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FOCA Friends fOr a Cause

FOCA Friends fOr a Cause. Our Vision - A society where all individuals are able to realize their fullest potential and are Self-reliant

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FOCA Friends fOr a Cause

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  1. FOCA Friends fOr a Cause Our Vision - A society where all individuals are able to realize their fullest potential and are Self-reliant Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;Where knowledge is free;Where the world has not been broken up    into fragments by narrow domestic walls;Where words come out from the depth of truth;Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way    into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening    thought and action—Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake~ Rabindranath Tagore

  2. Who we are FOCA (Friends for a Cause), as the name suggests is a group of people bound by friendly ties working towards the cause of a humane society where harmony prevails The fruit of silence is prayer,The fruit of prayer is faith,The fruit of faith is love,The fruit of love is service,The fruit of service is peace. ~ Mother Teresa

  3. What is FOCA all about • Looking Back • Our Mission • Activities • Challenges • How You Can Help • Contact Us

  4. Looking Back... • Started in 2001 by Utkarsh Mehta (ex-IBMer) and a few other IBMers • Strength of FOCA – a core team of 10 and around 100 in the mailing list- foca_forum@yahoogroups.com

  5. Our Mission • Facilitate healthy environs and create a celebrated childhood for kids so that they transition to adulthood capable of unraveling their deepest potential • Empower the marginalized sections of the society, who are deprived of basic needs and rights • Create awareness amongst corporate bodies and general public to aid social causes • Synergize potential from similar organizations to enhance quality and quantity of outreach • Continually explore and seek innovative ways to achieve our vision

  6. Our Approach Reach out to the marginalized sections of the society, through established welfare institutes, and provide sustainable help towards the holistic development of those cared for

  7. Our Target Communities Past… Mar ‘02 – June ‘02: • Community Hostels (Soft Skills Training) Aug ’03 – Oct ‘03: • SOS Village (Tried to Instil Reading Habit) Aug ‘03 – Mar ‘06: • Cheshire Homes (Tutoring school-going students) • Sheila Kothawala Institute of the Deaf (Helping Prepare Visual aids)

  8. Our Target Communities Present… Feb’03 till date • ASHRAYA Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Centre Oct’03 till date • Hemophilia Society, Bangalore Chapter Dec’03 till date • VYSWO, Somanahalli Village

  9. ASHRAYA Social Welfare and Rehabilitiation Centre, R.T.Nagar A home for abandoned kids some of whom are either physically or mentally challenged • Started in the year 1989 with 2 kids by Leela Deshpande • Approx. 60 children in the age group - 2 to 18 years, and a few elders • A school alongwith vocational facilities imparts the necessary education and training

  10. Our Role • FOCA volunteers often spend time with the kids, narrate stories, try being a part of their life, understand their problems, explore ways to better their lives in general • Infrastructure Support • Tube lights, Fans & Exhaust Fans • Renovation of Ashraya premises towards the creation of hygienic environs • Organised a one-day picnic to Mysore in Oct, 2005

  11. Our Goals Long term: • Every child gets individual focussed attention Short term: • Tutoring • Organize picnics, educational trips

  12. Sweet moments at the Mysore zoo

  13. Hemophilia Society, Bangalore Chapter(Mahaveer Jain Hospital premises) Organisation working towards a better life for persons with hemophilia (hemophilia is a condition that arises due to the inability of blood to clot quickly…thus minor injuries or spontaneous internal bleeding episodes cause immense pain and the patient is in need of clotting factor injections which are of exorbitant cost. Persons with hemophilia and their families therefore face physical, emotional and financial stress)

  14. OurRole • Helped design HFI website (http://www.hfindia.org) • Medical sponsorship for a few children with hemophilia • Organised a one-day picnic to Bannerghata National Park • Conducted 2 painting competitions

  15. Our Goals Long term: • To facilitate establishment of vocational units that help employ people with hemophilia • Help conduct workshops/camps to uplift the morale of the children Short term: • Mentoring • Medical & Educational Sponsorships

  16. Children at the Bannerghata National Park with Ms.Ranjana

  17. Village Youth Social Welfare Organisation (VYSWO) An NGO working towards empowerment of rural communities, in and around Somanahalli Village (Dharmapuri Dt., TamilNadu) • Provide support to schools (distributing note books, appointing teachers, infrastructure, etc) • Conducting awareness campaigns (literacy, female infanticide, AIDS, health, etc) • Exploring means of livelihood generation (SHGs, tailoring training centre, etc)

  18. Our Role • Monthly sponsorship towards maintenance of VYSWO premises and salary of tailoring teacher • Support their search for sustainable ventures towards economic growth • Provide financial assistance, whenever possible (towards notebooks, school renovation, medicines, etc) • As a special case, helped fund the surgery of a girl suffering from mitral stenosis

  19. Our Goals Long term: • Help the communities locally establish sustainable, eco-friendly and equitable livelihood generation ventures that improve the socio-economic conditions of the villagers • Help extend the concept of self help groups to a comprehensive resource center that appreciates, sustains and empowers local skills and their rich traditional knowledge Short term: • Infrastructure and medicines for health center • Infrastructure and quality of education in schools • Procuring a office space for rental/lease

  20. Sweet tiny tots of Somanahalli Village School

  21. Challenges • To evolve a consistent core team to sustain the activities • To have a holistic understanding of today’s societal and environmental problems, thereby seeking Right ways of alleviating them

  22. How you can help • Be part of the core team • Dedicated volunteering towards VYSWO, Hemophilia Society, Ashraya • Tutoring children • Knowledge sharing, Contemplative discussions • Financial assistance

  23. Contact Us • Balunaini Prasad (pbalunai@in.ibm.com) • Geetha Adinarayan (geetha@in.ibm.com) • Kiran Anumalasetty (akiran@us.ibm.com) • Nagaveni N Sastry (snagaven@in.ibm.com) • R Sharada (rsharada@in.ibm.com) • Sangeetha Natarajan (nsangeet@in.ibm.com) • Sanjay Khiyani (sanjaykk@in.ibm.com)

  24. Miscellaneous Info Ashraya Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Centre, Dinnur main road, RT nagar (http://ashraya.bravehost.com/) Ms. Leela DeshpandePhone: (080) 2333 4515(home)Email : leela.ashraya@airtelbroadband.in Hemophilia Society, Mahaveer Jain Hospital premises, Vasanth Nagar, Bangalore (http://www.hfindia.org/) Ms. Ranjana RamchanderPhone: (080) 2226 0758(home)Email : ram_chander30@hotmail.com VYSWO, Somanahalli Village, Dharmapuri dt, Tamilnadu (http://vyswo.brinkster.net/) Mr.M.MuruganPhone:  (04348) 235 537Email:   vyswo_org@yahoo.com

  25. Brothers and sisters,The beautiful Earth is us.I embrace her and hold her tenderly against my chest.Breathing together in the same rhythmwe restore our calm, our peace.Let us accept ourselvesso we may accept one another.Let us share the vision and make it possiblefor Great Love to arise.~ Thich Nhat Hanh

  26. At the painting competition held jointly with IBM Club

  27. Over 250 Srilankan Refugee Kids on a One-day Picnic at Bannerghata with TSA

  28. Backup Slides

  29. Exploration into the Root Causes Alienated from Nature, we fail to receive Her wondrous gifts that bring joy all around Promotes consumerist lifestyle Increasing speed of information but Less clarity and wisdom Ecological Devastation Pollution – an end to beauty Urbanization Industrialization Technology Isolation, Depression Forced to eke out a living either as construction workers, maid servants etc Drought leading to Starvation Deaths of farmers etc Mass Migration to Cities Self-sufficiency of villages die away Domestic Violence Poverty Minimal Health care

  30. A Harmonious Picture Meaningful choice of life-style Eco-sustainable growth Spurt in Creative endeavours as we reconnect with Mother Nature Reviving the Rural Charm Unemployed youth working to solve local problems using local resources with the aid of appropriate rural technology.

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