Deepalaya - Enabling Self-Reliance

On the 16th of July 2005, the curtains came down on the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Deepalaya- with a strengthened resolve to reach out to many more needy and deprived sections of society. The highlight of the day was the release of the organization’s Institutional Memory titled ‘Yatra’.

Present on the occasion were the Hon’ble Lt. Governor of Delhi Sh. B.L.Joshi and H.E. E.F.Ch. Niehe, Ambassador, The Embassy of Netherlands. The other guests’ included- Ms. Sharon Lowen, eminent Odissi dancer, Mr. Avinash Pasricha, renowned photographer, Mr.Naresh Kapuria famous artist and Mr. Jyoti Sagar, eminent legal practitioner. They are all members of the Friends of Deepalaya group, who provide valuable advice and guidance to the Deepalaya team. Other guests included our valuable donors, representatives from corporate houses, etc.

Speaking on the occasion, the Lt. Governor lauded the role of Deepalaya in educating the children from the weaker sections of society. A special mention was made to Deepalaya’s practice of positive discrimination towards the girl child.

H.E. – Mr. Niehe, spoke on renaming the Non Government Sector as Civil Services Organization (CSO) since the word NGOs begins on a negative connotation. He also emphasized on the role of the service NGO and advocacy NGO, the former being widely prevalent in the developing countries and the latter in the developed countries. About, Deepalaya he said that " it is evident from the brightness and the smile of the children that Deepalaya is making a difference". He congratulated all the members and the team of Deepalaya for the wonderful change brought about. As part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations Deepalaya had organized various symposiums. The topics have been - Right to Education for the marginalized, Families in Different Faith Perspectives, Partnerships for Progress and Workers. Books for Change have accepted to publish the symposium documents. The Ambassador also released a draft version.

The celebration was marked by colorful cultural presentations by the students of Deepalaya.

see more pictures of this event

To commemorade the joyful event, Deepalaya has published a series of brochures, which you can find for download on this website.