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Jashn-e-Azadi…proud to be an Indian. We are –each of us –angels with only one wing and we can fly only by embracing each other.August is known mainly for India's Independence Day on August 15 and Raksha Bandhan, a festival that upholds women's dignity and protects the honor of women.

“Parents question the daughters but has anyone dared to ask the Sons? Bring up better sons and use the same yardstick for the daughters also.” thundered PM Narendra Modi from the ramparts of Red Fort on August 15

Thank You Sir!

All across VIDYA in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, the Independence Day was celebrated with patriotism and great flourish.

All across VIDYA in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, the Independence Day was celebrated with patriotism and great flourish.

Telewatch

On August 4, an inter house debate competition focused on 'Television as one of the most influencing factors for the rising violence in our society'. Vishal of Ganga House was the best speaker followed by Pawan and Manisha of Narmada House having the second and third position respectively.

International Award

The projects undertaken by different classes for the International School Award under the aegis of The British Council were uploaded on their website on August 7. Thanks to KPMG for partnering with VIDYA School to facilitate participation in this programme. All the classes from standard I-VIII are actively involved.

Saluting the Flag

The entire school fraternity including the housekeeping staff celebrated the 68th Independence Day with enthusiasm. The national anthem chorus was followed by March Past by the four houses saluting the national flag. The Principal addressed the students. Among many issues, she requested the students to take a pledge to honour and respect the girl child in school, at home and in the community. There was dance and drama and patriotic tales of freedom

fighters wherein Zal Daver, Education Consultant stressed on the need to honour the dignity and sacrifices of freedom fighters. Yashoda Sharma, Headmistress proposed the vote of thanks.

Soon the sky was full of colourful kites. The kite flying competition for standard VI is an activity for their International School Award project.

School Watch

Debate Done Well

School Watch The VIDYA School, Gurgaon

02Ahoy! Splash of Colourful Kites

Meenakshi Roy, Principal Hoisting the Tricolour

Friendship Class

Almost 80 junior school students visited CVENT, the corporate house that provides online solutions for events and surveys. This visit was to get involved in a friendship class organised by Bhavna Rout, CSR Manager. The juniors had a gala time and cheerful moments to remember.

School Watch

Eventful CVENT

Activity Spectrum

• Apart from regular activities of sports, parent teacher meetings, UHG friendship programme, music, dance…there were inter house competitions on quiz and classical singing, both won by Narmada house.

• Anand Pendharkar from SPROUTS Mumbai enlightened the students about the environment conservation. It was a novel learning platform for the students to utilize day to day waste material in a productive way.

• Rashmi Misra, Chairperson along with Dilruba Kalsi-Manager hosted lunch for the faculty and staff on August 22.

• The students have participated in the CBSE Katha Creative Writing search for Excellence.

• Genpact organized a plantation drive for the students of standard IV,V,VI in the Biodiversity Park.

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DEAR, Dear…

Literacy week in the end August is marked by DEAR(Drop Everything and Read). Each day of the week has a zero period during which students follow the DEAR principal. The senior students stayed back for an hour everyday and taught the support staff. The students of book club conducted the morning assembly on the importance of literacy related to development.

To Be Positive

VIDYA has already initiated the process of Value based Education.

CBSE Guidelines

With a push from Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), schools are now designing value based education. The Board has tied up with the Ram Krishna Ashram to inculcate long lasting value systems among students. It has already trained 1000 teachers to conduct special programmes in a manner that is positive.

The Board had earlier launched value kits for schools that identify values and ways to implement them.

To KPMG With Gratitude

KPMG in India has been sponsoring a number of initiatives at the VIDYA School since 2011, which include a nutrition programme for the entire school, IT support, salaries of a few teachers and sports coaches, sport equipment and Pro Bono support. Each year they hold a number of volunteering initiatives at our school which include mentoring and reading sessions, carnivals etc. In addition, from 2014, they are also supporting the education of five girls through merit based

scholarships.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to KPMG for their support throughout the years.

School Watch

KPMG, Committed to Communities

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We are grateful to all our sponsors, donors and well wishers for their support at all times.

School Watch

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Bal Vihar, Delhi

Head Held High

August 15. Vande Matram was the song of the day when the students celebrated the Independence of India. They were awarded for their academic achievements. There was a poster making competition and a cultural

presentation at Panchsheel club.

The students enthusiastically created tricolor flowers and Rangolis, friendship bands, flags, finger and hand paintings along with sweets.

There was a kite flying session followed by special feast.

Activity Spectrum

• Regular academic classes with well attended parent teachers meetings were followed by unit test results. More than 90 % of the children have cleared the test registering a drastic improvement in the performance. The children were overjoyed to see their holiday homework on display

• Responsibilities' was the highlight of the morning assembly moral values. The children focused on various responsibilities towards oneself, school, society, country, world and environment. The Independence Day speech of Prime Minister was widely appreciated specially on issues of punctuality, need of toilets, health and hygiene, protection of girl child…

• Two teachers Garvita and Manju Agarwal attended the two day workshop at KATHA, an organization to encourage reading skills in children. They were given certificates for completing the training successfully. Teachers from Munirka Community were also awarded the certificates.

School Watch

Tricolour Pride

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Community

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

Motilal Nehru Camp, Munirka, Delhi

It was fun and festivity throughout the month.

Raksha Bandhan

National Flag

This is a pious festival that upholds women's dignity as girls tie a thread of trust on the wrists of their brothers who promise to protect and honour their sisters. Very popular in North India.

The Munirka Community made colourful Rakhis and shared gifts and chocolates on the occasion.

It was a moment of pride when the national flag swirled in the soft breeze on the Independence Day. The community enjoyed flying the kites along with the colourful balloons. Maa (Mother) of the community leader had the privilege to hoist the national flag followed by cultural programmes.

Toddlers with Rakhis

Earlier Teej, a festival celebrating the onset of rains after the harsh summers was also enjoyed by the people with folk songs, henna on the hands and feasts.

A very poignant Nukkad Natak (street play) showcased the havoc caused by alcoholism which is a very common problem faced in the community.

Renowned writer Premchand's stories were presented as two short plays in Mukt Dhara auditorium with the theatre group Rangshala.

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Flags, Balloons and Happiness

Health Checkup by Family Planning Association of India

Community

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Community

The community had so much to look forward to in this month. There was festival of Teej followed by Independence Day and birthday of Lord Krishna. All these occasions were celebrated with dance, music, sweets and joy.Girls in particular took extra care of decorating their hands with henna and creating colourful Rakhis for their brothers.

KID Power Media conducted a workshop for the morning group and also screened a movie, Mad about Khan focusing on health and hygiene. Similarly for the afternoon group, a movie, Through Danger was screened that highlighted girls' safety.

The first batch of NIIT CCIB course received their certificates.

PAPPANKALAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, DELHI

Joy of Being Girls

Community

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OKHLA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, DELHI

Health is Wealth

An eye and bone check up camp was organized in the first week of August. It has been observed that the people living in sub human conditions in slum clusters have no proper lighting in their homes which affects the eye sight. Poor eye sight affects the academics of children. This camp was a long felt need and proper guidance was provided.

A cancer detection camp showcased the importance of breast cancer detection. Three doctors from the related areas addressed the issues. Two women out of 80 were detected positive. Medicines were also provided and 245 beneficiaries attended the camp.

On the Streets

By the People…

A street play was organized to sensitize the community mainly women on the importance of breast feeding. The young mothers and would be mothers were identified and encouraged to see the play. This was an effort to educate on the advantages of good health practices for mother and child.

It was for the people, by the people and of the people, the great Independence Day celebration. For the first time the community attended the activities in large numbers. It was the people who made the arrangements and celebrated the memorable day together. The local leader also graced the occasion and later distributed the prizes to children performing well in academics and extra curriculars. Volunteers from USA were also present much to the delight of 800 strong people's gathering.

Cancer Care and Cure

Community

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Vibrant Volunteers

VIDYA welcomed six volunteers from USA. For two weeks, these volunteers were totally engaged in various activities with the community. They were teaching English, polishing communication skills and generally enhancing the capacity of the community.

Two interns placed by the School of Social Work, Jamia Milia Islamia University have just joined the community.

Ramesh Bidhuri, Member of Parliament was the chief guest and N S Rana, GM-Fena foundation and Vikram Bidhuri, Youth Leader were the guests of honour.

Thanks to Vikram Bidhuri that VIDYA has received a precious gift of 10 sewing machines for Okhla Centre to start tailoring classes.

The delighted computer children presented patriotic songs and dances. Later NS Rana of Fena awarded the JSS certificates to computer students.

Azadi Mubarak, Celebrating the Freedom

Little Chahat welcomes Ramesh Bidhuri

Community

IIT NSS VIDYA Remedial Education Programme

This programme runs from the premises of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) with cooperation from National Social Service ( NSS) students, IIT faculty and volunteers

Almost 100 children, NSS volunteers, faculty wives and staff celebrated various occasions. While Independence Day had the patriotic colour to it, the Rakhi was a pious festival wherein children tied Rakhis on the wrists of the seniors and were blessed. There was a cultural programme followed by a feast. Prerna Bhargava, Director Operations and Strategy graced the occasion.

Celebrations

Lady Sriram College Volunteers engaged the students about the benefits of cleanliness in day to day life. Personal hygiene is crucial for good health both mental and physical.

Round and Round Musical Chairs!

Personal Hygiene Drive: Dhote Jao

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Community

Bridge Course, Okhla and Sainik Farms, Delhi

The Youth Management programmes under the Bridge Course provide a bridge to help the less privileged youth return to mainstream hence known as Bridge Course.

• National Institute of Open Schooling registrations almost completed. In Bridge Course Okhla, there are 125 new admissions.

• Lady Sriram College Volunteer Astika attended to the needs of standard X and XII students in English conversation in Sainik Farms. In Okhla, Beena Roy conducted English conversation classes for the seniors.

• Rakhi and Independence Day were celebrated

Activity Spectrum

• Cleanliness was the topic of the month on moral values and clean toilets are the need of the day

Friendship Bands and Rakhis

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VIDYA MumbaiBeyond School

The students of Beyond School programme enjoyed a vibrant August

• Parents in Action is a recent initiative with the formation of a parent action committee. Five parents from each centre represent VIDYA on the committee to build brand VIDYA in the community. If parents are involved in their children's activities, they are more insync with children's growth

• Corporates Cooperate and volunteer to run Saturday Clubs.They help in managing reading corners and impart life skills. The children are blessed as they get an opportunity to interact with people outside their communities and gain valuable exposure

• Green Ganesh idols were created using simple mud and other soluble materials which will not harm the environment. The students created the little idols with guidance from Margam women and took home the creations with pride

Art and Craft

Day Out with Corporates

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National Institute of Open Schooling

• The first open school orientation was attended by parents and donors. The students expected the open school to complete their schooling, get a better job,improve their quality of life or may be just have fun !

• Ashok Rathod, recipient of CNN IBN real hero award was a chief guest. He runs Oscar Foundation, and NGO for underprivileged children.He spoke about the genesis of his foundation and the importance of education specially for under privileged children. The inspiring speech highlighted the interview of a girl, daughter of a rickshaw driver who stood first in the CA exams. The highly interactive session concluded with the short presentation on VIDYA's journey followed by certificates and cash prizes to the students to the students of the previous year for all round performance.

• Back to School with regular classes from August 2. Bharat Darshan is the topic for Circle Time with 20 minutes ina day dedicated for it. Each month two states will be discussed with relevant details. The interactive sessions with the teachers lead to general awareness and better knowledge. Besides this activity, teachers also choose any relevant topic on current events for discussions

• Stuart Sender, the famous Hollywood film maker visited GK Marg centre with Rajesh Shah and other Rotarians. This was truly a Hollywood calling as Sender interacted with students and explained his movies and movie making. Worli students gave a powerpoint presentation about their experiences and opportunities provided by VIDYA.

• Jhanvi Vissanji,Madhu and Vinuta conducted a special session based on sex abuse. Senior students attended the session which highlighted the recent case reported in the news. Reportedly, some of the students themselves are victim of child sex abuse.The Child Line helpline number was provided through the video shown to the students.The message conveyed was that help is at hand, if need be. Just call out.

Bhavishya Yaan

Hollywood Calling

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Special Session at Banganga Centre

Computer Learning and Resource Centre(CLRC)

A hardware and networking training session was conducted by I-Volunteer Zuber Kazi. He works as system administrator in Godrej Securities. The three hour session layed bare the concept of basic hardware and networking propped with discussions and demonstration. This was a day long session to upgrade the staff and prepare them for teaching of trainers. Four CLRC trainers attended the session.

Celebrating IndependenceCelebrating IndependenceCelebrating Independence

“We are no longer a land of snake charmers and black magic. Our youth has surprised the world with IT skills. Team India surges ahead.” The words still echo, that was Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaching out to the last man in India in his Independence Day speech.

This enthusiasm was visible all over India and our VIDYA Mumbai celebrated the Independence Day with the same infectious commitment and confidence to reach the sky.

In Beyond School, this day was a culmination of week long events. The whole week witnessed various activities including patriotic songs, national anthem explained to students, speechless drama on unity and sacrifices of martyrs. Freedom henceforth will have a different meaning.

Freedom for Me…Students wrote on what freedom means to them.

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Credit Suisse organised a quiz competition for the seniors based on India's Development. There were public speaking activities on national flag, Dandi March, Satyagrah etc. Almost 100 children from different centre celebrated the Independence Day with various art and craft activities by a prominent corporate house.

Bhavishya Yaan commomorated the great day with volunteers from Rotary Club at Ville Parle centre. The Rotarians were overwhelmed with the performances and have requested the centre to perform on the same speeches and songs in Rotary Auditorium on September 5 for celebrating Teachers Day.

At NIOS, Amar Chitra Katha conducted a contest to interview people who were alive on the day India got Independence and shared their experiences. These interviews were handled on the telephone as well as face to face providing a huge learning experience. Soon Amar Chitra Katha plans a special story on VIDYA and publish on their blog.With freedom comes responsibilities and one needs to draw a fine balance between the two. This was the focus of the celebrations at the centre. Hindi teacher Sunita Dwivedi conducted a quiz spanning the period from British entry to exit from India.Celebrations ended with national anthem.

CLRC seniors above 15 had a group discussion conducted by Vaishnavi Baidyanath,the youth programme manager. Twenty participants from CLRC and spoken English spoke about what freedom means to them.

Cultural Moments

Group Discussion with Vaishnavi

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VIDYA BangaloreBhavishya Yaan

Gottigere Primary and High School

August, yet another exciting month. The whole school were immersed in the festivities of celebration of freedom. The high school children participated in the state government celebrations and returned with a first in their dance prowess. The primary school event was hosted by Ravi Shankar, Rotary President and other eminent Rotarians. The local corporator Smt. Pushpa also graced the occasion.

There was the school band, PT display, cultural events and of course the flag hoisting. The children looked stunning with their new ID cards, thanks to Synergy.

Rotarian Satish Manandi sponsored the sumptuous breakfast.

In Academics, the new students are learning spoken English. Some students have finished Note Pad and Word Pad and learning other specialities of computers.

Life skill activities now include glass paintings with innovative ideas. This is in tune with VIDYA's core value of appreciation for beauty and aesthetics.

Honesty is the theme of the month for value based education.

It was a Total Yoga team headed by Manish Pole and two volunteers that created a joyous session on yoga in daily life. This was a unique Independence Day celebration.

The Quest Alliance team visited VIDYA to have a first hand knowledge about infrastructure and training programmes at Bhagini in order to compliment the programme.

The Rotary Cantonment representative Naveen Kottige who is incharge of women's driving programme has assured placement of women drivers trained through VIDYA. They can persue driving as a career and the process is in progress with high end hotels.

The NIIT Basic Course has now a new batch of trainees, mostly college going students and a few housewives. The reformed NIIT course will facilitate the students to achieve their dreams.

VIDYA Bhagini Programme

Mali Foundation

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“I slept and dreamt that life was a joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold,

service was a joy!''- Gurudev Tagore

VIDYA Varta TeamEditor:Assistance:

Design:

Sujata Kaushic

Shreya in DelhiPriteegandha Naik in MumbaiRushina Muralidharan in Bangalore

Vinay Goel

VIDYA Integrated Development for Youth & AdultsBlock S, Plot No. 3126, DLF Phase III, Gurgaon - 1220002Tel.: +91-124-4049559Email: delhi@vidya-india.org, office@vidya-india.orgWebsite: www.vidya-india.org

August 31. Col R. P. Madan, Executive Board Member of VIDYA, breathed his last in the early hours. The booming voice has fallen silent. He passed away peacefully.

Team VIDYA salutes the years of selfless service, perseverance and compassion of this brave soldier.

Col Madan will remain ever alive because of the rich legacy he leaves behind for VIDYA to preserve and emulate.

Be happy and at peace wherever you are Col Madan. VIDYA prays for you.

Dear DepartedCol R. P. Madan