To the winners and the winners!

29 September, 2011.- The D-Day for all C2P participants. After days of hardwork, late night researching and field visits, the day finally arrived.
  The event kickstarted with sweaty, shivering hands and frequent visits to the loo, progressed with the 13 teams coming up with a myriad of ideas, from agriculture to art, to alternative energy sources and drug addiction, we saw it all, and it all ended with a bunch of smiling faces.
  Kudos to all participants! And our heartiest congratulations to all the three winning teams..you guys deserved every bit of it! One message for Arushi, Shreyasi and Shruti, 3 of our SIFE freshers who were adjudged one of the winning teams...SUPER PROUD OF U GUYS!
 C2P proved to be a great learning experience for all us freshers, being more than a mere competition, it left us enriched  with lessons valued by all budding entrepreneurs.
  They say you win some and you lose some...but C2P has been all about winning..hearts, friends, experience and of course the grants...:)

Time to Rise and Shine!

    We have lows too...In SIFE while we work on a project, we put in all our heart and soul in that, (...having a first-hand experience of that while working for C2P), but there are those occasions when something or the other doesn't work out, we have a mental block when the faculties of the mind just refuse to suggest something, compelling us to doubt our presence in SIFE. But our SIFE team is such that the shortcomings of one is made up for by the virtues of another and vice-versa. SIFE is a melting pot of ideas and the latest
development in Aahaar proves me right...
    Aahaar is ready for trials on Monday for a factory and we have our fingers crossed. After a bleak period, Aahaar, the baby of all our second years is finally getting its dues...
    It is a great motivation for all us freshers reminding us of what Churchill once said.."Kites rise highest against the wind-not with it."
"GO AAHAAR! GO AAHAAR! GO AAHAAR!"

Are we in or are we not?

 

  Well...the probation period has finally ended...and the one question that is troubling each of the freshers is..."Dude...I hope they haven't chucked me out!"
   Talking of probation...following were the changes that freshers underwent when they awoke to the idea that.."Dude...I COULD...AFTER ALL.. be chucked out!"
1) Firstly those freshers who were...not a long while back looked upon as epitomes of tardiness, alarmingly started reaching before time on all SIFE meetings!
2) Another alarming activity was noticed. Seniors were almost pestered to assign work to the freshers and Surabhi was often heard pacifying people with the line.."Dont worry! We are not going to chuck you out just because WE didnt give you a chance to work!"
3) Then, all those who, earlier, conveniently made up for their lack of response to the mails sent to them by innocently stating, "Actually...my net crashed," were found checking their mails as much as five times a day! Phew!

4) Even the quitest of freshers were found grabbing one senior or another and outpouring all that they gathered from the research they did..sometimes even making imaginary problems to prove they had been working!

    This is the quality of SIFE. It keeps us on our toes. It teaches us to value time. It instillls in us what is called professionalism...But all said and done...the question still remains..."Are we in or are we not?"

...And this is what SIFE does to you!.

                                             

  SIFE- An international organization that promotes social entrepreneurship amongst students..Mark my words!..SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP!..And not mere charity is what we stand for..

  Just about two months ago, I was a commoner, a good Samaritan, a god-fearing citizen...but at the end of the day.."a commoner.” Whenever I would pass by a beggar on the road, I would...like any ordinary person does, promptly reach for my wallet and toss a penny or two in the beggar’s hat. Hat? A correction there.. In India we do not have hats..vintage aluminium bowls is what you will toss your penny in! The person would smile at me and I would gladly go my way thinking I have done a great job. Oh! There would be no other person on this planet Earth as righteous as me!

   Two months later…I still come across the same limping men whining on the pavement, abandoned old women still catch my eye…But I am a changed person now! Now, the first thing that strikes my mind is..Can this be our next community? I stand there contemplating…how can we employ them? How can we help them so that we do not find them again on this pavement? Once on my way back home I encountered a blind man on the road…I almost roped him in an interview…but realizing after the first couple of questions that a world without light was no fun for him…the way it intrigued me…I let him go…but that was not it!
  On my way I kept pondering how can I bring light to worlds of people like him…whether we could add a meaning to their lives…and the quest is still on…

    So THIS is what SIFE does to you…or at least has done to me. We start where other people stop. And I hope this spirit never dies…

...And the racking of brains begins!

       

  "I think we should go for this community, we can really come up with a path-breaking model!"
  "No, but what if...?"
  "Did you speak to this NGO?"
  "What is their group doing?"
  "GOOGLE IT!"
 
   Above is just an excerpt from what you will overhear students saying nowadays to one another if u happen to sit in the library, canteen and many other nooks and corners of the campus.
  The groundwork for C2P has begun and the campus is abuzz with discussions, counter discussions, field-visits..and the very air is breathing enthusiasm. As posted earlier, C2P Case Grant Competition is an amazing
opportunity for students to test their entrepreneurial skills. Talking about entrepreneurial skills..(clears throat)
I would really like to appreciate the efforts put in by our seniors over these years, as now that we have got cracking with research, new ideas..we are realising what an uphill task it is to come up with a business model addressing a social cause. But, as Kahlil Gibran has very beautifully put- "The lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul.", we are not going to get daunted by the apparent enormity of the task!
  We are communicating with people we have never communicated with before, in the process of researching, we are also finding ourselves more and more enlightened with the problems being faced by the deprived sections of the society, we are fostering new friendships and having pure fun!
  Amidst all this, we met Shruti ma'am, the Chief Co-ordinator of Sife in North India. The vivacious lady that she is and the way she encouraged us, we are extremely happy to have her as our mentor.
  So, fuelling ourselves with chocolates and momos..we are all set to push the envelope further and hope we come off with flying colours.
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Amen.