TEAM SPEAKS

We thank everyone for warmly accepting our first shot at the newsletter. As YUVA matures, so does 'I Am YUVA'. Here comes our second issue, with a bigger editorial, better columns and improved articles. 'Special Feature CSR' (Corporate Social Responsibility ) talks about the conscientiousness of the corporate world towards building a better society, drawing examples from the biggies like CISCO and Infosys. 'What is YUVA?' attempts to explain the basic idea behind our organization and the initiatives taken. The articles on Drishti, Pragati and Pratibha throw light on the projects undertaken by YUVA in the past 6-8 months. 'Making it Matter' brings to you the stories of the organizations or individuals who have dared to leave the security of the beaten path and have striven to be the change they want to see. Lastly, through the 'News and Events' section, we have made an effort to bring to notice some of the incidents or happenings, which had a positive impact on the people and the social order. The newsletter is still not the complete picture of what we wish to present before you. We hope to keep improving the recipe using better ingredients so that every time reading tastes better than before. Any ideas and/or constructive criticism regarding the newsletter is welcome to 'iamyuva.bphc@gmail.com'.

The Team

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WHAT IS YUVA?
Statistics say that India has the largest youth population in the world. Youth, filled with infinite potential, infinite ambition and infinite energy. They are a country's powerhouse for any development, for any change, for any revolution. We, an independent, non-political group of students in various colleges across India are a part of this youth. We use our strengths and our energy to create any positive social impact in the society around us. We undertake projects at various levels of the society and through our efforts, try to work towards developing a better society. We are an ever growing number of youngsters, who, through our actions, and our projects try to generate a sense of social responsibility in all the people around us, especially the youth. Our projects constantly create a difference wherever they are targeted- schools, orphanages, old age homes and even entire villages. We are ambitious, we are hungry for experience, hungry to learn, hungry to create a difference in the world. We are YUVA, Youth Under Visionary Action.

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SLU PF E EE CA I T A R

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Every corporate has goals, wants, wishes and ambitions. But when a corporate thinks beyond this and comes forward to help the society, it implements something called as a corporate social responsibility policy (CSR). The practice what a corporation generally follows is, it first selects a social cause, like helping flood victims, on which it wants to focus and actively invests on that cause. The cause is generally related to the company or its environment. Then it either approaches a social agency which is working on the same CISCO The CEO of Cisco says, The most successful people in life owe an obligation to give back. According to him, it's not only the right thing to do, but is also good for business! The central idea which drives CISCO's CSR is the fact that responsible business practices and social investments shall bring long term value and sustainability to the company. Their vision also incorporates attraction, development and retention of their best employees, along with minimizing environmental impact so as to create a healthier more productive community. What's unique about CISCO's CSR is the fact that it's activities are spread across the world from Palestine to the United States, and the work force consists of people from diverse backgrounds who collaborate to work together for a better comm u n i t y, t o improv e the standa rds of living and to sustain education. CISCO has two aims which it wishes to achieve in the near future, it wishes to become the BEST IN THE WORLD and also the BEST FOR THE WORLD. Let's hope it continues to be this responsible socially so as to ensure the existence of a better world for us all to live in!

...The most successful people in life owe an obligation to give back.. -CEO, CISCO
lines and coordinates with them, or it directly works on that cause. But the way one really goes about with CSR is different for different companies. Though CSR is meant to be something a corporation does out of realisation, many companies these days incorporate it as a business strategy. They try to influence their stakeholders using CSR. Some companies also do CSR upon increasing social, economic and environmental pressures. But one must not forget that though it might mean business for some, its means life for many others. CSR today has a great impact on poorer sections of our society. Hence, wrong or right, it is very much needed. Following are two companies where CSR is being successfully implemented.

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SLU PF E EE CA I T A R

INFOSYS Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Above quote by the twelfth century Jewish philosopher, Maimonides, is the first principle 'Infosys Technologies Limited' always follows. Remembering their social responsibility, the 'Infosys Technologies Limited' started Infosys Foundation in 1996. The group's main areas of focus are healthcare, rural development and social rehabilitation, learning and education, art and culture. In addition, 'Spark' is an initiative taken by the company which provides the youth hands on experience in Information technology. The 'Spark rural reach program' initiates students of Government schools into the IT profession. Around 73,000 students already have benefited from this programme. The company also plays a prominent role in flood relief camps. 2,100 new houses have been constructed for flood victims in Karnataka. The other big initiative taken by Infosys Group is 'Akshaya Patra', a mid-day meal program, from which there are around 1.2 million beneficiaries. In a lecture delivered at the Global Brand Forum, Singapore on 1st December, 2003, Mr. Narayana Murthy, founder of Infosys Technologies Limited, said We are at a juncture where we have the strength of knowledge, power of globalization and the convenience of technology to accomplish seemingly impossible goals elimination of poverty, hunger and disease from this world. The Infosys Group is surely working towards reaching these goals. Employees also organize and contribute to welfare programs, especially for underprivileged children. The group also supports the activities of institutes and NonGovernment Organizations (NGOs).

One may remember the words of William Penn, I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness that I can show, or any good thing that I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again''.

...We are at a juncture where we have the strength of knowledge, power of globalization and the convenience of technology to accomplish seemingly impossible goals elimination of poverty, hunger and disease from this world -Mr. Narayana Murthy

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YII UI E VA AT I N T V

DRISHTI -Fortifying Rural Youth

On 17th September 2011, the Drishti Team went for its first outing to a government school in Bolaram. The aim we had was simple: enlightening children about the importance of quality education. On interacting with the students of class 10, we came to know that most of them were planning to drop out of school owing to their weak students and bring them to light. In the next stage we expose them to various opportunities in that particular field (career options). Further, we give them personal guidance to help them realise their dreams and guide them about the courses to be taken, the institutions that offer them, the gateway to such institutes and the various financial aids available. Apart from this, we plan to take them on field trips to corporates and colleges to invoke their enthusiasm; by showing them the work and cultural environm ent there. A l s o , through presentat ions and one-toone interaction sessions we wish to drive home the fact that education matters a lot in every arena of life, be it research, employment or simply respect in the society. By spreading the light of education in rural India, we also hope to tackle problems like unemployment and corruption through this project. The trips we organize are amidst the first steps towards realizing the dream of fortifying rural youth. We firmly believe that we still have a long way to go before we can help every child realize that education is truly invaluable and that it opens up a whole new world of opportunities.

...can help every child realize that education is truly invaluable and that it opens up a whole new world of opportunities....
economic status. Living up to the project's objective, we tried to counsel the students about how they could continue their education by applying for scholarships. The outcome of our visit was quite satisfactory as we were able to initiate a bonding with the kids. We believe that intelligence without knowledge is like silver in a mine. To extract the silver of talents hidden due to lack of resources and awareness, YUVA volunteers took up the project 'Drishti'. The objective of this project is to motivate high school students, residing in the villages of India, towards higher education focusing on value based education. Through 'Drishti' we aim at imbibing the importance of education at the grass root level in the young and dynamic India. The project operates in the following manner: IDENTIFY->EXPOSE->GUIDE. We identify the strengths and interests of the

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YII UI E VA AT I N T V

PRATIBHA -Celebrating talent

With tremendous positive attitude, productive visions and strong ambitions, YUVA entered the second innings of its calendar event PRATIBHA. Around two-hundred volunteers endeavored to give 2000 children, spread in over 15 orphanages and government schools, a day full of laughter, joy and freedom of expression. Pratibha'11 aimed at bridging the gap between kids and education by p ro v i d i n g t h e m some school supplies - books to see the world beyond their own, pencils to sketch their dreams, erasers and sharpeners to chalk out the finer details of life, and crayons & paints to fill their dreams with the colors of a rainbow. It's an old saying that everyone who sets foot on this earth is equally talented. But in the bid of acquiring the basic requirements of food, clothing and shelter, many talents never come to the fore. Living up to its basic motive, once again Pratibha attempted to provide a platform for the showcase of such talents. The only difference was that this time, with the immense support of our sponsors ITC, Pidilite, Rizwan and Disney, we did it with almost three times the intensity of last Pratibha. Our team organized a painting competition for the kids with the

...attempted to provide a platform for the showcase of such talents...

objective of giving them the freedom to express their world, their joys and sorrows, their goals and ambitions. Also, we played many games with them, apart from singing, dancing and chatting with those energetic children. Pratibha gave the volunteers an opportunity to see the world through the eyes of the innocent children, to live their emotions and ambitions with them. As we returned home that day, we carried the vibrant imprints of the kids not just on a white sheet of paper, but on our hearts..

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YII UI E VA AT I N T V

PRAGATI
India is a nation, well-known for its rich culture. And, true Indian culture lies in its many villages, which accounts for roughly 70% of the Indian population. But, almost the whole of the rural population lie in isolation of sorts, engulfed in their plethora of problems and in complete contrast to a fast advancing urban world. In most cases, the reason for this difference is the low awareness l e v e l s a m o n g villagers, which is also, to some extent, the reason for the neglect they face. This forms the base idea for 'Pragati', a village adoption project by YUVA in collaboration with Nirmaan, aimed at elevating the awareness levels among rural population, on the various schemes, plans and benefits that they can avail and the many opportunities that they can embrace in order to have an improved way of living. Under the project Pragati, a village 'Pothayapalli', with a population of 2000 was taken up for adoption. After an initial survey on the population, income levels, and their living conditions in general, and after learning about the various problems the villagers faced, further course of action was decided. In the course of various trips to the village, the following developments took placeTo provide specific skills to the women of the village and as an initial attempt to empower them; a Vocational Training Centre (VTC) will be started in the

...elevating the awareness levels among rural population...

village. An orientation session conducted for the same, had a highly satisfying response. The team went for another survey regarding the lack of proper sanitation. After further enquiries about the application procedure, Pragati volunteers helped those in need of

washrooms, with applications. The project was taken up for a single semester, and achieved satisfactory results in that time span.

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MTE A M K A I NT G T I R

BECOMING I -THE FOUNDATION

"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream. Wandering by lone sea breakers, and sitting by desolate streams. World losers and world for sakers, for whom the pale moon gleams. Yet we are movers and the shakers of the world forever it seems. -Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy. At a time, when most of the young people are either struggling to earn a meal or are too busy with their luxurious lives to spare a thought for the society, there emerges another breed of youngsters, who choose the less trodden path. This species works to help the disabled, teach the illiterate and empower the suppressed. They direct their efforts towards improving society; they are the change they want to see. We bring to you the story of one such internationally recognized group of students from Delhi, who call themselves the 'Becoming I Foundation'. This organization started as a theatre company aimed at tapping the power of music, dance and drama to create a positive impact on the society. But as people started coming together, so did ideas and the rivulet began to grow. Inspired by The Three Dot Dash - Just Peace Summit and taking the idea of 'I am' from Mattie J.T. Stepanek's book 'Celebrate through Heart Songs', they began to develop a youth-run, youthled organization that would strive to hone the leadership potential of young because before convincing anyone else, it is necessary to convince yourself. I have worked with underprivileged children, victims of sex trafficking, kashmiri refugees, street children etc and I think that I do it for a completely selfish reason - because it makes me happy. --Tanvi Girotra, President/Founder

people. Their first project, 'Fiza', aims at dealing with the issue of Commercial Sex Trade in remote parts of Delhi, with special focus on Najafgarh. Perplexed by the irony of women forced to resort to undignified means to purchase basic amenities, forced to lose their dignity

to attain an identity, these energetic young people stepped out to transform

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MTE A M K A I NT G T I R

the lives of these women, through theatre workshops, art and craft programs, simple dance performances and community building sessions. They wish to provide them with not just life skills development, but an alternate source of employment. From then on, there has been no looking back. In the past two and a half years, they have represented their cause in various summits and conferences. They have conducted clothing drives for the kids of the women involved in sex trafficking. They have produced and performed successful events like 'Bitter Chocolate', a blend of music and dance performances and 'Yuvarang', a drama showcasing the birth of a revolution. They are now starting work on another project called 'Leap', an effort towards facilitating innovative classroom teaching. In

short, they have advanced from a tiny brook to a handsome stream happily flowing past mountains and valleys. And men may come and men may go, but their foundation, their cause and their voice is here to stay -(with excerpts from Tanvi Girotra, the founding president of Becoming I)

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NEWS AND EVENTS

We run for the good of the society
The Assam Foundation of North America (AFNA) and the Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS) organized a run, The Guwahati Run and Walk, that sought to the message of the need for helping underprivileged children and the marginalized section of the society, on the 1st of January. Famous NGOs like the National Service Scheme (NSS) and hundreds of students from colleges and schools took part in the run.

Protsahan Supporting kids

Sonal Kapoor, whose plans to start an NGO without any funding or government support seemed unrealistic few years ago, now runs two schools which lay down a creative platform, to express themselves, to 120 kids. They take up commercial sex workers, rag pickers, child laborers, etc. and organize workshops of different s o r t s - p h o t o g r a p h y, p a i n t i n g , storytelling, puppeteering and music. Their idea is to groom the creativity of chi ldr en

Accor India and Nireeskhana support HIV/AIDS affected families

Accor India supports Nireekshana, a HIV/AIDS focused NGO, for the Mallika Sewing Project, where women affected by HIV/AIDs are provided with an income-generating skill in traditional crafts. Accor lends its extensive business network to help promote and sell the products made through the Mallika Sewing Project, thereby contributing to the sustainability of the program, where profits generated from the sale of products, partly fund the project.

and help them get admission into government schools. Using a self sustainable model that would generate income for both Protsahan and the kids' families, via a self-employment initiative for the kids' mothers, the organization was able to sustain the families and itself to run the schools.

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YUVA CONNECT
YUVA is growing exponentially, both in terms of the volunteer count and the project impacts. We are now a registered not-for-profit youth organization. Recognizing our efforts, we have been made an ambassador project of One Young World, the premier global forum for young people of leadership caliber. Also two of our projects, 'Drishti' and 'Pratibha', have been acknowledged by Mahindra Rise. This year, we further broaden our horizons by adding two more projects, in the fields of women empowerment and health, to our kitty. We aspire to keep growing and keep marching ahead with an aim much beyond the sky. So if you also share our vision, have similar ambitions and wish to join us on our mission, do contact us by mailing us to any of the given email ids: Swagat Yadav- swagatyadav@gmail.com (Co-Founder & Chief Advisor) Siddharth Yerram- s1ddartha@yahoo.co.in (Vice-President, Project Manager Drishti) Charul Bansal- charul92.bansal@gmail.com (Project Manager Pratibha, Editor-in-chief) Or read more about what we are up to, by following the links given below. http://www.facebook.com/Yuva.India https://twitter.com/#!/YUVA_change Jahnavi Meher- jahnavi.meher@gmail.com (Co-Founder & President) Sri Harsha- palugulla.sriharsha@gmail.com (General Secretary, Volunteer Management)

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UNDER THE INK RIBBON

Charul Bansal Anusha Singh Tadepalli Ramya Taufeeq Rahmani EDITORIAL D. Siddharth Sri Harsha Vavilala Aakhila Shaheen M. Shruti Amit Gantasala TECHNICAL/CREATIVE TEAM Taufeeq Rahmani Anusha Singh Ruthvik Majety Vishnu Priya Bhanu Srivatsav Jatin Agarwal Editor-in-chief Executive Editor Associate Editor Technical Head

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