25 years of Dream a Dream! I honestly cannot believe it. A dream that started with 11 individuals who came together with a single purpose of helping young children. We were honestly kids ourselves, some just graduated from college, others who had just started their entrepreneurial journey or figuring out their own careers. We had no idea where we would be next week, forget next year or what the future held for us, but we were united in the determination to make a difference.
Brinda Jacob was the one who created the first ripple. If we talk in the start-up language, she was the first founder of Dream a Dream. The initial idea was to start an Indian chapter of Make a Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in the United States in 1980 which helped fulfill the wishes of terminally ill children. Brinda spoke about the idea to her friend, Supreeta Sampath, who contacted me thinking I would love to be involved in something like this. I contacted Vishal, knowing he would want to be a part of this idea, and the ripple continued. In less than a week, 1 person became 11 people who were the founding team of Dream a Dream.
The journey of how we transitioned from being an organization that fulfils the wishes of terminally ill children to where we are now today: empowering children from vulnerable backgrounds will require one full book for itself. However, be rest assured that every decision was well thought out, researched and executed.
Dream a Dream’s first office in Bangalore was my bedroom, which then got extended to my car. My blue Maruti 800 was a jungle gym/ joy ride/ entertainment centre for the children at Freedom Foundation and Ananya Trust. It also became a mini taxi, taking cancer affected kids to Kidwai Hospital for their treatments. One of my first life lessons was taught to me by 14 year old Vinod, who had blood cancer and due to which, one of his arms was amputated. He was the most confident person that I have ever met; resourceful, full of life, knew how to get things done and was a mini con artist. He wanted to be a policeman when he grew up. He was aware that he was terminally ill, but he kept a positive attitude and lit up every room he entered with his positivity. He would walk into Kidwai hospital as if he owned the place. He knew every staff member and each one would look forward to his visits. Vinod taught me never to take anything for granted and live each day to the fullest, to have dreams and work towards them to make them come true.
I am so proud of where Dream a Dream is today and kudos to Vishal for making it his life’s purpose while we all got busy with our lives, marriages, careers and kids. He decided to make Dream a Dream a professional NGO, and ensured that he got fantastic leaders like Suchetha, Pavithra, and so many more to bring it to where it is today. One of my dreams for Dream a Dream has already come true where children we had started working with in 1999 are now facilitators or members of the Dream a Dream team, taking the organization forward. My other dream is that the programs designed by Dream a Dream get adopted by every educational system in the country. Raising a toast to that and waiting for the 50th anniversary of Dream a Dream to narrate the remaining stories.
About the Author:
Neha Arya is one of the Founding members and Founding Trustee of Dream a Dream. She now works with SaaSBoomi, a pay it forward community for SaaS (Software as a Service) founders in India. She also conducts cultural sensitization workshops for companies and individuals.