Archive for the ‘volunteering’ Category

Volunteer of the Month – Neema Patel

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

Neema came to Bangalore early this year from London to teach at an orphanage. After hearing about Dream A Dream from a  friend, she immediately got in touch with us looking for internship opportunities.  On hearing what all activities her internship  would entail, she was extremely excited to work with us. She helped out with program offerings and a variety of internal  projects, in addition to attending an adventure camp, about which she says, “The highlight of the camp really was getting to  have the experience with the children, and participate in all the activities just like them, whilst being on their level, and  seeing the experience from their point of view rather than as just a helper. As a result of this, I really connected well with  quite a few children, and even gained their trust.”

Recounting her volunteering experience, she says, “My experience at Dream A Dream was extremely insightful. I learnt a huge amount in such a small amount of time. It was wonderful working with people that are so enthusiastic about what they believe in and so motivated. Being a part of Dream A Dream (even if only for a month) completely restored my faith in people and NGOs in general. The passion of all the employees just rubs off on anyone that spends time at Dream A Dream. I feel that everyone at Dream A Dream really has a voice… a voice that others are actually listening to.”

“We can’t choose their path for them, but we can give them a choice towards a better future”, believes Neema.

Neema continues to support us while in London in activities such as running for Dream A Dream in the London 10K Run alongside 60 other runners. Neema can be congratulated at neemapatel1987@hotmail.com.

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Story of a Never Say Die Spirit

Saturday, March 1st, 2008


In June 07 I attended the first State level Tournament with our advanced level Table Tennis children. It was an excellent platform for our children who have been playing TT for the last 3 years. Unfortunately, our children lost the first rounds of the tournament. During the matches and discussion after each match, I realized that it is not the lack of skill set which is the problem, but the lack of encouragement. Even in our regular practice sessions I observed that these children have a lot of energy and fitness to defeat the opponents from the mainstream. What they needed was support and encouragement.

I decided to give them continues support and encouragement through out the year and I was sure that this would work out and change them. I sat down with them, spoke to them after each and every session, gave them on the spot corrections while they were playing, and some times I challenged them and rewarded them when they met it. Small gestures like a pat on the back saying “Well Played” or “You can do it” or “Its ok. Fight back” would go a long way. A rapport established between me and the children. I realized the children started approaching me for more feedback.

5 months later the results were to be seen and it was wonderful. The older children – Jayanth, Bannappa and Suresh took initiative of taking the attendance of the children in my absence. They began to train the juniors, and they took charge of keeping the kit safely inside the room. The much awaited result came; Manjunath marched to the pre-quarter finals of the last state level ranking tournament in November. Bannappa and Suresh began to defeat every other mainstream child in the academy. They are now showing a fighting spirit – They are not ready to give up!!!

It was sheer exhilaration to see Suresh play a match against Akshay, a mainstream child. Both had won a set each 11-7, 8-11. The clincher was the final set and Suresh was far behind at 5-10. Akshay needed to score one more point to win the set and the Match. The way Suresh played from then, fills me with inspiration and admiration to this day. He played a phenomenal gritty game and bounced back to 12-10 to win the set and the Match !!

I feel very proud to be with these children. I know that if we spend some time with the children we can multiply the impact on their life. I am always inspired by them.

Watch the children play and Get Inspired !!!

TT sessions at Jayanagar, III rd block on every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. To attend the sessions or for more details, contact me @ 99800 21984

“Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future” ~ John F. Kennedy

Bobbymon George, Program Coordinator
Dream A Dream
www.dreamadream.org

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