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Atma has been thrilled to welcome two members from our Dutch Chapter, Martine and Nathalie, to visit Atma’s projects in Mumbai.

Atma has several international chapters across the globe: in Australia, the Netherlands, Canada. Atma Netherlands is the largest international chapter and has been heavily involved in Atma’s work since our founding in 2007.

Atma Netherlands has previously conducted fundraisers and events to raise awareness about Atma’s work in Mumbai and to generate donations. Dutch Board members visit Mumbai regularly to witness and engage in Atma’s work with our partners. This February, Atma (Mumbai) has the privilege of hosting Martine and Nathalie. They had this to say about their visit so far:

“It is great to finally be in India, and so much fun to be in the chaotic and colourful city-life of Mumbai. And it is even better to be part of the Atma experience for a week! During this week packed with meetings, site visits and time with the team, we got the chance to catch experience Atma’s impact on Atma Partners.

One of the Atma Partners we visited was Masoom. Nikita Ketkar, the founder of Masoom took us to one of the Masoom night schools. It was inspiring to see the dedication of each night school student. During this visit, Masoom was called “the heart and soul of the night school” by the school’s headmaster for all that they add to his school. Masoom told us that Atma’s support has been crucial in the growth and expansion of their organisation.

Being in India and witnessing the projects Atma is working with makes us thankful and proud: thankful to be part of the Atma family, and proud to see the impact Atma is making.Going back to the Netherlands, we will be even more motivated to support the Mumbai team in the work they do.”

What’s coming up for Atma Netherlands? The Atma Dutch chapter is very busy organising their biggest funding event the Atma Challenge. The 2012 Atma Challenge will bring together 30 people to climb the Mera Peak in Nepal, a mountain of approx. 6500m. The participants will young professionals between the age of 25 and 30. The Atma Challenge is off to a great start with 100 people attending the 2 information sessions held last week.

By March 15, the group of 30 that will take on the challenge will be selected. Between March and October, the team will go through a preparation phase will take place including physical training, team building and fundraising. The Challenge team targets to raise a total of EUR 60,000 for Atma.

The expedition will take place in Oct-Nov 2012 and will take 3 weeks. After the mountain climb, the group hopes to visit Atma in Mumbai to witness the impact of their efforts.

Atma is so honoured to have the Dutch Chapter so engaged and committed to supporting Atma’s work in Mumbai. To learn more about the Atma Challenge, visit www.atmachallenge.org or write to resources@atma.org.in. Stay tuned for stories and photos to come!

Over 38,000 individuals from across India and the globe participated in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon last Sunday, January 15th. Atma participated in the Marathon for our 5th year in a row with over 230 runners.

The 2012 Mumbai Marathon was Atma’s single largest fundraising event to date. It was an incredible day for our organisation and the entire Atma family.

We want to say an enormous thank you to each person who participated, pledged raised or supported Atma in the 2012 Mumbai Marathon. We couldn’t have done it without you!

All photos by Rob Katz.

Before getting into the details of my experience with Atma Graduated Partner CHIP, I feel obliged to tell you a little bit about how I caught the bug for philanthropy and volunteer work. It all started in the 12th grade when I went on a school-organized trip with my classmates. There were two components to the trip: a service/school rebuilding component and an adventure/safari component. The latter was the main selling point for me prior to the trip. However, something about spending time with the children at the school ignited a spark in me. This spark was enough for me to convince my friends to head out on a similar, but highly service oriented trip to Cambodia. AfterCambodia, the spark developed into a flame.

Going into college, service became a big part of my life on campus and I was heavily involved in a lot of social justice groups. But this wasn’t enough. I had to step it up a notch, so I decided to major in Social Entrepreneurship to look at possible career paths. It was with this goal in mind that I came to India and accepted an Atma Volunteership.

The first day I walked into the Atma office, I saw three words on a small whiteboard; ‘Sustainability’, ‘Impact,’ and ‘Scale.’ It is then that I knew that I was in the right place. Through Atma Graduated Partner CHIP, I was given the freedom to run and perfect the model of a face-to-face fundraising campaign at Hypercity, one of India’s largest hypermarkets, and was able to attend meetings with some of CHIP’s highest and most important donors. In addition to this, I was entrusted with designing a Diwali Camp program for the children at CHIP schools, developed grant proposals, designed fundraising and marketing media, and assisted in any other school-related activities. This diverse array of responsibilities gave me a holistic view of what it is like to work for and run an educational NGO, which is crucial for an aspiring Social Entrepreneur like myself. My favorite moments were whenever we counted the money raised from the CHIP fundraisers. It all comes back to one of those words on that board: ‘Sustainability.’ Money doesn’t just make the world go round, it makes the NGO sector go round. Sure, you learn about it in textbooks but to experience it first hand is something else. I never expected to be in such an intellectually and professionally stimulating environment, but Atma and CHIP definitely delivered.

The Atma Volunteer experience wasn’t just part-time volunteering: it was a valuable work experience, fostered by an intelligent, experienced, and supportive team of people who have made service their career. To be able to share an office with them and learn from them was all I asked prior to this experience. The way I see it, I got a pretty sweet deal. So would I consider doing this again? Read this article right from the top and you will realize that this question answers itself.

I’d like to thank all of the wonderful people at Atma and the CHIP office. Thanks for accepting me as part of the team. Thanks to Novela Corda, CHIP Executive Director, for giving me the freedom to be myself and do my own thing. Thanks to Summer Starr and Atma, who recruited me and facilitated my volunteership. My experience in Mumbai would be incomplete without all of you.

Today, Atma held a farewell lunch for Atma volunteer Jay. Jay came to Atma from Hong Kong and has been volunteering with Atma Graduated Partner CHIP over the past three months. Stay tuned for Jay’s blog post about his Atma experience!

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Atma works in collaborative partnership with dynamic educational NGOs in Mumbai, supporting their changing organisational needs through the Atma Model: a unique blend of consultancy, skilled volunteers, workshops and advocacy.

Atma’s consultancy service is the base of the Atma Model. The Atma Partnerships Director meets with each Atma Partner regularly to strategise and create area-specific growth plans.

Summer Starr has been with Atma since October 2010 as Partnerships Director. She has supported our current Atma Partners on a holistic level, facilitating their growth and expansion over the past year. Summer’s dedication to high standards for individuals, organisations and for the development sector as a whole have inspired each person she has worked with to raise the bar and apply best practices to their organisations and their own job roles.

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Photograph by Bronwyn McBride

Yesterday, Atma celebrated the work of two fantastic volunteers: Amie and Elisa. Amie from Sri Lanka has worked with Atma over the past month on HR, creating manuals and contracts. Elisa from France has been supporting Atma Partner The Foundation for Mother and Child Health in creating a workshop plan to address the dynamics of their growing organisation. We are sad to see Amie and Elisa leave us, and hope they return to Mumbai to visit!

What is an Atma Partnership?

An Atma Partnership is a three year collaborative process between Atma and a dynamic NGO working in education in Mumbai. For an Atma Partnership to be effective in reaching its goal of creating Quality Education for underprivileged children, it’s imperative for us to identify the right NGOs to partner with.

The Pre-Partnership process is designed to give a snapshot of the potential partner NGO, where it is in its organisational life cycle, and whether they are ready fto bring about change that will help to strengthen their organisation and expand their programs.

Photos by Kainaz Amaria

The Pre-Partnership Process comprises 4 steps.

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Atma hosted a Marathon Social for all of our Mumbai Marathon runners on Saturday evening: thank you to all who joined us!

Here are a few photos from the event.

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Having worked with development NGOs in the past, I knew I was looking for a volunteer placement in education. I’ve studied education in global contexts, and wanted to get a bit of grass-roots perspective outside of Australia. The way in which Atma works in partnership with other NGOs was also attractive, as it meant that there was more scope to learn more about the industry in general.

Having never visited India before, the opportunity to work in Mumbai was too good to pass up: I finalised my travel plans and arrived in India, ready to volunteer.

One of the first things I did in Mumbai was a 3 hour tour of the Dharavi slum with Reality Tours and Travel. To see a world that is completely different to anything in Australia, so soon after my touchdown in India, made it all very real. The Dharavi tour really illustrated what volunteering with Atma is about, who it’s for, and why the work that I’d be undertaking is important.

My first week with Atma was predominantly a process of learning and being inducted into the organisation. I’ve had a lot of meetings with Summer Starr, the Atma Partnerships Director, who oversees the Searching for Goodness NGO mapping project I’m working on. This has generally outlined areas of research so that I can get up to speed with the terrain of NGO work in Mumbai.

A few meetings with Atma Partner staff have helped to get another, deeper perspective on the work. The Atma Partner initiatives are just incredibly dynamic and creative. It’s great to be around people who are so passionate about their work.

My goals as an Atma volunteer are pretty wide-ranging. The opportunity to really develop a project, as I am now with the Searching for Goodness Project, and explore the direction it can go in is a big part of the appeal. I’ll be given a lot of freedom to try and define my own solutions to challenges that arise, and present them to Summer in order to take the project forward. There are few volunteer roles in the NGO sector that give you the same degree of autonomy. It’s very refreshing. Additionally, volunteering with Atma will give me a real opportunity to see how I might enjoy a career in the sector.

So far, I’m really enjoying working with everyone at Atma. It’s a small team, but clearly works well together. It’s inspiring to see cultural issues just dealt with pretty smoothly, and usually humorously. Atma also works hard to make the learning curve as smooth as possible. They make a great effort to help you find your way around, organise your housing, provide travel advice and include you in a ready-made social circle. I really look forward to diving into this project and creating a sustained impact in the development sector in Mumbai!