28th December 2009

Chennai updates

• School had Admistrative Officer inspection.
• Exams for students got over and the School reopens on 3^rd January.

Bangalore updates

• Bangalore School reopens on 31 December.

2009 Reflection

As 2009 comes to a close, lets take time to reflect on our work

http://saktyavesh.blogspot.com/2009/12/2009-reflection.html

Thank you all for your sincere efforts, contributions, ideas. We can gain strength from the work we rendered and the positive impact it had. Hopefully we participate better and more efficiently in 2010 and beyond.

Do let know your ideas/suggestions

Feel free to spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

Wishing you and your families a wonderful and exciting New Year 2010

2009 Reflection

Our contribution may be a drop in an ocean but the ocean will be incomplete without that one drop
- Mother Teresa
As 2009 comes to a close, lets take time to reflect on our work

• Had our first major interactions with the Schools with which are partnering - Government Lower Primary School, Bangalore and National Middle School, Chennai
• We had interacted with the Parents of the Children in Bangalore. Listening to their problems, knowing the short coming from the School, complaints, this was a big step which instilled confidence in the parents that good quality education will be provided at the School
• The color TV which we donated had helped the students have access to video content
  We had celebrations & activities planned at both the School during major occasions like Republic day, Kamaraj Birthday, Independence day, Teachers day, Gandhi Jayanthi, Childrens day & Christmas. We had visited the School and conducted activities and particpated in the celebrations
• we are and have been sponsoring a Teacher for Bangalore School. Providing employment apart, this has avoided a single Teacher share more than one class
  We had volunteers among us visiting the School and teach & share knowledge. From basic English, communication, general knowledge like Thirukural, vegetable identification
  Months of the year, reading time, to dance, games etc
• Provided uniforms for Bangalore School. The Parents, Staff and the Children were really excited with this. The Children felt a lot happier in coming to School
  Helped set up a computer lab at the Bangalore, School. Reparing old systems, providing mouse, Tables for the lab
• We met the Correspondent of Chennai School for development of the School. We introduced ourselves, talked about our intentions, asked questions and shared information
  We participated in the 'Back to School' program in Bangalore. Meeting the parents at their door step and ecouraging them to send their children to School. This resulted in increased attendance at the Bangalore School
• Green initiative - we sponsored pots and saplings for the Bangalore School. The students have shown interest in nuturing the plants by watering them. This shall sure increase their bonding with Mother nature
• We sponsored the SLM kit for Chennai School. This has helped the staff teach maths more effectively
• The almirah and the tubelights that was given to the Chennai School has helped them organise books and have lighting for dark rooms
• 2009 was the year when for the first time, the Bangalore School won many prizes at different competitions and proceeded till the district level. this was said by the Head Staff itself. Thanks largely to the active support from the volunteers this shall increase the confidence of the students
• We had received donations like carom board, chess boards, skipping ropes, toys, books, pencils, crayons, eraser’s, sharpeners, mouses, soft toys etc...
  We had sponsored the Dussehra camp at Bangalore School. During this time the Staff had conducted yoga classes, extra curicular activities
• We had meeting with Cluster Assistant Education Officer (CAEO) Mrs.Yashoda in Bangalore who thanked us for the support
  We had sponsored the fees for Hindi exams for a few selected students from BAngalore School
  
  Operational wise
  - we applied for PAN card and received it
  - we moved our donations to Saktyavesh current account
  - We met a professonal auditor and with his help filed our income tax for the period of April 2008 – March 2009

This apart when nature's fury struck we pitched with our efforts and provided whatever was possible from our side

Thank you all for your sincere efforts, contributions, ideas. We can gain strength from the work we rendered and the positive impact it had. Hopefully we participate better and more efficiently in 2010 and beyond

21st December 2009

National Middle School, Chennai

• Christmas celebration was held last Saturday on 19th December 2009. Four volunteers had been the School on this day. The celebrations started by 10:45am. Drama by the students about the birth of Jesus Christ – group dance by boys – group dance by girls – dance by Santa Claus (one student played this role) – dance by staff was the order of the day. Later gifts were distributed to all the students and the volunteers were given gifts by the staff and students
• Tiffin box and water cans were distributed as gifts to the Students. Rs 2470 was the total expenses for the gifts
• Enjoy the pictures in the following link - http://picasaweb.google.com/saktyavesh/NationalMiddleSchoolPallavaramChristmasCelebrations#slideshow/5417739879680561682

Board meeting minutes

• Please find the minutes of board meeting in the following link - http://saktyavesh.blogspot.com/2009/12/saktyavesh-board-meeting-14th-december.html. If any of you would be willing to take more responsibility, feel encouraged to do so. Do not hesitate one bit. It’s up to each individual how she/he would like to contribute, honestly

New Request

• Sheela Madam, the Head Staff of Government Lower Primary School, Vibhuthipura has requested us to help the School in constructing a multipurpose hall in 2nd floor. They have already received Rs 2 lakhs for this. As this would not be enough, they have requested us to donate whatever we can from our end (either in cash or in kind). Below are the materials which are needed

Material	Quantity	approximate rate
cement	120bags(280Rs per bag)	33,600
hallow blocks	2000(25Rs)	50,000
sand	2 (15000 per load)	30,000
iron	1 (30000)	30,000
sheet	36(800Rs.per sheet)	28,800
tress work		1,00,000
grill		40,000

The hall shall be used for Prayer, to serve lunch to students, have PTA meetings ,to conduct competitions. The total expense request comes to Rs 3,12,400(apart from the Rs 2lakhs) If any of you would be willing to donate or find sponsors, kindly let know

Income Tax filed

• We have filed our income tax for the period of April 2008 – March 2009 on 11th December 2009. The reference number is 1702002169

Saktyavesh Board Meeting -14th December 2009

Meeting Information
Meeting Date: 12th & 13th December 2009
Meeting Venue: Aneesh Home (beside SAP Labs)
Attendees: Aneesh, Vinay, Prakash & Ananth

Meeting Agenda
Reviewing our work
Immediate steps – pending and new ones
Challenges
Road Map discussion pending
Improvements & feedbacks

Reviewing our work
Meeting with all Bangalore volunteers (All trustees will be invited for this meeting).
Meeting with all Chennai volunteers (All trustees will be invited for this meeting), Meeting place to be decided by Chennai/ Bangalore trustees.
Combine Monthly Meeting with School Activity.
Meeting Frequency should be once in a month, on weekends.
The above meetings will have to happen on a regular/mandatory from January
Need more discussion on one more bank account for international transfers
Receipts to be issued for every Saktyavesh donations/transaction
To check with the auditor on issuing receipts for unknown transaction (since we don’t have the complete account number)
To check with the auditor on how we can issue 80G certificate to the contributors
Review Saktyavesh Account Book with Auditor
For any money contributed to Saktyavesh, send a mail to Vinay, Aneesh and Saktyavesh email id with a subject “Saktyavesh – Finance – xxx” (xxx-contribution by member name)
Process to be put in place for requests from school
Saktyavesh-Feedback required mails has to be closed in 5 days (except Urgent Requirements)

Request Processing
Request will come from the school
The owner of the request will be informed regarding the request and he has to send a mail to the trustees for feedback. Decision should be taken on the request within five business days of the email. If the request is approved by Trustees, it has to go in the next weekly update.
Request Tracker will have to be updated in Saktyavesh Blog School wise

Monthly Meeting Agenda
Purpose of the meeting / Introduction of Saktyavesh
Update from Saktyavesh Trustee on important activities
Review our past work and plan for the next meeting or activity
Assign a owner for the next activity

Tri-weekly Conference Call
We shall continue having the conference call once in three weeks
Conference calls shall be on Wednesdays and shall start by 10.30PM
The call will be for half an hour
Owner of this action item should be sending out the call agenda before 3 days from the call


Challenges
Meeting with Chennai School Management
To review the previous mail questioned to Chennai school management.
Questions unanswered and new questions to be sent via email to Prakash.
Prakash shall answer/get the answers from the Management / Head Mistress and shall reply to all.

Process to get the money flow constantly
Road Map discussion pending
To be discussed later
Improvements & feedbacks

• Task Execution to be streamlined
• Planning needs to be little more conscious
• Replying to mails with history mails & Do not branch out. If you have sent a mail and would like to send a mail again on the same subject. Go to your sent items and send it (to maintain proper mailing history and avoid conversation leaks)
• All finance information communicated via mail (with Saktyavesh gmail id in cc, Vinay, Prakash, Aneesh. Ex – contribution for Teachers salary, …..)
• Reply to mails with time (this will help in taking decision faster)
• Reply to feedback mails
• Setting a time line for each of actions – sincere, realistic as far as possible
• If even a mail is not marked with “Saktyavesh” in the subject, do mark it
• Don’t every get dejected, keep moving
  “One person talks at a time”
• Realistic expectations & promise
• Maintaining “time”, very important. If we don’t then we are not respecting other people who are waiting for us and this will lead to dilution of interest and participation(Its understandable if there is an emergency)
  

Conf call

• Communicate engagements in Saktyavesh with family (my example). It’s important
• No Anger and frustration or depression
• Have proper subjects to the mail.
• During a conversation, if a discussion changes course,
• don’t reply with the same subjectRun through the process – all of them being followed till now
• Mention truthful/factual information. Make sure that the information being shared is truthful to the best of knowledge
• Keep Saktyavesh Gmail address in Cc
• Meeting people – once in four/six months (open the gates)
• Distribution of work

Feedback
Execution
Lack of active volunteers
Planning needs to be proper
Meeting with volunteers
Giving weekly updates in points

14 December 2009

National Middle School, Chennai

• Half yearly exams for the Children starts this Wednesday (16th December 2009)
• Christmas celebration is planned the coming Saturday, 19th December 2009. We can conduct different activities on the day (games, dance, drama etc… ). Friends who would like to participate, kindly let know. It will be a good time to meet and exchange ideas as well.
• As the School comes under SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan) they have received Rs 12,000. From this Rs 5900 has been spent on racks, Rs 3000 on a tape recorder. The remaining amount is planned for the toys, for Children

Board meeting

• The board meeting took place on 12th & 13th December 2009 in Bangalore. The current activities/tasks, immediate tasks which needs attention, future plans and challenges were discussed. The intention is to share information on each and every activity and involve people on the tasks that each individual would be interested in. If any of you think that there is a lack of information or lack of opportunities, feel free to express (possibly with thoughts on improvement)

Feel encouraged to voice your opinion. Do spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

07 December 2009

National Middle School, Chennai
The 4 tube light sets that we had donated to the School has been fixed. The Almirah that was donated, also has been made use of, by using it as a place to have books
Government Lower Primary School, Bengaluru
On Friday, 04th December 2009, Sankara Eye Hospital, had conducted Eye camp at the School. This was sponsored by the Government. Six children have been identified for further check up. They have been asked to report to the hospital for special care accompanied by their Parents
Blog Poll
Every effort is made to communicate the updates of our activities, the happenings in the School we support, in the weekly updates. The same is recorded in the blog (http://saktyavesh.blogspot.com/). Your feedback on the usefulness & effectiveness of the information that is available on the web (either in Website or blog) will be of great help. Request you to take a poll on this – just 2 simple questions
Communicate your ideas & comments. Do spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

30th November 2009

Government Lower Primary School, Bengaluru:

• Learning through Radio – Last weekdays, the Children of 4th & 5th standard, for the “Chukki Chinna” program, listened to Radio between 12:00 - 12:30pm, broadcasted from Bengaluru Akasha Vani. The Children of 1st, 2nd, 3rd standard listened to Radio between 02:35pm - 03:05pm, for the “Chinnara Chukki” program. The programs had educational content for respective classes

Contributions received:

• Venkatraman Ramachandran donated 22 coloring books to be used for the School Children
• Birthday Celebration - Last Tuesday, 24th November 2009, Ananth (from Chennai) donated coloring books, pencils, erasers, sharpeners (all worth Rs 1100) to Government Lower Primary School, Bengaluru. This was a gift for the children on the Birthday of Bhuvana & Sashwat on behalf of Ananth. The children wished Bhuvana & Sashwat a wonderful Birthday by singing and thanking them for this noble gesture

Feel encouraged to voice/communicate your ideas & comments. Do spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

William Selvamurthy, Chief Controller, Research & Development (R&D), DRDO

From: selvamurthy william
Sent: Sunday, 06 July 2008 8:45 PM
To: Kumar R, Aneesh
Subject: Re: Saktyavesh weekly update -> 30th June 2008

Dear Mr Aneesh,

Delighted to know of your noble initiative to start a modest effort to help upliftment of children from low socioeconomic strata through Education and Healthcare. We need youngsters like who can think of the NATION and PEOPLE. I am confident that your modest initiative will become a Movement oneday. My BEST WISHES to you and your team.

Selvamurthy

23rd November 2009

We are joined by two new friends, Nidhi Ahuja and Srinivas A, on our work/activities. Thank you Nidhi and Srinivas. Delighted to have your support and commitment towards societal development

Government Lower Primary School, Bengaluru

• Hindi classes which we have sponsored for 16 students is currently in progress. These classes are being conducted from 03:00-04:00pm, Monday to Friday by Ms. Sheela Teacher
• Government has given Rs 2 lacs for construction of a hall in the second floor. The Staff members are currently working on the plan and budget estimation. This is being looked into with priority because if this fund is not utilized within this academic year then the amount may not be available and the same fund may get transferred to another School

National Middle School, Chennai

• On 26th November 2009 (coming Thursday), the Tamil Nadu State Govt has planned for an exhibition. In this exhibition, all the Govt School's and Govt aided School’s would showcase all the donations they have received from 2001 till date. The Staff members have given our name to the Govt and have invited us for this exhibition
• The Staff members have come up with an idea to organize Christmas celebration. If there are any ideas & events which would be fun and enjoyable for the Children, do share and we can collect all the ideas, sync with the Staff and have it. This information is being shared well in advance for us to plan and execute better

Bank

• We had been to the SBI bank on Saturday, 21st November 2009 and submitted our application (Form C1, C2, C3, C4 & C5) for online visibility of our account. We have received a kit with user name and password which needs to be activated. Once activated, another form (C7) needs to be submitted before we have the rights to view & carry out transactions

Let know your thoughts & ideas on our work. It helps. Do spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

16th November 2009

National Middle School, Chennai

• On November 14th 2009, Children’s day was celebrated at the School. The event started with a Prayer and then cultural presentations were organized by the Children like solo dance, group dance, drama etc..There were a few speeches by the students on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Prizes were distributed for the competitions which were held on 13th November 2009. Apart from the prizes, all children who participated in the cultural were given a pencil as a token of appreciation
• Sweets and Chocolates were distributed at the School. The Head Teacher, Mrs. Jemima informed us today that the Children were very happy with the gifts, sweets received and thanked us for the same. The total expense for the sweets was Rs 1200 and Rs 1100 for the prizes (pencils, boxes, books etc…)
• Enjoy the snaps @ http://picasaweb.google.co.in/saktyavesh/Childrens_day_National_Middle_School#slideshow/5404776468689266514
• On 14th November 2009, we donated an Almirah and 4 tube lights for the School. Almirah shall help in keeping the books safely and in organized manner. The old tube light sets had stopped working and was damaged, hence the new ones were brought. It cost Rs 6900 for Almirah and Rs 1100 for 4 sets of tube lights

Note: Even though this School has classes till 8th standard, it was and is still known and referred by the name of “Primary” School in the surrounding locality. But this is a “Middle” School

Government Lower Primary School, Bangalore

• On November 14th 2009, Inter School Competition was held and students from the School participated. In the talent show and group song students secured the first place. In group dance and drama the students came second
• Mysore Hindi Prachar Parishat is conducting Hindi exams through the institute “Pushpak Hindi Vidyalaya”. The Students can take up this exams by paying Rs 120 which shall include application, exam, tuition and book fees. 16 students have been short listed to take this exam and as the parents were unwilling to pay the fees, we have paid Rs 1920 in total (for all 16 students). The exams are scheduled to be held on 02nd of February 2010. The Teachers are involved in coaching the students for this (coaching after regular School time)

Donation received

• We have received 6 cartons of soft toys from Pantaloons, Whitefield Store, Bangalore. Thanks to Ashish for establishing contact and helping us here. These toys shall be distributed to the students at Bangalore School and in other Schools. Rs 60 was paid as transport expense to receive this

Letter Head ready

• Our letter head is ready. This can be viewed at the following link - http://picasaweb.google.co.in/saktyavesh/Saktyavesh_Letter_Head#slideshow/5404784757907812626

Kindly let know if there are any exciting ideas. Feel encouraged to communicate them. Do spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

09th November 2009

Flood relief update

On 07th and 08th November 2009, we had been to the flood affected village named “Biral (K)” near Gulbarga, 600km from Bangalore and distributed the relief material. This place was chosen based on the inputs given by the Collector of Gulbarga, Mr. R. Vishal. Thank you all for your contributions. In total we had spent Rs 33,296 (Rs 26,496 for food packages, Rs 5700 for bed sheets, Rs 1000 for transport and Rs 100 for labor charge) of the Rs 34,000 collected. The remaining Rs. 704 shall be transferred back to Saktyavesh account

It is a satisfying feeling to know that we accomplished the task we had set out for. A beautiful feeling not just because we should be happy doing it or we should take pride in it but because this was the need of the hour, because we should not and cannot ignore our fellow brethren’s suffering. True Human Will has the power to do this and beyond

The experience of the visit is on our blog -

http://saktyavesh.blogspot.com/2009/11/flood-relief-javeri-gulbarga-karnataka.html

The snaps can be viewed at -

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/saktyavesh/Flood_relief_0708_Nov_2009#slideshow/5402088471540294834

Let know your thoughts & ideas. Each of them add up. Do spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

Flood relief @ Javeri, Gulbarga, Karnataka - 07th, 08th November 2009

More than a month’s time had passed since nature’s fury hit parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It took some time for us to directly establish contact with people who knew villagers affected by flood, collect funds and decide on the place where our relief and rehabilitation efforts can be channelized. Our purpose was clear – choose a place, if there is, where even basic immediate relief like food and water has not reached and render our service to them. We came to know of a similar place near Gulbarga (600km from Bangalore) and so we decided to do our service there. After conveying the message to Mr. Mahaling, our contact person who would be assisting us in Gulbarga about our intentions, I set out, on behalf of Saktyavesh, on 06th November 2009, carrying Rs 34,000 in cash, in bus (VRL)

Day 1 - The bus reached Gulbarga around 9:30am. I checked into a lodge, refreshed myself, had breakfast and contacted Mr. Mahaling to know the time and venue for us to meet. We met around 10:00am in his office. Being our first meeting in person we introduced ourselves, our work to each other. Then we went to a super market to look for bed sheets. This super market is being run by Mr. Mahaling as part of his non-profit organization. Here women, who are left out by their husband’s are provided an opportunity to be financially independent by producing, marketing goods, mostly for women and also handicrafts

Mr. Mahaling and I sat down to make a list of items which can be given to the flood affected population. The food habits of the population in this part of the world are different and hence we were careful to incorporate those items as part of the package which we intended to give. We then visited a Wholesale shop for the purchase. We re-visited our list (list of items which we prepared) with the help of the shop keeper to know if there were any other food items which the local population would prefer. After listening to the shopkeeper we dropped out wheat and increased the quantity of rice. Our budget being Rs 34K, we asked the shop keeper to prepare 23 packages – each package containing 10Kg Jowar, 5Kg, Rice, a packet of Tea, little sugar, etc… We paid the bill, Rs 26,496 and took his assurance for the delivery of these items early next morning (07^th November 2009) by 10:00am. We then contacted a person who had a carrier vehicle, checked if he could help us transport these items. He agreed and our next stop was the District Collector’s office

Time was around 5:30pm by now. It was the first time I was visiting a Collector’s office and I was apprehensive of the reception we would have. Mr. Mahaling knew a person in the Collector’s office and he took us to the Collector’s chamber and explained the purpose of our visit. The Collector, Mr. R. Vishal, then informed us about a village, near Javeri, approximately 70 km from Gulbarga where there was a similar need. We thanked the Collector and moved on. We were asked to provided a letter of our purpose officially. We got back to Mr. Mahaling office got the letter and returned to the Collector’s office. Time being 6:00pm, the Collector had left but luckily we met the Deputy Collector. We submitted our formal letter to him. The Deputy Collector looked at the letter, called the Tahsildar of Javeri, informed that the next day we would be visiting the place with relief. The Deputy Collector also gave the contact number of the Tahsildar of Javeri to us and informed that for smooth handover of relief materials the affected families would be asked to come to Tahsildar’s office and collect the relief. We collected the acknowledgement letter from him and returned back for the day, hoping for a smooth next day

Day 2 – Accompanied by another helper, I went to the Wholesale shop around 11:00pm where we had ordered for provisions and there the provisions were ready. We waited for the transport to arrive. It was not until 12:30pm that the transport, a TATA ACE goods carrier arrived. I enquired the reason for his being late and got to know that inspite of the agreement for Rs 600 for the trip, he was reluctant to come and hence made us wait. Not wasting any time, we quickly loaded the relief on the truck and reached the office of Mr. Mahaling. There the bed sheets arrived. As we had cash balance we purchased a few more bed sheets. With 23 packages of provisions, 29 bed sheets of two different types, we departed from Gulbarga for Javeri. It took us an hour to reach Javeri where we were joined by a few helping hands and together we reached the Tahsildar’s office around 2:30pm. We expected people to stand there as the Deputy Collector had said that the people would come there. But the Tahsildar informed us that we can go to the village directly and give the relief ourselves

We set out for the Village, “Biral (k)”, which is another 25km from Javeri. In between the village accountant accompanied us to take us to the families. While we were travelling, the clouds were opening up and we quickly covered the relief with the tarpaulin and moved on. When we reached the village, the village accountant called for the 15 families who were flood hit. On enquiring from the village accountant we got to know that these people are daily wage earners who work in the fields to have their livelihood. One person from each family came and collected the relief. In cases where there was no representative from a family (as they had gone to work in the fields) to collect the relief, the village accountant would convey the message and have them collect the next day. The remaining 8 packages would be distributed among few more households which were similarly affected

Care was take that there was no commotion or chaos and the people were informed that these were for them and that they had to share and use it among themselves. The village accountant informed us that there were few more families whose houses were damaged and they would be asked to collect the remaining relief. We thanked the village accountant, the people, talked to the people, took a few snaps and returned back (While being happy we only hope that the rest of the relief reach the right hands). In total we had spent Rs 33,296 (Rs 26,496 for food packages, Rs 5700 for bed sheets, Rs 1000 for transport, Rs 100 labor help)

It is a satisfying feeling to know that we accomplished the task we had set out for. A beautiful feeling not just because we should be happy doing it or we should take pride in it but because this was the need of the hour, because we should not and cannot ignore our fellow brethren’s suffering. True Human Will has the power to do this and beyond

Link for the Pictures - http://picasaweb.google.co.in/saktyavesh/Flood_relief_0708_Nov_2009#slideshow/5402088471540294834

02 November 2009

Flood Relief Update:

In Kurnool and Guntur, the feedback we received was that the efforts by different people, groups, organizations are showing results (in improving basic immediate relief) and hence we decided to concentrate our service in Gulbarga. We could not make the trip to Gulbarga the last weekend due to logistic reasons. We planned to go this weekend. Together we have collected around Rs 32,000 for the flood relief. Thank you for the contribution. If any of you have made contributions specifically for flood relief and have not communicated, kindly do so

Balance Sheet:

We have got the account statement from the bank. But there are atleast 12 transactions where the sender is not known. If any of you have made a contribution in the last three months and have not communicated, request the donors to let us know the date and the amount transferred to the account so that we can update the balance sheet

You can make a donation using the below credentials

• Payee Name: Saktyavesh
• Bank Name: State Bank of India
• City: BANGALORE (if not there then try for Bengaluru)
• Branch: KUNDALAHALLI
• Branch code: 9046(SBIN0009046)
• Account Number: 30533359540
• Account Type: Current

Donors, please note - kindly mention your Name in remarks column while transferring money to Saktyavesh account. Also make sure to send a mail to Saktyavesh (info@saktyavesh.org) once a contribution is made. If a contribution is made for a specific cause, please mention this in the remarks & mail. This will help us operate efficiently & transparently

Government Lower Primary School, Bangalore:

• Yoga classes were conducted the last 5 weekdays (from 26th October 2009 to 30th October 2009) by Shri Navya. This was for Children in the age group of 8, 9, 10, for around 90 minutes. This was the second time Yoga is being taught this academic year and the Staff members are seeing the real benefits of it. The students have become less talkative and are concentrating better in their academics. Thanks to Shri Navya who took time to volunteer and to Arun for working on this idea
• An Inter-School competition is planned on 14th November 2009 (Children’s day). Dance, Drama, Singing & talent show (any talent) are planned. If any of you would like to volunteer & help the children with any of the events, do let know. Also share, if there are any bright ideas from your side
• Teachers salary – We have contributed Rs 2000 towards the Teachers salary for the month of October 2009. This is for the Teacher, Mrs. Rajeshwari, whom we are sponsoring. Thank you Dinesh and Rajesh for your contribution here
• Dussehra Camp sponsor – We had sponsored food during the Dussehra camp. An amount of Rs.2500, which was pending, has now been made

National Primary School, Chennai:

The Staff members have requested for the following

• Uniform for 20 students (10 boys and 10 girls) from classes between first and eight standard. These are shortlisted students by the staff who currently do not have one
• 4 tube lights

Feel encouraged to communicate each of your thoughts & ideas. It will help us deliver better

Do spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

26th October 2009

We have new three new friends who shall be working/partnering with us. Suresh (Chennai), Satish and Maheswari Uma (both from US) - thank you for your commitment. Working on community development in partnership will be an enriching experience and every single effort shall help

Flood Relief Update

• The contact person who had visited the flood affected places in Kurnool (in Andhra Pradesh) has the following feedback – currently the villages they visited are receiving basic immediate relief like food materials, water etc.. The plan is to look at rehabilitation efforts. At the same time, we spoke to another contact who is carrying out relief work in Gulbarga (in Karnataka). From here the input is that people here are still in need of basic immediate relief like food materials, water, blankets etc…. Talks are on with both the contacts for relief efforts and shall route resource and funds to the place where the need is more

Government Lower Primary School, Bangalore

• Parents Meeting – On Saturday 24th October 2009, parents meeting was held. The forum was to discuss the progress of the students, complaints (by parents and students), hear inputs/feedback from parents etc… The meeting was monitored by a Head Teacher from another Government School. There were complaints from the parents that the Teachers were using corporal punishments and the Teachers decided to minimize this
• Yoga classes – The Yoga classes for the children in the age group of 8 to 10 years started on 26th October 2009. The plan is to conduct Yoga sessions for 5 straight days. Thanks to Arun for initiating this

Feel encouraged to pour in your thoughts & ideas

Do spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

19th October 2009

Flood Relief Update

On 17th and 18th (Saturday and Sunday) couple of friends visited the flood affected villages ( in Kurnool ) to understand and study the situation. This weekend 24th and 25th Oct 2009, we will be visiting the shortlisted places where relief efforts can be channelized. if anyone is interested to join the relief effort in person, kindly let us know.

Government Lower Primary School, Bangalore

An interaction with parents is planned on 24th Oct 2009.The Head Teacher, Sheela madam, has invited us for this event. This is an opportunity for us to hear and communicate with the parents directly. Please feel free to join.

Do express your thoughts/ideas for us to work better

Feel free to spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

For Flood Relief

In one of the worst disasters ever, floods ravaged many parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Estimates say that more than 250 lives are lost, many missing, property losses at more than Rs 32000 crores, 1.5 million people homeless. We can do our bit in whatever way we can. From Saktyavesh side the plan is to contribute Rs 25,000 (keeping aside the commitments we have made to our two Schools that we are supporting)

Where is the contribution directed?

There is a team in Chennai who are going in person and distributing the donations to the needy directly. We have planned to channel the contributions through them

If there is any other severely affected place which any of you are aware of, kindly let know and we can choose the most needed & neglected place and channel our contribution

How to contribute?

You can contribute either in cash or in kind

Cash

For cash, kindly transfer your contributions to Saktyavesh current account

Payee Name: Saktyavesh

Bank Name: State Bank of India

City: BANGALORE (if not there then try for Bengaluru)

Branch: KUNDALAHALLI

Branch code: 9046(SBIN0009046)

Account Number: 30533359540

Account Type: Current

For convenience you may also prefer to transfer to any of the below account

Account Name: Vinay Srinivasan K

Account number: 5612015807

Bank: CITI Bank BANGALORE

Branch: BANGALORE

Account Name: Anantha Krishnan N

Account number: 004801540373

Bank: ICICI

Branch: SD Road, Secunderabad

Note: (1) Do mention a note that this is for flood relief victims when you are transferring

(2) Please send a mail to Saktyavesh@gmail.com once a transaction is made

(3) You can also hand over the cash to any of the below mentioned friends

Material

You may also contribute materially. You can hand over the donations to any of the below friends

Bangalore

(1) Vinay Kumaraswamy (+919845096177), No.5/1 Lalbagh Road, Subbaiah circle, Orient Power Press, Bangalore – 560027

(2) Aneesh Kumar (+919740866115)

Chennai

(1) Prakash Kolandaivelu (+919940082765), A 15/ 240 LIG Flats, 7th Avenue, Ashok Nagar, Chennai – 83

(2) S. RAMESH, 1/64 Bharathi nagar, 4th street, 1st Floor, Palavakkam, Chennai - 600 041

Hyderabad

(1) Ananthakrishnan (+919949053944), Flat no 502, Satyanarayana enclave, block A, Madinaguda, Hyderabad – 500050

Please send in your donations by Tuesday, 13th October 2009. Do spread this message

If there are any suggestions/questions, please put it across

Let us help our brethren in this hour of crisis

12th October 2009

We are happy to have Saranya (from Chennai) among us, who shall be working with on impacting positive social change through Education and Healthcare. Thank you Saranya for your commitment and support

Flood Relief

As said in the communication sent on Saturday we are collecting material and money for flood relief to be directly handed over to the affected population. Further information shall be shared as and when its available

Government Lower Primary School, Bangalore

The Dussehra camp came to an end on Friday, 09th October 2009. The students were taught dance, yoga, drawing, paper cutting etc.. Certificates were distributed to the students at the end. The craft work created by the students are exhibited at the School for another week. This is to help us have a look at the work done by the students. The Head Teacher, Sheela Madam, has invited us to the School to have a look at the work done by the students

Do express your thoughts/ideas for us to work better

Feel free to spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

05th October 2009

Government Lower Primary School, Bangalore

• 02nd October 2009, Gandhi Jayanthi celebration – a small function was organized at the School to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Chocolates and biscuits were distributed at the end of the event
• Dussehra Camp – The camp started on 03rd October 2009 (Saturday) with students from 3rd, 4th & 5th standard (around 50 students). This shall continue till 08th October 2009, this Thursday. The children are taught different skills, apart from the syllabus. Thanks to Senthil, Saishri, Jeya for volunteering with their skills, time and teaching dance. The students are showing good interest in learning. If any of you would like to volunteer with their time & skills, please feel free to do so
• We are sponsoring refreshments during the Dussehra camp (as there is no mid day meal). Costing Rs 14 per child, refreshments are taken care for all the students attending the camp (approx 50) for the whole 6 days. We have paid Rs 3000 as advance towards this
• “Thank you” – The Head Teacher Sheela Madam has thanked us for sponsoring uniforms for all the School Children. The students surely look a lot smarter
• Teachers salary – We have contributed Rs 2000 towards the Teachers salary for the month of September 2009. This is for the Teacher, Mrs. Rajeshwari, whom we are sponsoring
• Uniform stitching - Rs 3000 was paid for the remaining dress (40) stitching charges

Financial information/Balance Sheet

We had been to the bank on Saturday, 3rd October 2009 to get the online account up and running. There are still certain procedures before we get the online account operational. So we will not be able to acknowledge monetary transactions to Saktyavesh account. Sorry for the delay caused

Do let know if there are ideas/suggestions/questions

Feel free to spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

28th September 2009

Government Lower Primary School, Bangalore
Green initiative

On 25th September 2009, Friday, we had been to a nursery and sourced 40 saplings for the pots which we donated. The Head Teacher, Sheela accompanied and chose different plants like rose, cactus, crotons etc… Mud mixed with natural manure was also got. The total cost came to Rs 2050 (including the transport and the cost of labor)

Uniform distribution
The uniforms which we sponsored is completely stitched and on 26th September 2009, Saturday, the uniforms were distributed to the Children. Present in attendance were the BEO (Block Education Officer), CAEO (Cluster Assistant Education Officer), CRP (Cluster Resource Person), staff of the School, Parents of the Children, our volunteers and a volunteer from GE, Bangalore (they sponsored the tie and belt for the Children). The event started off with planting of saplings which we had brought on Friday, 25th September 2009, Friday. Then we had a Teacher Ms. Kala, read out the milestones of the School from its inception till date. Next we had the BEO addressing the parents on the facilities provided at School and he also thanked the volunteers for the support among others.
Enjoy the pictures taken during the event below
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/saktyavesh/Uniform_Distribution_GLPS_Vibhuthipura_Bangalore_26_Sep_2009#slideshow/5386430798915943650
Certificates were presented to the students for the recently held competitions & securing places in taluk, district level (for the Clay modeling and fancy dress etc…). Parents were asked if they had any information to share on the School, their children and one parents took us through the growth of the School and how this has changed for the better with better infrastructure, more dedication from the Teachers etc… Then there was refreshments for all – a Banana and biscuit. Thank you Sankaralingam for sponsoring this. We signed of the event by penning the guest book
Dussehra Camp
The Staff members of the School are planning to conduct a Dussehra camp for students of 3rd, 4th & 5th standard from 3rd October 2009 to 8th October 2009. In this different skills like drawing, paper cutting, clay modeling, dancing and yoga etc.. are planned. It will be great to hear ideas. More importantly the Head Teacher, Sheela Madam, has requested our participation during this time. If any of you would like to contribute with your time & skills, kindly let know

National Primary School, Chennai
Drawing competition
Currently the School is on vacations after quarterly exams and the School shall re-open on 06th October 2009. There is a drawing competition planned on the topic “Conservation of non-renewable energy sources” on 06th October 2009. Around 20 students are selected to represent the School for this. If there are any pictorial representation/information which shall best explain this topic “Conservation of non-renewable energy sources”, kindly share Do put forth your ideas/suggestion especially for the Dussehra camp & drawing competition which are planned in near future Feel free to spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

21st September 2009

We have a new addition in us. Mrs. Sudarmathi Pillai from Bangalore shall be working with us. Thank you Mrs. Sudarmathi, we are happy to have you among us, your strength & support will only help in making this world a better place

Government Lower Primary School, Bangalore
The students of Government Lower Primary School, Bangalore secured 2nd prize for clay modeling and 3rd prize for fancy dress at the district level competition held on Wednesday (16th September 2009). Great effort from the student Renuka who participated in the fancy dress inspite of ill health and secured the position. The judges were appreciative of the effort put in the by the students. There was an good addition to the fancy dress (the tree) this time. A sound file of birds chirping was played using a cell phone to show the advantages of a tree and stress the cause of protecting, planting more trees. Thanks to Vinay who gave this simple yet wonderful idea

Technical issue with mailbox
Due to technical issues, Saktyavesh inbox (info@saktyavesh.org) could not be used for sending this weekly update. Apologies for the inconvenience caused Do put forth your ideas/suggestions/questions. It works wonders Feel free to spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations

14th September 2009

Teachers Day celebration – Govt Lower Primary School, Bangalore

• On Saturday, 12th September 2009, Teacher’s day celebration was held for around 40 Schools, including the School we are partnering with, Government Lower Primary School, Vibhuthipura. The day started with classical music followed by performances from “Yours Truly” theatre group. Then the lamp was lit. Later all the volunteers - both individuals and organizations, working for betterment of Education were felicitated. The Government Staff and other dignitaries thanked us for our support towards the cause of Education & better of the School. We were presented with a memento, a certificate, a garland, a shawl, a few fruits, a bouquet as a gesture of appreciation. Please share the appreciations. Below are the snaps
  http://picasaweb.google.co.in/saktyavesh/Teachers_day_celebration_Bengaluru#slideshow/5381358078169419474
• We have handed over three mouse (“i-ball”) to the Bangalore School Head Teacher Sheela on Saturday, 12th September 2009. Each cost Rs 347 at discounted price (the original price is said as Rs 475). The total cost for three mouse came to Rs 1041. This is sponsored by Gangadharan from Chennai. Thank you Gangadharan for the contribution
• Green initiative - 40 pots has been handed over to the School on Saturday, 12th September 2009. Each pot cost Rs 40, so the total cost came to Rs 1600. We also got plastic lid (this is usually placed below the pot to withhold excess water). This cost Rs 30 per piece, so the total cost came to Rs 1200. The transportation cost from the shop to the School came to Rs 450. We now have to decide on the plants that needs to be nurtured in these pots. If there are any thoughts here, do let know

National Primary School, Chennai

• The slides given by the Government for educational purpose can be seen in the below link. This was the reason the Chennai School Teacher had asked for a microscope
  http://picasaweb.google.co.in/saktyavesh/Slides#slideshow/5381373589014852098
  
• The SLM kit which we had donated to the School can be seen in the below link
  http://picasaweb.google.co.in/saktyavesh/SLMKit#slideshow/5381372298145241826
  

07th September 2009

Government Lower Primary School, Vibhuthipura, Bangalore
On Saturday (05th September 2009), we visited the School and the money for the three tables that we donated, Rs 6000, has been handed over to the Head Teacher, Sheela Madam. The computer lab which hosts 9 computers were taken off the old tables and were accommodated in the new tables and the computer lab was re-arranged. All the 9 computers in the School works fine and the students are using them
New Request:
The Teacher has requested for 9 computer covers to be provided, one for each computer. If any of you can provide the same, either an used one in good condition or a new one, do let know

31 August 2009

Government Lower Primary School, Bangalore

• The district level competition is tentatively scheduled on 09th /10th of September 2009. There was an improvement the last time the students presented at the Taluk level competition – for fancy dress with "Tree" as the theme, a few birds were drawn on the Tree, one way to show how a tree can support an ecosystem. This time if there are any ideas for fancy dress (like the birds chirping on the tree), do let know
• The 3 Tables which was requested by the Teacher have been delivered at the School. This is to place the computers. We have to pay for this (Rs 1900*3 + transportation charges) this week
• The salary for the Teacher, Mrs. S. H. Rajeshwary, whom we are sponsoring has been paid (Rs 2000) for this
• The dresses which we sponsored for the Students is getting ready after stitching. Only 40 more dresses are left for stitching. Only one Tailor is taking responsibility here and he is doing few at a time. For the last 30 dresses Rs 2250 was handed over last week (Rs 75 per dress)

National Primary School, Chennai

• On 26th August 2009, we visited the National Primary School and another School run by the same management in Chennai. We had a look at the SLM kit which we had brought for the School. The School has started using it. SLM Kit is purely for Mathematics, mainly helpful for learning numbers. Also, there are some slides at the School which requires a Microscope for study

New Request for donations

• The Chennai School Teacher, has requested for microscopes – this is to help the children during practical’s
• The Bangalore School Teacher has asked for chairs – this is to help the children during computer sessions

Balance Sheet

• We are still in the process of getting online banking for our current account ready. Hence we will not be able to acknowledge financial contributions which are made till then. The financial contributions shall be acknowledged once there is online visibility. Apologies for the delay till then. As said, please direct all the financial contributions to the “Saktyavesh current account”. Below are the details

Payee Name: Saktyavesh

Bank Name: State Bank of India

City: BANGALORE (if not there then try for Bengaluru)

Branch: KUNDALAHALLI

Branch code: 9046(SBIN0009046)

Account Number: 30533359540

Account Type: Current

Do let know if there are better ideas/suggestions which shall help us work better

24th August 2009

National Primary School, Chennai (due from previous week)

• August 14th is celebrated as “Kalvi Kulu Naal” (Educational Group Day) and this celebration was embraced at National Primary School as well. On this day various events were held at the School – science exhibition, solo dance, group dance, drama, skit, folk songs etc... A few Government officials, ourselves and a few local people interested in the School were present on the occasion. Later, prizes were distributed to the Students who had participated

• The pictures taken during Independence Day at National Primary School is available in the below link. Enjoy - http://picasaweb.google.co.in/saktyavesh/Independence_day_National_Primary_School_Chennai#slideshow/5371339476476565154

Government Lower Primary School, Bangalore

• Congratulations friends, the two entries from our School, Fancy dress and Clay modeling, stood first at the taluk level competition held on 21st August 2009. Special thanks to Senthil, Sai Shree, Jeya, Vasanthan, Thiru Venkatesh, Ashwin and Dinesh for their dedicated efforts. The two entries shall now participate at the district level competition (Bangalore South District). This competition is tentatively scheduled in another 10 days

New Request

• The Bangalore School Head Teacher, Sheela Madam, has requested for desks for the computers. Currently, the desks on which the computers are kept do not belong to the School. There is a request for 4 desks. Each desk shall cost approx Rs 1900. If there are spare desks which can be used for this and any one is willing to donate the same, do let know

Do offer your suggestions/comments & bright ideas

Feel free to spread the message of Saktyavesh in letter and in spirit with interested individuals and organizations