Lighting Lives, Making a Difference: Diya Project 2k17

New clothes, sweets, crackers. Diwali is a time of joy and celebration. But there are many who aren't fortunate enough. For the poor, buying things during festivals can be nothing but a far fetched dream.
We at AASRA believe that there's no greater joy than the joy of serving the poor and the less fortunate ones. Each year, we create employment opportunities for dozens of poor women during Diwali, so that they have enough money to celebrate the festival of lights with their families. DIYA PROJECT is our greatest and most awaited project every year, for which every volunteer of AASRA puts in a lot of effort (and love). We buy diyas from a wholesale seller, and buy decorative items such as glitter powder, paints etc. We go to three workplaces and ask the women there to decorate these Diyas for us. Our volunteers roam around the campus of NITR, visiting faculty and students and taking orders for diyas from them. These decorated diyas are sold for a profit, and the profits are given to the women who make them.



(sector 21)


(sector 6)


                                                                              (OSAP)


This year, we executed the 11th Diya Project, and it has been the most successful project till date. Thanks to the very supportive staff and students of NIT Rourkela, we received a total order of 1976 diyas! In the beginning, we were definitely worried. An order this big? We weren't sure if we could deliver. But that's where the women from our workplaces, OSAP, Sector 6 and Sector 21 stepped in. They were confident in themselves and promised to deliver these Diyas to us way before Diwali.
When we went to collect the diyas from them, we were surprised to look at how beautiful they looked.









Each one was different, each one was beautiful. The women looked contended with their work, and our joy knew no bounds. They were packed in beautiful boxes, and were sparkling. Then came the most important part, delivery. Delivering 1900 diyas can be difficult, but it didn't feel so. Our Volunteers love to work, and within no time, we delivered every order, two days before Diwali. People seemed happy this year, thanks to the beautiful diyas. Indeed some perfect Diwali decorations for their room.

 Coming to statistics, this year's Diya Project has been our greatest success till date. We never expected an order this big, and we were definitely not sure that we could finish the work with a 100 percent efficiency, but we did it. From the total amount collected, we subtract the money it cost us for wax, decorations, diyas, threads, transportation and packing costs, and other miscellaneous heads to calculate profits. In 2015, the profit made was 23,800/- and in 2016, we made a profit of 27,450/-. This year, we made a whopping profit of 42,273/-. The amount of money given to the women is calculated on the number of diyas they make. This year, they made almost twice of what they made last year. They were extremely happy. Indeed, a happy Diwali. This year, a bar was set. Expectations for next year are very high. We're sure our volunteers look forward to working with next year's Diya Project with the same amount of enthusiasm as this year. This is how AASRA helped light up people's lives this Diwali. What did you do to make a difference?                                                                                                                                        


                                                                                                              

                                                                                                              written by:-
                                               Nikhil Vobbilisetty

Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Cheers to all our members who strived to this level...our organisational Growth is exponential now, it seems...

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  3. Great job done by team AASRA. Kudos to all who played a part.Keep up the good work. Profitability goes on increasing each year. This gives a positive spirit to plan the project even at a bigger scale next year and extend the same project to remaining work places. Good luck.

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    Replies
    1. Definitely ,next year we are planning to reach people outside the campus and take this project to a higher level.

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  4. Kudos to all AASRA volunteers :-)

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