Dharma - Day 3 @ Odanadi

Odanadi – Day 3 (Tuesday, December 14, 2010)

With supplies and snacks for the boys in hand we headed to the main Odanadi site to wait for Stanly Brother. Around 11am, along with a new UK volunteer Kathy we headed to Mandiwali (?) where the older boys stay. The boy’s site is located in a lush and serene plot of land about 15 minutes drive from the girl’s site. We met Raju and Ramesh two brothers who stay there, along with Kumari the house mother.

The boys living situation is in stark contrast to the girls. They live in huts and have no electricity, yet they are enterprising growing their own vegetables and even selling them to the house mother for a discount!
For many years some neighbors under the influence of land grabbers had filed a legal case against Odanadi, basically stating that they did not want a house/building built there. Very recently, the court ruled in favor of Odanadi and plans have been drawn up for the boy’s future home.

Stanly showed us the markings for the foundation and the lay of the land. I eagerly await the completion of this building – but it will cost about 70 lakhs (approx $150,000) and an additional amount for a compound wall to run the perimeter of the plot for safety and other reasons.

You will be happy to know that we gave a check to Stanly (and Parashur) on behalf of all of you lovely supporters and donors. The share for Odanadi India ended up being about Rs. 94, 500 – which is amazing! It will go towards building the foundation for the boy’s home :) But, as you can tell, Odanadi still will require a lot of funds to make this dream a reality.

We also had fun distributing the gifts we had packed the day before!

Signed, Sealed and (almost) Delivered!

We are so thankful to those of you who donated clothes, toiletries and toys for the children at Odanadi. A few days ago Sharon and I got together to sort through the items and pack them to be shipped to India. We ended up packing about 60 pounds worth of supplies into two bags! PHEW!

I got drenched in the tornado warning on December 1st transporting the bags to campus for DHL to pick-up from my office, but thanks to Tracy and Matt who helped bring them into the office, it will all be worth it. 

As of today - the bags were at London Heathrow (how exciting!!). I'll post again once they reach their final destination in Mysore where Pareesha will receive them. I know the children will be happy to receive these gifts from generous people like you!

A few pictures are shared below from our fun sorting and packing night - enjoy!

all the supplies pre-packing!

Sharon keeping track of the inventory

weighing them!

Giving the bags a warm departure :)

Dhanyavadagalu (Thank you in Kannada!)

Some more generous souls to thank :)

Minaxi and Atul (and Kusha!)

My dad's sister, her husband and my lovely cousin. Always fun to hang out with and I've already been booked by my uncle to plan Kusha's wedding whenever it happens ;)

Isaac

I have known Isaac for some years and he is a gem. I've seen him evolve in so many ways and I'm so excited to see what life has in store for him as he graduates.

Nisha  and Sachin

 Mother to Sahil and lovely wife to Sachin- Nisha is my cousin from Atlanta. A genuinely nice person who is beautiful inside and out.

Kart and Neha

 Kart and Neha are some of my closest friends.  Neha is creative and talented and Kart has always amazed me with his analytical and coupon finding skills ;) I've known Kart since my college days and I consider him a brother. 

Rahul

 Where do I even start with Rahul? He is the Jack to my Karen! His wry sense of humor is an acquired taste, but his taste in music, the arts and outlook on life in general is why I put up with him and him me :)

Sharon

 One of the inspirations for why I am even going to volunteer in the first place. Sharmila is a good-hearted, spunky and animated sweetheart :) I hope she finds her journey ahead fulfilling and adventurous!

Rita and Sanjay

 Rita auntie and Sanjay uncle are family friends who live right here in the DMV area.  They have two active young children.

Kumudha

KK! One of my South Asian daughters from AASU at UMD. I miss seeing her around regularly, but she's working hard in law school right now. She's a smart, sassy and beautiful young woman :) 

Pam

I had the pleasure of meeting Pam this summer at the OCA Convention in TX. I feel like I have known her for a number of years already. It was amazing meeting her and talking to her about so many things. I look forward to seeing what she does next!

Hyo

Hyo is a talented student at UMD. She was kind enough to donate some much-needed supplies for the children at Odanadi. She really is so insightful and good at what she does. I can see her shaking up the APA non-profit world in DC soon :)

I would also like to thank my Dad's former colleague who wishes to remain anonymous and Raju Kaka, my dad's cousin brother who is a successful business man in NJ where he lives with his wife and two children.

Generosity = reaching our goal :)

Thanks to the generosity of donors we have reached the personal goal of $5k we set for our trip prior to our deadline. This is very encouraging!

We are still accepting donations however through December 8th, so please consider Odanadi as you give thanks and look for a way to contribute to a worthy cause.

The generosity continues :)

I am running out of ways to say thank you to all of the generous supporters of our volunteer trip. I feel so blessed to be able to work with survivors of human trafficking in Mysore this December, and everyone's encouragement motivates me to keep going.

As of this post we have $885 more to raise to reach our $5k goal by December 8th, 2010! I'm hopeful we may even exceed the goal!!

Not pictured below but also to thank heartily are: my mum's work colleagues (anonymous), my mum's supervisor Edward Stewart, and Dr. Bhojraj - my parent's doctor.

Boosaba

A former student and now friend - she is a founder of the Thai American Alliance, a dancing diva and a soft-spoken and beautiful young woman :)

Rohini

A fierce young woman and former student who I had the privilege of working with at UPenn. Now a lawyer in CA - I'm excited to see where life takes this gorgeous lady!

Julie and James (and Ellie)

Julie is my former boss, but more importantly dear friend and colleague. James is an England soccer fan, was Irish in a former life and Ellie is their cuuute daughter. They are due to have another girl in the next few weeks!

Karen

I am blessed as a number of former students have been supportive of this endeavor. The notion of paying it forward rings true all around. Karen always makes me smile and she is a wonderful soul .. just don't smile and look at her otherwise she'll think you're laughing at her ;)

Will

I met Will this past summer at the OCA Convention in Dallas. He volunteered at Odanadi in August 2010 and I continue to be inspired by his passion and belief in the cause!

Brandt

Brandt is a college friend of mine. There's no really easy way to describe him, except to say he's an acquired taste, and lines automatically erase themselves so he can step over them :)  

Tiffany

Another lovely young woman who does things with heart. She also rallied friends and family to the cause and gifted me a box of daily supplies for the children at Odanadi to use. Sending her positive wishes as she looks for a job post-graduation :)

Pravina and Suresh

My dad's sister and her husband. I grew up with them in the UK and now we are practically neighbors here in the US. My aunt gets a glow on her face whenever anyone mistakes me to be her daughter ;)

Rupali

My darling aunt (mum's sister). I'm SO inspired by her; a survivor of breast cancer and now recently diagnosed and battling another form of cancer - she kept pushing to want to donate without once thinking about how she felt. Please send your prayers her way - we all need her positive soul and smile in this world <3

Umesh and Amita

My second parents (dad's brother and his wife) are always supportive of any endeavor that I take on. I can't imagine a time in the US when they haven't been around; combine that with their three children - my cousins and it's always a fun time!

More thank-you's!

The generosity of family and friends has been wonderful and encouraging! Below I recognize some of the lovely souls in my life :) More will be forthcoming ...

Hina - I first met her in graduate school at UMD - we've had many fun times together and now she is married in Atlanta and has a cute young son.

Chitra Auntie and Dinesh Uncle - my K4L's parents! Such nice folks who are always welcoming and make me feel part of the family. 

Nick - a.k.a Nickalicious :) - a colleague and friend - foodie adventures and APIAU trainings galore - always a good time when Nick is around.

Bobby - a former student of mine and now keeping the alumni together in full force. He's excited to have his photo on our famous blog :)

Gokul (Parthav) - my cousin on my mum's side and also a new MD resident. He is such a smarty pants too!

Arush and Rupali - K4L's bro and SIL - a lovely couple - who like the rest of the family have welcomed me and by default I've been given the power of "sisterny" ;) They have two beautiful young daughters.

Navdeep and Mallika - K4L's cousin and SIL - another cute and fairly newly-married couple :) Navdeep is so well-traveled and Mallika is an amazing and creative artist!

Sujay - I have known Suj since my college days and the infamous 601 memories :) A dear soul whom I'm so glad I can call a friend. (pictured here with his wife Poonam)

Special Friend - where do I start with my SF? We hit it off with each other at UMD and haven't looked back since. She is the yin to my K4L's yang  - a hottie, amazing mother and wife, comic, gourmet chef and much more - I seriously don't know what I would ever do without her in my life. I love her and her whole family <3 <3

Thank you to the first round of donors

Dharma would like to thank the following individuals for their generous contributions to Odanadi. All of you are special people and I'm grateful to have you in my life!

Hsuan
I have known Hsuan since my early undergraduate days at College Park. He's a funny, supportive and dedicated fellow APA Terp. The photo here captures his essence wonderfully :)



Jay
A fearless and fun colleague at the MICA Office at UMD. Ask him to do his eagle/bird impersonation for you in Impulse! Trust me .. just ask!



Amy
Amy is a former student of mine from a few years ago. A beautiful and strong young woman with a passion for justice. Soon moving to Japan to start a new chapter in life with her new hubby :)



Chandni
My sister and K4L for life. Not many words can do justice to the relationship we share. Plus, I get to share my surrogate hubby with her! I love her with all my heart period <3

Lawrence
A recent graduate of UMD, Lawrence was a passionate student leader on campus. He oversaw the Yuri Kochiyama High School Leadership Program with passion and inspired younger leaders to grow and chart their own journeys.



Mei-Yen
A lovely and dedicated colleague, Mei-Yen enjoys working with students and the local community to foster positive social change through meaningful dialogues and engagement.



Dharmesh (Bhai)
Last, but not least my baby brother! Well he's almost 30, but still - he'll always be Baby D. Not a man of many words, but always supporting his Ben (sister) silently when we're not being typical siblings and getting on each others nerves :) Did I mention he's cute and single ladies?!

Update & clarification on donations

Dear supporters,

We wanted to note that we received several kind donations before our chip in button with the goal tracker was installed on our blog. Thus, when you are looking at it please add $270 to that amount to reflect the correct total to date.

We will be recognizing donors individually on our blog shortly so please stay tuned for that :)

A number of you have inquired as to the tax-exempt nature of these donations. Odanadi US is in it's beginning stages, but the organizers are working diligently to set-up it's formal structure and make sure all paperwork is in order. The process can take anywhere from three-six months, but it is the organizers' goal to be listed as a tax-exempt organization that can provide funding to an organization outside of the US by late spring 2011 (updates will be provided as and when available).

Your donation, however, should you choose to give will go directly to Odanadi US and India to support the cause.

Thank you to our first donors!

I feel so blessed and loved!

I wanted to say a special thank you to my lovely parents (pictured above) for being the first to donate to our journey.

They are so supportive and gung-ho about us doing this work.

I may have to especially hire my mum as our fund-raising manager given her skills :)