Category Archives: Volunteering

June 16, 2015 · 3:13 pm

Launching the Khelshala Computer Learning Center

Another objective during my service trip was to set up the Khelshala Computer Learning Center. I am pleased to report today that 10 Khelshala students under the guidance of Ms. Rajvinder, the new Khelshala computer teacher have now joined the digital age. During their first class, the students learned elementary computing concepts.

This achievement was largely due to the synergistic teamwork between Khelshala and the State Bank of India. Thanks to a grant from the State Bank of India, Khelshala was able to purchase 5 desktops and 3 laptops. Moreover, Satinder Bajwa’s (Founder and Trustree of Khelshala) visionary leadership made the project happen.

First Class of students at the Khelshala Computer Learning Center donated by State Bank of India.

First Class of students at the Khelshala Computer Learning Center donated by State Bank of India.

Prem Chander, the Khelshala squash coach who was originally trained as an electrician, did all the wiring of electrical sockets in the Center, while my role was to provide support with anything that needed to get done. Among other things, this ranged from painting the Center, supervising delivery of equipment, designing signage and interviewing computer teachers.

Personally, this was a very satisfying project to work on given my prior professional experiences in applying information and communications technologies to the challenges of sustainable development. To have played a small part in the country of my origin was equally gratifying. The lesson learned from this experience is that one should not discard one’s early professional experiences as they can help inform future ones. Cheers to learning and growth!

Leave a comment

Filed under Capacity Buidling, Community Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Education, Gender, International Development, Leadership, Networking, Philanthropy, Volunteering, Youth Development

June 10, 2015 · 4:29 pm

Reflecting and Teaching About Life Through Sport

One of my objectives during my time at Khelshala is to provide direct teaching, coaching and mentoring to the children. As such during the academic component of the day, the Tutors and I facilitate a 15-minute reflection exercise 3 times a week. The rationale behind doing these exercises is to enable the children as well as the Tutors to feel greater ownership for Khelshala and themselves.

We just completed our third week of these exercises with a few initial positive results. At first, the students were reluctant to share their thoughts openly in a group setting on why Khelshala is important, how the program helps and what they can do to improve their experiences.

IMG_0850

After feedback from the staff, we decided to capture their attention by incorporating physical and vocal inter-play. Much to our surprise, during the second week Anand, one of the younger and quieter boys spontaneously led the entire group in a Hindi song while the rest of the group were waving their hands in the air from side to side! It was a great moment in confidence building for Anand and the group.

Upon further feedback from the Director of Academics we decided to use my workbook “What Squash Can Teach You,” to focus on practicing English by reading in front of the group and facilitating a reflective question and answer session. Without sounding too biased I am impressed by the children’s ability to interpret and comprehend what squash means to them. Personally, it is very rewarding to hear and see the students absorb life skills through sport.

Leave a comment

Filed under Capacity Buidling, Coaching, Education, Gender, Leadership, Peace Building, Psycho-Social Support, Volunteering, Youth Development, Youth Sport

January 23, 2015 · 4:32 pm

Concord Academy Students Engage in Sustainable Food Systems

During the past week, I was fortunate to chaperone two service events with Concord Academy students. The first event was spearheaded by Concord Academy Students in Action (CASA), a student club where 8 students traveled to Littleton, MA and prepared 18 trays of lasagna for Open Table, a food pantry serving the Metrowest area of Boston. Thanks to Iris Oliver and her family for hosting us.

Building on the theme for sustainable food, later in the week, I chaperoned a group of 10 students on a 3-hour service trip to The Food Project in Lincoln, Massachusetts that brings together youth, food and community. Our group received a brief orientation and then divided up into groups to “break-up,” drop and plant scallions.

CA students were also working in collaboration with youth from the City of Boston and together were able to plant 10,000 scallions of different varieties. Thanks to Tim Laird, Director of Agriculture and his team at The Food Project for enabling Concord Academy students to learn about the values of team work, service and the volunteer spirit.

Leave a comment

Filed under Community Development, Education, Leadership, Networking, Philanthropy, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering, Youth Development

January 21, 2015 · 8:49 pm

Kidsquash Completes 8th Season with Smiles

Since the 2004 pilot of Kidsquash, we marked the completion of the 8th Kidsquash season with ten students from the Greater Boston community. They played in a friendly round robin under the supervision of Laura Gemmell, a Harvard senior and 4-time All-American on the women’s varsity squash team, Octavio Chiesa, a volunteer peer coach and myself.

Beginner junior squash players make progress at Kidsquash.

Beginner junior squash players make progress at Kidsquash.

From October 2012 to March 2013, Kidsquash students gathered for Saturday morning recreational squash clinics. Thanks to donations from the Harvard Athletics Department, we were able to recognize 4 students who are newcomers to the sport with Harvard squash apparel. These students were – Megan Yoh (Best Female Player), Seamus Buckley (Most Improved Player), Will Gladstone (Most Valuable Player) and Samuel Esquivel (Sportsmanship Award).

Many thanks to Luke Hammond, Lead Coach for Kidsquash , Mike Way, Head Squash Coach at Harvard and Coach Bajwa, Founder of Kidsquash for their guidance and support of the program. Also, thank you to Kidsquash parents and sponsors for making it a great season!

Leave a comment

Filed under Coaching, Community Development, Education, Gender, Leadership, Recreation, Squash, Volunteering, Youth Development, Youth Sport

January 9, 2015 · 7:17 pm

Bringing Change Through Private-Public Partnerships

Just over 10 years ago, I embarked on a journey to Africa to serve as a United Nations Volunteer in Uganda to help strengthen and expand the Cisco Networking Academy Program across secondary schools, technical colleges and universities with an emphasis on gender equity and workforce development. I shot some of the footage from Uganda for the video below that was shown at the 2003 Africa Forum in Dakar, Senegal.

Fast forward 10 years later the explosion of social media and computer networking is continuing to rapidly bring about economic and social change in developing countries. While I am yet to return to Uganda to see the long term impact of the Cisco Least Developed Countries Initiative, I am grateful to Ugandan and non-Ugandan volunteers, colleagues and friends for sharing a pivotal growth experience. Moreover, the lessons that the emerging sport for development and peace sector can learn is that private-public partnerships can spur innovation.

Leave a comment

Filed under Capacity Buidling, Community Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Education, Foreign Policy, Gender, International Development, Leadership, Networking, Philanthropy, Poverty, Private Public Partnerships, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering, Youth Development

January 6, 2015 · 4:58 pm

Concord Academy Students Donate Blankets to Homeless Mothers and Children

As one of two advisors to Concord Academy Students in Action (CASA), a student club for community service, I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Dorchester, Massachusetts to deliver 37 fleece blankets made by the students for the Brookview House, a community setting serving homeless mothers and children.

Concord Academy Students in Action (CASA) members with fleece blankets for homeless mothers and children.

Concord Academy Students in Action (CASA) members with fleece blankets for homeless mothers and children.

Since September of 2012, CASA has been busy with organizing bake sales, fundraising for the critically ill and more recently making fleece blankets. CASA students met for approximately an hour a week to execute these initiatives with energy and enthusiasm.

Donating Fleece Blankets to Brookview House in Dorchester, MA.

Donating Fleece Blankets to Brookview House in Dorchester, MA.

Concord Academy Students in Action (CASA) members with fleece blankets for homeless mothers and children.

It was a team effort, with my colleague Susan Flink, an experienced biology teacher who led Concord Academy students to quickly mobilize themselves to rally for a good cause. The all round feel good factor for these student-projects raises morale and builds character. Stay tuned to learn about more CASA projects in 2013. Happy Holidays everyone!

Leave a comment

Filed under Capacity Buidling, Community Development, Education, Homelessness, Leadership, Philanthropy, Poverty, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering

January 1, 2015 · 7:18 pm

Concord Academy Students Helping Local Senior Citizens

Today I had the pleasure of being one of 5 chaperones on a 5-hour service trip where approximately 40 Concord Academy students volunteered to assist senior citizens in Concord, MA in association with the Council on Aging. Chaperones and students split up into small groups around various sites in the town.

Concord Academy Students in Action in Concord, MA

Concord Academy Students in Action in Concord, MA

Tasks included yard work, moving furniture and weather stripping. The seniors appreciated the students’ assistance, especially since it created savings for many who are on fixed incomes and have seen real estate costs rise significantly. The students benefited from the service in that it was a way for them to learn more about their neighborhood and interact with the elderly.

Grateful senior Concord resident with Concord Academy students.

Grateful senior Concord resident with Concord Academy students.

Concord Academy students have created a buzz around the town through this outreach and will continue to do so with other service activities planned for the remainder of the academic year. Overall, one cannot help feel proud and happy for the students who are learning well, by doing good.

Leave a comment

Filed under Community Development, Education, Leadership, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering

December 30, 2014 · 4:15 pm

Concord Academy Students Conduct Thanksgiving Appeal for Critically Ill

This post is driven by my role as a co-advisor to the Concord Academy Students in Action (CASA), a student club for community service. Since the beginning of last month, CASA has been engaged in a Thanksgiving appeal called “Pie in the Sky” to benefit the critically ill and homebound in the Boston area.

Pie_in_the_Sky

Thus far students and parents at Concord Academy have made purchases from Community Servings, the non-profit, food and nutrition program providing services throughout Massachusetts to individuals and families living with critical and chronic illnesses. Caroline Stotz, a sophomore at the Academy has enabled online purchases thereby making the appeal open to all who feel moved to contribute to this cause.

CASA is still selling pies for Pie in the Sky through the first few weeks of November. You can purchase pies here, then pick up your pie before Thanksgiving to make a personal delivery to a sick neighbor or have the pie delivered, on your behalf, to a Community Servings client. Feel free to spread the word!

Leave a comment

Filed under Community Development, Education, Leadership, Philanthropy, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering

December 28, 2014 · 6:01 pm

Backing the Squash Bid for 2020 Olympics

In honor of the 2012 World Squash Day, we celebrated by kicking off the 2012-13 Kidsquash season with 15 juniors just beginning their foray into the great game of squash. Lead Coach Luke Hammond, a former coach at SquashBusters along with Octavio Chiesa, a former Kidsquash participant who has returned to volunteer coach this season both brought their energy and enthusiasm to give the beginners a good start.

Kidsquash Backing the 2020 Bid

Kidsquash Backing the 2020 Bid

Later in the evening, I returned to Concord Academy to screen the documentary film called “Keep Eye on Ball: The Hashim Khan Story.” It was an educational experience for Concord Academy students to learn about the legacy of the Khan dynasty as well as the historical origins of squash and how the sport emerged. At Concord Academy, my predecessor was Enamullah Khan, an accomplished squash coach and member of the Khan dynasty.

Keep_Eye_On_the_Ball

Even though the numbers of participants for both events were low they did play a part in shaping the bigger picture.  Today over 20,000 squash players mobilized across the world to back the bid for inclusion of squash into the 2020 Olympics. Hopefully the International Olympic Committee will respond favorably to this campaign to rightfully include a truly global sport.

Leave a comment

Filed under Coaching, Community Development, Education, Leadership, Olympic, Paralympic, Squash, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering, Youth Development, Youth Sport

December 28, 2014 · 2:16 am

Witnessing Sport and Development Unfold Before One’s Eyes

My travels in India would not be complete without paying a visit to Khelshala, a sport-based youth development program founded and led by Coach Bajwa, my former college squash coach, colleague and dear friend. Khelshala celebrated its third year anniversary on August 13th, 2012 as covered by the Indian Express with the opening of a new tennis program on a 4-acre facility in Village Majra, a rural area near Chandigarh.

Khelshala Tennis program in Village Majra

Khelshala Tennis program in Village Majra

This was my 3rd visit in 4 years to Chandigarh and can say with confidence I have seen first-hand how Coach Bajwa has transformed Khelshala and the community through sport. The photo above was taken during a visit to the Majra facility where 100 village children from low-income families were learning tennis for the first time. Furthermore, it has been 3 years since the squash, academics and yoga activities have been taking place at Village Attawa and the results are beginning to show.

Khelshala is a non-governmental organization (NGO) and a registered charity that relies on the goodwill of donors, volunteers and friends. As a founding member of Khelshala, I am proud to be associated with the organization and plan to continue to assist remotely until a future trip materializes. Overall, my 3-day visit to Khelshala was short on time, but long on inspiration.

Leave a comment

Filed under Capacity Buidling, Coaching, Community Development, Education, International Development, Leadership, Philanthropy, Planning, Squash, Volunteering, Youth Development, Youth Sport