Indians for Collective Action raises $60,000 at annual gala

By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 26 October 2010, 07:04 IST
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California: Indians for Collective Action, an organization which supports community development projects in India and aimed at empowering low-income people raised $60,000 at the 15th annual dinner gala held at the India Community Center in California. Apart from raising the amount for ICA's various India development projects, it also included $20,000 for 'India Vision,' Bedi's initiative for prison reform and drug treatment. The organization has risen more than $250,000 this year to support 300 projects throughout India and the U.S., which address a diverse range of basic needs, from clean drinking water, reforestation, access to healthcare and women's empowerment. ICA, founded by a group of UC Berkeley students in 1965, also supports the Jaipur Foot project, which has distributed thousands of $28 prosthetic legs to land-mine victims and others throughout the developing world. The evening also featured a 'social innovation' panel discussion, highlighting four young social entrepreneurs developing products and services for the Indian market. The dance troupe Taala rounded out the evening, with a classically-based contemporary dance medley. Local favorite Jeff Whittier gave a bansuri recital during the dinner service. Kiran Bedi, India's first female IPS officer and now social activist received a long standing ovation before her keynote speech at the function. She received the 2010 ICA Social Entrepreneur Award along with USAID administrator Rajiv Shah. Bedi spoke of creating a nation of entrepreneurs, who could create jobs rather than simply seeking employment. "India needs 450 million jobs," asserted Bedi, adding that the government, India's largest employer, could only employ 11 million. She spoke of creating a nation of entrepreneurs, who could create jobs rather than simply seeking employment. The social innovation panel highlighted the work of PlanetRead, founded by Brij Kothari, which uses 'same language subtitling' to improve literacy rates; Neil Patel, who , with panel moderator Tapan Parikh - founded Avaaj Otalo, which helps farmers get answers to agricultural questions, via their mobile phones. "ICA is very good at incubating ideas, and very good at connecting people to serve the underprivileged of India," said Bhupen Mehta, president of ICA