| Projects::Highlights
The United Nation grants Special Consultative
Status to Maharashtra Foundation
We are very happy to report here that
the Foundation has been granted .Special ConsultativeStatus. by
the United Nations. This status enables the representative of MF
to attend the United Nations meetings and conferences open to participation
by or of special interests to NGOs in consultative status. This
will be an opportunity to interact with other NGOs in the similar
status, increase MF's visibility, and seek collaborations to expand
our activities and programs. This affiliation also brings some responsibilities.
MF will be required to maintain detailed records of its activities
and submit quadrennial report to the Committee.
Projects and activities supported through
2004
Through the generous contributions of
the MF donors and well wishers, the Foundation was able to raise
and disburse $ 681,000 through 60 non-profit organizations in India
for multiple causes such as women empowerment, education, health,
and environment. In addition, the Foundation also implemented its
own projects such as Bare Foot Doctors (Bharat Vaidya) in partnership
with Halo Medical Foundation, Maytrin (An Empathetic Listener),
One Village One Computer . IT for Social Change, Child Sponsorship,
and contributed to three major disasters, Asian Tsunami, Katrina,
and Floods in Maharashtra. The Foundation also provided forum and
fiscal sponsorship for fund raising: Dr. Anil Awachat who heads
Muktangan, a Pune based organization working on drug addiction was
hosted by the Foundation. Dr. Awachat traveled to select cities
in the United States where friends of the Foundation and Maharashtra
Mandals organized meetings to introduce the organization.s work.
A total of $ 25,000 was raised for the
cause. A group of Indian-Americans got together under the banner
of Mahad Flood Relief in the wake of Floods in Maharashtra. The
group raised $ 24,000 to provide relief to flood affected people
in and around Mahad area. This amount will be used to deliver help
through Janseva Foundation, a Pune based NGO.
Emergency Relief
In the wake of unprecedented natural disasters
that occurred from the beginning of 2004 the Foundation came forward
to raise funds for immediate and longer term relief of the victims.
An amount of $ 40,000 was raised through the appeal to donors for
Tsunami Relief. The funds were disbursed through four carefully
selected organizations actively working on the ground: Save the
Children, MS Swaminathan Foundation, AID, and Give Foundation. $
23,000 was raised for the Flood Relief in Maharashtra/Mumbai. These
funds are being used through grass roots organizations such as CORO.
The amount will be used for providing the immediate medical assistance
to the slum dwellers. A contribution of $ 5000 was received for
Katrina Relief. This amount will be disbursed through an appropriate
organization.
Outreach
At the time of donor appreciation day
last year, we made a promise to increase the outreach of the foundation
by reaching out to the community and increasing collaborations and
partnerships. On this count the Foundation made good progress during
the year: The Foundation collaborated with the Brihan Maharashtra
Mandal on the occasion of their biennial convention in Atlanta;
for the first time, the Foundation participated in the New York
India Day Parade; and a joint fund raising drives were organized
with the New York Maharashtra Mandal, Marathi Vishwa and the Brihan
Maharashtra Mandal for Katrina and Maharashtra flood relief.
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