Since the first day, of my decision of doing the study abroad & student exchange program, till now i feel proud and happy that i did this unique program. The core MBA course in UML usually takes 15 weeks but this course being a core course with 3 credits, completes in just 2 weeks. When i heard this, i was sure that we needed to burn the midnight oil to complete this program. This was a challenge for all of the students participating in this course.

On the first two days, all the groups visited their respective non-profits and understand their workings and problems. Then rest of the days, we were taught various Entrepreneurship skills and methods in classroom so that we could develop a good plan for the respective non-profits, along with that we were working on our projects day in and day out without stopping. We also had various successful entrepreneurs who talked about their lives and how they became successful. It was a treat for any to-be entrepreneur to listen to already established entrepreneurs. Apart from studies, we made lots of friends in BVB engineering college, where students were extremely helpful and friendly. Working with a team where each team member has a different idea and wants to work differently was always a task, but coming up with a common solution was the best part. Working with a diverse team and yet coming to one decision, is what makes a good team. Making a valuable project report and power point presentation were the two main things that were needed in this course, because these two things will be sent to the respective non-profits so that they can work upon their weak areas. Therefore, our team was very careful about these two requirements and we worked on them accordingly.

All the teams successfully completed their projects reports and presented their presentations with the immense help and guidance of Professor Ashwin Mehta, Professor Deborah Finch and Professor Nitin Kulkarni. Without their support this course would have been impossible.

Today we went to an NGO known as Akshaya Patra Foundation. At 6.15 am we were all set and ready in the bus to visit this unique NGO. Akshaya Patra is a non profit organization that provide lunch to poor students of government schools. The Dharwad district center covers whole Dharwad-hubli area and provide free lunch to approximately 800 government school.

The way this organization works is truly amazing. Inside the kitchen they maintain complete hygiene and cleanliness. At a time they have stores 14 tons of rice and 15 tons of water is used in preparation of lunch. In total 350 employees work in this center. They clean all the food materials properly in heavy machines and make sure that no foreign element is mixed in the food. They have a multilevel kitchen where food is chopped, prepared and packed on different levels. Government provide them milk powder, which they convert into milk and send to children with the lunch. The organization gets funds from various sources like corporate, individuals, and government. The thing i liked the most was, in just Rs.750 or $12, the organization makes food for one child for entire year. Therefore if a person donate that amount he can feed a needy child for a complete year. They prepare lunch each day 24×7, and 365 days and they change the ingredients and spices of their daily lunch so that children don’t get bored of the same food. The chairman of Infosys, N.R Narayan Murthy says, “Akshaya Patra is a success story of hope, fairness, justice, and opportunity for all children.”

India is the world’s largest democracy, a growing economic power, and yet hunger affects over 40% of her children. This blog is more of an informative one for everyone reading it.

Yes, you can and yes, you should..!! DONATE..!!

http://www.akshayapatra.org/

It has been a year for me studying in The United States of America, but i never understood Americans the way i am understanding them in Hubli, India. In less than a week’s time i got to know some of the amazing things about my fellow Americans.

They saw Taj Mahal and, on the other hand they saw small children begging on the streets, the two extremes of India, but i was amazed to see the way they reacted. They were concerned about those small children rather being ignorant. Maybe first time in their lives they experienced full of bumpy ride from Goa to Hubli, but they praised beautiful journey instead of complaining. They celebrated their birthday with Indian students the way they would have celebrated in States. Very easily they accepted the all-new food menu, which included spices, oil etc. and they liked it. Fans of Boston Red Sox played cricket for the first time with Indians with full of passion. Normally they sleeps around 10 pm back in U.S. wakes up till 1.30 am just to chat with Indian students.They were thrilled to hold live snake in their hands. Visiting various Indian NGOs and working on their respective projects passionately to help these NGOs to improve. Spoiling their New Year’s Eve by sitting in a flight to India, shows the enthusiasm and dedication of American students.

I have never seen someone accepting so many changes in such a short span of time, so beautifully. Being an Indian, I am proud to be in U.S.