Project dosti: Bringing Students and Service Together

Conclusion

Dosti’s story is one of a good idea and dedicated leader that was determined to see his dreams turn into reality. It is an organization approached the brink of collapse but through the hard work and dedication of a few individuals was able to revive itself into the vibrant and passionate program it is now. After Bhatia left Stanford, the group floundered for a while before reforming itself into an educational source on the status of poverty within India in addition to providing students the chance to travel to India and see these conditions first hand. During the late 90’s there was doubt as to whether Dosti might continue. Committed former leaders took it upon them to structure the group with an executive board and provide a framework for expanding the campus reach of Dosti and the capacity for other long-term projects. The decision to add the spring quarter class integrated Dosti into academic life at Stanford and not limit its visibility solely to public service focused individuals.

Through this reorganization the group has been able to dedicate more resources to increasing their campus presence and in turn has witnessed an increase in student interest and volunteer applicants. Due to the expanded volunteer program, Dosti branched into two separate summer trips this year and is looking at the possibility of adding a third for next year. With a secure volunteer program in place, the executive team has been able to shift its focus from simply sustaining the organization to growing it. Programs such as the anti-malaria campaign, a science lab for children, and a book mobile for rural villages are in the process of forming and have received the necessary funding to turn them into reality.

The current board is very hopeful for Dosti’s future. They feel secure that with the changes they have implemented, from a website to a structured volunteer program, will guide the group in years to come, and continue to pass on the life changing experience they have all had the chance to go through. The people who commit themselves to Dosti are a devoted and passionate group who strive to implement change in themselves and the world around them. With the changes they have successfully implemented Dosti appears an organization that can foresee a long future ahead of itself.

This Year’s Trip

As an ending thought it should be noted that as of this writing, this year’s trip has been unfortunately canceled due to escalating tensions in South Asia. India and Pakistan are on the possible verge of nuclear war and the State Department has issued a warning to any Americans traveling to the subcontinent. The Project Dosti organizers have decided to align themselves with Stanford’s URO policies, which at this point has pulled all URO funding going to South Asia for the summer. The URO office has not made any mention if this is a tentative pull or if the money will be dispersed if the conflict transforms over the course of the next few weeks.

There is a chance that the two separate trips will be combined into one trip that will travel later in the summer. Five volunteers have dropped out of the program thus far, leaving a total of eleven volunteers, which would not be too large for one combined trip. Since Dosti did have two trips planned the second trip is still tentative but if the situation does not change within the next three weeks that will be canceled as well. Garg and other members of the board cite this as very unfortunate but as always, the safety of the volunteers and the concerns of their parents is placed before continuing the trip. Their current statement is that the volunteers are free to go to India but the trip is no longer Dosti sponsored. This is an unfortunate turn of events that has dampened the mood of the group, but all of the volunteers and organizers hope to defer their trip instead of entirely cancel it and are optimistic for next summer.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. 
   Internet
   

1. 
   Dosti: dosti.stanford.edu
   
2. 
   Asha: www.ashanet.org
   
3. 
   Haas Center for Public Service: haas-fmp.stanford.edu
   
4. 
   Jagriti Vihara: geocities.com/amgarg81/
   

2. 
   Interviews – via email, phone, or in-person
   

1. 
   Sameer Bhatia: founder, volunteer 1993-1996, 5/28/02, 5/30/02
   
2. 
   Amit Garg: current President, volunteer 2000, 5/1/02, 6/2/02
   
3. 
   Neil Kothari: volunteer 1998, 5/22/02
   
4. 
   Guru Senthupathy: volunteer 1997, 5/17/02
   
5. 
   Peter Thiede: volunteer 2000, 6/2/02
   
6. 
   Suman: coordinator for Jagriti Vihara, 5/31/02
   

3. 
   Reports
   

1. 
   Nisha’s report in Dosti’s online archives
   
2. 
   Amit’s report in Dosti’s online archives
   
3. 
   Daily article about Dosti: http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=8251&repository=0001_article
   
4. 
   Haas Center Report on Stanford Service Groups
   

- This was sent to me as an attachment on an email from Chuck Dorn, it is not posted online

5. 
   The World Bank World Development Report 2000/2001: Poverty
   

http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/wdrpoverty

APPENDIX


Exhibit 1: Anti-Malaria Campaign Donors

Village	Volunteers	Adopted by
Nindra	Charo Raj Bhagat, Mahadeo Tana Bhagat, Shiv Shankar Yadav, Manohar Yadav	Project Dosti c/o Golda Philip ($120)
Siram	Ramesh Oraon, Bhola Bhagat, Sushil Kumar Yadav, Dilal Yadav	Kimball ($50)
Kali	Dilchand Munda, Sidhnath Ganjhu, Mahadeo Oraon, Sushil Oraon	Lantana ($75), Eddie Atwood ($20)
Dhoti	Munia Kumari, Subhash Ganjhu, Arjun Ganjhu, Samdeo Bhagat	Otero ($100)
Belgara	Baiju Munda, Nanhku Ganjhu, Yugal Yadav, Gopal Munda	Trancos ($50)
Birsanagar	Jhalo Mundain, Sumita Devi, Neghu Munda, Dev Charan Munda, Ramchandra Ram	Soto ($75)
Kekariagarha	Sita Kumari, Bajo Devi, Sitaiya Devi, Aghna Ganjhu, Ramprasad Ganjhu	Burbank ($75)
Nayabasti	Meena Devi, Ashok Ram, Hari Chanran Munda,Renu Sharma, Ramnandan Lohra	Paloma ($50)
Murupiri	Balchand Bhagat, Bishwanath Bhagat	Gavilan ($35)
Gutru	Maninath Mahto, Mahendra Mahto

Exhibit 2: 2002 Spring Dosti Lecture Schedule.

April 2	Nico Slate, Earth Systems “Understanding the Self and Other”
April 9	Maya Dodd, Modern Thought and Literature “Literature and Tradition”
April 16	Anirudha Vaidya, activist “Environmentalism and the Narmada Dam”
April 23	Aneesh Aneesh, Humanities and Sciences Program “Cultures dry and wet: modes of being in India and the US”
April 30	Suraj Jacob, Economics “The NGO Movement”
May 7	Robert Goldman, South Asian Studies (Berkeley) “Religious Pluralism”
May 14	Ashish Chadha, Cultural and Social Anthropology “Rediscovering Culture through Archaeology”
May 21	Ali Hasan Cememdataur, fiction writer “Indo-Pakistan Peace”
May 28	Sameer Pandya, Humanities and Sciences Program “The Impact of Colonialism”
June 4	Bakirathi Mani, Cultural and Social Anthropology “Sexuality in South Asia”