ICA Annual Event Photo Gallary
Indians for Collective Action
is pleased to invite you to the
Annual Gala and Dinner Honoring
Mr. S. R. Hiremath, Dr. Nilima Sabharwal, and InSPIRE
on Sunday, November 1, 2008
from 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
at the India Community Center, 525 Los Coches Street, Milpitas, CA
To sign-up for the event, please register online at: http://www.indolink.com/ica
or respond by email to akbhushan@aol.com (you can send check by October 15, payable to ICA with Annual Event in memo line, to: Indians for Collective Action, 3838 Mumford Place, Palo Alto, CA 94306).
Cost of the dinner is $50 per person (partially tax-deductible).
Mr. S.R.Hiremath, an ICA member in the 1970’s, is being recognized for his three decades of service to India. A pioneer of Integrated Rural Development and Natural Resource Management projects, he is the founder and head of Samaj Parivartan Samuday (SPS), Dharwad (Karntaka, India) and is also the founder of IDS (in USA and India). After working in Corporate America for 10 years, he left for India in 1979, and worked with people at the grass roots level. He is a leading advocate for the empowerment of rural poor, self rule, and community control over Natural Resources. Hiremath’s contribution to rural India encompasses a number of books including “Forest Lands & Forest Produce As If People Mattered”. His has organized and lead people’s movements along Gandhian lines, including protection of Tungbhadra river from industrial pollution, protection of forest and other common lands, and Save the Western Ghats March, leading to a people-centric National Forest Policy.
Dr. Nilima Sabharwal, accomplished in the medical field, is being recognized for her humanitarian outreach efforts. In 1999, Dr Sabharwal founded Home of Hope, a US based charitable organization, that serves over 2000 orphaned, destitute and disadvantaged children, helping them become productive citizens. Home of Hope presently gives financial support to projects all over India. Recently Home of Hope has also adopted a Project in Berkeley California. It all started with Dr. Sabharwal’s visit to Chennai and she was inspired by the selfless work done by a group of elderly women, taking care of abandoned children, and began to support their cause. Dr. Sabharwal was recently recognized by Chief Minister Sheila Dixit of Delhi for her work in Udyan Ghar, New Delhi.
InSPIRE, the India Summer Program Inspiring Reflective Exploration aims at educating and engaging young generation of USA, mainly with South Asian roots, in community development and exposing them to Indian culture. With initial focus in health, environment, education, community development, women empowerment and e-Governance, InSPIRE is working with ICA to help young volunteers engage in social service work in India, and to build their own capacity to find creative and innovative ideas in fulfilling their life’s mission. Receiving the award on behalf of InSPIRE will be Mr. Raj Kanani and Ms. Asha Patel.
Past ICA Honorees include Ms. Madhu Kishwar and Mr. Nipun Mehta in 2008, Mr. D. R. Mehta, Mrs. Inderjeet khurana and Global Fund for Women in 2007, Mr. Arvind Kejriwal and Dr. Larry Brilliant in 2006, Dr. Sandeep Pandey in 2005, Dr. Mallika Sarabhai in 2004, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan in 2002, and Dr. S. N. Subba Rao and Mrs Sushma Iyengar in 2001.
For more information contact: Bhupen Mehta, 408-396-6240, bhupenmehta@yahoo.com
or Abhay Bhushan, 650-868-6645, akbhushan@aol.com
