Kiel Moses Interning with Samarthanam...

I was lucky enough to volunteer with Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled from October 1^st through November 14^th, 2013 in a variety of capacities including teaching theater/martial arts/English to students, working on the Samarthanam expansion to the US, as well as the recorder for books for the blind/visually impaired. 

I started out at the primary school that Samarthanam trust operates for children with and without disabilities.  I taught the younger kids theater skills through the use of the various animals they knew.  I had them rolling on the ground sounding and acting like their favorite animals.  I taught the older students English and grammar skills.  This work at the primary school felt gratifying.  However, because I didn't speak their native language, the success that I had was limited.

As a result, I got linked up with the overseas coordinator at Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled who wanted me to help her with various aspects of expanding Samarthanam in the US.  I read over many parts of the website that had been created and came up with ideas that the new branch in the US could potentially pursue.  This felt very gratifying to be a part of.  This experience in assisting in the expansion of Samarthanam to the US felt great.

I also visited various parts of the trust (such as the call center/BPO) that gave me a deeper understanding of the trust and potential businesses that people with and without disabilities could be a part of.  These field trips proved fruitful for me to experience because it reiterated that people with disabilities can be successful in various sectors of the trust. 

I appreciated the interactions with the staff and other beneficiaries that I talked with during my internship.  I met members of the blind dance troupe as well as others who I felt a great connection to/with.  These various conversations left a powerful and positive imprint on me.  Every staff member and beneficiary that I interacted with treated me as if I were an essential part of the Samarthanam team/family.  This type of treatment felt great to me while I was interning at Samarthanam Trust. 

I also taught self defense/martial arts skills to older adults.  I had two regular students who attended my classes.  In a three week period I had them being able to punch, block, and kick.  I even taught a young man who was blind these same techniques with great success.  I felt really great about this being that the two adults had no prior experience in self defense or martial arts before meeting me.

Overall I had a great experience volunteering in Samarthanam and feel that I made a difference on many different levels on both a personal and professional level.  I will never forget this experience because of the life lessons and pragmatic skills that it taught me for my professional career that I will have.

Interns' Experience sharing Note...

Here is a small experience sharing note shared by our interns from ITM Business School, Bangalore. A group of 10 students interned with us for a period of 30 days. They were exposed to several activities in the organization guided by volunteer coordinator through out their stay at Samarthanam.

Few students have shared their experiences interning at Samarthanam. 

"Because of Samarthanam I have learnt how to tackle people and how to help the society.  I got to know now that how many problems are there in the society.  I like this Samarthanam trust very much."

-Sudipta  Roy

"Because of the Samarthanam I learn how the physically disabled students are taking education in the society. I love to work here.  I had a great experienced in the Samarthanam trust for disabled."

-Mohit Goel

"I had a fabulous experience in the Samarthanam I learn how social work helps the society in different  ways."

-Surav Chatterjee

"This was my great phase of my life that I have work for this Samarthanam trust for disabled and learn how social work plays an important role in society. I learn many things from this NGO."

-Sonika Sharma

"Here I learn many things like speaking in public and promoting activity which is held on this NGO I like to work here."

-Sagar K Gadbail

"I had very good experience working with Samarthanam trust and its people. I got to learn many things. This Samarthanam trust is doing a great work towards the underprivileged people of the society. I was truly honored to work with this group."

-Satish Kumar Balla

"I am very  lucky that I got a chance to work in a NGO named as Samarthanam. I feel very proud to say that they are doing exceptional job by bringing up the differently abled people in the society and helping them in fulfilling their needs.I joined them as a part of our project and I helped them a lot. I also raised funds for the upcoming event."

-Anuj  Misra

Samarthanam !! Ah!! This is a place where i learnt a lot, i came to know how blessed i am . We though having everything still creep about every other thing but these kids though having nothing are very happy and the way support each other is just amazing and speaking about the staffs, these people are just down to earth, the way they treat people and kids is again a lesson to every human on earth. Personally i learnt to be polite, patient and have started loving my life to the fullest.

Thank you Samarthanam !!!!

-Sudamsu

IIMB Collaboration for Vision 2020

"We aspire to see brand Samarthanam across India and work with persons with disabilities as one single community”. This is how G K Mahantesh, Managing Trustee, Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, describes his ‘go forward’ vision for the NGO.

Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled has been working since 1997 to empower disabled and underprivileged people through its different programs, including education for persons with disabilities and economically underprivileged, mid-day meal programs, BPO training for visually challenged, BPO centre, rural employment for persons with disabilities, residential home for distressed women, waste management, sports and culture etc. Samarthanam's vision is to build an inclusive society, free of discrimination against the disabled, where people with disabilities, especially the visually impaired, enjoy equal opportunities and an enhanced quality of life. As many as 18000 beneficiaries have received assistance till date in reaching their aspirations.

In May 2013 the NGO conducted a Vision 2020 workshop at Fireflies Ashram and came up with potential plans and action items to go pan India and reach 100 million persons with disabilities and the underprivileged. According to the 2001 National Census, about 75% of the persons with disabilities are in the rural areas. Samarthanam sees this as area to expand its operations and make a difference.

To turn its Vision 2020 into reality, Samarthanam is partnering with Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. Management students from EPGP (IIMB's one year full time Executive Post Graduate Program) are working with Samarthanam to formulate strategies to replicate Samarthanam's success in Karnataka across the country. The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) is an autonomous institute offering a wide range of Doctoral, Post-Graduate, and Executive Education programs. IIMB's focus on research and education in the area of management is enabled by faculty from amongst leading universities worldwide who are actively engaged in research, teaching, consulting and pedagogy development. Their Innovation Club’s vision is to learn the art and science of innovation and apply it to solve real life problems. To understand the nature of innovation, the club organizes discovery sessions, with presentations on topics such as design-thinking, ideation methods, latest innovation concepts etc. Members use the learning from these sessions to find solutions for socio-economic, civic and business problems.

Management students who are members of the Innovation club at IIMB organized an "Innovation Workshop" with Samarthanam team on Jul 27^th to brainstorm ideas for realizing Vision 2020. The workshop was a huge success resulting in 30+ unique ideas to fuel Samarthanam’s growth strategy. Mr. Rajendra KR, CEO, Samarthanam is excited about the partnership and was thrilled with the ideas - "There is a desperate need to ensure rights and entitlements of 60 million disabled people in India. Samarthanam is rightly positioned to achieve this task. We are excited to collaborate with IIMB’s Innovation Club towards realizing Vision 2020. The ideas presented are practical in nature and really out of the box. The workshop has resulted in ideas which we would incorporate in our expansion strategy."

Nitin Agarwal, an EPGP student who is also part of IIMB’s Innovation Club, said: “We are delighted to work on real life challenges to come up with long term strategy for Samarthanam’s expansion. We look forward to contribute our bit to the society.”

“Be Big, Think Big, Go Big and Serve for a Bigger Cause,” says Mr. Mahantesh as he gears up for Vision 2020.

Samarthanam Overseas Relations Desk

Samarthanam’s programs especially the sports and culture wing have received tremendous support from overseas philanthropists for some time now. Taking Samarthanam Overseas is currently one of the major focuses of the Overseas Relations Desk of Samarthanam.  During the reporting quarter several steps have been taken to strengthen the overseas operations and initiatives.

Samarthanam USA, Inc.

It was registered in Boston and determined in August 2012 as exempt from Federal Income Tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code where all contributions are deductible under section 170 of the code with the Employer Identification Number 45-2470938. During the quarter the following activities were undertaken.    

1. A dedicated website www.samarthanamusa.org was launched in August 2013. The website has provision for sharing information about the activities, happenings, stories from the field, views from friends, well wishers, volunteers and supporters and also options of donating online. Samarthanam invites you to visit the website and share your experience with us.
2. Samarthanam had the privilege and joy of receiving Mr. Subu Kota, Director, Samarthanam USA, Inc., Ms. Mangala Kumar, Ms. Nagamani, Ms. Savitha and Ms. Karthyayini – guests from the USA who visited various projects and facilities of Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled in India. All the visitors have been long standing supporters of Samarthanam programs and activities. Mr. Subu Kota spent considerable amount of time discussing future strategies for expansion of programs and reach for Samarthanam. Ms. Mangala Kumar agreed to represent Samarthanam USA, Inc. in the Bay Area while the others have all assured their continued commitment to supporting the NGO’s activities in future as well.    
3. A team of eleven active members from USA and India came together for a conference call on 29^th September, 2013 and discussed future course of action and implementing the expansion plans of Samarthanam USA, Inc.
4. Samarthanam USA has been connected with GlobalGiving and Indiegogo – crowd funding platforms. Samarthanam USA has also been listed under DELL’s list of charities in Bangalore.

 Samarthanam UK:

Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled is in the process of registering its charity in the United Kingdom. A three member Steering Committee has been identified with Mr. Adam Pickering being the President (Chair), Mr. Geoffrey Smith being the Secretary and Mr. Hemanth accepting to be the Treasurer. The first draft of the Constitution has been prepared and the registration process would begin during October this year.

The Overseas Relations Desk of Samarthanam would like to acknowledge all the overseas individual donors to name a few Mr. Ravi Ika, Mr. Krishna Ika, Ms. Mangala Kumar, Mr. Michael Festa, and Mr. Naravulu Venkatesh; and institutional donors for their valuable donations towards the activities of Samarthanam; we truly appreciate their act of kindness and generosity.

"The Overseas Relations Desk of Samarthanam aspires to leave its footprints in other countries as well. We believe that this would be a great opportunity for our sports and culture teams to continue receiving exposure to global culture while contributing to the fundraising efforts of the organization towards long term sustainability of the programs."

Samarthanam’s initiative CABI received prestigious PMI awards for outstanding project management

On 27^th September 2013 Samarthanam was awarded Runners up trophy in the NGO category for outstanding project management in organizing T20 World Cup for the Blind in December 2012. Samarthanam had organised the first ever T-20 World Cup for the Blind between 1^st to 13^th December 2012. This tournament saw Nine countries namely Australia, Bangladesh, England, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Nepal and India coveting for the World Cup. A total of 39 matches were contested some of which were very exciting nail biting matches. The final and the most closely contested match in the tournament was between India and Pakistan. Like any other matches between the two countries this match too had many thrilling moments. India lifted the first ever T20 World Cup for the Blind.

PMI is world’s largest not-for-profit membership association for project management professionals. PMI India established a number of awards to recognize and honour contributions and achievements in the project management profession since 2009.  This year under the category Project of the year – NGO Samarthanam was selected second to The Energy and Research Institute (TERI) from among several large scale applicants. This was in recognition of successful execution of the T20 World Cup which was in no way less than a project that required implementation using most of the project management principles. The glittering award ceremony was organised at Leela Kempinski in New Delhi as part of the PMI Conference. Samarthanam was one among the others like Reliance, Tata, Alstom, TERI and ESSAR Group that were recognized on the occasion.

Samarthanam was the first organisation to receive the award on the day of the event. Hundreds of leading movers of the corporate gathered on the occasion and admired CABI’s video which was greeted with thunderous applause. Later several of them approached Mahantesh G K founder Trustee to wish him and express their admiration.

In the words of Mahantesh “This recognition is purely due to the passion and commitment of Team Samarthanam, in managing and executing a successful world cup…. we as a team can achieve many more milestones …”

Story of TWO Brothers...

Samarthanam has many examples where children with disabilities have thrived because of the resources that they received there.  

Two great examples of success stories come from Arun who is 18 years old and his younger brother Manikantan.  These two brothers are students in the Samarthanam School that "specializes in teaching people with developmental disabilities".  This school is located in Bangalore India.

Arun and Manikantan with their Mom

Bobby and Senthil are the parents of Arun and Manikantan who were born with developmental and physical disabilities.  In the winter of 1995 Bobby became pregnant.  There were health issues during Bobby’s pregnancy regarding her nutrition and general health.  In 1995 Arun was born. After he was born he didn't cry.  Doctors then told Bobby that they were suspicious about the health of Arun.  Bobby and Senthil were asked to come back after some time to discuss the health of Arun.  When the couple reached to examine the child the doctors reported that Arun had both physical and cognitive disabilities. 

 In early 1998, Bobby once again became pregnant. She didn't want to repeat the same mistakes from her first pregnancy so she took proper nutrition and had regular check-ups. In October 1998, the couple had another baby boy.  The doctor has stated the child is healthy. Bobby and Senthil then felt confident and excited about the future of their second born son.  Manikantan “Mani” was born a healthy kid.  However, during his 3^rd year Bobby and Senthil found that there were some unexpected health issues with Manikanton too.  Like Arun, Mani couldn’t stand on his own.  This news was very difficult for both Bobby and Senthil to handle. 

Bobby refused to leave her children with disabilities to be seen as less valuable than other children.  Senthil’s friend Murugesan approached Bobby and suggested that Arun and Mani join the kids in Samarthanam.  Bobby decided that Samarthanam would be the best change for herself and her sons.  Bobby reached Bangalore and explained her situation.  In the year 2009, both of Bobby’s children joined the Samarthanam School for children with cognitive and physical disabilities.  Although progress has been slow, Arun and Mani have found great success at Samarthanam.  After being here at the Samarthanam School for four years, both Arun and Mani can function independently. 

Teaching students from various abilities takes time and specific skills.  Arun can now solve puzzles on his own and Mani can write all of the 26 letters of the alphabet as well as count up to twenty. In addition, both Arun and Mani can now grip objects and move on their legs independently.  They are also beginning to verbalize and interact with other kids at the Samarthanam School. 

Bobby praises Samarthanam as if it were a temple to her.  She is now experiencing her kids being independent in their lives.  Bobby says that she owes a great deal to Samarthanam for helping her and her children to live more fulfilled and successful lives.  

Walk-a-thon 2013...

9th Bengaluru Walk-a-thon 2013 Walk for educating the Disabled and Under Served

Walkathon is a platform to bring together people from different walks of life,including people with disabilities,to bring about awareness and a feeling of oneness. This is also an opportunity to build strong bondage between non-disabled and disabled people. This would enable to hold hands with people with disabilities and walk for the cause we all believe in.

10% of the world's population constitutes of people with disabilities, with a majority living in developing countries. Creating awareness and sensitising people about this cause is essential. Towards this end, Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled is organising the Walkathon yet again, a feat we have been achieving with corporate and individual support since 2005. We at Samarthanam strongly believe that the success of Walkathon since 2005 is because of supporters like you.

Towards this mission Samarthanam has been organizing Walkathon since past seven years by bringing together people from different walks of life and create awareness about the cause they work for. With great pleasure we announce "Walkathon 2013 - walk to educate...” a mega event organized to create a buzz across the city(Bangalore). This unique event is an endeavour to create awareness about the abilities of the differently-abled and an attempt to successfully integrate them into the mainstream. This year we are expecting 15000 people from different walks of life to take part in this Walkathon.

JOY OF GIVING

Your Dry Waste can go a long way in saving lives from getting wasted!

Joy of Giving Week is a festival of philanthropy celebrated between 2nd and 8th of October every year people through acts of giving. This is a week when community is sensitised about various social and developmental issues plaguing the Indian society.

THE INITIATIVE

This year Samarthanam's focus during Joy of Giving week is on collecting dry waste. The increased focus for us would be to ensure women with disabilities and from disadvantaged background have access to opportunities like any of their peers from advantageous backgrounds and without disabilities.

The campaign of collecting dry waste from interested corporate offices and organisations will begin from 2nd October 2013 and will not stop on 8th October but will continue till the end of the month. Through the campaign we will be collecting all kinds of dry waste possible including newspapers, old clothes, furniture, plastic, hardware, e-waste, old books, stationary items, old utensils, tetra pack or just about anything that you don't need and wish to give away. We at Samarthanam will segregate the waste and dispose them off hygienically and scientifically and generate revenue out of it which will contribute towards education and livelihood opportunities for persons with disabilities and from disadvantaged backgrounds. This campaign of waste collection is solely aimed at bringing those persons with potential to contribute to the country's economy, whose lives are getting wasted for lack of opportunities and lying at the fringe of societal strata into mainstream society with an opportunity to life of dignity and usefulness.

FUNDS UTILIZATION

Besides being a forum for creating awareness, the campaign will act as a fundraising platform for the education and livelihood programmes run by the organisation. The following are the number of persons with disabilities and those from under serviced communities that would benefit from our education and livelihood programmes

• 245 children with disabilities and their non disabled peers are being supported for primary and high school education through the residential school while 110 young adults with disabilities are provided with residential facility and other practical support to continue with higher education

• 450 persons with disabilities receive skill training resulting in employment opportunities.

All contribution towards the campaign should be drawn in favour of "Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled". We assure you of all appropriate benefits as mentioned above besides the good wishes of all the disabled residents of Samarthanam and all those who would benefit as a result of this awareness drive. All contributions will be acknowledged publicly on the last day of the campaign in a grand finale ceremony being planned at one of the prominent venues to be chosen soon.

WHAT YOU CAN DO