Chennai, 15 March, 2008:

Honourable Minister for Social Welfare inaugurates CIOSA's Seva Mela 2008

Seva Mela, the annual fund-raising event organized by CIOSA (Confederation of Indian Organizations for Service & Advocacy) is being held at Valluvar Kottam on 15th and 16th March.

 

Seva Mela 2008 revolves around the theme of Best Medical Care for Needy Children. The funds and donations collected through Seva Mela 2008 is going to be used for the EKAM project of CIOSA to purchase a mobile medical van that will be providing complete medical care to 30,000 underprivileged children in Chennai.

 

Ekam is a unique community paediatric initiative that aims at providing holistic healthcare for children within the age of 0-17 years.

 

Dr. Poongothai Aladi Aruna, Honourable Minister for Social Welfare, Tamil Nadu, inaugurated the Seva Mela at Valluvar Kottam.

 

Speaking about the initiative, Mr. K. Pandia Rajan, Founder-member of CIOSA, said, "We strongly believe in creating a malady-free society. This is the second year that we are having Seva Mela and the kind of response that we have received is more than heartening. We take this opportunity to thank all the corporates and individuals who have come forward to support us in our endeavour to provide better medical facilities for underprivileged children.”

 

As a part of the Seva Mela, CIOSA had lined up a series of events over the weekend for the public, NGOs and Corporate Houses to participate in.

 

Highlights of Seva Mela 2008:

 

Opportunity Fair: Seva Mela provides a platform to forge long term alliances between NGOs, corporates, social volunteers and general public.

 

Seva Park: NGOs, self help groups, colleges and corporate houses have put up more than 150 stalls to showcase the societal activities they are engaged in.

 

Seva Mall: An amusement mall with different themes / causes to change mindsets of people and provide a new learning experience. Seva Mall consists of photo-exhibitions, documentaries and video games to keep the visitors entertained.

 

Seva Talents: Competitions and contests are being held for school and college students on development issues.

 

Seva Jobs: A job fair is organised for candidates wanting to make a career in the NGO field. Corporates are participating in the fair as employers and are identifying candidates for their organizations. This is also one of the very few exclusive job fairs for students pursuing their studies in social work.

 

Seva Fest: A cultural show by children from different homes and NGOs.

 

Seva Awards: The following awards were presented at Seva Mela 2008:

 

• C. Subramanium Award - Best Young Social Scientist
• Amar Seva 'Business for People' Award - Best Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative
• Suchir Seva Award - Best Grassroot Level Worker
• Jeevan Seva - Doyan in Voluntary Sector
• Madhur Seva Award - Best Writer
• Air Marshall Krishanaswamy Award - Honours a person, who has started a new career, post-retirement