1) KashiUtkarsh
KashiUtkarsh is a social service group formed by students of 1997 batch of ITBHU. Starting from two it has now grown to 30 strong people. The students have identified slums in Varanasi where they work for the social, mental and physical upliftment of the downtrodden & the needy. They do so by visiting these people every Saturday & Sunday giving them their time & energies to infuse some enthusiasm in them.
The various areas in which KashiUtkarsh works are: Child Education, health checkups, general health & hygiene, employment, self help groups, basic education of mess workers, blood donation camps etc. Students voluntarily contribute some amount every month (added to their mess bills) which is used to manage the expenses incurred by the group. When a large amount is required for some projects, students seek alumni help to make them a success. Some of these projects have been heart operation of a 6 yr old child [amount 1lakh], Day boarding school for basti children (recurring cost 10K per month), etc. After 9 yrs of continuous efforts and a lot of achievement the basti people also have high hopes from KashiUtkarsh. We want our alumni to know about it and strengthen the movement to take it forward.
Prof. B. B. Bansal (Mechanical Engineering Dept.) is the Patron of the organization.
For more details, please click here.
Website: http://www.itbhu.ac.in/students/kashiutkarsh/
Mail us: kashiutkarsh[AT]itbhu.ac.in
(Photo below: Students studying in Varanasi slum area)
2) GurgaonHaryana.com
This social service organization is devoted to the upliftment of rural mass in Haryana. It was started by Abhay Chawla (ECE 1987). He worked in the corporate world for 12 years. Six years back he was invited to travel with a state govt. official in a backward area of Haryana state (female literacy 8.78%, male literacy 30.76%), where what he saw made him to take a decision to jump into the area of rural development.
The group is involved in spreading primary education and literacy to the boys and girls in rural area. The project is centered in Tauru Block. The block is in backward area and suffers from endemic poverty, poor female literacy rates of approximately 8.78% and an average family size of 9 -14 members.
"GurgaonHaryana.com Society" is a Gurgaon based NGO run by Engineers. Our main focus is on literacy in Haryana. It is a grassroots type organization and engages directly with the community and work to get all children, especially girls in the age group 4 to 14 into the formal schooling system. A substantial part of their effort is directed to improving the quality of education imparted in government-run schools and in providing the necessary opportunities to promising students among them. This program has been running successfully for the past 2 year. The group has got over 500-1000 out-of-school children admitted into formal schools by motivating the parents and children themselves. The society has formulated a charter on Non Negotiables in Education.
The group is also engaged in other social services such as educating society on the environmental effects of burning of garbage. Attached article is devoted to this issue.
For more details on garbage burning issue, please click here.
The following are web links:
http://literacymewat.tripod.com/people.htm
http://literacymewat.tripod.com/projectdesc.htm
http://literacymewat.tripod.com/nonnegotiableseducate.htm
http://cities.expressindia.com/archivefullstory.php?newsid=204292&creation_date=2006-10-08#
Email: gurgaonharyana[AT]vsnl.net
(Photo below: Garbage burning-a generic problem in our cities)
3) Sambhavna
This organization is involved with providing medical care to the victims of December 1984 Union Carbide, Bhopal gas victims. It also deals with other issues such as: corporate liability, industrial pollution, environmental health etc. The trust was started by Satinath Sarangi (M. Tech. Metallurgy 1978).
The Sambhavna group runs two organizations: Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) and Sambhavna Trust.
Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) was set up in June 1986 to collect and disseminate information on the disaster, provide support to different survivors’ organizations, initiate national and international campaigns and make legal and extra-legal interventions. BGIA went on a campaign tour in 1989 to campaign against the unjust settlement between Union Carbide and the Government of India in USA, England, Ireland and The Netherlands.
Email: justiceinbhopal[AT]yahoo.co.in
Web site : www.bhopal.net
The Sambhavna Trust is a registered public charitable trust set up in June 1995. Its primary objective is welfare of the survivors of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal through medical care, research, health education and information dissemination. The seven trustees include medical researchers, scientists, editors and activists who have long been involved with medical and other aspects of the disaster. A five-member International Advisory Group consisting of doctors, researchers, writers and activists from different countries provides support to the Trust.
Email: sambavna[AT]sancharnet.in
Web site: www.bhopal.org
For more details on BGIA and Sambhavna Trust, please click here.
Satinath Sarangi can be contacted at: sathyu[AT]gmail.com
(Photo below: Patients waiting at Sambhavna Clinic, Bhopal)
4) Asha for Education
The organization deals with providing education to needy students all over India. It was co-founded by Sandeep Pandey (Mechanical 1986). Apart from Asha for Education, he is also involved in other social activities such as environmental issue, peace among different countries, etc. His years of dedication brought him the 2002 Ramon Magasasay award-the Asian equivalent of Nobel Prize. Pandey quit a lucrative career overseas to found an NGO-Asha-for educating under-privileged children. He did his M. Tech at IIT-Kanpur and doctorate from University of California-Berkley.
To date, Asha has supported more than 500 different projects spanning 22 states in India. Almost $7,000,000 has been disbursed to these projects since Asha's inception. In 2005 alone, Asha chapters raised and disbursed more than $1.6 million to over 300 projects.
Chronicle is grateful to Nidhi Chaudhary, Director of Publicity, Asha for Education for providing valuable information about the organization.
For more details on Asha Project Info, please click here.
For more details on overview of Asha, please click here.
Web link: http://ashanet.org
To contact Sandeep Pandey: ashaashram[AT]yahoo.com
To contact Nidhi Chaudhary: pr[AT]ashanet.org
(Photo below: Timbaktu-Andhra Pradesh School Project)
5) Association for India’s Development
Association for India's Development (AID) is a volunteer movement committed to promoting sustainable, equitable and just development. In solidarity with non-violent people's struggles, AID supports grassroots organizations in India and initiates efforts in various interconnected spheres such as education, livelihoods, natural resources, health, women's empowerment and social justice.
Anirudha Vaidya (Electrical 1991) has been a long time volunteer with AID and currently serves on its Board of Directors.
For details, please visit the website: http://sahyadri.aidindia.org/
To contact Anirudha Vaidya: asvaidya[AT]gmail.com
(Photo below: Kondh Tribals in Andhra Pradesh “Marching for Food”)
6) All India Movement for Seva
AIM for Seva was founded by Swami Dayananda Saraswati, an eminent scholar of Vedanta and Sanskrit, with Mr. R. Venkataraman, the former President of India, as its Chairman. AIM for Seva is a secular organization which does not discriminate based on caste, creed, or religion. It also enjoys the blessings of all traditional Hindu spiritual leaders who have united as a single body, the Acharya Sabha.
In a short span of 5 years, AIM for Seva has started several integrated community development projects helping more than 3,23,900 Indians in 17 states; sowing firmly the seeds of a nationwide movement. The development projects include projects for education, women’s programs, healthcare and environment. The group has done appreciable work for the victims of last Tsunami December 2004 in south India.
One of our alumni, Jaishankar Narayanan (Chemical 1992), is joint secretary of the organization. The organization has Head Office in Madras.
For details, please visit the website: http://www.aimforseva.org
To contact Jaishankar Narayanan: jai[AT]aimforseva.org
(Photo below: Students home at Bachodi, Karnataka)
This Student Home was constructed with support of residents of New Zealand. It caters to tribals living in highly forested area of Bachodi that is about 5 hours from Hubli in Northern Karnataka. Eighty-nine students living in this student home are studying in near-by school from classes 1 to 8.