BITSians in the community

Ninash Foundation
_{Excerpts from News Release Dated 2nd February 2007}

The Ninash Foundation recently coordinated the launch of the fourth Indo-International School for impoverished children in Dundlod, Rajasthan.

The new high school consists of 10 rooms constructed as the second story of the original Indo-International School in Dundlod.  The school also includes a three-room science wing dedicated to Susan Van Cott of Unadilla New York, whose husband, Craig, provided funding for the rooms.       

Since its founding in 1996 by the SUNY-Oneonta Learn and Serve in India program and the Ninash Foundation, the original Indo-International School has grown from 50 children to 350, many of whom are now ready to enter high school.  The new high school will allow those students to continue their education in Dundlod.

In the past 10 years, the Ninash Foundation has established four Indo-International Schools in India--two in Dundlod, one in Mahapura, and one in Kuran--which now serve 650 children and employ more than 20 teachers. 

At the school in Kuran, constructed after the devastating earthquakes of 2001, Dr. Malhotra and Ms. Drake dedicated a new science museum, the first ever in the village.  They also offered assistance in establishing a library and supplying it with books and a computer. 

In Mahapura, the Ninash group celebrated New Year's Eve with local residents and children at the Indo-International Culture Preservation School.  With funding provided by Dr. Mimi Koller and Dr. John Koller of New York City, a new artisan's wing is being added to the school to provide training to residents of the village. 

Ashok Malhotra, the driving force behind Ninash
foundation

Students and teachers from three Oneonta, New York-area schools and one in Arizona have been raising funds to help support the Indo-International Schools.  The Mahapura school now includes brass plates that recognize the support provided by the Riverside Elementary School, Center Street Elementary School, Cooperstown Elementary School, and the Gavilan Peak School in Arizona. 

During its 21-day visit to India, the Ninash team also explored the possibility of assisting five other established schools that are functioning with minimal resources.  The Ninash Foundation adopted the Asha Ka Jharna school, which provides education to handicapped children in the village of Nawalgarh.  The foundation will provide funding for a vocational center for the children.  The foundation also plans to help the other schools by raising funds for a library, a computer room, a playground, school supplies, a Project Hunger site, and regular doctor's visits. 

A member of the SUNY-Oneonta Philosophy Department since 1967, Ashok Malhotra received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1994 and was promoted to the rank of SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in 2001.

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