Friday, December 23, 2011

Spark The Rise - Positive Comment

Some well-wisher has understood the potential of Kaliyuva Mane and left a positive comment on our project": Education of Rural OUT OF SYSTEM children. We need more persons to bring this change.

http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=4751

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Balakrishnan Sivathanu

I would like congratulate for two reasons; one being your phenomenal effort to help students who happen to miss mainstream education due to inevitable reasons like poverty, lack of motivation or proper guidance and etc., and the other being your planned approach to generate votes to make this project a winning one. At the same time I’m obliged to express a humble suggestion, as this problem being omnipresent in our country due to rigid rules or regulations in our education system that don’t offer an alternate route for such students with a verve to learn and rise, you should also focus on nipping the problem from the bud. I mean it’s essential to channelize your ability to co-ordinate this immense support to cause a policy level change so that our governments create solution for this problem. With the ever increasing costs of education, it would be implausible for the out of system students across our country to expect help from considerate nonprofit organizations. Furthermore, it wouldn’t be feasible in the long run for any organization to operate completely on donations from caring individuals and institutions (in particular at times of bleak economic scenarios). Sincere thanks for proving the very vital point to our authorities and legislators that even without formal education these dropped out students with little help are able to compete with their counterparts who hail from systematic education.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Come, let us celebrate together.


Tuesday, the 1st November 2011.

Come, let us celebrate Karnataka Rajyotsava Day together. Mr. Rajashekar Koti, the editor of Andolana daily has kindly agreed to be our guest of honour.

Looking forward to your participation,

Divyadeepa family of kids, volunteers and staff



Sunday, October 16, 2011

Please come and inspire us

" I don't know what, how, but she has this talent. We miss her. When she does it, there is no struggle, no confusion. I don't know if there is better dancer than her, but I am very sure it is very difficult to find a great teacher like her. She is a gem" - Ananth Sir (brother)

What a co-incidence I think, as we are listening to Sir speaking about her, at an informal volunteer meet today in Rajesh bhai's house. And she is getting married today. Let me introduce to you Rashmi. She is famously known as Dance Rashmi


Now I look back, I get nostalgic about the days when, she used to pull me and take me with her to those shops during the Mysooru unplugged time. We were new to our engineering course and in full enthu to do something for the society. We went shop to shop asking for donations. Some gave 10Rs and some said 'Munde hogi' (translated - go ahead). Cleaning our soul, by the churn we felt.

For all the experiences that I have had at Divyadeepa, I am greatly indebted to her for pulling me into this. I have learnt a lot, gotten inspired and have made some amazing friends. And strongly believe whatever I am today is only because of Divyadeepa. Thanks Rashmi.

I have rarely seen a female who would, on short notice, manage to negotiate (fight) with the auto driver and transport 300Tshirts to a place during night time and then go back to home in bus. She patiently used to listen to my "Why you didn't do this, Why you did not do that?" giving her suggestions on stall management over phone. Doing all of the logistics in Bangalore traffic and going back home and then listening to all the wisdom from a person who is doing nothing to help, requires a lot of patience. Take a bow Rashmi. Your commitment is exemplary.

















Today being one of the most important day of your life.
All of us from Divyadeepa family, wish you all the happiness.

Dear Rashmi,
Please come to Divyadeepa and inspire us.

Not everybody can be famous
But everybody can be great. Because greatness is determined by service
You don't have to have a college degree to serve
You don't have to know about Plato or Aristotle to serve
You don't have to know Einstien's theory of relativity to serve
You don't have to know the 2nd theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve
You only need a heart full of grace and soul generated by love
~ Martin Luther King

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Missing the chaos of Kaliyuva Mane

Impressions of a German volunteer :




Hello to Everybody at Divyadeepa!!

After some time beeing back in Germany, I feel the need to tell you how it feels to be back:

First of all, the streets appeared to be so empty - and so strict: Everyone was sticking to his own lane,
no rikschas or carts and even bikes are hard to find - hardly anybody uses them here.
The first time i went into the city I felt like i was in a Ghosttown: Everything was silent, no crowds hurrying
through the streets, some people were sitting in cafés, drinking coffee and talking to each other quietly, no kids running around, no small shops
on the sides - everything closes at around 6 or latest 8 o clock.

I'm missing the chaos of Kaliyuvamane, the creativity, the innocence of the kids and to mess around with them.
I'd love to be there and swing the small ones around, I'd love to be there and have some fun.
I'm missing the superb breakfast from Kaliyuvamane, the idlis and rotis and chapatis.
Briefly, it's really hard to come out of thinking about the kids and the school...

I finally was accepted at my favourite university in Passau (Bavaria) and will start studying there in October.
The name of the studies program is "International Cultural and Business Studies".

I hope everything is going well at Divyadeepa

Regards Helmut

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Happy Independence Day





Divyadeepa Family invites you to join us in celebrating Independence Day and Shri Aurobindo's Birth Anniversary at Kaliyuva Mane Campus. 

Following the event, the Guests of Honour, Dr Balu and Mr Ravikumar will interact with the youth and share their interesting insights. 

All are welcome to participate.

Route map - http://divyadeepatrust.org/contactus.php

For more details, please contact : 
Pritha - 99860-26527
Anil  -  98863-63359


Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Journey inside the young minds

Mahesha, who passed SSLC last year passed PUC I year also in first class. But the financial condition prevailing at home forced his father to ask Mahesha to take up some job during summer holidays. Karthavya Technologies, Bangalore came forward to help him. They were generous to pay him a stipend of Rs.5,000 apart from maintaining him. So after coming back to Kaliyuva Mane, he paid Rs.3,000/- to his parents. He wanted to return the balance money to us. I told him to keep the money with him as it was earned by him. So one day he asked for internet USB. I gave to him. He sent me a mail which I'm sharing with you all! Hope it touches your heart too.. At 16+ dont you feel he is really matured?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: DB Mahesh <mahesh.km.dd@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 8:30 PM
Subject: Hello
To: divyadeepa.trust@gmail.com

Hello brother,
Brother i want to give thousand rupees to DD. Brother i know that this is very small amount than what are expending on me, but brother i decide that i have to help or donate some amount of money it may be small or big, this came to my mind since my mind mature. Please allow this.
Take care

With regards
Mahesh

--

Monday, February 7, 2011

120 minutes with Infosys mentor


I and Madhu left Divyadeepa at 3.30 pm to bring our role model Sri Narayana Murthy of Infosys to Divyadeepa. We were supposed to be at Infosys guest house, Vontikoppal at 4.20 pm. I was mentally preparing to brief him. I wanted to tell him about learnings from my stay at Pondicherry, Kanyakumari and Srirampura village. I wanted to brief him about how we started the school, about the role of Sri Shah-our chief patron, about our children, about our approach to education, about volunteers, about our vision and challenges…. I was just thinking how to maintain the flow.

But when we were at Andolana circle, NRN’s secretary called me and informed  me to proceed to Infosys campus instead of the guest house to meet NRN. He also suggested me to brief NRN about our organization and regarding the programme. So we started towards the campus.
Madhu stopped his car near a petrol bunk for fuel. It was a real mix up there! Boy  at the bunk filled the petrol car with Diesel. So car could not move. I was anxious. It was 4.05 pm. Madhu walked some distance and brought an auto, which I boarded in a hurry! I was at the campus at 4.20 pm. They took me to NRN’s place inside the campus. He boarded the car. I also sat beside him. (Madhu came after the function was over)
Next 120 minutes revealed NRN’s simplicity, great listening skills, and analytical  ability. First question from him was: “How many children are there and from what standard to what standard?” He was slightly disappointed when he heard the number (52), but my answer “Threre are no rigid standards like 1st standard, 2nd standard in our school” made him ask more questions. My job became easy. Right questions at right  time elicited right answers. This way he understood the whole concept of alternative approach to education and its relevance. I explained the case histories of Shwetha, Sachin  and Vighnesh and how there was no hope of schooling for them. I could explain to him the great role played by Sri Shah in the growth of the organization.
He concurred with our views on exams. The purpose of examination is to test the comprehension of the child; it should enable the teacher to decide what next has to be taught but definitely not to instill fear in children. He also agreed that Education or rather lack of it is the principal reason for India’s backwardness. He asked a few personal questions too, i.e. about my parents, education, inspiration for starting this organization  etc. He was moved when I spoke about young volunteers. I briefed him about our concerns. I told him about our twin huge challenges. We wanted people with skill, attitude and most importantly without high monetary expectations. When I shared my concerns about escalating operating costs, he enquired about annual operating costs. I told him that the school has progressed from -10 to +40 on a scale of 0 to 100.
“Wonderful” was his remark when he learnt about the result of Arvind group  children. Next immediate question was “What they are doing now?” “Excellent” was his remark when he learnt the facts. He was very happy to know that they had passed in English medium.
 We were at the campus gate by 5.10. I told him about the programme.  Introduction of senior people, campus walk, a dance by kids, 5 minutes documentary about Youth’s  involvement, Shah’s talk for about 5 minutes and then NRN would take over and address the gathering till he gets late. As we all were keen to listen to him as long as possible, I suggested that we could forego all formalities like invocation, welcome speech, introduction of chief guest (Does he need introduction?)  founder’s speech, vote of thanks…..He smilingly agreed.

He was happy when he was greeted by our children with flowers. Then I introduced a few senior people who are associated with Divyadeepa since quite some time. He took a tour of the campus. He evinced keenness in knowing the operation of the Kids’ bank, He witnessed all the facilities like ‘Chilipili’ dormitory, Gobar Gas plant, Kitchen, Volunteer’s block, Open learning areas like ‘Vahini’, ‘Prajna’, Library, Office, Computer laboratory, Science laboratory etc. Before entering ‘Chilipili’ I removed my footwear. He was so humble; he also started removing his shoes. Narayana Murthy enquired about extent of the project area. After witnessing all the facilities, we entered Arvind hall.

Now volunteers took over! Rashmi may be a talented dancer. I’m using the  word ‘may’, because I haven’t seen her dancing. But she is a great trainer. I don’t know how she trains within such a short period. Hats off to her! Every one appreciated the performance of the kids including NRN. Even now I find Pramod and Chaitra swaying their bodies singing the song!
I had a few anxious moments regarding the documentary. It was supposed to be  ready by previous evening. It was not ready even at 2.00 pm on the function day. When we actually watched the documentary on the screen, it reflected the hard work of Rakshit and team, their dedication, their emotional commitment to Kaliyuva Mane. I found NRN wonderstruck.

Next Sri Shah spoke at length about his involvement in educational projects of  Divyadeepa and projects at Pondicherry. He also felt the need of creating corpus fund for all.

Next NRN spoke. First he addressed the kids in Kannada, to develop character,  study well and help Kaliyuva Mane in future. Later he addressed the volunteers in English. He discussed India’s problems. He was happy with Divyadeepa.

 Rakshit’s concluding piece “Naavu Gedde Geltivi” followed NRN’s speech. .The  entire audience clapped to the tune. All of us came out. Sitting on a chair, putting on his shoes, NRN wrote in our visitor’s book:


Indeed we need more power! Finally Sri Narayana Murthy left Divyadeepa  around 6.40 pm. After this impressive event there was a large gathering of volunteers at ‘Vahini”. Rakshit and Abhi were motivating them.

I did not start this work to meet celebrities cum role models like APJ Abdul Kalam or N R Narayana Murthy. But I consider, these are the rewards for our hard and sincere work apart from the inner joy and satisfaction we derive. For me, without Divyadeepa, life would have been meaningless.

I know pretty well, how all the volunteers have worked for this event! To  name each one of them is difficult and of course it is needless! It was good that we had Sri Shah also among us on the occasion. Naveen anchored well. Kotresh and Sunil took care of the stage arrangement. Pritha, Mahdura, Roshni, Vipin, Aditya,  Azaruddin……………everyone contributed to the success of the event.

We must have unintentionally forgotten to invite some patrons, volunteers and  well-wishers. But the Arvind hall was jam packed in spite of that!


-Ananth