'YOU' can change your city-Here's how.(INVOLVE)

Have you always wanted to do something for your city? Does it pain to watch the traffic and do nothing? Do you believe you can find solutions to a lot of existing problems? Here is the opportunity of a life time!!

We are back with the first INVOLVE for this new year 2009.Do join us on 31^st January(Saturday) for an awareness session by JANAAGRAHA and Chennai city connect.

Janaagraha is one of the premier social organizations of Bangalore working towards the concept of "participative democracy". Established by Swati and Ramesh Ramanathan in 2001, Janaagraha is working towards encouraging citizen participation to ensure greater accountability and better quality of governance.

Janaagraha was launched in Chennai in September, 2007 and is focusing its efforts on tackling the city's transportation challenges. Janaagraha in Chennai is the knowledge partner for Chennai City Connect (CCC) which is focusing on traffic and transportation for improvements in the city. CCC is a non-profit organization, hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which provides a platform for various stakeholders to engage with the government by providing knowledge and skills necessary to improve urban infrastructure and governance.

The Chennai team has taken up two fast track projects—redesigning of the L.B. Road and piloting New Mobility Hubs around the IT corridor.

Be the change you want to see ---is all about empowering the citizen and heralding the people’s campaign in a professional way. The platform at Janaagraha enables their team to merge their skills and passion for being a part of the catalyst process.

Agenda for the awareness sessions 

1. Introductions

2. About Janaagraha   

3. About CCC (Chennai city connect)   

4. About Area sabha   

5. Session on How can volunteers help us ?

If you want to know more about Janaagraha and CCC Log onto  www.janaagraha.org , www.chennai.cityconnect.in          

Venue : Janaagraha office,

Teynampet
13, Chittaranjan Road,Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600018
Date & time -31^st January, Saturday, 4pm – 6pm

Due to space constraints we would not be able to accommodate more than
20 volunteers so quickly send in your confirmations.

Old and new volunteers are welcome!

Confirm your presence as soon as possible!!

RSVP – Anusha Vivek

Mobile – 98414 87984

Email – anusha@ivolunteer.in

 

iVolunteer and NGO partner 'Janaagraha' in ERGO newspaper

Liffy Thomas works in a newspaper called ERGO, she is an active iVolunteer member too. Ergo is an Indian daily newspaper published on Mondays through Fridays by The Hindu . It is an all-color free sheet distributed to IT professionals and targets the Corporates.She chose to write on our monthly event -INVOLVE in the newspaper,showcasing our NGO partner Janaagraha.

You can find the article here.Thanks for helping us spread the awareness Liffy:).

If you would like to join us at the event on saturday(31st January),kindly email us at chennai@ivolunteer.in

Cheers!

Team iVolunteer

INVOLVE 6

INVOLVE 6, was a very special event for two reasons. Reason A being the last INVOLVE for the year 2008, reason B is that it was a celebration of the most beautiful feeling LOVE.

This ‘Involve’ took place at the Home for HIV infected children of the Hope Foundation ,our partner.

iVolunteer has been working closely with the Hope Foundation  and volunteers have been visiting their centers regularly however this is the first INVOLVE event with HOPE.

 Involve-is a string of feeler activities which is otherwise called as a one-off event. This event strives to attract volunteers in Chennai and to raise the sprit of volunteering among already volunteering individuals.

Involve objective

• Newly enrolled volunteers get to hear, see, do and feel volunteering activities at this event
• A volunteering opportunity open for volunteers who cannot engage themselves in long committed volunteering works
• To create a database of potential volunteers.
• To celebrate the spirit of volunteerism

Involve – 6 (2008)

This is the sixth Involve for the year 2008.The event was an excuse to meet the children and celebrate Christmas with the children.

3.0 The event

The orphanage was home to about 18 girls and 15 boys, falling within the age group pf 3 – 16 years of age. The entire happy group was present, awaiting our arrival.

An active volunteer soon broke the ice. Soon the volunteers plunged into the activity, by dividing the kids into groups and 2 volunteers assisted one team of children. Totally there were 5 such groups.

After an hour of interviewing and questioning, laughter and fun the volunteers and the children bonded and presented their work on friendship.

This was followed by the Santa (one of the volunteers-Suneetha) being doing what he is supposed to do – giving away gifts! The children were absolutely thrilled and excited!

The whole activity had lasted a good 3 hours and how can a party end without music and dance? This was followed by some heavy dancing and singing.

It was time to say good bye as it was already 6:00 pm and it was time for snacks for the kids

The  13 volunteers proud that their few hours had made a difference and the children shining bright and happy to have made new friends, INVOLVE 6 spread joy and happiness with colorful smiles and optimism and content.

5.0 Volunteers Speak

“Like all other Involve events, this one too gave the volunteers an opportunity to have a closer look at the lives of all the kids in The Hope. Even if it was for just one short evening, we were able to bond with the children so well. Proof enough that’s children are always welcoming and open in their mind. Thanks to iVolunteer that I could be part of this heart-warming event. It was very touching for me to see children affected with HIV lead their lives with such hope and enthusiasm that a normal person may lack. It just proves that there IS life beyond AIDS. After attending the event I told myself that there s absolutely no necessity to isolate people affected with AIDS. I think this event made me more matured to face such people in future. Would like to be part of all the iVolunteer Involve events in the future. One request from my side. If it would be possible we can have a get together of all the volunteers in an informal way. Or can also make this happen as part of any other volunteering event. This might help people to stay in touch with each other and help gather volunteers for other events.”

--

Sree 

“It was my first participation in an Involve gathering and my first interaction with a group of HIV infected children. I am not sure how much impact we made on the kids by being with them for two hours, but for me it was the best outing I had. We were one small group of volunteers who were taking part in a visit for the first time. But it was great to see each of us putting our little might to entertain the kids.

My visit made me think about appreciating and enjoying life like the children of The Hope Orphanage at Medavakkam in Chennai. Did I see despair, pain or anything gloomy for that matter in their faces? No. Probably, that’s childhood but if I need to keep going in life then those cherubic faces is the example. “

--

Liffy Thomas                                 

“This was the most memorable INVOLVE I have been to. I felt happy and satisfied to know that us (a small group of volunteers of volunteers) could bring smiles to their faces.

I am looking forward to more INVOLVES in 2009.

Thank you iVolunteer!”

--

S.Vivekanathan

 

 

 

 

 

 

A day at FINS

The event

Following the Volunteering orientation/awareness session- in October, the employees of Appejay Surendra group took the second step forward in order to take up hands on experience by volunteering at an Elderly Welfare Home on the 18th of November 2008 at FINS (Friend in Need of Society, supported by Help Age India)

With around 33 young employees and 45 elderly inmates, the day called in for some special celebrations. The elders were truly looking forward to some company and were quiet excited to know that their visitors are going to be youngsters.
The activities needed to be simple and fun; it also needed to cheer up the elders because only the previous day there had been a demise at the home. So we started off with a simple game - passing the ball right after the cultural performances. The energy and excitement of the elders was TOO MUCH:) and left the youngsters asking for more. Some dancing where the young and the elderly ‘jived’ to some old country music followed this game of fun and frolic.

Following the small little dance party was another game of musical chairs where we had the some of the elders playing and the youngsters encouraging and supporting them enthusiastically while the other sat down in groups to chat up with the elders talking to them about daily nothings and much more. The Apeejay Team went on with some Christmas carols while the elders joined them setting in the festive mood as Christmas is just around the corner and shared some cookies they had brought in along with them.

This is what some of them who came to FINS from the Apeejay Team had to say: 
Mr. Sundeep Mathur - Corporate Director Human Resources
”Feelings and emotions are many! Amongst the very few special and important days in my life! The challenge is to take this forward in totality.
Thank you to the whole organizing team. “

Ms. Jaba Banerjee - Associate Director - Sales
"Life seems to be meaningless when you see them. A person toil all through his life for the family, thinking a day would come when he/she can just relax and spend time with his/her grand children and tell tales of his youthful days to them. But when I saw them today it was clear in their smile, life has not kept its promise. Spending three hours with them today has brought such a lot of happiness and satisfaction to me.
There are lots of special day's in one's life, this day would definitely be one of my Special Day..

Ms. Megha Dinesh - Brand Manager Aura
"Today was the first experience for me to visit an old age home. It was an experience of mixed feelings coming from a joint family background.
On one hand we are getting an opportunity to interact with these wise souls who all are beaming with loving energies and enthusiasm. Dancing gracefully, playing joyfully, their interactions filled with passion. On the other side a mockery on our present day society wherein we have deserted our own parents and family members to pursue our whims and fancies giving a blind eye to their sacrifices and patience."

Thomas Kuriyan –Associate Director, Human Resources
"Elders are sometimes annoying or really getting to your nerves...but if we can merely tolerate and adjust ...why can't there children do it....they are desperately alone...longing to see people like us...wanting to speak with us...is this the best we can give our parents in their last phase of life...
I would only suggest 1 thing to all of you out there...Please visit an old age home at least once...you will want to go again and help them share there grief.. Our visit to FINS (Friends In Needs Society) this morning was an eye-opener for all. I believe that it is our god given duty and responsibility to care for our parents and elders in the family in their old age.. Spending theses 3 hours with them made us understand how much a smile and a few words of care meant to them. "

Lynn Cormack - Assistant Manager - GMO
"It was a great experience to share our love and affection with the old folks at the FINS during the Christmas season. As the saying goes though they are old, they are young at heart and always smiling. "

My random thoughts-

Lots of dancing, lots of fun, singing and merriment, there were also some dark shadows that couldn’t be ignored.
This quote would be most perfect to describe the elders at FINS,"Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!" for these elders every day is a holiday to celebrate happiness.

Happiness however comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed. The reason for those shadows in their eyes is that their urge to feel special, feel wanted and needed is not taken care of. They are not alone are they? We all want to feel special, we want people to know, we want to feel that others see us as special. There's an inherent desire to be liked and surrounded by others that we cannot fight.
Today the elders at FINS did feel very special, there was that twinkle in those eyes which has seen it all and simply yearns for love. Thanks to the Apeejay Volunteers who made their day a very memorable one, made them feel special, important and needed.

I learnt something today,elders require respect and compassion, like any other human does. So, assuming that you know what they want or need-doesn’t help! Just ask them, most likely they will tell you exactly what they want and how they want it. Young people tend to think they know better than their parents/elders in their home just because they are in a decline and because it is said that the older you get the more you have a regression until finally you become like a baby and need to be treated like one.

This is a conversation that I had with one of the elders at the home.

There were four older gentlemen up at the hall. One was tall and hunched over, he dint like me standing and wanted me to sit down. I dint want to offend him and sat down next to him. He was so old and brittle. His face was expressionless with a hint of desperation. He looked like all the people in the home.
“My name is Anusha!” I said to him, and he kissed my cheek. I took him to a table - he uses a walker and he’s hunched over like a candy cane.
I asked him questions, and he intially kept saying, “Oh I see!” There didn’t seem to be any spark in him- just a ghost.

He later slowly asked me many other questions including how often I see my parents.Asked me very very random stuff like have I been to college and if I am an Anglo Indian. Amidst all that random talk he said,"Anusha, your body may be aging and you may not be able to be as active as you used to, or you have illnesses that won't let you be as coordinated as you once were but from that doesnt mean you are a baby. Even if you pee in yourself, that doesn't make you a baby, it is just a natural wear and tear of your bladder". Finally he said something before he asked me what I want for Christmas,he said, “think about what you want your children to know about you when you become elderly. Let that guide you in your quest. You will find yourself there, one day.”

You can find more pictures here.