goats (ii) Providing bicycles Amount Funded by SANKALP : Rs.1,32,000/- No of Beneficiary Families : 40 This data is sent to Sankalp directly from CDS, who have done an excellent job of helping the affected rural community.
Per year, each
Sankalp volunteer
contributes approximately
$150 .
This amount is enough money to
send 4 kids to school for a
year or provide two
tribal families with alternate
source of income.
Project Impact - a glimpse
Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. -Van Gogh
One person can make a difference, and everyone should try. - John F Kennedy
Villagers were given goats so they could earn a livelihood. This is a photograph of a vil-lager who was given two goats. She earns part of her living from goatery and now owns 12 goats.
Villagers were given bicycles so they could earn a liveli-hood.
A villager is able to earn up to Rs. 300 per day by selling fire-wood collected from the forest by using his bicycle.
Bicycles helped the leaf busi-ness in the village.
Villagers now collect leaves from the forest using his bicy-cle. They then make leaf trays and sell them to earn a livelihood.
Living conditions of several families have been restored thanks to the efforts of Sankalp.
This is a photograph of a family who built their own permanent house from the income they got from the leaf business.
akshara Page 9
Page 10 akshara Page 10 akshara
Little did I realize when I attended Daawat in April of 2012 that several weeks later
I would actually make an onsite visit to one of the SANKALP sponsored projects. As I sat in the audience during Daawat, after having enjoyed a delicious Indian meal, I turned my attention to the PowerPoint presentation regarding which organizations and projects had been selected by SANKALP. When Project Mahek, near Ahmedabad, was mentioned, my ears immediately perked up. I was planning on being in Ahmedabad for several weeks during the summer of 2012. The opportunity to visit the project site was one I knew I had to embrace.
I first visited India during the three winter break of 1990-91, as an Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) at ISU. I traveled there with one of my professors, whose re-search specialty was the traditional textiles of India. During that first trip, I admit that I felt a bit like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz: “If I ever get back to (Iowa), I promise I will never leave again!” Alas, I am happy to say that I did leave Iowa, over and over again, return-ing to India, the country I have come to love, on several occasions. My upcoming trip to India, during the summer of 2013, will be my 9
th visit. Over the years I have developed
an active research agenda and established many personal and professional relation-ships. During the Summer of 2014 I will lead my first ISU 3 week Summer Study Abroad in India program. I look forward to introducing students to the people and culture of an amazing country.
Site Visit to Project Mahek: I was invited to attend Daawat by Rohini Kummitha, a graduate student in the MFA Integrated Studio Arts Program at ISU. As it turned out, Rohini also had plans to travel to India during the summer of 2012, during which time she spent 3 weeks in Ah-medabad. The realization that we could actually make an onsite visit to Project Mahek was exciting for both of us. Arrangements were made to meet up with Ravin Vyas and Hiral Mehta (Founder and Director, respectively) at the Ahmedabad office of AIREP. Joining the four of us for our one-day trip to the nearby village of Paldi, site of Project Mahek, were several student interns with AIREP. (These students were participating in an educational program sponsored by AIREP.) We packed ourselves tightly into two ve-hicles and made the road-trip to Paldi, a small traditional village/town on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, a sprawling metropolis. We spent one afternoon in the village of Paldi during the month of June 2012, vis-iting the onsite workshop of Project Mahek, speaking with local families and also visiting the village school and adjacent computer lab sponsored by AIREP, as well.
Sankalp – a personal experience
akshara Page 11
The incense making workshop was a brick structure with adequate open spaces for air circulation and natural lighting. There were several hand-operated incense-making machines which were operated by women, for the most part. The women seemed de-lighted to have guests visit them in their workshop and were eager to demonstrate their work, as well as show both Rohini and me how to operate the machines. We each tried it and were not surprised that the women where much, much quicker and adept at the process! The task appeared to be easy to learn, was very repetitive and the raw materi-als they were working with quickly left their hands blackened. After leaving the workshop, we visited with families who lived nearby the workshop and learned more about the posi-tive impact of the project on the village and families who resided there. We then visited the school and learned more about the good work being done by AIREP, which not only provided educational opportunities for students, but also actively engaged parents in events, which had a positive effect on student attendance and their educational success/outcomes. The student interns who where with us that afternoon were interacting with the students by way of participatory singing. I tried my hand at it by teaching them to sing “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”. They were certainly entertained by my animal sounds! Rohini and I were happy to represent SANKALP on behalf of ISU and were fortu-nate to have had the opportunity to visit Project Mahek on site. I will be returning to Ah-medabad during the summer of 2013 and perhaps I can visit Paldi once again!
Contributing Author : Prof. Cindy Gould, Associate Professor, Integrated Studio Arts, College of Design, ISU
Sankalp – a personal experience
Page 12 akshara
The concept of duty and responsibility has been losing significance lately. “What can one person do?” is spoken rather conveniently by people. In a country, smitten with illiteracy and poverty, one of our foremost duties should be helping our brethren in their times of need. Few people have embraced this duty with open arms, non more so than Dr. G. Venkataswamy. "Intelligence and capability are not enough. There must also be the joy of doing something beautiful. Being of service to God and humanity means going well beyond the sophistication of the best technology, to the humble demonstration of courtesy and compassion to each patient." - Dr.G.Venkataswamy The greatest of dreams have humble beginnings. The founding chairman of Aravinda Eye Hospital, Dr. G. Venkataswamy, or 'Dr.V’ as he is known lovingly, was born in the small village of Vadamalapuram, about eighty kms from Madurai. He spent a childhood, tending to his buffaloes and trying to learn without the luxuries of paper, chalk or slate. With dogged determination to learn and serve, he studied at the American Col-lege in Madurai (BA in Chemistry) and Stanley Medical College, Chennai (Medical de-gree). Then, he joined the Army Medical Corps, but retired in 1948 because he contracted a rare form of rheumatoid arthritis. This would have crippled a man, but Dr. V did not let this hinder his progress. He went ahead and got his diploma and masters in ophthalmol-ogy. Through his hard work and dedication, he learnt how to work with surgical instru-ments and was able to perform surgeries. He met with Sir Wilson of the Royal Common-wealth Society for the Blind, who became his close friend and mentor. It was at the age of 58, when he retired, that he founded the Aravinda Eye Hospital in Madurai. The vision behind this effort was simple and clear - to eliminate needless blindness. Blindness destroys one's means to earn his livelihood and forces several people in India into poverty. Unfortunately, most of these cases can either be prevented or cured, hence the term 'needless blindness'. However, poor people do not have access to treatment or knowledge of the fact that inexpensive and/or free treatment is available. Dr. Venkataswamy took on this challenge head on. Most of the services (close to 2/3rds) in the Aravinda Eye Hospital are free. Every patient who pays ends up paying for two other patients who cannot pay. This is due to a brilliant administrative model of this hospital. The revenue from paying patients even gen-erates a surplus that covers the cost of expansion and improvement of the franchise. "The priority is human welfare" said Dr. G. Venkataswamy, and in every corner of the hospital, this is evident. The patients are sought out in villages, brought to the hospital, given food, lodging and treatment and then brought back to their respective homes. Close to 50% patients
Visionary - one man’s dream
akshara Page 13
are brought through this process of screening eye camps. Giving transportation to and fro solves a very basic problem of poor people - they cannot afford, most of the times, the cost of transportation required or do not have any one to take them, especially the old people. In the year 2004, roughly 1500 eye camps were conducted. "When we grow in Spiritual Consciousness, there is no exploitation. It is ourselves we are helping. It is ourselves we are healing." - Dr.G.Venkataswamy The Aravinda Eye Care System is growing day by day. It is a self sustaining model, in most aspects. The sheer number of eye operations done every day is astounding. The doctors and staff show immense devotion to the cause and their efficiency and skill is well known. The average number of operations done every year per doctor is much higher than that done in other hospitals. They devised their own methods of making lenses and other ophthalmic products that severely reduces their cost of operation. He was assisted by his family members in these efforts, which seemed impossible at first. When one has the support of people who believe in the same cause, nothing can hamper success. "When I go to meditation room at the hospital every morning, I ask God that I be a better tool, a receptacle for the divine force. We can all serve humanity in our normal professional lives by being more generous and less selfish in what we do. You don't have to be a 'religious' person to serve God. You serve God by serving humanity." - Dr. G. Venkataswamy Dr. Venkataswamy was the recipient of several prestigious honors including the 1973 Padma Shri award and the 1987 Helen Keller international award. Sadly, Dr. Venkataswamy passed away in 2006, yet his legacy continues on for-ward, stronger than before. One man's belief to bring healthcare to the villages and to the poor sounds impossible, but today one man’s efforts have led to thousands of people in India leading better lives. I believe that Dr. Venkataswamy taught us a great lesson. Wherever we are, whatever we do and whatever we become, we can always help our countrymen. One man can make a difference, and every one of us should attempt. We can con-tribute through time, money and/or effort. Our country has molded us into whoever we have become today, and that is one thing which one should never forget. And today, when our country needs us, we should not think twice before helping our motherland with all our efforts. - By Viraj Muthye, Student, ISU
Visionary - one man’s dream
Page 14 akshara Page 14 akshara
Daawat - Dine for Development Daawat is an annual fundraising dinner hosted by Sankalp. The dinner comprises of delicious home-cooked authentic Indian food. The evening dinner is accompanied by cultural events and a silent auction of Indian handicrafts. It is generously supported by many Iowa State University professors and students, and by individuals and families from the Ames Community.
Football Volunteering Sankalp members and patrons volunteer for the ISU-Football Games every Fall (September-November). Sankalp gets paid directly for these efforts. Volunteering typically involves 6 hours of effort on each game day. Sankalp organizes a pizza party for the volunteers at the end of each game as a token of appreciation.
Fundraising Activities
Monetary Contribution :
Online - Its fast and easy
1. You can donate to Sankalp using ISU Foundation website safely and securely without the hassles of posting check. Please follow the step by step instructions given below:
2. Visit the website www.foundation.iastate.edu.
3. Click on “Make a Gift” in the upper right corner.
4. Provide your name and email.
5. Specify the amount you want to donate in "Donation Information", in the box labeled as “Gift Amount”. The option for recurring gift or splitting into multiple payments can be chosen here.
6. Only after finishing step 4, under “Gift Designations”, select “I want to choose where my gift is designated”. A popup box will appear titled “Donation areas”.
7. Scroll to the bottom of popup box, where it states “Other Areas”, and select “Other Area – I will add my specific gift information in the 'Notes/Instructions' box below".
8. Then, click on “Continue” of the popup box.
9. The “Notes/Instructions” box has an area where you should type in - “I want to donate the specified amount to SANKALP student organization”.
10. Click on "Next" and complete the payment information on next page(s).
Check
Mail your check payable to “SANKALP” to the following address:
Pranav Joshi,
509 North Hyland Ave, Unit 5,
Ames, IA 50014. USA.
Help us in soliciting projects from deserving NGO’s in India.
Help us in monitoring projects.
Join Sankalp Patrons Mailing List, which will keep you informed of Sankalp activities.
Participate in Sankalp events.
Contribute stories, poems, personal experiences to the newsletter.
Getting Involved
akshara Page 15
The Sankalp newsletter team would like to thank Dr. Manimaran Govindarasu, Prof Cindy Gould, Ms. Gauri Ramasubramanian and Mr. Viraj Muthye for their contributions to the newsletter. We would also like to acknowledge Mr. Indranil Roy and Mr. Navneet Malani with credits for background image editing. This newsletter would not have been complete without the inputs from Sankalp’s project coordinators and invaluable suggestions from the numerous Sankalp members, to whom we express our utmost gratitude. Please send your suggestions/contributions/criticism for Akshara to Mr. Viraj Muthye at [email protected].
Acknowledgements
Page 16 akshara
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in the articles of this newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Sankalp. The copyright to the images used in newsletter is owned solely by Sankalp.
