13th October 2008

The school is on leave till 26th October 2008. So no visits till then. We did not have any meetings also last weekend

On last visit to the school, the Teachers did convey their gratitude to all of us. There are three donated computers which need to be repaired (Hardware problem). We have to do that

We should now work on things on how we manage Saktyavesh and take it forward. We are now 36 friends (including 8 trustees). As per Saktyavesh "By law" we will have 10 trustees. Again, the only difference between a trustee and a member is that a trustee has to for sure respond to certain mails, participate in conference calls once in three weeks and a couple of more things. Attached are the roles and responsibilities of a trustee. Trustees will evolve with time depending on the willingness, interest and collectively all the trustees have a vote. Trusteeship is subject to vote after three years from date of inception (19th April 2008)


We are now sharing with you on the points which were discussed during the meeting which took place few days back.

Points discussed and finalized:

* Registration of new members - There will be no fees charged as registration fees

* Format of Application form for Registration of new members - this is as mentioned in the attached document file.

* Registration Process - Check PPT

* Invitation mail option will be available on portal once everything has been standardized (bank account creation and website completely up with all other details)

* There should be a link on website to send invitation letter

* There should be a link on website for Registration form

* Hard copy of registration form is not required. If anyone wants to join Saktyavesh and they don't have internet access, then we can take a print out of the registration form from the website

* The link for "ideas" (currently inactive) on the website will redirect to the "Ideas" topic on Saktyavesh blogsite

* Guiding principle for all Board members - Set realistic deadlines for each activity and make sure they are met

* Only after verification of email, Saktyavesh mailbox will get a mail that a new member has joined Saktyavesh

* How do we choose a Project?
a) The school/institute should be related to education
b) Visit atleast 3 schools in an area and check if they are lacking in basic facilities like seating (atleast mats) , pure drinking water, facilities like good teaching aids and other materials
c) If another NGO is playing an active role and they already have plans to improve facilities, then we wouldn't choose such a school
d) Preferably, the school should be conducting classes until 10 standard
e) School should have proper/clean toilets

Attached ppt on idea submission will help us refine and select project as and when we re receiving suggestions for help/partnership

* We will not be providing uniforms, shoes, socks and school bags

* What we should do better?
a) Make sure that there is pure drinking water at school. Installation of water purifier if necessary.
b) Donate indoor games and sports items to school. Meet with Principal of school and emphasize on having sports related activities for children
c) Donate Notebooks, Cursive writing books, activities books, story books
d) Distribute 1Re. Cadbury's chocolates to all children during the first visit to school every month
e) Conduct moral science, spoken English classes
f) Make sure to visit school atleast once every month
g) Personality development classes for high school students
h) Plan and conduct competitions and distribute prizes
i) If school doesn't have a toilet, we will have to build toilets if space is available. Check with localities of that area to collect funds for construction. If not able to collect sufficient money, then we will have to check if Saktyavesh can contribute money towards building toilet
j) Keep check on attendance and ensure that there is less dropouts
k) Further education plans/counseling for High school students
l) Arrange medical inspection
m) Active participation during parents-teachers meetings.

* If feedback mail is sent to board members, they should ensure to reply within 3 business days. All feedback requests to board members to be handled by Vinay

* Award children who have good attendance

* Blogspot ownership will be taken up by Prakash

* Continue adding ideas to roadmap for Saktyavesh. The roadmap of each board member can be discussed in next Board meeting.

* Ownership of editing photos and uploading them to website to be taken up by Ananth.

* Aneesh to regularly update the milestone PPT.

* Ownership of Conf call to be distributed among board members in a round robin manner

If there are any action items which you would like to take, please feel free to let us know and we will be happy to share the work. Together it will be fun working with each other for a noble cause

The whole point of putting across to all is to be as transparent as possible and share and work collaboratively. There is lies our success


Feedback regarding Finance: One of our friend, Shankar, has suggested that we need not expose our contributions on world wide web. There may be issues. His suggestions was that it should be fine if it circulated only within all of us


If there are any suggestions/cooments/constructive criticism on any of the points or many of them kindly reply to saktyavesh@gmail.com. It is important to know what you think on our go forward strategy. Dont hesitate to question any of them.

Lets work together truly on our shared vision, positively and selflessly


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