Prayaas

EDUCATION is that fragrance which if spread can not only bring smiles on hundreds of thousands of individuals but also can make the society as a whole, a better place to live in. The society has people from all classes and segments, some being fortunate and privileged enough that they can afford the heavy expenses of being educated. While some unprivileged class of the society are deprived and even have no access to basic education, because of a number of reasons.

As is being said, “Knowledge is that something, which, if shared will only expand and will benefit larger chunk of people and will help in making the society a civilised one”. With this motive in the back of the mind, MADF team of IMT, saw and introspected within the college campus and observed that the blue collar workers (who work day in and day out to make the stay of students more comfortable at the campus) dint even knew Hindi counting and very few knew the basic mathematical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. A few of them dint even how to sign and read the newspaper!!!

Thus, as is stated “if you want to clean the society, start from your home itself!!!” MADF took the initiative, a proposal was made and a personal meet with all of them who are interested was arranged. The team tried talking to the workers as to what they feel about being taught. Gradually, they were asked how much they know, would they want to learn and get education and be able to do at least the basics of reading and writing both English and Hindi. The workers were then explained as to what all problems they face right now and what consequences it has on their lives. As to how education will promote them in their work and in personal life. How it will help their children lead a better life and get better education and thus jobs, rather than following their parents’ line of work. The response was indeed overwhelming. The workers were very enthusiastic about this program and willingly agreed to walk on a path that leads to a new life.

The first class was arranged with 20 workers turning up and 5 MADF members. The first class was to make the workers feel comfortable about starting to study and not feel any hesitation or shame on not knowing a lot of things. The students (workers) were tested on what they already knew and what all was known by how many people. On basis of that session we decided to divide the students into 3 groups:

• 1^st group - Beginners Level

Students who have not even saw the face of the school even once.

• 2^nd group - Elementary Level 1

Students who knew the Hindi counting and basic addition and subtraction manually.

• 3^rd group - Elementary Level 2

Students who knew in addition to level 1 division and multiplication as well as a few

mathematical tables.

After the session the curriculum for the 3 levels was decided and books, registers and pens were purchased from the club’s funds. It was decided to formally announce the project in front of all the IMT fraternity. Thus, these books were given to the students during the 26^th January function held in the campus, by the Director of IMT.

There on the club members have been taking classes, 3 times a week. For now the Elementary Levels 1 and 2 have been combined into one group so that students of Level2 can revise the Level1 curriculum.

The scope of this project is endless and depends on the enthusiasm and keenness of the students as well as the cooperation of people who are taking their classes. It is indeed a Mega Project and the MADF team has decided to continue it as much as they can.

Blood Donation Camp

Nothing replaces human blood. There is no substitute for it and it makes a huge difference to someone in need of it. With emergencies increasing everyday due to the several natural devastations, accidents and acts of terrorism, large amounts of blood units are required to reduce the fatality rate. In times like these participating in a blood donation camp organized by a reputed organization can be a life saving act and all it needs is a little time and a lot of love.

MADF (Make a difference Foundation), the social club of IMT Ghaziabad founded with the purpose of creating a positive and sustainable change in the society has solely believed in empowerment as the only way to achieve its objective. We at MADF continuously look at new projects through which we would be able to make a positive difference to the lives of the several under-privileged people around us.

A regular feature on MADF’s annual itinerary has been the blood donation camp. This year MADF conducted the blood donation camp in collaboration with LIONS Club of New Delhi South at the IMT Campus on 16^th October, 2008. Students and faculty participated in large numbers and the number of donors stood at 170. Along with the blood donation an eye donation camp was also organized and students willingly signed up for the donation and letters stating the will shall be sent to residential addresses.

Dr. B. S. Sahay, Director, IMT Ghaziabad and Mr. Anurag Anand, coordinator, LIONS Blood Bank inaugurated the event with Lighting the Lamp Ceremony. While inaugurating the camp, the director stressed the importance of mobilizing the youth towards the cause of blood donation and thereby serving the society. Mr. Anurag Anand said “I really wondered what is the difference between IMT and any other college, today I have understood.”

“A Blood Donor saved my life” was the slogan used by the MADF to motivate the students to donate blood. The campaign involved a series of posters and banners which were put up all over the campus. Presentations and audio video aids were also used to create awareness; the most influential was the stunning street play highlighting the importance of blood donation.

The students were so motivated by the initiative taken by MADF that donors started turning up since 9:00 am in the morning and throughout the day there was huge crowd waiting eagerly to donate blood .A medical checkup was also organized by LIONS Blood Bank. A donor card and detailed blood report would also be sent to all the donors. The doctors went about collect ing blood untiringly throughout the day as if living the cause in true spirit

The initiative again was a huge success and we at MADF salute the spirit of all IMTans, staff and student alike, who turned up in large numbers throughout the day relentlessly despite their hectic and tight schedules and classes. The enthusiasm in each participant was palpable and it yet again proved that IMT stands for development of character and not just its academic rigor.

Ingram Computer Classes

In order to further our association with Ingram School at for deaf and mute children, we asked the Principal, Mr. Pathak regarding the kind of help we could provide the school. Mr Pathak told us that the children had the option of appearing for Computers as a vocational subject in their 10^th Boards. However, they were facing problems with lack of qualified faculty to teach them the practical aspects of the course. Hence, MADF proposed stepping in to give the 9^th and 10^th standard students of the school practical training in computers.

The project involves weekly classes involving 14 students at the school. Language is a barrier which often makes the going slow, but the effort these students are willing to put in to learn is eye-opening. As a volunteer for the classes put it “It’s a joy to work with these students. The amount of enthusiasm they exhibit and the effort they are willing to put is admirable.”

The classes are to continue till March end. By then, we hope the students would have learned to enough to sit for their board exams in April. We at MADF are proud to assist these students in their endeavour to make a self-sufficient life for themselves.

Sashakt II

The objective of the project was to start a Self Help Group (SHG) to generate employment for rural women. The idea was to teach them how to make candles as candles had a much higher profit margin as compared to the other options available- kite making, paperbags etc.

One of the major tasks was that of identifying a suitable target group. A MADF team, consisting of Srikanth, Akanksha and Brijendra visited Hasanpur, Nangla and Nandgram and talked to the Gram Pradhans. All three areas were receptive to the idea but the team found that the people of Hasanpur and Nangla were land owners for the most part and were quite prosperous.

A slum area, about a from Ghaziabad, Nandgram was zeroed in on for the project as most of the people were either rickshaw pullers or construction labours etc and hence their income was neither sufficient nor continuous. Also, Mr. Mahesh, the principal of RML Public School, the local school was very supportive of the initiative and he assured us that he’d provide a place for us to hold the camp. His wife, Principal of the school offered to talk to the area women and convince them. A meeting was to be held for the same and two days later, they communicated their acceptance.

A decision was made to include High School girls of the school in order to provide them with vocational training as most of them wouldn’t be able to pursue higher education.

On 13^th Oct’08, Sashakt II was inaugurated in the presence of Dr. S.K. Singh, Chairman Student Affairs and Rtn. . Their words of encouragement inspired everyone present. The event was covered in local media.

Seventeen people including the high school students participated in the day camp. The materials required were procured by MADF and the funding for the same was provided jointly by MADF and Sahaya-the helping hands, a privately funded NGO. MADF as well as non-MADF members volunteered for the effort. At the end of three days, some 800 odd candles were produced by the group.

MADF set up stalls to sell the candles in the college and a 3-day mela organizaed by Lion’s Club Ghaziabad., a student of the executive batch arranged for MADF to set up a stall at the Diwali bash of , where the response was extremely encouraging.

Profits generated from the sale of candles were distributed to the women the day before Diwali. For the students who participated, MADF is paying their school fees for teh next couple of months.

Special thanks accorded to Rohan, Srikanth, Akanksha, Brijendra, Abhilash, Shankha, Chandan, Mrinal and Tripti for making Sashakt a success.

Clothes Distribution Drive

As the nation celebrated its 61st year of Independence and the coming home of the shooting gold in full fervor and gaiety, the MADF team at IMT Ghaziabad took this oppurtunity and set about trying to make a difference to the lives of a few people in and around the city again.

The clothes distribution initiative last year was a huge success in terms of the response that we got at the turnout and also in terms of the number of clothes collected which stood at 120+. The clothes collection drive this year however witnessed an overwhelming generosity by the students again and the collected clothes stood at a record 300+, double the number last year. The clothes donated ranged from T-Shirts to denims to trousers with a good amount of ladies wear and winter wears including, sweaters jackets, blankets and bed sheets. Here, MADF would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people for their magnanimity in donating useful pieces of clothing in such good and useable conditions.

A group of MADF members visited the nearby area including the railway and bus stations in order to inform and generate awareness about the initiative, its venue and time. We at MADF consciously and discreetly chose Rickshawalas and not beggars keeping in mind our motive of empowering people and not charity or donation. As we spoke to some of the rickshaw pullers we realized that for a mere amount of 5-10 rupees, they put in physical effort way beyond our imagination and toil from dawn to dusk to earn a respectful living. Through our meager contribution we sincerely hope to be able chip in and supplement their lives in our own modest ways.

A group of MADF members visited the nearby area including the railway and bus stations in order to inform and generate awareness about the initiative, its venue and time. We at MADF consciously and discreetly chose Rickshawalas and not beggars keeping in mind our motive of empowering people and not charity or donation. As we spoke to some of the rickshaw pullers we realized that for a mere amount of 5-10 rupees, they put in physical effort way beyond our imagination and toil from dawn to dusk to earn a respectful living. Through our meager contribution we sincerely hope to be able chip in and supplement their lives in our own modest ways.

A team of volunteers (Mrinal, Chandan, Sunny, Abhishek, Sankshep, Sankha, Rohan, Anuj, Rakesh, Chetan, Srikanth, Manish, Pinky, Varun and Meghna) organized the event in front of the IMT main gate that began in the morning after the flag hoisting ceremony and the cultural programme arranged in the college in commemoration of Independence Day.

Our Director Mr. B.S Sahay graced the occasion, Mr. S.K Singh was also present for the event and they handed out clothes to the people present, who received the clothes with utmost gratitude. MADF members then took over and the distribution was accomplished. MADF would also like to thank Mr. B.S Sahay and Mr. S.K Singh for their valuable time to this humble initiative.

With these little steps, we at MADF sincerely hope that we can make modest beginnings and eventual transformations. Our clothes distribution initiative was another of our little steps in the direction of empowerment.

EHSAAS – Feeling the inner-self

Make a Difference Foundation (MADF), a forum run by the students of IMT Ghaziabad, is founded on the firm belief that a ray of hope is all it might take to change someone’s life forever. The objective of the foundation, as is reflected in the name, is to make a positive difference to the society in general, through synergized and sustained efforts. The foundation has empowerment of people as its objective, and does not believe in short-term measures like charity.

Project Ehsaaas, the latest initative from Team MADF was for the students of two special sections of Ingraham School at Asha Vidyalaya located at GT Road, Ghaziabad - one a school for the deaf and mute students and another a school for the intellectually challenged.

On Saturday, 9th Aug 2008, 38 IMT students including spirited MADF members and enthusiastic volunteers reached Asha Vidyalaya at around 8 in the morning. In spite of it being a holiday at the school, the student turnout for the event was remarkably high. The day started with the painting/drawing competition for the deaf and mute students.

Little did we know at this stage, about how big a learning experience the day would prove to be. For starters, the way the contest rules were communicated to the students through sign language and how they responded back caught our attention. It was amazing to see how well they could read lips. Once the rules were cleared, the contest start was signalled and students were seen working hard on their sheets – the little ones were to colour the pictures given to them, whereas the senior students were to come up with pictures on one of the three given topics of ‘Independence Day’, ‘Raksha Bandhan’ or ‘Nature & Environment’ and colour them.

The school’s drawing teacher, who was supervising the contest in one of the classes, was herself hearing-impaired and was visibly overwhelmed about the initiative. Casual chit-chat with another teacher led us to the startling discovery that the school’s curriculum was comparable to that of any other normal school. The difference was only in the way of communication. We were also told that the students are equally good compared to other kids in all disciplines barring music for obvious reasons.

Watching the pictures take shape on the papers in front of the children was a breath-taking experience for us. The creativity of the students was outstanding and had us spellbound. In two hours, the contest came to a close and the sheets were collected back. Following this, the team organised various games for the students, like Frog Race, Volleyball, Chess, three-legged race, etc. These games brought smiles on the faces of the students and the team. Boundaries were melting slowly and even communication was becoming less and less of a problem as our worlds started merging and inhibitions disappearing.

Soon the students were gathered together and the results declared. The winners were awarded with prizes and certificates and chocolates were given to one and all. The most touching moment of the day for us was perhaps during the prize-distribution ceremony itself. The participants were waiting eagerly to know the names of the winners. However, when we announced the names, nobody responded. The teachers had to search for the winners from among the students, who were patiently looking at the teacher to interpret what was being announced. There were no shouts of joy. None of the usual celebration rituals. But the happiness on the little faces was heart-warming. Their applauses were just symbolic of clapping. “That’s the way they clap”, we were told. The hands never meet for sounds mean nothing to them. But somewhere deep within, we could hear the sounds of cheering; it was loud. The applauses, resounding.

Next in the day were the events at the school for the intellectually and physically challenged students. The programme there started with dance performances by some of the students, which brought the whole team to their feet. Shaking their leg to everything from Bhangra numbers to soft melodious songs, the children had us totally enraptured. The brilliant performances would surely stay in everybody’s minds for a long time.

Next the team, along with the teachers, conducted the painting competition. The students participated with great enthusiasm and dedication, colouring the pictures given to them with huge smiles adorning their faces. We were touched by the immense love and warmth with which the teachers were interacting with these special children encouraging them to give their best shot. One hour later, the contest came to a close. The results were declared and we distributed chocolates to all the students and teachers, as a token of appreciation for their whole-hearted support and participation.

Project Ehsaaas was covered by the local media, and articles about the event were published in Amar Ujala, Compact and DLA Newspapers. This project has been a very different experience for us in more ways than one. We will all remember this day which taught us that some children are indeed more special than the rest of us. The way they sail through their lives with courage and conviction, adapting to the challenges they were born with is a great lesson for most of us who believe that life has been harsh to us when being denied simple pleasures. As complacent and insensitive people we often feel that there are no sounds in their life, no hues in their world; but little do we realize that they have their own pristine little world which is richer than ours. This day has offered us a glimpse into that world, transforming us in the process.

Team MADF has further projects in the pipeline for these special children; to do whatever we can to make a difference to their lives. But fact remains, that they have already made the biggest difference to ours. We salute their spirit and love for life. Hats off to all the special children everywhere in this world!

The NEEDZ story!

It has been well over a month since the start of Needz at IMT. Today with around 70 people visiting Needz per night, we can easily say that Needz is well ingrained into the life of IMTians.

Below are excerpts from a casual chit chat over a cup of tea, with two MADF members who were instrumental in the setting up of Needz – the duo of Chetan and Anand. Read on to know the Needz story.

Let’s start off with a simple question. Whose brainchild was Needz?

Chetan: The idea of Needz was put forth by our own seniors, to be more specific, Abhishek Joshi if I remember rightly. It was raised at one of the weekly MADF meetings and a committee of MADF members was formed to work on implementing Needz and that was the very start of things.

Considering that MADF is a club for social empowerment, what was the need to venture into something like Needz?

Anand: MADF talks about empowerment of the poor and the needy. But fact remains that you cannot do that unless you yourself are empowered. We might have hundreds of ideas for the poor, but we need funds to work them out and it is not easy to get it. Needz is about empowerment of MADF by acting as a source of fund for our projects as well as for the convenience shopping of the IMTians who can now buy everyday items without leaving the campus. Where else can you get a topup at 12 in the night? We are happy that we can do this for fellow IMTians.

Chetan: Just to add to it, the tagline of Needz says, “For every IMTian who wants to make a difference with every purchase.” It simply means the profits from Needz will be used for making a difference to the society through our projects. So it’s a win-win for all of us in one go – IMT, MADF and the society.

Tell me about the biggest hurdle you faced while setting up Needz.

Anand: The biggest was indeed funding to start off Needz. The responsibility of raising the funds was largely on people in charge of the Needz project, ie, Chetan and me. It wasn’t an easy time for us by any means because most corporates seemed to prefer to contribute to inter B-school events rather than projects like Needz because there is more visibility in the former. So, week after week, at MADF meetings, we never had any good news to break. There was pressure from all corners. We wondered if we should tell the college authorities that this project is beyond us. Many believed Needz would never start off and I am happy that our efforts finally paid off and Sail happened.

So how did Sail happen?

Chetan: Professor B.D. Singh was the person who put us across to Sail and introduced us to the concerned people. We would like to use this opportunity to express our gratitude to him again. Though at first Sail seemed to prefer contributing for a mundane act of charity as it happens every year, once they understood the spirit of our entrepreneurship venture, it hardly took any time for the funding to be offered.

There are many who feel that a profit-making venture does not gel well with MADF’s image of being a club which does social service. What is your take on that?

Anand: MADF is not just some club which does short term and meaningless acts of social service or shelters little kittens from the storm. We want to make a difference to the society and that is through empowerment alone since we believe that only that is sustainable. Needz is a venture which will help us achieve it and we can proudly say today that MADF has become a self-sufficient club. So I believe it goes hand in hand with the MADF image of standing up for empowerment.

How has the feedback been about Needz?

Chetan: The response has been over-whelming and we did receive a lot of appreciation as well as suggestions. Some of the suggestions about increasing the product portfolio have been implemented already. We even sell snacks like Bhujia now! Bringing so many things under one roof has been exciting and challenging. We want Needz to become a one-stop shop for most of the regular needs. Negative feedback has been mainly about higher than market prices on some of the items. As Needz had just started operations, we had trouble locating dealers who were offering lower prices and hence the higher than market prices couldn’t be helped initially. It has been looked into and some of the prices have already been cut down through locating better dealers. Anyhow, we are still finding our feet, this being early days.

Ok. Coming to a different perspective, how big a learning experience was Needz?

Anand: Needz is perhaps, the first entrepreneurship venture inside IMT by the students. As you know, everything from getting the inventory to sitting there and doing the actual sales in managed entirely by Team MADF and that calls for enormous efforts and personal sacrifices from the entire team. Material procurement, inventory management and sales have all been enormous learning; in fact one can say that each and every day at Needz is a learning experience.

Last but not the least, what changes can we expect in Needz in the coming days?

Anand: A change of location for starters! As for the rest, I would say wait and watch! As for what will not change, Needz will continue to be polythene free like it is now!

A simple smile from Anand as he said this and a wide grin from Chetan conveyed to me that a lot more is in store for the coming days. The tea was done and we bid adieu after promptly disposing off the used plastic cups in the DLP dustbin.

MADF contact id

In case of any queries or suggestions to MADF please send in your mails to us at madf@imt.edu.

Samvedna Results

A big thanks to everyone who participated and congrats to the winners. The winners are as follows:

Posters:

1st Prize: Sunny Pagdiwala & Aarohi Shah

2nd Prize: Meghna Pandey & Pankaj Gupta

Write-ups:

1st Prize: Meghna Pandey & Pankaj Gupta

2nd Prize: Saurabh Bhasin & Kumar Abhimanyu

1st prize winning Samvedna poster

1st prize winning Samvedna Write-up

"Chotu zara chai lana", how many times have you caught yourself saying this? How many times have you looked out of the window of your car, dropped a rupee into the hands of that half naked kid at the traffic signal and cursed the government and the child rights organizations for making lofty promises? How many times has someone asked you about the best days of your life and you haven't thought of your school or college?

We take too many things for granted in life because we can afford to do so. We cannot think beyond our premises. But certain things prick our conscience and at occasions mentioned above, we probably place ourselves in the not so comfortable shoes and what do we do then? We form trusts and organisations, not to free these children from shackles but to help liberate our own conscience. We redeem ourselves by ‘Donating’, our perception of magnanimous charity and then forget about everything else. Ever wondered what happens to all the money spent? Ever wondered whether it is money that Chotu actually needs?

A warm gesture, a gentle touch and an encouraging smile are all something we relate to normalcy but not for Chotu, for him it is just an aberration, just something a large-hearted customer obliged him with. We need to bridge this gap, this disparity in the perception of normalcy and deviation. The onus is on us to stand up for emancipation and not just rant about it.

Instructions for Samvedna

Please find the Samvedna contest rules and pictures below. Your entries should be strictly based on one or more of the issues highlighted in the 5 pictures that has been given to you. Also it is very important to note that your entry should be to motivate people for a particular cause or to fight against a social problem and not merely on the problem.

Eg: If child labour is one of the issues raised in the pictures, your entry should focus on how to motivate people to fight against child labour or how to overcome this problem rather than on child labour.

Most importantly, your write-up or poster should not be a mere assortment of words or pictures respectively. Your entry should communicate a strong and coherent message.

Samvedna contest rules

MADF presents before you the Samvedna contest. Each of the given pictures stands for a relevant social issue. Lend your voice and make these pictures talk!

Following are the guidelines for the contest:

• Entries can be in the form of WRITE-UPS OR POSTERS OR BOTH.
• Entries have to be based on one or more of the issues addressed in the pictures given.
• The entries should be such that they motivate people to take initiatives and fight for the social cause depicted.
• You are permitted to form teams of one or two members maximum.
• No person can be part of more than one team.
• Only one entry is permitted per team.

Format Specifications:

• If you are sending in a write-up, it should be in MS Word Doc format and should not exceed
a word limit of 250 words. Entries exceeding the limit would be disqualified.
• If you are sending in a poster, it should be in JPEG format.
• Name of the file should be WriteUp_rollnum for write-ups or Poster_rollnum for posters
(The roll number of any one of the team members would suffice)
• The entries are to be mailed to madf@imt.edu
• The subject of the mail has to be MADF Contest_rollnum (The roll number of any one of the
team members would suffice)
• The body of the mail should clearly specify the contact details of the team members including roll numbers.

Decision of the judges shall be final and binding and questions in this regard will not be entertained. MADF reserves the right to use your entries in any of its publications.

There is no entry fee for the event.

The deadline for the contest is 05-07-08, 23:59:59 and the results will be announced during the
MADF Open House.

Prizes and certificates to be given away! Hurry!

For any queries please contact:

Tripti 9910194578 tripti30@gmail.com
Rakesh 9911962668 rakeshv4all@gmail.com

MADF Samvedna Contest

The details of MADF Samvedna contest will be launched on the website by 6pm on 03/07/2008. All the details are also available on the notice put up on the notice board in front of the mess. Please refer to the same.

Republic Day Initiative

Conceptualized and set rolling by the senior members of Make A Difference Foundation (MADF) and carried forward by the juniors, clothes distribution was slated to be the Republic Day initiative at the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad (IMT) for the year 2008. In fact it also turned out to be the first MADF activity of the new year. A group of second year MADF members actively involved themselves in the collection of usable clothes, with an aim to distribute it to the poor and needy in the town of Ghaziabad. The clothes collection drive, held over a few days, witnessed the students contributing generously and in large numbers to the cause; they filled up the huge card-board box kept on the greens beside the mess in no time. On a lighter note, the box with a scare-crow kept beside, beckoning the students with a “Clothes Here” board induced many a smile, besides keeping away birds!

Roughly around a hundred clothes were collected from the students, ranging from shirts and jeans to ladies wear. The heartening fact was that most of the clothes were in excellent condition and were not ones anywhere close to being termed as worn-out. At this point, MADF would like to extend its heart-felt gratitude to those who responded with such warmth to the call to contribute to the betterment of their less privileged brothers and sisters. We are indeed touched.

A few days before the occasion of Republic Day, the MADF team personally visited a slum in RDC, Raj Nagar to inform them about the clothes distribution initiative. We also got in touch with several of the cycle-rickshaw drivers in and around Sector 10 and RDC for the same. On the Republic Day, a stall was put up outside the IMT main gate for the distribution purpose. On the culmination of the official Republic Day celebrations, our director Mr. B.S. Sahay himself came to the stall to start off the initiative by handing over the first set of clothes to the needy hands that received them. He was followed by S.K. Singh Sir and Prusty Sir from whom the MADF members took over and completed the task of distribution.

This January 26 marks 58 years since India’s transition from a British dominion to a republic and we at MADF, feel immense pride and honour at having been able to serve the society in our own way by distributing clothes and spreading smiles on this joyous occasion. We would like to once again thank the students at IMT for their generosity. We also extend our gratitude to S.K. Singh Sir for his guidance and to NavBharat Times and Sky News who covered the event.

Fact is that, even after over half a century since independence, roti, kapda and makaan undoubtedly remain the greatest needs of the under-privileged Indian and empowerment, perhaps is the only true answer as MADF has always believed; but, if our initiative has been a relief in this bone-chilling and merciless winter to atleast a few of the fellow humans around us, we believe that by clothing them with the warmth of love and concern we have indeed made a difference.

Clothes Collection Drive ,1st-6th of November 2007.

As long as there are cold and nakedness in the land around you, so long can there be no question at all but that splendor of dress is a crime. ~John Ruskin

Last year, some 420 people died from cold in Uttar Pradesh alone according to a Channel News Asia report. At one of our prior meetings, members voiced their intentions to do their bit for society by organising an old clothes donation drive from students in the college. With the onset of winter, a team of volunteers (Deepa Krishnan, Kshitij Vardia, Sankshep, Ashutosh Modi,Aritri C., Ankur Poddar, Neha Bhasin, Santhosh Mahajan and Mathew Joseph) from MADF set about this project in due earnest. They made posters, notices and notably, a giant scarecrow to elicit responses from the batch. The response was phenomenal. Clothes collected stood at 120+ at the end of the second day. This drive was conducted from the 1st-6th of November 2007. We at MADF thank the students who were so generous in their giving. These clothes will be distributed to underpriviliged people in and around Ghaziabad during the Diwali holiday period. We hope that this effort of ours can truly light up their lives in this season of celebration.

The Journey Along ... spreading the light

It all started off when Tripti proposed that MADF venture into a candle-making project for the benefit of the under-privileged in the society, during one of our weekly MADF meetings. The idea was to rope in a candle-making expert and hold a free training camp for a group of people from such a strata of society in Ghaziabad and enable them to take up candle-making as a source of income. It sparked off an intense discussion, at the end of which it was decided upon to move ahead with the project.

As with every project, the stumbling blocks were aplenty. Infact, it took days of effort and discussions with the natives of Ghaziabad to even find out the target group for the project. We approached several slums with an honest intention to contribute to the betterment of their lives. But most of them did not place enough trust on the project. Some others found it extremely suspicious to find a group of youngsters organizing a free training camp and getting raw material for them, all to finally distribute every penny of the profit back to them. But finally we were successful at convincing a group of thirteen women at Pratap Vihar, 7 to 8 kms away from IMT.

In the following days, we had to hold meetings to the tune of almost once in two days to decide upon a number of matters. We needed funding for our project. We needed to know the best place to purchase our raw materials from, the kind of candles which are in demand in the market, the profit margins we might be able to make and the number of candles we need to make. Another critical issue was that we wanted to tap the huge market potential of candles prior to Diwali. The next few days answered most of these questions for us.

We visited several parts of the NCR region to find out the cheapest rates of raw materials like wax, gel wax and the like. Market research was conducted to find out the kind of candles that are much in demand. Most shopkeepers just offered to purchase from us if and only if the candles are supremely impressive and well-packed as some had their stocks full already and some were expecting imported candles from as far as China. Thus a new challenge popped up in the form of packing, as packing material including boxes were sold out in most shops due to the festive season. Also the question of whether our Chak De candle making team would be able to take on the imported candles from the land of the Great Wall, remained a question mark in our minds.

The issue of funds was resolved as the Rotary Club of Ghaziabad promised to fund Rs 20000 for our project after going through the draft. Suddenly another avenue opened up in the form of a Diwali special rotary meeting! We could put up a stall there! This was a turning point as we were also concerned about the margins we would be able to earn from selling to local shops or to famed ones like Archies.

Soon, the candle-making expert was roped in and on October 27, our project which we call ‘Sashakt’ was set rolling after the inauguration function attended by some of the Rotary members and our own S.K. Singh Sir. A tent had been propped up for our purpose at Pratap Vihar and the work started. Soon the tent was a beehive of activity with people immersing themselves in all kinds of tasks from melting the gel to designing the glass. We also caught a lot of unwanted attention in the form of spectators who were all too curious to see how candle making happens. We had to make sure that such things did not hamper our progress, at the same time ensuring that we didn’t earn their dislike. We wanted a bonding with the community; their trust, respect and love.

The first two days were days of sweet success after all our toil and we were able to make nearly 200 pieces. But the third day greeted us with a problem we never anticipated. There were a few doubting Thomases and Bindiya Naiks in our Chak De team who were already asking for the returns. We did win back some of them; but some we couldn’t. So on the third day, we were working with a reduced work force of 7 or 8 people who trusted us. By the end of the day, our total stock had increased to 570 odd candles of different varieties ranging from diyas to beer-mugs, with a total investment approximating Rs 12000! We decided that its time to hit the market with our stuff. But the next challenge was packing. We spent several days and nights at Rohan’s home, packing the candles in innovative sets, using cardboard and plastic and were soon ready for sale with candles priced at less than market rates, starting from nearly Rs 30 to jumbo-pack pieces worth Rs 600.

We put up stalls at the Rotary Diwali Meeting and two days later at IMT, both of which were great successes. We at MADF, extend our gratitude to all the Rotarians, IMT ians and professors at IMT who contributed to it. Specially, we would love to appreciate the benevolence of the rotary members who auctioned off two of our jumbo-pack pieces for a breath-taking Rs 1100 each, resulting in total revenue earnings of nearly Rs 21000. This project has been a whopping success and it would not have been possible without the help of the Rotary Club of Ghaziabad, S.K. Singh Sir and the encouragement of people like Abhishek Joshi, Mathew and others like Arun Ladha who were at the heart of the project despite even mid-term exams. (If any names have been left out its purely unintentional and I seek your pardon.) In Arun’s own words, “This project was very close to my heart.” In fact, it was close to all of us and working together has been fun for our core candle-making team; dealing with problems both within the larger team and outside of it has strengthened our bond, as we gelled together as one unit for a cause we believed in.

Conducting market research on candles, managing our candle-making team, packing and pricing of products and selling were really great learning experiences we gained from the project. In just a few days, we will be back to Pratap Vihar to distribute the hard-earned profits to a team, half of whom trust us and half of whom don’t. Can this be the beginning of a new life for our Chak De team? Will all the Preeti Sabrewals and Komal Chautalas come together to take this up as a sustainable venture? Will these candles light up their lives? Only time can tell. But we, at MADF are quietly confident that they will. Let us wait and see! For now it is Chak De Pratap Vihar!

PICTURES SPEAK RESULTS

The Entries were evaluated by Dr Mrinalini shah

The Results of the Pictures Speak Competition

First Position - Ankur Podar - 06 HR -006

Second Position - Baninder 06HR 016 & Shilpa Kolte- 07 FT 094

CONGRATULATIONS !!!

PICTURES SPEAK

Do these pictures speak to YOU ?
Express your thought on any one of the two pictures below (The man in water and Mother and child) in about 500 words.
Post your entries on this blog , by clicking on Comment .
By - 17:00:00 , Monday , 29th October , 2007
Please Mention - Your name , Roll No. Mention the name of the pictures.
CERTIFICATES TO BE AWARDED BY MADF

1.The man in water

PICTURES SPEAK

2. Mother & Child