Indo American News • Friday, April 29, 2011 11
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Friday, April 29 2011 | Vol. 30, No. 17
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Pratham Gala Raises $700,000 to Benefit Literacy in India Education A Powerful Weapon to Change the World
Pratham Houston President Sonu Anand receiving an award from Swatantra Jain, President elect. Photo: Jenny Antill
Performances make the PSH’s Vaisakhi a Hit!
By Kalyani Giri HOUSTON: Over 600 from a cross section of this city’s diverse communities gathered at the Pratham Houston Gala 2011 and helped raise $700, 000 to benefit literacy in India. The event, held at the Westin Galleria on the evening of April 23, illumined the non-profit organization’s crucial role in arming millions of children in rural and urban areas of India with an education that would help them escape the grim cycle of poverty and exploitation. Pratham, a recent recipient of the
prestigious 2011 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, was fêted for its innovative approach to education; the award comes with three-year $1,235,000 grant from the Skoll Foundation to create an institution dedicated to identifying, training, and nurturing leaders and managers who will continue to further Pratham programs and strengthen efforts in education in India. Pratham, started in the slums of Mumbai in 1994 by its prolific founder Madhav Chavan, operates under the dictum of every child in school and learning
Sathya Sai Baba Passes Away
well and has garnered a global support system of generous aficionados that embrace the organization’s vision. “I’m often asked why I became involved with Pratham and the reason is quite simple. Education is the greatest equalizer,” said Sonu Anand, President of Pratham Houston. “In 2007, I visited Pratham schools in Bhopal and was greatly inspired by these kids. They were all eager to become doctors, engineers, and teachers. A very vivacious continued on page
This Week Inside
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Ekal Vidyalaya Meets 1000 Schools Goal
(Right) Over 40 children performed the Gajda Wajda Punjab number. Top: the Rangla Punjab fashion show was eyecatching
Volunteers lift the casket containing the body of Indian religious leader Sathya Sai Baba for his last rites in the Prasanthi Nilayam and since the hall was still filling Ashram in Puttaparti, India, Wednesday, April 27. Thousands of By Jawahar Malhotra HOUSTON: A few minutes into up, with many audience members tearful devotees, including top politicians, gathered Wednesday the opening acts of the Vaisakhi still trickling even 30 minutes after for the funeral of Baba, one of India’s best-known Hindu ascetics 2011 production, the onstage the- curtain call, many did not get a who was revered as a divine incarnation with miraculous healing powers. atrics ran into a technical hitch continued on page 3 more photos on page 14 Indo American News • Friday, APRIL 29, 2011 • Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com
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Catching Up with Sanjaya Malakar
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A Past Connected by the Indian Rairoads
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