Vishal Talreja grew up in Bangalore, India where he excelled in academics and assumed significant leadership roles. He held top leadership positions with AIESEC, an international association of students in economics and management.
Dream a Dream
http://www.dreamadream.org
Dream a Dream is a professionally run, registered non-profit trust working with over 500 children coming from vulnerable backgrounds such as children from the streets and slum communities, runaway children, orphans, and HIV children among others.
Empowering children from vulnerable backgrounds by developing life skills, at the same time sensitizing the community through volunteering, leading to a non-discriminatory society where unique differences are appreciated, is the vision of the organization. Dream a Dream hopes to achieve this by providing sustained life skill development programs to children through exposure to sports, outdoor camps, creative arts, reading based programs, computer training programs, and theater among others. The work model is in partnership with other NGOs. Today, Dream a Dream partners with six NGOs. Dream a Dream runs structured programs in these partnerships: for development of life skills in these children (using a WHO 5 skills model), which are experiential and fun.
Secondly, creating a strong community participation model through volunteer-based programs leads to empowerment and sensitization about children's issues among the community. The number of volunteers working for Dream a Dream has grown from 50 to 500 - mostly youngsters who are aged 23 to 24 and come from IT-related jobs, many coming from outside Bangalore to work. Today, this has developed into a full-fledged program.
Dream a Dream wants to help develop and train them for careers - including vocational skills, again, working through partners. After general life skills, they now need communication and inter-personal skills, perhaps more so being academically less educated. Dream a Dream negotiates partnerships with companies and industries to train and hire the children, developing a mentoring program and a program to help them with their needs as adolescents. A program on rights-education, meetings with community role-models, spoken-English training and computer training are key modules in the package. Dream a Dream eagerly awaits the day when the first batch of children will confidently take on the challenges of life on their own.
Vishal has been associated with Dream a Dream from its origins in 1999, and heads full time since January 2002.
From his time in an investment banking company he had made three important observations: (a) Most NGOs were started by one or two people's passion, and then on reaching a "critical mass," they tended to stagnate. (b) Most NGOs worked in isolation, even competing for children to serve, rather than sharing resources, which could improve total effectiveness, even when they shared the same goals. There were, however, a few partnering models to be found. (c) There were many Indians who wanted to return home from careers abroad, with the desire to help the community and support projects here, and some MNCs also inclined to offer such help. There was a general excitement in the NGO sector and the time seemed ripe for Vishal to return to it. In January 2002, he took up full time employment in Dream a Dream.
Dream a Dream
http://www.dreamadream.org
Dream a Dream is a professionally run, registered non-profit trust working with over 500 children coming from vulnerable backgrounds such as children from the streets and slum communities, runaway children, orphans, and HIV children among others.
Empowering children from vulnerable backgrounds by developing life skills, at the same time sensitizing the community through volunteering, leading to a non-discriminatory society where unique differences are appreciated, is the vision of the organization. Dream a Dream hopes to achieve this by providing sustained life skill development programs to children through exposure to sports, outdoor camps, creative arts, reading based programs, computer training programs, and theater among others. The work model is in partnership with other NGOs. Today, Dream a Dream partners with six NGOs. Dream a Dream runs structured programs in these partnerships: for development of life skills in these children (using a WHO 5 skills model), which are experiential and fun.
Secondly, creating a strong community participation model through volunteer-based programs leads to empowerment and sensitization about children's issues among the community. The number of volunteers working for Dream a Dream has grown from 50 to 500 - mostly youngsters who are aged 23 to 24 and come from IT-related jobs, many coming from outside Bangalore to work. Today, this has developed into a full-fledged program.
Dream a Dream wants to help develop and train them for careers - including vocational skills, again, working through partners. After general life skills, they now need communication and inter-personal skills, perhaps more so being academically less educated. Dream a Dream negotiates partnerships with companies and industries to train and hire the children, developing a mentoring program and a program to help them with their needs as adolescents. A program on rights-education, meetings with community role-models, spoken-English training and computer training are key modules in the package. Dream a Dream eagerly awaits the day when the first batch of children will confidently take on the challenges of life on their own.
Vishal has been associated with Dream a Dream from its origins in 1999, and heads full time since January 2002.
From his time in an investment banking company he had made three important observations: (a) Most NGOs were started by one or two people's passion, and then on reaching a "critical mass," they tended to stagnate. (b) Most NGOs worked in isolation, even competing for children to serve, rather than sharing resources, which could improve total effectiveness, even when they shared the same goals. There were, however, a few partnering models to be found. (c) There were many Indians who wanted to return home from careers abroad, with the desire to help the community and support projects here, and some MNCs also inclined to offer such help. There was a general excitement in the NGO sector and the time seemed ripe for Vishal to return to it. In January 2002, he took up full time employment in Dream a Dream.
