An IIMCian’s own NGO – Ray of Hope.
IIMC student Tharun Sholarajan’s NGO “Ray of Hope” was recently featured in The Week magazine titled “The Indian Genius” – “Simple local solutions change lives across the nation.” This is the article in its entirety.
In 2005, when Praneeth Pallepogu stepped into Shishu Vihar, Hyderabad for the first time to distribute blankets to orphan children and destitute women, he realised that he had to do much more.He discussed it with his mother, Noorjehan, a government employee, and then formed a team with the help of his friends. ” We contacted many of our old friends, some of them in the US, and got a huge response. They were all enthusiastic, and they raised funds from others as well. Thus the network started spanning new horizons”, says Praneeth.“Our initial plan was a short-term campaign”, he says. “We took photographs of the Shishu Vihar inmates and mailed them to our benefactors”. They did this just to thank the donors. Their friends were so overwhelmed by the photographs that they spread word about the good work and raised more funds. Thus was born the little group named Ray of Hope. The funds were invested in institutions like Devnar Blind School and Ashray Akruti School for the Hearing Impaired, both in Hyderabad. Praneeth was also instrumental in sponsoring the education for the poor children in a village near IIT Kanpur where he was doing his management studies.The Good Samaritan Home for orphans in Pocharam Near Hyderabad/Secunderabad, which was in a miserable shape, is a much better place thanks to Ray of Hope. The group plans to build a school for its inmated.praneeth and his friend Naresh feel their strength is their network, and are convinced that collective and consistent help can change anything.Apart from networking, they use innovative methods to raise funds. When Praneeth landed a job at Infosys, his parents hosted a party. His friends and he surprised the guests with a 10-minute Power Point Presentation on their activities.At the end of the party, Ray of Hope was richer by Rs.600000
“Ray of Hope†was initiated as a charity organization at Hyderabad by best friends Praneeth and me, Tharun Sholarajan on November 21st 2005. In the next 10 days, 6 other close friends from engineering joined us. From a short-term campaign, we’ve grown into a 620 strong organization that has given constant support to over 2300 underprivileged and has spread across 10 major cities in India and 4 the USA.Our aim is to integrate forces such as NGO’s, the Govt., Corporate world, etc, with the aim to reach out to the poorest of the poor, those who’ve never been cared for before; and raise them to a self sustainable level.
Since resources such as time, money, people, etc, are limited, we’ve taken a conscious decision to reach out to the most underprivileged. We arrived at this decision after visiting Devnar Blind School at Hyderabad where we were sympathetic to the cause of the children but these children have a steady source of heavy funding from political parties and media coverage.
So we felt that it’s not fair that someone else out there in some corner of the world doesn’t have 3 walls and a ceiling and 3 square meals a day. Hence in our research, we came across Pocharam Village and our first visit was overwhelming as we were both sad and happy; sad due to the horrible condition of the village and happy due to the opportunity to transform the village; and hence adopted the village.
From the village’s first ever water supply to constant educational support to the children there to the construction of Housing, Schooling, Medical and Recreational facilities for over 200 children, 3 years hence we’ve been instrumental in transforming the village.
We’ve been recognized by the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh for Outstanding Social Work. Our latest accomplishment is a COVER PAGE article about us ‘The Week’ magazine’s Anniversary Special Edition (December 28th 2008, page 96, 97, 98) in the section “Youth- Spurring Change†which speaks about how today’s youth is changing the world. Our story was chosen from among 5 other major NGOs.
We’ve also been invited by IIT Kanpur to deliver Guest lectures on entrepreneurship and  personality development to the MBA students. IIT Kanpur’s MBA course will soon be incorporating
‘Ray of Hope…’ as a case study on entrepreneurship. A Vocational training centre by the name “Ray of Hope ” will be opened at IIT Kanpur for underprivileged children.
We do have clear goals and one of those is to diversify due to various opportunities that exist to transform the underprivileged society. It surely is difficult but with the concept of a ‘Hope Center’, we believe it is possible to incorporate various streams of the society’s issues into our curriculum.
We’ve joined forces with various other NGOs, the corporate world, the IITs, IIMs and various other bodies and plan to transform many more villages, slums, etc through a properly thought out strategy. This includes education, performance based support (for example you don’t study well, you lose our support!), rural employment schemes, etc.
Please visit www.rayofhope.in to join us.
February 8th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I am Cindura Sholarajan, currently a PGP1 student at IIMA. Having worked with Ray of Hope, it has been truly inspirational to see their drive in wanting to make a difference. I believe that it is in our power to make a bring about change, and for me, Ray of Hope is a great example of that.
February 9th, 2009 at 3:59 am
Any initiative aimed at improving the current position or children in India is admirable. Many of them are taken for granted. The attitude towards child welfare has to change. Finances are definitely an issue but more than that, a sense of duty is required. A pool of devoted people who can give their valuable time.
If a company is read to pay lacs to a student from IIM just imagine what kind of value-addition we can do to such a cause, even if we can spare a little part of our time for it.
Jai Hind
February 9th, 2009 at 4:34 am
I really liked the work carried out by Ray of Hope. Its a great inspiration for many of us to take part in their activities in some way or the other.I am also proud that Praneeth and tharun are from my college who has started a great work. I Wish them GOOD LUCK and keep up with excellent and inspiring work
February 9th, 2009 at 4:57 am
It is indeed an inspiring story, one that holds lessons for all. It is nice to see Ray of Hope get the recognition it deserves from all quarters.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:29 am
All in all a great effort from him. steps like these are the need of the hour considering the plight of children in our country. we need to unite and help him in his effort and should contribute to development of children.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:30 am
Its a movement to make people aware of the conditions of the underprivileged and more importantly what we can do to alleviate that. It gives us a direction and a means to contribute to our society.
Also that corporate world has the resources to make a difference and IIM students, the future corporates, are involved in this initiative shows commitment on their part to this cause.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:33 am
A commendable initiative started by such a young group of students towards a noble cause. I hope it inspires many others to take up such initiatives and contribute to the well-being of the society. All the best.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:43 am
Ray of Hope is definitely one of the most inspiring NGOs working for the underprivileged children at the grass-root level. The amount of efforts put in by these people is unbelievable and it is great to see them achieving milestones in service to the society one after the other. I sincerely hope that they be successful in creating awareness among the people and be able to help the poorest of poor. It is indeed great that they are getting the duly deserved recognition.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:48 am
Its a great pleasure to know a PGP student from IIM C creating such a difference to the society. I and the entire student community from IIM C wish Tharun and Ray of hope, success towards their noble cause.
February 9th, 2009 at 7:06 am
From modest beginnings, Ray of Hope has come a long way. The work that they have done has been amazing, and it also shows that a lot is left to be done. Kudos to the founders and everyone involved.
Best of Luck for future ventures.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:55 am
As the name goes, Ray of Hope really comes with sunshine of opportunities for the underprivileged children in India. I really appreciate the effort put up by the corporates and future corporates. They have proved it once again that if you have the will, there is a way. Being a wingie of Tharun, I have personally noticed the amount of effort he has put into it. Even during the exams he has worked for this noble cause tirelessly. I really wish Ray of Hope and all its contributors the very best. I will really hope that they will make India a better place to live for the future generation.
February 9th, 2009 at 10:15 am
This is indeed a very noble cause to strive for and I wish Tharun and his entire team all the luck to excel in his inspiring work. May the Ray of Hope shine even brighter!
February 9th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
I have seen anybody working to gather resources for his NGO despite of other very important commitments like his studies in IIM Calcutta. Tharun, I wish that you achieve your dreams for this organization. My best wishes for Ray of Hope!
February 10th, 2009 at 3:23 am
A very nice initiative started by Tharun. Really it would inspire other bschool grads to do something for the society specially for the less priviledged ones. I wish Tharun and his team all the best for future.
February 10th, 2009 at 9:48 am
I am a classmate and friend of both Praneeth and Tharun and have been the member of Rayofhope. I would be quite happy to say to be a part of such a wonderful cause. I have seen many complaining of the politics and the politicians and corrupt govt officials who for their own selfish motives are just eating the government money. Why can’t we people just start of with a selfless motive and just stop bribing the govt officials and fight against those who bribe and creating a problem to ourselves.
The media is a powerful tool for India. Just what we need to do is when ever we come across any corruptive action make it a point in informing it to the media people who would make the rest of it.
It should be our primary responsibility to minimize the corruption to the lowest possible or the extent we could be able to.
We at Rayofhope are looking for some great ideas from all you people to look for some good and economical ideas for providing employment to the people around which would help many families to atleast go for the minimal required necessities like food,shelter and clothing.
We are at the beginning of our journey and it is with support of you all and ideas and the work which gives the edge to the mission started. We have a long way to go and Rayofhope would be a continuous process.
February 10th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I’ve been associated with the “ray of hope” for the past two and half years, .,..,n the experience.,. has been awesome.,.,.,.I thank and congratulate each n every person associated with ray of hope for there good work..,.,.,.
February 12th, 2009 at 2:21 am
First of all I would like to congratulate Tharun and his friend Praneeth for their activities and particularly supporting 200 children in a short span of 3 yrs. It is comforting to know that a single meeting could generate a huge fund of 6 lakh Rs. It shows that there are a lot of people who care for charity. What I would like to know is the activities being done by your organisation till date, where you are located and can you give me tax exemption certificate for donations.
February 12th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Admirable effort for the underprivileged children at the grass-root level. This selfless work would help the these children have a brighter future. I would like to wish the entire team all the luck to excel in this great work.
February 13th, 2009 at 4:14 am
Really a great mindblowing work done by a really humble man called “tharun”. From the start what comes to the mind of thousand children in Pocharam village in AP is only “Ray Of Hope” and the face of its founding members (one of whom i am privileged know is Mr. Tharun Sholarajan). Tharun apart from being my friend is a source of inspiration to thousands of people. Managing his studies so successfully along with working for children in Pocharam village is no mean feat. I wish him very good luck to continue for the social cause full time after his academic commitments are over. Our nation needs more such socially responsible citizens dedicated to development of children in villages.
February 14th, 2009 at 6:29 am
Its quite inspiring to see a batchmate be involved in such a noble endeavor. I wish these guys the best and hope they achieve all they set out to. Im sure this will be used as an example to inspire our future batches to engage in social endeavors.
February 14th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
I sincerely congratulate the entire “Ray Of Hope” for their outstanding work and their dedication towards what they do. Special mention to the founder and the co-founders for their initiative and making this possible. You are truly inspiring and everyone citizen has to take you guys as an example.
And a special mention to the “Week” article. Congratulations once again.
We would feel much more happy to see the presentation that made such big impact.
Great going guys.. God bless u all.. Wish u many more achievements
February 16th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Great contribution by the team of “Ray of Hope” to our society. We need more organizations like this to help develop the future of our country. I wish you guys the best wishes in achieving your noble objective of a productive society.
February 18th, 2009 at 8:32 am
I have been associated with RAY OF HOPE for about a year and a half now which isn’t too much but the experience has been wonderful. To see the extent to which ROH has progressed in such a short amount of time is truly mind-boggling. This country sure does need more organizations like this one. Kudos to Praneeth!!
February 18th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Ray of Hope .., hearty congratulations and hatsoff for the great work.Really they meant the clarity for the deserving and needy ones.They are the best instances to be taken and aspired to be.The pocharam chapter is an excellent experiences for der inspirations and wishes to the social sector.Congrats praneet,tharun,naresh and each and every person of the wonderful family.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:33 am
I joined Ray of Hope veryb recently….and am really inspired by the work they do…..and Iam very happy to be a part of the team.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I joined Ray of Hope recently being inspired by the work they do.The concept of Empathy really inspired me.They are striving a lot to bring a Change.I would like to congratulate the team for their acheivement.
All the very best…
Get going…
February 19th, 2009 at 1:13 am
i was associated with ROH…it gives immmense satisifaction to be with this team…and working for the people who really are in need of love and support…
February 20th, 2009 at 1:04 am
Hi guys. The journey of Ray of Hope is a true inspiring story. Back in 2005 we planned to do a charity activity for children and old aged people who live in sishu vihar,Hyderabad.So praneeth discussed it with all our friends on how best we can help them. So we thought to buy a few items which are very helpful for them. For funds we contacted our friends in India and US. We got terrific response and friends gave funds. So we bought all the items they needed and got them set up at sishu vihar. Funds were adequate and we planned 2 more events. After doing all those events we got inspired and found out that there are many people who wish to help but due to lack of time and resources they are unable to help the people. So then we decided to start an organization and named it Ray of Hope.We didnot do the work to form a organization but the work we did inspired us to form an organization and help more people. This is possible with the support of all our friends, members who have been the strong supporters of the cause and the faith they have on us. I thank all the members for their excellent contribution and the trust they build for ray of hope. Everybody can contribute by telling the mission of ray of hope to members who are interested in helping the poor. Praneeth has put a lot of effort to take the organization from a team of 6 memers to a team of 600 members. The effort by all the iit, iim students and corporate employees is really appreciable.
I would like to thank all the family members of praneeth especially their parents Mr.Jayanath Rao,Mrs Noorjehan and his brothers Anand and Pratyush for their immense help and contribution to Ray of Hope. Without them this would not have been possible. They have dedicated the enitre time guiding us, showing us the right path and being an inspiraion to us.
The future vision of ray of hope is to reach as many poor as possible. As a team member of Ray of Hope i strive to help, inspire as many people i can.Thanks for all your support and faith. Keep up the good work.
February 20th, 2009 at 5:35 am
I am associated with ROH for the last one year. Praneeth has been an a great force behind in taking this mission forward. I was involved during the distribution of blankets/mattresses to needy children at Kanpur. It was a heartening experience and I hope that initiatives like these could be continued in future on a large scale to make this a formidable force for bringing a meaningful change in the society.
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Hi Tharun & Praneeth, its really g8 job you people doin with support of your team, even me n my few frds r intrestd in doin such activities and we also formed a group called “Helping Hearts” we are ready to help the needy people, even let us know few places so that even we can help them, till now we hav made few visits to few old age homes, orphanage and school for special childrens, we lik to know more as such places.
all the Best for the efforts you and your friends putin……….
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