“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
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 [email protected]
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 [email protected]
Give your valuable suggestions and criticisms !
Please give your suggestions on the Sankalp website or email us at
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 [email protected].
We would like to thank our sponsors for Daawat 2015