Sankalpa Members Speak

Members Speak...

Sankalpa: A Resolution To Make A Difference

Vinayak Naik
Janhavi Joshi
Kedar Kirane
Jayesh Jain
Anand Srivastava
Neha Malshe
Mukta Joshi
Nandan U. Ukidwe
Sandip Sriram Bapat
Sucheta Bhatawadekar
Prashant Nikam
Swapna and Ameya
Suja Rajan
Savitha K.

Mahatma Gandhi once said "Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it." Sankalpa gives me opportunities to do such insignificant things.

-Dr. Vinayak Naik , PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from The Ohio State University, Columbus. Currently at UCLA working as a Research Scientist.
Webpage: http://www.lecs.cs.ucla.edu/~naik/

"When Rama was trying to reach the island of Lanka for the rescue of his wife Seeta, the ocean stood between them and had to be crossed. While the monkeys were busy carrying huge stones and boulders, building a bridge to Lanka, a small squirrel was watching all this. She wanted to help Rama. Without thinking of her size, the squirrel started picking up the pebbles around and did all that she could to help Rama. As an award for her efforts she received those pretty stripes on her back from Rama."

I think Sankalpa has exactly the same attitude as the Squirrel’s in this story. Nobody is too insignificant to make a difference in the world. I am glad to meet The Sankalpees who have the similar attitude and the determination towards the great work of Sankalpa. I would be like to see The Sankalpa growing and keep up making a great contribution to the society.

-Janhavi Joshi , Currently pursuing PhD in Mathematics at The Ohio State University, Columbus.
Webpage: http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/~joshi

Working for Sankalpa is a unique experience indeed. From the perspective of a member, I feel very good when we display our culture in front of people from other countries during collection of funds by selling Indian ethnic items (anything from bindis to tasty food) in different cultural festivals. Along with this, there is a constant underlying feeling that all this is for a good cause and so it also gives me a feeling of satisfaction. Sankalpa is not a very big organisation, which I would like it to be, but still the motive is great and it’s nice to be a small part of it.

-Kedar Kirane , Currently pursuing Masters in Mechanical Engineering at The Ohio State University, Columbus.

Many of us want to help India develop, but we often end up doing nothing because we don't know where to start and how to proceed. Sankalpa is a wonderful avenue for putting your thoughts into action.

-Jayesh Jain , Currently pursuing PhD in Mechanical Engineering at The Ohio State University, Columbus.

It's a great pleasure to be part of the Team Sankalapa. All of us share a common passion and resolve for India's welfare which is very inspiring for me. And it's so encouraging to see that actually we are making a difference in whatever small way we can.

-Anand Srivastava , Currently pursuing PhD in Mechanical Engineering at The Ohio State University, Columbus.

"Winners don't do different things; they do things differently" (-Shiv Khera)Experimenting to do things differently at Sankalpa!!!

-Neha Malshe , Currently pursuing Masters in German at The Ohio State University, Columbus.

It’s a small organization of people who strongly believe in the idea of “Small is Beautiful”. We are interested in financing small micro level sustainable projects in our country. It might be difficult to change the future of the whole nation but its definitely not impossible to help at least a few who can help change our nation tomorrow. Our work might be small, but definitely not worthless.

- Mukta Joshi , PhD in Economics from The Ohio State University, Columbus.

I think Sankalpa is a movement initiated by a group of restless individuals at OSU. Our objective is to help fellow Indians who are in need. We hope that our motivation, determination and organization will make a difference.

-Dr. Nandan U. Ukidwe , PhD in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University, Columbus, Currently working for Solutia, Amherst, Massachusetts.

A Chinese proverb says "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". To me, Sankalpa is that first step - a step to get closer to our motherland. It is a resolution to no longer be a passive spectator but to make a positive contribution with the conviction that it will make a difference. To this end, we are involved with causes like education, health and hygiene, agriculture, etc that are most relevant in India.

However, to me, Sankalpa, is not all about contributing. In fact, I feel that we can get much more out of Sankalpa than we put in. Discussions on latest happenings and events, from politics to cricket matches help us keep in touch with what's happening back home. And the meetings provide us a sounding board to voice our ideas and opinions and learn about those of other people with diverse personalities and backgrounds.

I therefore feel that Sankalpa is a promise to strive for the betterment not only of others, but also of us.

-Dr. Sandip Sriram Bapat , PhD in Computer Science from The Ohio State University, Columbus.

Sankalpa is a decision made by a group of individuals, working as a team, to help the underprivileged in our home country. We are trying to make an effort to give back to the community, which has contributed for what we are today. I am sure that our contributions will make a difference because we are a team and team means.

Together Everyone Achieves More!

-Sucheta Bhatawadekar , Currently enrolled for Bachelor of Fine Arts Program from Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio.
Webpage: http://accad.osu.edu/~sbhatawa/

“Sankalpa” means resolution in Sanskrit. We are a group of highly motivated individuals at the Ohio State University, who want to make a difference back home in India. Philosophically, Sankalpa is self-sustaining concept and will perpetuate as individuals commit themselves to make a difference. Sankalpa can be one person committing himself/herself to contribute to the social development in India or may be a group committing themselves to contribute to the social development in India. Sankalpa will coordinate its projects through various non government organizations (NGOs), social service groups, and individual social workers in India. The main emphasis of Sankalpa is to focus on sustainable and micro-developmental projects in areas of education, health, sanitation, and agriculture.

- Prashant Nikam , PhD in Pharmaceutical Administration from The Ohio State University, Columbus.

We think that everybody at some point desires to give back something to his country. But quite often these desires or wishes go unrealized. For us, SANKALPA is the bridge between thought and action. SANKALPA is the place where we friends get together and think of ways in which we can make a difference. We believe that SANKALPA has positively contributed a lot in our lives.

-Dr. Swapna and Dr. Ameya Pitale , Swapna has done her MBBS in India and is currently pursuing her residency. Ameya has done PhD in Mathematics from The Ohio State University and currently is a visiting Assistant Professor in The Department of Mathematics at University of Oklahoma.
Webpage: http://www.math.ou.edu/~ameya/

Coming from a country that is a home to maximum number of racial and ethnic groups,
a country that has largely practiced democracy for the past 6000 years of human history except during times of foreign invasions,
a country that has seldom attacked another except for the purpose of self defense,
a country that measures assets in the form of spiritualism and not capital,
a country that has upheld mixed economy and moderation,

Coming from Bharat, I believe - Everybody should be given equal opportunities and well deserved but not equal rewards. Equal opportunities for mental, physical and social well being so that everyone is at par to begin with, at par to compete with each other, at par to contribute to the society, at par to achieve rewards as deserved by their efforts, and at par to attain self actualization.

In order to provide this equal opportunity humara sankalpa is to make sure that the less privileged sector has the opportunity to attain personal well being in the form of education, health and sanitation. And since charity begins at home we have begun it at home… our home… Bharat.

-Suja Rajan , Masters in Healthcare Administration from The Ohio State University, Columbus. (Go Bucks!)

Sankalpa is an enthusiastic group of motivated young students, who derive a sense of satisfaction in contributing to the society which we come from. Working with dedicated social workers and small NGOs, we understand that social service is all about commitment. We are constantly looking to encourage dedicated people to support them in their cause which happens to be ours too!

-Savitha Krishnamoorthy , Masters in Computer and Information Science from The Ohio State University, Columbus.

Sankalpa: A Resolution To Make A Difference