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MAD-Make a Difference

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MAD, Make a Difference is a youth run organisation that works towards the welfare of kids in Indian shelter homes. The organisation has been running for ten years now and one of the biggest objectives of MAD is to spread awareness about the conditions of children living in shelter homes and trying to bring them at par with children from normal families and homes by providing them with the same opportunities.

‘Madsters’ as the workers like to call themselves, celebrate MAD Week every year in the first week of November,  the anniversary of the formation of the organisation. This week is elebrated with great fervour with the conduction of many community events which are done with the aim of spreading happiness and expressing gratitude towards people who work along with the ‘Madsters’-  media personnel covering events,  authorities in shelter homes who work towards providing the best for kids from the shelter homes and ofcourse fellow ‘madsters.’

MAD completed ten years in November 2016 and decided to keep up with the practice of community events. A jam session was held in Central Park on Saturday, November 5th where people came to enjoy the company and celebrate the spirit of music together. On Sunday, November 6th an event, ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ was conducted where enthusiastic volunteers from the team went around Connaught Place giving free hugs, balloons and High-fives to complete strangers and thus spreading the message, “From giving, we all receive.”

Image Credits-  MAD Team

Akshara Srivastava
[email protected]

Make A Difference (MAD) Delhi hosted its first Dream Camp for girls at Chattravas shelter home in East of Kailash this weekend. As the name suggests, the purpose of the camp was to motivate the children to dream bigger – aim higher. It was meant to encourage them to think about their future, set tasks for themselves and work hard towards achieving their goals.

Catering to 136 girls, the day started with a treasure hunt. Filled with puzzles and games, it was a great way to get the girls excited about the day. The first event of the day was a motivational talk by Dr. Mukesh Sethia, who told them various stories and taught them how to deal with day-to-day problems like stress, anger, hopelessness, etc.

Following this was a very interesting talk by Wing Commander Anupma Monga, who talked to the girls about her own life, how she decided to join the Air Force, what all challenges she faced, and how she overcome them. The girls were inspired by her story; they wanted to know more about their future options, especially in the government and defence forces. After this, people from the Corporate Executive Board came, who told them about various other professions such as singing, dancing, art, etc. They encouraged the students to think about entrepreneurship; each of them was made to think of an idea for a business they would want to start.

It was not all talk and no show; the talks were followed by the event Limitless Ramp organised by NIFT, who enlightened the girls about careers in the fashion industry. The girls were divided into groups and told to design a costume for their ‘MAD teacher’. Once their design was complete, they were given some fake currency, and told to buy materials from a market that had been set up in the room, and make the costume. The girls were ecstatic! The day didn’t end here. They had a Cultural Extravaganza, where they were taught about other countries: their language, their food, their dresses, etc. The last event of the day was AD MAD – where the girls made products about of waste material and advertised it for sale through a jingle.

The event was a great success, and the girls wanted a camp every month. A couple of them talked about joining the police, doing computer design and becoming a teacher, etc. The dream camp lived up to its name – it helped the girls realise that dreams can come true. A round of applause to the entire team of MAD!

 

Adita Bhatia
[email protected]