Samarthanam Trust partners with IIMB in bid to grow organically
Bangalore, July 2013:
“We aspire to see Brand Samarthanam across India and work with persons with disabilities as one single community”. This is how GK Mahantesh, Managing Trustee, Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, describes his ‘go forward’ vision for the NGO.
To turn its Vision 2020 into reality, Samarthanam is partnering with Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. Management students from EPGP (IIMB’s one year full time Executive Post Graduate Program) are working with Samarthanam to formulate strategies to replicate Samarthanam’s success in Karnataka across the country.
Samarthanam is a non-profit organization working to empower the visually impaired, the disabled and the underprivileged. Presently, Samarthanam reaches out to as many as 18,000 beneficiaries in and around Bangalore by providing quality education, accommodation, nutritious food, vocational training and rehabilitation.
Setup in 1997, Samarthanam plans to reach out to 1,00,000 persons with disabilities and to grow to ₹ 100 crore organization by end of 2020.
Mr. Rajendra KR, CEO, Samartham is excited about partnering with IIMB. “There is a desperate need to ensure rights and entitlements of 60 million disabled people in India. Samarthanam is rightly positioned to achieve this task. We are excited to collaborate with IIMB’s Innovation Club towards realizing Vision 2020,” he said.
Nitin Agarwal, an EPGP student who is also part of IIMB’s Innovation Club, said: “We are delighted to work on real life challenges to come up with long term strategy for Samarthanam’s expansion. We look forward to contribute our bit to the society.”
According to the 2001 National Census, about 75% of the persons with disabilities are in the rural areas. Samarthanam sees this as area to expand its operations and make a difference.
“Be Big, Think Big, Go Big and Serve for a Bigger Cause,” says Mr. Mahantesh as he gears up for Vision 2020.
About Samarthanam:
Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled has been working since 1997 to empower disabled and underprivileged people through its different programs, including education for economically underprivileged, mid-day meal programmes, BPO training for visually challenged, BPO centre, rural employment for differently abled, old age home for women, waste management, blind cricket, etc. Samarthanam’s vision is to build an inclusive society, free of discrimination against the disabled, where people with disabilities, especially the visually impaired, enjoy equal opportunities and an enhanced quality of life. For more information, please visit http://samarthanam.org/
About IIM Bangalore:
The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) is an autonomous institute offering a wide range of Doctoral, Post-Graduate, and Executive Education programmes. IIMB’s focus on research and education in the area of management is enabled by faculty from amongst leading universities worldwide who are actively engaged in research, teaching, consulting and pedagogy development. Established in 1973, IIMB is the first B-School in Asia to sign an agreement with Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) to distribute faculty teaching cases. IIMB consistently figures among the top business schools in India in domestic and international surveys. In the Business Today 2012 rankings, IIMB has come out in top position. For the fifth consecutive year IIMB has been nominated the best school in the region by Eduniversal, and retained its ‘Five Palmes’ status as a ‘Universal Business School with Major Influence’ in 2012. The Institute received the NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Award 2012 for pioneering work in the field of promoting Accessibility and Universal Design and ensuring life of equality and dignity for disabled people.
IIMB Innovation Club – Spark
The Innovation Club’s vision is to learn the art and science of innovation and apply it to solve real life problems. To understand the nature of innovation, the club organises discovery sessions, with presentations on topics such as design-thinking, ideation methods, latest innovation concepts, etc. Members use the learning from these sessions to find solutions for socio-economic, civic and business problems. These solutions are in the form of prototypes, publications or presentations. The club aspires to spark creative thought and concrete action among its members and instill in them a passion for innovation.
For more details, contact Samarthanam at: 9448365929, Email: info@samarthanam.org
