view report - The Akanksha Foundation

annual
report
2007-08
Mumbai
The Akanksha Foundation
Voltas House ‘C’, TB Kadam Marg,
Chinchpokli, Mumbai 400033
Tel: 022-23729880 Telefax: 022-23700253
Email: [email protected]
Pune
The Akanksha Foundation
102, HEMOPAL,
Next to Joshi Wadawala,
Wakadewadi, Pune 411005
Tel: 020-25821000 and 25821005
Email: [email protected]
Be the Change, You Wish to see in the World.
At Akanksha this year,
we have worked hard to
begin to understand what
Mahatma Gandhi said and lived:
Be the Change
You Wish to see in the World.
About Us
7
The Akanksha Centres
13
Events
27
Programs
28
Impact
45
Akanksha Schools
49
Team Akanksha
55
Finance
59
Vision
One day,
all children will be equipped with the education,
skills and character
they need to lead empowered lives.
05
06
ABOUT AKANKSHA
WHY AKANKSHA?
The Akanksha Foundation is a
Out of every 100 children born in India today:
non-profit organization that
educates less privileged
59 births are not even registered (NFHS III 2005-06)
47 will suffer from malnutrition
children. Since its inception,
14 will have no access to clean drinking water
Akanksha has managed to
11 are not enrolled in school
create opportunities for over
Out of every 100 kids that begin school, only 52 will reach the 5th standard.
3500 children through 63
(World Bank Report 2007)
Akanksha centres, 4 schools
and 2 Kindergarten centres.
If we believe that our future lies in the hands of our children, this presents a staggering
problem.
In Mumbai alone 2.13 million children live in slums and on the streets (Census 2001)
Akanksha exists to give its children the education, training, and skills to change their lives.
07
08
The Akanksha Foundation was started in 1990 with a simple idea. There were thousands of
slum children who needed and wanted to be educated. There were thousands of college
students who had the energy, enthusiasm and time to teach these children. And there
existed pockets of available spaces located in schools that seemed ideal teaching
environments. Bringing together kids, student volunteers and spaces, the first Akanksha
centre was born.
Registered as a charitable society and trust in 1991, Akanksha has grown from an
organization of volunteer college students teaching children to a professional institution
HISTORY
with about 700 staff, teachers and volunteers driven by the mission of providing educational
opportunities to less privileged children.
1. That an early start with good basic education is the best way to help India's lowincome children help themselves.
2. That all children need a balanced education that focuses on both intellectual
and emotional development.
3. That each of us has a responsibility to improve the situation in which our children
live. Akanksha encourages people to think about what they can do - give money,
time, expertise or space. Akanksha then finds a concrete way to match their
contributions with Akanksha's needs.
AKANKSHA
BELIEVES
09
4. That parents are partners, and communities have the resources they need to be
successful.
10
hild
Foc
e
brat
s
Cele victorie
l
l
sma rive
t
tal
but s damen
un
for f e
ng
cha
lly
tima
e
utiliz
Values
c
n the
o
s
u
rces
u
o
s
re
Op
tial
n
pote
e
z
i
im
Max
at
k as
r
o
W
11
eam
12
Centres are characterized by:
Their location in under-utilized spaces, typically cheerful classrooms that
provide a safe and structured environment
Non-formal, innovative, fun and practical teaching methods
A team of Akanksha-trained teachers, each responsible for up to 30
students and a support staff of social workers and educationists who
work to maximize learning in the classroom
The Akanksha Centres
Akanksha centres are places to learn, play, create and
experience the joys of childhood. Each centre runs in
under-utilised spaces such as schools, colleges and
offices before or after working hours each day.
Centres deliver on the Akanksha mission through
5 Akanksha goals for each child:
a strong educational foundation
A large group of volunteers who are able to provide individualized
attention to students, assisting teachers and staff
Integration of children into the formal school system, ( and providing
academic support thereafter)
At the Akanksha Centre, each Akanksha child
spends quality time each day away from the
harshness of the slum. The environment of
quality learning provides them the security
necessary to gain self-confidence and kindles
their ambitions with a desire to change their lives.
Akanksha encourages its students to dream.
More importantly, it empowers them to deliver
on their dreams.
a deep sense of self-esteem and service
Akanksha Centres 2007-8
a good time in a space where they can be children
Akanksha Mumbai
at end of 2007-2008 – 1934 children
37 centres – 1508 children
4 KG centres – 150 children
successfully completion of secondary school
Akanksha Pune
at end of 2007-08– 1463
26 Centres – 1223 children
preparation for a job.
13
14
The Future: Akanksha Schools
The Need For Akanksha Schools
Despite having significant impact, Akanksha continues to feel the constraint of the
limited time it has in the daily life of its students. Having students for a few hours a day
does not enable the rigorous academic focus that every child needs.
As children's aspirations rise, the need to provide them with the academic skills they
need to achieve their goals has become more and more critical. Akanksha now
believes that it is possible, and of critical importance, to launch a movement of
outstanding schools for low-income students that can put all children on a level playing
field, breaking existing myths surrounding children from low-income
communities.
Centre Sponsors
The Akanksha Sponsor-a-Centre scheme enables organizations and individuals to adopt
an Akanksha centre. Besides financial support, sponsors are encouraged to get involved
through direct volunteer teaching, celebrating special occasions with the children,
mentoring, purchasing artwork made by the children, providing advice in areas like
finance and marketing, and making donations in kind. Each sponsor has opportunities to
interact with the Akanksha children.
15
16
Akanksha's Theory of Change
Given Akanksha's ability to realize
this vision, three broad areas of
education reform can be
impacted with the evidence
these schools provide.
Every Child Can Learn
By demonstrating high gains in
student achievement in its
schools, Akanksha can be a
conduit in changing societal
mindsets about what is possible that every child, from every
background, can achieve at high
levels.
The Importance of Great
Teachers
If these high gains are achieved
by a model that emphasizes the
importance of great school
leaders and teachers, this will also
drive a change in societal
mindsets about the need to
professionalize the field of
education.
Akanksha seeks to work in
cooperation with the government
to launch public-private
partnership schools in India,
where private entities are allowed
to assume full management
authority over government
schools. Recognizing the need to
initially create model schools that
prove what is possible for
children from low-income
communities, Akanksha plans to
start with a small network of
schools (The Akanksha
Academies) with a focus on
quality and student achievement.
The mission of the Akanksha
Academies is to equip children
with the education, skills and
character they need to lead
empowered lives.
School sponsors
Akanksha enables organizations
and individuals to sponsor part or
all of the running expenses of an
Akanksha school. This could
include the teaching expenses for
particular classes along with
stationary and other materials
required for the children. Capital
expenditure such as urgent
repairs and capital equipment
such as setting up of a computer
lab can also be taken up.
Systemic Reform
By maintaining a cost per child
that is comparable to current
government allocations, using
existing infrastructure and minimal
capital expenditures, this will
create a model for scale that
can be adopted by governments
around the country,
truly serving as a catalyst for
widespread education reform,
transforming the lives of millions of
Indian children.
School Leadership Institute
In May 2008, Akanksha is planning
to launch a School Leadership
Institute, that recruits and trains
school leaders to open and
17
18
Calendar 2007-2008
LTL Leadership Retreat to Nasik
The Akanksha Annual General Meeting
Graduation
Year End project
Pankaj Jadav Memorial Football Tournament
Center Reviews and Appraisals
April
Summer Camp
Teacher Training Institute: Residential New Teacher Induction and
“Teacher as Leader” Education Convention for all teachers
Art Workshops
May
Beyond School Special parents Meeting
Mankhurd centers opened
LTL Community Research project
Independence Day projects
Aug
Center assessment 1st Term
Teachers' day celebrations
Sep
Be the Change Projects in honor of Gandhiji across Mumbai and Pune centers
Helper's Day
Oct
Ed Village, a group of KIPP trainers from the U.S. (www.KIPP.org)
train Akanksha teachers and School Leaders
Mentor Program Launched in Pune
Nov
Pune Sports Day
LTL Leadership Retreat to Pune
Dec
Mumbai marathon
26/27 Sunshine around the world
Beyond School Retreat
Mumbai office inauguration after renovation
19
July
Jan
Mumbai Sports Day
US Board visit
Feb
Center assessments – 2nd Term
Empowerment presentations
Mar
20
Ahilya Amdekar, St Crispins 2
I have done my M.Sc. in Human Development. I joined
Akanksha upon graduation and have completed two
years in Akanksha. My students inspire me to teach and
it gives me immense satisfaction when I see that
they've understood what is being taught. Sometimes I
struggle to satisfy their curiosity and answer their
innumerable questions (e.g. “Why aren't we
participating in the Commonwealth games?”). My
students have been part of Akanksha for the past 5
years. Akanksha is an inspiration for them. They all love
coming to centre, which for them is not at all like
regular school. My dream for my students is that they
become independent thinkers and that they'll be able
to fulfill all their dreams.
The Education Department is
responsible for ensuring effective
teaching and learning for every child.
The Education team focuses on
teacher support and training and
maximizing student learning
opportunities.
Theme 2007-8 Teacher as
a Leader
Shaila Isloorkar, Kothrud Morning
This year, Akanksha explored the
theme of “teacher as a leader”,
inspired by Teach for America in the
United States. It encouraged all of its
teachers to change the lens through
which they saw themselves, to see that
every day what they are trying to
achieve with a classroom of children is
very much the same as what any
leader tries to do in boardrooms,
government and other institutions
across the country and world. These
teachers set a vision and big goals for
their centres, invest others in these
goals, plan purposefully and execute
effectively, reflect continuously, and
work relentlessly.
I have been working with Akanksha for three and half
years. It's been an enriching and rewarding experience
so far. My stint with Akanksha was real luck. I saw an
advertisement in the newspaper and decided," Wow!
Here's something real, something I always wanted - little
ones with lots of curiosity, a boost to my teaching skills,
being surrounded by friendly people at the office, and
of course FUN! “
There are times, when I do feel, "Oh God! How do I
solve this? Or what do I do about this child, whose
concentration is lost and getting distracted by
something? I invariably, tend to look for solutions by
meeting the kid's parents, discussing with the child, or
his/her close friends, or my co-teachers and colleagues.
My dream is to see the dreams of my kids come to life!
Hemal Aurangabadkar, Kothrud Morning
As part of our service projects, students have learned to
come out of their comfort zone and do something
different. They go back and teach these ideas to their
parents and younger brothers and sisters. When the
parents come and share this, it feels great.
I'd like to proudly quote one of my students, Sonali, “Our
future is in our hands. It's our responsibility to work hard
under the guidance of our didis then only our dreams
will come true.”
21
Education and Beyond
School Highlights
Sonali, St. Crispins 3
I believe that a positive approach has been the single
most important force in achieving my goal and
secondly the ability to make the kids think and 'want to
learn'. I had faith in my kids and they believed in me. I
have always believed that when the kids take up the
responsibility to learn, half the battle is won. My most
satisfying moments have been when I find children
working in the classroom engrossed in their activity
without needing my help, when my kids come up and
tell me 'Didi, you know we could solve this tricky math
problem in school because we have started thinking
22
23
Social Work Highlights
Spotlight: Rehabilitation of communities, Mumbai
The Social Work Department is the link
between the centres and the
communities. Social workers conduct
monthly parents meeting,
empowerment sessions, and interact
directly with parents to resolve social
issues. These issues range from child
abuse, domestic violence, health and
hygiene to alcoholism and stress due
to unemployment, and gender
discrimination leading to girls being
married early and prevented from
continuing their education.
Under the Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP), people whose homes were
demolished for projects such as road widening were entitled to rehabilitation. Over
250 families from the P. D'mello and Tulsi Pipe communities that Akanksha has
worked with for the past several years were moved to Mankhurd, a suburb of
Greater Mumbai. The development plan did not provide for any supporting public
services, leading to a high instance of out-of school children, water shortages and
inadequate garbage disposal. To ensure that Akanksha continues to support the
affected children, five Akanksha Centres were set up in the community rooms of
the housing blocks in Mankhurd.
24
HIGHLIGHTS
Medical Services
Inadequate access to good-quality medical services and treatment is a
prevailing issue in all communities across Mumbai and Pune. Akanksha provides
many opportunities to its families to receive timely and appropriate medical
attention for its children and their families.
In Mumbai, a panel of three doctors was set up to serve as consultants to address
health issues of children across centres. General medical camps and specialized
eye and blood group identification camps were conducted and follow ups done
where children needed treatment. In Pune, tuberculosis and pregnancy were
identified as important issues to address, and resource people were invited into a
parents meetings.
Training and Workshops
Understanding that our children face issues at very young ages, a new miniempowerment manual was developed so that awareness begins at the age of 8.
Sessions are conducted across all Akanksha centers by the Social Work team.
This year saw our social work team engage in many workshops. These spanned
issues of substance abuse, HIV/AIDs, umemployment and child sexual abuse.
Building Community Support
The Akanksha helpers are typically mothers from the community who are
Akanksha's link between the community and the centre. Helper trainings were
conducted twice this year, to increase helper effectiveness in centres and
communities. Some sessions this year were conducted by senior helpers.
Akanksha is encouraging its helpers to appear for the SSC board exam, especially
those who have one or two subjects to clear, and one helper appeared for the
exam to clear her math paper.
25
26
AKANKSHA PROGRAMS
Akanksha programs are small learning laboratories of life. From the day an Akanksha
child enters through the doors of a centre or school, they are invited into a world of
discovery. Through programs, children are invited to explore the many dimensions of
themselves by expanding their life skills by exposure to creative arts, technology,
leadership training, basic health awareness and career counseling. Programs benefit
children physically, personally, and socially, they reinforce positive values and
behaviors for adult life.
A Medical Education project
Art for Akanksha
General Awareness Program
Empowerment program
Masrud Ansari,
Alumni and Social Worker
Value Education
Drama and Dance club
Field Trips and outings
Sports Program
Events
I joined Akanksha as a student 12 years ago.
I have done my 12th std. in science and am
now doing a Bachelors of Computer
Academy by correspondence. This allows
me to work full-time as a social worker at
Akanksha.
Helper's Day was celebrated in all
the centres on the 31st October.
Centre teams and children
honored helpers, giving them
crowns and sashes, cards and
gifts.
My Akanksha teachers always believed that
I would do well in my life and encouraged
me when I was feeling low. For me the most
satisfying thing is that I am handling 120 kids
in 4 centres. I am the first child in my family
who has started earning and supporting my
family.
Women's Day for the mothers of
the children was celebrated at the
parents meeting. Information on
some specific laws related to
women and organizations that
support women was shared.
I have learnt to be a “ladder” in life, a
concept I learnt from Jayeshbhai of Manav
Sadhna. A ladder helps someone to climb
further in life in addition to being a leader
who one follows. I believe that a leader sets
an example and walks the talk. My students
exhibit leadership traits by being brave
enough to accept their mistakes and being
ready to improve on them.
Graduates of our Empowerment
program did a street play based on
HIV/AIDS for all our parent
meetings across centres.
27
When I am in my community I see kids who
are how I used to be and I am happy that
they look up to me as a Bhaiyya. I don't know
how I have impacted my children but I feel
proud when my kids say that I want to be like
Masrud Bhaiyya, I feel that I have something
Computer class
28
Drama and Dance
Highlights 2007-8
Sports Day
An Annual Sports day in Mumbai and Pune where all
Akanksha children were present was a day of March
Pasts, fun races, lots of bananas and having fun with the
Akanksha Didis and Bhaiyas.
Football
The Pankaj Jadav Memorial Football Tournament for
adolescents was held in May at the St. Xavier's ground in
Mumbai. The Akanksha football team reached the semifinals in a tournament organised by Prem Angann and
Alphonso Sports Academy.
At the unveiling of the Barclays Premier League Trophy
at the Cooperage grounds the Akanksha Football team
Under 12 - 14 won the silver medal.
Mumbai Marathon
150 children took part in the Dream Run of the Mumbai
Marathon to raise awareness of Akanksha. Each
centre came up with interesting banners and spread
social messages. Ten boys took part in the Half
Marathon.
“I started playing football in
2004. I thought would never
learn to play the game but my
coach encouraged me to
play, to work hard and not to
lose hope in yourself. Today I
am playing for Akanksha and
am the vice captain of the
team. I am proud of myself
Drama class continues to be an active
weekend program that teaches students
speech, music, and acting. Students learn
what a production involves and develop their
skills through role plays and skits. Drama class
is followed by Dance Class where Akanksha
has tied up with Shiamak Daver instructors.
Additionally, students from the Xavier's
Centre continue to do dance after centre
twice a week.
I love football and play with
my heart and soul.
This year Drama class began in Pune.
Alok Kanojia
“I enjoyed the Marathon. I
was shocked as in the
previous year I completed
the half marathon in 2 hours
and 6 minutes and this year I
finished in 1 hour 40 minutes. I
practiced hard and achieved
my target. To achieve your
goal just believe in yourself
and do your best.”
Pratik More, Alumni
29
30
Computers
Spotlight 2007-8
Sunshine Around the World
‘One vision, one world, nothing's gonna stop us now.'
The Akanksha Pune children truly portrayed this belief
on the 26th and 27th of January 2008 through their
event “Sunshine Around the World”.
Sunshine Around with World was an experience in
understanding and appreciating global diversity.
Centres were formed into clusters and a partner
school/country was assigned to each cluster. For a
year, the Akanksha students explored the history,
geography, traditions, food, leaders of their respective
countries. The culmination of this process was the
“Sunshind Around the World” event. The event
showcased each country through drama, dance, a
handicraft stall, country exhibitions and a food court.
The two-day fete followed the children's ride on a
magic carpet through performances of traditional
dance and drama from each partner company.
31
“Joyful, foot-tapping, absorbing,
amusing would be some of the
words I would use to try and
capture the essence of
Sunshine. And when I looked
around the auditorium during
'One Vision One World' when
each and every member of the
audience stood up to clap and
sing along with us, it was an
electrifying, perfect finale!
Visitors would not have minded
noticing how confidently the
kids guided them around
different stalls, and spoke their
lines on stage.”
The Akanksha computer class recognizes the value of
technology in helping our children be better prepared
for jobs and life. Classes cover the basics of computers,
the Internet and email and using Office applications.
Highlights 2007-8
Computer Partnerships
This year, Akanksha Mumbai partnered with The Sterlite
Foundation, an organization dedicated to equipping lowincome children with the computer skills necessary to
be competitive in today's marketplace. Sterlite
conducted an introductory computer course over a 3month period for our students. Akanksha Pune students
learn computers with a computer professional at St.
Crispin's home.
Sangeeta didi, Volunteer - HR
Number of children in computer class:
Mumbai – 30
Pune - 50
32
The Mentor Program
seeks to pair each Akanksha
class 8-10 child with a corporate
mentor. The mentor-mentee pair
meet once a week to work on
matching a child's aspirations
with his or her skills and family
reality. Mentors open the world of
careers to mentees and guide
them through the difficult
adolescent phase. Mentees, in
turn, offer mentors a meaningful
insight into a different world,
friendship and respect, and the
ability to bring about positive
change through service.
Mentors are typically from
leading corporate or professional
organizations, and volunteer
once a week for 1.5 – 2 hours on a
specified day and time, either as
part of a mentor group within their
organization, or as part of our
weekend Mentor Program.
Number of Students in the Mentor
Program
Mumbai – 35
Pune - 7
Highlight 2007-8
Launch: Mentor Program
Pune
The first mentor program in Pune
began in November 2007 with
students from the Wakdewadi
centre. The group included
mentors from Thermax and
individual mentors. Each mentormentee pair set concrete goals
for personality development,
academic motivation and career
planning.
"It is a deeply fulfilling and enriching
experience to be a catalyst for our future
generation and is a continual inspiration to
me".
Rajan Iyer, Merrill Lynch
“It has been an amazing journey with
Akanksha, not only because of the support it
provides to less privileged section of our
society but also because of my learning
experience through my interaction with the
kids.”
Atul Garg, ICICI Lombard
Mentors focus on building
students' academic motivation
by showing them examples of
opportunities after graduation, by
supporting them through their 10th
and 12th standard exams and by
serving as role models
themselves for the importance of
education. Mentors also seek to
build students' softer skills such as
teamwork, public speaking and
presentation, and
communication skills through
group activities focused on
current events, debates and
speeches. The individualized
attention the mentor provides
can be invaluable in a student's
life, particularly during the critical
time when a student is making
decisions that can impact the
rest of his or her life.
33
34
The Akanksha Teacher Fellowship
The Akanksha Teacher Fellowship (ATF)
project aims to develop in young adults from
less privileged communities, the attitudes and
competencies to become high quality
teachers.
Highlights 2007-8
ATF's first batch of 15 teacher fellows were
recruited in May 2006. The intensive training
year began a month-long residential retreat,
followed by a year of all day theoretical and
practical teacher training.
Fellows Start Teaching
This year fellows completed their second year of training. Some fellows started
teaching at Akanksha centres, while others have joined Akanksha programs and
schools.
The Akanksha Alumni Program
The Alumni Program connects
Akanksha alumni to the organization
after they graduate through monthly
meetings. The program provides a
network of on-going support, and
career ideas and resources to all
graduates of Akanksha. Many alumni
volunteer, intern and work at Akanksha.
Number of Akanksha Alumni
Mumbai- 96
Pune- None
“Whilst I was doing my B.Com
course, Akanksha helped me
to gain practical knowledge
in accounting. This has helped
me to earn a living and
support my family as I am
now a full time employee in
the Akanksha accounts dept.
I am now also taking a
specialized course ICA to
get certification.”
Tabassum, Alumni, Trainee
ATF had a diverse range of trainers during the year working training across subjects.
The EdVillage training on 'Teacher as a leader' helped the fellows to grow effectively
in their personal development.
35
36
Art for Akanksha continues to be one of Akanksha's signature
programs, enabling every Akanksha student to spend two years
immersed in imagination and creativity. Students who show interest
and promise in art, graduate from Art Class into Design Class, where
they begin designing Akanksha products and running workshops for
other children, usually from privileged backgrounds.
Number of children in Art Class:
Mumbai – 350
Pune – 426
Art For Akanksha
Highlights 2007-8
Art Teacher Training
Teacher training was conducted every month and the focus of the
training was on the personal development of the teachers and
thinking creatively on how to further strengthen the curriculum.
Workshops
The art workshops continued to be an avenue through which the
Akanksha students get the chance to practice their skills of teaching
and interacting with young children as well as adults. Ten workshops
were conducted through the year, mainly birthday parties which
have led to a greater awareness for Akanksha while building on the
skills of the design class students.
“Through art I painted a wall at our office and it helped me to express
my feelings. What I like is that art does not expect you to be perfect,
anything I draw is creative.”
Stalls and Orders
Salimunnisa, Alumni
Design class got a chance to visit the art exhibition put together by
Khushii. The sheer number of paintings, the variety of techniques and
the many artists and actors that came together to create them, left
the art students dazzled.
Elizabeth Verkar, the well known art teacher taught children how to
make magnificent birds using plastic bags and newspaper.
“At the start I didn't know about colour combinations and now I have
learnt. After taking workshops for other kids I have become more
confident and being in Art has helped me to get a part time job at
Make and Bake.”
Sana, Alumni
Citigroup invited a class of art students to join them in a competition.
The theme was 'making dreams a reality'. The competition resulted in
15 canvases that covered a broad range of issues that are faced by
the children.
Art Stalls did rounds all across the city from stalls in office to stalls in
schools and at special melas.
Raju and Shirajul have joined a Design Studio and under the guidance
of Preeti Didi and her team are learning about caricatures and
cartoons. They juggle between their work and college and centre
and are enjoying this opportunity.
Fifteen children from Pune participated in a number of competitions
like Face Painting, Mask making, photography, information stall and
37
38
The Learning to Lead Program (LTL)
The Learning to Lead Program (LTL)
seeks to identify those children from
Akanksha who are highly academically
motivated and have the potential for
leadership and excellence and instill in
them a sense of purpose and
determination to succeed, by providing
them with intensive academic and
leadership opportunities. Students are
prepared for college and a life of both
professional success and social
change.
LTL students are integrated into aided
or private schools, where their
education is subsidized by Akanksha
and they receive intensive academic
support after school. Students are
given inputs in English, structured
thinking, general awareness, leadership
and values as well as formal school
subjects.
Number of students in LTL Mumbai: 33
Highlights 2007-8
Retreat
LTL students were taken on leadership retreats to Nashik and Pune this year. The retreats focused
on vision, values and setting goals.
“Just because the Akanksha children were born in slums does not mean they are powerless. And
power does not come with money or material things but power comes from the ability to rally
people together to create lasting change. Akanksha kids are empowered to tackle big problems
such as lack of education, sanitation problems, smoking and addiction. They have the research
skills, communication skills and they have the drive to create change.”
Karina Weinstein (LTL volunteer)
Shweta Nagaria
Shweta has been with the Learning To Lead (LTL) program since its inception in 2004 and was in an
Akanksha center before that.
This year, Shweta scored 85.5% in her CBSE. This is especially remarkable as in Shweta's family women are
married young. Her own sister was married 2 years ago and her sister's dream of completing her education
remains unfulfilled Shweta has used her difficult circumstances to motivate her to achieve and be different. She
not only performs well in academics, but also in sports, elocutions and various other activities. Shweta has
starred in the Akanksha musicals and has won several medals in the athletic events in the Akanksha Sports Day.
Her ambition is to major in Finance and pursue her MBA.
Academic Results
Shweta (CBSE): 86%, Swarna (SSC):
76.92%, Chandrakant (SSC): 65%
Leadership Initiative and
Achievements
Chandrakant was the social service
leader of his school, Holy Name High
school, Hussein headed the creative
team at the Malhar Festival at St.
Xavier's College. Deepa and Eshwari
were adjudged the best students in
their respective classes and have won
the elocutions and recitation
competitions in school. Zameer was
part of the school football team which
won the silver medal in inter-school
football. Parvin and Priyanka have been
selected as tour guides by Mumbai
Magic. Shamina was awarded
certificates and a prize for securing
2nd rank in 7th Std. and highest marks in
Social Studies at J.J. Girls School.
39
40
The Social Leadership Program
The Social Leadership Program, inspired by Gandhiji's words “Be the Change that
you Wish to See in the World”, encourages older Akanksha students and alumni to
“Be the Change”. Through a curriculum that focuses on giving them an
understanding of social issues and builds social leadership values, this program
helps them take the initiative to be change agents in their communities. Students
learn to make a change first in themselves, then in their families and homes and
finally in their communities.
Students, ages sixteen or older, apply and are chosen for the program based on
characteristics such as critical thinking, perseverance and ability to influence
peers positively. Through the program, students are required to consider the areas
of society in which they would like to work and the types of social issues their work
will address. The program is focused on leadership and out of the box thinking.
Once a week, the students are exposed to issues such as child rights, health,
communal harmony, disability rights and gender discrimination. Each student does
a summer internship and goes on a Service Retreat. In the second year of the
program, students choose a service project to do.
Number of students in SLP
Mumbai – 26
Pune – 15
Highlights 2007-8
Be the Change
The first week of October was
focused on 'being the change' with
every centre engaging in a service
activity in honor of Gandhi Jayanti.
In Pune, young children from the
AVIVA Aundh Centre danced to A R
Rahman's Gurus of Peace to
represent the central theme of their 'Be the Change project': Peace.
The children put together a life size lotus on stage, a symbol of change.
The children from the Karvenagar Centre put together a tableau to
Celine Dion's A new day has come, their service angels depicted
moments of strife and change at home, in school, in children and in the
environment and the power of one. The children from the AVIVA
Wakdewadi centre auctioned 'Be the Change' products; bags,
dustbins, pen stands, diaries and cards, made completely of re- cycled
paper.
41
42
Summer Internships
Two batches of SLP completed summer
internships. Six students interned at Karjat, six
girls helped with summer camp, two were with
United Way, an organization working with the
environment and three worked with Indicorps
in Ahmedabad.
The team in Ahmedabad worked on creating
awareness amongst a local community. They
performed street plays addressing various
issues ranging from cleanliness to education.
The team at Karjat not only painted and
beautified a community centre in Ladivli Village,
but also took sessions on general awareness
with the people from the community.
In Pune, interns also worked on a number of
projects. Students worked at the Kagaz Kanch
Patra Kashtakari Sanghatna where they learnt
about waste management and composting,
and at CYDA (Centre for Youth Development
Activities), where they taught English and team
building to children. Students also interned at a
summer camp for the children of brick kiln
workers, and at the Katraj zoo, where they
were responsible for guiding visitors, feeding
and cleaning the animals. Three of our girls
interned at Masum, where they learnt about the
issue of Child Sexual Abuse.
Service Projects
One batch of SLP children in Mumbai was a
part of The Youth Venture Challenge which
is a social venture with organizations
Ashoka and Pravah. The challengers are
supposed to take up one social issue and
start their own social venture. Four of the
SLP candidates' ventures were presented,
approved and are currently running.
On 15th August, three projects were carried out. The first was to carry out a cleanliness
drive in Mankhurd. The objective was to clean the dirtiest area and to spread awareness
about Akanksha. In the second project, some of the SLP leaders went to the tribal village
in Karjat and celebrated Independence Day with the villagers. The third group went to an
old age home at Mahalaxmi where they conducted fun activities and sang patriotic
songs.
Other projects this year included a blood donation camp, and projects informing other
young people about health and cleanliness, the importance of education as well as
teaching children.
Continuous Learning
Students had the opportunity to attend sessions on effective communication, on bringing
about a change in oneself, and on the Right to Information Bill.
Two batches of SLP went on a retreat to Wardha that exposed them to the leadership
styles of Vinoba Bhave and Jamnalal Bajaj. They got the chance to visit the Institute of
Gandhian Studies, The Centre for Science of Villages, Sevagram Ashram and Anandwan.
Launch: SLP Pune
The first batch of SLP Pune started this year with 21 kids. Students were involved in service
projects on the 2nd of October, spending time with street children, cleaning the Pune
Railway station and helping passengers carry their bags and singing a song on the
importance of Education at a program at the Aga Khan palace. In December the
children did a street play on reduce, recycle and reusing. Through SLP, students did
surveys and projects at their communities around child rights and gender, and spent an
entire day with children from an organization in Kashmir, World without Boundaries,
understanding their different life styles and culture and built on relationships.
The children went for a retreat to Manav Sadhna, Ahmedabad and spent 3 days with
leaders like Jayesh Bhai and Anand bhai. They had sessions on leadership, the power of
one and team building. They also did a project where they cleaned a community step
well.
The SLP 1 batch started their project this year where they are teaching 30 boys English in
an ashram in Wadgaonsheri.
While the Pragati project, where SLP
leaders go into The Bombay Hospital
Pediatric ward to do activities with young
patients continues, the 2006 batch of SLP
leaders started Aashiyana, with the aim of
keeping the King George Memorial grounds
clean.
43
44
The Impact Study was commissioned in March 2007, and the field work was done
between July and September 2007 covering Akanksha alumni, peers who studied in the
same class as the alumni and peers who stayed in the same community as the alumni.
The study compared the cognitive achievements and non-cognitive skills of children
from a similar environment and background. While doing this, care was taken to
eliminate the influence of family background as well as formal school. To keep the
impact study unbiased, Dr. Krishnan made it an independent research project funded
by the Nuffield Foundation in the UK.
45
Impact
Since 2003, over 70 children have graduated through the Akanksha Educational System
and most of them are now doing a variety of jobs and/or in college. Dr. Pramila
Krishnan, Fellow, Jesus College & Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Economics at the
University of Cambridge, conducted an internal study on the student's academic
performance. During this study, the idea to do a larger survey on the impact of
Akanksha in the lives of children was explored.
46
intensive project that covers the English medium primary section with the teachers covering
classes in Language, Math and Extra Curricular Activities (ECA). This year greater attention has
been paid on delivering a higher quality intervention within the class hours and providing
exposure to kids through sports, dance performances and art work.
To support struggling students, Akanksha has provided remedial classes before school every
day. Scholarship Classes were conducted for all the children of Standard 4. All three students
who appeared for scholarship exams passed and were presented with certificates and gifts by
the MCGM Ward officials. More picture and chapter books were added to the already existing
library to improve the independent reading skills of the students. Each class has two hours of
art/craft, dance/music and sports per week, ensuring that each child receives exposure
outside the academic realm. School outings to places such as the Raheja Gardens, Spencer's
Supermarket and the Nehru Science Centre provided an opportunity to explore and have fun
outside of school.
Community interaction is an important part of Akanksha's program at the school. Regular visits
to the community are made to follow up on irregular students, build parents' groups and
awareness, help parents handle medical cases, handle individual cases and provide individual
and group counseling. This year, a Parent's Core Group was formed. These volunteers were
intermediaries between the school social worker and the parents of their communities. Parents
have shown better participation this year not only in the academic progress of their children
but also in the general atmosphere at the school.
Akanksha Schools
Number of Children in Akanksha Schools
Supari Tank School - 276
Vidya Niketan School - 240
The school participated in several special events this year. These included the 'Celebrate
Bandra' Festival, where students did a dance performance, "In the Need of Mahatma," through
which they demonstrated social injustice. Balakotsav (Children's Fest) gave our students an
opportunity to participate in dance, art and craft competitions conducted by the MCGM at
H/W Municipal Ward level. While our dance group won Second Prize in the dance competitions
many of our kids won medals and trophies in art and craft competitions.
Highlights 2007-08
First Schools
Akanksha currently has two schools operating in partnership with the Municipal
Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) in Mumbai and with the Thermax Social
Initiatives Foundation and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in Pune. These two
schools- The Supari Tank Municipal School and the KCT Vidya Niketan Municipal
School - mark the beginning of the movement towards building model schools within
the government system. It is also the start of building innovative public-private
partnerships that maximize their individual resources to create fundamental change in
the lives of children.
Supari Tank Municipal English School
For the fourth year, Akanksha continues to work closely with the Supari Tank Municipal
English School through the School Adoption Scheme. Akanksha's intervention began
during the 2004-2005 academic year, and was limited to intervention in Standards 1 & 2
of the English medium school. During the past three years, Akanksha has been able to
take the partnership further. 2005-2006 saw the intervention grow into a more
49
50
To celebrate Teacher's Day, our students became teachers for the day,
leading the school assembly with a speech on the importance of teachers,
and teaching for the day.
Sports is an important component of the Supari Tank program. This year,
there are 6 football teams, and students had the privilege to participate in
various competitions and amass medals and trophies. Other sports events
included “Sports Bandra” and Crazee Games where students won medals in
athletics. The students participated in B4D English Premier Tournament and
in Wrestling Competitions held by the MCGM in the month of March 2008.
The KCT Vidya Niketan story
The Thermax Social Initiatives Foundation (TSIF) and Akanksha have
partnered to run a PMC school called KCT Vidya Niketan. Starting with a
strong vision and mission, followed by a handpicked selection of teachers,
administrators and training staff, the school has evolved into a childcentered, unique learning place.
At KCT Vidya Niketan, students come enthusiastically to school every day,
ready to read, write, speak and think. There is a sense of energy in the air as
teachers dialogue about best practices in the staffroom, guests and
volunteers enhance lesson presentations in classrooms, and parents call or
come to the school to learn more about how to support their child's growth.
Professional development is a key part of making the school work, and this
year staff participated in Akanksha's Education Convention and Residential
Institute. Ongoing weekly and monthly profession development sessions are
conducted in alignment with the continuing needs of the staff and students.
Students working together, collaborating with teachers in leadership
opportunities, demonstrating their values and intrinsic belief in the motto 'Be
The Change', are evidenced daily in and out of the classroom. Over the
course of the year the students participated in a variety of field trips. An
overnight excursion to Bombay to see a theatrical performance based on a
literature circle book, day trips to local places of historical and scientific
interest, and classes taught by expert visitors all came together to create a
dynamic learning institution.
By the end of the first year of the school, children who had never been exposed to computers
before were making and presenting power point presentations. Elocution competitions were
staged against a student painted background of tribal warli art that decorated the walls of the
school, and 95% of students in Standard 4 passed the PMC scholarship exam. As measured by the
ASSET test, the school reached and in some areas surpassed the national average of this
independent and rigorous assessment. Even more powerful than the measurable
accomplishments of the students is the strong sense of caring, community and responsibility that
permeates the entire school.
51
52
The Akanksha Team: Patrons
and Board Members
Patrons
“In a very cost effective way, Akanksha reaches out to the under-privileged children. It
teaches them more than the regular subjects. With care and affection it helps them to assess
their value systems and exposes them to a larger canvas. The volunteers while giving their time
get affection from the children. At Akanksha there is no one way street. Everyone is giving
something and receiving something in return.”
Shaheen Mistri - Founder & Chairperson, The Akanksha Foundation
Deepak Parekh - Chairman, HDFC
Anand Mahindra - Vice Chairman and M.D.
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
“Akanksha is special in its belief in child, its commitment to service and that change comes from
within, its creative approach to learning, and its striving for a solution for many kids without a
compromising quality”.
Arjun Waney - Chief Executive,
Argent Fund Limited
Srila Chatterjee - Producer, Highlight Films
Akanksha Advisors
Kumar Shah
Anjali Raina
Rati Forbes
Ganesh Natarajan
"Given Akanksha makes a big difference to less privileged children through its supplementary
centre model, makes our school project a very exciting initiative. Early results are promising and
we are aiming high by hoping that over the next decade this become a transformational
project that will eventually show the path for serious reform of the public primary and
secondary educational system"
Board of Trustees
Ramesh Srinivasan - Partner, McKinsey & Co
Anu Aga
Ex Chairperson,
Thermax India Ltd.
Shaheen Mistri - Founder & Chairperson,
The Akanksha Foundation
Srila Chatterjee - Producer,
Highlight Films
Nandita Dugar - Ex-Consultant,
Boston Consulting Group
Neel Shahani - Senior Vice President,
India Infoline Ltd.
Amit Chandra - Managing Director,
Bain Capital Advisors
Ramesh Srinivasan - Partner, McKinsey & Co
Akanksha Medical Panel
Dr. Bela Doctor, Dr. R Pankaj Parekh and Dr. Paresh C
Desai.
53
54
Teachers
Akanksha Team 2007-8
Staff
55
Anant Ghadigaonkar
Anil Naik
Anvita
Ashwini Thakur
Avantika Sinha
Bhagwat P
Bhavna Mathur
Conception Fernandes
Evangaline Ambat
Gauri Kirtane Vanikar
Glenn Fernandes
James Hilary Sequeira
K.Sriram
Kaikasha Ansari
Latif Shaikh
Manoj Balamkar
Mansi Shah
Masrud Ansari
Poorvi Shah
Prashant Dodke
Priya Subramaniam
Purvi Vora
Rajshree Doshi
Rakesh Ghone
Ravi Mogli
Reeves Rodrigues
Riniyo Bamin
Ruchika Gupta
Sandip Shelar
Sai Bhagwat
Saira Sheikh
Santosh Shirwadkar
Seema Kamble
Shaheen Mistri
Shailaja Shah
Shefali Poojari
Shweta Balakrishnan
Sima Jhaveri
Sudeshna Chakravartty
Sumedh Pawaskar
Sumeet Gade
Sunita Bhagat
Suparna Mody
Sweta Kaushal Shah
Tina Vajpeyi
Ujjwal Banerjee
Usha Raghavan
Vaishali Bhagat
Vandana Goyal
Vijay Raghavan
Shachi Munot
Subhash Ghodke
Thalia Nawi
Manasi Chandavarkar
Pooja Karanje
Debasmita Dasgupta
Evangeline Ambat
Santosh Shinde
Reeves Rodrigues
Kamlesh Chavan
Namita Gite
Sagar Pawar
Kanchan Moray
Deepika Thadani
Richa Gupta
Hemal Aurangabadkar
Dhanlaxmi Nair
Namrata Mone
Kritika Amesur
Kanchan Thadani
Natasha Choudhary
Amrapali Baviskar
Geeta Patil
Anil Borkar
Ritika Kotwani
Karishma Shetty
Shraddha Shelar
Acushla Narayanan
Amar Jadhav
Aneeda
Anita Rane
Anjali Kharat Prakash
Anjali Sabnani
Anjali Tandon
Ashishwang Godhe
Beena Gandhi
Bhavana Shah
Bhavika Parekh
Caroline Nagar
Chaya Mishra
Chitra Vishwanath
Darshan Jasani
Darshana Bhogale
Debarati Pal
Deshna Sanghvi
Dimple Shah
Dinesh Bhimnath
Dipti Kumar
Donali Joshi
Fatema Arsiwala
Gargie Haldar
Geeta Haribal
Gitanjalli Mavinkurne
Hetal Shah
Hiral Shah
Dhwani Shah
Harshana Mota
Jahnavi Contractor
Janavi Patel
Jennifer Alphones
Kadambari Loke
Kadambari Toraskar
Khusboo Shah
Kishor Patel
Lopa Gandhi
Madhu Ramchandani
Malvika Gujral
Mamta Paigankar
Mandira Purohit
Manju Mall
Mr. Upendranath R.
Pandey
Maya Das
Minal Miskin
Naida Ansari
Neeta Sherla
Nirmayee Sanghvi
Payal Mehta
Prachi Mangaonkar
Pratidnya Gharat
Prema Raman
Ragini Mathur
Ramola Rodrigues
Ranjini Arun kumar
Rashmi Chainani
Rashmi Raveendran
Rekha Ghelani
Rita Devi H. Keshari
Rohini Thakker
Rupa Rajgor
Sadhana Shah
Sandhya Labadaya
Sangeeta Zombade
Sangita Kapadia
Sarika Jain
Sarita Borges
Sarita Sadhak
Satindar Pal
Seema Ambokar
Shahnaz Shaikh
Shilpa Sardesai
Shital Gala
Shobha Bhatia
Smita Baji
Sunil Thakker
Supriya Shinde
Tasneem Rajkotwala
Tehrunisa Shaikh
Trupthi Narkar
Umema Matcheswala
Urvashi Patel
Vaishali Prasad
Vandita Mathur
Vidya Yaligeti
Vinayak Pardesi
Yasmeen Shaikh
Zhannavi Ankam
Sunita Bhausar
Jyoti Sharma
Shilpa Puri
Zainab Kagalwala
Monica Bhatia
Sudipta Chakrabarti
Anuradha Railkar
Apurva Jadhav
Surekha Khake
Regina Pillay
Radhika Mahesh
Kanchan Thadani
Sujata Thitte
Kalwant Kaur
Dimple Arora
Hemlata Wadpally
Ujwala Lele
Aarthi Sounder
Aastha Dogra
Ahilya Amdekar
Sonali Kothari
Prabhavati Ravindran
Sheetal Jawharkar
Anita Singh Bais
Dhanlaxmi Nair
Shaila Isloorkar
Richa Gupta
Ramya Ramamurthy
Namrata Mone
Mitali Bopardikar
Hemal Aurangabadkar
Archana
Karuna Menon
Pallavi Hallur
Amit Jadhav
Falguni Pandya
Amrita Katariya
Sonia Gandhi
Shilpa Puri
Ramadevi Muttagi
56
Helpers
Gaura Shelar
Harshada Yelve
Indu Mausi
Jaishree Kamble
Jayashree
Parvati Reddy
Prabhavathy
Rani Perumal
Rani Satak
Sanjivani didi
Razia
Selvi Naidu
Soni Mishra
Sindhu Patel
Shardha
Tehrun Ansari
Usha didi
Sarita Kamble
Vaishali Lokhande
Ashabi
Lata
Lata
Sunita
Padma
Anita
Vandana
Anjali
Jyoti
Rajni
Nasim
Vijaya
Sujata
Neelam
Mangal
Ramiza
Vimal
Rekha
Mahananda
Kamal
Kamal
Mehmooda
Mehmooda
Mangal
57
VOLUNTEERS
Akanksha began as a volunteer-run organization, and volunteers continue to play an
important role in diverse ways. Volunteers are school and college students,
housewives and professionals. They add energy, creativity and individualized care to
each Akanksha child, helping drive Akanksha's mission forward.
Volunteers help in many ways such as:
Assist in teaching
Help at the art class and other Akanksha programs
Collect and donate materials
Conduct workshops for students, teachers and staff
Make worksheets and other educational aids
Organise field trips and special events
Help with administrative tasks in the office
Number of Volunteers:
Mumbai – 300
Pune – 203
“
volunteering at
Akanksha is about
growth. I learn
something each day and
get the opportunity to
help the kids with my
knowledge and skills. It is
challenging and fun.”
- Amrita Ghosh, worli 1
Mentors
Voltas
Shailesh Kamat
Khurshid Avasia
N.K.Shetty
Rajesh Subudhi
Rashmi
ICICI, BKC
Aparna Kamble
Binaifer Wadia
Dhruv Chandok
Rakesh Mookim
Merrill Lynch
Ateet S
Rajan Iyer
Mona Kwatra
RPG and Dawnay Day AV Group Mentors
Tamanna
Atul Garg
Ashish Kumar
Nishit Mathur
Jay Shah
Nikita Jogani
Rajesh Goradia
Nilesh Parwani
Kunal Shah
Mansi Shah
Piyush Tiwari
Wakdewadi Group Mentors
1. Ashish Patki
2. Deepti Pimple
3. Komal Mohnani
4. Neha Khopkar
5. Raviraj Gaikwad
6. Ravinder Lamba
7. R Venkatesh
8. Sangeeta Karkhanis
58
The social work department that follow up with all the children in our program incurs
expenses on medical camps and follow up treatment, and snacks at the parents
meetings held each month.
Other expenses covered under this heading include teacher and staff training,
project expenses for the social leadership and learning to lead programs as well as
the sports program and scholarships for further education.
Rupees
Centre expenses
14,182,588
School Project
2,538,769
Learning to Lead Project
1,313,680
Vocational/Scholarships
1,045,583
Child Welfare
2,777,156
Teacher Fellowship Project
Program Development and Implementation
Public Relations and Program Awareness
Total Expenses
542,378
2,147,733
509,474
25,057,360
Establishment expenses
Expenditure under this category covers salaries of core staff within the Finance,
Human Resources and Administration functions and the respective expenses of those
departments. These include printing of publicity materials, recruitment expenses and
office running expenses such as rent and amenities, stationary and postage.
The establishment expenses Rs 6,760,804 comprise 20 % of overall expenditure. This is
slightly higher than in the previous year due to the cost of renovation of the current
office premises provided to us by Voltas for the last 8 years. Since the number of
staffing has increased substantially and we have further plans for growth it was
considered necessary to make better use of the existing space. The investment in
renovation has saved us from having to find a larger premise at commercial rents
which would be difficult to sustain.
Finance
Expenditure under objects of the trust
Expenditure under the objects of the trust covers the running cost of all Akanksha
centres.This includes salaries to teachers and social workers, education materials,
uniforms, transport to centres, repairs and maintenance of classrooms as well as
educational outings.
59
60
SCHEDULE VIII
(Vide Rule 17(1))
Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950
The Public Trust:- The Akanksha Foundation
Balance Sheet as on March 31, 2008
Rs.
Funds & Liabilities
Trust Funds or Corpus
Balance as per last balance sheet
Local
F.C.
Rs.
30,496,065
735,000
12,743
747,743
Other earmarked funds
(created under provisions of the trust deed or scheme)
Depreciation Fund
Sinking Fund
Reserve Fund
Any other Fund
Loans (Secured or Unsecured)
From Trustees
From Others
-
Liabilities :For Expenses (Annexure A)
31,243,807
1,546,166
1,546,166
Income and Expenditure Account:Balance as per last Balance Sheet
Local
F.C.
Total
Income outstanding
Rent
Interest (Annexure D)
Other income and asset receivable
Sundry debtors
Income receivable (Annexure D)
(27,227,147)
46,529,433
19,302,286
-
5,279,328
To Remuneration paid to Auditors
-
1,955,774
To Contribution and fees
-
62,774
38,235
75,567
1,059,995
Total
Total Rs.
As per our report of even date
For Haribhakti & Co
Chartered Accountants
Dated: 30th Sept, 2008
61
Rakesh Rathi (Partner)
By interest
(accrued)
(realised)
On securities
(Annexure F)
Bonds
895,000
Deposits
1,986,780
(Annexure F)
On Loans
On Bank account
(Annexure F)
By dividend
(Annexure F)
102,599
2,984,379
Mutual fund units
101,009
1,135,562
222,683
222,683
403,910
111,020
514,930
To Amount written off:
Bad debts
Loan scholarship
Irrecoverable
Rent
Other items (Prior years adj.)
-
2,104
-
To Loss on Sale of Investment
By Donations in cash or kind
(Annexure F)
21,373,358
By Grants
(Annexure F)
Profit on Sale of Investment
6,195,625
Local
FC
850,712
420,761
1,271,473
(615,944)
180,100
(435,844)
Total Rs.
31,388,991
By income from other sources
Art for Akanksha (Annexure G)
Other income
(Annexure G)
To Miscellaneous Expenses
To Other expenses - depreciation on fixed assets
(Annexure C)
1,256,698
To Amount transferred to reserve or specific funds
(7,199,891)
5,511,917
(1,687,974)
Rs.
(accrued)
(realised)
3,323,554
Less Appropriation, if any
Add: Surplus (as per Income and Expenditure Account)
Less: Deficit
Local
F.C.
6,760,804
To Remunerations to Trustees
Rs.
Income
By rent
1,274,094
4,005,234
Loans(Secured or Unsecured) : Good/doubtful
Loans Scholarships (Annexure D)
Other Loans (Annexure D)
Advances:To Trustees
To Employees (Annexure D)
To Contractors
To Lawyers
To Others (Annexure D)
Registration no: F-14568 dated April 15, 1991
Rs.
-
To Establishment Expenses (Annexure E)
Fixed Assets:- (Annexure C)
Balance as per last Balance Sheet
Additions during the year
1,955,774
-
Rs.
To Expenditure in respect of properties:Taxes and cesses
Repairs and maintenance
Salaries
Depreciation (by way of provision of adjustments)
41,518,904
Less: Deduction during the year
Depreciation up to date
-
Expenditure
-
SCHEDULE VIII
(Vide Rule 17(1))
Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950
The Public Trust:- The Akanksha Foundation
Income & Expenditure as on March 31, 2008
Rs.
-
Investments:
(Annexure B)
Additions during the year (give details)
Total
Rs.
Property & Assets
Immovable Properties :- (At cost)
Balance as per last Balance Sheet
Additions during the year
Less: Sales during the year
Depreciation up to date
24,495,093
6,000,972
Local
F.C.
Registration no: F-14568 dated April 15, 1991
17,614,312
Cash and Bank Balances (Annexure B)
a) In Saving account
In Fixed Deposit account
b) With the Trustee
c) With the Manager
d) Other (Cash in hand)
Closing stock
3,096,086
185,671
43,830
Total Rs.
50,404,285
3,325,587
262,056
To Expenditure under objects of the trust
Religious
Educational (Annexure E)
Medical relief
Relief of poverty
Other charitable object
Balance carried over to Balance sheet
50,404,285
Trustee
Trustee
By Transfer from Reserve
By deficit carried over to Balance Sheet
(1,687,975)
Total Rs.
The above Balance Sheet to the bestof my/our belief contains a true account of
the funds and liabilities and of the property and assets of the Trust.
Dated: 30th Sept, 2008
25,057,360
-
31,388,991
As per our report of even date
For Haribhakti & Co
Chartered Accountants
Dated: 30th Sept, 2008
Rakesh Rathi (Partner)
Dated: 30th Sept, 2008
Trustee
Trustee
62
Credibility Alliance Norms Compliance Report
Accountability and Transparency
Identity
The Akanksha Foundation is registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860
(Reg no MAH/132/91/Bombay dated 13.2.91). The MOA and Rules and Regulations of the
Foundation are available on request.
Akanksha is registered u/s 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The 80G certificate has been
renewed up to 31/03/2009 DIT (E) MC/80-G/3002/2006-07 dated. 15/12/06
Akanksha is registered under the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act
FCRA 083780558 dated 18.2.96 for the receipt of foreign donations.
Name and Address of Bankers
Citibank – DN Road, Mumbai, 400001
Standard Chartered – FCRA – MG Road Branch, Mumbai 400001
HDFC Bank Ltd -Salary Accounts-Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry Building, Grd Floor, Dr
Shirodkar Marg, Parel, Mumbai 400012
Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.- Art Project Account- Mittal Court, Nariman Point, Mumbai
400021
Name and Address of Auditors – M/S Haribhakti and Co, Free Press House, Nariman
Point, Mumbai 400021
The following reimbursements have been made to Board Members
Travelling expense to Ms Shaheen Mistri during the year
Rs 43,645 for International Travel
Rs 46,946 for Domestic Travel
Rs 57,566 Conveyance Reimbursement
No other reimbursements have been made to any other Board Member
CEO's remuneration – Board Member
No other Board member receives remuneration. All contribute their time on a voluntary basis.
Remuneration of 3 Highest Paid Staff Members
Rs. 75,000 Rs. 75,000
Rs. 44,000
Remuneration of the lowest paid staff member Rs 300 pm
Distribution of staff according to salary levels (as at 31 March 2008)
Governance
Slab of gross salary (in Rs) plus benefits paid to staff (per month)
Male staff
Female staff
Total staff
Details of Board Members: (as at 31 March 2008)
Less than 5000
11
76
87
5,000 – 10,000
13
66
79
10,000 – 25,000
6
37
43
25,000 – 50,000
4
6
10
2
2
Name
Sex
Position on Board
Occupation
Area of
Competency
No. of
meetings
attended
Shaheen Mistri
F
CEO Akanksha
Education
4
Anu Aga
F
Ex. Chairperson
HR and SW
4
Amit Chandra
M
Treasurer
Finance
4
Srila Chatterjee
F
General Member
Arts
4
Nandita Dugar
F
General Member
Strategy
3
Ramesh Srinivasan
M
General Member
MD Highlight Films
Ad Film Maker
Ex consultant Boston
Consulting group
Partner McKinsey
and Co
Strategy
1
General Member
Sr. VP India Infoline Ltd.
Finance
2
Neel Shahani
M
MD, Bain Capital Advisors
The Akanksha Board met 4 times in the FY 07-08 on 23rd August 2007, 9th October 2007,
25th January 2008 and 20th February 2008. Minutes of the Board are documented and
circulated. A Board rotation policy exists. The Board approves programs, budgets,
events, and audited financial statements. The board ensures the organization's
compliance with laws and regulations
63
No remuneration, sitting fees or any other form of compensation has been paid since
inception of the Foundation, to any Board Member.
50,000 – 1,00,000
Total
221
(The staff table includes the salaries of both staff and paid consultants in the respective
categories)
Total Cost of National Travel by all staff during the year: Rs 11,55,154 includes reimbursement
for local travel by social workers, education managers and other staff as well as travel with
beneficiaries and field visits to other projects.
Total Cost of International Travel by all staff during the year: Rs 87,290 air fare to United
States Of America to learning best teaching practices in Schools- Shaheen Mistri and
Vandana Goyal
64
Thank you to our Supporters
Carnegie Social Initiatives
Akanksha supporters not only donate funds but also their time and expertise. Without
the numerous avenues of support we receive we would not have reached this point
and we are truly grateful to each and every person who has helped us in whatever
way they can. Aside from the donations below we also have numerous donations in
kind in the way of outings for centre children, class room and conference spaces
provided, medical check up camps, stationary and study materials to name but a few.
There are a myriad of ways that people help us out and we are only sorry that we can
not mention each one for lack of space. It encourages us that people in whatever
large or small way can continue to make a difference and show they care.
Chandrakant Agrawal
Citigroup Foundation
Program Sponsors 2007-2008
KINOE - Francesca and Patrick O Keefe
KINOE - Merrill Lynch Investment Managers
Sponsor
Centre / Space Sponsor
Ad Astra Trust –UK
Aditya Birla Group
All CargoGlobal Logistics
Dhirubhai Ambani International School
Arisaig Partners
Aviva
Holy Name 2
Worli 1 /Nehru Planetarium
VT BMC
Dhirubhai Ambani International School
Supari Tank
Aviva Arushi – morning
Aviva Anant -afternon
Karve Nagar 2
Koregaon Park/Sant Gadge Maharaj School
Kothrud 1 /Bharti Vidyapeeth School
Kothrud 2 /Bharti Vidyapeeth
Sunshine /Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj PCMC
St Crispin 1
St Crispin 3
Aundh/Shahir Annabhau Sathe
DSP Merrill Lynch
Forbes Marshall Ltd
Kasarwadi
HDFC
KINOE
Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd
National Grid
Panchsheel Nagar
Novartis India Ltd
Tech Mahindra
The Akanksha Fund
Wakdewadi/Thermax
Thermax Ltd
United Way of Mumbai
Vijay Santhanam & Kainaz Gazdar
WNS Global Services Pvt Ltd
Zensar Technologies
Art Venture Singapore
Western Union
65
Bandra Petit School
GD Somani
Laxmi Nagar Municipal school
Mahalaxmi 2 / National Association for the Blind
St. Joseph's 1
Worli 2 / National Association for the Blind
St. Xavier's High School
Chinchwad/FM Company Premises Morwadi
Forbes Marshall 1/Hanuman Temple Bhopkel
Forbes Marshall 2/ FM Company premise
St Joseph's 2
Colaba Municipal School
Holy Name 1
Sitaram Poddar 2
Campion School
JJ School
KGM 2
Bhudwar peth/ Nutan Samarth Vidyalaya
Karve Nagar 1
SLP 2006 batch
SLP 2007 batch
Kirloskar 1/Depot Line Mitr Mandal
Kirloskar 2/Mauli Hall
Muskan/ Maharshi Valmik Community Hall,
Yuvathi Sharan, Prabhadevi
LTL
Supari Tank School
Chuim afternoon – Khar
Chuim Morning -Khar
KGM 1
Mahalaxmi 1 / Glaxo
Mankhurd - JJ
Mankhurd - Alexandra
Mankhurd 1
Mankhurd 2
Rajashtan Mahila Mandal
St Stanislaus
Thermax 1
Thermax 2
Sitaram Poddar 1
Worli 3 / Glaxo
Worli 4 / Glaxo
St Crispin 2
Zensar – Morning and afternoon/Shagun Bungalow,
Chandannagar
Arts classes
Snacks and Nutrition
66
Space
Volunteers
Voltas Ltd. – Akanksha Mumbai Office space
Thermax Ltd. – Akanksha Pune Office space
Prakash Mody, Unichem Laboratory – or helping with the temporary
office space
Crompton Greaves – training center at Mulshi for Akanksha's teacher
training
Mona Seervai, Bombay International School– LTL Centre
Alok Vajpeyi and Arpit Agarwal of Dawnay Day AV - SLP Mumbai
Thermax – SLP Pune
St. Xaviers College – Akanksha Education Convention (Mumbai)
Symbiosis – Akanksha Education Convention (Pune)
Citigroup – EdVillage Training Space
Karina Weinstein – LTL community research project
Jackie walters – LTL recruitment assessments and math activities
Volunteers from SIBM, Aviva, Accenture, Kirloskars – Pune Sports
Day.
Narendra Toshniwal and Preetika Mehta, ITM, Vashi – LTL career
research project
Ronnie Sequeira – LTL Planner
Taj President, Mumbai; Fouress Engineering; Zia, Jet Airways – LTL
career resources
Wendy Littlefield - Application for LTL student for Emma Willard
School, Troy, NY Application
Mr. Anil Gadgil, Prof. Gautam Sen and Mr. Nayakar, J.P. Naik Centre, Mr.
Arvind Paranjpe and Mr. Samir Dhurde, IUCCA, Pune, Anjana
Swaminathan and the team, SIMS, Khadki, Pune, Meher Pudumjee,
Thermax, Pune, Rati Forbes and the team, Forbes Marshall, Priti Kibe,
Dr. Reddy's LABS, Nalini Sengupta, Vidya Valley School, Pashan, Pune,
Capt. Parulekar, NDA, Khadakvasla – LTL Retreat
Medical Resource People and Sponsors
Dr. Kotnis Hospital
Medicare (Forbess Marshall)
Bharti Medical College – talk on gynacology
Dr. Pankaj – panel doctor
Nair Hospital – dental camp
Parvatibai Shankar Rao Chavan Hospital and the Ramesh Ginwala,
Churchgate Lion's Group– eye camp
Larson and Toubro – medical camp
Haji Bachoo Ali – eye camp
Merrill Lynch Investment Management and KINOE – funds for
medical treatment
Piramal Foundation – Health Camp and clinic
Resource People and Organizations
Salaam Bombay – Substance Abuse
Sandeep Sonawne and Anita Patil, NTP+ - HIV
Dr. Rani Raote, Arpan – Child Sexual Abuse
Vipin Thekkekalathil, Ashoka – Child Sexual Abuse
Hem Agrawal, I-Lead – Vocational training
Priya Agrawal and Vinita Singh, Satark Nagrik Sangathan – Right To
Information
Sunil Haribal - Effective Communication
Jaya Row - bringing about change within oneself.
Vinita didi and Parind bhaiyya - Right to Information
K Sriram, Lopa Gandhi, Shaheen Mistri, Rishi Agarwal, Gauri Kirthne, Mr.
Mahoday and Mr. Siby along with all from Institute of Gandhian
Studies (Wardha), Mr. Sameer Kurvey along with all from Centre of
Science for Villages (Wardha), Tushar Gandhi, Sanjay Doctor, Usha
Thakkar and the whole of Mani Bhavan Staff, Green Peace, ,
Rattan Batliwala, Tom Alter, Uday Chandra – KCT Vidya Niketan
School
67
Special Events
The Pune team of teachers, children, staff and volunteers – Sunshine
Around the World
SIESEN International School, Tokyo, Japan, Kantonsschule Hohe
Promenade, Zurich, Switzerland,The Aga Khan School, Junior Section,
Dhaka, Bangladesh, Allithwaite Cof E Primary School, Allithwaite, UK,
Kineton Primary School, Warwickshire, UK, Ullens School, Kathmandu,
Nepal Mountain Ridge Middle School, Colorado, USA – Sunshine
Partner Schools
Patrick and Scott- Drama Volunteer, Sunshine
Aviva – Chief Sponsor
Ferrorcare and Uma Ghate - Co Sponsors
Brig. H. Chukerbuti - Director of Symbiosis Institute of Management
Studies – Space Sponsor
Pranay Volunteers from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies
(SIMS)
Priti Satpute, Mercedes Benz School; Mrs. Bisht, Principal, Blossoms
School; Dr. Pramod Vitkar, Principal, Rajarshi Shahu College of
Engineering; Ms. Shilpa Solanki, Principal, The Orchid School; Manjoo
Phadke, Indira College of Institutes; Sandip Gaikwad, Indira College
of Institutes; Daimler Chrysler; Zensar Technologies; Thermax Ltd.;
Forbes Marshall Ltd.; Kirloskar Oil Engine Ltd. - For buses
Mr. Hemant Merchant, Principal and Ms. Shefali Joshi and the students
of D.Y. Patil Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology For Food
Copper Chocs - For Snacks
Gazelle Beauty Parlour, Headlines - For Make-up
68
Grants/ Pledges and Donations
over Rs 50,000 (not including direct centre sponsors)
The WZO Trust Funds
Mr. Panna Purshottam Sampat
Mr. Vijay Mehra
Mr. Harish Raman
Dr. Prakash Mody
Ms. Smita Thackeray- Mukti- A Smita Thackeray Foundation
Amrit Vasudeva Trust
Ms. Tabussam Inamdar
Mr. Hemchandra Agarwal
Mr. Pravin Gandhi
Reliance Life Insurance
Sequoia Capital India Advisors
Hotchand Sarla Panjwani Trust
Shrayragi & Rahul Basu
K.C.Mahindra Education Trust
Oldendorff Carriers GMBH
Renishaw
Trent Ltd
Grants/ Pledges and Donations
between Rs10, 000- Rs50,000
Mr. Salil Parekh
Mr. Arun Agarawal
McKinsey & Co.
Mr. Ashutosh Karve
Mr. Jayendra Shah
Ms. Khushrow Mehta
Ms. Sheshachala Sheernali
Ms. Meera Chandrasekar
Mr. Shailesh Lakhani
Mr. K Khambatta
Ms. Sujata Goel
Mr. Shailesh Ajwani
Ms. Patricia Albuquerque
Ms. Rajeev Varma
Mr. Shrenik khasgiwala
Mr. Rajive Kothawala
69
Mr. Chetan Vora – Lions Club Of Bombay Chunabhatti
Mr. and Mrs. Hitesh & Kiran Shah
Ms. Aditi Mallik
Ms. Minal Pinge
Ms. Saritha Rao
Zero Octa Selective Sourcing
Mr. Neeraj Raj
Mr. Khushrow Dubash
Mr. Dileep Katiyar
Mr Ruchir Shah
Ms. Mitali Gosh
Mrs.Michaela Rose Anchan
Mr Manish Pandit
Ms Anuja Singh
Mr Rajesh Dugar
Mr. Nitin Desai
Ms. Zarine Richmond & Mr. Behroze Guzadar
Ms. Alisha Mashruwala
Ms. Binu Thomas
Ms. M P Timmins
Mr. Roomy Daruwalla
Mr. Tapan Mitra
Mr. Aftab Moon
Mr. Anand Lunia
Mr. Sunil Shaligram
Ms. Laura Sanford
Mr. Nilesh Chugani
Mr. Mahesh A Chavan
Ms. Myra Sequeira
Mr. & Mrs. Vishal & Shaila Gupta
Primeway S.A.
Mr. P.Babu
Dr. M.B. Pethe
Mr. FM Chinoy
Ms. Suzie Hill
HSBC Ltd
Ferrocare Machines Private Ltd
Ms. Dipti Yeshwant Pawar
Island School Hong Kong – Candy sale organised by Ari Malik and
class 8E
70
Mumbai Marathon January 2008
Amit & Archana Chandra – Dream Teamers
Citigroup N.A. – Corporate Challenge
Highlight Films – Corporate Challenge
H5- Individual runners
Novartis Ltd – Corporate Challenge
Thermax – Corporate Challenge
Axis Bank – Corporate Challenge
All Cargo Global Logistics- Corporate Challenge
Marsh India Private Ltd. – Corporate Challenge
Our sincere thanks all the runners and pledgers who helped us Raise Rs. 28 Lakhs through the
Mumbai Marathon 2008.
Special Thanks to
The Akanksha Fund and Kids in Need of Education (KINOE)
Akanksha is privileged to be affiliated to two organizations who help advise and raise funds for
the Akanksha Foundation. The Akanksha Fund, Inc., based in New York , USA and KINOE, based in
the UK were set up to provide support for local operations in India and they have been in
existence, supporting Akanksha for over 10 years
This year Amanda Pullin and Helen McMahon, from KINOE visited Akanksha to follow up on the
centres and activities they fund and similarly a large group of The Akanksha Fund Board
Members did an extensive oversight visit of our projects in Mumbai and Pune.
71
Special thanks also to
Nivea
Mr. Hem Agrawal
Build-A Bear
AT&T, Goldman Sachs and Oldendorff Carriers
Giants Club & Mr. Saraf
Naturell Foods
Sterlite Foundation
Crompton Greaves
KIPP Foundation
Geometrics Software Solutions
Muskaan
Alochna
Sangam
CYDA
NCC Udaan Team
Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management
Bhojwani School
Loyolas School
Accenture
Infosys Technologies Ltd.
Schlumberger
HSBC Retail Banking
Dr.Kotnis Hospital
Medicare (Forbes Marshall)
D.Y.Patil Institute for Hotel Management and Catering Technology
PMC Education Board
PCMC Education Board
Bharti Medical College
Nitee Solutions
CRPF
NDRF
Shiamak Davar dance classes
Kohinoor Krida Mandal
Frankfinn
Shoppers Stop
Indian Sponsorship Committee
Hotel Blue Diamond
Patrick Holton
Scott Vignos
Maria Dels Angels
Narita Srivatava
Sushmita Sahu
Audrey Ferreira
Meghna Marathe
Manav Sadhna, Ahmedabad
Ashish Patki
Ravinder Lamba
R. Venkatesh
Raymonds
Deepti Pimpley
Raviraj Gaikwad
Sangeeta Karkhanis
Neha Khopkar
Preetha
Hari bhakti & Co.
72
The Akanksha Fund – New York Board Members –
Sarah Roberts, Ed Morgan, Patsy Howard, Janet Osborne, Sanjay
Roy, Anita Trehan
This past February a group of Akanksha Fund, Inc. board members along with their spouses
and guests traveled to India to visit Akanksha centres and schools in Mumbai and Pune.
Although we had been involved with the Akanksha organization for a considerable period
of time many of us had never seen the program first hand. One truly cannot understand the
quality and scope of the Akanksha program without seeing it.
Our visits to the Mumbai centres gave us a sense of the on-going challenge of finding and
keeping adequate centre facilities. We felt that in comparison to Mumbai the Pune centres
were better equipped and the availability and quality of space was greater. We could not
have been more impressed with the teachers and students throughout all the centres.
They all appeared invested, productive and enthusiastic.
Letters of Support
Suresh Amin
Associate Vice President - Human Resources
Aviva Global Services
“My association with Akanksha dates back to the year 2005, when we in Aviva Global
Services were setting up our CSR program.
We chose Akanksha for our partnership because we believe we have a common
vision towards providing education to the less privileged children from the society.
Secondly, we were impressed with their systems and processes in addition to their
professionalism and transparency to ensure the relationship succeeds the desired
objective.
My personal experience with them has been very fruitful and the emotional connect I
could relate every time I had the opportunity to interact with the children from the
centres.”
Aviva has committed to the sponsorship of 11 centres as well as sponsoring our sports
and art programs in Pune for two years. Not only do they aid us financially but are very
involved in volunteering and arranging assistance with events and publicity. They were
so keen to make it more conducive for their employees to volunteer that they have
rented a room in proximity to their office so that we could start two new centres there.
Their assistance covers 1000 children in Akanksha Pune
73
We were honored to have been invited to the home of an Akanksha student in Mumbai
which gave us an opportunity to better understand the needs and struggles of the young
people served by the centres. We observed families who in the face of great hardship
were keeping a clean home, feeding their children and were committed to education for
their child. Most powerful was the realization that these children, in spite of many
obstacles including their demanding responsibilities at home and their housing's poor
sanitation, were showing up each day with shining and smiling faces eagerly awaiting their
lessons at the centre.
Visiting the Social Leadership Program most clearly exhibited the impact of Akanksha on
young lives. We learned from these outstanding kids the ways in which they were
converting the skills learned at Akanksha into careers. We met the charming Seema, who
against all odds, is working towards getting a business degree and Prashant an impressive
young man, who is working for Akanksha as a social worker. Akanksha has played a critical
role for these outstanding young people in helping them become successful and
productive community members.
Our visit to the outstanding Vidya Niketan School in Pune gave us a look at the future of
Akanksha. We were impressed both by a group of accomplished and confident students
who gave us a computer presentation and later by several poised students' who gave
declamations in their speech class. After seeing this school we were quick converts to the
decision to replicate the school model in other locations. The benefit to the children of
having an entire school day of Akanksha's creative and innovative teaching was easily
apparent.
Every Akanksha student, teacher and staff member made us feel welcomed and each
uniquely conveyed to us their sense of hope and pride in Akanksha. We thank you all! As a
board member I returned to the U.S. dedicated to doing all I can to support Akanksha and
privileged to be a part of this important effort.
74