FIDA outreach programme today

Friends for India's Development and Assistance (FIDA), founded by students of 1984-86 batch of Loyola Junior College, Pune, to reach out to underprivileged sections of society, will perform at an outreach programme on Saturday at Poona Club.

Medical doctors from 'Lets Act' (Life Enrichment Through Science, Arts & Charity Trust), a charitable organisation that raises funds for treating the poor through their musical performances, are partners in the programme and will also perform.

FIDA undertakes 'special projects' every year. The initiatives included setting up a physiotherapy section for handicapped children at Pimpri-Chinchwad Apang Mitra Mandal and sponsoring midday meals for a year to encourage slum children to attend school at Utkarsh Apang Sanstha in Bhor taluka.

"The idea of FIDA was conceived during our 20th year reunion in 2005. A casual suggestion by a classmate, Dr Priya Nair, that we should give something back to society, had us rushing straight from the party to the outskirts of Pune in search of a cause that we could collectively work towards, " said Smita Diwase, senior member, FIDA.

"An 'adopt a school, adopt a village' model was envisioned with an aim to provide underprivileged children some measure of the life we shared at Loyola's. Success in the field of education could be leveraged into broader areas of health and sanitation, employment generation and social empowerment," added Diwase.

Several programmes have been initiated at Wadeshwar Ashramshala for tribal children in Maval Taluka. FIDA Foundation Scholarships for higher education are being provided to deserving students from Class X. Under the scholarship programme, students from Class VIII onwards are exposed to various career options available to them through career counseling programmes organised at the ashramshala. Recipients are also provided with a monthly pocket allowance .

Several students who belong to the families of landless labourers study in colleges such as the Government Polytechnic, Pune; MIT and VIT. Some of them have found employment in organisations like Sahyadri Hospital, Persistent Computer Systems and Tata Consultancy Services. FIDA has executed projects worth over Rs 28 lakh in the past seven years.

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