120 Minutes!!!! ~ Pritesh

Its not just a description of 120 minutes. Its about those 120 minutes which gave me confidence that I can fulfil my dreams.

Saturday we had our first session of Dream Computer Program. Two weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon, 7 dreamers met,under guidance of Mr. Rajkumar and shashank, and decided to take a big challenge of giving 10 kids from Makkala Jagruti knowledge about computers. We had one clear idea that we are not going to make these kids Computer experts( which we anyway cant do in 6 sessions).But one thing we were sure of that we 'll make these kids aware about computers. Two sessions of planning, thinking about all possible ways and methods to make our teaching more effective. Some agreements, some disagreements, some nice words from experience of Mr. Rajkumar, Girish and Shashank, and to add to it, enthusiasm from everyone. We seemed ready for the D day.

Come Saturday. We meet at the venue(our classroom, but I say more like our playground) Kaps office. We come to know that these 10 kids are actually going for formal education and are from class group 6th to 8th. All we could think of that today we'll be really short of contents and all our plannings is going to be a waste. Still we hold on to our nerves and kick start the session. 10 little minds( 5 girls and 5 boys) are our target. We 've to make them believe in power of computers.

Because of some confusion on MK side session starts 15 minutes late. But nothing was going to affect us. Some of us( or at least me) 've done preparation which we never did for our presentation in our work also( believe me I was so nervous before the session). Session started with introduction by this little kids, their likes, dislikes. They seem to be really enthusiastic bunch of kids. We start as per plan. I ask my first question "What is computer?" and to my amazement I get an answer "Computer is an electronic device". Next question "Can you point out computer in this room?" And everyone points to the nearest computer. That's good. Next we explain them about usage. One of the kids told us about saving documents using computer. One girl told us about ticket reservation also. Games and music you can expect from anyone.

Then we explained them about computer parts and their usage. then turning on computer and using mouse. they played some games and then finally turning off computers. 120 minutes were over so fast.

These kids are really fast learners. They just need some help and guidance. I am so happy that I could do my bit for them.

After they left for their home, we had small discussion over days events. My impression was "It was very chaotic and we need more preparation. But I could teach them what i had planned to." I faced some language problem ( I don't know Kannada, hope Krishna comes to my rescue with his workshop). But I was in a wonderful team. I dint need to tell anyone to help me out. All just did what made it so ease of a task for me. Others found it was good and effective. Shashank and Girish thought it was really less chaotic than previous sessions. I am really relaxed to hear that.

At the end of day, I can boast of one wonderful session. Thanks to the great team and our wonderful facilitators. Mr. Rajkumar, Girish and everyone at Kaps are really a big help. Shashank for his support( though he was not well yesterday and had come wearing two jackets) I know now that even I can teach kids.Thanks D-a-D.

Pritesh Jain, Volunteer, Dream Computer Programme @ Dream A Dream

The Caterpillar & The Butterfly Performance

A big hi from Pritesh.This time no movies :-) ITS THE TIME TO DISCO. Yes i am here sharing my experiences of the dance performance on Saturday 15th OCT.

A day of fun, day of happiness, day of meeting many new faces, day of meeting many old faces. Most importantly It was a day of cheering those little ( and big) kids from Freedom Foundation. It was the first time i met those kids, but believe me It was like meeting old friends. All of them wanted to share their joy with me, all of them wanted to share their pain. they were so excitede about the event that before the event it was really difficutto handle them and make them relaxed.( all the people backstage must have tough but really good time with those kids). They practiced with their heart, again and again till just before the events. The event itself was really amazing. The response and attendance was real good. I met lots of Dreamers their. everybody just enjoyed the performance.

Brinda and Supreeta did an amazing job. I congratulate to them. Really nice work. Nice music. I thank and congratulate all others who were involved with this project in one way or other. Dream a Dream just ROCKS.

-Pritesh

About Us....

In 1999, a group of young Bangaloreans thought up a lofty but impressive initiative to reach out to children in Bangalore’s vulnerable communities. Vishal Talreja, a co-founder and current managing trustee describes the initial fervor the young group felt. “We didn’t know how far we would take Dream A Dream,” he said, “but what we did know was that our lives would never be the same again and we would greatly impact the lives of a few children.”

Today that dream has come a long, long way. Dream A Dream reaches out to over 350 children in the Bangalore area, providing a variety of programs ranging from drama, to sports, to cinema to outdoor camps.

The Dream A Dream concept is a simple one. The young founders of the organization realized that above and beyond fulfilling the basic needs of food, shelter and academic education for a child, it is important to empower children, and enrich their lives with life-skills development programmes through exposure to extra-curricular activities. Filling this void in the lives of under-privileged children, Dream A Dream believes, is the key to integrating the underprivileged with the mainstream. Dream A Dream achieves this by partnering with the local NGOs that fulfill basic needs, and with the mainstream community that has resources, time and energy to offer to the children.

The Dream Sports Program is one such example. In June 2003, Dream A Dream teamed up with former international TT player Vasanth Bharadwaj’s Winner Choice TT Academy to offer Table Tennis to 30 children. Soon after, Dream A Dream initiated a Hockey Program in association with Dhanraj Ballal Hockey Academy spearheaded by Arjuna Awardee Ashish Ballal. Today, both programs continue to thrive as the children play in tournaments and competitions. Dream A Dream has also tied up with The Adventurers (A Wilderness School) and designed the Dream Outdoor Program. In conjunction with Hippocampus and Akshara Foundation, Dream A Dream implements a reading program at three government schools. KAPS IT Solutions offers its facilities for the Dream Computer Programme. Volunteers from GE run the Spoken English Programme and a host of other individuals and corporates who come forward to support in a variety of ways.

On the flip side, Dream A Dream impacts the mainstream community in a positive manner by sensitizing and involving individuals to become active agents of social change through an active and innovative volunteer programme. Thus the model leads to an empowered future for all. Volunteer Shuchi Mehta attests to what Dream A Dream has done for her, “Dream A Dream takes credit for instilling in me values likes hope, faith and loving without any biases or discrimination. I learnt to dream.”

The fundamental idea of the young founders of Dream A Dream was to work with children and utilize the powerful passion and energy of youth to help children achieve their dreams. Today a registered charitable trust, Dream A Dream works with over 350 children from diverse backgrounds including street and slum children, orphan children and HIV/AIDS positive children.

Dream A Dream welcomes and encourages more people from the community, corporates and philanthropic groups to come forward and support the initiative by volunteering one’s time, talent and skills; by making monetary contributions to support our activities or to just say ‘HELLO’ to the children at Dream A Dream.