On the occasion of the 63^rd Independence Day Yuva Bengaluru has decided to remember and salute all the great people who were responsible for the independence of our country.  Hence Yuva Bengaluru   has decided to launch a concept called “Freedom fighters return”

The freedom fighters charts will be distributed to the students of various schools and colleges. The chart will contain the names of the freedom fighters in alphabetical order on one side and the other side will contain biographical details of the freedom fighters lives.

We will also be conducting an essay in all the schools. The topic of the essay competition is “My Goal for my development and my contribution to make India No 1 by the year 2020.”

Aim of this programme :

1. To instill a sense of patriotism among the younsters and motivate them to be the change they want to see in the world.

2. To make the yound minds responsible for their actions and empower them to take a stand on issues that they believe.

The Program was launched by Kannada Film Actor “YASH”, Actress “Harshika Poonacha” and CEO of preventive Health Sector, Narayana Hrudayalaya “Abhay Singhvi”. Along with them are Founder of YUVA Bengaluru, KIRAN, YUmember Tanu Kulkarni and Creator of the chart “T Ramakrishna”

Each school will be given three prizes and the prizes will be distributed by a freedom fighter.

We will be targeting to reach over 50,000 students through these programmes.

If any school wishes to enroll in this programme they can contact us, they can write to mithun@yuvabengaluru.org or call on 9900051926 or 9986050339. To order remotely, A minimum of 100 copies should be placed, each chart costs Rs. 2/-.

Press Coverage of the Launch of the Program:

Bangalore Mirror : http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=News-City&sectid=10&contentid=2010081020100810213758258f80c486c

Kasturi TV : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekphWUqPODI

Samaya TV : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMcK5lRKp64

The eye donation project has been a regular project that is conducted by Yuva Bengaluru in various schools and corporates. This eye donation drive is conducted in association with Dr Rajkumar eye Bank.

The following are the list of places where the eye donation drive has been conducted

1.Raheja Towers

2.Millenia Towers

3. MES main college

4.OPI, Watch this video

5. UB Towers

6.Subex Ltd

7.Surana College

8. Vijaya College

9. Maharani  Ammani College

10.Atria Institute of Technology

First Eye Donation From YUVA Bengaluru

YUVA Bengaluru has successfully made around 5000 families to pledge their eyes. One of the YUVA Bengaluru member, Babu Shankar was also involved in the eye donation drive. Recently one of the family members of Babu Shankar, named Babu Prasad passed away.

Due to the initiative by Babu Shankar and positive support by the family members of the demised Babu Prasad, It was possible to donate his eyes and give light to two otherwise blind people. We would like to appreciate the initiative taken by the family of Mr. Babu Prasad.

This is the first eye donation that happened through YUVA Bengaluru

“I do not even clean my room, but when it comes to our school i want to make it clean and tidy . And I will go that extra mile to ensure that it happens”said one our members Niddhi Raju

This thought provoked everyone to wake up on July 25th 2010, a Sunday morning and participate in the cleanthon. The members were filled with a bundle of energy with brooms and sponges in their hands .

The entire school was swept and the walls of the schools were scrubbed and care was taken to ensure that no black spots were left behind.

All the members were spilt into teams and the teams were competing as to which room would be the cleanest.

After several hours of cleaning, at half past one the members turned back to the school and felt proud of their accomplishment.

Narendra took home the title of the best Volunteer of the event , while the classroom which was cleaned by Niddhi and Shruthi was judged as the cleanest classroom. 

And so they were ready to present a new clean school to the students. On Monday morning the students promised to keep the school clean .

There are various ways in which people celebrate independence day .However Fifteen August certainly does trigger various thoughts and emotions among all Indians. But Yuva Bengaluru wanted to depict Independence Day not as a celebration but as a day to show patriotism which is beyond hoisting the flag and singing the National Anthem.

In order to make our 63^rd year of Independence Day a meaningful one Yuva Bengaluru decided to introduce a concept called Freedom fighters return!

Like how we easily recall A for Apple and B for ball, we wanted each alphabet to be associated with the names of the freedom fighters.

Hence Yuva  Bengaluru decided to launch this concept with the intention of providing insight into the lives of these great men and women   Yuva Bengaluru strongly believes  by doing this they will not only promote the freedom fighters but will also spread ideals of sacrifice, patriotism and service to the society among the younger generation. This chart was researched and Created by a great person called T Ramakrishna.

Yuva Bengaluru has already reached over 50,000  students of various schools and colleges throughout Karnataka . Yuva Bengaluru will also be conducting an essay competition for the students. The topic of the essay is “My goal for my development and my contribution to make India number 1 by 2020.” 

On 15^th of August Yuva Bengaluru celebrated this important day at the Labourer’s Fellowship School by hoisting flag which was followed by several cultural programmes by the students . A skit and a few songs were sung by the Yuva Bengaluru members.

Over 35 members participated in this celebration and helped make this a successful one . The entire school was infected with the patriotic fever.

Yuva Bengaluru hopes that this enthusiasm and passion will live in the hearts of the members all through the year .

They say “If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a women you educate an entire family.”

Yuva Bengaluru strongly believes in this thought and hence decided to conduct a free dental camp for the women who deserve it the most. The women who came for this dental camp were the women who come from extremely low economic backgrounds.

The dental camp was conducted at the Labourer’s Fellowship School with the help of Narain Oral Care.

Over 110 women were provided free dental check up . For women who needed dental treatment, the same was provided to them free of cost . Dr Sachin and his entire team also stressed on the importance of maintaining good oral hygiene. They suggested a few tips which they asked the women to follow.

One of the women who attended the camp said “We never find the time to take care of ourselves as we are constantly busy juggling between work and duties towards the family. I would like to thank Yuva Bengaluru for organising this camp and for helping us take time to take care of ourselves.”

Yuva Bengaluru would like to thank the members for making this event a successful one. Special thanks to all the members who went door to door and made announcements about the dental camp so that all the women in the area could avail this opportunity 

A six year old Sonu Khanum( a student of Alfahad Education Centre, Bengaluru) ran home after school one day and told her mother that her hands were shivering during class hours. Sonu’s mother didn’t think of it as a reason to worry. But when this became a common phenomenon, Sonu’s mother got worried. She immediately rushed Sonu to Vani Vilas hospital where they diagnosed a hole in her heart. On hearing this, her mother broke down. Sonu’s mother was a daily wage worker and her father did not offer to help either. Getting Sonu operated seemed like an impossible task for her mother. But her prayers were answered as one of Sonu’s family friend had heard about Yuva Bengaluru during a health camp at a village of Ramnagara. And, it didn’t take Sonu’s mother any longer to approach Yuva Bengaluru. The case was immediately put forward to Narayana Hrudayalaya.

Within two weeks time, all the formalities were completed and Sonu was operated on the 20th March 2010, a Saturday.

On Sunday (21st march, 2010), the Yuva Bengaluru Team visited Sonu. She looked extremely hale and hearty and was ready to head back home. Sonu’s mother was all in praise for Yuva Bengaluru. She said she could not thank Yuva Bengaluru enough for letting her daughter dream a future to her “heart’s” content.

Yuva Bengaluru wishes Sonu the best of health and success in all her endeavours. This certainly would not have been possible without the support of Narayana Hrudalaya. Yuva Bengaluru salutes the spirit of Narayana Hrudalaya for adding a personal touch to the treatment.

Hence the first phase of the project began with a health camp that was organized with the support of Narayana Hrudayalaya on February 20, 2010, Saturday. 

About 40 volunteers comprising of college students and corporates volunteered in the event. The volunteers helped the patients to register for the health camp and kept a count of the cases that require treatment. Volunteers also gave tips on the importance of following a healthy lifestyle and also counselled several patients. Yuva Bengaluru will coordinate with Narayana Hrudalaya and will follow up on the health cases in coming months.

Narayana Hrudalaya’s doctor Mr Dayanand said “It feels great to be a part of this initiative. It feels great to see such young charming people involved in such causes.”

Simultaneously on this day they also conducted a survey and collected information about the tastes and preferences of the youth living in the village. Based on these reports they aim to frame strategies in order to maximize the potential of the youth.

Most of the volunteers expressed that this was perhaps one of their best and most satisfying volunteering experiences.

Waseem, a software engineer and a member of Yuva Bengaluru appreciated this initiative and summed up his experience in a line “We have to be the stones to shatter the glass of pain and give the world the meaning of sunshine and rain.”

To get started with the project, Yuva Bengaluru decided to conduct a survey in villages on 25th and 26th December 2009. The main intention of the survey was to understand the lifestyle and problems of the villagers before formulating policies for their development.

We left Deena Seva Sangha at 8:45 pm on 24th December 2009 and after surpassing the Namma Bengaluru traffic we escaped to the quiet and peaceful Ramnagar. With the help of a few candles we managed to transfer our luggages to the hall where we were to stay. It came in as a shock when we got to know that these villagers receive electricity for less than three hours daily.

On 25^th December 2009, after a quick breakfast we divided ourselves into two groups – one group would work in the villages and one were to work in the farms. We had prepared a questionnaire which worked as a guideline and helped us in interacting with the villagers.

We were not very sure whether the villagers would be open to our questions. But we were delighted to see the hospitality of the villagers. They all not only answered our questions but engaged in detailed conversations. Some of them even offered us tea and lunch.

All of them expressed their grievances to us. Even a little 6 standard boy Chandru said ”Although we have bus facilities in the morning to go to school, there is no bus facility in the evenings because of which we need to walk 4 kilometres everyday.”

Every moment there was an eye opener. We witnessed the various hardships that the villagers experience – right from primitive agricultural methods to inadequate transport facilities. While interviewing the farmers in the farm we tried our hand in some of the processes of harvesting and separating dust, but we could not match up to the standards of the expert farmers.

After finding a suitable place amidst the green paddy we spread the mats for lunch. Post lunch the groups interchanged the roles they had to play. 

At 4 :30 pm we rushed back to the hall to play with the children of the villages who had assembled there to play games and grab their prizes. Seeing over 70 vibrant little faces was a complete delight. All of them participated and our volunteers just never stopped applauding or cheering.

After that we sang one happy and patriotic song and concluded with the prize distribution.

Later all 40 volunteers sat down for a brainstorming session. We were sure that it was going to be a productive trip, but little did we imagine that we would witness such high amounts of energy and enthusiasm.

Every volunteer had been a keen observer through the day. While some volunteers listed the problems that were to be addressed, some volunteers even suggested measures that could be implemented.

Mr Dipu  summed up his interaction with the villagers by saying “The villagers don’t have any savings, they have no plans for their future. They take everyday as it is to come. We need to share our experiences and help them grow.” He also said that we the volunteers of Yuva Bengaluru must act as bridges and help them realize their rights.

Mahesh , the activity manager of Meghana foundation suggested  “We must motivate them to start Small Scale Industries.”   

The major problems that we thought were prevalent in the villages were lack of electric and transport facilities, lack of awareness towards government facilities, outdated technology used in terms of agriculture and illiteracy. However it is heartening to see that the present generations of kids are all going to schools.

The survey will play a pivotal role while framing the strategies and modules for development.

 On 26th morning we went to the government school and interacted with the students. We learnt that the students are more or less satisfied with all the facilities that they receive. In the field of education changing the mindset of students and motivating them to reap the benefits of education seems to be the challenging task.

However Mr Mallikarjun , Lecture of sociology complained “The number of books in the library need to be increased. The lack of textbooks curbs the extensive reading of students and thus they learn only for the examination point of view.”

After the session with the students the volunteers concluded the trip by visiting the Sholay hills.

A big Thank you to Meghana Foundation for having participated in our survey, for excellently conducting games with village children and for providing us with many valuable inputs

It gives us immense pleasure to say that 40 of us from different backgrounds who have different ideas and who lead different lives came together for such a likeminded cause. However this is just the beginning and the first step of Project Ramnagar.

On a personal note it helped each one of us look at the optimistic side of things. The contentment and hospitality of the villagers is perhaps something that we can learn from.

The Kidwai Cancer hospital wore a festive look on Valentines Day as the Yuva Bengaluru team decided to celebrate Valentines Day by greeting the cancer patients.

The purpose of the event was to make valentine’s day a meaningful celebration by bringing a smile on the faces of over 300 cancer patients.

Yuva Bengaluru thought the best way of expressing love to the cancer patients was by showcasing cultural performances of the students of the Deena Seva Sangha School (which is adopted by Yuva Bengaluru)

Sandalwood’s most popular actress Ms. Ramya attended the event it and made it the most memorable day for all the children. She said “Spending my valentines day in such a unique manner makes it extra special. I am glad I got an opportunity to do so.”

K. Kalayan who is one of the finest Lyrists that the Kannada film industry has ever produced, also graced the event. He appreciated Yuva Bengaluru for the efforts taken to bring about a change in the society and wish them luck in all the endeavors.

On this occasion Yuva Bengaluru distributed fruits to over 400 patients who were admitted at the Dharmashala block.

The kids at the Kapur block in Kidwai hospital received special treatment as the chief guests personally went to each ward to distribute goodies.

Greeting cards made by the students of the Deena Seva Sangha Labour Fellowship School and diyas made by the volunteers of Yuva Bengaluru were distributed among the Kids. The entire event was sponsored by The LadiesCircle 5. Yuva Bengaluru would like to extend a heartfelt Thank you to Ladies Circle 5 for helping make this event a success.

On this occasion the Pranic healing foundation also distributed soft toys and pillows among the cancer pateints.

Poorna Pragna(17) , a student and volunteer with Yuva Bengaluru said “Every year I try and make Valentines day special for myself, never did I imagine that I would be able to spread joy and make some body else’s Valentines day special. Certainly to spread love to those in pain was the best way to celebrate this day. Thank you Yuva Bengaluru! ”