Eighty-four of the 92 spelling bee finalists gathered at Hombegowda High School for the competition on January 28. The students all attend low-income public high schools. The Outreach Program provides them the opportunity to improve their mastery of English; the Spelling Bee showcases their progress. The Chief Guest for the event was Mr. Ram Sundher, Management Consultant at Bangalore Cares. Mr. Chandrasekhar, Headmaster of Honnaganahatti High School, spoke on the impact of the Outreach Program on the children. After several exciting rounds of competition moderated by Dr. G. Sridhar, Founder and President of Deeksha College, the Spelling Bee went to the bonus round. Chethan Gowda, from S.V. Krishna Iyer High School, correctly spelled “finance” to win 1^st place. The event was featured in Vijaya Karnataka newspaper; Suvarna television will air a piece on the program in the near future.

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Traditionally celebrated on Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday every year, Children’s Day is a day of fun and games. This year volunteers from Brady Company India, visited Sahasra Deepika Institute. They played games, brought toys and gifts, brought each child a sweater and held a talent show in which the children were judges. It was truly a day of merriment for all the students and volunteers alike. We thank Roopa Satish of Brady Company for organizing the event.

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Over 160 guests attended Sahasra Deepika’s 2nd Annual Gala at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C. At the Founders’ Reception, select donors were entertained by Hindustani Violinist Nistha Raj and Krishna Ramdas on the tabla. Guests included supporters from the local area and from several states. Rhythmaya Dance Company performed a beautiful fusion dance piece. Guest speaker Shawn Hardnett talked about how the right kind of education, not just any education, makes a big difference in a child’s future success. He reminded the audience that true happiness was found through connection to a cause greater than themselves. Dr. Ramakrishna spoke about how growing up in poverty made him determined to provide opportunities for needy children. By providing them encouragement, a positive environment and a good education, they could achieve their dreams. Leslie Mark, a senior at Dominion High School in Sterling, Virginia read the personal statements of four of the Sahasra Deepika girls. This moving declaration of their aspirations motivated the audience to give generously to Sahasra Deepika during the auction. There was tremendous goodwill generated for Sahasra Deepika during this special evening. See photos on our Gala page.

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Supporters of Sahasra Deepika gathered at SDI for a celebration of its 13th Anniversary on August 14, 2011. Dr. and Mrs. Ramakrishna remarked on the many achievements and challenges theyʼve faced since SDI opened in 1998 with 8 children. They expressed their gratitude for the many friends and supporters who have helped along the way.

In attendance at the event were representatives from some of our local corporate partners. Chief Guest Gregory Apostolakis, City Manager of HSBC Global Resourcing in Bangalore, reaffirmed his companyʼs support for Sahasra Deepika. Roopa Satish of Brady Company India Pvt. Ltd. presented a donation towards the repair of the compound wall at SDI, which is essential to ensuring the safety of the campus. Partha Rajendra, co-founder of G.I.V.E., launched his project to enhance the education of children at SDI (see below). The event culminated with the opening of the childrenʼs playground donated by students from Dominion High School in Sterling, Virginia. Ashoka Rajendra, a graduate of Dominion, praised the hard work the Global Ambassadors club had done to make the playground a reality. He joined Gregory Apostolakis in cutting the ribbon, much to the delight of the children and all those gathered.

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The children at Sahasra Deepika are sporting fancy flip-flops signed and decorated by attendees at the Ashoka Youth Summit in Milwaukee. Bearing messages such as “Keep the Faith, “Stay Strong,” and “Someone in Massachusetts loves you,” they were a unique way to spread goodwill across cultures. The flip-flops were provided by two young social entrepreneurs, Partha Rajendra of Virginia and Daniella Cohen of Illinois. Together they founded G.I.V.E. (Go, Innovate, Volunteer and Educate), an Ashoka Youth Venture. Partha and Daniella are piloting their program at SDI in the 2011-2012 school year, to develop friendships and homework help using the internet.

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