“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

Mahatma Gandhi

Akshara 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 7

Sankalp thanks you for your patronage and welcomes you to

Daawat 2015!

We are delighted to bring you the seventh edition of Akshara,

our annual newsletter.

We thank you for your support, involvement and

encouragement and hope to continue enjoying the same in the

coming years!

P A G E 2

A K S H A R A

Foreword

Greetings!

I am pleased to be associated with Sankalp and write this foreword for Akshara, Sankalp’s an-

nual newsletter. Sankalp is a student organization at ISU founded on the mission of engaging

students in educational and socio-economic developmental activities in India and beyond.

Since 1995 (then known as the India Literacy Group), Sankalp has been a growing platform for

Indian students at ISU to give back to our motherland. The energy and enthusiasm of these stu-

dents, their academic journey with us, also serve to pique their awareness of socio-

developmental issues and their keenness to be a part of the solution.

Over the last 20 years, a variety of projects have been funded by Sankalp. These have encom-

passed areas like women empowerment, education and rehabilitation and providing self-

sustainable income sources for numerous families/ individuals. Sankalp strives to be agile by

engaging the community through discussions and feedback, learning from project experienc-

es, and adapting its strategies to changing societal needs.

As they years have passed, Sankalp has grown to a non-profit organization with unique ap-

proaches to raising funds. Volunteering at the football games in the cold Midwest Fall-winter

has demonstrated their zeal and joy in giving back. As you read this, Daawat 2015 will have

commenced, or even concluded. The Sankalp team has been very active in taking up prepa-

rations and discussions with the spirit of teamwork and seeking feedback from the community

I wish to highlight a few noteworthy initiatives that Sankalp has undertaken in the past year:

· The Sankalp website is the contact point between NGOs in India and Sankalp members. An

interactive new website has been developed by this team to improve this connectivity and

help bridge the gap between Sankalp and its beneficiaries in India.

· Alumni are the backbone of every organization, since the organization will benefit tremen-

dously from their experience. This year the Sankalp Alumni Initiative was started with the goal

of involving the Sankalp alumni from all over the world in Sankalp activities.

· Akshara, which was revived with renewed circulation a couple of years back, also has been

continued with enthusiasm. Akshara completes the cycle of keeping the patrons and the com-

munity informed of Sankalp’s activities as well as reaching out to newer patrons, sponsors, and

members.

I wish the Sankalp team all the very best in their efforts and goals. I also wish to take this oppor-

tunity to sincerely thank you for your continued support, guidance and goodwill! I hope you

enjoy reading Akshara and provide your feedback to the editorial board/Sankalp team.

Sincerely,

Dr. Manimaran Govindarasu

Projects under consideration 2014-15!

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 7

NRCWD

Establishing a training and production center for eco-friendly plates and cups

Beneficiaries : 25 elderly residents of an old age home, Odisha

Vanguards

Adopting under-resourced government schools in rural Telangana and provide

them with infrastructural support and a novel active-learning curriculum

Beneficiaries : 500 students in 2 schools, Telangana

Shantidhara

Provide long-term relief resources to three villages effected by Cyclone

Hudhud by planting fruit-bearing trees for each household

Beneficiaries : 782 families in 3 villages, Vishakhapatnam

Youth For Seva

Enhance the educational experience of underprivileged children from slum

areas through computer assisted learning, using educational software

Beneficiaries: Children from 4 slums around Bengaluru

KSSG Residential School for the Blind

Acquiring equipment to support education of visually challenged children in a

residential school

Beneficiaries: 42 children and more than 100 associated adult beneficiaries,

Miraj

GYWS

Constructing one classroom for a school run by an NGO operating from IIT

Kharagpur

Beneficiaries: 200 underprivileged children, West Bengal

SOVA

Empowering women by providing raw-materials, training and marketing re-

sources for apiculture (bee-keeping)

Beneficiaries: 110 women, Orissa

P A G E 4

A K S H A R A

Meet Shadab

Shadab is an innocent child of slum dwellers in Kolkata. Due to the low-

paying jobs of his parents, he does not go to school. There are many such chil-

dren who are have either dropped out of school or have not been going to

school at all. NGO READS is working actively to help such children.

Computer Literacy Program was implemented by the NGO READS, through

the funds donated by Sankalp. Vocational training on garment design and dress

-making was also provided to the women in these areas.

50 Children are currently being benefited by the Computer Literacy Pro-

gram and 25 women are being benefited by the Vocational Training.

How does Sankalp raise funds for such

projects?

Daawat

Daawat is an annual fund-raising dinner,

consisting of beautiful cultural performances,

Delicious Indian food and a silent auction of

Indian handicrafts.

Football Volunteering

Enthusiastic Sankalp members volunteer at

ISU Football Games at Jack Trice Stadium.

Total Funds Raised in 2014 : $5600

Sankalp Initiatives

P A G E 5 V O L U M E 7

Once a Sankalp member, forever a Sankalp member.

Reveling in this tradition, SANKALP put forth an initiative to gather all our

Alumni together and thus propping them a window open to all the news associat-

ed with the organization. Their experience and involvement can help Sankalp

better as an organization.

To know more about this, please contact Mr. Viraj Muthye at

vrmuthye@iastate.edu

T h e p r i m a r y g o a l o f

ThankYouSankalp is to connect these

huge blocks of people right from their

granular level. The other side of the

coin aims to gather feedback from

both the NGOs and the people about

where Sankalp stands with respect to

the gazillion organizations doing the

same work giving us scope to improve.

A pilot project involving Bhumi

had been deployed which increased

the communication and intimacy with

the organization and threw light on the

previous project ‘Nakshatra’ that

SANKALP funded

To know more about this, please

email venky89@iastate.edu

Alumni Initiative

ThankYouSankalp

P A G E 6

A K S H A R A

New Sankalp Website

The website is the contact point between NGOs in India and

Sankalp. The new website is informative, dynamic and interactive!

http://www.sankalp.stuorg.iastate.edu/

Sankalp Lectures

Sankalp organized two lectures as a part of the Sankalp Lecture

Series. We aim to organize more such lectures in the coming years!

Reaching New Horizons

“Reaching New Horizons” was an interactive session, by

Sankalp alumni Sudha Nagavarapu and Dwiji Guru, where Sankalp

members listened to present-day issues in India and how Sankalp

can consider planning projects in the future.

The Last Bhopa

Sankalp was one of the sponsors of this talk organized by Dr. Cindy Gould (Professor, College of Design). The speaker, Mr. Praveen

Singh Rathore, discussed how development in India has affected the

lives of traditional musicians and artisans. The talk aimed to raise

awareness of the dying folk-art in Rajasthan.

Expanding Horizons

Get involved!

P A G E 7 V O L U M E 7

Donate online

You can donate via ISU Foundation Website. It is safe, secure and easy!

Click on “Donate Online” on the Sankalp Website

http://www.sankalp.stuorg.iastate.edu/

Donate via check

Mail your check payable to ―SANKALP to the following address:

Amar Sagar Reddy, #Apt 17, 4400 West Brook Dr, Ames, IA 50014

Help solicit deserving projects from NGOs in

India.

Join Sankalp mailing list

Will keep you informed of Sankalp activities. Join the mailing list by contacting

us at sankalp.projects@gmail.com

Give your valuable suggestions and criticisms !

Please give your suggestions on the Sankalp website or email us at

sankalp.projects@gmail.com

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Dr. Manimaran for his inputs and

contributions.

This newsletter would not have been complete

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 vrmuthye@iastate.edu.

We would like to thank our sponsors for Daawat 2015