MMF Newsletter | Oct 13, 2021 | Vol 2021.3
Message from the founder
చిన్నారుల్లో ఉండే సృజనాత్మకతని ప్రదర్శించే అవకాశం వారికి సరి అయిన సమయం లో అందించడం పెద్దవాళ్లుగా మన కనీస కర్తవ్యం. అందుకే వారి ఆలోచనలకి అద్దం పట్టే అంశాలతో కూడిన "చిత్రలేఖన" మరియు "వ్యాస రచన" పోటీలని MMF 5 వ వార్హికోత్సవాన్ని పురసకరించుకుని ఆగష్టు 15 న ప్రారంభించడం జరిగింది. ఎప్పటినుంచో ప్రారంభించాలనుకుంటున్నా, ఈ మంచి పనికి బీజం మాత్రం కరోనా ఉపద్రవంతో ప్రత్యక్ష సేవ కార్యక్రమాలని నిర్వర్తించలేని సమయంలోనే పడింది. సంక్లిష్ట సమయంలోనూ నిబ్బరంగా కార్యక్రమాల్ని రూపొందించి, అమలు చేసిన మన ఎగ్జిక్యూటివ్ కమిటీ మెంబెర్ల నిబద్ధతకు మరో తార్కాణం ఈ "చిత్రలేఖన మరియు వ్యాసరచన" పోటీల నిర్వహణ. ఇందుకు అన్ని విధాలుగా సహకరించిన తల్లితండ్రులకు, విద్యార్థులకు, మరీ ముఖ్యంగా వారి అమూల్యమైన సమయాన్ని మాకిచ్చిన ఈ పోటీల న్యాయనిర్ణేతలు Dr. ఫణీత వేదూరి, కణతం సుజాత మరియు కొంకటి సందీప్ కుమార్ గార్లకు మా హృదయపూర్వక కృతజ్ఞతలు. విజేతలుగా నిలిచిన చిన్నారులకు అభినందనలు!
- శ్రీని జి.
MMF Education - Successful Completion of Summer Intellectual Empowerment Program (IEP), June - August 2021
The MMF is happy to announce the successful and fulfilling completion of its pilot MMF Intellectual Empowerment Program this summer. The meager goals set for the program were to broaden the horizons of kids’ minds through observation, experimentation, discussion, and relating topics they read in textbooks to happenings in the practical world. The first half of the one-hour sessions were student-led and they discussed any topic under the sun they felt interesting - interests in life, making the earth a better place, sportsmanship support for underrepresented communities, crafts, movies, stories, etc. The second half was conducted by the MMF volunteers and guest speakers. Live science experiments that demonstrated magnetism, capillary actions, soap-fat interactions, how lungs work, etc. instilled a sense of practical view of how the world works in middle- and high-school kids. Guest speakers talked about topics such as sustainable nuclear energy for the masses, practical use of matrices in mathematics, how curdling of milk works, light as an electromagnetic form of energy, etc.
The students showed overwhelming enthusiasm and interest in participating in the program and requested the MMF to conduct more of these sessions, providing us the motivation to conduct more of such programs in the future. The 11 participants in the program came from diverse backgrounds and made much cherished and value-added contributions to the sessions. The MMF wishes to thank all participants heartfully for being a part of the program. Additionally, huge kudos to the MMF volunteers - Lavanya Vallabhaneni garu, Pavan Allaparthi garu, Iowa State University graduate students Srujana Vaddepally and Dileep Aravapalli, guest speakers Teja garu, and Chandan Ghosh garu for their time and effort in planning and conducting the sessions, and also challenging the students with thought-provoking discussions.
The MMF plans to introduce more offerings of the program in the next few months. Please feel free to reach out to us if you wish to volunteer or if your children might be interested to participate in a future Intellectual Empowerment program offering.
MMF Anniversary Event - Drawing and Essay Writing Competitions
As the MMF approached its fifth birthday, we wished to celebrate our journey by conducting drawing and essay writing competitions for various age groups. We hoped to spread the word about our mission and we received warm and encouraging responses as evident in the submissions for the competitions. The MMF is excited to announce the winners of the competition in this newsletter.
Winners for essay writing competition:
Age group 9 - 12 yrs:
- 1st place: Suvan Kalivarapu
- 2nd place: Manasvi Dhanekula
- 3rd place: Sreenithya Dasari
Age group 13 - 16 yrs:
- 1st place: Sreehith Baruri
- 2nd place (tie): Lasya Kodukula and Srivishnu Boddu
Ages 17 yr and above:
- 1st place: Devada Chittmani
Winners for drawing competition:
Age group 5 - 8 yrs:
- 1st place: Deeva Ira Govind
- 2nd place: Raaga Dhanekula
- 3rd place: Kria Kalivarapu
Age group 9 - 12 yrs:
- 1st place: Himavarshitha Mandala
- 2nd place: Manasvi Dhanekula
- 3rd place: Thanmaya Shree Aspana
Age group 13 - 17 yrs:
- 1st place: Gayatri Tirri
- 2nd place: Sai Sahil Tamarapalli
- 3rd place: Meghana Danturi
The MMF heartily congratulates the winners and wishes them the best. The winners will be contacted soon to arrange for prize distribution. The decision-making for the competition entries proved a challenge for the judges because of the exceptional talent shown by all participants.
MMF Initiative - Supporting a family to set up a water purification small-scale business
The MMF was successfully able to procure donations in the amount of Rs. 70,000/- to procure biofertilizer for a 4-acre farm owned by an enterprising farmer Venu Polisetti in Chodavaram. We provided the details of this project in our previous newsletter. We wish to thank the patrons for supporting the cause.
The Indian middle class largely comprises skilled/unskilled who are either employed or self-employed. The two waves of coronavirus have left this section vulnerable to innumerable financial stress due to lockdowns and restrictions. This resulted in an unfortunate situation where they can neither ask for financial help nor get an opportunity to live without compromising on their dignity.
A family that has two young school-going children approached the MMF requesting support for setting up a family-owned small-scale business (కుటీర పరిశ్రమ). The family wishes to set up a water purifying plant to provide clean drinking water locally. Doing so will help them self-sustain while also earning just enough to send their children to school. As the business grows, there will be a likelihood of providing more employment opportunities locally. The MMF team vetted them by visiting and having conversations to better understand their circumstances and their needs. The MMF also interfaced with the company from where they wish to purchase equipment and made an assessment for viability in terms of the family's capability and equipment operation in the longer run. Learning that this project is viable, the MMF has decided to take this on and support the family in providing the capital required to procure the equipment. The project's cost is Rs. 4,15,000/- (~ USD 6,000). We humbly request the patrons to donate to the family so they can lead a happy life.
Please click here for details about the project and donations.
https://35.239.148.43/projects-and-initiatives/
If you are interested in volunteering to help with this program or any of our other MMF activities, please reach out to us via this Google form https://forms.gle/iRnwkAGwZXPoiCyy6. We always welcome new volunteers and we promise that it will be a fun-filled and exhilarating experience getting involved in our initiatives.
MMF is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization under the internal revenue code, with federal tax ID 81-3554636, and any donations you make in the USA are tax-deductible.
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