“I have not seen a bunch of kids as happy and contented as these kids are ” mentioned Rahul Nayar, as he observed the kids at the Deepam 1st anniversary celebrations. The life of Deepam, these kids made the anniversay a very special day for all of us, who were present at the celebrations. The Nalamdana centre at the olcott kuppam , venue for the event, was charged with enthusiasm and energy – thanks to the kids, the chief guests and the volunteers.
The MC’s for the event, Basu and Meera, keeping the kids engaged..
We had a special person talking to these kids on Saturday – Sarath Babu – He was truly ‘one of them’ . 
As he stood in front , sharing his rags to riches story, one could see the kids getting inspired. The room went silent , as the kids and the volunteers were in rapt attention.
Sarath interacting with the kids
Kiruba, the other chief guest, in his usual way , engaged the kids with an interesting story and conveyed a nice ‘life-lesson’ across.
It was a year ago, when Ram , our mentor, suggested we go to govt schools and teach kids there. His point was simple – ‘Lets start small , 2 or 3 of us can go teach at a local school but the focus should be on making an impact ‘ . Since then, he not only taught the kids, but the volunteers as well. 
Ram announced a scholarship program for kids – 5 deserving kids ( Deepam Stars ) will get all their education expense covered for 2009-2010.
The anniversary cake , cut by the kids
We also had performances from kids – Nalamdana Centre girls mellifluously sang a popular tamil song
These kids can sure shake a leg..
All the winners of the cultural events were awarded medals. Kids got participation certificates as well.
Meera who comes to Chennai every weekend, from Bangalore – She and her husband Vijay, teach on saturdays and sundays, every weekend
A big thanks to all the kids and the volunteers !
P.S More photos can be found here http://picasaweb.google.co.in/chauhanarchu/DeepamFirstAnniversary#
its heartening guys….nice work…would love to join as volunteer some day…soon….
lots of good wishes…will spread the word…
kabbir
Truly inspiring.. Good luck for Deepam growing both in size and enthusiasm..
Really good work…and more importantly good dedication. My wishes are with you and the children at Deepam.
Cheers,
Karthik
Really great you guys!! Feels really happy to see the smile on those kids faces and the proud look on urs!! Keep up the good work, my best wishes for all future endeavors!
This is awesome. Great work by all involved.
Really great work!!!
All the very best for the Deepam kids
Really inspiring guys..Kudos to Deepam and its team. I am also planning on getting into volunteering and helping out kids.. though, here in Seattle..