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Please click here to find out more about Sangam. Here are excerpts from an interview with Nivedita Gunturi and Sriram Ramgopal, 3rd year medical students at Sri Ramachandra Medical College, Chennai, the founders of Sangam India.

What inspired you to start Sangam India?

It is very easy to turn a blind eye to the injustices and inequalities that we encounter in day-to-day life, but we have a responsibility to those around us. Sangam India started out of a desire that we, as medical students, should do at least something small for the underprivileged. We started out as a small group giving out food and are now growing into a larger organization, taking on health care and education initiatives in addition to our original aims.

How has the journey been since then until now?

It has been a truly inspiring journey all along. However, there have been problems of every sort since we started ranging from mistrust by the community regarding our initiatives, language and cultural barriers to flooding of the slum during the monsoon. Fortunately, we have not had much difficulty finding volunteers or finances for our projects. Every project and event is a wonderful chance to learn, even if it doesn’t work out exactly as expected.

When you approached the slums, how did the local people respond?

At first there was a great deal of mistrust among the adults though the kids have always responded very warmly, and they are the prime reason for us to keep going back. It was hard to win the trust of a people who had been mistreated too often before. Now, the situation is different. After we held a meeting with them, we have been able to garner their support.

What is the biggest lesson you have learnt from this whole experience?

One of the biggest lessons we have learnt is that the most important thing you can give people is hope. Often, we found that problems we faced were not just financial but moral issues. Children go to school but fail to realize that they can succeed in life. There is a sense of hopelessness that we are trying to overcome. Secondly, we should never place our own limitations on where we think we can go. This applies to us as well as to the people we serve. If we think small, we preclude progress.

What are your future plans?

We have plans to further expand our Educational Programs. We hope to be able to build a community center, where we will be able to hold classes for children as well as adults. We would also like to find places where adults can get vocational training if they so desire, and where men who have addiction problems can get help to overcome them. We would also like to help create better sanitation facilities for these people.

How have people (friends/ relatives/ your college) responded to your initiative?

As you can imagine, for some it has been surprising that we have taken on such an initiative. But from most, we have received nothing but the warmest encouragement and support, for which we are thankful.

In your view, what do we (as a society) need to do to bring about a change in the lives of the downtrodden?

I think people need opportunities to succeed and they have to be convinced that it’s worth succeeding at all. The basis for this would be a stronger educational infrastructure in India that would encourage children to think positively and give them the tools they need to succeed – both in terms of knowledge and in terms of leadership skills. But I feel the educational system here doesn’t encourage children to take charge of their own future. The kids in the slum are like kids everywhere else - full of love, incredibly kind, and curious about their world. We just need to foster these values and give them a chance to succeed. If people in India could be a role model for just a few children, we could make a big difference in our country.

How would you like to see Sangam India in the next 10 years?

We would all like to see it grow beyond serving only one community. We want to create a model that can be replicated in other underprivileged communities. We want to make sure that children who grow up in these communities know that there is more to life, that there is a better world that can be theirs.

Your advice for anyone who wants to start an NGO or organization similar to yours.

The only things you need are dedication and a compassionate heart. Everything else – money, volunteers, other technicalities – will all fall into place. If we make a sincere effort, the rest of it is just details.

This is the opening quote of a book that I recently read - “Three Cups of Tea”. It is a story of an American mountaineer who goes back to the high mountains of Pakistan with a different objective this time - to build a school. He goes on to build several of them.  It is inspiring to note how one man can make a significant contribution to education, no less female education in this rugged terrain, which is splendidly beautiful in some respects and harsh and brutal in others.

There is a strong semblance here to Thimmakka’s story. Greg Mortenson’s sole objective on his return from K2 was to keep up his promise to the village head in Baltistan. The village chief had saved his life on his trip back from K2.  Mortenson had promised to build a school for the children of the village. Given his meager income and having to deal with people of a nation very different from his own, building a school was not a simple task. In spite of the numerous obstacles, Mortenson remained determined in his objective and succeeded in building the school. This was just the beginning.  When Mortenson realized the benefit of his work, he focused even more of his effort and resources to spread the cause of education. He defied tribal warlords and butted opponents of female education. He faced kidnappings and life threats.  He faced the hurdles with skill and perseverance. As Tagore says, “Not hammer-strokes, but dance of the water,sings the pebbles into perfection. ”

The challenges that have posed themselves to Greg Mortenson have truly tested his belief and commitment to his noble cause. They have also strengthened  him to remain steadfast in his path. Over the last decade, along with his team, he has built over fifty schools in the region. Many children especially young girls have benefited enormously from them. You can find more information here: https://www.ikat.org/

This is yet another story to inspire us to look beyond ourselves and see if can make a difference.

After five weeks of the IT enrichment program, the school recently conducted a survey among 9^th standard students on their computer usage and interest. The goal was to assess the benefits of the IT enrichment program. The students were of two groups – those who are part of the IT program, and those who are not part of the program.

The results (shown below) are encouraging and positively support the IT program. We need to probably work on improving the internet usage comfort levels among these students. Based on these preliminary results, the plan is to extend the program to the entire 9^th standard class from the next academic year.

	% of students from IT program	% of students outside the program
Confident on being very good at using computers	39%	17%
Interest to use computers outside of school	100%	78%
Comfortable writing a letter in English/ using the internet to find an article	12%	8%
Interested in learning more about computers in school	100%	80%

Shown below is the comparative data on the effectiveness of the English program covering all six divisions of the 9^th standard. The table compares the academic year of 2007 (prior to the English program) and 2008 (after beginning the English program).  As is evident, almost all divisions have a reasonably good increase in test scores from 2007 to 2008. The reasons for the plunge in the results of division A are currently being investigated.

Anand Charity thanks all donors for their contributions. You have played an active part in helping Nanubhai achieve these positive results.

To help us follow through with the project, we request the generosity of more donors. To contribute to Anand Charity, please visit our Donations page here.

We obtained the following information through a recent conversation with the coordinator at Alidabad:

° Villagers have made Rs.10,000 worth of community contribution in terms of labor; This helped the machine work preparation for construction of the Oorani.

° The machinery required for the construction work has been hired and should have reached the village by December 19^th.

° Most of the Oorani work is expected to be completed soon.

We will continue to report updates on the project as we complete the major construction work.

We hope to embark on many more projects this New Year with your support and generosity. To donate to Anand Charity, please visit our Donations page here.

While this has been a great year for us, we have an exciting 2009 ahead. We expect to expand our work and take on additional projects in different parts of the country. We cannot do this without your help. While you shop during the winter holidays or celebrate the New Year, please consider donating to Anand Charity to help people - Live, Love, and Laugh! Thank you!

To donate to Anand Charity, please visit our Donations page here.

To learn more about us, please visit the Anand Charity website.

The construction of the toilets was originally scheduled to be completed by November 7th. However, due to some difficulties in transfer of money and procurement of construction materials, it has been delayed. After the construction has been completed, one of Anand Charity’s volunteers will make a site visit to the school.

Help us fund more projects like this one by making a contribution here.

In Bhorajguda, a village level meeting was conducted on 17^th Nov, 2008. In this meeting, the community discussed the following

• The entire village is very busy with cotton harvesting; This will take another 15 – 20 days.
• The villagers are committed to contributing 25% of the total estimated cost.
• They planned to start the construction work on 21^st November, 2008
• They planned to complete the Oorani construction by end of December, 2008

Anand Charity has already sent the first installment of funds to Dhan Foundation. A progress report will be sought from Dhan Foundation around December 10th. After review of this report, the second installment of funds will be sent.

Help us fund more projects like this one by making a contribution here.

On this joyous occasion, help us spread the joy by making a contribution here.

This is a story that has never failed to impress upon me, the value of a sincere desire coupled with a strong initiative and followed through with consistent efforts.

Thimmakka and Chikkana lived in the Hulikal village of Karnataka state in India. Early on, they realized they could not have children. Thimmakka wanted to do something to fill this void in her life. Like other women, she truly wanted to be part of creating life and caring for it. Her village was abundant in ficus (banyan) trees. As a small initiative, she and her husband grafted a few saplings of the banyan tree. They then planted the saplings along a road leading to a neighboring village. They also regularly tended to these saplings and looked after them as their own children. They protected them from the grazing cattle by fencing them with thorny bushes. They carried water for them every day until the plants grew enough to live off the monsoon rains. Thimmakka and Chikkanna planted more saplings the following year. They repeated this for several years and lo and behold, Thimmakka is now the mother of 284 huge banyan trees. In this age of global warming and climate change, this is a remarkable achievement for an individual. Thimmakka has received several accolades, but none can match what she so graciously has given to her village and the world.

If we look around, there are several such opportunities awaiting us. Lost in our own duties and plans for our own lives, we have failed to notice these small avenues for us to reach out to our society. Maybe now is the time to act. I believe we will pleasantly surprise ourselves with the outcome.