A Day to Remember and Rejoice: 39th Foundation Day of Deepalaya Celebrated With Exuberance
Deepalaya works on
issues affecting the development of urban and rural poor in India
Including
junior to senior level staff, and from foot-tapping English music to regional
dance, the celebrations galore portrayed the idea of “unity in diversity”
New Delhi, July
16th 2018:
39 years ago, on this day 16th of July in the year 1979, the civil society
organization called Deepalaya was born. From humble beginnings with five
children, two teachers, and an investment of Rs.17,500 by seven of its
founder members, Deepalaya has indeed come a long way; today emerging as the
largest operational NGO in Delhi-NCR, it has established presence in six states
of India and six different sectors till date (namely Education, Institutional
Care, Women Empowerment, Vocational Training, Healthacare, and
Differently-Abled).
The
39th foundation day of Deepalaya (known popularly as Deepalaya Day)
was celebrated today at Deepalaya School Kalkaji Extension auditorium with a
wide range of cultural performances, entertainment activities and
presentations, as well as address by the senior leaders of the organization.
Unlike
other events, where celebrations are usually confined to the employees, this
year, Deepalaya’s executive committee members and general body members were
present on the occasion.
The
function began with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp and the read-aloud of
the vision and mission statement of Deepalaya.
Mr. A. J. Philip,
Secretary and Chief Executive, Deepalaya, in his welcome speech emphasized on the need for unity and integrity for social good. “Even
after completing 39 years of serving with honesty and commitment to the
communities that we cater to, we have still miles to go. We should rise above conflicts and
limitations and all work hand-in-hand as one to contribute to the society in
whatever way possible,” added Mr.
Philip.
Mr. Y Chackochan,
President, Deepalaya went
back to the golden days 39 year back when Deepalaya started in his drawing
room, by few pioneering individuals who had a common and firm mission of giving
back to the society. “Despite numerous bureaucratic obstacles and internal and
external challenges, what brings is back here today is the aspect of doing
humanitarian good and noble service to the society collectively. I wish to see
Deepalaya reaching new heights and conquering many more milestones in the years
to come,” said Mr. Chackochan.
Dr. George John,
Former Vice Chancellor, Birsa Agricultural University, Jharkand, who has been recently added as a board member of Deepalaya, said that in
his opinion, the governance model followed by Deepalaya’s educational
institutions can be an exemplary one for many government schools in the
country.
Dr. Annie Mathew,
Board Member, Deepalaya spoke
high about the achievements of the organization over the last five years. Mr. Sakhi John, Board Member, and Dr. (Prof.) Mary Abraham, General Body
Member of Deepalaya were also present.
More
than 100 Deepalayans (including employees, volunteers from various project
locations of Deepalaya NGO) took the stage on the day. Although every
performance had a charm of its own, the ones that gained special applause were
the song medley by Deepalaya SQEP Project (SDMC School, Okhla), a group dance
by Microfinace Project, Tauru highlighting the message of “Beti Bachao, Beti
Padhao”, a fusion dance performance by Deepalaya Special Unit, Sanjay Colony,
and a skit “Zindagi Ka Safar” by Deepalaya Head Office staff that showcased the
socio-emotional traits of human beings through various life stages, and the
vulnerability of the elderly citizens.
There
were some solo and group-based songs, poems, and even ghazals and dance performances that added local flavours of
various states like Haryana and Rajasthan, or took the audience back to the 70s
and 80s’ era. Adding cherry to the cake was a marvelous performance themed
“tribute to Sridevi” by Deepalaya School Gusbethi. On the whole, it was a
thoroughly memorable and excitement-filled day that helped the vast Deepalaya
family enjoy together and created some picture-perfect moments to rejoice
through the next one year.
Mrs. Jaswant Kaur,
Executive Director, Deepalaya
proposed the vote of thanks, followed by the national anthem to culminate the
event, which ended with a promise of coming back with a grander and greater
celebration next year.
About Deepalaya
Deepalaya is an ISO 9001:2008
certified non-government organization that believes in enabling self reliance
and is committed to working on issues affecting the urban and rural poor, with
a special focus on women and children.
