Friday, July 15, 2011

Poor Kids get a helping hand from NRI Students



Uplift Humanity India is a newly developed, non-profit organization whose mission is to educate, motivate, and inspire currently imprisoned youth in the poverty stricken regions of India. Started by Anish Patel, a junior at Ridge High School in New Jersey, Uplift Humanity India is currently preparing for its first overseas endeavor. This project will include 15 volunteers that will attend prisons and work with those who are less fortunate than they are to provide them with inspiration and an incentive to change their ways. These lessons will be conducted as an attempt to prevent the juveniles from making the same bad decisions and return to prison.

Anish is an extremely hardworking individual, and throughout his high school years and many travels, he quickly realized the need to help those who are less fortunate. In February, 2011, Anish took the first steps in making his vision a reality. After building his team, garnering interest, and raising funds, Anish’s hopes for the pioneer project, planned for the summer of 2011, started to become more within his grasp.

The organization’s team is a collection of individuals who are extremely dedicated to giving back to society and aiding those in need. Some of these members include Binti Takkar, the Executive Advisor, who is a science teacher at Ridge High School, and is extremely enthusiastic about all of her workings with Uplift Humanity India. Elizabeth Hill provides excellent assistance to Uplift Humanity India with her administrative ideas and insights. Dhar Patadia, a reliable board member, has held an integral technological role in the organization by publicizing and helping to expand interest and awareness throughout the entire tri-state area. Rajesh Talati, our main contact in India, has helped immensely with organizing the project and handling all of the organization’s India arrangements and details.

The volunteers are current high school students who will spend three weeks of their summer vacation travelling overseas to volunteer their time and help the struggling youth in India. The foundational event of this organization is a 20-day volunteer project taking place in Gujarat, India, during the month of July, 2011. The volunteers have been preparing and training for months for their potentially life-changing excursion, and they cannot wait for it to commence.

As the organization continues to grow, so do Anish’s prospects. Uplift Humanity India hopes to someday expand their program to a worldwide level, assisting teens in detention centers throughout various countries. For more information, to become involved, or to donate, please visit www.uplifthumanityindia.org.

Northern New Jersey – Uplift Humanity India, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of juveniles in South Asia, recently completed its 16-day rehabilitation initiative in Vadodara, India.

The project brought together over 30 student volunteers from New Jersey and India with more than 50 juveniles living at Bal Gokulam, a government-run juvenile home and rehabilitation facility. The founder of Uplift Humanity, student Anish Patel, commented, “This organization is based on the belief that correctional education can empower the misled and assimilate them back into their society, but the challenge is to equip them with the essential mindset and skills that would serve as a light on the path to a more dignified life.” During the project, the student volunteers visited the facility daily to teach a specialized curriculum based on literacy, moral and ethical decision-making, self esteem development, confidence building, public speaking skills, career counseling programs, and technology skills. Binti Thakkar, a teacher and director of the organization managed this curriculum.

Throughout the project, Uplift Humanity funded three educational scholarships totaling 50,000 Rupees ($1136 USD). The organization chose three juveniles who made the greatest strides during the rehabilitation program and offered them each an award: one received 25,000 Rupees, the second 15,000 Rupees, and the third 10,000 Rupees. These three scholarships will be offered annually to the top students participating in the program, with the hope of increasing their scope and breadth in coming years. This will allow these juveniles to have a promising chance at holding an upstanding position within their society.

The Uplift volunteers gained a different perspective of life while helping the less fortunate. Through their exposure to some of the poverty stricken children of India, the student volunteers learned integral lessons about the universality of humanity. The main lesson gained by the student volunteers is that anyone can succeed when given sufficient resources. Uplift Humanity, formed under the motto “By teenagers, for teenagers,” surely epitomizes this notion.

Looking forward, the organization is currently making plans for future volunteer visits and implementing new projects. One of the new projects consists of the “Uplift a Juvenile” program. This will give the benevolent a chance to sponsor a juvenile for further education. The sponsor program will enhance the depth of the rehabilitation initiative and support the children’s opportunities outside of volunteer visits. Tushar Makwana, a 13-year old juvenile, said with a smile, “The foreign students taught me the basics of computers. I never thought I would even hold a laptop in my lifetime and here I am able to operate it.”

Both the volunteers and the juveniles are hopeful that this organization will continue to grow and help the misled children of India. Uplift Humanity intends to spread its unique rehabilitation program and curriculum throughout the entirety of South Asia to liberate those who have experienced a life of poverty and/or criminal hardship. The variety of ways in which these teenagers have been able to positively influence Bal Gokulam is indeed a testament to the resiliency and promise of the human spirit.

Bernards Township, NJ, February 9, 2011 – Anish Patel, a local junior at Ridge High School, recently launched a new non-profit organization - Uplift Humanity India, dedicated to assisting teenagers residing in juvenile facilities assimilate back into society through educational programs. This non-profit organization is designed and implemented for the youth and by the youth.

Uplift Humanity India relies on volunteers to educate, motivate and prepare underprivileged youth for a successful transition back into their Indian communities through their juvenile integration program. The primary goal of this foundation is to decrease the number of returning juveniles in detention centers while increasing their prospects once released.

The organization’s volunteers are current high school students who will spend three weeks of their summer break travelling abroad to volunteer their time and help fellow youth. The inaugural event of Uplift Humanity India is a 20-day volunteer trip in Gujarat, India taking place this summer 2011. Uplift Humanity is holding an information session on Sunday, February 27, 2011 from 2-4 pm at the Bernards Township Library where the team will discuss the details of their endeavor. The information session is open to the public. This initiative, which began in Ridge High School, is quickly spreading through various local schools garnering support from local teens throughout the tri-state area.

Uplift Humanity hopes to spread their program on a worldwide level, assisting teens in detention centers throughout various countries. For more information and to become involved please visit www.uplifthumanityindia.org.


Media Contact:
Contact: Elizabeth Hill
Phone #: 973-889-5252
Email: info@UpliftHumanityIndia.org

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Interactive Meet for Educational Development



From left to right Mr. Hemant Vadalia, Hon. Secretary, VCCI, MR. Jaykant Nanavati, Hon. Treasurer, VCCI, Mr. Guy Guzzone, Mr. Dilip Jhaveri and Mr. Nilesh Shukla, Chairman Vadodara NRG Centre.

Mr. Dilip A. Jhaveri, US Citizen, an Entrepreneur, Senior Insurance & Financial Advisor, Social & Cultural Activist, settled in Maryland, USA since 34 years & very well connected to Indian & Gujarati Community in USA. He was a Key Organiser of World Gujarati Conference 1990 & 2006 in USA. He is Secretary / Treasurer of National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors – Greater Washington (NAIFA-GW), visited NRG Centre at VCCI accompanied by Mr. Guy Guzzone, a Delegate- House of Maryland, Chairman of Howard County House Delegation & close & trusted associate of Mr. Martin O’Malley, Governor of State of Maryland, USA. Maryland is one of the 4 most progressive States of USA. They met representatives from local trade & Industry including NRGs/NRIs to work out long term strategic tie ups in fields of Solar and Wind Energy. Co-operation in areas like study exchange tours and allied subjects were also discussed.