Sarvodaya on Facebook!

Thanks to Mitul, Sarvodaya has a group page on facebook. Please join and feel free to invite others! Look for news and events to come through the group in the future.

I also want to recognize Mitul for stepping up in making this happen. Somik and I talked today about creating a "culture of stepping up" with Sarvodaya. It is great to see an individual doing something small but important for others to benefit from.

We invite you all to "step up" in your own way, whether it is leading the organization of a Sarvodaya event, offering to help out with the website, or volunteering to serve as an officer.

# posted by Neil Patel @ 11:04 AM 4 comments

Valentines Day 2009: Spread the Love!

Along with 25 others - a fearless group of five Sarvodaya members ( set out on Valentines Day with one objective: spread the love in San Francisco!

A group of friends gathered together in the city early Saturday morning to prepare bag lunches with vegetarian sandwiches, chips, fruit, and other snacks. Together with some hand-made Valentines cards and 'Free Hugs!' signs, the crew split up and hit the streets to share food and spend time with those in need (of a lunch or just a hug :))

The experience was absolutely memorable. When you approach a stranger with nothing other than a desire to serve, an everyday interaction becomes extraordinary. Food was the context for sharing, but something deeper was exchanged. I was particularly touched by one homeless man whom I had given a lunch. "Actually, I can't take this," he told me, "I already had a sandwich from someone else handing out food earlier today." I was shocked! Here's a person who has so little, but does not waver in his honesty. Needless to say, we told him to keep the lunch but give us a hug :)

The group reconvened in the evening to share stories and reflect on the experience. In the room were professionals, students, parents, kids (even a young 4 year old on her first service outing!), and a group of 5th graders from a school in Oakland. Everyone was exhausted, but definitely grateful for the experience. In reflection, one thoughtful member in the group asked, "What did we really do today? We just handed out lunches. Isn't it patronizing? What difference will it make?" I felt inclined to reply: "Today, we decided to take a simple act of sharing food into an opportunity to cultivate compassion in our hearts. We don't really help anyone, but we definitely help ourselves. This day reminded me that every single moment is an opportunity to be compassionate, to connect with another; I feel grateful for the opportunity created by the group to spread the love!"

# posted by Neil Patel @ 6:42 PM 1 comments

Ravi Gulati speaks on 1/26

When Ravi Gulati was an MBA student at IIM-Ahmedabad, he barely knew what a non-governmental organization was. Years later, he spearheads Manzil, an innovative education NGO in Delhi. Working with children living in and around Khan Market, an area with a significant low-income population, Ravi started started with one student. From his living room, he started teaching math from the absolute basics, as he discovered that 9th graders were lacking even an elementary level understanding. Over time, more children joined him and now the after-school program includes classes in guitar and math classes featuring students themselves as teachers.

Ravi's passion for creating relevant, wholistic education opportunities for youth was inspiring. He highlighted the shortcomings of standard education paradigms:

If you are standing at the foot of a mountain and I ask you to measure it's height, how would you do it? I posed this to a group of very bright students from the best schools, and one asked, 'What is given?' Students are only trained to answer questions in this linear fashion. Also, it is impossible to ask this question in a standardized exam format without giving away the answer.

His talk soon extended beyond education for young people. Ravi finds it curious that education is usually thought of as an activity for young people exclusively. He also had some sobering commentary on today's modern society:

When a superb plumber is less recognized than a mediocre academic, neither the pipes or theories of a society can hold water

Both the mason and the architect play important roles in creating a building. Yet we live in a society where the architect and the mason do not respect each other.

It was an exhilarating, inspiring evening. In the end, Ravi was anonymously gifted with a donated klaptop and tagged with a Smile Card. Generosity paid forward!

For those who are curious, we installed Edubuntu (a volunteer-driven education software effort) on Ravi's Klaptop, so the folks at Manzil can use it to aid their education. Here's a video showing a small part of Edubuntu that is aimed at small children, running on Ravi's Klaptop.

# posted by Neil Patel @ 6:41 PM 5 comments