[miltond]

Originally Posted by gabriel666

hi guys, me a newbie this thrd was exactly wat i was luking for, me based in pune, i actually am rdy to get involved full time u know like a job or somthing ,i anyways was fiddling with th idea of getting a job and wuld prefer a ngo job to a 9-5 enginering job any time of th day and i just found this thrd and so culdnt make it to th proposed meet up, anyyyyyywz looking forward to hearing from anyone of u guys

Hi!

Gabirel, we are planning to volunteer over weekends (Sun. for now, with an NGO located in the centre of the city {Camp, Station, or City}, and working in the education space.

Will send out a detailed description surrounding what we discussed at the PG CS meeting yesterday, but for the people who could'nt make it to the meet, if any of you know NGOs that fit the above pre-requisites, would appreciate more info about them being put up on this thread!

PS: We originally expected 7 people to turn up at the meet and had 9 people turn up, so can safely assume this initiative got off to a successful start. What say ya all?

[miltond]

So finally, after hectic PM-ing in the background, the Pune CS initiative kicked off, with a meeting yesterday (26th Feb) at 6 p.m. @ the Barista on FC road.

First to arrive (@ exactly 6 p.m) was Nikhil (nikhilkulk), fresh as ever, from a CET paper. Nikhil is a really quiet guy and a very keen listener, who has passed out from Engg. Coll last year, and has been busy giving the whole gamut of entrance exams this year.

Next to arrive was Sonika (sonika), who knew the people at Barista really well (which might have helped tide the potentially unpleasant situation, we might have had to face, if the Barista people did not like us re-arranging their furniture. Sonika, who is extremely vivacious and a through and through go-getter, has been actively involved with CS activity in Delhi before, and is a part of another CS initiative in Pune.

Sachin (Govi) arrived next, and for some reason, before he could even introduce him self, we just figured that the guy standing in front of us was probably Sachin. Sachin, who is one of Pune PG's more experienced denizens, is a very intelligent guy. A good listener, in his capacity as an experienced PGite, he walked us through previous unsuccessful attempts at starting up CS activity here, and potential pitfalls to avoid.

Next to arrive was Srihari, the convenor of Asha in Pune, who provided us with a lot of valuable info. surrounding volunteering opportunities in Pune.

Nishant (nishanttickoo) arrived next, and brought with him a lot of energy, that infused the fun quotient into the meet.

In between repreated introductions amongst the people @ the meet, Gayathri (oneiromancer) and her friend Ram arrived at the meet. Gayathri is a very articulate person, who has been working with NGOs, involved with underpriviliged children before. Ram patiently listened to the going -ons at the meeting, and brought up the important issue of not wanting to meet at the same location again . I'm guessing the non-functional A.C. at the venue contributed in great part to the decision. But the really amazing thing was most of the folks were so involved with the hectic discussion going on, that most people did not even miss the AC, till the meeting was drawing to a close.

In between, Harshal (grondmaster), a friend of Nishant joined in. Harshal seemed like a really reserved guy, until he shared with the group his throughts about what we could contribute in terms of meditation services to an NGO. He also decided to write down minutes of the meeting at the end of the meeting, but then after writing 4 lines in his 'lil pocket pad, he decided he didn't really want to write the meeting minutes and action items . Just kidding Harshal.

So when the group finally got down to discussing CS projects we could contribute to (after Srihari has explained what Asha and Direct Impact (an Asha initiative) do in Pune), the group got down to the nitty gritty of discussing the kind of projects they thought the CS group could take up. Sonika, who is currently involved in CS activity at Sasoon hospital told the group about opportunities available at the NGO she was currently working with. Nishant told the group about an NGO that he knew about, that worked with children. Sachin related NASEOH's successful experience working with children in Mumbai, and pointers we could draw from there, in addition to some Allwin gyan .

After discussions about NGOs that worked in education, with AIDS patients, and with underprivilaged children, the group broadly decided that childrens education was a space that they could make a significant contribution.

After some more hectic rounds of discussion, the group reached the conclusion that:

1. They wanted to work with NGOs located around Camp, Station, or City, that worked in education or with underpriviliged children.

2. Amongst core volunteering contributions that the group decided they could make to an NGO, they also decided that while talking to an NGO they could pitch other auxillary services they could provide like
a. Meditation camps
b. Novel methods of engaging underpriviliged children, like giving them video games, which would keep bringing them back
c. Institutionalising sale of art produced by underpriviliged children.

3. The group decided that they would meet again, in 2 weeks having worked upon the following action items

List of Action Items

1. All members at the meet to contact NGOs that meet the pre-requisites outlined in 1.2, and 3, and present their findings to the group, to eventually work towards identifying the NGO we would like to be associated with.

2. Govi to call Ranjit @ Asha, Nishant to contact Grant -a-Smile, and Binoy to contact Mrs bapat @ Asha to explore taking the doorstep program foward.

Phew! That pretty much sums up most of what was discussed at the meet.

Then the meet ended, and we hung around Barista, created a 'lil ruckus of our own, and began plotting how to move to the cooler climes of the Barista outside, by staring long enough at suitable unsuspecting targets. The devious plan above was the product of Sonika's ingenious mind.

Cheers!

[miltond]

Pics of yesterday's meet.

P.S: Need to add your mail ids into the list of names and numbers. Please PM me with your mail ids.

[grondmaster]

Originally Posted by miltond

In between, Harshil, a friend of Nishant joined in. Harshil seemed like a really reserved guy, until he shared with the group his throughts about what we could contirbute in terms of meditation services to an NGO. He also decided to write down minutes of the meeting at the end of the meeting, but then after writing 4 lines in his 'lil pocket pad, he decided he didn't really want to write the meeting minutes and action items . Just kidding Harshil.

NHF dude...

BTW, its Harshal, not Harshil.

I'll go on ahead, and talk to my coordinators of children's courses in Pune, and get feelers from them asto how we can go about it on their side. And I'd got a call from home, that's why I stopped writing. PS: for more info on what I volunteered for meditation, go here:
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/402648-post60.html
Somewhere in the middle of the very long post I've mentioned about meditation courses for children.

Regards,
Harshal
Grondmaster

[miltond]

Originally Posted by grondmaster

NHF dude...

BTW, its Harshal, not Harshil.

I'll go on ahead, and talk to my coordinators of children's courses in Pune, and get feelers from them asto how we can go about it on their side. And I'd got a call from home, that's why I stopped writing. PS: for more info on what I volunteered for meditation, go here:
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/402648-post60.html
Somewhere in the middle of the very long post I've mentioned about meditation courses for children.

Regards,
Harshal
Grondmaster

Edited earlier post

[Bertie Wooster]

Originally Posted by miltond

PS: We originally expected 7 people to turn up at the meet and had 9 people turn up, so can safely assume this initiative got off to a successful start. What say ya all?

Seems like Pune is finally waking up....Just the year I left it after literally whiling away 5 years there... Too bad....Anyways keep up the good work guys.....

[miltond]

More pix from the CS meet.

[zanyzaphod]

Its great to see something concrete here..I meant to show up, but unfortunately couldn't...

Could you keep people updated on the thread about what you are planning by every Thursday/Friday, so that those of us, who cant come regularly can join you from time to time by contacting you just before the weekend?

[miltond]

Originally Posted by zanyzaphod

Its great to see something concrete here..I meant to show up, but unfortunately couldn't...

Could you keep people updated on the thread about what you are planning by every Thursday/Friday, so that those of us, who cant come regularly can join you from time to time by contacting you just before the weekend?

Zanyzaphod, the CS group is still at the stage where we are identifying volunteering opportunities.

Once we have that resolved, one of us will post the time and place of the NGO we are volunteering at, before Friday.

[miltond]

Quick Update:

1. Spoke to Mrs Bapat. The group that she is involved with is called Akshardeep. Their area of focus is education of children (mostly children of migrant labourers , CSWs, etc). Besides their Bibewadi centre, the other centre is at Pimpri.

As discussed earlier, this might not be very convinient to all the volunteers (except Nikhil )

2. Ranjit Gadgil mailed about opportunities available with Doorstep. The work that Doorstep does is very similiar to what Akshardeep does.

Doorstep schools are located at Senapati Bapat Rd (near the ICC), Aundh/Baner/Pashan and Dattawadi.

Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't Senapati Bapat Rd fit our prequisite location list? Also, where exactly is Dattawadi?

EDIT: http://www.doorstepschool.org/dss/projects.php for more info about the Doorstep program.