Why I'm running for a Dream and Dream a Dream

I have been volunteering for about a year now with Dream A Dream.

I began last August by teaching basic computer skills to underprivileged children on Sundays. This project was undertaken by Dream A Dream with the assistance of Nortel, who donated 12 laptops for the purpose.

Earlier this year, Dream A Dream asked me, and other volunteers, to join a mentoring training programme conducted by psychologists from the UK. After the eight-week Sundays-only programme, I was "matched" with Kishore, a young boy from a shelter called Vishwas.

Kishore will turn 14 in August but he looks as though he is about ten years old.

Kishore says he has no recollection of his parents -- I have been told his father was an alcoholic who abandoned the family, and his mother died some years ago. Both Kishore and his sister, Tejaswini, who is nine, are being cared for at Vishwas.

As a mentor, I am expected to be a role model who will provide guidance to Kishore on coping with life's problems. Mentors are also supposed to be sounding boards who will give their mentees a patient hearing when others have given up. We have been told during the training that mentors are not to provide "instant solutions", which can prove detrimental in the long run; instead we are supposed to give direction and help mentees to come up with solutions. I meet with Kishore every weekend (when I have been in Bangalore) and we're making some progress towards getting him to understand why it is important to study, work hard, get a good job, have a family. I have brought Kishore twice to the college where I teach post-grads journalism -- he has met my colleagues and my students. It is my hope that these interactions will, in some small way, make him determined to do well in life. (The attached pictures show Kishore at my desk at the college.)

Dream A Dream has made it possible for me and many other volunteers to play a role in the lives of youngsters who have had a bleak past and who face an uncertain future. Now, to raise funds for Dream A Dream so that it can continue its good work, many of us are taking part in the Bangalore Sunfeast World Run on Sunday, May 31. (Go to http://sunfeastworld10k.indiatimes.com/ if you want details; Dream A Dream is one of the NGOs listed under the registered charities.)

Please consider "pledging" my run, that is, make a donation to Dream A Dream on this occasion. You can do so in the following ways:
1. Make out a cheque to "Dream A Dream" and send it to Dream A Dream, 11/17, 3rd Cross, 1st Block, Near Ashoka Pillar, Jayanagar, Bangalore 560 011.
2. If you prefer to make your donation online, you can go to this payment page set up by Dream A Dream: http://www.bangalorecares.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61&Itemid=70&name=dreamadreamDAD.
3. For pledges from abroad, you can use the DONATE link (set up by DaD marketing manager Sangitha K.) on the Dream A Dream blog www.dreamadreamcorner.blogspot.com. Funds will automatically be transferred to Dream A Dream
(Email the transaction id # after the donation process is completed so that we could do the tracking and the recording of your donations)

Here's your chance to make a difference. It will only take a few minutes of your time but will mean the world to those who are less fortunate than us.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Ramesh Prabhu