Christmas BAsh!!

We had lot of fun celebrating Christmas this Sunday evening (6th. Dec.). It went on as planned and all teh performances were lovely to watch. Though its the first time for 1st year students, they participated with spirited mind.

The zing to the evening were the kids from Sarvodaya school.

They had a good time as well as they enjoyed themselves on stage with famous Tamil tracks and other events. Excitement among the kids rose the most by the site of Santa. Santa has been generous enough to distribute gifts and chocolates. We grown ups did not miss our chance to collect our chocolates as well!

The evening ended with sumptuous dinner arranged by LIBA family. All of us enjoyed the evening very much. We hope next year Radius comes up with bigger celebration and the coming year fills us with joy and energy to work!

Till the, take care everybody and have great exam time.

Santa Claus is coming to town!!!!

Santa plans to visit LIBA on Sunday, the 6th of December. Some may think it's a little early in the year for Christmas festivities to begin but we, at LIBA feel the Christmas spirit in the air right from the first of December. That nip in the air assures us there's no time like the present to spread the Christmas message of joy and hope especially among those less fortunate than us.

This year, we get to play at being Santa and his elves as we try to bring the true meaning of Christmas home to all the children who will celebrate Christmas with us. Come one, Come all and join us in spreading Christmas cheer on the 6th of December from 6 pm onwards. Hope to see you there :)

The schedule is as follows

6.00- 6.o5 Prayer Song

6.05 6.10 Fr. Christie

6.10 6.20 Fr. Victor

6.20 6.25 Fr. Cyrac

6.25-6:40 Carols (regional languages)

6.40 7.05 Nativity skit

7.05 7.20 Part Timers

7.20 7.35 Skit

7.35 7.50 Professors

7.50 8.05 Prize Distribution

8.05 8.15 Carols

8.15 8.20 Vote of Thanks

Coming Soon

Are we growing old?..or YOUNG..!

Whats in news!
Its pouring badly in Chennai.
More people are seen in the library.
Camera is back and Cyril's fingers moving crazy to capure all the moments in campus.
We are wearing formals more often!..placement season catching up..
Some more changes are going to happen n next few weeks.
Poeple who are representing Radius in all key positiins are going move back stage.
Some new faces will be coming up.
Are you interested to know, who they are!..who have stood tallest to take it all up on their face for next innings of Radius..?..keep watching out for it...
There are more outstanding people..who are going to become a part of a challenging project form Radius..the stars of first think tank project.
Have you identified the stars as yet!..
NO??

Keep guessing..
we wil be back with more!
Till then,
.. enjoy the rain!

Hmmmmm.... Something cooking at Radius meetings????

It was a day of nerves for all the office bearers of LIBA radius as the quarterly results of the committee were to be reviewed. The meeting was presided by Dr. Victor Louis Anthuvan, the mentor of the committee. The secreatary of the committee put forward his words of appreciation towards all. The volunteers who made the Joy of giving week, the blood donation camp, the school teaching activities, Eye donation camp and various other programs were given appreciation. The review process intorduced feed back generation drive in the team. The feedback forms were circulated for a critical evealuation of the performance of core and sub committes. This will help to better our performances in coming inititives.The road ahead was discussed- The Rock show and World AIDS day being in the forefront.

Account Details for the month of September 2009

Click on the images to expand

School Team Updates

Radius School Initiative: The Way Forward
The Radius: School Committee of LIBA stands for innovation, creativity and passion. The committee has realized the need of leaders in our country and not just the race-winning rats for the rat race. Therefore it has brought the likeminded people together for improving the education system in corporation schools.

From its inception to the present day, the school committee has grown, from being a loosely formed group with tender objectives to a team with clearly laid out goals. The committee aims to reach at least 150 students by the end of the year and help them realize the importance of education in their lives.

Our committee has currently spotted a school Sarvodaya School, Chennai where less privileged children study with minimal facilities. We initially thought of teaching students various subjects however we soon realized that it might not be very useful to them. Since the most important thing that these children lack is motivation. If we succeed in motivating them then the children will manage the rest on their own.

Therefore our committee has come up with an objective to motivate them by developing their personalities and inculcating leadership skills in them at a tender age. To achieve this we are developing 5 modules , each module targets a particular quality of an ideal leader.

The first module aims at building self confidence in children so that they start believing in themselves through which we can target the general sense of helplessness that is found in the less-privileged children. The next module aims at building self-respect in children and also teaching them the importance of respecting others. The third module is on Team building so as to help children form teams and work in teams effectively. The fourth module will concentrate on developing children’s skill to view a problem as a set of goals and sub-goals. We believe that this module will help children in gaining clarity in their personal life’s goals which in-turn will motivate them to pursue their education. The last module focuses on sensitizing children to the social problems troubling society in general. It includes issues like HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, sexual harassment and forced child labour. Also there are few general issues like corruption, dowry, pollution etc. This module should help our children in gaining an insight in to the social problems. They should be able to protect themselves and their siblings from these problems.

We further hope that the children take these issues in hands and fight for them when they enter the world as adults. We believe that these modules will help them realize the importance of education and motivate them to continue their education even under hardships. However we feel that these modules are futile unless we can measure the success we achieve at each stage. Therefore we have also planned to come up with a measuring method through which we can evaluate the usefulness of our strategy.

We currently are in the final stage of developing these modules and measuring instrument and we hope to implement it, right from this month by visiting the school regularly. We at the School Committee believe that as a growing nation it is our children who hold the key to the success of our country. If they are nurtured with care today then they will bring accolades for our nation tomorrow. Therefore we at Radius- School Committee are committed to the cause of aspiring these children for a better tomorrow

On campus Updates

JOG week preparations took over the on campus team from the end of the term exams. But still, the green initiative teams grew in the midst of all the preparations for the Joy of Giving Week. Tree plantation and the Solid waste development found a place for their birth in the JOG week.
For the tree plantation drive, a total of 80 saplings were bought at a total price of Rs 2800, 40 being Rain Forests trees, and 40 being Neem trees (due to the popularity of our small flying friends). Tree plantation was conducted on the 30th Sept and 2nd Oct 2009. A total of 45 saplings were planted- thanks to the effort of many LIBAities. In fact, many students have adopted most of the saplings planted. The rest of the saplings didn’t get their chance at being planted due to many small reasons burgeoning into a large one – lack of clear communication. So there will be a last (hopefully) tree plantation drive on the 20th Oct 2009 to finish this program. Let us join together and give the trees a home. Who knows, maybe the third time will be the lucky charm.
The Tree plantation drive also initiated the “Adopt a Tree “campaign, informally. It is a variant of the proverb “Little drops of Water make a mighty Ocean”. All you have to do, when you sign up, is to water the sapling that you have “adopted” twice a day. Once while coming to class, and the other while going back. Is it so difficult?? No way. On the other hand, think of the plus points... After 5-10 years, you could come back and show proudly “This is the Tree I have planted”, and maybe in that future, the only trees standing will be ones you planted. So, be on the look out for the “Adopt a Tree” campaign.
The solid waste program started on the 28th Sept 2009 with the newspaper collection drive and the clothes donation drive. This drive was continued throughout the week thanks to the enthusiastic response from the LIBAities. The newspaper collection, at the end of the week, yielded Rs 1000, and the clothes donated made a lot of people at the Goonj happy. Let’s keep up the good response. To make most of this enthusiasm, there will be a newspaper drive every month. Please be on the lookout for it and participate whole heartedly, for a newspaper free room (in your case) and a sustainable effort (on our part).
The last team of the green initiative is the energy efficient LIBA drive. The main objective of this drive is to reduce the power consumption of LIBA. We are in our first phase, which involves the analysis of the consumption patterns for the LIBA buildings. This phase will continue till the 14th of October2009.
Disclaimer: Radius is a LIBA initiative. The Radius members are only the facilitators to make the change in society easier. We are here to make your suggestions and ideas into reality. Please join hands with us and help us make the change quicker.

Social Entrepreneurship Series – No. 2

Wow!! What a wonderful celebrations we had during Joy of Giving (JOG) Week! I was inspired and motivated by the activities of LIBA Radius in taking such initiatives. One of the best things to me is that LIBA Entrepreneurship Cell (E – Cell) was able to be a part of JOG week by organising a Conference on Social Entrepreneurship on the theme we “mean” Business – Emerging Social Entrepreneurs of the 21st Century, for LIBA Radius during JOG week. Hope the conference enlightened the minds of the students with Ashoka fellows, Mr. Sriram Ayer (Nalanda Way) and Mr. Illango Rangaswamy (TVSG) sharing their experience after the theme introduction by Fr. Joe Arun SJ, professor of Social Entrepreneurship at various institutes across the globe including LIBA.
Coming to our series, let us clearly understand who Social Entrepreneurs are. There is no clear definition for the term Social Entrepreneur, though the term was first created and defined as “men and women with system changing solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems” by Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka, an organization that strives to create a global, entrepreneurial, competitive citizen sector. Different people interpret the term in different ways. Literally speaking, Entrepreneur means one who sets up a business and Social means something related to society, which put together means as a business set up basically for the betterment of the society. This can raise a question whether social entrepreneurship help in generating profits and how it is different from a normal NGO? To be precise, positive social change is the main motive of social entrepreneurship rather than profits. But the possibility of social entrepreneurship resulting in profits cannot be ruled out.
It is very interesting to learn that the number of social entrepreneurs is on the raise year on year. In a materialistic world that runs towards profits, we have people who have made positive social change as their prime motive in their life. What an amazing job they are doing! What triggered them to do so? Why should they do it? What pleasure do they derive from it? Do all these questions have answers? What LIBA Radius, which has promoting social entrepreneurship as one of the missions, can do worthwhile in promoting social entrepreneurship? Watch out this space for more. Let us explore the world of Social Entrepreneurship to the core!
Keep your feedbacks posting. Let us together make this column a meaningful one. Have fun. Wish you all a meaningful and colourful Deepavali wishes! Let the festival of Lights add more light to our lives.

- Boniface P.
The writer is the secretary of LIBA Entrepreneurship Cell (E – Cell) and can be reached at
+91 9884342050 and boniface_p@liba.edu

Radius Think Tank

This has been a remarkable month for LIBA Radius. Even a journey of thousand miles begins with one step. LIBA Radius has taken up several new initiatives during the Joy of Giving Week celebrated in the campus. The event was a grand success not just because of the LIBA Radius members but also because of the passion shown by every LIBAite towards a social cause. I thank LIBA E - Cell and 360 degrees for their support in making this event a grand success. Certainly we have taken the right step towards a social change.
The much awaited “Radius Think Tank” has been launched. They have started working on real life case studies from Self help Groups and have started helping them in building a sustainable business model. Soon they themselves will start writing case studies about real life problems in the society with the help of faculty members and the future managers will come together to find a solution for these social problems.
We have taken several new initiatives in the last few months. Now it is for our team to carry this momentum forward by sincerely working on the initiatives which we have taken up. Together we can..
I wish each and every one a Happy Diwali. Let the festival of lights bring joy and prosperity.

Fredline S, Secretary, LIBA Radius

Binyaa..

She is young. She is no more than 5 years. The red ribbon in her hair is hanging lose. Her fingers are gripping the heavy water pot tightly. The yellow flowers are swaying in the wind. Her dreamy eyes are gazing the flowers.
A child is coming back from school. Her glance changes direction: the uniform, the water bottle, the school bag, the polished shoes. A voice from behind calls out, ‘Binya, Binyaa ..’ The eyes become restless. The fingers clutch the pot more firmly. The feet move slowly to the nearby colony. The sound of the silver anklet in Binya’s feet fades away.
I sit inside the auto rickshaw. I await the traffic signal to turn green. I look at the yellow flowers, and occasionally at Binya.
I go to the college, LIBA. I look into the faces of my fellow class mates. Our background is different. We speak different languages. We call our God with different names. Yet we pray together. We feel the sorrow together when Binya passes by.
Our campus is large, green, and open. The buildings are tall and strong. We thrive to become taller than the trees and stronger than the buildings in our lives. We thrive towards success. But we define success in our own terms. There are many Binya’s around our campus. The city around us is brown and grey. Binya feels helpless in the city where nobody stops to look at the yellow flowers, to help Binya wear a school uniform and to attend school.
We care. We stop to see and to our surprise, many like us stop to see. We feel happy. We feel we are privileged to be a part of the civilization as we grow with time. We earn degree, respect, money and motivation. We feel we are responsible to bring forward the ones who are lagging behind.
So I get down from auto and hold Binya’s hand to lead her to a brighter day when she will be able to make her existence useful as a human resource, to her colony, to her family and to our civilization.
Here, in LIBA, we stand together as an entity, sensible and practical, responsible and capable. We stand to take the oath that we will magnify the resources by reaching out. When we came to LIBA we were vaguely ambitious, focussed and vigorous. From here the journey has started to enrich ourselves, to make us look beyond what is seen, to be sensible towards our counterparts who can not even attend a school. Today, we have given it a shape in form of ‘Radius’. We believe all of us, attached to LIBA in whichever way, feel proud to represent Radius. We are not a club or a group of people for a cause. It is not ‘U’ or ‘Me’, its ‘WE’. We stand together, all the students, faculty members, staffs to support any initiative of Radius. It is an arm of LIBA and all of us, whoever belongs to LIBA, belong to Radius.
We feel proud to see the huge number of students coming forward for eye donation, blood donation, tree plantation and all the activities happened in LIBA so far. LIBA has given birth to Radius and Radius is inspiring us to give rise to an ambition, more important than being an MBA, but to have the power to commit ourselves. As we work towards the smooth succession of Binya, the child moves from the colony to a school, from the silver anklets to white cades, from a blank glance to an enlightened mind representing a face of tomorrow. We, LIBA Radius, commit to radiate, to empower and to transform.

Debadipta Bhattacharya, Associate Secretary, PR- LIBA Radius

Microfinance- The Way to Inclusive Growth

“We asked the assembled 40 odd women, ‘Is there anything that you wish was different about the way the loan is provided; any little thing that would have made it easier for you?’ Most of them shook their heads to signal that there was no such thinking. We persisted in silence for an answer. Though they had whispered conversations for a couple of minutes there were no reactions to the question. Then an old lady got up and started, ‘I have something to say.’ We asked, ‘What?’ She said, ‘You see, I run a small bangles and cosmetics shop in the local market. I could not be running this shop but for the loan from the MFI. I started with a smaller loan and over two cycles of repayment, the loan had become Rs 10,000. With this I could start this shop.’ So what was the problem, we wondered? She continued, ‘I repay the loan instalments every week without fail. But I find that after six months, the repayments become more difficult for me. I have to borrow from elsewhere to keep up weekly instalments and around the tenth month I look for an external loan with which I can repay the balance of MFI loan and take a fresh loan.’ We asked her why she suddenly finds it difficult to repay after six months of loan. She looked at us in amusement that how could we be ignorant of such a simple thing. Then she patiently explained, ‘Initially when I stock my shop with Rs 10,000 worth of goods, there is a large range and variety. My sales are higher and cash inflow is higher. But after each sale, I am unable to replenish my stock as I have to meet my family needs and service the loan every week. By the sixth month my shop has half the stock I started with. With half the stock, I cannot maintain my sales volume at a high enough
level. Very often the stock that I am left with is not the first preference of customers and cannot be sold at good profits. My cash flow declines and I am unable to meet all my commitments. This is what constrains my repayment.’ We again asked her, ‘What do you want the MFI to do?’ She explained, ‘Nothing extraordinary. They (MFI) should relend the repayments at the end of each month after every four instalments. This would ensure that I replenish my stock and my cash flow from sales remains high.’”
This is an excerpt from “Microfinance India – State of the sector report 2008”. I hope this throws some light at the state of microfinance in India.

More than half of India is rural and more than 70% of rural India suffers from lack of credit availability. Of the rough 30% who manage to get credit, there is sheer dearth of knowledge on how to utilize it as can be seen in the above excerpt. The state of Indian microfinance requires more of consultancy than financial engineering of credit needs. Just as finance is no longer credit and debit but a bundle of a whole gamut of financial and allied services, microfinance needs to be a bundle of credit and other financial service availability along with entrepreneurship, business development, consultancy, literacy programmes and innovations to usher in inclusive growth in India.

Microfinance in India and not just India but for all economies that has a sizeable population who do not have access to credit is more about empowerment. It is like teaching people to fish and not just providing them fishes to eat. When people do not have access or timely access to credit they end up borrowing from informal lenders who charge exorbitant interest rates. A study of about 28 studies on informal lending in about 14 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America found that about 76% of the lenders charge more than 10% interest on a monthly basis and about 20% of them have rates about 100% per month. Mind you, the rates are monthly and not annualized.

The question that now awaits us is: Are we ready to provide for the needs of rural India? If the potential to grow lies in India, there is still huge untapped potential in rural India. Are we ready to fulfil our rural CSR by helping the rural India in areas like encouraging entrepreneurship among rural population, business development, consultancy, literacy programmes and innovations?

By Smitha Minz, IInd year, PGDM (Full-time)

Message from the Mentor

India was the richest region in the world in the first millennium (AD). India was No.1 upto the 15th. century. In the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, India’s income was around 30% of the global income. India was the most important trading regio in the world for many centuries. India’s exports were around 30% of the global exports in the 10th century. India’s share of global income fell to 22% in the 18th century and with regard to the exports, the proportion was almost the same. China occupied No.1 position for a few centuries upto the 18th century.

Europe shaped the global agenda during the 18th and 19th centuries. Europe occupied the central place in the global economy because of its unrelenting progress in education, unimagined advancement in science and technology, exploitative colonisation, aggressive and cruel imperialism, promotion of inhuman slave trade and the endless list of invention, discoveries and innovations. After the First World War, USA emerged as the most powerful nation. After the Second World War, the United States was on the top of the world in agriculture, industry, trade and transport and science and technology.

Japan, which was shattered during the Second World War, emerged out of the ashes of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1960s. During ‘60s, its annual economic growth was about 16%. By 1970s, it started acquiring the American companies apart from capturing the American market. Japan continued its exemplary growth rate with extraordinary vigour. The real estate and the stock market bubbles burst in 1990s put an end to the relentless growth of Japan. The United States with its strong 14 trillion dollar economy has become the biggest debtor in the world in the 21st. century. The United States, the sole super power today (in 2009) is the strongest in terms of its economic power and military strength. No country enjoyed such power in the last 1500 years after the fall of the Roman Empire.

But…….

The US is consuming more than it is producing. Its imports are more than its exports. It’s household savings rate is nil. It is the biggest borrower in the world. Its deficits are huge and mind boggling. The dollar is becoming weaker everyday and the other currencies are gaining strength vis-à-vis dollar.

There is a vacuum. China is climbing up fast. In many respects, China has already overtaken the United States except in per capita income and the consequent standard of living.

Where is India?

India will be reaping the demographic dividends. By 2040, India will be one of the three richest countries in the world.

Will India become numero uno?

India Can!

It is in the hands of our youth-our students. They should try to put India back where it was 1000 years ago.

India should become a super power! It will! There is no doubt about it. But… the land of Mahavir, Buddha, Ramanuja, Vallalar and Mahatma Gandhiji should become a different kind of super power. It should not become a big brother and it should not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. India should promote a nuclear free world. It should work for global peace. The world has witnessed more than 14,400 battles and war in history, killing millions of people and destroying wealth worth billions of dollars!

What for? What is the result? What are the consequences of these wars and battles? Destruction and more destruction!

Deaths and more deaths!

Enough is enough!

India should put an end to this catastrophic menace and limitless lunacy.

All the incomes created down the ages and the wealth generated by various civilizations would have created a better, more prosperous and humane world, had there been no wars! Yes!

Buddha had shown the way 2500 years back!

Hereafter there should be no war among nations in the name of religion or race or geography or language.

Wars should be declared against poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, hunger, malnutrition, exploitation and inequalities. Racism and male chauvinism should be defeated. Wealth should be created and equitably distributed.

Environment should be nurtured and protected. Sustainable development should be the new mantra.

A prosperous, peaceful progressive world should be created in which love and affection and sharing and sacrifice should be the guiding principles.

We Completed three months!

Good work guys! We have completed three months on campus!

It never felt that long since we started. But now as we look back, we feel good. We have had a significant journey so far. I would like to thank all our team members and non-members as well for helping Radius sail on.

Wehave come out with quarterly review of Radius which will be presented to Fr. Christie and Anthivan Sir. It is ready to be published to LIBA community once it gets approved. Members will receive it in their mail box tonight. We will make it available to non-members as well in a while.

This a moment of happiness for us. We are beaming with excitement and anticipation as we start our journey afresh with goals to achieve for next quarter.

You can expect more and more of Radius news in a few days as we will be sharing our targets and plans for all the teams right here.

Cehck out for October Issue of Newsletter which is due to release in next couple of days!

Look out for more next time!

Its 'My Tree'- When Are You Getting yours!

Have you ever thought of having a Tree to call your own! Have you ever thought of having a pet who is so unselfish and kind like a tree! Have you ever thought of matching your green t-shirt with the green tender leaves resting on your lap if you wish so!

Tree plantation drive is back on campus. We are going to turn the campus green before rainy season starts.

But more importantly, we have started adopting trees, taking care of it and bringing it up like a child.

You can also adopt a tree to call it your own. You can be a little more sensitive and be a friend to the tree.You help it to grow and it will help in sustain more than a decade.

Meet Deepthi Abraham if you feel to have your tree, I got mine today. When are you getting yours?

yet MORE!..Conference on Social Entrepreneurship

The LIBA Radius is a happening activity in our college, the club which has the most number of committee members, a deed if it’s good for the society; people are very much interested in participating and serve them. But people have lots of desires and aspirations that is why they are here at LIBA for a post graduation. But how I as a management graduate help the society and of course also fulfil their desires.
The morning session guest lecture by Mr. Mahadevan was an eye opener for us, further more to throw light upon the act of benevolence towards the society we had the mini conference on Social Entrepreneurship with the theme – we “mean” business.
LIBA radius in association with LIBA Entrepreneurship Cell organized a mini conference on Social entrepreneurship on 1st October 2009 as part of the Joy of giving fest, to infuse the need of entrepreneurship for social cause. Inspirational speeches by Fr. Joe Arun, Mr. Sriram Iyer and Ilango Rangasamy were all directed towards lighting up the fire of entrepreneurship among students of LIBA.
Fr. Joe Arun introduced the environment of Social entrepreneurship that means bridging the gap between Social motive and business motive. Then Mr. Sriram Iyer gave us a first hand experience of Social entrepreneurship, stating his personal experiences on the subject matter. We then had Ilango Rangasamy a leading entrepreneur of TVSG who gave us an insight on the various resources with the help of which we can make social entrepreneurship possible and can go on to change lives for ourselves and others. Both the speakers gave us an inspiring speech, which we could think about goodness for the society that can be provided even by people who are so busy in this competitive corporate world. They gave us insights on many aspects of Social Entrepreneurship which I think would be a boost for people who were thinking of doing a socially motive organization.
They give a major part of their timing and money for the welfare of the society, this conference where they shared their experience was really a awe inspiring one which will make all of us a socially responsible personalities.
With this event our JOY OF GIVING WEEK came to an end, the program was coming to an end but we have started enjoying and this will continue forever serving the nation.

We EMPOWERED!..Guest lecture on Social entrepreneurship

Mr. Mahadevan of Oriental Cuisines shared with us his experience and the path which lead him to great heights. We had an enthralling 20 minutes lecture on Social Entrepreneurship. He spoke about the qualities that an Entrepreneur should poses, where he emphasised on discipline, quantitative ability (ability to analyse the figures) while dealing with large number of units, being able to get things done even when we are not around the work place. He shared with us many of his personal experiences where the above mentioned qualities had come handy. He also stressed on the importance of an employee in an organisation and the way in which he has to be treated. He says that profit is not a bad word in social entrepreneurship. He made us realise that without profit the purpose of the Business is not fulfilled. The profit is needed to achieve the social motive for which the business is started. Mr. Mahadevan employs several economically backward people who are getting pension benefits, insurance, etc... and above all a secured life for them, in more than 70 countries. Apart from this he is also supporting several NGOs. A simple, down to earth person who has achieved so much in life and is passionate about giving back to the society which brought him up, was just extremely amazing to listen to.

We ENRICHED!..Clothes collection Drive

As part of the Joy of Giving Week, LIBA’s Social Initiative Radius organized a clothes collection campaign. It served the twosome purpose of instilling a sense of responsibility towards the society in the students while at the same time finding people who would put to use stuff that was lying unused with the students. Donating old clothes to charity came across as a great idea for many reasons. Donating old clothes can be very much helpful to society as people who need affordable clothing can have access to donated clothes. The environment also benefits since clothing thrown away rather than donated ends up in the uselessly polluting the land.
The campaign encouraged the students to donate clothes that are wearable, clothes which does not fit them would definitely fit someone who needs it. Students came forward and donated clothes (not special occasion clothes) that had stayed in their safes and wardrobes for more than two months indicating clearly that they did not need them anymore and therefore should give them away.
However, the driving force of the campaign was that that there is extreme joy in giving away something that one loves so much, than that one may not like because the real Joy of Giving lies in parting with things one values greatly.
The clothes donation campaign at LIBA started on 29 September, 2009 and lasted till 1 October 2009. Collection booths were set up at two places in LIBA and were open to both the fulltime and part time students. Students participated in the campaign with great fervour and by the end of the campaign a large carton of clothes was available for donation. These clothes were packed and handed over to Goonj, Seva Samajam Children's Home (75, Bajanai Kovil Street, Pallipattu, Chennai).

WE Turn it GREEN!..Tree plantation

In the beginning man was living in the forest without any worries they lived happily in the dark forest, but as civilization started the natural shelters of trees were replaced by walls buildings etc but with civilization man has brought a new disease to the universe the “Global warming”. We as a part of LIBA Radius took the initiative of planting about 80 saplings around the LIBA campus as an inauguration for making the campus green and the world surrounded by it. Volunteers were so interested in lending a helping hand and the set target of 80 saplings, which was successfully achieved. And a new trend towards the development of this tree planting project, we students of LIBA have adopted a tree each, which we will be taking care of them till they manage to grow by themselves. It was indeed happy as we started watering and guarding the trees, a added up responsibility to our hectic schedule of studies, but this is really a cute project where we forget our worries and enjoy the enrichment of nature with our love towards it. This indeed is a path way for creating not only a green campus but a greener world. Let’s protect the nature!!!

WE Gave Away!..Eye Donation Camp

Donate eyes, Donate sight.. They say, by donating one set of eyes, you give two other people, the hope of sight. The eyes are one set of organs that can be transplanted easily. Even people with myopia and hypermetropia can donate eyes. This is one property that sets it apart from donation of other organs or blood donation. In case of blood donation, people with sugar or other conditions cannot donate. This organ donation can be done by anyone. To serve as a portal for this donation, LIBA Radius, the social initiative in LIBA, conducted an eye pledge drive as an event during the Joy of Giving week. This was conducted in association with Sankara Nethralaya on 28th Sept 2009 on LIBA campus. The drive was extended till 1st Oct 2009, to clear doubts and give, many part time and executive students, the chance to experience the joy of giving by donating their eyes. About 50 people, comprising of students and faculty members, came forward to donate their eyes, happy at the chance to give something back to the society. This initiative also helped clear many doubts prevailing in the minds of the students at LIBA, regarding the process of eye donation. On the whole, this drive was successful in its purpose: to give each the option to experience the Joy of Giving.

We did IT!..Waste to Wealth

While the world around enjoyed a relaxing holiday amidst the festivities, volunteers of LIBA Radius, the Social Initiative of LIBA, were busy working full throttle on cleaning up the campus. It was the second day of the Joy of Giving (JOG) week and it was evident that our volunteers were out to make a difference. In the first half of the day the garbage around the LIBA Hostel was cleared and segregated into plastic waste, metal and glass. The bio-degradable waste was left untouched to fertilize the soil. Appropriate safety measures were taken as the volunteers wore gloves and masks.
In the second half of the day, the garbage around the field adjacent to the LIBA hostel was collected and loaded on to cement bags. Carrying a yellow cement bag and loading garbage into it – the sight did resemble what we see very often on our streets - and mind you, it’s very easy to poke fun at others. Not the type who’d shy away or be ashamed of what others think, the volunteers were upfront in saying that they got to taste the reality of life as experienced by rag pickers trying to seek out a living on the high streets. Now that’s some plain-speaking without mincing words.
The activity did not just end with picking up rags, an idea is on the cards to construct a garden in the place where the rubbish was cleared out – closely connecting with one of the three pillars of Radius. Any guesses? Transform – yes this activity would essentially transform a garbage dump into something of lasting beauty.
The non-biodegradable waste collected was given to Exnora – a foundation that works to dispose of non-biodegradable waste in the most safe and efficient manner.

Joyfest in campus

A life of giving—not just money, but time and spirit—repays. This was the motto with which the concept of Joy of Giving week was started. Joy of Giving week(27th September to 1st October) was an initiative of Give India, an NGO that is dedicated to changing lives, lives of not only the poor but also of the needy. LIBA also wanted to contribute in a small but effective way. So a number of activities were organized both on and off campus. Following is the list of activities,
Inauguration Ceremony
Joy of Giving Week was flagged off at LIBA on 27th September, 2009 with a small inaugural function organized by the students. The inauguration was blessed by the presence of Rev. Fr. Maria Augustine, Professor Victor Louis Anthuvan and Professor Alagu Perumal Ramasamy.
Orphanage Visit
The plan for the day was to spend time with mentally challenged children at MITHRA, Anna Nagar.
A group of more than 25 Libaites reached Mithra at around 11a.m. The event went on till 3p.m. The students of LIBA had various events and games through which they were able to make those little children participate and at the same time entertain them.
- LIBA students conducted games and at the end of it gave chocolates to all the children.
- We also spent time talking to the kids, playing board games, football etc.
- We had organized dance programs and songs for the kids and also made them dance along with us. The children enjoyed every minute that we spent with them and so did we.
- We provided them with things that they had requested: clothes, slippers, accessories etc.
- We sponsored their dinner for the day.
It was a wonderful learning experience for all those who were there with the children at MITHRA and surely an eye opener as to what we can do for the society in our way. We Libaites have a very busy schedule during the week and many a times we have no weekends too. But we were able to understand the fact that there are people who need us, our time and our love. So, as future leaders our learning is to balance our life in such a manner that we can give time for others and share this testimony with the world that anything is possible through love and giving.

we "mean" Business - Emergence of Social Entreprenurs in the 21st Century- A conference on Social Entrepreneurship_1st Oct 2009

Date: 1st October 2009
Time: 2:30 pm to 5: pm
Venue:
LIBA Auditorium
LIBA
Loyola College
Nungambakkam
Chennai – 600 034

In a world that revolves only around profits, there is a lot of scope for a positive social change through which profits can be reaped, which not many have understood. But there are some bright minds, called Social Entrepreneurs emerging with a vision complimented by strong mission and shedding their energy for a positive social change. It is the time to promote such social causes and this conference aims bringing out more such Social Entrepreneurs.
Agenda:
1. Welcome Address – 2:30 – 2:35 pm
2. Introduction of Theme – Fr. Joe Arun SJ – 2:35 pm to 2:50 pm
3. Edu – Care Development - Mr. Sriram Ayer, Nalanda Way – 2: 50 pm to 3:25 pm
4. Empowering Entrepreneurship – Mr. Ilango Rangaswamy, TVSG – 3: 26 pm – 3: 30 pm
5. Rehabilitating Social Change –Dr. Thara Srinivasan, SCARF –3: 50 pm to 4:15 pm *
6. Question & Answer session – 4:20 pm to 4:40 pm
7. Vote of Thanks – 4:40 pm to 4:45 pm
*Awaited Confirmation

Event Organizers
LIBA Radius in association with LIBA Entrepreneurship Cell
Note: The Speakers are to be confirmed!!

Planting saplings in the campus_30th Sep 2009

Right spots are identified in LIBA and appropriate saplings are planted in the campus!!

Eye Donation & Clothes Collection_ 29th Sep 2009

LIBA people will pledge to donate eyes.
Clothes will be collected from LIBA and will be given to Goonj.

Beautification of Neighbourhood_28th Sep 2009

As a part of JOG celebrations, LIBA Radius is organising a campus beautification event. The event includes collecting garbages and separating them into Organic and Inorganic wates and coordinating with Exnora to dispose the garbage.
This event will be continued even after JOG!

JOG Inaguration_27th Sep 2009

The wait is finally over. The Joy of Giving week is here!! We join hands with thousands across our country to mark its beginning this Sunday: 27th of Sept, with an inaugural function in 302 at 9:30 am. Please be there to be a part of this memorable day.

JOG Clebrations @ LIBA

LIBA (Loyola Institute of Business Administration) is thrilled to celebrate the Joy of Giving week.
LIBA Radius, the social initiative of the institute organising the event in LIBA along with Give India.
The Events planned are as follows
Date Day Event
27.9.09 Sunday JOG Inauguration
Orphanage visit
28.9.09 Monday Beautification of Neighbourhood
29.9.09 Tuesday Eye Donation
Clothes collection
30.9.09 Wednesday Planting saplings in the campus
1.10.09 Thursday Conference on Social entrepreneurship
Valedictory function

Message from the mentor

The students of LIBA have started giving................................................their blood!

The Constitution of India in its preamble has the following declaration:
We, the people of INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY, of thought, expression, belief;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
And to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the NATION;
Three score and two years have gone into history since the British left India. Before 1947, we could accuse them as the exploiters and hold them responsible for the then conditions which prevailed in the country.
True, when we look around, we are surprised by our phenomenal achievements in Agriculture, Industry, Trade, Transport communications, Science and Technology and other areas. Our progress is amazing! Our achievements are phenomenal!
But…..
Every third Indian cannot read. Every sixth Indian has to fight the caste system to become a touchable. Majority of our rural women, about ninety percent of the dalit women cannot read and write. Every fourth Indian does not get even adequate food. Every second child suffers from malnutrition and hunger.
Economic equality and economic democracy are still far away. Social freedom and social democracy remain only as dreams to be realised. Every third Indian is earning below a dollar per day. About seventy five percent of Indians are still getting less than two dollars a day.
But….
The national income is more than one trillion dollars. The growth rate has been incredible.
What are the reasons for our failure to realise the dreams of Mahatma and his team?
There has been growth of course without equity and justice!
This has to be changed.
The governance should become more transparent, efficient and accountable at all levels.
The haves should share whatever they have beyond their requirements.
The people and the institutions should give more and more to the marginalised.
The students of LIBA have started giving. They have started giving their blood! They want to give more in terms of knowledge, money, efforts and love.
They are visiting the remote villages and also the slums in the city. They are trying to clean and green the campus. They are trying to organise evening classes for the poor children in the slums. They are extending their arms to help the poor. A few small steps, but a leap forward!
They are adding one more feather to the glory of LIBA.
I am sure that the students have made a beginning in transforming the social order. Such efforts, collectively, will deliver justice- social, economic, political and cultural, in such manner that the people secure what was promised to them by the noble preamble to our constitution.

-Dr. M Victor Louis Anthuvan, Professor,LIBA; Mentor,LIBA Radius

RADIUS SCHOOL INITIATIVE

This group focuses on enhancing the education of unprivileged children. The present plan is to adopt an institution of primary & secondary education where, we will carry out our activities on a weekly basis. The institution we have chosen is 'Devikarumari Amman Destitute Home', Anna Salai, Chennai. This home has under its wings around 80 destitute children, who are mainly children of gypsy construction workers. They have a school attached where the children are educated. The School is Government aided which means that the government pays for the salary of the staff while the South Indian Scheduled Tribes Welfare Association, that runs the home, pays for everything else. So, we plan on making fund raising for the children part of our agenda.

The first visit was on August 8th, 2009. A group of 15 Radius members spent around 2 hours with the children. As it was our first visit, the focus was on building a good relationship with the children. We did this by way of ice breaking session, Drawing competition and screening a movie. Prizes were distributed for the winners of the drawing competition and chocolates given to all the children. We also played with the children and took plenty of photos with them, which made them happy. What we noticed was that the children were extremely well behaved and receptive. All in all, the first visit inspired and encouraged us to work further for the children.

The second visit was on August 29th 2009. Due to various constraints, a smaller group of 5 Radius members could only be gathered for the visit which lasted for a duration of 1 ½ hours. The primary focus of this visit was to know the individual goals of the children and also promote general awareness among the children about the great leaders of our country. A game was also conducted to avoid boredom.

In the month of September, we plan to implement a proper system to make the school visits regular and hence, productive.

Herbert Hoover said, “Children are our most valuable natural resource”. We hope to take small yet sustainable steps towards tapping into this resource and making a long lasting impact on their lives.

-Silpa Paul and Mellwyn Joseph, Off campus and On campus Activities, LIBA Radius

Accounts Details of Radius for Month of August, 2009

Social Entrepreneurship Series-Story 1

It is really a pleasant experience to write a column in LIBA Radius’ newsletter about social entrepreneurship.

I was wondering what to write in this column. Should I write what is social entrepreneurship explaining various aspects of it? But I doubt whether I am very much experienced about social entrepreneurship. This left me at the possibility of either making a review of various articles about social entrepreneurship in the recent times and presenting a digest here or researching on the happenings on the social entrepreneurship across the globe. Both the options sound equally good and why leave a good thing at the expense of another good thing. I felt I should give a digest of both.

I am sure there is lot of activities happening around social entrepreneurship across the globe. When I was requested to write about social entrepreneurship (In fact, I was given the privilege of choosing my topic for the column) I saw many articles and happenings around social entrepreneurship coming my way. It is an encouraging sign and I hope this opportunity can be grabbed and present them to you in a memorable reading experience.

Let me take you through different phases in the column. The first phase will include articles about organizations that promote social entrepreneurship and how to approach them for any help, various social entrepreneurs who took up the challenge by sacrificing their fat pay cheques and a few case studies. The details of the further phases will be elaborated in the forthcoming issues.

A digest does not mean that only a bird’s eye view of the happenings or articles will be given. Readers can expect an in depth analysis of the various aspects to be covered in this column. I may not be right in all my analysis. Readers are most welcome to correct me at any point of time. I prefer the column to be an interactive mode, so that the outcome of the column will be better in every aspect. Hope I can come out with interesting write ups for this column in the forthcoming issues.

BONIFACE P.

The writer is the secretary of the LIBA Entrepreneurship Cell

Meet our Social Managers for Self Help Groups

This is one of the most interesting and challenging initiative of LIBA-Radius. The objective of this team is to propose a business plan to improve the marketability of products produced by women Self Help Groups (SHG).

Background:

SHG is group of rural poor who have volunteered to organize themselves into a group for eradication of poverty of the members. Generally a self-help group may consist of 10 to 20 persons mostly belonging to families below poverty line with little basic education. The members should build their corpus through regular savings. The group should be able to collect the minimum voluntary saving amount from all the members regularly in the group meetings. The savings so collected will be the group corpus fund. The members in the group meetings should take all the loaning decisions through a participatory decision making process. They are given training on various things like tailoring, catering, leather works, handicrafts, embroidery etc.

Current Problem:

SHGs produce a wide portfolio of products which includes food items; incent sticks, cosmetic creams, fresh juices etc. While the quality of these products are on par with branded products in most cases, but they lack the marketing prowess to take the products to the end customer. They are devoid of established marketing channels. Most people today look at these products as inferior to the more established products. This is primarily one of the reasons for these products to be under priced. The perishable nature of food products makes it all the more important to find an efficient distribution mechanism for these products.

Current Scheme:

Most of the products of SHGs today are sold through Direct Sales Approach (DSA). The members make a door to door to visit to sell their products. This places serious limitations on the marketability of the products. The consumers also perceive these products as inferior and low quality. The products are also available in some retail outlets but at very minimal level. It is also not uncommon to find the shopkeepers demanding high credit period in order to store their stocks.

Research has been going on, to select the SHG and start the work based on two proposals

Proposal I:

We can establish a professional agency that can facilitate in finding the retailers who are willing to sell these products. The students can apply the marketing concepts taught in class to a real life situation thereby acquiring invaluable practical experience. The SHGs could also get a better deal for their products. Thus it is a win-win situation for all.

Plan:

1. Contact Self help groups and get understanding of their products
2. Help self group understand how the project will help them in terms of income generation and more contacts for their products
3. Get the product details like quality, price, volume that they can produce
4. Prepare a product brochure
5. Identify agency that will help in finding retailers for their products
6. Constant support in identifying many agency and retailers and communicating the self help groups about the agencies
7. Developing a proper marketing strategy and giving valuable recommendations for the self help group in marketing the products
8. Time required: 7 month

-Off-Campus SHG Team, LIBA Radius
-Off-Campus SHG Team, LIBA Radius

Slum Development Initiative

Objective:

Developing a slum by fulfilling the basic needs and providing a long term solution for the basic needs.

Synopsis:

There are slums near to LIBA without basic needs like proper road, water supply, schools, toilets so on and so forth. The people live over there may not have much education and political influence to get done all these things. So as a team we are looking forward to provide them with the long term solution for their problem. As a first step we are in the process of identifying the slum, which needs such solutions. Research of the slums is going on this is the major part of this project. Once the slum is identified the team will come with the solutions for the problems what they face.

Plan:

1. Three slums has been listed

2. Research has been going on to select one

3. Legal requirements for the problems

4. Political and financial back-up process has to be done.

5. Commencement of the project with legal adviser and supervisor

6. Time requirement min 1 year(based on the project)

Actions done:

· Planned to visit the slums and decide on which slum we will be progressing further

· The team will be working on concrete plans and the juniors will be heading the team after January, with the guidance of the seniors heading it at present.

OFF CAMPUS TEAM

Slum Development

Radius

LIBA

Freedom is in the Air!

It was on the night on the eve of Independence Day. I was excited about the great day and thinking about the milestones which we have achieved in the 62 years. We have made tremendous achievements in different fields. Be it in science, technology, healthcare, education and the list goes on. We have also achieved the economic freedom. We need not stand in a queue in RBI to buy a Nokia phone. We are living in one of the best time in the history.

The next day in the morning, I was browsing through the paper and I was bit pinched with the reality. The front page story was about the drought situation in India and there were stories about starvation deaths in Bihar. When I went through the other pages, it was no better, as there was a story about Revenue Department “achieving” the first place in corruption. Though India has seen tremendous development, we have still miles to go to attain real freedom for all.

Now it is for us to think about how we can serve this nation in the transformation of this country into a Super Power. Today one of the greatest threats to the nation is the climate change. Every year the climatic changes have been playing havoc. So it is time for us to act. In this direction Radius will start a Green Initiative in the campus. The main focus of this initiative will be on Solid Waste Management, Energy Efficient and a Greener Campus but these initiatives should not stop with LIBA.

Another menace the country faces is corruption. Though the previous UPA dispensation in the centre has passed the landmark RTI Act, it has not yet reached the masses. Radius will start a white initiative which will create awareness about RTI, through which we will try to make the government machinery more transparent. This in turn will help to weed out corruption. We as future leaders will also pledge against corruption in all our future endeavors.

Throughout these initiatives we will consciously employ the management concepts to bring about fantastic results. This is not just for Radius but it is for the LIBA family to participate in these initiatives. I wish that these initiatives do not end here. Carry these initiatives wherever you go. Then certainly a day will come when India will be really free.