Swathy's first-hand experience at Pratham

- by Swathy Swaminathan

I joined Pratham after an MBA, with an aim to make a difference to the world.  I joined on the 10th of May 2012 and haven’t looked back since. The place is brimming with people out to make a positive impact on the world. My first few days were spent getting to know everybody at Pratham. I was quite amazed at the network and the reach of Pratham. Every Pratham employee worked with the ultimate objective of improving someone’s life. The passion for change, and the determination to work towards the same, was widespread amongst the employees. For those who are travel enthusiasts there is no dearth of opportunities to visit the spectacular countryside. Pratham’s network reaches out into the remote corners of the country. Depending on the program one is associated with, one can travel the length and breadth of the country. One can witness the amazing work that Pratham is doing for the poor kids across the country. One can feel the dedication of our ground level staff in improving the lives of the students.

All in all, Pratham has widened my horizons and given me a new perspective on the social sector. I am sure it can do the same to you.

- Swathy joined Pratham a few months back and works in the Placement team.

Suryaprakash - our student who is a national level gold medalist in archery

- by Rudro Sen

Suryaprakash Ahari is a 19 year old student at our PACE Centre in Udaipur. He hails from a village called Saradit in Jhadol, Udaipur in Rajasthan. He is the eldest amongst 3 brothers and a sister in a family of farmers.

He was studying in Udaipur when he developed a keen interest in sports and discovered a true passion for archery. When his Uncle Limba Ram, Asian Games and Commonwealth Gold Medallist and Olympian, learnt of this interest he asked Suryaprakash to come to Jaipur and train under him. At the age of 17, he participated in 3 National Games, winning a Silver medal in Delhi.

He later participated in 3 more National Games and won his first National Gold medal in Mumbai. The Rajasthan Government, Udaipur Sarkar and the Khel Ministry commemorated this achievement. With his class 12 board exams fast approaching he developed a very serious lung complication for which he had to be admitted to a specialist hospital in Ahmedabad for two weeks. He still gave his exams and succeeded in bringing home a certificate.He is now undertaking a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jhadol.

Suryaprakash enjoyed his stint in Jaipur and talks very fondly about his encounter with IPL cricket players while practicing archery outside the cricket stadium. The players saw Suryaprakash and his peers practicing archery and approached them to try their hand at another sport. They spoke to Suryaprakash about coming from rural backgrounds themselves and how they have reached where they are now. This encouraged Suryaprakash to do something for himself and aim to reach even further.

His quest to succeed developed further when a relative who worked at Pratham, Rajasthan spoke to him about the programs offered by Pratham. This encouraged Suryaprakash to look into Pratham and he enrolled himself for the hospitality program. He initially thought he was getting into a basic computer course but was pleasantly surprised to find himself in a detailed vocational program which would enable him to get a good job and sustain himself financially.

He has taken a keen interest in House Keeping, which has developed from his own pursuit of living in a neat and clean home. He aims to become a House Keeping Manager one day.

He dreams of representing India in Archery but is concerned as the equipment is very expensive. Once he finishes his course he hopes to get placed in a good hotel and use his salary to accomplish this dream. He also hopes to encourage his younger siblings to follow his path including a brother who too has taken up archery.

Desire to succeed

- by Aparna Achuthan

I have been working at Pratham as a part of the Placements team for the past 2 months. During this period, I have had the opportunity to interact with the students of the vocational training courses at PACE Chembur. On one of my visits, I witnessed a discussion that the students of the Beauty Care Course had with some MasterCard employees. The discussions revolved around time management, leadership qualities and entrepreneurial skills needed to run their own business.

The most important thing that struck me from the discussion was the enthusiasm and belief the young women had to become entrepreneurs. These students included young college girls and women who had children and other family responsibilities. In addition, many of them faced difficult financial and other personal problems. However, they did not see their personal responsibilities and problems as an obstacle, but rather as a motivation. Their will and desire to succeed by working hard was very strong. The need to succeed was not only to support their families but also to become independent by having a career of their own. This positive outlook towards work and life was very heartening and was an inspiration in itself.

- Aparna, who is the Regional Coordinator for Placements, describes an inspirational discussion with our students

Pratham's San Francisco Bay Area chapter raises $400K through a Gala event

- (copyrights - indiawest.com)

More than $400,000 was raised at Pratham’s San Francisco Bay Area Gala 2012, which was a sold-out event with more than 300 people attending the fundraiser at the Marriott hotel here Sept. 15, to show their support for the nonprofit that has imparted education to more than 2.6 million children in India.

“Since its inception in 1994, Pratham has evolved over the years with the support of patrons,” Madhav Chavan, president and CEO of Pratham, told India-West. “Now, we not only focus on primary school education in the slums, but also provide vocational and aid-based training, so that students can apply their education in the real world,” Chavan added. Omi Vaidya, Bollywood actor of “3 Idiots” fame, hosted the gala and delighted the audience with his anecdotes. When asked about his involvement with Pratham, he said, “I heard about Pratham from my friends at the Marathi Mandal and have always wanted to be... To read more visit - http://indiawest.com/news/6788-pratham-sf-bay-area-gala-raises-400k-for-nonprofit.html