Vidial

Success stories 2009-2010

2010-06-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

SUCCESS STORIES

As Vidial has grown over the years, our definition of the term ‘success’ has considerably broadened in scope and we are extremely happy to have achieved measurable societal impact in our own little way. We are proud to present below some snapshots of our success stories over the academic year 2009-2010.

Scholarships:

Rajesh, from Chennai, who completed his Diploma this year, has got a job in Ashok Leyland. We have been supporting Rajesh for the past 2 years. One of our Vidial member’s friend Ms. Joy introduced Rajesh to us. He plans to save some of his earnings and use it for his future Studies.

Suresh, from Rajapalayam, who completed his Bachelors in Veterinary Science last year, had a double whammy this year. He got placed in Arokaya Dairy farms, Thuraiyur, Trichy district and then later in the year cracked the TNPSC Veterinary Sciences exam to obtain a state government posting. He has made us more proud by getting involved in ‘Helping Hands’ a grassroots social initiative in his school.

Nagalaxmi and Karthiga, our Chennai beneficiaries studying in Dr.M.G.R.Janaki Ammal College got selected in campus interview for CTS, in the Life science domain with a Project Executive designation.

Jayalakshmi, from Coimbatore, a very hard working and enthusiastic girl with a never-say-die attitude was bought to our attention by a friend of one of our members. Though she was not able to continue her education after 12th due to financial constraints, she was determined to move on. When we came to know about her, she was working in a factory and was eager to learn tools such as DTP and Tally to take up a reasonable clerical post. Vidial helped her to finish her DTP course. After that she wished to learn Tally, which we encouraged her to finance with her own resources and she successfully did. Now she is working in a clerical position in an automobile firm in Coimbatore.

Suganthapriya, from Coimbatore, had just joined B.Com when we came to know about her. Suganthapriya’s mother, the sole bread winner of the family, was doing odd jobs here and there to run the family afloat. We thought that it was appropriate that we support her. Members from our college chapter used to have constant touch with her and we supported her till she completed her Under Graduation this year. She has now got a job in a computer firm in Coimbatore.

Lakshmi from Nagercoil, was a very unique case of scholarship. Considering her father’s bedridden condition and family’s lack of income, her college had substantially reduced her fees for her B.E Computer Science course. But her family was unable to fund even this amount and given the subsidized arrangement, she could not get a bank loan. Vidial took up her case and now we are proud to know that she has got placed with a software firm for a salary of 10-12K per month.

Vivek, who completed his B.Com at Kumbakonam this year has got a job in Areva, Chennai. He is also trying to complete ICWA to enhance his career choices.

Rahul our beneficiary from Trichy, to whom we had provided partial financial assistance, got career placement in TCS on Feb 5th.

Miss.Nagalakshmi from Chennai got placed in DELL Perot systems. She is confident and determined enough to break the obstacles in her way to success.

Vidial Beneficiaries

Beneficiary Meets – We continued our regular and essential beneficiary meets in most our zones, especially Bangalore and Chennai. We tried our best to conduct lots of interactive games and exercises to provide more exposure to our beneficiaries and extend our relationship much beyond simple financing measures. Some of these included memory games, Pictionary, food chart games etc to provide a more holistic learning experience. We also arranged for sessions with external speakers such as Mr.Elango, a pioneering grassroots reformer from Kuthambakkam near Chennai.

ARAVANAIKUM ANBU ILLAM – As expressed earlier, we have had some practical issues in continuing with our daily activities in the Aravanaikkum Anbu Illam.. However we would definitely try our best to keep alive our ties and bonds with the Ilam and one such initiative is the periodic programs in Illam kids. What was most special about this was the below events were organized and conducted for a great extent by the Illam students themselves,guided by vidial members and headed by Satheish one of our initial beneficiaries

PARTNERSHIPS:

A very positive step in the partnerships space was our arrangement with the holistic grassroots movement Village Youth Social Welfare Organization (VYSWO) based out of Somanahalli, Dharmapuri district. They are involved in a wide range of initiatives in the region and we have pledged our support to their educational initiatives. To start with, we agreed to support 10 of their students for a sum of Rs.21000. These are students spread across various age groups in school with strong motivations to excel. We view our current initiatives with VYSWO only as a starting step and hope to take it to much higher levels over the coming years.

Illam Games, 15th November

2009-12-07T22:46:00.000-08:00

On 15th November, games were conducted for the Children at Anbu illam, Coimbatore.

In Ocotber, CIT management exprressed concerned over the security of CIT students visting Anbu Illam on a daily basis. Hence the daily tutions session to Illam has come to a halt.

Though this happened Vidial didn't want to break their relationship with Illam which has been going on for 4 years, a venture which has inspired us pretty much. Hence Vidial members who have passed out from CIT are taking turns to organize games for the illam Students whenever possible.This was the first occurance of that initiative.

Though things started only after 2.30 pm on that sunday, things went on quite well. For this event some students from Illam were invloved in the planning and co-ordination. The response from them was nice and it was a nice learning experience for all. We could see how some of them have matured over the years and there are some fruits of labor from 4 years of association with Anbu illam.

Believe Pictures speak more than words, kindly see the below picasa album to feel what happened on the day.

Illam Games - Nov 15, 2009

Congrats Suresh & Vivek

2009-11-14T21:08:00.000-08:00

Something to cheer about.

Suresh, whom we were helping till 2007 and was working in Arokiya Diary farms at Thuraiyur, has cleared TNPSC interview and has got the job of Junior Assistant Veterinary Surgeon. It seems he will be given the posting and training about a month from now. Suresh has started an initiative called 'Helping Hands', along with his friends from Rajaplayam, through which he is determined to do some good things, financially and mentoring, in the school he has studied.

Vivek, who completed his B.Com at Kumbakonam this yeas has got a job in Areva, Chennai. He is also trying to complete ICWA which would enhance his career choices.

Vidial team congratulates Suresh & Vivek and wishes them success in their future endeavors.

We also would like to thank all hearts who contributed to Vidial and played a role in lives of Suresh and Vivek.

Our partnership with VYSWO

2009-09-18T20:48:00.001-07:00

We are extremely pleased to share our new partnership with Village Youth Social Welfare Organization (VYSWO). Mr.Murugan and his enthusiastic team founded an organization in 1994 for the improvement of their village Somanhalli, Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu. The registered as an Organization, under Societies act, in 2000. VYSWO executes social welfare schemes in different areas, more details can be found in their website http://vyswo.com/.

During the early part of this year, Vidial came in touch with VYSWO. During the month of May, our members, Amresh, Bharat and Swaminathan got a first hand view of VYSWO's activities at Somanhalli. They were pretty much impressed by the things happening there. We got the chance of interacting with VYSWO during the Theasthirku Thol Kodu program which we held in April. We were impressed by our experiences with them and were looking forward to work with them.

Mr.Murugan gave us a perfect opportunity by asking whether we chip in the area of education, which we readily agreed. After that he came out with a request for scholarship for a set of students. After various discussions, Vidial took up the responsibility of supporting 10
students for their education.

The details of the students whom Vidial have taken up is as follows,

S.no	Name	Class	School	Ambition
1	Mullaiventhan	IX	Govt Higher Sec School, Thirumalvadi	IAS
2	Thenmozhi	IX	Govt Higher Sec School, Thirumalvadi	Teacher
3	Suguna	VIII	Panchayat Union Middle school, Beluhalli	Teacher
4	Vanitha	IX	Govt Higher Sec School, Thirumalvadi	Doctor
5	Chinnadurai	IX	Govt Higher Sec School, Thirumalvadi	Police
6	Palani	VI	Panchayat Union Middle school, Beluhalli	Police
7	Anupriya	VI	Panchayat Union Middle school, Beluhalli	Doctor
8	Kalaivani	IX	Govt Higher Sec School, Thirumalvadi	Doctor
9	Deepa	IX	Govt Higher Sec School, Thirumalvadi	IAS
10	Kaaturaja	IX	Govt Higher Sec School, Thirumalvadi	Police

We can assure you that the each of these students are deserved candidates. Considering the sensitivity of the information, we are unable to share them. Hope you can understand the situation.

The budget of this endeavor stands at Rs.21,000 for this year (May 2009 - April 2010). Apart from this we are also considering other projects with VYSWO. We will keep you posted regarding the same.

Vidial team takes this opportunity to thank VYSWO for providing us this opportunity and all our donors for making this possible.

Chennai & Bangalore Beneficiary meets

2009-08-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

In the month of July, Beneficiary meets were held at Chennai & Bangalore by Vidial.

It was a day long fun filled event at Cubbon Park, Bangalore. Various activities in Bangalore meet were as follows,

Team split & Introduction
Know the Fruits and Veggies + Clay modeling
Lunch
House game
Pictionary - One from each team has to draw and show some simple items and other team members have to identify the same.
Memory game - Ten items were displayed, 20 secs given to the teams for memorizing the items and 20secs to rename them.
Snacks time
Food Chart - To create awareness among the kids about the importance of good food
Chart signed with thumb impressions by all participants

The Chennai meet took place on the same day at Gandhi Mandapam, Adayar, Chennai. The meet began at 3.30 pm and winded up by 6.00 pm. The number of children whom we support is comparatively large at Chennai and hence the could not be held for a full day.

At the same time Onus should not be taken away from the Bangalore team, which had a more clinical performance. Our Chennai team is eagerly awaiting for the next beneficiary meet to showcase their ability.

The various activities of Chennai meet as below,

Prayer song – “ Manathil Uruthi Vendum”
Team Introduction - Name telling game – all the participants tell their name first and person who identifies another randomly pointed stays on. A nice and simple to know about others with fun.
Couple of Games which involved team work
Elango Anna ‘s Speech about Importance of Village Development.

Though Chennai meet was short, it was a sweet one and people had good memories to carry when they parted ways at the end of the day.

The impact of Elango na's speech was seen when Dhivya, studying 7th Standard, remarked that "From this I see that we can develop our country by doing small things in our to day lives."

You can view some of the photos taken during the meet in the below Picasa album.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Vidial/ChennaiBangaloreBeneficiaryMeets2009#

We sincerely apologize for the communication lapses from our side. We don 't want to provide excuses, going forward we will strive more to provide proper communication.

One of the decision taken during our Annual meet at Coimbatore, during August was to provide more transparency. In the coming weeks you would receive further communication from us regarding the details of the students we support, our finance data, etc.

We would be extremely happy and glad if we you can let us know regarding what kind of updates you would like to receive.

Happy to share this Joyous moment

2009-07-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

Happiness is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
- Helen Keller

We believe you are reading this because both of us believe in these words uttered by Helen Keller.

At Vidial, we are trying our best to move in a direction which is worthy of its purpose. A direction, we hope which might bring dawn to at least few people, if not many.

We are extremely, happy, elated and proud to say that four of the persons whom Vidial has supported got jobs.

Rajesh, from Chennai, who completed his Diploma this year, has got a job in Ashok Leyland. We have been supporting Rajesh for the past 2 years. One of our Vidial member’s friend Ms. Joy introduced Rajesh to us. He plans save some of his earnings and use it for his future Studies.

Suresh, from Rajapalayam, who completed his Bachelors in Veterinary Science last year, was preparing for Civil Services and TNPSC exams. He gave his best and is waiting for the results. He considered it wise to use this waiting period purposefully and has joined Arokaya Dairy farms, Thuraiyur, Trichy district. Though he is working, he is continuing to prepare for his civil service exams and is determined to crack it. Jeeva, Suresh’s college senior, bought to our notice that Suresh required help in late 2006. Being the eldest son of the family, it was extremely important for Suresh to complete his education and to take care of his mother and two younger brothers. We decided it is extremely vital to support him and started our association with him in 2006 and supported him till he completed his college.

Jayalakshmi, from Coimbatore, a very hard working and enthusiastic girl with a never-say-die attitude was bought to our attention by a friend of one of our members. She is one of those persons who plans and thinks about the future despite the hardships currently faced in life. Though she was not able to continue her education after 12th due to financial constraints, she was determined to move on. At the point of time when we came to know about her, she was working in a factory and was eager to learn tools such as DTP and Tally to take up a reasonable clerical post. Vidial helped her to finish her DTP course. She started this course with right earnest and completed in quick time. After that she wished to learn Tally, which she thought will give her an edge to secure a clerical post. Since she was already working, we encouraged her to manage it with her own savings and her known sources, which she successfully did. Now she is working in a clerical position in an automobile firm in Coimbatore.

Suganthapriya, from Coimbatore, had just joined B.Com when we came to know about her. Suganthapriya’s mother, the sole bread winner of the family, was doing odd jobs here and there to run the family afloat. We thought that it was appropriate that we support her. Members from our college chapter used to have constant touch with her and we supported her till she completed her Under Graduation this year. She has now got a job in a computer firm in Coimbatore.

It would not be fair on our part to say that we mentored these people and were with them all the way long during their journey, but we are proud to be associated and contributing a little for these persons, who have worked the hard way around to start a journey that will bring stability and prosperity to them and their family.

We congratulate them for their persistent hard work and wish them success in their life.

We also thank everyone who have Vidial in all possible ways, be it physically, emotionally or financially. Though you may not have been involved directly with these aspirants, certainly your contribution is one of the reasons for beautiful and joyous moment.

Thesathirku Thol Kodu - First-hand account by Santhakumari

2009-06-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

Our member Santhakumari gives an account of Elango na’s speech during Thesathirku Thol Kodu

I was very much inspired by Mr.Elango Rangaswamy's speech.

He inspired one and all using the story of his life. He talked about the topics

1) How he became a Panchayat leader?

2) What were the factors which affected him?

3) Who all inspired him?

His speech was very uplifting. To put in the words of Parthi anna, Elango anna is a "Yatharthawathi" (Practical person). He is a real hero. Gandhi's dream of village development has been achieved in Kuthambakkam by Elango Anna. Each and every cell in his body talks about strengthening the panchyats (local self governance). If someone really wants to do something for this society, he/she has to start from the bottom. Without developing/working in the villages, we cannot bring the changes in India.

Kuthambakkam --- the name itself contains "Kuttram" due to liquor addiction of men. Around 95% of men in this village were addicted to alcohol. The main job of men in this village was "sarayam kaachuthal" or 'distilling illicit liquor'. Most of them regularly beat their wife and children. There is also a rigid caste system in the village. This scenario affected anna's heart very deeply. After Anna's hard work in the village, around 85% men have come out of that work.

Anna is a B.E graduate and got a good job as a scientist (He first worked in ONGC and later CSIR). He quit his job in 1993and came to the village. He contested in Panchayat election in 1996 and won. He then started planning his schemes and working towards them. Now in Kuthambakkam, each house has toilet facility, good water, roads and other basic needs for life. There is great progress on rain water harvesting also. He did not stop here. The above things were not enough for the people of the village. There had to be a constant source of family income to run their lives.

Elango anna started small economical activities in village like a rice mill (Kuthambakkam - 3 pogam nellu vilayum bhoomi. i.e. harvest takes place thrice a year), weaving, burner unit, soap unit, oil unit etc. All this generated employment especially for women who also handled heavy machines. Anna made the people develop with "dignity”. The school he started there is running smoothly. It is a middle school and teachers are very happy to work there.

Samathuvapuram - This idea was proposed by Elango anna. Mr.Karunanidhi, the then chief minister of Tamilnadu liked this concept very much and extended this idea to all of Tamilnadu. (Thesathirku Thol Kodu took place in the Samathuvapuram only).

Now his prime focus is development of students, women empowerment, solid waste management and tree plantation. He has made Kuthambakkam a model village. One of the most noticeable outcomes of his work is the Panchayat academy. It’s a training centre for Panchayat leaders, women's self help groups etc

Anna expressed some interesting thoughts about the program "Thesathirku thol kodu". The majority of participants were vibrant youth. The average of people age is around 30.

I want to tell in his words:

'Oru village or town or city nu illama Desathiku thol kodu kka nu teams vanthu irukkanga.Desam engira periya visaythukkaga work panna youth people Entha alavukku commitment oda irukka poreenga?' At what level you are ready to sacrifice? Sacrificing your job, your parents and your loved ones?

Anna told one good folk story, which we all know, but don’t introspect.

பறவைகள் சில இரை தேடச் சென்றன.
வேடன் ஒருவன் வலை விரித்துக் காத்திருந்தான்.
பறவைகளுக்கு இரைகள் தெரிந்தது, வலை தெரியவில்லை.
இரை தின்பதற்கு முயன்றப் பொழுது வலையில் சிக்கிக் கொண்டன அவை.
வலை விரிக்கிப்பட்டது விதி, மாட்டிக்கொண்டதும் விதி.

எப்படி மீண்டெழுவது? நமது நாட்டின் நிலமையும் இது தான் அன்றோ?

பறைவகளின் தலைவன் சொன்னது, "கால்கள் தானே அகப்பட்டுக் கொண்டன, சிறகுகள் இல்லையே?"

பறைவகளுக்கு தெளிவு பிறந்தது, பறந்தன், நன்றாய் வாழ்ந்தன.

நாம்?

Reg. commitment anna told one good sentence:

Vidhai(seed) entha alavukku thannai mannil pinaithu kolkiratho antha alavukku maramaga marugirathu.(The tree is as strong as the bond created by the seed with the soil) how much committed are we? On the second day of the program Anna stressed that ‘if you are working towards your goals, it’s well and good. Do not be too much concerned about the success of your efforts’.

All in all each and every minute spent with Elango anna was a liberal education on a gamut of topics ranging from grassroots development to rural empowerment. We were very fortunate to hear the first hand experiences of such a pioneer in rural governance. And it has certainly rubbed a lot of positive energy into all of us.

Thesathirku Thol Kodu (தேசத்திற்கு தோள் கொடு), April 25, 26 - 2009

2009-06-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

Thesathirku Thol Kodu (தேசத்திற்கு தோள் கொடு), an initiative by Shanti Ashram Coimbatore, is organized every year with an objective to ‘Gather people & organizations who are inclined towards the betterment of our society and thereby contribute to the progress of the country and our human race.’

The event is attended by people working in different fields. This forum served as a platform to about know people working in other areas and helped in strengthening the social welfare network.

Vidial coordinated Thesathirku Thol Kodu – 2009, which was held at Kuthambakkam – Periyar Samaduvapuram, Chennai on April 25 & 26.

Kuthambakkam, near Chennai, has been a model Panchayat not just for to its unrelenting appetite for new ideas, but for innovations and implementation of concepts. Just Google Kuthambakkam or Mr. Elango Rangsamay, you would know why it was chosen as the location for this year's event.

The event was attended by the following teams and a few other interested persons,

VYSWO (Village Youth Social Welfare Organization), Dharmapuri -http://vyswo.com/
G-18, Coimbatore
Social Welfare Organization, Ennur, Chennai
Anavi -http://www.anavi.co.in/
5^th Pillar, Chennai -http://india.5thpillar.org/
Makkal Sakthi Iyakkam, Chennai.
Shanthi Ashram, Coimbatore -http://www.shantiashram.org/
M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai - http://www.mssrf.org/
Thesam
Disha Foundation - http://disha-activist.livejournal.com/
Global Society Makers, Chennai
Helping Hands, Chennai.

During the Saturday morning session, each team was given 15 minutes to explain about the area of their work, their projects and vision. In the evening there was a visit to the Kuthambakkam village to see the beautiful things that are happening there.

In the evening we had a captivating speech by Elango Na, a speech which made everyone think about what they are doing and also helped all of us get more focus. Our member Santhakumari gives an account of the captivating speech in this blog post.

There was also a session called Request and Response, in which different teams presented their requests to other teams which had come to the event.

Overall it was a good learning experience exposing, everyone present to, a lot of new ideas, thoughts and avenues that need to be explored for improving the living standards of the society. The event also reiterated the fact that what Vidial is doing is a very small activity when compared with the social challenges faced by our society.

We would like to thank Shanti Ashram for providing us with this wonderful opportunity and Elango na for agreeing to have this event at Kuthambakkam.

We also give our heartfelt thanks to Parthi na (G-18) and Nandha na (Makkal Sakthi Iyakkam) both of whom guided and helped us throughout the event. We also thank all other persons / organizations who helped us in making this year’s edition of Thesathirku Thol Kodu a successful one.

As we came out of the event, our resolve to serve the society, which has given so much to us, become more strong and passionate. Hopefully we would do more, time will tell.

Morning Session on Saturday

Elango Na addressing the forum

2009 Vidial Beneficiary Xth & XIIth Results

2009-06-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

The results for XIIth Standard and Xth Standard have been announced in Tamil Nadu.

Some of the students supported by Vidial had written Xth and XIIth. We would like to share their results with you.

Results from Araivanaikkum Anbu Illam, Coimbatore

From illam, Ekamoorthy (Reg No: 299077) and Jacob (Reg No: 299081) faced twelfth exams this year. They scored 616 and 674 marks out of 1200. It is really good to see Ekamoorthy clear his exams despite having trouble in one of his ears, which was giving him constant pains and trouble in hearing. Both of them were attending a Government school nearby.

We had more strength in Xth standard where 12 students faced the exams. Out of them 8 people successfully cleared the exams. Their marks are as below.

Name	Reg Num	Total	Tamil	English	Maths	Science	Social
Pugazhmani M	272750	241	50	49	49	39	54
Saravana kumar E	272797	288	69	48	52	52	67
Vaisa kumar P	272768	274	61	60	55	39	59
Yuvaraj M	273649	207	58	43	23	48	35
Utthiraprabhu K	273647	407	84	67	95	74	87
Sathishkumar C	273641	196	50	37	48	25	36
Sarathkumar J	273640	217	50	43	50	35	39
Suresh P	273645	275	71	48	60	37	59
Abinaya A	273650	103	32	33	13	10	15
Rafiya M H	273677	328	81	67	66	52	62
Sivasamy D	273643	190	43	43	44	23	37
Praveenkumar R	273637	225	56	42	46	36	45

Other Results

Nivithiya(Reg No: 298753), Vidial’s first beneficiary from Coimbatore, has scored 808/1200 in the 12th board exams. Now she is interested to do B.Sc Mathematics.

Sarathy T (Reg No: 473581), our beneficiary form Mayiladuthurai has scored 921 marks in XIIth standard.

We are in touch with all the students and charting out the plans regarding their next step.

Tenth Standard results can be seen by giving the register number in the following website.

http://www.pallikalvi.in/jmdfesdvdfgderef123wsewasdwws.htm

Similarly twelfth standard results can be seen in the following site,

http://www.pallikalvi.in/r35sfrf46@edt!@$DFSFsdf.htm

It took us some time to collate the Register numbers of the students, hence the delay

VIDIAL SUCCESS DIALS

2008-06-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

Just a few interesting stats to savour. We have compiled some figures based on our complete success history till now. We thought we could probably call them something fancy like 'Vidial Success Dials' ....

PROOF OF THE PUDDING - LATEST SUCCESS STORIES

2008-06-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

'The proof of the pudding is in its eating' they always say. After all the effort that goes into picking up a beneficiary, arranging resources for him/her, mentoring and keeping touch, nothing gives us more satisfaction than the sight of the person out with flying colours and becoming independent. In this post we are proud to bring out some of our latest success stories. This year's successes represent beneficiaries from a wide range of careers, courses and geographic locations.

1) Suresh, who is doing his Bachelors in Veterinary Science, has entered his House Surgeonsy period. He is yet to decide on whether to take up private practice or to study further.
But we are very proud of his achievements and are happy for the fact that he can now take care of his 2 brothers and his widowed mother. His father would have been proud of him today.

2) Anandhraj from Mayiladuthurai is just a few weeks away from realising his ambition of becoming a mechanic and supporting his family. We supported him for his ITI training and his hard work has got him a job in a reputed tractor company with a good income.He can now take care of his ill father and his struggling family.

3) Balaji, Loganathan and Ramesh all doing their Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from Erode have really repaid the faith we put on them in a big way. Balaji has been placed with Spicers India, but is looking at more lucrative offers in the Gulf on the long run. Loganathan has been placed in Sakthi foundations and Ramesh has got an offer from Sanmar.

4) Anand from Bangalore is another beneficiary we are very proud of. His is a very unconventional story for us. He is a Mridangam Vidwan and we supported him in his efforts to obtain a Diploma Degree in Special Education(visually impaired). His story is a first of many sorts for us.
a) First non-tamil success story(he is from Bangalore and speaks only Kannada)
b) First success story of a physically challenged beneficiary
C) and he is First success story of an individual with such a unique career choice.
We hope that going forward Vidial continues to break such firsts and functions as a pan-lingual, pan-geographic, pan-vocational and comprehensive career solutions NGO.

5) Last but in quite a few ways one of the best is the story of Shyam Sundar who has hit a double whammy with a State 5th rank in Diploma and a placement with HCL in Salem.

We are also looking forward eagerly to the progress of beneficiaries like Jayalakshmi (DTP course), Govindarajan(Catering course) and a few others for whom we have already finished providing the support required.

Bangalore Beneficiary meet, May 11th

2008-06-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

On 11th May 2008, Bangalore beneficiary meet was organized at Lalbagh gardens. The meet, a day long event, was attended by 8 beneficiaries (Includes old + new beneficiaries + their sisters & brothers), 5 Vidial members and five more people who are associated with Vidial.
The fun began at 11 in the morning with an interaction game, in order to make things more interesting and enjoyable the entire lot was split into 4 teams, each team was led by a kid and also having a name. The teams formed were,

Power Rangers team headed by Rajitha.

Super Kings Team headed by Arun.

Lotus team headed by Madhan.

Chuchan Rangers team headed by Boopathy

Each team had a brief discussion and the team leaders came forward and introduced others.

After the intro the a game was held using a cycle tube. Each team has to form a chain and pass the cycle tube through the bodies of all the team members without the tube coming out of the chain. The kids found it amusing to pass the tubes through them, after the game everybody had a refreshing course of fruit salad which was prepared freshly by the parents.

It was time for the fun filled version of volley ball, instead of the normal ball balloon filled with water was used. The ball has to be caught and hit back using a bed sheet held together by four members. Super Kings may not be have won the final in IPL, but they won it here after a engrossing encounter.

Now it was time for drawing, that too on glass. Deepa drew a beautiful flower on glass and taught them how to do a glass painting. The kids were then given materials and they started painting whatever they knew and came up with beautiful paintings. Everybody had lunch after the painting was over.

After lunch, in order to improve the thinking and creativity of the kids, the kids and few of our members were split up into two groups and asked to enact a small drama. Right from the choice of the script to casting of characters, everything was left to them. At the end one group told people should not be greedy by enacting the story of the The Woodcutter and the Axe whereas the other team enacted a play which emphasized people should not steal.

By the time it was already four and hence we decided to wrap up things. The kids along with the paintings they had drawn were given some charts related to computer, sports, etc. We were happy when some of the kids asked why can't we meet tomorrow. Certainly these meets will be held hereafter at least twice a year.

Our member Kathish says, “I enjoyed my time with the kids, sharing their views and discussing with them. Thought after that I should not have missed other beneficiary meets as well. Past has gone, will try to attend all other beneficiary meets at various locations.”

Sudha felt that “There should have been a discussion amongst us before a programs like this. Because I felt few were concerned about the winning of their team and make the kids feel happy. Instead the main motive is to make the beneficiaries think and apply their idea to win or lose.” This is a valid point which will be given more importance in future.

We would like to thank the parents, the kids and our friends Kavinmozhi, Manohar, Suganya and Venkatraman who came for the meet.

Learning with Fun

2008-05-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

The morals and ethics which our education system imparts to our Children has been decreasing day by day and needs immediate action. Though our system produces a lot of professionals and graduates, it has failed in its main goal of make a person capable of thinking and acting of his/her own.

Vidial was presented with an opportunity to address this situation by Shanti Ashram. Shanti Ashram wanted to conduct an Ethics and Values Workshop in association with Vidial.

We didn't want to miss this golden opportunity, since we believed these kind of ventures are extremely vital in improving the society. When we were pondering over where to conduct this workshop, the Mayiladuthurai beneficiary meet came into our mind, the enthusiasm, foresight and the hard work of Kumar sir during the meet made us believe that we can have the workshop at Mayiladuthurai. Though Sathish (Mayil) [the only vidial member from Mayiladuthurai] was onsite. Santhakumari from Vidial took the responsibility of all the arrangements to conduct the workshop on 20th of April.

On 20th of April at a hall in Mayiladuthurai, Parthi na and Dhivya from Shanti Ashram, Coimbatore along with Kumar sir conducted the workshop which was attended by around 50 students. The Workshop theme centered around 6 Topics : Respect, Responsibility, Reconciliation, Empathy, Reforming the world and Understanding People. The day started with 'Tamil Thai Valzthu' sung by 3 kids attending the workshop followed by a crisp welcome address from Kumar sir.

The first event of the day was a witty treasure hunt game. Kids enjoyed the game (It was new to them) and after 30 minutes of excitement found the final treasure which was the "Respect, Responsibility, Reconciliation, Empathy, reforming the world" (written in a small paper :-)) . After the game, Parthi anna spoke on Respect, Responsibility, Reconciliation, Empathy, reforming the world explaining it to the kids.

It was followed by a small empathy skit, which was not a normal skit done on stage. It was a skit enacted without the knowledge that it is a one. Divya hid a 100 rupee note in one of the kid's notebook without the Child's knowledge, later Parthi na started the drama saying he lost his 100 rupees and asked everybody to check for it. At last it was found in the girl's notebook, the girl started crying and her innocence. Though Parthi na knew it, he asked the crowd for their opinion. Many believed she is not guilty, while some wanted her punished. When the girl's friends also started shedding tears, the ice was broken and the empathy which surrounded the place was explained. Also it was explained that a judgment won't be correct unless we know the person.

After this, Kids were asked to paint on T shirts and towels and posed with their colorful Shirts.

Our member Santhakumari says that "I liked The T-shirt painting competition very much. It gave the Kids a outlet for imagination. When Parthi na asked the children to whom they would like to give the painted T-Shirts, more than 80% wanted to give it to needy person, two of them gave to their Guru Kumar sir, one child gave to Parthina"

Everybody again assembled after an hour's lunch break to have have more games and wisdom
Games like Ball game, 'Save your Balloon', Rope game, Observation game etc were conducted to show and impart various values to the kids.

The beauty of the day's proceedings was reflected during the feedback session when a kid came forward and said " I learnt, Whatever maybe the problem, one should never cry, instead we should spend our time and effort to find a solution".

Harish Kannan was moved by the feedback session and adds that,
"I felt the impact of the workshop, when a small girl, probably studying in some 4th or 5th standard, comes up and tells that she has got an idea of helping others. Children when taught something in a playing environment tend to be in a playful mood and don't worry about the learning part of it. But even with all the games, a child understanding the core of the program is a very big achievement. "

Muthukumari one of our volunteers who had come all the way from Chennai said, "Today I learnt that how games can be used to impart values to the children. The painting part was really superb, it gave a window for the children to let out their creativity. These kinds of workshop shows the defects in our educational system which fill our empty head and not our heart. More workshops like this can turn the children into good and responsible humans".

In the end Parthi na distributed charts on child rights to representatives of different schools, including our Vidial Kid Harish (He is a manager in an automobile company) who took one for his school. Shanti Ashram certificates were distributed to all students who participated in this workshop. The kids were very lucky to have these values to be introduced to them, which might leave a profound impact in their lives. We believe majority of the kids who attended the workshop will be practicing the values forever.

We are great full to Kumar Sir for organizing the workshop in a very short notice. The pain he took to gather students, arranging a hall and doing even simple logistics like buying ballons, paints, snacks etc inspired us a lot.

We would to convey our sincere thanks to Kumar sir, Parthi na & Dhivya for giving us such an opportunity. We plan to do more workshops of these kind for the year 2008-09.

Mayiladuthurai Beneficiary meet - March 1

2008-03-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

Close on the heels of Chennai beneficiary meet, a similar beneficiary meet was organized in Mayiladudhurai on the evening of March 1st . The meet took place in Kumar Sir's tuition center. Kumar sir is our facilitator, mentor and acts as the pivot of Vidial's activity in Mayiladuthurai region. Kumar sir is working as a Tamil teacher in Melaiyur School, he is a multi faceted personality. For example despite being a Tamil teacher, he takes Maths tuition for Xth standard, is one of the best public speakers, takes part in a number of philanthropic activities and so on. We can go on listing his activities which would take a long time, lets come to that at a latter point of time. Presently, Kumar sir is taking care of 8 beneficiaries and is one of the important pillars responsible for our increase in our beneficiary count this year.

The beneficiary meets organized at Chennai and Coimbatore had given us some good lessons and hence we were geared up a little better with a decent plan. Since the meet place was a Tuition center, the center students also joined the fun. It helped us in a certain way that nobody except Kumar sir and Vidial members knew who are the beneficiaries. With the almost everybody being in their later part of their teens we were also able to link with them easily. After the games, everyone was asked to speak on their aim in life and whatever they wanted to tell. Initially it was tough to make them speak, but once a few spoke, the momentum started building up and at one stage we were pondering how to wind up since it was getting late. Speaking to a Public Audience gives a person a lot of courage, hence, we made sure that everyone spoke. One of the students in the tuition center got pretty much excited and he started narrating how he started dancing, how it gave him confidence, how his friends helped him, etc for about 15 minutes, it was with some difficulty we made him sit. We felt bad in stopping him, but already it was about two hours and it was getting dark, hence we had to stop him. Every beneficiary had spoken about his aim before the audience itself which was meticulously noted down. We had a private word with each of them to know what are other things which they needed.

The parents who had came thinking that this would be another meeting stuff were amazed by what happened. One of them asked everyone of us present there to take a pledge that, "After getting a job, each and everyone should contribute to the society in some way". Certainly, it moved us a lot.

We were honored by the presence of Pannerselvam Uncle, Elanthangudi School headmaster, who is also our facilitator at Mayiladuthurai. Pannerselvam uncle is a benevolent headmaster and is an active philanthropist.

On the sidelines of the meeting, a tri-cycle was to Soundarapandian, who got crippled due to Polio. Soundar has completed M.C.A after overcoming a lot of challenges and currently is looking for a job. We would like to strongly reiterate that this is not an activity done by Vidial, it was undertaken by the personal interest of one of our members and Smt.Ankayarkanni, teacher of Soundar. This was done in a Vidial meeting to show the the confidence, hard work of Soundar and our hopes were not dashed. The willpower Soundar radiated not only inspired but motivated everyone of us who were present there.

Vidial don't have words to express our gratitude to Kumar Sir for co-ordinating and organizing the meet in a splendid manner. We would also like to thank Pannerselvam uncle for making it to the meet despite his various commitments. We would also like to thank all the parents, who have made it to the meet and those who due to various reasons who could not attend the meet, but sent their children.

We will post the photos of the beneficiary meet soon.

Chennai Beneficiary Meet - February 24th

2008-03-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

On February 24th beneficiary meet was held at Chennai. The meet was planned to be held at Gandhi Mandapam, Guindy, but only when we reached the place we came to know that there was a function organized by Tamil Nadu Government there. In Chennai, the memorial halls of Gandhi, Bakthavatsalam, Kamarajar and freedom fighters are located within the same campus. Luckily Kamarajar memorial hall was free and the meet location was changed to Kamarajar Memorial Hall.

All our Chennai members along with 9 beneficiaries made to the meet despite the scorching Chennai heat. It was nice to see some of our beneficiaries being accompanied by their parents.

This conduction of beneficiary meet across our major centers of our activity is a part of Vidial's effort to closely interact with the beneficiaries, establish a strong bond with them and use the bond to help them achieve greater heights. Hence, the first and foremost agenda was to get closer with them. Some games were planned before hand to make everyone shed the shyness and the thin veil of uncertainty which would be present normally whenever anyone meets a bunch of people who are unknown. The first few minutes of the games were a bit dull and gave us a bit of anxiety, but as time moved everybody got involved and it generated a good level of enthusiasm and interaction among all. To add some spice chocolates and titles(in charts) were given to winner of the games. This went for more than an hour, after which we decided to break and move on to other things.

We had some snacks, during which at least one person sat down with a beneficiary and had a casual talk regarding their aspirations, future plans and what assistance they need for the same. All these points were noted down and currently an action plan is being devised to execute Vidial's part in the coming weeks. Two hours was spent quite nicely at Kamarajar memorial hall. At the end of the day, when it was time to leave, the faces, all which had come with a doubt, with an uncertainty regarding what will take place, were full of smiles, giggles and laughter.

Kamarajar, who had got accustomed to the routine of young couples thronging his memorial hall, for a change saw a bunch of people who had a nice time. After the meeting only we realized that there would not have been a better place than Kamarajar memorial hall for having the meet, because it was Kamarajar who pioneered education in Tamil Nadu, it was him who introduced the uniform system in Tamil Nadu, invented the mid day meal scheme, above all opened schools all over Tamil Nadu.

And we hope that Kamrajar would have smiled seeing something being done for education.

At this Juncture, Vidial would like to express their thanks Miss.Muthulakshmi, one of our member's sister, who despite not being a Vidial member before, took self interest, planned and conducted the games for the meet. Also, we thank Mr.Mahalingam, our facilitator, who had made it to the meet and stayed for the entire duration.

We would also like to thank all the parents, who have made it to the meet and those who due to various reasons who could not attend the meet, but sent their children trusting us.

Please go to the below link to see more Chennai beneficiary meet photos.
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/Vidial/BeneficiaryMeetChennai

Aravanaikum Anbu illam

2008-02-06T00:14:00.000-08:00

As said already, Vidial identified education to be the main area of its concentration before it branches out to other avenues.

Our next aim was to make students who do not realize the value of education, realize its importance and make them concentrate on their education and personality development.

To give life to this idea, Vidial decided to choose one home for children and concentrate on improving the overall performance of those kids in their academics as well as other areas. Vidial also strove to identify what the kids are deprived of, when compared with other kids leading a normal and comfortable life. Our intention was not to bridge the gap but to make the best of what they have, to make them see the hidden opportunities and to make best use of it which inturn would brighten their lives.

With these thoughts in mind,Vidial chose Aravanaikum Anbu Illam a home for destitute children in Thanner Pandhal, Coimbatore. We put in a lot of effort at Anbu illam and our hard work paid off. Vidial gave the kids what they were yearning for, love & tenderness. Our members didn't act as strict teachers but mingled with them as their brothers and sisters. We didn't stop ourselves within the realm of teaching, but gave them guidance, listened to their worries, helped them solve issues. We laughed, inspired, motivated, rewarded and punished, in short We lived with them.

The happiness we get on seeing the world change right before our eyes has no bounds and Vidial experienced it on being with them.

We could see steady progress in their studies.Ofcourse there were kids who sleep in class, make too much noise, run around screaming, but thats how kids are.

One issue that became our prime concern was the hygiene of kids, and we are taking necessary steps towards it along with the people incharge of the home.

For anyone there can be no greater inspiration than a person rising among them and serves us a person who could be looked upon as a role model living with them, growing right infront of them under the same circumstances and same environment. Sathish, a student at the illam was studying well, with aspiration and determination to become an engineer, showed signs of becoming such a person.

We pounced upon the chance, he was given tuitions, mentored properly, it was made sure that no stone remain unturned in his quest. His hard work catalyzed by our efforts helped him score good marks and get a seat in a good college in Coimbatore. He became a source of Inspiration just as we believed he would be and today there are 3 more students following his path and many more working hard for it.

When we have the power to change lives, when we can bring happiness why dont we? This is the very thought of Vidial and we look forward to bring happiness to as many lives as possible.

Illam Republic Celeberations & Coimbatore Beneficiary meet

2008-01-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

Vidial celebrated Republic day (26 Jan 2008) with the kids of Aravanaikum anbu illam as it had been doing every year[Past 2 years]. However this year turned out to be even more special, Beneficiaries of Vidial also joined in the celebration and it turned our to be a great get together, Happiness radiating from everyone's face who was there.

This time we organized the Coimbatore beneficiary meet along with our Republic day celebrations.

One of the best thing about this year's republic day was that it occurred on a Saturday, hence it stuck to us why can't we have two days of celebration instead of a single day.

Picnic to VOC park & Coimbatore ZOO
On Saturday, Kids from the illam (67 from illam and 4 Beneficiaries) were taken to the Coimbatore zoo and VOC park. A bus was arranged for ferrying the students and our members. We had a vague idea of the kids would be enjoying, but were amazed by the enthusiasm shown by the kids to travel in the bus.

The first destination was the Zoo. The children were split into groups with each group mentored by at least one of our members. Then they were taken to the VOC park and allowed to play freely, which they enjoyed thoroughly. We could see them showing their happiness through loud laughter, squeals and giggles.

The entire trip was planned and executed by our college chapter functioning with full enthusiasm and interest.

Beneficiary Meet & Sports Day

On 27th Morning, Our college team met with our beneficiaries from Coimbatore (Sugantha priya, Sathish, Stella Mary & Dinesh. Dinesh and Stella Mary are supported by another group called Ananvi, Vidial is providing logistical assistance alone). Other beneficiaries were not able to make it due to various personal reasons.

The main aim of the beneficiary meet was to let them know each other, share their goals, aspirations and make sure they are on the right track to achieve them. We also wanted to reiterate the fact that Vidial is not something alien, but a good friend and a mentor, who will be with them till they can stand on their own legs. Parthi anna who has been our mentor from our initial days, sat with beneficiaries and discussed with the beneficiaries regarding their progress, what they need to do in life to achieve their goals. We are sure that it would have definitely kindled a spark within every kid. We are planning to have these kind of beneficiaries meet at all our major places by next month.

In the afternoon, Games and fun events awaited the kids and the kids missed no opportunity to enjoy themselves. There were prizes to be won and the children had a nice time. As a conclusion to this 2 day fest prizes were distributed by Parthi anna after a short and crisp speech. Thundering applause from the entire cheering crowd made the prize winners wear their biggest smile along with the look of accomplishment.

One of the best things about this two day fest was that Sathish one of our Beneficiaries from illam is looked up with respect by every other kid in the illam. other students were obeying his words. He has certainly evolved, to some extent, as a role model for the children of Anbu illam, as we had dreamed and worked hard for the same.

Small things can make people very happy and seeing happiness ripple through smiling faces can lift the mood of anyone who sees it happen. It was a moment of utter joy, happiness for those of us who were a part of the celebrations.

At this juncture We express our sincere gratitude to Parthi na & G-18 institution, who not only helped us in addressing the beneficiaries and distributing the prizes, but also helped us in logistics.

Vidial - A brief History

2007-06-06T04:06:00.000-07:00

Education is the best route to empowerment and this is the driving thought that brought about 'Vidial'. Illiteracy is a primary threat in today's world. Is it possible to deal with it? Answer: Yes. Why don't we? When it is possible for us to reach out and light up the lives of deserving people around us, how much does it take? A thought? An inspiration? A nudge? We are thankful to Shanti Ashram and Parthi anna for providing us all these and more.

We started by helping out with some of the activities at Shanti Ashram (a very established NGO in Coimbatore) like assisting villagers develop their respective villages. Other activities included tutoring the children of an orphanage, Anbu Illam. In a 'Desathuku Tholkodu' meeting, Parthi anna suggested we do more than just lending a shoulder to the nation. Thus was born the idea of helping out a village, like Shanti ashram did. For various practical reasons we had to give up this village project of ours.

That was when it struck us - Educating an individual is like educating the whole family and it is best one starts at the grass root level and works up to the top of the pyramid. The year 2004 saw us come up with a framework of operation. With the help of Parthi anna, we identified about 10 children who were in need of financial aid for their education. After a screening process, Nivithya, who was then in class 7, was chosen, owing to her family's desperate situation. From then on, there was no looking back for us. In 2005, we christened our group, which had by then grown from a handful to quite a large number, VIDIAL. Vidial had its first task in helping out a fellow CITian Kanchana and in it, faced a problem. Where would a group of final years in college go for the money required to educate a girl for four whole years? A bright idea was to look up our seniors and ask for funds. By the stars of luck, offers poured in to help Kanchana. We knew then, if we can't grow huge, we could atleast make a dent in the society. Education is our primary goal for the next few years, although there's no guarantee on where we would be headed 10 years down the line.

Also it our duty to proudly say that till today, the CITians continue to do their share by helping out at Shanti Ashram and teaching at a Home by name Aravanaikkum Anbu Illam; Kanchana has finished her education and has been placed in a good company; Nivithya is in her 10th standard; 8 of our beneficiaries last year are now self dependent ; and Vidial continues to fulfil the purpose it began with. If we've truly been able to bring happiness into the life of one person through education, we would count ourselves successful. Darkness is the absence of light. All we want is enough light for everyone to read.