make a Difference

dilli

Issue I Oct ‘09

‘M.A.D.-a-log’
 MADD Chatter  Volunteer speak
 A snapshot  The team
 Method to the MADDness  Caught in frames

 MADD Rendezvous
 MADD chatter..

“A story has no beginning or end; arbitrarily one chooses that moment of

experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead”
So where do I begin…
It’s not easy to delve into the depths of our MADDness. It is a perpetual state of mind. An
obsession. A continuous journey. Like a story, it has no definite beginning and no end.

Back when we were grown-ups and did not subscribe to this infectious urge to make a difference,
little did we know how 2 hours in a week would change our lives forever…Today, we take pride
in our cause. We strongly believe that we must never lose this spark of madness gifted to us…We
are fighters…We believe in education. We believe in dignity.

In the last few months, we have grown together as a family and like every family, have learnt to
fight, love and laugh at each other…..So let me choose an arbitrary moment of the MADD
experience and give you a glimpse of our extended family:
Samhita loves ‘Row, row, row your boat’. Samarth loves ‘Ringa-ringa-roses’. Vrinda is terrified of
dogs…Dogs, however, are not terrified of Vrinda and will chew her slippers apart…Raveena
travels from the other end of the city to reach her orphanage!! Akshay’s dance moves can put MJ
to shame…Prabal, Sakshi, Anisha and Khushboo can be seen at Bal Sehyog 25 days in a month.
Chandan is, by popular vote, the naughtiest kid ever!!! Ajanta cannot stop making fun of the
length of Samarth’s mails. (The length of Samarth’s mails is a whole different story).

I could go on, but to wrap it up, what I know is that we are all proud to be a part of the MADD
family!! It has been an interesting journey. There was the great divide between North-campus
lovers and South-Delhi lovers. There was the day when Deeksha was attacked by a friendly dog.
There was the day when the core team showed for a meeting on time. Just kidding!

It has been a rollercoaster-ish ride, spent in the company of people who are all a bit insane,
compassionate yet very tough and can teach pretty well too!!
- Ajanta Dutta Roy

www.makeadiff.in http://maddilli.blogspot.com/ www.makeadiff.in/blog

 A snapshot..
 We are a youth volunteer network
comprising of students and professionals
 Make A Difference (MAD) is a national
organization, which was started in 2006 in
Cochin with a vision to educate
underprivileged children
 Currently MAD has a network in 10 cities :
Cochin, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi,
Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Trivandrum and
Nagpur
 MAD is the Global Winner of The Ashoka
Staples Youth Social Entrepreneur Award
 MAD is the winner of the Best Medium
Nonprofit Category winner at the
IndiyaShine Awards 2009
 Mad is the winner of the KARMAVEER
PURASKAR- National Awards for Social
Justice & Citizen Action
www.makeadiff.in http://maddilli.blogspot.com/
 MAD Dilli was formed in January, 2009 by
4 dedicated volunteers
 Currently, MAD Dilli is a 52-member
strong organization which aims at teaching
English language in Phase I (Inception
Stage) to children in orphanages and street
shelters of Delhi
 We train the volunteers in Language
teaching, class management, time
management and several other aspects
 Our volunteers interact with orphan
children in Delhi who are primarily run-
away children or abandoned ones, providing
them with support and care
 We offer our volunteers the opportunity to
interact with a broader forum and build an
informal network within MAD India ]
www.makeadiff.in/blog
 Method to
the MADDness ..
I want to be the one– the MADD one….
We were restless…
Restless because we knew that the millions of
underprivileged kids in the streets of Delhi
needed us.. And until the day we reached our
goal, we knew we would remain restless….
We also knew that our teachers would be the
most important capital for our organization.
And so it started with reaching out to
potential volunteers at various colleges across
Delhi….
We planned a multi-day publicity campaign –
counting down the days till MAD arrived on
campus, without disclosing what MAD
actually was, in order to build the suspense
around the recruitment drive..
On D-Day, the presentation was slick and
precise – using a strong professional undertone
– perhaps not expected of a voluntary youth
network. The sound of applause at the end of
each presentation was a vote of confidence
which reassured us that our message was
delivered.
www.makeadiff.in http://maddilli.blogspot.com/
The shortlisted applicants were invited for the
MAD Rendezvous. (The MAD Rendezvous
deserves separate and exclusive mention and
will be done justice in the following pages!!)
And so all 52 of us MADDites were
bound…bound by the willing suspension of all
sanity. We did not suffer from insanity…we
enjoyed every moment of it!!!
To us, MADD means much more than a
weekly visit to deliver our chapters:
Let us make them feel the warmth of sunrays.
To assure them that someone is there who
would bring about a change...
Where each child lives with a dream..
Where we could hold each one with a tear ,
And listen to those silent wishes..
So if we wish to see our sun every morning
Why cant we make them smile and feel the
warmth once a week....
We knew the realities but we never opened
our eyes... No, not any more. Today, we want
to be a reason for that smile. I want to be the
one to MAKE A DIFFERENCE.- I’m glad now
u too are that one..!! ]
- Sonam, Samarth
www.makeadiff.in/blog
 MADD rendezvous ..
We began with ‘Ringa-ringa-roses’….and we
all fell down!!!
The event was none other than the MADD
Rendezvous, the grand finale to an extremely
successful and fun-filled recruitment drive
organized by MAD-Dilli across various
colleges in the city...
The shortlisted volunteers from the
recruitment drive were invited to the
MADD Rendezvous for a day of fun, learning
and laughter…
The new members were introduced to
MADD and its activities in great detail. They
were informed about the nuances of teaching
children, the MAD syllabus, the teaching
philosophy adopted by the organization and
so forth….
Expectations were efficiently managed and
the queries of the newly inducted members
were answered by the existing team of
seasoned volunteers…
www.makeadiff.in http://maddilli.blogspot.com/
From organizing a play about MADD in 20
minutes to understanding the intricacies of
child-psychology, every element of the MADD
Rendezvous was exciting and educative..!!
Several interactive games, skits and other
activities were carried out and each of them
saw enthusiastic participation from both the
new and existing volunteers…
The day was only a slight glimpse of the
bundle of potential that lay with us…a
promise that we could and indeed would make
a difference to the world around us…
The journey ahead is long and arduous but
with the energy and spirit we have in store, no
obstacle seems insurmountable….
We all hope and pray that a day comes when
MADD becomes obsolete…when there is no
need for any such organization, when the light
of education has penetrated the darkest alleys
of the country…But until then, may the
‘MADD’ness continue ]
www.makeadiff.in/blog
 Volunteer
speak..

No way out
It wakes me up in the morning,
A deep darkness Puts me to the daily grind

A deep darkness I brace myself for monotony

Surrounded us, And leave the questions behind.
And all of us MADDites
Decided to snub it It tells me to run faster,
faster than the rest
But how? Yet I remain a mediocre
Not only by and pass petty tests.
Knitting a dream...
I come home at night
We have a flame strained and drained
In our hearts, I lie down on my bed
We must protect it deluding myself into peace
Against the unfavouring winds
Because we have to pass And then I find it lurking at the headrest.
Along this journey… It waits patiently till I go to sleep...

Surely, The clock strikes 6:30 and,

A day will come It is ready before I am.
When we make the change Beginning another cycle of monotony
We wish to
See in the world ]
It slaps me across the face.
-Vigyan Bhushan It is, the rat race ]
-Tanya Sikroria

www.makeadiff.in http://maddilli.blogspot.com/ www.makeadiff.in/blog

 Volunteer
speak..

It is all going to change…

Dear Child put that dress away for there are fairy tales to be read.
Snap out of that fear. Let there be calm inside your head.
Soiled currency can wait. I have, for you, a magical story.
Of Kings and Dragons and Goblins – magnificent as can be.
Have faith: From this debris you will rise.
This life is yours. Let no one tell you otherwise.

Oh the world today is such a tainted place.

Soaked in sham, plastered in disgrace,
but I promise a new day will bring another chance,
There’ll be no more loathing in every fleeting glance.

You did not deserve this cruel, horrible fate.

But it is dusk now, and not too late.
Let go of the pain, the angst, the anguish.
Let your mind wander, let your heart wish,
For every desire and whim you have been denied,
Forget what you have lost and hold onto your pride.

Rejoice, for from now it is all going to change.

No more tasks so foul, no more errands so strange.
Just the joyous childhood that was meant for you,
and all the magical stories you’re entitled to ]
- Sagar Malik

www.makeadiff.in http://maddilli.blogspot.com/ www.makeadiff.in/blog

 Volunteer
speak..

Who can bring light to his dark future

He is a scientist or an engineer or an architect or a management thinker
But how will the world come to know
Unaware of his talents and capabilities,
The world easily allows him to go to hell
All his creativity, his initiative and his ideas are cruelly tarnished
And the poor kid accepts this torture as the ultimate truth of his life
LET IT BE SO. WHY CHANGE?

A child who picks up a rag is special

He looks at the garbage with Newton’s eyes
What we discard as useless, attracts his attention
What we rarely notice
He has it in him to discover gravity behind it
And all his lateral thinking is consumed by the rags he pick
LET IT BE SO. WHY CHANGE?

A child who begs money is special

He knows the art of attracting attention,
Which is what the marketing executives most look for
Or else there could have been an actor in him
But whole of his life is ended up at traffic signals itself
LET IT BE SO. WHY CHANGE?

Every child is special

They have bright ideas and big dreams in their twinkling eyes
They have determination and patience at their heart
They have enthusiasm and vigour in their soul
But the only thing lacking is opportunities
LET IT NOT BE SO. YOU BE THE CHANGE…….. Aarti Agarwal

www.makeadiff.in http://maddilli.blogspot.com/ www.makeadiff.in/blog

 The team
Samhita Das

Most likely to: Turn up for a MADD event with

an hour left to catch a flight!!!

Also handles: The overall ‘madd’ness

Sameeta Pupala

Most likely to: Make sense out of everyone’s

‘madd’ening point of views…

Also handles: Book-keeping

Samarth Agarwal

Most likely to: Be the first one to reply

to an email (with the longest answer
possible !!)

Also handles: Fundraising

www.makeadiff.in http://maddilli.blogspot.com/ www.makeadiff.in/blog

 The team

Sonam Jain

Most likely to: Be the only one to

read Samarth’s replies!!

Also handles: Human Resources

Serena Manchanda Ajanta Dutta Roy

Most likely to: Send 6 emails within Most likely to: Drink coffee at the speed of
3.25 seconds.. light and ask everyone to relax….

Also handles: Finance / Training Also handles: Public Relations

www.makeadiff.in http://maddilli.blogspot.com/ www.makeadiff.in/blog

 Caught in frames..

www.makeadiff.in http://maddilli.blogspot.com/ www.makeadiff.in/blog

 Caught in frames..

www.makeadiff.in http://maddilli.blogspot.com/ www.makeadiff.in/blog

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