Chicago IL: Dvara Magazine, committed to promoting Indian-fusion, celebrated its first anniversary on March 13th, 2016 at Sunda Restaurant in Downtown Chicago. In order to make the celebrations more meaningful and socially-relevant, management of the Dvara Magazine hosted a grand fundraiser aimed at strengthening “Save the Girl Child Program” launched by the Dignity of the Girl Child Organization in Jaipur, India in order to achieve its cherished goals. The event was attended by hundreds of eminent people from different walks of life.
Dr. Meeta Singh, Director of Dignity of the Girl Child Organization, the keynote speaker at the event, said that educational empowerment of a girl brings in its wake a number of beneficial outcomes for her family as well as for the society at large. “A computer-literate girl, for example, can predict weather, advise farmers on the right price for their produce in the market, and thereby emerge as a leader at the grassroots level”, she opined and added that contributing to this process of bringing about a positive and healthy societal change would be the greatest achievement of her life.
Sujata, President and CEO of Chicago Foundation for Women, another key note speaker at the event, said that becoming rich and famous should not be the only goal of one’s life. “While a multitude of people believe in living a king-size life, which involves, among other things, buying a villa in an island, going for a fleet of the most fanciest sports cars, having billions of dollars in secret bank accounts in Switzerland, etc, I deliberately opted for working for a not-for-profit organization calledApna Ghar that is committed to improving the quality of life of immigrant battered women”, she added.
Karthika Gupta and Jayashree Rao, the Chicago-based co-founders of Dvara Magazine and members of its core editorial team, outlined the details of their visit to Khandar, a village near Ranthambore National Park in Jaipur in 2015 to document a story on “Women Empowerment in Rajasthan” for upcoming issue of the Magazine. They said that during the course of their visit, they met with several poor girls and women and were honored to be a part of their daily life.
“Being one among the loving and innocent girls and women gave me an opportunity not only to understand their lives, dreams, and aspirations but also to witness the struggle for their social, educational, and economic empowerment”, said Karthika.
Dvara Magazine, which had a fundraising goal of $2200, successfully raised almost double the amount through the fundraiser. Those who are interested in having more information about Dvara Magazine may visit its website: www.dvaramagazine.com. They may visit www.dvaramagazine.com/fundraiser for relevant information about the fundraiser, the sponsors of this event, and donations.