Category: Pune

  • Teaching women to become independent in spirit, in thought, in action and have full control over their lives

    It was going to be my first visit to Budhwar Peth, Pune’s famous red-light area, and I was both nervous and excited. While safety concerns were making me a little nervous, I was excited at the prospect of finally visiting this oh-so-talked-about area. The Pune-based NGO Swadhar IDWC (Institute for Development of Women & Children)’s…

  • An organisation makes a child school ready

    “A child without education is like a bird without wings.” After my interaction with Dr. Usha Pillai, founder of IDEA Foundation, I couldn’t agree with this statement more. With an aim to prevent children from dropping out of school, IDEA Foundation runs study centers and a sponsorship program for 2,500 slum/rural children in Pune city…

  • How it all began at IDEA Foundation

    A perceived gap is what usually leads entrepreneurs, both social and corporate, to set up their own ventures. The story is no different for Initiatives in Development and Education for All or IDEA Foundation. Back in 1996, while Dr. Usha Pillai was pursuing her PhD on “Reasons and Interventions taken by NGOs and Government for…

  • How it all began at Bhagini Nivedita Pratishthan

    It’s said that too many cooks spoil the broth. But in the case of Bhagini Nivedita Parishad, every cook has added a new spice, which has only enhanced the flavor of the dish. These cooks were Pratima Joshi, Lalitha Marathe, Vaijayanthi Joshi, Rujuta Pitale, Pranoti Garge, Ushatai Sathe, Surekha Parande, Sulabha Deuskar, Nilima Karkhanis and…

  • Helping the “aam aurat”

    Never underestimate the power of a common man is the theme of the 2013 Bollywood blockbuster “Chennai Express”. If a movie were to be made on not underestimating the power of the common women, then the growth and work of the Pune-based Bhagini Nivedita Parishad (BNP) must feature in it! Set up by a group…

  • An organization that takes serving the poor seriously

    It was my first trip to Pune and little did I realize it was going to be such a memorable one. Amidst heavy rains, I boarded a bus at the ever-crowded Dadar for the Maharashtrian capital. It turned out to be a three and half hour serene journey as the monsoons made the ride through…

  • Helping children fulfill their dreams

    When I was going on a visit to an Akanksha school, I thought my visit would take me back to my college days when I used to volunteer with Akanksha. As it turns out, I was transported back to my school days instead! As I sat through a standard 5 Maths class, I began thinking…

  • How it began at SOFOSH

    SOFOSH was primarily established with the noble intention of financially aiding economically challenged patients of Sassoon The organisation has grown over the years and has its fingers in numerous social welfare causes today. In fact, the story of how the organisation came about and its growth thereafter is quite an interesting one. The story goes…

  • One good deed today, a full-fledged organisation tomorrow

    by Apoorva Deshpande This question goes out to folks in Pune – how many times have you walked past the Sasoon hospital? In fact even if you’re not from the city but frequent it often, you would have passed by it as it’s located really close to the city’s train and bus station. But have…