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June 2013 CORDUSA News

Please sign up to receive news and updates from CORDUSA. In the middle of May, in the heat which felt like a thousand degrees, but in fact was 110 degrees; I ventured to the heart of Odisha to two of our CORD centers in Deuladiha and Lathikata.  Mona Malkani, CORD India’s Secretary and I had a fun, interesting, eventful and educational trip.  I will write all about it, but first let’s cover the major events this quarter. First and foremost, I am so proud to announce that CORD USA, Inc. has been honored as a 2013 Top-Rated Non-Profit!  The GreatNonprofits, the leading provider of user reviews about nonprofit organizations announced on June 12th, 2013 that CORD USA, Inc has been awarded the prestigious 2013 “Top-Rated” award. “Savvy donors want to see the impact of their donations more than ever,” said Perla Ni, CEO of GreatNonprofits, “People with direct experience with CORD USA Inc. have voted that the organization is making a real difference.”  A big THANK YOU to all who wrote the raving reviews! Chinmaya Grameen Sevak Prashikshan (CGSP), a 1-year, free, full-time residential course at Sidhbari, Himachal Pradesh, from CORD was inaugurated by Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda in early May and is in full swing. The graduates from this course will be posted back to their own villages to help start CORD activities there.  See the pictures… CORD Deualdilia continues to passionately work to increase their presence and programs in rural villages. These programs include Mahila Mandals, Self-Help Groups (SHG’s), Farmers Club, and Youth Clubs; which are all designed to increase the standard of life in the rural villages.  As of March 2013, CORD Deuladilia has expanded its area of operation to 42 villages, which includes 3,831 households.   Read more… CORD Kaza stays focused on the importance of education. In order to provide a sound education for the children at Chinmaya Vijaya, CORD Kaza decided to admit all children to the Indian School in Gollapudi. Overall, the children have done very well academically. Each child has passed their examination, and about 85% have secured a distinction of 75 marks. Read more… CORD Lathikata initiated an integrated health awareness program (Swabalambi Swasthya). The major highlight of this program included educating people on locally available plants and shrubs with remedies that can be prepared at home. These herbal medications can be used to treat gastric issues, joint pain and migraines as well.  Swabalambi Swasthya educated a total of 1,641 people from 35 villages.  The program also provided a free medical consultation to 450 patients and 118 patients were given free herbal medications.  Read more… CORD Sidhbari is working to integrate persons with different abilities into mainstream society.  Up to date, there are more than 460 people under this program.  CORD includes the children in mainstream education, the adults in Self-Help groups, and enables them to hone their life skills.  CORD has also provided assistive devices such as walkers, specially modified cerebral palsy chairs for children with multiple disabilities and have constructed ramps for improved accessibility.  Read more… CORD Siruvani’s youth empowers villages. 32 students of the Junior Red Cross of Chinmaya Matriculation School, Vadavalli went to Thennamanallur. They cleaned certain areas in the village, went door to door to speak about anti-plastic awareness and the importance of recycling waste.  They also planted trees in the Panchayat grounds.  Read more… CORD Tamaraipakkam raised awareness on oral hygiene. An awareness campaign was organized where 392 villagers benefited from a dental check up and treatment by dental surgeons.  The villagers were also taught about the importance of oral hygiene and proper brushing of teeth.  Patients needing more elaborate procedures like fixation of dentures and extraction were referred to the hospital for free treatment.  Read more… CORD Sri Lanka hosted a fundraiser featuring renowned flutist and performer Himanshu Nanda from India, Chithrasena-Vajira Dance Foundation and Ms. Thivya Sivanesan.  Read about how the self-help-groups are working in villages like Jaffna, Killinochchi, Batticaloa and Ramboda through various projects like cattle raising, handicrafts, tailoring and other income generating activities. Please read their detailed annual report. Now, as for our home front; On April 6th, CORDUSA Portland held a “Homeless Shelter Cook & Serve” for the second time. Every participant agreed that this fulfilling event will surely be repeated on an ongoing basis. Read more… On April 7th, CORDUSA Los Angeles held a “Walk for CORD” to increase awareness about CORD and its activities. They raised $6K through this event for CORD.  On May 25th CORDUSA Portland held their annual “Walk for CORD”.  They are still tallying the donations and I will be updating you next quarter with the total amount. On April 13th, CORDUSA NY held “Salsa Meets Bhangra”, a party to raise funds for CORD’s Income generation and Adult literacy & Child education programs. The evening included food, Bhangra and Salsa performances, dancing and a raffle with great prizes. The tickets also included one-month of free Latin dance classes and an 8-week free Intro to meditation class! All had a great time and they all agreed the event will be continued in the future!  Our CORDUSA NY chapter leads Gayathri Narayan and Chandni Trivedi‘s efforts to bring CORD USA to the mainstream was featured in the “Indian Panorama“.  Congratulations ladies! Back to the adventures in Odhisha!  The kick-off was with Delhi-Ranchi flight.  Quite an eventful different flight than what I was used to. Behind me, one child thinks she is the Mangeshkar of go-air, and screams some garbled songs at the top of her lungs. Just ahead of me a lady is playing some car crash game on her Samsung; with full sound blaring on.  Yet ahead, there is a little child who keeps asking her father to tickle her and keeps laughing. The passengers took it all in stride. Mona and I overnighted at Ranchi and drove down south for 5-6 hours to Lathikata. I think Lathikata was the HOTTEST place I had been to, EVER!  Swami Kevalanandaji, CORD lead in Lathikata, was very happy to receive us, and showed off the new Mahindra Xylo they received from CORDUSA Portland’s sponsorship last year. I also enjoyed driving it.  We visited a number of SHGs and discussed their concerns.  I was fascinated by the tribal “welcome dance”, and I tried the dance steps with them and played their drum.  More than keeping the beat; I think I provided entertainment for them.  🙂 In Lathikata, we visited several Self-Help-Groups in Betjharan, Mando, Nuagaon, Timjore and Karlakhaman areas.  In Betjharan, we noticed the beautiful mats they were sitting on and learned that the ladies made it right in their own homes!  Mats were made of Kahjuri leaves and when we asked if we could have a smaller one as a sample to take with us, they turned around and made two (one for me and other for Mona) overnight and delivered at the CORD center next day – that is entrepreneurship! The day after we reached Lathikata, it was time to move on to Deuladiha, which is again about 5-6 hours southeast of Lathikata. On our way, we realized our chauffeur and Lathikata Community Development Officer didn’t really know the way to Deuladiha, so I whipped out my “map my India” GPS from my bag, and it showed us the way to the CORD center in Deuladiha without any problems! I should say I was impressed, as the roads were really primitive and she (well… GPS was set with a female voice, hence “she”) was still able to guide us.  Dr. Rath, who is the CORD lead for Deuladiha showered her affection on us by giving us fresh cut mangos.  I had never seen so many varieties of mangos in my life!  Alok, their Community Development Officer arranged the programs well for us, minimizing our exposure to the really hot sun.  On the first day we went to SNPuogoda to visit two SHG’s and learned so much about Bee keeping.  It was an inexplicable feeling to see all the bees just “hanging out” inside the bee case, when the keeper removed the lids to show them to us!  Later we moved on to Bhimkand where we met the youth club and a couple of women’s groups.  The youth club impressed me so much by the way they were leading their village cleanups.  In Deuladiha, the power outages were much more random and severe. Soon I found myself running out of iPhone, camera, computer and even my kindle batteries!  No, the cell phone and wireless didn’t work anywhere in Odhisha for me, but I was listening to music that had to stop.  The nights were so hot that I chose to sleep on their terrace, which was a new experience for me.  Good news is it was so hot that all the mosquitoes must have been gotten fried; none bothered me out on the terrace! Next day, we met with the Yuvati groups and CORD officers in the CORD center and we were off to our next 5-6 hours ride to the south, to Bhubaneswar to catch my flight to Kochi. We went in Deuladiha’s CORD vehicle, again a Mahindra, but a basic Thar.  Well, because I had fun driving Lathikata’s new vehicle, I had to try my hand in driving this as well.  Though I must admit, it wasn’t as much fun without the a/c and power steering Xylo had. I took the flight to Kochi with a full heart, thankful that I was able to meet such wonderful people and understand how much work is going on quietly in Odisha.  Big thanks to Paulomi Campbell, Shabana Dipchandand Samihita Bhat for their help with the newsletter!   Looking for the upcoming quarter, there is Walk for CORD by CORDUSA Ann Arbor, the two service projects coming up in July, one to Sidhbari and the other one to Kaza.  Both teams of children are bursting at the seams with excitement while we are busy with the preparations.  We will have a lot to talk to you about that next quarter… As always, if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, I am just an email away… Thank you!   Subha CORDUSA Inc. Tax ID – 27-0540459 Toll free number: (866) 580-5508 Fax: (866) 580-5508 http://www.cordusa.org http://www.facebook.com/cordusa https://www.cordusa.org/ http://twitter.com/#!/cordusa

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March 2013 CORDUSA News

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We have always looked for ways to get people of all ages involved with CORDUSA.  Towards this, CORDUSA has been organizing once-a-year service visits to one of the CORD Centers in India or Sri Lanka.  All of our service project visits have been very successful, creating a dramatic impact on the participants. This is also a great opportunity to earn volunteer hours for college applicants.  Due to popular demand, this year we have offered two separate service visits to CORD Centers in Sidhbari and Kaza. The application process opened on January 17th and was filled to capacity within a very short time! There are 52 participants that are preparing for a trip of their lifetime!  We wish them a pleasant trip, and will hear about their experiences after they get back in August.  There were some disappointed students and parents who were not able to secure a spot this year, but we’ll be sure to have another opportunity for them next year.  Please be sure to sign up to receive our announcements so that you will not miss out on this opportunity again.

A new year always brings new challenges. It offers a new start – and a chance to review our performance for the past year.

Last year in review:

In 2012, various centers fundraised for CORD USA and brought in $250K!!  This is up from 2011’s number $201K.  We want to recognize the efforts of these centers in bringing awareness and funds to the less fortunate ones.  A big thank you to (numbers rounded off to 100’s):

Chicago – $80K

New Jersey – $36K

New York – $27K

Boston – $20K

Portland – $15.5K

Minneapolis – $14.4K

Toronto – $14.2K

Los Angeles – $13.5K

Columbus – $10.2K

Ann Arbor – $8K

Atlanta – $5K

New Jersey $9.8K for Hurricane Sandy

This has only been possible because of your continuous support and commitment to CORDUSA. Let’s keep it up!  You can review last year’s list and numbers here.  If you are interested in conducting a fundraiser, please contact me and I will get you started on that right away!

CORDUSA activities:

Portland chapter organized cooking and serving at a homeless shelter on the New Year’s Day. One of the volunteers said – “It was an amazing experience. The exhaust fan was not working, so we were really in a sauna for 3 hours of cooking and 1 hour of serving. I don’t think it ever felt this good to work so hard in such heat!”  Inspired by the outpouring of thanks they got by the homeless shelter inmates, they are doing it again on April 6th!

NY CORDUSA served vegetarian food to the poor on January 19.  They now are very busy organizing “Salsa meets Bhangra”, a gala for fundraising and outreaching for CORD.  If you are in the NY area on April 13th, please be sure to check it out and encourage our NY chapter leads!  For this month’s local community service activity, CORD USA-NY is looking to UNICEF’s one-hour webinar on water conservation.  If this is something close to your heart, please get in touch with us to get more information.

CORDUSA has been quite active within the University circles… CORDUSA Miami chapter opened on February 25th, at University of Miami with a bang.  CORDUSA University of California, San Diego is also busy getting ready for their research and survey trip to the CORD centers in India.  We will keep you posted on these exciting activities through the blog.

Championing the cause:

CORD USA won $5000 Thomson Reuters Community Champion Award for being an outstanding example of community service as well as a $1000 Fidelity Charitable Grant!! Thank you to our dedicated supporters for your support and encouragement!

All of you have been ardent advocates of CORD USA, and it is appreciated by all of us.

I want to tell you the ways – big and small – long and short term – that fit your budget to help you plan in championing our cause.  Our website is well equipped to provide you with all this information.  As you know, you can make an online donation with a click of a button.  Easy, fast, secure – and – you can direct the amount to the CORD center of our choice!  Or, if you are the traditional type and want to mail-in your donation, please see our mailing address and make sure to provide your email address to receive the donation receipts immediately.  Be sure to check with your workplace about matching grants, it is very easy for us to do and it doubles your donation!

How can we continue to help?

Legacy gifts provide future support for CORDUSA’s efforts. Contributions by will, trust, other forms of written designation, life-income arrangements and endowment gifts; all represent forms of legacy giving. Any individual, at any point in their life, can create a legacy gift. It can be as easy as naming a charity on the beneficiary form on a savings, checking or pension account, or through a more complex instrument like a charitable trust.  I will be happy to discuss any and all options with you.

Do you have that car/boat/trailer you were looking to get out of your garage?  We would love to have you donate that vehicle for CORDUSA and we can provide you with a tax receipt.  Find out more…

Many of us shop online these days.  Do you know you can donate to CORDUSA when you shop?  Go through Jatna, choose CORDUSA as your choice of charity, and do your regular shopping at Amazon, Staples or several other online shopping places. A percentage of what you spend goes to CORDUSA!  The best part of it all is that there are no further charges for that shopping.  How much easier can it get?!

You have been a strong proponent and you have always wanted to talk to others about CORDUSA’s work.  Why don’t you host a fundraising event and get recognized for it?  We will help you and equip you with the materials to get you started.

Last, but not least… If you are the type who wants to work at the ground level, get involved, and be right there with the people you help, then CORD India has a course for you…Chinmaya Grameen Sevak Prashikshan (CGSP).  This is a 1-year full-time residential course, which is totally free to the participants at Sidhbari, Himachal Pradesh.   CORD with all postings located in remote villages. Candidates from rural areas will be posted back to their home area if possible.  What better way is there to get to the grassroots?  Be quick however, as the application date ends on March 31st.

The Chinmaya Social Responsibility (CSR) program is a community-based development approach providing free training in music to children from the neighboring villages of Chinmaya Vibhooti. It aims at adding a valuable dimension to their early development through stimulation of their inherent creative and artistic spirit. Many of the children’s training have been sponsored by individuals wishing to promote and preserve traditional Indian Art forms. We, of course welcome more participation and help from you.

Let us look at CORD India and Sri Lanka…

CORD Deuladiha is working to end the injustice women face due to infanticide and sex trafficking. Through a Comprehensive Integrated Rural Development Project (CIRDP), CORD Deuladiha is working with 3031 households in Odisha to bring awareness to this injustice. Since education is a buffer in preventing such cruelty, CORD Deuladiha is focusing on younger girls by improving the quality of elementary education. The belief is that education is a key step in ending the discrimination against young girls that belong to socially disadvantaged groups.   Read more…

CORD Kaza’s children are natural athletes! Ten children from Chinmaya Vijaya were selected out of a total of 1300. Of the 25 medals awarded, 21 were given to the girls of Chinmaya Vijaya. The girls won gold medals in long jump, high jump, 100 meter and 400 meter running competitions. To celebrate their success, the girls were adorned with garlands and a procession playing drums that welcomed them as they traveled back to the orphanage.  Read more…

CORD Lathikata continues its organic farming initiative. A project was conducted to compare line transplantation of paddy instead of traditional plantation. The premise being that line transplantation will require fewer paddy seedlings, manpower, expenses, and will increase production compared to traditional transplantation. This study was carried out using 100 acres and 80 farmers. The hypothesis proved to be valid as there was a 38% increase in production with line transplantation as opposed to traditional transplantation. As a result of this promising finding, the farmers will continue to use line transplantation of paddy.  Read more..

CORD Siruvani participates in the ‘Power to Empower’. Members of the self-help group participated in the Women’s Entrepreneurship Bazaar where they sold pickles, pain balms, tablecloths, solar lamps etc. This platform not only gave the women a chance to earn revenue but also exchange ideas with other women in the same field.  Read more…

CORD Tamaraipakkam tailors its way to success.  With 3 tailoring centers, CORD continues to play an effective role by equipping women with skills to earn additional incomes. The women are also issued certificates at the end of the course which has helped them receive free tailoring machines from the Tamil Nadu government.  Read more…

CORD Sri Lanka promotes organic farming.  The usage of chemical insecticides and fertilizers for crops and vegetables in the Jaffna district not only affects the health of the people but also pollutes the soil and water. Furthermore, chemical inputs cost more money. In order to address this issue, CORD has trained its self-help group leaders on preparing different kinds of organic fertilizers and insecticides.    Read more…

Big thanks to Paulomi Campbell and Shabana Dipchand for their help with the newsletter!  In May, I will be visiting the CORD Centers in Lathikata and Deuladiha.  I look forward to my trip and I will write about my adventures in my next blog!

As always, if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, I am just an email away…

Thank you!

Subha

CORDUSA Inc.

Tax ID – 27-0540459

Toll free number: (866) 580-5508

Fax: (866) 580-5508

http://www.cordusa.org

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https://www.cordusa.org/

http://twitter.com/#!/cordusa

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December 2012 CORDUSA News

Season's Greetings

 

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As the nation has become well aware, a tragedy occurred in Newtown, Connecticut when a heavily armed 20-year-old gunman forced his way into the Sandy Hook Elementary school, and opened fire. Twelve girls, eight boys and six women were shot and killed. This act of violence shattered their once-tranquil suburban town, and all across the nation, we mourned for the needless loss of life. One of the victims was a young girl who had celebrated her seventh birthday just four days before her death. Let us offer our offer our thoughts and prayers to the victims of the tragic event.
On the other side of the globe, atrocities are happening everyday that pass unnoticed by the media and the general public. A Pakistani teenager, Malala Yousafzai, was shot by the Taliban in October for refusing to abandon her campaign for girls’ education, and is now recovering in Britain. These issues need attention as well, and our responsibility as individuals is to make these events public knowledge and work towards solutions as a community.
Maggie Doyne is a recent high school graduate who travelled to Nepal where she used $5,000 in money she had saved from babysitting to open up an orphanage. She was profiled in the Brea Bala Vihar newsletter by Kartik Depala not too long ago. Maggie, who grew up in Mendham, New Jersey, built the orphanage, located in Surkhet, back in 2006, and she has also opened up the Kopila Valley Primary School, which she actively manages. Kartik rightfully observed that we should also try to do our best to help out and donate money and time to foundations who do ground level work like CORDUSA.
This time, there is a long list of accolades received by our organization:
Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda has been chosen by the South Indian Education Society (SIES) to receive the Shri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati National Eminence Award (NEA) for Spiritual Leadership. In honor of Shri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati, 68thShankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, SEIS has been annually bestowing the NEA on his approximate aradhana day for the past 14 years to select Indian leaders and achievers who have devoted their lifetime to the causes of serving India and spreading Sanatana Dharma. The NEA Committee from the four fields of public leadership, community leadership or social service, science and technology, religious thought or prachara seva chooses recipients.  Congratulations Guruji!
Then, there is The Guardian’s International Development Achievement Award. The Guardian, known until 1959 as The Manchester Guardian (founded 1821), is a very popular British national daily newspaper. The award aims to celebrate one individual for their contribution to the betterment of the lives of some of the world’s poorest people. Five highly accomplished individuals were shortlisted for the award, and on November 22nd, Dr. Kshama Metre received the award in the UK!  Please visit our facebook page to see the write-up, video clip and more.  Congratulations Kshama Didi!
CORDUSA won the “Top Rated Non-profit” award from GreatNonprofits. This puts CORDUSA on a list that is distributed during the holiday season to publications like The Huffington Post, Parade Magazine, and TakePart as well as two thousand corporations. Our top-rated badge is displayed on the GreatNonprofits site. This is all thanks to your amazing reviews and outreach!
In April, the Federation of Indian Chambers and Industry (FICCI) Coimbatore chapter awarded the Social service award to CORD Siruvani.  Established in 1927, FICCI is the largest and oldest apex business organization in India. A non-government, not-for-profit organization, FICCI is the voice of India’s business and industry.  Congratulations CORD Siruvani and Dr.Meera Krishna!
Recently, Hurricane Sandy took a toll all over the East Coast and the need for community outreach remains high. CORDUSA’s New York Chapter supported New York Cares’ Coat Drive by collecting as many new or gently used coats as possible. There are many out there who are struggling and all too often have to choose between putting food on the table and purchasing a coat for winter. We are very glad to see their successful coat drive; they collected over 50 coats for the needy!
CORDUSA’s Princetonchapter received a very nice thank you letter from South Brunswick Social Services for the school supplies drive at the beginning of the school year. The School Supply Drive is to allow low-income students to get supplies for the school for the upcoming year.
Princeton, Columbus, Boston, Minneapolis, Ann Arbor and New York centers did their annual Walk for CORD in this last quarter.  You can see the details of their respective walks and the amounts raised on our website under the “Events” section. We are very happy to see their enthusiasm and it has been a joy to work with them on the annual walks.
CORDUSA’s Portlandchapter decided to donate the money raised by their Walk for CORD, approximately $15,545, to the CORD Lathikata facility. The facility is situated 25 km away from Rourkela – “the steel city” a major industrial hub in the state of Odisha. The scourge of malaria plagues the population and the health service facilities do not reach the remote villages. Water and electricity shortages, insufficient irrigation and unemployment are constant problems for the area.  The location of the Lathikata CORD office is less than ideal, with the surrounding roads in very poor condition and the general terrain being very rugged. The Portland branch of CORDAUSA put their money towards helping CORD Lathikata purchase a more reliable and safe transport for the center’s use.
Encouraged by this, CORDUSA’s New York Chapter came forward and sponsored laptops for Lathikata for $1500 out of their Walk for CORDfunds, which was also badly needed.
We are grateful to our enthusiastic ambassadors and fundraiser!  Keep up the good work!
When people visit a CORD facility, they often wish to become more involved and spread the word about the excellent work the organization is doing. They each have their own stacks of photos and videos full of memories of all the people who’ve touched their hearts.  CORDUSA has now started its own YouTube channel which will enable us to archive and centralize all these videos in one place. You can view the videos through our webpage, under resources. If you have any edited videos to share, please send it to us at subha [at] cordusa.org.
In CORD Lathikata, efforts to improve sanitation have been in full swing.  After much discussion, twenty-five members of the Mahila Mandal came forward to clean a 150-meter long drain, which took about 5 hours.  This effort was then replicated in other parts where a 70 meter long drain along with a main road were cleaned by members of the Mahila Mandal and youth who were inspired by these acts. Read more…
At CORD Deuladiha, women’s empowerment remains on the top of the agenda.  Out of 101 self help groups, 68 were linked with the bank and received financial support for their small businesses, vegetable farms and other livelihood activities.  There has also been a growing emphasis on making women financially independent by conducting training programs and workshops to educate women on how to maintain their accounts and repay their loans.  Read more…
In CORD Kaza, shelter has recently been provided for 112 children, and it slowly grows into its own community.  As each month springs forth, they continue to build unity while sustaining our rich culture and tradition through celebrating festivals like Gurupurnima, Krishnashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi.
The Chinmaya Vijaya Orphanage recently received a slew of gifts from two very generous young girls from Virginia (Sruthi Chennamaraja-12 years old and Neha Thawani-18 years old), both of whom donated all the gifts they received from their dance Arangetrams(debut on-stage performance of the dance) to the orphanage.  Read more…
In CORD Sri Lanka, thirty children participated in the “I Love Jaffna” photography exhibition, intended to help develop and promote civic pride and responsibility. Children were taught how to use cameras and compose meaningful photographs. They were then asked to take one photo of something in Jaffna that completed the phrase: “I love Jaffna because…”  The exhibition ran from August 14th to the August 16th during the Nallur festival. Due to public interest, each photo is now available in limited edition for purchase.  Read more…
At CORD Siruvani, promoting preventive medicine continues to be at the forefront. In Thennamanallur, CORD Siruvani arranged a medical camp, wherein roughly 130 men and women underwent cancer screenings. A similar cancer screening camp was organized by the Narasimhanayakanpalayam Mahila Mandal. There were 135 villagers who underwent pap smears and fine needle cystology testing and were referred to KMCH hospital for treatment. Additionally, two doctors from Ann Arbor, Michigan offered free medical services to 200 patients. Services included screenings for anemia, cardiac and respiratory diseases, blood pressure and blood sugar problems, as well as cardiovascular examinations. They also educated patients about the prevention of various illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer.  Read more…
Over at CORD Thamaraipakkam, the empowerment of rural children continues through skill-building programs, tuition centers and Bala Vihar programs. CORD is playing a significant role in helping rural children learn technical skills involving computers, and also provide a values-based education through the Bala Vihar groups. Tuition centers have also been organized to appraise each student’s fiscal needs. Currently there are 5 community-driven tuition centers, and parents are often motivated to support these centers since they provide safe and friendly learning environments for their children. They are also beginning to recognize the growing importance of such centers for the empowerment of future generations.  Read more…
Now let us take a peek at the upcoming activities of CORDUSA.
We will have our annual service visit in July-August 2013.  This is an opportunity for high school students enrolled in the Chinmaya Bala Vihars to travel to India and volunteer their time serving the needy.  These visits have been hugely popular in the past and because of the high demand, we decided to do two service visits this year.  I will give you a short preview, but you have to watch out for the announcement to apply for the spot as it gets filled out really fast!
The 1st service dates for Siddhbari will be July 10th to July 30th. This time is being exclusively reserved for the youth visiting from US. The maximum number of participants that can be accommodated is 30, which includes students and accompanying parents.
The 2nd service visit will be to Chinmaya Vijaya, the all girls orphanage in Kaza, Andhra Pradesh, India during the middle of August 2013. This visit will include volunteering at the adjacent NRI medical college, tutoring the girls and at the local schools. The total number of participants will be 20.  Please watch for the announcement, which will be out in the next 3-4 weeks.
Let us celebrate the season of giving with CORDUSA-Princeton chapter!  We invite you, your family and friends to the Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser & Celebrate the season of giving on Saturday December 22 2012 4:30 PM at Montogery High School Auditorium, Princeton.
CORDUSA-Portlandis planning a different kind of New Year celebration this year. This January 1st, they will be cooking and serving Indian food for upto 90 over at the local homeless shelter.
CORD Thamariapakkamis using their new sewing unit to make pouches and pencil cases in fabric and denim with patterns of Gurudev’s OM stitched in the front. Pictures will be published of their product for you to promote in your Bala Vihar or camps.
At CORD Sidhbari the first phase of the construction of the training center will be commencing shortly as donors form all over the world have pitched in to help.
There are 1.4 million non-profit organizations registered as charities in the United States, or approximately 1 for every 300 people, according to a 2009 article by Paul Lamb that appeared in The Christian Science Monitor.  Whether you have a job or are looking to gain new skills before going back into the work force, these are the top ten reasons why charity work is good for everyone:
Community Service: Top 10 Reasons to Volunteer
CORD works because of you. We look forward to your continuing support.  My big thanks to Shabana Dipchand, Paulomi Campbell and Gautam Varma for helping me with this newsletter.
We hope you have a Happy, Healthy and Harmonizing Holidays and New Year!  As always, if you have any questions or concerns, I am just an email away.
Thank you,
Subha

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September 2012 CORDUSA News

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My son Kapil and I had an amazing trip this summer that took us into the heart of rural communities in India. 

Kanchana
  • We met a 17-year-old girl who is a little taller than 3 feet and looks like a toddler because of nutritional issues and health conditions.
  • We met with Kanchana, a disabled lady who needs to be carried by her mother even to the bathroom, but kept smiling and knitting beautiful bags through her hardships.  
  • We went to school in a slum where the teachers bathed, fed and readied every student they taught!  

Slum-settlement in Kangra Valley
How can I complete this newsletter without talking about these incredible people I met?  But first, let us look at the activities across CORD.
CORD Sri Lankaadopts a school in Tharmapuram, Killinochi. In one of the most affected areas by war, where the primary focus is survival, CORD takes an extra initiative to help provide education for children in the community. They have started teaching English and providing children with after-school snacks and sports equipment. They are continuously working with the school to continue further development.  Read more …
CORD Siruvanicontinues to promote health. During the last quarter, approximately 1000 patients were examined and treated for various illnesses along with approximately 150 villagers who received vaccination against Hepatitis B.  They also held an immunization camp for children where around 70 of them received MMR vaccine and an eye camp where 40 patients were examined, 11 of which were taken for cataract surgery.  Read more …
CORD Thamaraipakkamfacilitated the State Government’s Farmer’s Awareness’ camp at Vadhatur Panchayat where several government departments participated and explained their schemes to the farmers.  Some of the departments present were: agriculture, horticulture, department of certification of quality of seeds and revenue department. The knowledge and expertise received during this training will undoubtedly raise the standards of farming in the area. Read more…
As one of India’s largest challenges is nutritional security, CORD Deuladhiha’s mission is to provide regular access to nutritional food by educating and empowering local farmers. This priority has led CORD Deuladhiha to introduce the cultivation of the paddy system under the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). CORD Deuladhiha has prompted for paddy under SRI in 20 hectors of land and paddy under line transportation in 100 hectors of land by 276 farmers.   Read more ….
Swami Kevalananda joined CORD Lathikata and conducted a health awareness program in various villages as part its mission to improve the quality of health care in rural India. Swamiji educated people on a healthy lifestyle, including proper food habits, hygiene, yoga, pranayam, and overall health.  He discussed alternative medicine practices that use local herbs, shrubs and plants to cure many diseases if applied according to the ayurvedic system of medicine. Swamiji also distributed ayuverdic medicines to ailing patients at no cost.  Read more…
Service Visit groupwith Didi
When we hear the accounts of individuals who complete a CORD Service visit to Sidhbari we can feel the tremendous impact CORD has made on the lives of so many.  A group of individuals were able to partake in this unique opportunity this summer. They witnessed CORD Sidhbari’s long-standing goal to empower women, children, and the disabled. Seeing such selfless work changed many of them as they realized that true service requires one to go above and beyond oneself for the greater good of all.  Read more on our facebook page.
As I wrote earlier, my son and I did an incredible journey this summer.  It started with CORD Siruvani located in Thennamanallur, one of the villages in the Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu.  The CORD program there is headed by Dr. Meera Krishna who received accolades for her selfless service recently by The Hindu, (see here).  She took us to the medical camp and her clinic in Thennamanallur.  I got to interact with the CORD health assistants and while there, Kapil taught the Bala Vihar children how to draw a portrait.
At Mullangadu
Later in our travels, we went to Puthur, and visited the tribal village of Mullangadu.  It’s in Mullangadu, where we met the 3-foot-17-year-old girl with sickle cell anemia.  Meera akka told me that she used to run away and hide. It took them a few visits to make her feel more at ease and help her understand that they were well-wishers.
Our next adventure was trying to get to Sidhbari.  It’s a small town situated in the foothills of the Dhauladhar Mountains, about six kilometers from Dharamshala and about 15 kilometers from McLeodGanj where the 14th Dalai Lama lives.  The last time I went there, there was a flight that would take you from Delhi to Dharamshala. Well…not any more.  Kapil and I had an eventful train ride from Old Delhi to Pathankot in Punjab.  CORD Sidhbari received us from Pathankot for the 2-hour ride to the center.
Kshama didi
Of course, you all know of Dr. Kshama Metre.  She was bestowed the Padma Shri by Indian government in 2008 in honor of her magnanimous work.  It’s always such an incredible experience meeting and talking with Kshama didi.  Her wisdom and maturity enthralls you.  Her name is shortlisted in “The Guardian International Development Achievement Award”, please take a moment to cast your vote at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/achievementsaward/guardian-international-development-achievement-award-nominees
Explaining how vermicompost works
While at Sidhbari, I visited the Jhiyol and Sakoh Jatehad Panchayats to get a glimpse of CORD’s programs.  When I was visiting the Panchayats, Kapil stayed back at the CORD facility, making Kangra paintings with the hearing impaired youth group and bead necklaces with the disabled children. 
Wherever I went – be it a women’s group, farmer’s group or a Panchayat member’s house, we were received with tea, mangoes, biscuits and crackers!  We were at one farmer’s place looking at his Vermin compost when I told him I really cannot have any more tea. He gestured to his wife and she quickly came offering me a big steel tumbler full of milk! 
She invited us to play with her
Later, we visited CORD Thamaraipakkam, a small village tucked 29 kilometers away from Chennai.  CORD Thamaraipakkam is headed by Mr. PN Kannan, a quiet man who becomes very eloquent and caring when it comes to CORD programs and the participants.  There, we went to see Pakkam Tailoring Center, set up by the ladies and young girls trained from CORD center, and then we continued on to Sivanvoyal and Nelvoy Hamlets to talk to the self-help groups.  There we saw a woman’s group and a disabled group screen printing and making paper bags that are given out by Chinmaya Publications.  Kapil was very fascinated while watching and he learned how to make the paper bags.  It is in Nelvoy that I met Kanchana.
Making paper bags
While in India, I also had a chance to discuss and exchange notes with Mona Malkani, who works at the CORD Head office in Delhi.
After the trip, both Kapil and I came back with many memories and little trinkets we started collecting from everywhere.  We felt blessed having an opportunity to see these incredible people.  Someone told me, it’s about making a difference in the lives of the people we meet, however, I feel, it is about meeting the people making the difference in their lives!
My big thanks to Shabana and Paulomi for helping me with the newsletter.  As always, if you have any questions or concerns, I am just an email away.

Thank you
Subha

Categories
NewsBlog

June 2012 CORDUSA News

 

Summer is in full swing and roses are in full bloom here in Portland. What a spectacular sight!  Hope you are all having a great summer so far too.

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This quarter we have a lot to talk about the CORD activities around the world.  I encourage you to read the annual report and quarterly reports by our CORD centers in India and Sri Lanka at http://www.cordusa.org to get the full perspective of the work that is going on.

CORD Sidhbari’smission is to EMPOWER! How is it that as of March 31st, 2012 CORD Sidhabari has spread its area of operation to 531 villages? By strengthening these village communities to be the agents of change through a variety of programs such as the Mahila Mandals. As of March 31st there are over 543 Mahila Mandals in more than 531 villages. Some highlights of the progress made within the Mahila Mandals include women rallying against the opening of an illegal wine shop, as well as a donation of RS.81,700 for various social causes such as marriage, illness treatment, and funerals. Mahila Mandals are also conducting Bala Vihar activities benefiting 3,103 children from ages 6-14.
CORD Siruvani is all about preventative health! Around 4,000 patients have undergone pap smears and blood cholesterol tests, as well as 500 patients completing their Hepatitis B vaccinations. Dental awareness continues to be a strong initiative of CORD Siruvani with more than 400 villages being screened for dental caries, oral cancer, and other problems.
As part of an awareness campaign, CORD Thamaraipakkam organized career guidance workshops for 10th and 11thgraders. Renowned personalities from a variety of fields gave motivating presentations and guidance to the students.  Computer training classes are also offered to a total of 1203 children. A 6-month course is offered on Microsoft Applications and Tally where students are given an exam at the end of the course and successful candidates are given certificates.
CORD Delauhidacreates awareness among young adolescent women.  The Yuvati mandal now has a membership of 128 young women. Through CORD, they are educated about the challenges faced by women at different levels of growth.
CORD Kaza, Chinmaya Vijaya girls orphanage, takes education to the next step.  CORD now engages private tutors who impart special coaching to our children who need to improve their grades in certain subjects.  This will help them clear their exams and be promoted to the next higher class.
CORD Lathikatashowers new growth. The lift irrigation point at Lohadar which has been non-operational for the past two years is now back in action due to CORD Lathikata’s intervention.  Because of this, around 20 acres of land will be brought under irrigation.
Many of you are aware of the recently concluded civil war in Sri Lanka. This has left hundreds of individuals devastated, homeless and often hopeless. The most vulnerable of these are the children, orphans who are innocent victims of this decade’s long conflict.
CORD Sri Lankahas been very active working with these destitute children, bringing emergency relief to the war hit areas. Now we are also actively involved in the rehabilitation and recovery of these innocent children’s lives.
We have an ongoing child sponsorship program which is $360 per year. This covers his/her ALP (Accelerated Learning Programs), providing uniforms and school kits, daily nutritious food including milk, medical check-ups, and vitamin and mineral supplements for the child.  Once a child is matched we will send you the detailed profile of the child and a yearly progress report. We hope that you will be inspired to help. Please contact me and I will be happy to help you.  CORD Sri Lanka is also able to organize fun activities over the weekends and counseling and motivational sessions to the students and their families.
Now let us talk about the happenings in our hemisphere.
CORDUSA Atlanta Chapter did a “Walk for CORD” and raised $5K. Within the past year, in addition to the CORD walk-a-thon, they organized blood donation drives, food drives, and various other community service projects. Encouraged by the enthusiastic support of its member families, CM Atlanta is now planning several exciting community service projects in future under the auspice of CORDUSA.
Hunger can take both a physical and emotional toll on those it inflicts. Beyond the physical effects, food insecurity wears away one’s self worth.  CORDUSA enthusiasts from Los Angeles have started a program called “Brown Bag Brigade” where each Saturday, they get together, make peanut butter sandwiches and pack them in brown bags filled with other foods like bananas, juice, nuts, chips etc and feed the homeless in a park near the ashram in Tustin.  We are also happy to report that Los Angeles Walk for CORD brought in $13.5K this year.
CORDUSA Portland Chapterdid their 6th annual “Walk for CORD” and brought in $13.5K.  This year they offered “CORD Cafe & Spa” services.  The participants had lots of fun enjoying tea, snacks and channa jor garam while waiting for their massage and eyebrow treatments. All proceeds went to CORDUSA.  It was a fun and memorable event.
A new CORDUSA Chapter was established at University of Miami under Ansh Grover’s leadership.
CM Halton Regiondid a very successful CORD Sri Lanka fundraiser. They also visited Jaffna CORD site to discuss possibilities.
The Chicago CORD fundraiser banquet was organized by Chicago CHYKs and it brought in $80K net!  This money is raised specifically for the CORD Sidhbari training center. With its 27-year journey, so far Dr. Kshama Metre has nurtured a comprehensive rural development program in 550 villages of Himachal Pradesh. This work has been replicated since 2003 under the aegis of CORD in other parts of the country beginning with two sites in Odisha, two sites in Tamil Nadu and one orphanage in Andhra Pradesh. We are striving hard to expand this work so it may benefit many people, especially those who are beyond reach and in underserved rural areas of the country.  CORD is also focusing on training a batch of ‘foot-soldiers’ and ‘foot-commanders’ who are willing to serve rural India through this experiential learning program.  To build this center of excellence in experiential learning in holistic rural development, CORD will need to expand its training facility.  This one-time investment in construction of its vision center in Sidhbari, Himachal Pradesh will benefit many more from different walks of life like development professionals, volunteers, interns, government functionaries, NGOs, and program beneficiaries. By transforming such groups into resource people, we will expand the group of people who are willing to serve, learn and contribute in rural India.  The creation of this facility will require approximately $1.2M.
CHYKs from Pittsburghare doing something out of the ordinary. They decided to purchase bags from CORD’s Self Help groups for their CHYK camp!  Check out the picture of the bag on the cover!  If you have such camps coming up, this is a way to create something beautiful and help our Self Help groups. It’s a win-win situation!
The Junior CHYK service visit team is now at Sidhbari. I am sure they will have their exciting stories to report for our next newsletter. For more information about service visits, please visit http://www.cordusa.org/index.php/about-us/68-servicevisits, You can also view a video presentation compiled by participants at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk5CFAKHqTw.  We usually have at least one service visit for High School students a year.  As these get filled fast, please sign up to receive the newsletters so that you can apply as soon as it is announced and avoid disappointments.
Inspired by the success of our Junior CHYKs service visits, CHYKs are organizing a service visitthis year under the leadership of Apurva Bhatt. They are going to CORD Kaza, Chinmaya Vijaya Orphanage in December and will be teaching the girls basic computer skills and English.  The dates are set on December 23rd to 31st. For more information, please go to http://www.cordusa.org/index.php/about-us/68-servicevisitsor send a mail to Apurva at chyk2012@cordusa.org
Over the last 3 years of its existence, CORDUSA has gotten numerous requests from donors to apply for Matching Grants.  We want to thank all those donors who help us maximize the impact of your donations. Many companies sponsor matching gift programs that contribute to their employees’ philanthropic interests.  Your company may be one of them. If your employer offers such a program, please request a matching gift form from your employer and send it, completed, signed and scanned to subha [at] cordusa.org.
I want to thank my two great helpers in putting together the newsletter, Paulomi Campbell and Shabana Dipchand. They make it fun and productive!
I am very excited about my summer trip to India, where I get to go visit Tamaraipakkam, Siruvani and Sidhbari! I will write about it on my next blog.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, I am just an email away…
Have a safe and fun summer…
Subha