Showcasing charity

We have heard about intiatives taken by the NGOs and also about efforts taken to support NGOs but here is a unique exhibition wherein a number of NGOs will come under one umberell to showcase themselves and the work they do for the society.

We have heard about intiatives taken by the NGOs and also about efforts taken to support NGOs but here is a unique exhibition wherein a number of NGOs will come under one umberell to showcase themselves and the work they do for the society. It is the basic need of the hour, says Veena Gokhale,proprietor of Artistry event management company as she speaks about Dene Samajache,an exhibition of NGOs organised at Harshal Hall,Kasat Petrol Pump,Karve Road,from October 5 to October 7. The participating NGOs include Snehalaya,from Ahmednagar which works with HIV positive children,Matramandir Balakashram,an orphanage in Baramati,Dhruvaprathisthan which works with school drop-out children and more NGOs in and around the Pune district,that work for a variety of social causes.

Artistry,as a firm,is into promoting upcoming Indian classical artists and dancers. Though the company is organising Dene Samajache since 2005,it is the very first time they are doing it on such a major scale. While every year,the do used to witness around 20 NGOs,this time the number has reached 55. Social workers are artistes in their own way. They work for their cause with the same passion and drive as those who work in the field of art. They have a vision and their creativity is the change that they bring about in society. We take it as our responsibility to promote social workers as we support and promote artists and dancers explains Gokhale.

The noble idea of promoting NGOs born in 2004,when Gokhale and her husband were visiting NGOs and help centres searching for help and information on how to take care of one of her twin daughters,who was physically-challenged. My husband and I got a lot of help from various NGOs during that critical time. We got to know about so many good initiatives being carried out in the society. We thought that this must be brought to the forefront,as there might be so many people who may want to be involved with such organisations but are not even aware of its existence, recalls Gokhale.

In the exhibition,the participating NGOs display their work areas through posters,presentations and volunteers at the counters to explain their cause to the visitors. After receiving a warm response from the public,Gokhale decided to make this an annual event. The footfall during the first exhibition was around 500-600 people but last year it was around 4000 visitors. There are so many people who want to do social work but don’t know how to go about it,we provide a platform for them to come and explore different ways in which they can give back to society, says Gokhale,who is busy making arragngements for the eighth exhibition of Dene Samachaye this year.

Participating in the exhibition has halped me build a network of like-minded people and push my cause with vigour, says Pradeep Dixit,director and trustee at Communication Support Foundation,a participating NGO that works against noise pollution.

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