Michelle Obama Visits "Make A Difference" Global Youth Leaders In Mumbai
Make A Difference is founded in 2006 by a group of university students in Cochin. Today, MAD reaches out to close to 2500 children in 10 cities through 800 trained volunteers. MAD is currently operating in Trivandrum, Cochin, Chennai, Bangalore, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi.
- (1888PressRelease) November 08, 2010 - Mumbai/Kochi - As part of her global initiative to promote youth engagement, First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama met yesterday at the Mumbai University campus at 5.00 pm with global youth leaders from Make a Difference (MAD). Founded in 2006 in YMCA Boys Home, Kochi by a group of University Students, MAD is an innovative Indian youth organization empowering the urban youth to deliver high quality education and active mentorship to children living in low-income communities by pioneering a technology-integrated volunteer management system.
At the event, Mrs. Obama participated in "The MAD Camp" event with 30 underprivileged children, ages 10 to 13, from some of India's poorest urban areas. She played with them, participated in the drum circle exercise and danced with them to the tunes of Rang De Basanti. She also met with a handful of Make A Difference volunteers who work with these children to help them realize their potential.
Throughout the day, participating children engaged in activities designed to help them become better leaders and communicators, as well as activities like drum circles to help them become more sensitive to their impact on those around them. The activities became even more meaningful when the First Lady joined them at the end of the program. She also spoke to the children about the importance of an education. "I didn't grow up with a lot of money," Mrs. Obama said, "I never imagined being the first lady of the United States. But because I had education, when the time came to do this, I was ready."
Mrs. Obama appreciated the work done by Make A Difference, towards educating underprivileged children and encouraged the students to dream big. "The truth is pretty soon the responsibility of building our future will fall on you. I believe you and your peers around the world are up to the challenge. All children regardless of their circumstances deserve the same chance to get educated and build a successful life."; she said.
"As an organization founded and run by youth, this day confirms our belief that if young people come together for a common cause, we can make a difference not just in our communities but the world over," said Jithin C. Nedumala, Managing Director of MAD. "We believe that the youth are stakeholders in society and we have power to make a difference; just by putting in a few hours of our time every week. Youth across India are realizing this. We thank Michelle Obama for being such an inspiration to our volunteers and kids by spending time with them."
"The First Lady's visit is an inspiration not just to the kids, but to all of us," said Tanmay Arora, President, MAD Mumbai and a student at Narsee Monjee Institute in Mumbai. "Our interactions were a reinforcement that we are on the right track. We hope this inspires more youth to come forward and make a difference."
"Two years back a bunch of Bhaiyas and Didis told me I could reach for the stars," said MAD student Poonam Raju from Sneha Sadan, Mumbai. "Today a star reached out to me. I would like to thank Mrs. Obama for making me believe I can."
About MAD
Make A Difference is founded in 2006 by a group of university students in the YMCA Boys Home in Cochin. The idea of youth led social change quickly caught on across India and MAD became India's fastest growing youth volunteer network. As of today, MAD reaches out to close to 2500 children in 10 cities through 800 trained volunteers. MAD is currently operating in Trivandrum, Cochin, Chennai, Bangalore, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi.
MAD's parent project is teaching communicative English, based on the Cambridge University English for Schools curriculum. Other projects include interactive library projects and experiential career awareness programs.
With an innovative technology integrated volunteer management system that has attracted international attention, MAD is proud to maintain a zero percent drop-out rate among its students. Every child that completes one year with MAD is able to comprehend and communicate in basic English. MAD's placement program keeps children aware of their career options and motivates them to stay in school.
Milestones:
* May 2006: MAD established in Kerala with 20 volunteers and 100 children.
* April 2007: Professional teacher training and leadership programs introduced.
* August 2008: MAD Expands to 4 more cities.
* Wins the Ashoka Global Youth Social Entrepreneur Award in Boston
* April 2009: MAD expands to 10 cities to become India's largest youth Teacher network.
* Wins the Indiya Shines Award and Karmaveer Puraskar
* April 2010: Partnered with Cambridge University and launched MAD Online Volunteer Management System, reducing costs and enabling large-scale growth.
* October 2010: Received the International Youth Foundation's YouthActionNet® Global Fellowship award from Nobel Peace Prize Laureate: Martti Ahtisaari
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