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Dear Volunteers,
Greetings!!
We are halfway into the current financial year so it seems a good time to briefly look at how we have engaged volunteers in some of our work. The largest pool of volunteers is involved in the WISA project-196! and still counting. A few hours on the weekend is what is required to engage on this project. Bala Janaagraha has absorbed around 30 volunteers into its different roles of teaching school children aspects of citizenship and local government and on content development for their new book. Jaago Re - One Billion Votes, the national youth voting campaign has engaged 7 volunteers in different capacities: from research, surveys, website design and development. This is in addition to 14 volunteers engaged in the overall Yuva Janaagraha programme. Our Research and Advocacy programmes has utilised volunteers on knowledge management initiatives, documenting the genesis and development of the community participation bill, detailing urban poor participation methodologies, documenting our grassroots projects among many other projects. Around 5 volunteers have contributed towards this. Communications has provided opportunities to 9 volunteers to work on internal and external communication channels for Janaagraha. A big Thank You! to all who are supporting us in our work.
A very warm welcome to those of you who have recently joined the Janaagraha family. We look forward to collectively creating tremendous energy for change. Some volunteers have been engaged with us for a very long time. In this issue we thank one of our senior volunteers who is an invaluable asset to our institution. You will also hear from volunteers who are engaged in projects like WISA and Jaago Re - One Billion Votes. Do visit the opportunities section at www.janaagraha.org and connect with us to engage.
“ I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again” - Mahatma Gandhi
Sapna Karim
Coordinator, HR
RIBBON OF HONOUR:
Mr. Nayar, has been an enormous source of wisdom, professionalism and encouragement for Janaagraha over the past three years. He came to Janaagraha to help on one particular programme. However, within a few months, he increased his engagement to help the founders to think about the overall organisational challenges that we faced, and how we could best address these. His leadership, and years of work experience, were crucial in moving Janaagraha from an open platform, to the rigorous institution that we are today. He constantly looks to see how we can improve our functioning, while retaining the key principles of voluntarism and openness that are the essence of our institution.
As the coordinator of the Janaagraha Working Council, Mr Nayar is the classic example of what is called “tough love” – honest, fair, unbiased and willing to state the facts as they are. This is extraordinarily helpful to make sure that we see ourselves with the right mix of positives and areas for growth.
For his unstinted commitment to Janaagraha, for embodying the professionalism that we look for in all our volunteers, for making this a better institution through his efforts, Mr Nayar deserves the V-People Ribbon of Honour! Thank you Mr Nayar!
Ramesh and Swati Ramanathan
Co- Founders
WEARING THE V HAT
Penelope Marles, Intern from Youth Challenge, Australia
"My experience at Janaagraha has been centred on the people that I have met and the relationships that I have formed. Working within the organisation has provided me with the opportunity to connect with people from throughout India as well as from all over the world. The organisation has a unique ability to attract people from throughout the world to work towards a common goal of realising a better quality of government in India. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Janaagraha and would recommend that people get involved to any extent that they are able to. It is a rewarding experience and one that provides a unique insight into the workings of local urban government in India"
LOOK WHO'S TALKING
Interview with Arundhati Gupta, Volunteer in Jaago Re! One Billion Votes campaign
1) How did you get to know of Janaagraha?
As a Bangalorean, I was always sketchily aware of the work Janaagraha does. I understood a little more when I first volunteered...
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