Volunteer Speak

Volunteer Speak - Sunil

Sunil Devda do not need much introduction here, as most of us already have met him in person or interacted with him one or another time. He is one among the few Engineering graduates who started Aashayein in 2007 along with his friends. He did his Engineering in Electronics & Communication from JSS Engg. College. He is working with Bosch India. His hobbies include listening to music, watching moving, hanging out with friends.

Sunil has been with Aashayein since its beginning and he has demonstrated a very high level of commitment. He is one of the trustees and heading Aashayein Foundation, Bangalore Chapter

Aashayein Foundation's Interview with Sunil.

AF: How did Aashayein Foundation got started?

Sunil: It was on 31st Dec, 2006 when I joined my Uncle and his friends in serving breakfast in Angels orphanage in Shivajinagar. For almost 4 years they have been serving breakfast in different places across Bangalore. And that day immediately after the breakfast serving I called up my friends to tell them what my uncle were doing and how about we guys doing the same thing. And following Sunday, the first Sunday of 2007, 20 of us visited Dena Sewa Sangha and Karanataka School of blind to serve breakfast. Then we looked at why not doing it next week also. And we continued. We kept inviting our friends and kept growing. It was sometime in April when we started thinking of registering our group. On May 19th of that year we formally registered as a NGO to solve the most fundamental element that could solve all the problems like corruption, population, politics, poverty, inequality and many such issues, which is Education.

AF: What/who inspired you to start it?

Sunil: The idea of breakfast serving was taken from my uncle and his friends. When we had started they had been serving breakfast for almost 4 years by then. And what kept us going were two things: one the privilege and the opportunity of giving back to society and second the response, the support that we received from all our friends. With each passing week many people joined us and that inspired me a lot.

AF: What motivates you to continue this work?

Sunil: The same two reasons. One, it's a privilege, an opportunity to contribute and make a difference. It's such a fulfilling experience when I get a call from a parent that the kid is performing well in the school and they are so grateful for us supporting their kid to go to school.

Two, the immense support we receive from all the volunteers. It's so inspiring to work with group of people who selflessly give their time, energy, money, commitment, dedication, passion and everything for this work.

AF: In four years, Aashayein have seen a good growth, more then 1500 Volunteers, served breakfast to approx 15k people, more then 5000 kids benefitted from various project, starting operations in Hyderabad and Mysore and many more achievements. How do you feel as one of the person who started it?

Sunil: heheJ it feels wow!

AF: What were the breakdowns AF has seen during this four year?

Sunil: Many breakdowns… first and foremost have been managing our biggest strength which is volunteering. Being a completely volunteer driven organization it has been a challenge to channelize the effort and contribution that volunteers put in. Right from managing finance to teaching on Saturdays in school to entering details of kids in excel, all the work so far has been done by volunteers. There have been times when we had more volunteers and not enough opportunities to contribute. And on the flip side we have also faced problem of having many things to do but not having enough volunteers.

Another challenge we face is as we grow how we can keep all the volunteers together and manage the activities.

AF: What we can expect in future from Aashayein?

Sunil: 1. First and foremost to reach out to many more kids, parents and teachers.

"role" based organization rather then "person" based organization. Meaning every volunteer has a role to play in realizing the future that we are out to fulfill.

3. A well planned and professional organization.

4. Stabilized processes and practices that will be a structure for sustaining and expanding the work.

5. An organization which is listening and supporting volunteers to take this work forward.

I am so happy and proud to be part of Aashayein Foundation. Aashayein Foundation has given me a platform where I can contribute and make a difference. Thanks for all them who have associated with Aashayein Foundation in some way or the other. It's a privilege to do this work and I love doing it J.