The academic year 2014–15 has come to a close and we are happy to place before you the performance highlights of the Gift a Dream Foundation (GADF).

Table 1 – An update on the Foundation’s activities in the recent years

Year	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014–15
Number of children (education sponsored)	26	73	83	128	312
Number of children (provided with other support – study material, sports material and computers)	100	1100	2000	6100	6500

From the above facts and figures, it can be seen that the Foundation which has made a small and humble beginning in the year 2010–11, has now grown manifolds and intends to extend its helping the needy in a much larger way in the years ahead. We are highly indebted to the whole hearted donations received from a cross section of people, who are instrumental in promoting education. The Foundation acknowledges with gratitude the main pillar of our activities, Sri Kabir Bhandary, who has been supporting the activities of the Foundation, since 2011, without which we would not have reached this position today.

The break-up of children who are benefitted from the Foundation, during the year category–wise, are as under:

Table 2 – Break-up of direct fees sponsorship for students

Grade	Girls	Boys
Nursery	2	1
Lower Primary	30	19
Higher Primary	46	27
High School	75	37
Pre-University	36	22
Degree	5	2
Diploma	—	1
Engineering	4	5
Total	198	114

The students are benefitted from the Foundation, have performed well in their respective examinations and we are happy to share the news that one of our girl students who got the opportunity of continuing her education because of the help extended by the Foundation, has got selected in the campus interviews and thus, the Foundation feels itself proud of having supported the case of education of girl child, which is one of the main motto of the Foundation.

Apart from this we have supported 40 government schools and 3  government PU colleges in Bangalore City, Districts of Bangalore Rural, Chikkaballapur, Chamarajanagar (2 tribal schools) and Madhugiri taluk of Tumkur District, most of them remotely situated and inaccessible.

We have supplied the above institutions with library books, both reference and text books – in case of colleges and reference and story books in schools, used/new computers, sports materials, band sets, kitchen appliances including plates and glasses, uniforms and footwear items, study material like charts, models, scientific material and educational toys for some anganawadi centres. We have also supplied laboratory materials for students of the Training centre for the deaf – which trains students in ITI, both for fitter, lathe work and electronics subjects.

We thank our donors and volunteers for having enabled us to do all the above by contributing funds and their time.  We thank each and every one of them for donating towards the education of under privileged students from remote villages

We could not conduct the annual get together and we propose to hold the same during June – July 2015, not only to present the achievements of the Foundation, but also to draw a road show for the year ahead.

We would like to further place on record the services of our volunteers who continue to teach the students of Vinayaka School in English, Science, Mathematics and humanities thrice a week. They have become very popular and the students just love them.

Our printer continues to supply us the printed matter be it vouchers, letterheads or applications, free of cost. Thanks to him.

All our vendors give us good discounts considering the cause involved. The proprietor of a book store at Gandhi Bazaar gave us many unsold toys free of cost.

The trustees will continue to contribute towards the administrative costs of the trust this year as well.

We once again thank the entire team of donors, volunteers, well wishers, dedicated and concerned teachers, principals and heads of institutions who have contributed positively towards this cause and the smiles of the children when they receive books, geometry boxes etc more than compensate for all our work.

THANK YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN.       

The academic year has come to an end and we are happy to inform you that Gift a Dream Foundation (GADF) has improved its coverage since last year.

Table 1 – An update on the Foundation’s activities in the recent years

Year	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
Number of children (education sponsored)	26	73	83	128
Number of children (provided with other support – study material, sports material and computers)	100	1100	~2000	~6100

 

This year we have paid the school fees for 128 students as per the following break-up:

Table 2 – Break-up of direct fees sponsorship for students

Grade	Girls	Boys
Nursery	2	2
Lower Primary	13	9
Higher Primary	18	10
High School	24	29
Pre-University	2	2
Degree	2	5
Diploma	1	1
Engineering	5	3
Total	67	61

 

All the students have fared well in the exams and we are happy to share the news that one of our girl students of engineering has been placed in Cognizant through campus placement.

Apart from this we have supported 56 government schools and 6  government PU colleges in Bangalore City, Districts of Bangalore Rural, Chikkaballapur, Chamrajanagar (6 tribal schools), Kunigal  and Madhugiri taluks of Tumkur District, most of them remotely situated and not easily accessible. We have also supported one unique school in Thiruvannamalai called the Forest way school, where the students stay on the campus and go through an holistic learning  method and also get involved in afforestation programs and they learn together without the division of class creed or religion.

We have supplied the above institutions with library books, both reference and text books – in case of colleges and reference and story books in schools, used/new computers, sports materials, band sets, kitchen appliances including plates and glasses, uniforms and footwear items, study material like charts, models, scientific material and educational toys for some anganawadi classes. We have also supplied laboratory materials for students of the Training centre for the deaf – which trains students in ITI, both for fitter, lathe work and electronics subjects. In the tribal school situated in Keredimba village about 8 kms off the main road and in the forest, we have supplied zinc sheets as the school sheds were leaking. In some colleges we have donated desks, library racks, and in some schools where the students had no place to accommodate benches and were sitting on the bare ground, we have donated carpets. In one school in Mayasandra Village where mentally challenged students were learning, we have supplied the required study material.

We thank our donors and volunteers for having enabled us to do all the above by contributing funds and their time.  We thank each and every one of them.

We conducted our 4th annual get together on the 26th of October 2013 at the Basavanagudi Pre University College auditorium. The program was well attended by students, volunteers, principals, teachers and parents. The entire program was conducted by the college and high school students. A volunteer conducted a GK Quiz for the college and high school students and invited the parents, volunteers and donors to join and it was very well received. Nearly 300 people attended the programme.

Refreshments served during the annual get-together were sponsored by one of our trustees and gifts for the students were from the general pool.

We would like to further place on record the services of our team of volunteers who teach the students of Vinayaka School in English, Science, Mathematics and humanities thrice a week. They have become very popular and the students just love them.

Our printer continues to supply us the printed matter be it vouchers, letterheads or applications, free of cost. Thanks to him.

All our vendors give us good discounts considering the cause involved. The proprietor of a book store in Gandhi Bazaar gave us many unsold toys free of cost.

The trustees will continue to contribute towards the administrative costs of the trust this year as well.

We once again thank the entire team of donors, volunteers, well wishers, dedicated and concerned teachers, principals and heads of institutions who have contributed positively towards this cause and the smiles of the children when they receive books, geometry boxes etc more than compensate for all our work.

THANK YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN.

The new academic year 2012-13 has started, and students are enthusiastically marching ahead. Let’s have a bird’s view of the year (2011-12) that was.

At the outset, we thank all our donors who have supported our cause of supporting children in their education.
Special thanks are due to

• A donor who has generously donated 2.3 lakh  2010-2011 for the academic year 2011-12 and Rs 5.3 lakhs for the academic year 2012-2013.
• A donor who has recognized our work & increased her donation to Rs.50,000.00. She now not only supports a student but also has donated to the general pool,
• A donor who has increased her donation to Rs.40,000.00.
• A donor for generously providing place for our get together and hosting it too.He has also promised support to our cause every year.
• Our volunteers taught English to a group of IX std students throughout the year on all  Saturdays as part of a programme to improve their soft skills. An evaluation was conducted by the year end and the toppers were given awards.

Books and educational kits were distributed to 1200 students in the remote villages of   Masarapadi,-Hosahalli, Siddanakunte, Kodigerahalli, Kalenahalli, Maidinahalli etc., in Madhugiri Taluk.  A science exhibition was conducted there in Dec 2011 and was sponsored by us in association with chaitanya sinchana trust.

4 students supported by us from past 4 years have successfully completed their B. Com degree in 1st & 2nd class. They intend to take up jobs.

Our Future Plans

We plan to support the students of tribal/rural villages residing in B.R. Hills. We have made a couple of visits and surveyed the area. The Ashrama schools come under the Child Welfare Department who have provided them with a good building and infrastructure but there are gaps in the academic aspects. We plan to chip in there and provide the students with study material and reference books for the library, educational charts to the students, in addition to providing foot wear for both daily wear and sports .

We are also looking for some donors who can donate a couple of computers. This is needed by an NGO Spandana who give free Computer Training to X passed tribal students in B R Hills area.

We have distributed note books to children of Government Schools in Madhugiri Taluk of Tumkur District. Last year we covered seven schools and this year we have covered 15 schools.

We have received a request from a few schools in Chikkaballapur to provide them with note books. We plan to visit them in the near future and provide the necessary assistance.

We plan to have a youth wing this year by inviting our students above 16 years to volunteer to teach, organise and conduct our get together etc. This is a part of our efforts to empower the youth.

We hope to continue our efforts to support more schools and children. All this will be possible with your active participation and cooperation.

The contribution of our Managing Trustee, Mrs.Meera Mukund in the field of Education has been recognized by a Delhi Kannada Magazine – Deheli Kannadiga and she was honored on the occasion of the 20th National Kannada Conference at the Kannada Sangha R.K Puram, Delhi on 9th of April 2011.

This is an acknowledgement of the good work being done by the Trust. Thanks to the unstinted co-operation of donors, fellow trustees and well wishers.

“Yeah always feel like I should do more. I am so much more comfortable supporting something like this where we can 100% trust everything.”
– Aarthi Narayan

Appreciate your update – you guys are leading a real great work.

 – Priyadarshini Channe

A get together of the committee members, donors, beneficiaries and well wishers of Gift A Dream foundation was held on 5th December 2010 at Sarkari Vidya Mandir, Padmanabhanagar a school for which the trust gifted some sports items as per their requirement. The program was an informal one. It began at 11 AM and concluded at 1.00 PM followed by lunch. The committee members introduced themselves and explained about the objectives of the Trust. Then the donors, beneficiaries and well wishers also introduced themselves. The donors and well wishers promised their continued support to the trust. The students while introducing themselves also shared their ambitions with the group. Some of them exhibited their talent by singing songs and drawing pictures on the board. The committee had also brought some gifts to the students. One donor gifted the girl students with warm clothing and hand bags. Later the group mingled freely and exchanged ideas. It was thus an eventful day for GIFT A DREAM FOUNDATION.

Gift A Dream Foundation

Annual Get Together held on 17^th November 2012 – A Birds’ View

The Gift a Dream Foundation annual get together was held on 17^th November at  the Carmel school premises, Padmanabhanagar.  We wish to express our gratitude to Mr.Kudroli, Chairman – Carmel school, who in addition to being a donor,  has always whole heartedly supported the foundation’s activities.

The innovation in this year’s get together was that it was conducted by students who have been supported by the foundation. The program began with a Kannada song by Chaitra (II year BE) followed by Harish (II year PUC) welcoming the invitees. The trustees detailed the activities of the trust over the year 2011-12 and the future plans of foundation were laid forward. The detailed activities undertaken by the trust have been already been documented and updated on the website.

The experience of the volunteer program being run from Vinayaka School was shared by Ms.Anuradha (Volunteer –Teacher). The program has been running for two years now, mainly due to the untiring efforts of the volunteer team.  The efforts of the team have been well appreciated by both the students and school authorities. The one area of concern which remains is the paucity of volunteers to teach the high school children. We wish to request more volunteers in teaching English and other subjects to High school children. Interested people can contact Ms.Meera Mukund .

The experiences with the foundation of both donors and parents were shared with the audience. The foundation’s support and activities have begun to make a very meaningful impact in the participant’s lives, in its own small but powerful way. Some of the senior college-going students also spoke about the help extended to them by the foundation. All of the college-going students have now become quite involved with the activities of the foundation and have planned to be involved with it on a long term basis.

Further, the activities of the foundation in the Tribal districts of Chamarajanagar were shared by Mr.Parshivamurthy from the ‘Jana Spandana’ trust. The interventions in three schools in the district have been positive, and the activities of the foundation in this area are now geared for further expansion.

All the children who attended the annual get together were overjoyed to receive the gifts presented to them by the foundation on this occasion.

The event concluded with a group activity conducted by Ms.Nandini. This activity aimed to ensure that children and the donors get an informal opportunity to interact with each other. This activity was quite popular among the audience.

With its many firsts, this year’s get together was a huge success. We wish for another very successful year for the foundation with the support of all our participants & well wishers.

1. Yathish K R studying in class 6th in Sri Saraswathi Vidya Mandira has scored A grade in the 1st Semester Exam.
2. Bindushree G studying in class 1st in Kasturba Public School has scored A+ grade in the 1st Semester Exam.
3. Chirag G studying in class 4th in Kasturba Public School has scored A grade in the 1st Semester Exam.
4. Ramya Shree C Studying in 2nd PU in the PES PU COLLEGE has scored 72% in the midterm Examination.
5. We Congratulate our beneficiary, Mr Vinay Patil K,C on completing BE (Machanical Branch) and has  secured 75% Marks.

We would like to share with you the following information.

A small primary school in Bethangere Village of Bidadi Hobli, Ramanagar district has around thirty students. The head mistress of the school requested us to provide books, pencils, erasers and sharpeners to the poor students. Accordingly we have distributed about 150 numbers of the above. The students, staff and management of the school were very happy about it.

A Kannada medium Sahakari Vidya Niketan Padmanabhanagar, Bangalore with about 700 students was in need of sports materials. They have a good play ground nearby and talented students, but did not have sufficient sports materials. On their request sports materials ranging from Volley ball, Badminton Rackets, Shuttle cocks, Cricket set were donated to the school for the use of the students.

In fact donors may also donate the above materials, either new or partly used to the needy schools.

Thank you. We shall keep you posted about our activities.

“Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains”

- Jean Jacques Rousseau (Opening line of Social Contract published in 1762)

This statement has stood the test of time for over two centuries now. A cursory understanding of Modern society today reveals these deep inequalities in every sphere of life, from the basic necessities of life like education , health-care, housing, gainful employment and other peripheral functions of the society like culture, entertainment and sports. This entrenched inequality stems mainly from the economic background of men. And the goal of our foundation is to take a small step to bridge this inequality in the area of opportunity and access to quality education. The Constitution of India promises to enact and enable actions towards Equality of Status and Opportunity . However ,today’s India paints a very different picture.Post-1992 progress and prosperity has largely been limited to swathes of the urban middle classes , and the much-bandied and promised trickle down effect is yet to be witnessed.

Educational institutions today have been money making ventures , and are run very much on the lines of a Corporate organization with the relentless pursuit of profit. Government policy towards Education is evident from the fact that Public spending on Education is still limited to around 3% of the GDP ( Recent budgets have even shown a decrease in terms of percentage of GDP) . On one hand we have private educational institutions who charge astronomical fees, back-ground check the economic stability of parents with profiteering as the primary driver. Most of the private educational institutions are shamelessly exclusive in their policy.On the other hand we have Government apathy towards education directly translates to poor quality of education and high drop out rates in Government run schools.

Health care in India is in a worse situation , public expenditure on Health amounted to only 1.45 percent of the GDP. Infant mortality rates and Maternal mortality ratios remain high and are comparable to countries in sub-saharan Africa. Private healthcare in India is only slightly better , with some successful private initiatives to reach and help the poor gain access to quality healthcare. Most private institutions (as is their credo) are focussed on the insured middle classes with an eye on their balance sheets. There is much to be done to ensure quality healthcare to all.

The poorer class of the country are stuck with little or no alternative except to manfully continue with the cruel drudgery of their lives , without a respite in sight. The unorganized labor force plow on with their lives with no hopes of a retirement or even a whiff of the benefits which the salaried middle classes take for granted (a steady job, Provident fund, Superannuation, retirement funds ,Health insurance etc).

For most times , theirs is an untold story as well. The mainstream media of today is driven by market economics to such an extent , that news content only focusses on issues relevant to big business and the middle classes. Most of the media houses today are listed on the stock exchanges , and are owned largely by big business houses. They are run in the same manner as a corporate body with the profits as the primary objective. In doing so , the objectivity and the depth of the news being reported has clearly been lost to a great degree.A cursory surfing of the TV news channels would clearly bear out this point , where news is being localized and driven by the market audience at the great cost of relevance.

A great man once remarked that ‘Poverty is the worst form of violence’. If we were to give credence to this statement , the necessary corollary to this statement would mean that the Indian Government is the worst offender on the planet and the affluent classes of the nation willing and wilful accomplices in the crime. None other than the father of our nation made the remark.He would have died many a death on witnessing the current state of affairs in our Nation of today.

The point we wish to make here is that the poor classes of the country are getting further marginalized (in every sphere of life and public consciousness) and are wedged and forced to lead a life of poverty between an apathetic government , market-driven mass media and the affluent middle classes.

Education can play a vital role in transforming the society to a more equitable and balanced state. All the basic necessities in life follow (and originate) with good education and access to quality health-care.

So with modest beginnings and best intentions we have set our primary focus in the field of Education.We are a group of like minded individuals who have formed this trust with the following objectives –

1. Enable children from the poorer classes to enjoy the benefits of quality education.
2. Help children from the poorer classes gain access to quality health-care.
3. Devote time ,money and personal interest in the progress of the child.

Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains
– Jean Jacques Rousseau (Opening line of Social Contract published in 1762)

This statement has stood the test of time for over two centuries now. A cursory understanding of Modern society today reveals these deep inequalities in every sphere of life, from the basic necessities of life like education , health-care, housing, gainful employment and other peripheral functions of the society like culture, entertainment and sports. This entrenched inequality stems mainly from the economic background of men. And the goal of our foundation is to take a small step to bridge this inequality in the area of opportunity and access to quality education. The Constitution of India promises to enact and enable actions towards Equality of Status and Opportunity . However ,today’s India paints a very different picture.Post-1992 progress and prosperity has largely been limited to swathes of the urban middle classes , and the much-bandied and promised trickle down effect is yet to be witnessed.

Educational institutions today have been money making ventures , and are run very much on the lines of a Corporate organization with the relentless pursuit of profit. Government policy towards Education is evident from the fact that Public spending on Education is still limited to around 3% of the GDP ( Recent budgets have even shown a decrease in terms of percentage of GDP) . On one hand we have private educational institutions who charge astronomical fees, back-ground check the economic stability of parents with profiteering as the primary driver. Most of the private educational institutions are shamelessly exclusive in their policy.On the other hand we have Government apathy towards education directly translates to poor quality of education and high drop out rates in Government run schools.

Health care in India is in a worse situation , public expenditure on Health amounted to only 1.45 percent of the GDP. Infant mortality rates and Maternal mortality ratios remain high and are comparable to countries in sub-saharan Africa. Private healthcare in India is only slightly better , with some successful private initiatives to reach and help the poor gain access to quality healthcare. Most private institutions (as is their credo) are focussed on the insured middle classes with an eye on their balance sheets. There is much to be done to ensure quality healthcare to all.

The poorer class of the country are stuck with little or no alternative except to manfully continue with the cruel drudgery of their lives , without a respite in sight. The unorganized labor force plow on with their lives with no hopes of a retirement or even a whiff of the benefits which the salaried middle classes take for granted (a steady job, Provident fund, Superannuation, retirement funds ,Health insurance etc).

For most times , theirs is an untold story as well. The mainstream media of today is driven by market economics to such an extent , that news content only focusses on issues relevant to big business and the middle classes. Most of the media houses today are listed on the stock exchanges , and are owned largely by big business houses. They are run in the same manner as a corporate body with the profits as the primary objective. In doing so , the objectivity and the depth of the news being reported has clearly been lost to a great degree.A cursory surfing of the TV news channels would clearly bear out this point , where news is being localized and driven by the market audience at the great cost of relevance.

A great man once remarked that ‘Poverty is the worst form of violence’. If we were to give credence to this statement , the necessary corollary to this statement would mean that the Indian Government is the worst offender on the planet and the affluent classes of the nation willing and wilful accomplices in the crime. None other than the father of our nation made the remark.He would have died many a death on witnessing the current state of affairs in our Nation of today.

The point we wish to make here is that the poor classes of the country are getting further marginalized (in every sphere of life and public consciousness) and are wedged and forced to lead a life of poverty between an apathetic government , market-driven mass media and the affluent middle classes.

Education can play a vital role in transforming the society to a more equitable and balanced state. All the basic necessities in life follow (and originate) with good education and access to quality health-care.

So with modest beginnings and best intentions we have set our primary focus in the field of Education.We are a group of like minded individuals who have formed this trust with the following objectives –

1) Enable children from the poorer classes to enjoy the benefits of quality education.
2) Help children from the poorer classes gain access to quality health-care.
3) Devote time ,money and personal interest in the progress of the child.