November, 2016
NEWS

# OVBI launches new Website

OVBI has launched a new website that not only has a fresh more beautiful look, but also gives more updated news about the organization's projects.





# Resurrecting Kashmir-  Peace Conference and Development Issues

This project is to provide a platform to diverse groups from Kashmir such as Women, Youth, Entrepreneurs, and persons who are both engaged and/or affected by militancy, apart from various stakeholders like Academia , Business Community, Youth Leaders, Media, Women working in Social Sector etc to share their views on the current situation and po nder over a peaceful solution and eventually come up with resolutions for a more peaceful and prosperous Kashmir. 

Action Plan 
  • The Conference is expected to generate the Path Ahead with the objectives of providing a Framework for
  • Identifying important parameters/ factors which will act as instruments of peace and prosperity
  • Promoting education, especially girls education
  • Promoting employment entrepreneurship ,skill development ,industry and sustainable livelihoods
  • Promoting Kashmiri art, culture, literature , poetry and music.
OVBI's larger goal is to strengthen the fabric of India and provide necessary support to hard hit people of Kashmir in field of education, grass root employment, entrepreneurship ideas, etc and we believe this conference may be the catalyst for these initiatives and we would like to support it from our end.



# Congratulations President-Elect Mr. Donald Trump
OVBI congratulates Mr Donald Trump on being elected to be the next President of United States of America. We look forward to continued building of relationship between India and US under his administration.

# OVBI Helps NRIs in Distress
OVBI helped get Indian hostages released from Nigerian hostages. Saumya and Vishwas's father was one of the four Indians abducted in Nigeria. They approached OVBI, and our volunteers quickly sprung into action, which ultimately helped get the hostages released.


"More than 24 hours had passed and my family and I were going through very challenging times as my father was one of the four Indians who got abducted for ransom in Nigeria.
I really want to thank OVBI volunteers who stood by our family in these adverse times and helped us in connecting with Indian Embassy in Nigeria, Minister of External Affairs India Shrimati Sushma Swaraj ji and other lawmakers in India through online twitter campaign.
I wish them all the best to continue taking the cause of the NRI community whenever anyone is in hour of distress." said Saumya & Vishwas




OVBI would like to thank all our volunteers Akshay, Sachin, Jitesh Vaswani, Anil Sharma, Om, Kalindi, Aravind Kallahally, and many more who helped and stood by Saumya and Vishwas' family when they needed the most.

OVBI will stay focused and committed for any NRI issues.

Please reach out to us anytime if you need help.


#  National Conference on Good Governance  2017 -  Then, Now and Beyond

Sri Sri University's  Department of Good Governance and Public Policy is organizing the first-of-its-kind National Conference on Good Governance  2017 - Then, Now and Beyond - utilizing the wisdom of the past to solve the problems of today to make a road map for the future.

More Info 



OVBI has been supporting Good Governance and Policy Making by helping young aspirants with scholarships, online training etc. 

You can participate by:

1) Submit your entries  http://www.ssuconference.in/Paper-Guidelines.html
2) Donate

# 
Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 
Jan 7-9 in Bengaluru


The 14th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD)  is a Government of India initiative to engage and celebrate the contributions of Indian diaspora has been gaining more popularity with each year. 
This year's theme "Redefining the engagement with Indian diaspora" reinforces the mission of PBD.

The main PBD will be on January 8 and 9, with a keynote by Prime Minster of India, Shri Narendra Modi. 
President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee will confer Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards on January 9.

Some new features of this year's PBD are:

(a) Optional Industrial Visits for delegates on January 7 and 10, in and around Bengaluru.

(b) B2B meetings with Government officials, other delegates and exhibitors.

(c) Exhibition at PBD - showcasing Flagship Programs of the Government; opportunities in States of India, Corporate Sector and Public Sector Undertakings; Schemes and Progams for NRIs and PIOs; and Indian Handicraft and Culture Bazaar.

(d) Special (optional) sightseeing tours - organized by Karnataka Tourism.


It will be wonderful if more NRIs attend PBD and get involved in the rebuilding of India.


PROJECT UPDATES

Project India Water

OVBI Team Takes the Delta Water Walk Tour

OVBI's water initiatives team in SFBA took a tour organized by the  Santa Clara Valley Water District to understand how water is sourced in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The tour also gave the team an understanding of the best practices around water management.






  
Project Udaan  

3D drawing of Udaan building.

A pilot project creating a "Safe Haven" for children of sex workers in the Sonagachi red light area in Kolkata. OVBI is working for them to lead a normal childhood, safe from the real dangers of the flesh trade. 
Below is the the 3D drawings for the Udaan building. The building on the left will be the school where local village children will also be able to attend. The building on the right will be the hostel for our girls.



Other activities: Railnet donated TV computers, Tree plantation event was organizedA dispensary clinic is run thrice a week.


Project Adopt a Village 

Adopt a village and help them provide basic necessities and uplift the lives of the people. OVBI has been instrumental in starting these projects in more than 10 villages. 

Thirupanagadu Village, Vembakkam Taluk, Tiruvannamalai District, Tamilnadu 
Project Lead: Shreedhar Thuljaram


Challenges:
  • Village community dropping agriculture and moving to working in the nearby factories
  • Lack of pure drinking water due to the pollution from the chemicals from the nearby factories
  • Youths moving to urban areas for better skills/employment
  • Lack of toilets which leads to open defecation
  • Lack of employment for the ladies as they do not possess any other skills other than agriculture
  • Behavioral issues/bad habits of students in the village
  • Except one or two farmers all are practicing chemical farming
  • Almost 95% in the village are hybrid cows
Plans (Immediate)
  • Donate 20-30 cows initially for selected villagers and create a society of Indigenous cow owners and help them sell their milk in a better price
  • Conduct workshops for all farmers to improve their yields and also slowly help them to shift to organic farming
  • Life skills and behavioral skills workshops for all the 300+ children in the village
  • Youth Leadership Training Programs for youth empowerment
  • Skill Development Center for 40 ladies to teach tailoring / embroidery / computers /jute bag making etc.
  • Construct 50 toilets this year to reduce the cases of open defecation

Donate     Volunteer   


Project Indian Army Martyr Funds

OVBI takes the initiative to help our soldiers and their families as a small gesture towards the heroic lives and sacrifice for the country.

Help educate the children of brave Indian Soldiers who gave up their lives protecting our families and homes back in India. OVBI is a 501 c3 organization based in US and the entire money raised will go to support the education of these children.


Project Surajya

OVBI has partnered with SSU ( Sri Sri University, Orissa) for their program - School of Good Governance 

SSU is in the process of signing MOUs to develop partnerships with various MPs and MLAs so that the graduate students can get the practical training and experience. 
Eg. - East Delhi MP - Mr Maheish Giri's office gave an internship opportunity to many students for the training on the policies and work culture in the political offices.
OVBI with SSU are planning to take it to next level by setting up research in policy making which will need lot of funding. please support efforts by donating.
 
 Donate  Volunteer  Project Info     

Project - Know our India

Know more about India's untold history, scientific outlook, vedic traditions, amazing facts and more on our educational portal. The land of diversity with rich history has lots of information to share and take pride in. 

Topics include: Ayurveda, Sanskrit, Untold  History, Science and Innovation, Vedic Maths etc.

Donate       Project Info    

Project Saarthi

Become a mentor to a student or professional aspirant and help them achieve their goals by teaching them to navigate through the obstacles of professional life. One will mentor in the area of their expertise and share the knowledge and experience with the student.
This project has so far provided mentors to many students from the MBA batch at Sri Sri University. It is uniquely positioned to support other universities in remote parts of India, where students truly need a helping hand to launch themselves in the professional world.

Festive Greetings from OVBI

OVBI is Thankful to its members and volunteers for their dedication, talent, time and service for past 3 years
We will continue to work towards Making India of Our Dreams.

Happy ThanksGiving.