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{{nergyn

womensynergy@gmail.com; info@womensynergy.org Registered as a non-profit Trust u/s 12A of the Indian Income Tax Act – Vide Regn. No. DIT-(E) 2014-15/DEL – WR23826 – 21072014/3668

SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OF WOMEN’S SYNERGY (2014 –’15)

“Appreciative Reflections”

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Table of Contents:

I. The Context...............................................................................................................................................................................................2

II. Our Managing Trustee Reflects....................................................................................................................................................... 2

III. Our Vision & Mission......................................................................................................................................4

IV. Our Philosophy, Values & Approach................................................................................................................4

V. Target Group, Focus Areas & Objectives .......................................................................................................5

VI. Highlights of WS Programs & Activities:

1. WS’ FEEDER PROGRAMS (WS-SYMNET & WS-WOM)............................................................................. 7

2. ‘WS – TIS’ - TAPPING INNER STRENGTH PROGRAM............................................................................. 10

3. ‘WS-‘TReP’ - TALENT REVIVE PROGRAM: (A self-reliance program for women) .................................... 11

4. ‘WS – ‘WOK’ – WOMEN’S KALEIDOSCOPE PROGRAM ........................................................................ .13

5. ‘WS – Ps & Qs - PICTURES & QUESTIONS PROGRAM:

(An oriented Research & Documentation Project for women) ....................................................................... 15

6. INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY CELEBRATION AT WS...................................................................... 16

7. WS ONLINE............................................................................................................................................... .. ......... . 17

VII. Our VOWS (Volunteers of Women’s Synergy) & Interns...................................................................................................17

XIII. The ‘TEN TENETS OF AI’ Embedded in WS programs.................................................................................. 19

IX. Blue print of WS’ Resource Pool for Women........................................................................................................................ 20

X. Manifesting Milestones............................................................................................................................ 21

XI. Our Heartfelt Acknowledgements..............................................................................................................21

XII. Financials: ...........................................................................................................................................................................................21

XIII. Looking Forward; Plans for the Future.....................................................................................................................................22

XIV. Wish List for Our Path Ahead......................................................................................................................23

XV. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................................23

ANNEXURES.................................................................................................................................................... 24-33

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I. The Context:

Indian women of today have evolved faster than ever before. They are aware of their strengths, rights, aptitudes and

interests; have set goals, woven dreams around these and expressed their aspirations more in comparison to their

counterparts of the past. Many of today’s women who have had a vision of their emancipated selves have forayed

into multiple, hitherto unknown fields displaying exemplary heights of achievement. This has become possible

through their own ‘self-initiatives’ backed by familial support, institutional and Governmental support and all such

policies that have favored their growth and development in the external environment so far. Simply put, they ‘have it’

in them and therefore keenly seek opportune moments, peaceful states of being, conducive environment and all

other such factors required for their dream take-offs as well as for demonstrating their capabilities.

Yet, in spite of such providential blessings, the constant challenge in terms of proving their merit or even just gaining

an opportunity to compete with their male counterparts along various spheres and disciplines close to their hearts,

comes in the way of many a woman. The corresponding challenge for stakeholder groups and institutions is about

facilitating the ‘clearance’ of any internal as well as external road blocks thereby helping women and men

complement and supplement each other’s roles within their homes and encouraging alongside, their harmonious

functioning in the outer world. Men and women alike, have their own individual identities and unique strengths which

need to be harnessed through consistently harmonious and symbiotic relationships amongst them. Both merit mutual

respect which has to be ideally kept intact, sustained and grown to exemplary levels of emulation.

After all, men and women are akin to the pair of wings of the ‘development bird’ set free! We begin then, with the

reflection:

‚CAN ONE WING EVER BE PITCHED AGAINST THE OTHER?‛

II. Our Managing Trustee Reflects:

Dear friends,

I have great pleasure in presenting ‘Appreciative Reflections’ which unfolds our second year of existence. Literally and

true to its label, it has been all through, an ‘exercise-filled’ period of Appreciative reflections underpinning the fact

that our greatest strength lies in the very versatility and eclectic mix of Indian women who in themselves are such a

great ‘collective’ resource to be tapped into! Being so, they have the potential to fuel our nation forward by leaps and

bounds through synergies and symbiotic relationships. This is the very premise on which women irrespective of

backgrounds have been encouraged to come together to form our database, WS-SYM, that is, ‘Symbiotic Network

for Women’ as it stands constituted today. From the outset, our non-profit mission’s very aim is to help them do so

collectively by consistently plugging the gap between where they ‘ARE’ to where they ‘ASPIRE TO BE’ followed by

sustaining these states towards further growth and fulfilled states of life!

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However ‘Herculean’ or daunting the task may be for us, we believe that if efforts are ‘ON’; sooner or later, results

would ensue. Our nation is fast forging into the future as the largest one with ‘below 40s’ followed similarly by a

large percentage of youth as compared to the rest of the world. With this promising scenario of human resource

potential and its related ‘productivity’ quotient, there is no question of leaving our womenfolk behind who constitute

no less than 50% of our population. It is imperative then, that holistic development of women of India becomes our

prime prerogative. The harmonious blend of women’s talents, aspirations, peaceful and dignified states of life, their

safety, their physical and psychological needs, along with their own conscientious adherence to their duties and

responsibilities within immediate familial circles to civic behaviours in wider concentric circles in their communities

and their individual and collective contributions at national and global levels have to be focused on and bolstered.

This is where an introspection of their plight and conditions at various levels, many a time ironically, caused by

women themselves, their female counterparts within their own families and men, becomes vital, to work out

corresponding, conducive changes for achieving individual and collective goals corresponding to their ‘most sought-

after’ lives. Beginning with women themselves, thus, cooperation and consideration from all quarters is absolutely

indispensable. It is our constant endeavour to weave principles of Appreciative Inquiry into our programs for women

to create conditions which facilitate their adoption of a more positive approach with an accommodative spirit with

heightened ‘hopes’ intact.

Besides other plans and strategies in place, paving our way forward would be through harnessing financial and non-

financial resources from individuals and institutions and most importantly, stake holding from across a wide spectrum

of fields and faculties towards our mission and vision.

With aspirations and prayers for the WS family to grow from strength to strength with the continued participation

and benedictions of all, and best wishes to readers on behalf of Team WS,

Appreciatively yours,

Vaidehi Krishnan

Our Core Group :

Ms. Vaidehi Krishnan, Delhi, Ria Ghoshal, Delhi; Ms. Anindita Sarkar, NOIDA, U.P

&

Ms. Nirupama Nag, Bengaluru, Karnataka

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Our Vision:

‚To see women in their rightful, secure self-created positions of pride, within

their families, society and the nation at large.‛

Our Mission:

‚To establish symbiotic relationships amongst women from varied socio-

economic, educational and other backgrounds so as to facilitate their

individual and collective growth, as well as function synergistically to

empower their less advantaged and circumstantially challenged

counterparts and single women.‛

&

‚To create a self-sustained ‘resource pool’ belonging to women, by women

themselves, to begin with, for their deserving counterparts, tapping

synergies towards self-development, thus raising individual standards of

productivity and commitment towards their respective families,

communities and the nation at large‛.

III. Our Vision & Mission:

IV. Our Philosophy, Values & Approach:

Our underpinning philosophy and the related approach of ours, towards our mission is that of ‘Appreciative Inquiry’

(AI); a concept chosen for adaption both at organizational level as well as for facilitating women on our platform

along their personal paths in life, towards ‘Appreciative Living’ (AL). We are firmly convinced that Indian women have

it in them to prove their mettle when it comes to achievements related to various facets of their lives.

The task in front of us is to make women shed their negative mindsets, fears and anxieties and operate from their

innate, latent strengths and inner bliss. This would automatically erase their ‘inferiority complex, ‘low’ self-esteem

levels if any, and leave them with ‘clarity of mind’ sought by most, for taking the right and timely decisions related to

their self-chartered goals. The concepts of Appreciative Inquiry adapted by women facilitate the above process

leading them towards more ‘fulfilled’ lives, as they hone corresponding life skills and become their own

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spokespersons. Alongside, the spirit of ‘giving back to society’, caring and sharing, respecting other’s views, strengths,

belongings and so on that happen, further promote their progress.

(Please visit ‘The AI Assumptions Box at Annex 1; Table 1, to see how AI is woven into WS programs.)

Our work is confined to the realms of ‘preventive’ and ‘promotional’ actions rather than ‘interventional’. We restrict

our domain to the former two, for two reasons: 1) What goes into ‘interventional’ processes is not our forte; and 2)

We do not see the need for ‘reinventing’ the wheel as there are many institutions providing expert interventional

services and the idea is to synergize at an organizational level. With due respect for the ‘need’ for intervention,

though, referrals to stakeholders, both individual and institutional, are being organized wherever such need for

interventions arise.

Also, our idea is to avert the ‘need’ for intervention itself in the first place, as it is costlier in terms of money and also

‘time’ which is a prime resource. We thus endeavour to reach out to all women, irrespective of their backgrounds, in a

judgment-free, empathetic manner ensuring that any prejudices or boundaries restraining them, including attitudinal,

are removed in order to facilitate symbiotic relationships and creation of synergies among them.

We reach out to our target group mainly through word of mouth, internet and other social media, NGOs, individuals

and institutions referring them to us, on first-come; first-served basis, subject, however, to availability of resources.

We are approachable to all women irrespective of their geographical locations within the Delhi & NCR region and

have extended some of our select e-programs and activities to other states as well.

Also important and noteworthy is the fact we are not ‘constituency’ based. This is so, because we believe that working

within specific constituencies could make us ‘out of reach’ for women falling out of such chosen constituencies,

irrespective of the number of such women seeking our support.

V. Target Group, Focus Areas & Objectives :

Our target group of women (though not limited to) would focus on ‘circumstantially challenged’ (physically, socially,

psychologically and financially) women. As the middle-income group deserves special attention; being a very large

and ever-growing one with a lot of ambitious women struggling to fulfill their missions and dreams, they are

considered important too. So, the symbiotic functioning of women among various classes and groups of women and

synergies built among them would fuel us towards the attainment of our mission.

Our core values besides others are: Integrity, Equivalence, Transparency, &

Confidentiality of information related to personal lives of our women.

All our programs & activities are hinged

around the emotional wellness of

women.

Our work by and large involves all that it takes to

‘avert’ the very need for intervention which is

costlier beyond a shadow of doubt.

Our underpinning philosophy is that of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) which is a strategy for purposeful

change that identifies the best of “what is” while pursuing dreams and possibilities of “what could be”–

Women are encouraged to adapt the principles of AI on their journeys towards ‘Appreciative Living’.

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Our main focus areas:

Promoting Emotional well-being

Fueling self-development with 'self-initiatives’

Building Capacities -– plugging the gap between ‘where women ARE’, to ‘where they aspire to BE’

Reinforcing Avenues for women’s Income–generation prospects towards economic self-reliance

Facilitating Networks & Synergies/Symbiotic functions

Fostering the spirit of ‘Harmony’ , ‘Caring’ & ‘Sharing’

Hand holding of women wishing to adapt concepts of ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ in their lives for

‘Appreciative Living’

While the above are our focus areas, our program objectives are displayed in our ‘Highlights of WS’ Programs &

Activities’ section that follows. All our programs and activities are hinged around the emotional well-being and

holistic development of women.

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PROGRAM OBJECTIVE:

To encourage the formation, growth and sustenance of a ‘one-point convergence’ platform

constituted by women from varied backgrounds coming on steadily to an ever-growing

database for functioning symbiotically while expressing their solidarity with WS’ mission.

VI. Highlights of WS Programs & Activities:

1. WS’ FEEDER PROGRAMS*:

FEEDER PROGRAM A): WS-SYMNET- ‘Symbiotic Network’ of Women:

Some features highlighted:

A ‘cost-free’ networking opportunity for women;

An opportunity to access WS and other programs in the market and get notified about these from time

to time;

Accessibility to others on network at individual, group & and self-created group levels while availing of

the ‘window of visibility’ for showcasing themselves to the wider world and tapping various

opportunities;

Flexibility in terms of opting to join or delink from the network at any point in time;

Confidentiality when it comes to personal information related to women.

Our ever-growing network of members on the WS-SYMNET which has no ‘eligibility’ criteria whatsoever has a count

of 300+women with women from all backgrounds and those from less advantaged backgrounds joining in as well in

larger numbers this year. However this network remains loosely structured as of now and efforts are on to ensure

that the following support systems are in place:

A retrievable database designed by experts to a level of functionality that helps monitor and update the

same periodically for uploading online;

A mass-mailer system backed by technology to notify members on latest happenings at WS;

A monitoring team as well as systems and processes in place would be needed to analyze the pattern, life

and growth of the network. Feedback (oral and written) is also solicited from its members from time to time.

The following information pertaining to women signing up on this network will be shared with the public:

1. Name; 2. Age; 3. Professional Background /Other status; 4. Geographical area of residence

Any or all other information would remain confidential and would be shared only in case any of its members specially

requesting us to do so.

All women registering themselves on this network constitute the WS-SYMNET, though all participants attending our

other programs get on to this network as well, by default, unless they make a specific request for deletion which has

not happened yet. This network which facilitates ‘direct’ social networking is ideal for women to access opportunities,

gain access as well as visibility to others on our database.

Thus, this program needs more manpower and funds to help achieve its envisioned outcomes on the one hand and to

support an ever-growing database of women signing up as members of this program, on the other.

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PROGRAM OBJECTIVE:

To orient newcomer women mission, on the vision mission and philosophy of

Women’s Synergy and help them explore their respective avenues of

participation as well as the prospective ‘take-offs’ in store for them from this

platform.

FEEDER PROGRAM - B): WS-‘WOM’ -Women’s Orientation Meet Program:

Some features highlighted:

Women taking turns to host women’s meets in their own homes;

Participants from varied backgrounds;

Small groups of ten to twelve women getting an opportunity to interact 1:1 and in-depth amongst

themselves as a small group;

Spirit of sharing, caring and giving back to society fostered;

Trailer session by ‘Resource persons’ as prequel to main WOM session disseminating WS’ mandate.

‚WOM‛ or Women’s Orientation Meet Program was created for unfolding WS inside-out. Each session is marked with

a warm-up in the form of a ‘Trailer session’ by a distinguished Resource in ‘individual’ capacity or as one representing

an institution sharing resources with WS. This trailer helps in the much required cohesion and matching of

wavelengths among participants, facilitating a better understanding of our organization and what is in it for them.

Resource persons and institutions are encouraged to sign up on our Roster of Resource Persons who then by default

become our WS-SYMNET members and contribute voluntarily or otherwise, enriching the formation of our WS

Resource Pool (Please visit Section VIII : ‘Blueprint for WS’ Resource Pool for Women’) as a prime part of that as well.

Some of the trailer sessions embedded in our WOMs this year are as follows:

WS ‘WOM’ Meet, 25th

June 2014 – entitled ‘CareerScope’: Ten aspiring women, most of them young and from

less advantaged backgrounds, (as seen on the cover page of this report as well); with dreams of pursuing their higher

education, vocational education and other income generating opportunities in life shared their inner most

expectations, concerns and experiences with the group. The women were in turn given due guidance on various

distance education courses with IGNOU and tips on health, well-being and income generation opportunities

commensurate with their capabilities and potential opportunities in store for them.

Ms. Swarnalatha, a local resident of East End Apartments hosted the meet warmly and served the group piping hot

tea and snacks and fruits sponsored by WS. Women dispersed thoroughly satisfied while rushing back to catch up

with their household chores and other house-keeping and related services rendered by them to the residents of East

End Apartments.

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WS-WOM – Trailed by ‚Careerscope‛

WS ‘WOM’ Meet, 9th

Feb 2015 East End Apartments, Mayur Vihar, Delhi: ‘Khan Paan Mein Dhyaan’ (Focus on

Lifestyle, Health & Nutrition): Women from less advantaged backgrounds were made to assemble at the residence of

Ms. Harriet as she happened to be the host this time.

Ms. Vaidehi Krishnan’s talk on Health & Nutrition was followed by a participatory discussion session with women on

their lifestyle and related health problems and disorders which led them to gradually reflect on their lifestyles for a

brighter future ahead filled with good health and cheer.

A lucky dip session was facilitated by Ms. Pooja & Tania Shome. Women took turns happily drawing colourful

T-shirts for their children from the ‘Lucky-dip’ box sponsored by Ms. Ruchi Arora, a self-employed entrepreneur in the

garment business and also as one of our highly satisfied ex-TIS participants who continued her association with us as

a Resource person. Women enjoyed recapitulating excerpts from the talk, breaking into mini-conversations over tea

and snacks which were served at the end.

WS-‘WOM’ 25th

February 2015, Dwaraka, New Delhi: ‘Safety Workshop’ for women - Ms. Lakshmi Krishnan,

President, SPOWAC (Society for the Promotion of Women & Children) hosted the program at SPOWAC’s premises

while Ms. Shalini of ‘Safecity’ held the ‘trailer session for this meet. Snacks were served before the women dispersed

to attend to their routine duties for the day.

* Our above two feeder programs are ongoing ones created towards our envisioned ‘WS-SYM’ (Symbiotic Meets) Program.

‘WS-WOM’ Trailer ‘Khaan Paan Mein Dhyaan’ session by Vaidehi for less advantaged women (Left);

Women from various backgrounds in above photograph (Right)

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PROGRAM OBJECTIVE:

To provide women a platform that is conducive for them to share their

personal concerns in a confidential and professional manner and utilize 1:1

‘psycho-social’ and group counseling and peer interaction sessions to move

on in their lives in an emotionally fulfilled manner adapting AI principles for

‘Appreciative Living’

OUR SPECIAL APPROACH ‘SOW-ART’ –

‘STRENGTHS, OPPORTUNITIES, WEAKNESSES

(In sight) – ASPIRATIONS & RESULTS (pitched

against perceived ) ‘THREATS’; WAS FLAGGED

OFF THIS YEAR.

A poetic version FROM ‘SWOT ‘TO ‘SOAR’ & BEYOND’

was portrayed online‘

Efforts are on to replicate similar WOM sessions for spreading word of WS’ mission and getting more women to

participate in WS-WOMs and facilitate their orientation/access to our other programs as well. On parallel lines, our

Resource Pool invites the participation of resource persons and institutions from far and wide, relating to various

areas and facets of development.

2. ‘WS – TIS’ - TAPPING INNER STRENGTH PROGRAM: (A psycho-social counseling program for

women’s emotional wellness)

Some features highlighted:

Women have access to online as well as 1:1 coaching;

Referrals to subsidized interventions wherever necessary;

Rescript lives through ‘creative visualization’ guided reflection sessions;

Self-counseling & access to peer support groups;

Access to free spiritual talks, retreats & programs;

Women coached and guided with the application of ‘SOW-ART’ in their lives.

Women Panchayats at SPOWAC (Left); Ms. Vaidehi Krishnan’s session on WS mission in

progress & Ms. Lakshmi Krishnan to her right (Right)

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This is a program that has taken roots in the hearts of women who have vouched for it as inferred from their

continued, fond association with WS. Women’s emotional wellness being the focus, all kinds of support from

counseling, coaching and peer interactions and group support are being facilitated.

In mid-2015, an online Women’s Synergy ‘WS chat room’ was inaugurated, to ensure that women get access to

virtual coaching sessions facilitated by Ms. Vaidehi Krishnan, from their own personal comfort zones. Distances hence

ceased to a barrier as they could opt for such a facility irrespective of their geographical locations. So 1:1 face-to-face

sessions; group mentoring sessions; follow-up support through e-mails, together sum up what our TIS program has

in it for its participants. Besides these, a ‘TIS-WhatsApp’ Group was set up early this year which resulted in stimulating

the reflective thought processes of program participants through ‘instructive’ thoughts, day-to-day exchange of

positive news, anecdotes, notes and quotes as a group. Notable is the fact that ex-program participants continue to

stay connected through our SYMNET. Yet some others are in touch by signing up as volunteers, resource persons and

so on. Our TIS program alumni members are still associated in various capacities with us. One such example is that of

an ex-TIS participant who Such donations are in turn given to other less advantaged women (including mothers) in

our group who turn up at development programs or even merit the same from us by showcasing their positive

/exemplary behaviours like that of enrolling their children, particularly girl children in school!

A mini library was set up consisting of books received from stakeholder organizations and well-wishers, including ten

of Ms. Jacqueline Kelm’s books entitled ‘Joy of Appreciative Living’, received by Ms. Vaidehi as personal gifts from this

author. Such books, CDs, other educational and other resource materials would be accessible to women members for

stipulated periods of time. Philosophical and morale boosting poems keeping women’s well-being in mind were

compiled this year for distribution among TIS participants and on request to others interested. Getting a series of

online articles on AI and various social issues was also initiated online on www.csrtimes.com. A list of useful reference

sites leading to various quizzes, quotes and other enlivening sites for emotional wellness is being compiled for

sharing with women.

Highlight of activities this year for this program include:

Special poems created for women to help them reflect on their own states of mind, holistic health and

overall well-being; (A sample found in Annexure 2)

The WS online chat room organized especially for TIS participants and

ex-TIS participants contributing to the WS Resource Pool, one striking example of which was donation of

brand new uniforms and T-shirts for children, lighting up smiles on less advantaged women’s faces

attending our programs!

3. WS-‘TReP’ - TALENT REVIVE PROGRAM: (A self-reliance program for women)

At WS, every HAPPY face counts! – An enthusiastic

WS-TReP participant readying her exhibits for the

8th

March ’14 celebration this year.

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PROGRAM OBJECTIVE:

To encourage, promote, showcase talent of various kinds, provide encouragement and ‘come-

back’ opportunities in cases of hibernation or discontinuation by women themselves; revive

those on the verge of going extinct, and offer as many support functions as possible like

marketing, institutional linkages and so on, towards their economic self-reliance/augmentation

of family income and emotional well-being.

Some features highlighted:

Women bounce back to their pre-hibernation phase in terms of talents & skills;

Women perceive such an opportunity as a buffer for their emotional well-being, income-generation or

augmenting family income;

Women tap excellent capacity building, networking, marketing and showcasing opportunities and

various kinds of support for their talent;

Women explore multiple avenues for ‘give back to society’ by transferring their skills and talent to their

less advantaged counterparts;

Women can operate from their own homes reaching out to those in the vicinity.

This program helps promote women’s talents and hobbies and ensures that their creative juices keep flowing as they

showcase these, gain the appreciation and support from family, friends, and their peers and other professional

associations and groups. Also, these come handy in times of utter need during uncertain times of the future!

Serving as an excellent buffer for their self-esteem levels, income generation and/or augmentation of family’s income

this program serves in sculpting the much needed ‘Me Time’ of women giving them ample opportunities for women

to focus on their several vital needs like emotional and holistic health and needs for financial self-reliance.

This program complements their efforts in marketing besides helping them network, build capacities and grow from

their current levels in terms of quality, branding and so on.

Efforts are in full swing to help them decipher ways and means of tapping capacity building and other avenues of

support like mentoring through access and exposure to well-established entrepreneurs and so on, depending on their

chosen businesses, skills or endeavours or inclination levels as ‘would-be-entrepreneurs’.

As in the year gone by, WS was allotted a stall at BITS Pilani yet again this year, on 22nd

October 2014, for a four-day

exhibition cum sale of WS’ women’s products at their Annual Fest. Our women’s products as well as their spirit of

participation did make us proud indeed! Moreover their ‘expectation-free’ participation, contentment with the degree

of success and spontaneous monetary contributions out of their sales proceeds for their less advantaged peers were

all remarkably praise-worthy!

An exhibition-cum-sales event to commemorate the International Women’s Day through a ‘cross-program’ event was

organized at our head office premises with both the TReP participants exhibiting their products as well as capturing a

glimpse of the spirit and nature of interactions of women from varied backgrounds. These definitely demonstrated

the features of our much envisioned ‘SYM Meet, albeit a ‘Mini-SYM’! (Please visit our section in

Annexure 3: ‘Memorable Moments’ for pictures related to this program.)

This year’s highlights were:

The beautiful coordination and professionalism with which student coordinators of NSS-BITS, VOWS,

(Volunteers of Women’s Synergy) and our TReP participants organized the coordination, assembling,

transportation of exhibits to Pilani as well as documentation (including the maintenance of

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OUR ‘WS-WOK’ THEMES:

1. ‘WS-CS’ – ‘CULINARY SYNERGIES’

2. ‘WS-MS’ -- ‘MUSICAL SYNERGIES’

3. ‘WS-SYNGO’ – ‘SYNERGIES-ON-THE-GO’

4. ‘WS-RL’ – ‘RESCRIPTING LIFE’

5. ‘WS-LOL’ – ‘LOADS OF LAUGHTER’

6. ‘WS-HR – ‘HOBBY ROOMS’

7. ‘WS-WS’ – ‘WOMEN SAMARITANS’

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE:

To encourage ‘self-chosen’ themes/choice of other theme-based options and opportunities

for women to facilitate synergies and symbiotic relationships among them while pursuing

various opportunities for self-development/gratification/sharing of resources and giving

back to society.

accounts etc.) in an exemplary manner was amazing. Women participants participated enthusiastically

in the BITS-Pilani Annual Fest Exhibition where two of them sold their products and shared a small

fraction of their sales proceeds towards our ‘TReP Development Fund’ which we acknowledge with

thanks!

The successful cross-pollination of our program features corresponding to TReP & SYM programs

experimented on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8th

March (detailed at the end of this

section).

4. WS – ‘WOK’ – WOMEN’S KALEIDOSCOPE PROGRAM:

(A multi-theme program suiting women’s individual interests and aptitudes):

Some features highlighted:

Women have the option of choosing from amongst various themes offered to them or one of their own

suggested to us;

Women shed their inhibitions and get on to a ‘pro-active’/ ‘initiative-taking’ mode when it comes to

hosting organizing/leading their chosen theme-based events;

Women can host these programs in their own homes/vicinity of their own homes;

Women can brainstorm amongst their groups on various themes and come up with these among their

groups in a participatory manner developing their own ideas and projects;

Women can tap into our Resource Pool for ideas, support and facilitation of their self-designed

programs.

In India particularly, women hail from an amazingly eclectic mix of backgrounds but when they come together are

akin to colourful bits of ‘bangles’ used in the instrument called a ‘kaleidoscope’.

WS-WOK’ (also meaning a ‘dish’ or a ‘pan’ instrumental in producing that ‘final recipe’) acts as kaleidoscope

instrumental in creating colourful patterns from out of those very irregular bits of bangles!’

Our program ‘WS-WOK’ facilitates movement from the ‘unknown to known’ in a creative, participatory, exploratory

manner where women work on their own chosen themes and ideas besides those suggested by WS, as depicted

below besides given the option of working from their own homes or self- chosen venues. Thus, there is scope for

them to collectively create umpteen permutations and combinations of the WOK and its themes which can work

wonders at both individual as well as collective levels.

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Some of the above ‘WOK’ themes that were chosen this year were:

The ‘WS-CS’ or ‘Culinary Synergies’ was flagged off this year with a blog material to be uploaded on our upcoming

website, called ‘The Fenugreek leaves (Methi) Upma’. Just as this South Indian breakfast item commonly called

‘Upma’, gets the special value add with the incorporation of ‘fenugreek leaves’ (for additional nutrition as it is packed

with nutrients like beta carotene, iron calcium and fiber besides other minerals), an analogy was created to depict and

highlight the scope of synergistic and symbiotic functioning of women from all levels through a poetic depiction of

this recipe-cum-demo. This stimulates the reflective process w.r.t. each woman’s importance in life and the role

played by her. ‘Kitchenomics’ is a sub-theme too and illustrates the costs and investments related to food & nutrition,

health and economics and how these impact our lives in the long run! The idea behind the blog is to get across

special messages and draw bloggers into a recreational as well as interactive process of group reflections on women’s

health, lifestyle and related issues and practices in family, community and so on.

WS-MS -Musical Synergies was held on 15th

March 2015 at East End Aptts, Mayur Vihar, Delhi. Ms. Pooja, one of our

WS-SYM members and Lead Facilitator of WS-Ps & Qs project hosted the program which was attended by ten

women including the hostess. Ms. Pooja’s personal ‘Karaoke System’ used in the program added special punch and

flavour to the event! This special music system could help with lyrics, notes and even rate the singers’ calibre! This

held everyone spell bound, made some come out of their shells fathoming their latent talent and challenged yet some

others to try and prove their mettle in music!

Ms. Kalpana mesmerized the group with her old Hindi Classical songs and ghazals, while Ms. Harriet and her daughter

held the audience spell-bound with their song in Malayalam! Besides everyone who took turns, Ms. Pooja and her

80-year old grandmother together as a duo, presented their rendition of music in ‘Carnatic Style’ which was the

highlight of the day!

This program thus merits the consideration of promotion, pooling in of material resources and funds for marketing

and organizing the program. Importantly, participation of women from all ages and irrespective of religious, cultural

or other backgrounds is encouraged.

WS-RL – ‘Rescripting Life’ program is a kind of sequel or extension of the ‘Tapping Inner Strength’ program. Those

taking on the challenge of working on their weaknesses or showing their grit and determination to work on the

challenges faced by them in life deem this as a ‘self-prescription’ for their emotional states of well-being. The

participant is expected to work closely with her mentor and follow a guided customized ‘creative visualization’

process especially suited for her unique life situation as faced and shared by her.

So, while a doctor’s prescription for healing the body has the ‘RX’ indicating this; ‘RL’ is prescription for the

mind, the difference being that it is prescribed by the woman participant herself!

These themes are demand driven and are subject to changes from time to time. All these themes help bolster the

emotional needs of women, providing them with ample opportunities to understand their peers, tap opportunities for

self-growth and development by networking among themselves. Women unleash their individual creativity and spirit

of participation into this program.

The other themes are currently in the various stages of ranging from ideation stage to flag-off stage and would be

unfolded as and when they meet basic levels of preparedness in terms of time and other resources.

The highlights of this program were:

Excellent results yielded as apparent in the ‘Testimonial’ shared by one of our WS-RL participants;

A WS-Culinary Synergies blog recipe-cum-poetic depiction of a breakfast item analogous to

synergies amongst women was readied for uploading on to our website;

An eighty year old, ex-All India Radio artiste participating in our ‘Musical Synergies’ program

15

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE:

To help women unleash the ‘power’ of questioning in self-development and raise their

awareness levels w.r.t. human rights etc. while contributing to WS’ Own ‘Q & A’ Bank for a

higher purpose related to women’s lives.

5. WS ‘Ps & Qs’ - PICTURES & QUESTIONS PROGRAM:

(An action-oriented Research & Documentation Project for women)

Some features highlighted:

Women’s questions collected are ‘anonymous’;

Women are oriented and groomed as Lead facilitators for this program and facilitate the flow of

women’s questions;

The Questions bank attracts answers from the WS Desk and gets transformed in due course to

WS’ Q & A Bank;

The Q & A bank is envisioned to serve as a source of Research & Documentation for WS as well as other

research organizations having stakes in women’s development.

The questions collected so far are being categorized into five fields for the time being namely, career, relationships,

health, emotional wellness and parenting. We are on the verge of tying up with various resource persons and

institutions from the above fields to access their expert opinions on the answers provided from our end.

Promotional materials needed by our Lead Facilitators as well as those needed for orienting them on their respective

roles in the community have been prepared. A fresh batch of Lead Facilitators is due for induction. At a parallel level,

tie-ups are due at the institution and individual experts end. Once resources are in place, plans to grow this bank and

take on the challenge of reaching further milestones leading to our envisioned goals and outcomes.

The highlight of this program is the fact that materials for marketing the program have been created for

resuming the orientation sessions for prospective ‘Lead Facilitators’ in the coming year when funds are

identified and set apart for or this program.

Pride of participation & assurance of

‘anonymity’ as women pen their ‘Qs’

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6. INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATION AT WS:

To celebrate ‘International Women’s Day, on 8th

March 2015 our TReP participants were requested to exhibit their

products and utilize this opportunity to know their peers from other backgrounds as well.

The event was marked by the following nostalgic moments and happenings:

Cupcakes with ‘WS’ icing atop were displayed for free distribution by one of our participants running her

own bakery business;

There were products /businesses related to acupressure; mehndi; glass paintings; paintings on canvas and

garments;

Two women from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds were also present with their respective businesses

to share with the larger group and were helped with designing their own ‘make-do’ visiting cards;

A participant in her late seventies inspired and shared her stories among those interested;

Tea, snacks and cupcakes pepped up women to gather around to reflect on the story of ‘Emily Warren

Roebling of the West and her remarkable accomplishments, resilience and marvelous engineering feats that

were shared. She was the first woman in history to have spearheaded a project under the most difficult of

conditions, taking her father-in-law’s vision and dying husband’s project forward and to have managed it

single-handedly, for as long as eleven years before finally taking it to fruition and connecting Manhattan

and Brooklyn for the first time! - Reference was made to the works of John A. Stuart, Florida International

University under the title: ‚THE CONFLUENCE OF ALLEGORY AND TECHNOLOGY IN GENDERED PUBLIC

SPACE: Emily Roebling of the Brooklyn and the Construction Bridge‛. Women participants were awe-struck!

Though some of them knew and had heard of the ‘Brooklyn Bridge’, they never had inkling as to its history

and connection with a nineteenth century woman! Hence, on request, the URL for reading up the story at

length was shared on WhatsApp, to all, soon thereafter.

Participants got to know about other WS Programs like Tapping Inner Strength, Musical Synergies, other

avenues for them within our TReP program, and so on.

WS’ Message to women on the eve of ‘International Women’s Day

“With a ‘thorough understanding’ of yourself, fuel your lives with ‘self-initiatives for your own growth

and development’ and be your authentic ‘self’. You then come across to the world ‘just the way’ you

deserve to be portrayed. Your vibes will be positive and perfect understanding is bound to prevail”.

“Remove those ‘I WANT YOU TO LIKE ME”

stickers from your forehead and, instead, place

them where they truly will do the most good –

On your mirror!” -- Susan Jeffers

“Our deepest wishes are whispers of our

authentic selves. We must learn to respect them.

We must learn to listen.” ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

Above quotes are from:

http://livingempowered.areavoices.com/2010/10/top-25-empowerment-quotations-for-women/

‚It’s not what you call me, but what I answer to.‛ ~African proverb

17

Our programs and activities thus, focus on erasing ‘low self-esteem’ levels, boosting self-confidence of women and

averting possibilities of their slipping into depressive states of mind and eventually necessitating interventional

processes and actions. Also, our programs help bring clarity of mind, help with their decision making skills for

tapping opportunities in a timely manner. Women are then able to articulate and exert ‘benign’ assertion while

navigating their lives ahead and winning the confidence of their families and all those who matter most in their

lives.

7. WS ONLINE:

This year, Ms. Vaidehi Krishnan’s representation of WS was enlisted online on the ‘Appreciative Inquiry Commons’

website blog named ‘AI Commons – Design Jam at http:aicommons.ideascale.com with her contributions and use of

AI in WS’ work/target groups which were shared with others on the leaderboard.

Articles promoting WS’ mission, as well for sharing related ideas and views with all stake holders, women and others

interested were published online and can be viewed on www.csrtimes.com.

Efforts like the ones above would gain great ‘multiplier effect’ once WS’ website gets aired.

VII. Our VOWS (Volunteers of Women’s Synergy) & Interns:

WS Accounts & Admin: This is yet another area of significant voluntary contribution which could have otherwise cost

us a great deal. A retired couple has been volunteering for us to handle our Accounts and administration related

work.

WS’ Program Logos: The third category of invaluable contribution to WS was on the ‘logo development’ front taken

up painstakingly by our VOWS with the spirit of contributing towards a cause!

8th

March @ WS!

It is not about why’ we celebrate’ but ‘how’ we celebrate this day that

matters!

Nothing but ‘association with WS’ would help reveal the true spirit!

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We make a ‘living’ by what we ‘get’. We make a ‘life’ by

what we ‘give’. – Winston Churchill

WS’ Program Management: Our VOWS (Volunteers of WS) and other well-wishers help in umpteen ways from

referring us to newcomers like other program/general volunteers, prospective program participants, resource persons,

resource institutions and the like! They take pride in hosting and organizing various aspects and chip in resources of

various kinds for our programs with unmatched zeal and spirit of reaching out to the most deserving women as in our

TReP program highlighted below:

TReP Program: This year in succession, a lot if significant contributions have flown in from our VOWS!

Independently, confidently and professionally handled, the coordinated work related to our Annual Exhibition Stall of

WS’ stall by our volunteers and BITS students together, was strikingly commendable and exemplary!

Our WS-BITS-Pilani October 2014 exhibition as posted on our Facebook page

Last but not least, it is with the same fervor and spirit that our program management volunteers, interns and other

well-wishers lend a helping hand in organizing our programs, with some even hosting them at their own homes and

picking up the ‘eateries’ and beverage costs, not accepting WS’ offer to reimburse these! Certificates and

commendation letters are being given to all our VOWS and interns from time to time, as per their individual requests

received by us.

The highlights for the year w.r.t to VOWS Program have been the tremendous unconditional ‘spirit of giving’.

Most noteworthy among them are the sustained efforts that had gone into maintaining our books of

Accounts, administrative work, program related management, and the Logo Development processes with

invaluable technological skills, all given ‘pro bono’ with exemplarily selfless service towards our mission.

VIII. The ‘TEN TENETS OF AI’ Embedded in WS’ programs:

The ten tenets or principles – (five core and five emergent) related to our philosophy, ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ are being

interwoven in our approach, methodologies, training sessions and activities as far as possible and wherever

19

RECAPITULATING

THE FIVE CORE PRINCIPLES OF AI:

ANTICIPATORY; SIMULTANEITY; CONSTRUCTIONIST; POETIC & POSITIVE;

&

THE FIVE EMERGENT PRINCIPLES OF AI:

WHOLENESS; ENACTMENT; FREEDOM OF CHOICE; AWARENESS & NARRATIVE.

WS PROGRAMS:

TAPPING INNER

STRENGTH-(WS-‘TIS’)

TALENT

REVIVE

PROGRAM

(‘TReP’)

WS-

SYMBIOTIC

MEETS

PROGRAM

(SYM)

WOMEN’S

KALEIDOSCOPE

(‘WOK’)

Corresponding AI

Principles:

Awareness(A);

Freedom of Choice (F)

Enactment (E)

Wholeness(W);

Narrative (N)

Enactment (E)

TABLE 1: The five ‘emergent’ principles at work:

(We at WS track and fan these very AI principles across our programs, using the acronym

‘APP-SIMCONS’ & ‘WE-FAN’ Please visit ‘AI- Assumptions Box’ as well, at Annexure 1’

“All the greatest and most important problems of life are fundamentally insoluble... They

can never be solved, but only outgrown. This "outgrowing" proves on further investigation

to require a new level of consciousness. Some higher or wider interest appeared on the

horizon and through this broadening of outlook the insoluble problem lost its urgency. It

was not solved logically in its own terms but faded when confronted with a new and

stronger life urge.”

—Carl Jung

appropriate, as has been described in our various programs detailed above, and are portrayed as a ‘recap’ in the

table here below:

Thus, ‘AL’ or Appreciative Living, adapted from the above tenets of our underpinning philosophy, AI, is steadily

getting reinforced keeping the ‘Assumptions’ listed in ‘Annexure 1’ at the backdrop. All these get steadily blended

into our mission-related activities and programs, as well as WS at the organizational level. Also, there is ample

scope for adoption of these in the individual lives of women.

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IX. Blueprint of WS’ Resource Pool for Women :

Early this year, seeds were sown to raise and grow our much envisioned Resource pool to fuel our mission, as

depicted in the form of our blueprint shown below:

The success and the magical ‘caring and sharing’ spirit is what matters in making this dream true. We expect this spirit

of giving to help all contributors reap rich benefits and the desired gratification sought by them along with any or all

of its indirect benefits in store for them. This would inspire them to hold the beacon for others to emulate them. So

we welcome everyone to experience the joy of participation in this process, in a manner of their own choice.

‘WS’ RESOURCE POOL’

NON-FINANCIAL RESOURCE: SCOPE OF CONTRIBUTIONS

(Though not limited to..)

INDIVIDUAL

INSTITUTIONAL

Material

Knowledge dissemination

Skill-based contributions

Attitudinal/Behavioural/Change Management

Mentoring, Referrals (to Institutional & Individual

Resource Persons on our roster, etc.)

Material – Logistics/Venue Sponsorships

Infrastructure/Technology etc.

FINANCIAL RESOURCES: SCOPE OF CONTRIBUTIONS... (Though not limited to..)

INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTIONAL

Donations , Theme-based contributions; Sponsorships for women; Sponsorships of WS Programs; Interest-free loans, will & other bequeathed gifts

Grants Donations & Sponsorships; Bursaries/Scholarships for women

Corporate Matching grants, Employee Giving

(We welcome all those who wish to be a proud part of this blueprint!)

‚If you want 1 year of prosperity, grow grain. If

you want 10 years of prosperity, grow trees. If

you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people‛

So goes an old Chinese proverb!

‚Let us grow, sustain and consistently unleash the power of our huge Indian populace, especially

that of our eclectic mix of women‛--Team WS

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X. Manifesting Milestones:

Milestones were envisioned much before getting materialized! Team WS got together on 22nd

May 2014 to mark

WS’ first Foundation Day, to recapitulate the milestones traversed and share dreams related to those on our

journey into the future. Ms. Latha Jayanth, our WS TReP member

& self-employed entrepreneur having her own bakery business

baked a beautiful cake to commemorate importance of the day.

The participants ‘RSVP’s were in response to the creative invite of

our mascot seen below:

DILMIL’ our WS-mascot (& role model spokesperson to be

emulated by women) celebrated and highlighted as iconic of a

woman being the best ‘spokesperson’ for herself! The evolution

of ‘DILMIL’ as explained in ‘conversational’ style is ready for being

uploaded on our website.

Ms. Vaidehi shared the all the achievements and challenges taking participants through WS’ journey in response to a

special request by participants. They were very happy to know of the progress and the participatory efforts of other

women in hosting our planned programs. (Please visit Annexure 3 ‘Memorable Moments‛)

XI. Our Heartfelt Acknowledgements:

We consider it a great privilege to be mentioning the invaluable support provided by all our supporters, both

individual and institutional. We look forward to their continuous support and long-term associations with us.

(Please visit our detailed acknowledgements section expressing thanks at Annexure 6)

XII. Financials:

This is an important section which could give insights into a range of strategic/governance/philosophy and approach

related issues. The Balance Sheet for the FY – 2014-’15 as seen in Annexures 5a & 5b pertaining to financial

information w.r.t our various programs and activities undertaken during the year, with lean resources at disposal. Our

Income and Expenditure statement shows that in the absence of structured institutional funding; only mini-scale

activities could be undertaken. Even this level of achievement would not have been possible without the support

forthcoming magnanimously from all the above mentioned well-wishers and individual level contributors who heartily

hosted programs voluntarily, bearing the hosting costs for the various events and get-togethers.

Latha’s spontaneous gift to WS; her designer cake with our logo, specially baked for

the occasion! (Left); A song on ‘WS’ that was composed specially for this occasion was

sung in chorus! (Right)

22

Note-worthy of mention is the fact that our modus operandi of involving women from all backgrounds for creating

resources for the less advantaged counterparts was off to a great start in Year 1 itself by way of people pooling in in

various kinds of resources in this way enabling us to move from the ideational level and setting up models at the

ground level quite soon. The budgeting process for our programs in the future would therefore take into

consideration the fact that so far, only the bare minimum costs were borne by WS, due to pro bono support extended

on various fronts and from various sources and provisions would have to be made for our self-sufficiency along these

fronts as we steadily scale up all our initiatives. Nevertheless, fostering the ‘give & take/sharing and caring’ attitude of

our well-wishers will continue.

Our programs are specially created in a way that ensures minimum expenditure on overheads as well as conservation

of women’s time and efforts. This is owing to the fact that today’s women are so preoccupied with multiple chores and

responsibilities. An example of this is the flexibility given to them to participate in our programs from their own homes

as far as possible. Thanks to advancements in technology that

have made this possible and hence considered by us a ‘should-

be-tapped’ advantage.

XIII. Looking Forward; Plans for the Future:

We at WS hold the firm belief that there can be no

learning/insights like the ones we get from challenges or even

failures! We look forward to opportunities that help us constantly

gear up to transforming these very challenges into opportunities

for WS and our women.

This year was one of constant reflections that culminated in a

‘stock taking’ exercise of these during our Annual Meeting in

early August when the draft of our First Ever Annual Report

- ‚An Appreciative Beginning‛ was laid in front of our core group of four women to examine, reflect analyze and come

up with concrete plans for the future. The ‘cost-effectiveness’ of our operations was also looked into alongside.

It gave Team WS immense satisfaction that:

With just our Section 12A registration in hand and with our 80G certification yet to come in, there was a lot

of activity that kept happening, thanks to the faith reposed in us by all our stakeholders including our

women;

The extent to which costs had come down by virtue of the fact that so many inputs which would have cost us

exorbitantly, had these not been borne by well-wishers and sponsors;

The kind of testimonials that flew in reassured us of our approach and philosophy related to our mission;

And, last but never the least, the excellent wave-length and group-dynamics shared by Team WS and our

well-wishers and sponsors!

Some of the strategic decisions taken for the year ahead were:

To flag off our ‘WS-HAS’ – Harnessing Synergies initiative 2015 with the creation of rosters where individual

and institutional stakeholders are invited to sign up under two distinct categories –

WS-HAS-IND (Harnessing Synergies – Individual) & WS-HAS-INST (Harnessing Synergies – Institutional).

To organize the procurement of our 80G certificate from the Income Tax Department;

To hire interns and engage youth and their creative potential to ensure a mutually enriching experience

given time and cost considerations;

To focus on the ‘low-hanging’ fruits (in the form of programs that showed results and /or positive response

from women or those that evoked stakeholder’s participation), in order not to divert too much attention

from the direction of consolidated efforts already gone in/ invested in terms of time and monetary

resources.

WS Trustees’ Meet on 22nd July 2014 ;

Bangalore Trustee on ‘Skype’ mode

23

XIV. Wish List for Our Path Ahead:

The idea of creating this section in our report in an exclusive way is to invite stake holding and involvement of

youth and all those keen in getting involved in our following plans which have been shared keeping in view, their

‚priority-wise importance‛:

Website Development Plan: While there has been some progress in terms of content development for our site,

here are some technology related issues to be sorted out and the site needs up gradation and incorporation of

some of the relevant features for a dynamic, interactive website. Hence this is an earnest call for involvement of

experts, financial support and those interested in volunteering to contribute in even perhaps a piece meal way.

Women are particularly encouraged so far as volunteering is concerned as they have other take-offs from the WS

platform as reciprocal gestures from our end. Hopefully, this section should not be appearing in our Annual

Report of 2015-16!!

(Solicited: Web Design Experts, Volunteers, College Students with requisite skills and others interested)

Organization Development & Program Development Plan:

‘Program Promotion Committees’ are planned to be set up so that the path traversed so far could be examined

at a strategic planning level along with important budgetary allocations for the future w.r.t to overheads as well

as program development costs and the corresponding resource mobilization efforts that need to be factored in.

(Solicited: Development Sector experts in the areas of Management, Program Planning, Promotion &

Management & Monitoring & Evaluation, Marketing, Research etc.)

Marketing & Outreach Plan:

We propose engaging youth from colleges and their alumni networks for creative writing work, designing our

e-Newsletter etc. We also have the requirement of having a Web Administrator and blogger for postings on our

upcoming website. We also need experts to help us get started with mass e-mailing systems that function

smoothly enabling us to reach out to women far and wide.

(Solicited: Web Administrators, Technical Design experts, creative writing experts, interns and others

from the social sector having keen interest in social sector /women’s development issues) Please visit our

Annexure 7 – ‘Wish List for our Path Ahead’

Needless to say, all contributions will be acknowledged by us in writing, in our Annual Reports and on our

website as and when it is fully functional. We aim to make you proud of your involvement & investment in

our cause!

XV. Conclusion:

We have our hopes rising along various fronts. These are further buffered by reassuring testimonials verbal as well as

written, some of which are found in Annexure 4 – ‘Our Reassuring Testimonials’. Our ever-growing networks and

program participants, resource persons and resource institutions backed by rich contributions of all kinds to our

Resource Pool will help attract women who deserve to access these to their advantage and lead fulfilling lives as

envisioned by us.

We eagerly look forward to men, women, youth both male and female, the retired senior citizens of the community,

institutional donors, sponsors and other stakeholders and good Samaritans joining hands with us for creating the kind

of synergies and symbiotic relationships needed to bolster this mission of ours, ‘Appreciatively!

24

ANNEXURE 1 - THE ‘AI’ ASSUMPTIONS BOX : A RECAP..

ASSUMPTIONS & WS’ PROGRAMS:

1 & 2 : WS-TIS (Tapping Inner Strength)

3, 4 & 8 : WS-TIS; WS-SYM (Symbiotic Meets Program:

: 5 : WS-Ps & Qs (Pictures & Questions)

6 & 7 : WS-TIS

AI FOLLOWS THE EIGHT ASSUMED

OBSERVATIONS OF THE HUMAN

BEHAVIOURS/SYSTEMS:

1. In every society, organization, or group, something works!

WS facilitates women’s discovering ’WHAT WORKS’ for them/their groups.

2. What we ‘focus’ on, becomes our reality.

WS helps women develop positive focus, EG: `WOMEN CAN MAKE THIS WORLD A ‘SAFE’ PLACE TO

LIVE’.

3. Reality is created in the moment, and there are multiple realities.

WS facilitates the widening of women’s horizon to accept and accommodate many realities adopting

the belief: ‘AS MANY REALITIES; AS MANY VIEW POINTS’

4. The language we use creates our reality.

WS helps women exercise ‘ BENIGN ASSERTION’ along their paths of negotiation and emphasizes the

importance of the ‘ LANGUAGE ELEMENT’ while doing so.

5. The act of asking questions of a group influences it in some way

WS facilitates women’s articulation of their concern for self-development, human rights and so on

through THE ART OF QUESTIONING.

6. People have more confidence and comfort to journey to the future (the unknown) when

they carry forward parts of the known. (PAST)

WS orients apprises /orients women on ‘CALCULATIVE RISKS’ when venturing out of their

‘familiar/comfort’ zones while MANAGING CHANGE and facing associated challenges.

7. We carry parts of the past forward, they should therefore be the ‘best’ about the past.

WS facilitates the ‘SUPER-IMPOSING’ of women’s negative thoughts related to fear, anxiety etc.,

stemming out of their negative past experience, with PLEASANT MEMORIES attached to success,

cordial relationships, happy moments etc., of THEIR PAST.

8. It is important to honour/value differences.

WS stimulates women’s thoughts on this importance, for e.g., while they encounter challenges related

to handling their relationships within their families and groups of people from divergent backgrounds

in their respective places of work, society and so on.

25

ANNEXURE 2 - A POEM FOR WOMEN ON THE EVE OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY ON

8TH

MAR 2015

‘APPRECIATIVE LIFE’ ..Some reflections...

‘L-i-f-e’ or ‘M-i-n-d’ both seem word capsules of just four letters

But appreciative reflections reveal how much each of these matters

Ironically, our ‘action-packed lives’ are but a bundle of memories

‘Life seems nice’ when our minds beam with ‘happiness and peace’!

The wand of ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ can work out our wishes

Unleashed at regular junctures, it ‘magically sponges’

Everything else out from our minds leaving memories ‘productive and

pleasant’

Ushering new pathways and opportunities, so ‘challenging and abundant’!

We become so much more positive, ‘light and open-minded’

Ever ready to tread on ‘new paths’ we had hitherto dreaded

We scale ‘new heights’ with the best of our spirits, hopes and self-reliance

Reaping rich dividends from our investment in life’s ‘Mind-Intellect’

alliance!

- Vaidehi Krishnan

Dedicated to our ‘WS-TIS’ Program

Participants

on 8th March 2015

26

ANNEXURE 3 : ‘OUR MEMORABLE MOMENTS WITH WOMEN’

The ‘Reminiscent ’(Top); ‘Rejoicing’ (Left- ‘Lucky dip’); ‘Reflective’ (Bottom); & ‘Refreshing’ (Right)

‚Khaan Paan Mein Dhyaan”;

Giving moral support to a financially challenged

woman participant anxiously awaiting her son’s

turn for admission at a Govt. school.

‘WS ‘WOM’ trailed by Ms. Shalini of ‘Safecity’ with a session on ‘Women’s Safety

(Left); Event hosted by Ms. Lakshmi Krishnan, President of SPOWAC, New, at their

Dwaraka premises for their women panchayats on 25th February 2015 – (Right)

Encouraging and promoting a

young entrepreneur with her

‘Mehndi’ business!

27

Our Nostalgic 8th March ’15 at WS

DO CALL US / WRITE TO US & DISCUSS IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHOWCASE YOUR TALENT,

THAT OF A PEER OR OF YOURS; OR OF A LESS ADVANTAGED WOMAN IN PARTICULAR!

KNOW WHAT’S MUCH MORE IN OUR WS-TReP & OUR OTHER PROGRAMS FOR YOU,

AND YOUR NEAR AND DEAR ONES, IRRESPECTIVE OF YOUR/THEIR

PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND!

A sample of women’s exhibits (artifacts) readied for our stall at BITS Pilani –

fostering Entrepreneurship, Creativity & Innovation – WS-TReP, Oct., 2014

28

ANNEXURE 4: ‘REASSURING TESTIMONIALS’

Allow me to thank WS for its continuous support, love and care. Every now and then life presents you with

challenges that one gets so totally preoccupied in that one loses touch with oneself and the inherent

power and positivity and resilience that lies within us all. At that hour, when one is so caught up and gives

in to the mind patterns, a spark is all it takes to reignite this bond with the sacred self. That's the role that

WS and Vaidehi have played in my life. Thanks to this lovely platform for being so ingenious with tailor-

made tools such as creative visualization. Instead of adopting a ‘one size fits all‘ approach, the beauty of

WS as a platform that makes it so approachable is that while facilitating the process of tapping inner

strength, it truly respects the individual nature of a person.

Creative visualization was a beautiful tool that allowed me to reconnect with words, feelings and emotions

that are related to whatever gives me joy. It was very subtle and yet or rather hence very effective as a

tool. I would like to thank WS for its continued love, time and those beautiful daily quotes over the 21-

day period that devotedly made it to my inbox and always brought a smile on my face then as do now and

will always continue to. For your love I am deeply thankful. Lots of wishes for WS to continue touching

and reigniting many more such hearts of wonderful women around.

Warmly, Pragya Taneja, Program Participant, WS-‘WOK’ (Sub-theme: ‘RL’ - Rescripting Life)

Dear Vaidehiji,

It was indeed a pleasure meeting you and listening to your wonderful thoughts and ideas which you so

patiently and enthusiastically shared with me. [ I wish you the very best in your noble endeavours and hope to get associated with ‚Women’s Synergy"

and its lovely members very soon.

Regards, Jasmine Rao

Respected mam,

I am so glad and thankful to you to Vaidehi mam, that you have given me an opportunity to meet Mrs. Nishi Singh (fashion designer) who has given me so much knowledge, advice for my field. I’m so glad

that from one meeting with her she had helped me by referring me to a good garment company for my

internship. After meeting her I am feeling so good, and relaxed and more responsible towards my career.

Regards Swastika Gupta

(ex-TIS-turned-TReP program participant)

29

Dear Vaidehiji,

It was great reading the first annual report of WS.

It reminded me of that initial phase when I had met you for the first time and all the

programmes mentioned here were just beginning to take shape.

I hope WS scales great heights and touches and impacts the lives of many women.

Warm regards,

Sonali

Thanks Vaidehi ji...here's wishing you, your trust and the spirit of reaching out and helping

others the very best.

Regards & best wishes,

Seema Khanna

Beautifully written and designed. You are absolutely amazing!

Thanks for sharing! ..Kiran

Congrats! Excellent report ..

keep up the good work. DR. SWATI BHAVE, ACCCI MUMBAI

Hi Vaidehi,

Good to hear of all the wonderful work you are doing Vaidehi. WS looks great. And the programs are meaningful and impactful.

Keep up the awesome stuff Vaidehi.

Regards,

Prajakt

30

Went through the First ever Annual Report of (of WS) and that any NGO! Many

congratulations to you for accomplishing this great feat. Proud to connect with you. I never thought women's life could have so many

dimensions. You have acknowledged and found solutions through various

programs of yours. Great is the only word which comes to my mind. May you achieve many more through Women’s Synergy. Wishing you all the best

for your future endeavours.

Love, Bhuvaneshwari, Chennai B, Chennai

The items for WS-BITS Pilani exhibition have been successfully

passed on to their representatives and WOW! Team work can

do wonders! Want to mention here that those pieces of art

were indeed very beautiful & are sure to be received well. WS

ka naam bhi zarur aur roshan hoga (will bring laurels to WS

too!) We also got to meet some new and interesting people in

the process. Regards,

Malini, WS-VOWS (TReP

Program)

I am pleased to receive this e-mail from you. Your initiative, enthusiasm and

commitment is admirable and is certainly going to help women to take better control

of their lives specially those who are not from so well to do section of the society. With

all good wishes, I hope that with your deep understanding of the gender related issues,

as reflected in your message, your organization will be able to sensitize as well as

motivate all the right thinking persons, both men and women, as you have said, to

complement and supplement each other in the best interest of society and the nation.

Regards, Y P Gupta.

Y.P.

31

ANNEXURE 5: FINANCIALS (Sections 5A & 5B)

Section 5A – BALANCE SHEET FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31ST

MARCH 2015

Section 5B – INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE FY – 2014-‘15

WOMEN'S SYNERGY, VASUNDHARA ENCLAVE, DELHI

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31ST MARCH, 2015

PARTICULARS

AS AT

31.03.2015

AS AT

31.03.2014

SOURCES OF FUNDS (In Rs.) (In Rs.)

CAPITAL FUND

INITIAL DONATION 10000.00 10000.00

TReP DEVELOPMENT FUND 1478.00 1478.00

GENERAL PROG. FUND (CORPUS DONATIONS) 17210.00 1710.00

GENERAL RESERVE (SURPLUS) 1127.33 1040.47

TOTAL 29815.33 14228.47

APPLICATION OF FUNDS

CHAIRS 3400.00 0.00

CASH IN HAND 2474.00 996.00

BALANCE IN SB A/C WITH ICICI BANK 23941.33 9232.47

SUNDRY DEBTORS (ADV TO PARTY FOR WEBSITE) 0.00 4000.00

TOTAL 29815.33 14228.47

WOMEN'S SYNERGY, VASUNDHARA ENCLAVE, DELHI

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 2015

PARTICULARS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH

2015

(In Rs.)

2014

(In Rs.)

INCOME

DONATIONS/CONTRIBUTIONS (REVENUE) 38282.00 23501.00

38282.00 23501.00

EXPENDITURE

CONVEYANCE 1056.00 7774.00

MEETINGS 4932.00 566.00

PRTG & STATIONERY 3806.00 5965.00

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT 13976.00 0.00

ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES 5933.00 3000.00

TELEPHONE/INTERNET 2000.00 0.00

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY CELEBRATIONS 1500.00 0.00

COMPUTER MAINTENANCE 2200.00 3649.00

GIFTS TO SPEAKERS/RESIOURCE PERSONS/VOLUNTEERS 1400.00 1009.00

BANK CHARGES 1292.14 478.00

POSTAGE/COURIER 100.00 0.00

MISCELLANEOUS 0.00 20.00

38195.14 22461.00

SURPLUS 86.86 1040.00

32

ANNEXURE 6: ‘OUR HEARTFELT EXPRESSION OF THANKS!

91Springboard, New Delhi Venue sponsor

Anand Ashram Trust, Kanjankad, Kerala Donation of Rs. 10,000/- for stationery, white

board and stackable plastic deck chairs for our

training room.

BITS, Pilani Stall & logistics support for our TReP Exhibition

at their Annual Fest

Service Providers : M/s. E-media Solutions, NOIDA, U.P;

M/s. Printways, NOIDA, U.P

Concessional support services (website

development & printing respectively)

Mr. Sambhav Mehrotra Concessional support services (Certificate

Procurement)

Ms. Lakshmi Krishnan, Founder SPOWAC (non-profit Society) Infrastructure support; strategic guidance

Mrs. & Mr. Vidya Shankar Hony. Resource Persons (WS-Accounts &

Administration; WS-TReP)

Ms. Pragya Taneja VOWS & WS Promotion; Financial Contribution

to WS’ website & other in-kind contributions

Ms. Ruchi Arora, & Varun Arora, Self-employed Entrepreneurs Material resource (New hosiery items) for

distribution among less privileged women

participants.

Ms. T.G.S. Ishwarya VOWS (WS Logos Development & technological

support)

Ms. Latha Jayanth (Entrepreneur, Baker & Owner, Kukies’ Nest) Contributions-in-kind; Hony. Resource Person &

well-wisher

Ms. Malini Vidya Shankar VOWS, WS Promotion

Ms. Tanya Shome Office support

Ms. Anita Vardhan, Artist (Painter) Well-wisher & contributor to ‘WS-TReP Program

Devl. Fund

Ms. Priyanka Jain, (Entrepreneur; Art & Craft Expert) Well-wisher & contributor to ‘WS-TReP Program

Devl. Fund

Ms. Purvi Agarwal (Entrepreneur; Art & Craft Expert) Well-wisher & contributor to ‘WS-TReP Program

Devl. Fund

Ms. Pooja Balakrishnan, Student, IGNOU Intern-turned-VOWS(WS Promotion) & Program

Participant & Lead Facilitator, WS-Ps & Qs

project.

&

ALL OUR OTHER WELL-WISHERS & FRIENDS WHO EXTENDED HELP IN THEIR OWN LITLE BUT IMPORTANT WAYS!

33

Infrastructure Support: LCD and/any other office support systems as per availability;

Microphones, Karaoke Music System for our ‘Musical Synergies’ Program; Computer

Systems (Printer, Laptops, etc.);

Creative Writing Experts for our upcoming e-newsletter, blog, social media etc.;

Volunteers/Inters with Management, Finance, IT (Web Designing in Word Press,

Graphic Design & Photoshop skills;

Web administration, Marketing Social work, Social Research backgrounds;

Marketing support for WS programs, business cards, logos, pamphlets, stationery,

badges for program participants, banners, women’s diaries and printing costs of hard

copies of our reports, marketing materials like advertisements, notifications etc.;

Venue and other program support and sponsorships.

WOMEN’S SYNERGY

81, Anupam Apartments,

B-13, Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi 110096.

info@womensynergy.org; Mob: 09711073161;

jvydehi@hotmail.com

ANNEXURE 7: ‘OUR WISH LIST’:

Thank You!!

Do share your feedback which is invaluable to us!!