Deepam > 2010

Year: 2010

Blog, Uncategorized

Thanks Round Table / TeamUSA (Indiateam.org)!!

When noble and munificent organizations or individuals come up with donations to strengthen and support Deepam in its continuous endeavour to light the spark in the child’s mind – and keep it glowing – it is with wide open arms and lot of gratitude that such gestures are received.



A sizeable fund was given to WM Center out of the donation received from Roundtable ( Madras Knights Round Table 181 ) / TeamUSA (Indiateam.org), and the co-ordinators wasted no time in inviting suggestions from volunteers on how best to utilize it. Equally quickly, mails were exchanged, needs discussed and the Center’s immediate requirements finalized.



The first was a 5.5’ steel almirah – a long-felt need at the Center. This was ordered, delivered and was in place at the Center and one set of keys was handed over to the School Head Mistress on 31/07/2010. The storage space in the cupboard will be shared between Deepam and the School.







Another immediate need was augmentation of WM Center’s Library. As many as 55 books, hand-picked with utmost care to suit WM Center children’s aptitude, were added. With this addition, the Center will now be able to fulfill its desire to give children more books to choose from, for reading in the class or at home.



15 learning-based games (e.g, Spell-O-Chess, Origami, Number Puzzles, Jigsaw Puzzles) were added to the Center for use under volunteer guidance. It is the Center’s idea to utilize these as occasional diversions to the children without, at the same time, straying much away from learning.



Deepam would like to thank Round Table (Madras Knights Round Table 181 ) and TEAM USA for its generous contribution and we look forward to their continued support to help improve infrastructure at other Deepam centers.

Blog, Internet, stars

Internet & Stars – Our Way of Celebrating Independence day at Deepam :)

Since the ‘inception’ of Deepam, Internet access has been a dreamy ‘reality’ at Deepam. Internet access was hoped for / dreamt of / wished for in most of the meetings / discussions but we were ‘kick’ed back to reality, everytime. We came close to having the internet available in the centres last year, but we woke up to reality, again.


So, when Balaji of AIDIndia ‘formally’ launched internet access at Deepam West Mambalam centre this morning, it was a sense of ‘dream come true’. Hopes & Dreams were now ‘strengthened’ by DOing 🙂
All of us at Deepam always dreamt of a ‘Deepam World’ where children had access to Information / Knowledge. So, watching the children revel in the excitement of ‘playing’ with the computers / Internet was euphoric for all of us , at the centre today.
Internet was now available at 5 of the 6 Deepam centres 🙂

Clearly, these are children who are ‘hungry’ to learn and one can only wonder about the possibilities that Internet has to offer. But for all of us at Deepam, we have just begun what we set out for, 3 years ago – introduce the children to the world of internet 🙂


Another significant progress is the launch of ‘STARS’ project at Deepam – Stars project shoots for the possibility of a deserving child not losing out on education because of lack of monies. That is the core belief that makes Deepam reach out to such students every year and help them do what they do well… excel in their studies and expand their knowledge. Stars project made a small beginning today, by awarding a ‘full’ scholarship for 2 deserving kids


Deepam would like to thank a few folks for making the 2 projects possible

Jayanthi – She leads the ‘Stars’ program for Deepam. She stands out through the sheer intensity / commitment she brings to any activity she does. My respect for her, just seemed to go higher, as i worked more , with her. She simply does things 🙂 – thats it. Always ahead of time and always to a degree of perfection. A real DOer 🙂

NIA : An awesome organisation that supports education of girl children in India. They have supported education of girl children for over 10 years. Over a 100 girls have benefitted from support for school & college education. Deepam is happy to work with NIA to support girls in Deepam 🙂 . Thanks Priya / Vallabhi / Munish, for coming over.

Another donor who wishes to be anonymous – thanks a lot 🙂

Balaji : The CTO of Deepam !! He was the ‘internet access’ evangelist at Deepam , never missing an opportunity to highlight the possibilities of internet access for children. He got the infrastructure up and running in no time at all, when we had the datacards. Thanks Balaji !!

And always, the energetic volunteers at the Deepam WM centre – thanks for the awesome time 🙂

When people want to make something truly happen, the whole world conspires to make it happen.. I was rushing to the centre this morning and missed picking up an envelope, to keep the cash/cheque in, when handing over the prize to the ‘STARS’ . I hurriedly rang up Saye to get an envelope, but he seemed to be in control of things and asked me to just come over to the centre – When i went over to the center, i was told that one of the children at West Mambalam had made envelopes out of old newspapers and handed them to Saye , just this morning 🙂

And this was our way of celebrating the Independence Day at Deepam 🙂

Blog, Internet, stars

STARS & Internet – New Possibilities

Hello Friends,

This saturday, we will be launching 2 projects that open up huge possibilities for children. The 2 ideas quite literally opens the ‘whole world’ for the kids.
STARS :
A deserving child should not lose out on education because of lack of funds. That is the core belief that makes Deepam reach out to such students every year and help them do what they do well… excel in their studies and expand their knowledge.
We are making a small beginning by awarding 2 children, a full scholarship for the academic year 2010-11. All their fees ( school fee / books / uniform / transport etc ) will be covered by this scholarship.
Internet :

The big idea at Deepam was always to expose the children to a world of opportunities through Internet. This is becoming a reality now. Beginning this saturday, Internet will be available at 5 of the 6 Deepam centres 🙂
The 2 projects will be launched at our Deepam West Mambalam Centre .
Venue : Deepam West Mambalam Centre. Sri Venkata Nivasam Primary School, Thambiah Road, West Mambalam.
Time : 9:30 am
Date : 21st August , Saturday
Look forward to meeting you all, there.
thanks
karthik

Blog, west mambalam

Uniforms for kids at Deepam WM center

All of us understand the importance of having a good environment at schools and am sure that most of you would agree that it has a direct impact on the child’s motivation to go to school and eagerness to learn. A good environment not only means having good teachers, having good group of friends but also having good infrastructure at school.
We at Deepam have been teaching at community centers/ schools for morethan 2 years now and along with our efforts to improve our teaching methods we have been looking out for opportunities to improve the infrastructure at our various centers. For a start we got an opportunity to sponsor uniforms for the children at our West Mambalam center.

Deepam classes at WM happen at Sri Venkata Nivasam Primary School. The school,which has classes till 5th std, is one of the oldest schools in WM and has around 120 children . The children come from an under privileged background with the average family income of less than 50k a year. The school is a government aided school and the infrastructure is very modest. In fact two of the three classrooms in the school don’t have electricity. More than electricity the kids were in need of uniforms and we volunteered to sponsor uniforms for all the kids in the school.

Fortunately we got acquainted with Madras Knights Round Table 181 and TEAM USA , who were more than willing to fund the project. The total cost of the uniforms was 20k . The teachers, parents and kids expressed their happiness and vocally thanked us for sponsoring the uniforms. The teachers also mentioned that this was the first time that all the children were wearing new uniforms on the opening day.

Deepam would like to thank Round Table (Madras Knights Round Table 181 ) and TEAM USA for its generous contribution and we look forward to their continued support to help improve infrastructure at other Deepam centers. Also, a big thanks to the volunteer team at West Mambalam for coming up with the idea of distributing uniforms and enthusiastically going about ensuring the uniforms were given to the students, on time

Blog, Uncategorized

Pudiyador – Next Steps

Dear all,

The heat is on! and while the children are cooling off in their summer vacatio/native places, this is the perfect time to set the curriculum and plan for the next year. June 2010 – March 2011.

The Adyar-Pudiyador center has varied needs. Some
1) We have two desktop computers there, and we have access to three (yes three!) more laptops that the UK center is going to hand over.
2) We have children across the age group- from 4-5 standard students to 11-12th standard! We also have some toddlers looking at the screen in curiosity
3) The children there are fairly confident in all the MS office suite.
4) Sessions every weekend on a sunday 11am-1pm. Time slot may change.

Request all volunteers and interested people to please lend a hand to set the curriculum for the year.

Plan of Action for the next year
1) Prepare a bunch of confident english speakers
2) Exposure to the internet and making presentations, gathering data from the internet.
3) Activities (once every quarter)
4) Divide the class into 2-3 batches and cater specifically to their needs.

This year, we aim to build a strong curriculum and a stronger volunteer team.
Please get in touch with me if you can contribute in any manner. Suggestions most welcome!

thanks,
Anupama
anupama[dot]s3[at]gmail[dot]com

Blog, Leadership Program 2010

Deepam Leadership Program 2010

Hello Friends,

Deepam has taken small steps towards educating children in the last couple of years. The small improvements are showing and presently, we have some organisations interested in supporting Deepam, financially and otherwise . Now is an interesting point – we need to take a more structured approach, to educating children. Thats the best way to make more impact. This gives us the best chance to be consistent at what we are doing and improve at it.
Deepam Leadership program is a way to contribute to Deepam, in a more organised and structured manner. This will be a 2 year program. You will work on centre organising / fundraising / Communications & Marketing / Volunteer Programs and more. Each of us will be working on a specific role. At the end of 2 years, you can move to another role or continue on a ‘mentoring / advisory’ role.
This program is a good way to learn about NGO operations / understand non-profits better. If you have plans of working in the non-profit sector in the future, this program is a good stepping stone. Also, if you are looking at learning leadership skills, this platform offers you the opportunity. And ofcourse, if you have a leadership background and want to work on Deepam programs, please do reach to us 🙂
Deepam Leadership Program is an opportunity to ‘Learn by DOING’ .
If you are looking to contribute more to Deepam – this is your chance. What is required from you ?
  1. Interest / passion to teach and see children improve
  2. Have atleast 6 hours free time per week, for Deepam
  3. If you are looking to learn / improve leadership skills or have been a leader, please do apply
Interested people can mail me at kk@deepam in, with answers to 3 questions. If you want more clarity on the role, please feel free to email me
  1. Which role do you want to apply to ? Roles – Centre Organising , Fundraising , Communications & Marketing , Volunteer Programs , Events , Technology Team
  2. Why do you want to work on the role ?
  3. How will this help / benefit you ?
Thanks
kk

Blog, Uncategorized

2009 Deepam Fellow

Deepam Fellow is an award conceptualised to honour the people who have made a significant contribution to furthering the cause of education for less-privileged children at Deepam. This award will be given to 3 people every year.

Deepam aims to honour 2 types of people through this award
  • People involved in direct teaching & mentorship : Teachers are the people who have an immense opportunity to change the future of the world – by positively influencing the people who will inhabit the world in the future. The best among them will be honoured through the Deepam Fellow award
  • People involved in design & implementation of programs enabling teaching : By designing / implementing a program that enables teachers / children to meet their education goals, people who design / implementation work in tandem with teachers to make an impact on the children. The best among these people will be honoured through the Deepam Fellow award
2009 Deepam Fellow

Deepam is a young organisation and hence, it is important that we have some good leaders amongst us. The 2009 Deepam Fellows have shown a good example of Leadership last year. All 3 of them are passionate about ‘Deepam Idea’ . We are honoured to have the 3 people amongst us

  • Anuradha

    1. Good Leader – Has set up teams wherever she spent her time – UK Centre and Now at VRS Centre
    2. Set up new centre starting process along with Basu
    3. New ideas on evaluating deepam‘s impact – baselined the current batch at VRS ( 1st time at Deepam )
    4. Keeps the volunteers motivated – She herself is high on enthusiasm and always wears a happy smile on her face. No wonder people love to be around with her 🙂
    5. Sometimes, we’ve seen her teach at 2 centres – VRS Centre in the morning and UK centre in the evening 🙂

  • Anupama

    1. Connects with the students very well
    2. Always looks for ways to improve the class and make it more interesting – A typical conversation would start with how the current methods can be changed to make class better. She usually has some suggestions to make / ask . And importantly, in a few weeks, she takes the idea to completion / execution. It is an awesome feeling to see something executed!
    3. Deepam Class at pudiyador has been consistent, in a large way, thanks to Anupama and her team.
    4. With her around, one can be assured that Children are in good mentorship – she takes that extra bit of care to ensure students and volunteers enjoy what they do. It sure reflects in the class at Pudiyador 🙂
  • Srini

    1. When the centre ( KC Centre ) he was teaching was demolished, he worked hard / smart to find a new centre in the locality. When the centre authorities didn’t give Deepam permission to use the centre, he spent his time to build a relationship with the local centre authorities – He was given a duplicate key in a month 🙂
    2. His students call up every saturday to check with him if there is a deepam class. On every festival day, they call up to wish him – what more a teacher can ask for ?
    3. He made himself available to support anyone in Deepam in any possible way – From installing Computers in Pudiyador / VRS , to creating videos on Deepam, to keeping the buzz alive on Facebook and many more.
    4. He brought a ton of energy / passion to Deepam – Most visible during the Deepam childrens day, when he went to all deepam centres, dressed up as a tiger and helped with the tee shirt painting event !
    5. All KC volunteers would agree – he has a way with the students 🙂

Blog, Deepam Annual Day 2010

Thank you note to Deepam from a school teacher!!

A small note from the teacher at the west mambalam school where Deepam teaches at , on the Deepam 2nd Annual day!!!

Thanks to all volunteers!!! Lets make this happen , year after year !!!!

kk

From: latha devi

Date: Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 4:45 PM
Subject: Re:

HI,

LET ME THANK EACH & EVERY PARTICIPANT FOR MAKING DEPPAM’S II YEAR BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION VERY SUCCESSFUL ONE. MY SPECIAL THANKS TO SAIKIREN & DEEPAM’S ENTIRE TEAM.STUDENTS GOT MORE EXCITEMENT, EXPOSURE, JOY & FUN.WE ARE VERY PROUD OF TO SAY THAT THIS IS A FIRST STAGE PROGRAMME TO OUR CHILDREN.


WITH LOTS OF TKS & RGDS

LATHA DEVI.M & TEACHERS

SRI VENKATA NIVASAM PRIMARY SCHOOL,

WEST MAMBALAM, CH-600 033

Blog, Deepam Annual Day 2010

Deepam Annual Day – Thanks!!!!

Hello Friends,

It was a memorable saturday afternoon for all of us at Deepam . The children brought so much energy to the event and am still recovering from the afternoon. The children enjoyed the events , which reflected in their fantastic performances. In the coming days, we will write more about the event – more pictures / videos will be posted on the groups.
The teamwork at Deepam was so evident on that day – to pull off this big event, we had to have so many people working together. When this happens at a completely volunteer driven organisation, it is quite a special feeling 🙂
Here is a big thanks to all the people who joined to help –
  • Gopal Sir – Thanks for helping us get the venue. Couldn’t have asked for better facilities and a more historical place, for our big event
  • Team West Mambalam – Priya , Vasanthi , Arthi , Maduravalli , Bhagirathi , Sriram , Noopuran , Saye and others. I couldn’t believe the children were speaking in such fluent english and came across so confident on stage. Thats a reflection of the work you put in !
  • Radhika / Basu / Archana – Thanks for ensuring all the children had a medal / certificate to take home. All of them were proudly showing off the medals 🙂
  • Team UK Centre – Nisha / Sadhvia / Balaji / Giri and others . Your dedication reflects in the regular turnout of the children.
  • Yashwant / Chandana – Wow! that was some energy on the stage. You guys were in sync with the children & their performances!! You guys stepped into the MC role easily
  • Team KC Centre – Viju , Chandana , Vedavalli , Srini – thanks for co-ordinating the elaborate performance by the children.
  • Team Olcott – Though we couldn’t have performances from them, Thanks Dr.Karthick / kannan / KCG for helping with bringing kids over. Quite difficult to bring a large number of children over and ensuring events went smooth.
  • Sponsors – Thanks to all the sponsors, we could cover all the costs for this event. None of them wanted to be named. Thanks 🙂
  • Team Pudiyador – Sundar / Krishnan / Anupama / Shashi and others. Creative / artistic performances the children. Thanks !
  • KCG college Team – Priya , Radhika , Yuvi and others. There was a lot of energy in your performance.Thanks for taking time to be with the children.
  • Team VRS – Leeba / Anuradha / Pradyot / Abhishek. The little ones floored everyone with their energy !! We had a great start with VRS performance 🙂 – Thanks for organising this one!
  • Supporters / Chief Guest – Thanks for coming over and encouraging our efforts!
  • Photography Team – Sriram , Shankar / Noopuran and others. Thanks for covering this event, in a professional way !
  • Jishnu , Jassim , Swapnil , Priya , Bhagirthi , Bharani, Anbu , Bhargav and others – Thanks for helping with event organising.
and help from many more..
It sure was magical to see the whole event fall in place, with the help of volunteers. We never had any prior rehearsals, but as with all good things – the event exceeded expectations. The stars of the afternoon sure were.. the children & volunteers.
Thanks
karthik