VAPP REPORT

2018-19

Voluntary Agency Placement Programme (VAPP) is a dynamic society of LSR, based on

community rather than hierarchy, which provides a space to harness youth power as a creative
force for social change. It allows students to engage with socio-economic issues and trains
them for community development. The society also provides enthusiastic students engaging
opportunities to volunteer with NGOs working at the grassroot level.
With a membership of 380 people, VAPP managed to provide 118 internships and fellowships
during the year. These included fellowships with Naropa Foundation, Pravah, Teach for India,
Gandhi Fellowship and the Smart Cities Project under the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs, and internships with Youth for Peace International, Vision India Foundation and the
Health Ministry, Government of India. The horizon of VAPP keeps expanding not only to build
up an awareness about the world among the students but also to help them discover the hidden
world within themselves. This self-exploration helps bring about social change because any
initiative to transform the world begins with the individual – with you, us and me. Keeping this
thought in mind, VAPP organized a series of events throughout the academic year 2018- ’19.
i. Workshop on ‘Digital Safe Space in India’ was organized in collaboration with the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs.
It included UN volunteers, Mash Project, Pravah NGO and Cyber Peace Foundation. A
popular RJ, Ms. Ginnie Mahajan, who was also present at the event, shared her own
experience with the students. The workshop underscored the fact that- it is vital to be
engaged, but equally important to stay informed and be SAFE ONLINE.
ii. Collection Drive: A Clothes Collection Drive in collaboration with the NGO, We
Clothe Them was conducted by VAPP in the first week of August.
iii. Workshop by Digital Gandhi: An immersive and insightful workshop was conducted
on 23rd August, 2018. Mr.Onkar Kishan Khullar, better known as Digital Gandhi, along
with blogger Mr. Devansh Kamboj, MMA trainer Mr. Gunjit Motiyani and consultant
iv. Simply Blood Workshop: The skill of incorporating individualism and humanity into
one was taught to students, through an interactive session on August 30, 2018, with Mr.
Karan Verma, the founder of Simply Blood, the world’s first virtual blood donation
platform to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of blood.
v. Workshop on Emotion Matter: Ms. Juhi Sharma, the founder of Light Up Foundation,
conducted a workshop on the September 4, 2018 which emphasized how overthinking,
toxic relationships, pain and abusive lifestyle can bring us down but the formula is to
rise up. It is only ‘YOU’ who matters- Reflect and Act.
vi. Talk on Urban Poverty: “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity, it is an act of
justice”. On 7 September, 2018, the students of LSR received a wonderful opportunity
 of meeting Mr. Subhrajeet Gautam, the founder of one of the largest youth-led NGOs,
Umeed- A Drop of Hope, which is spearheading a social change in the field of poverty,
welfare and education. The discussion addressed many misconceptions surrounding
poverty, and gave the students a new understanding of what it means to be deprived.
vii. Inclusive workshop-‘From Exclusion to Inclusion’: The Amrit Foundation of India
organized a “WeAllFitIn” workshop on September 19, which helped the attendees
understand many of the concerns of a person with disabilities. It was truly a learning
experience for all who came.
viii. Interactive Session on Walking the Gandhian Way: In September 2018, VAPP
organized a session with Dr. Aggarwal, the President of Shanti Sahyog. Dr. Aggarwal
highlighted the fact that living a life of non-violence leads to brotherhood, unity and
love, which are the essential virtues of a human life.
ix. Talk on “Careers in the Development Sector”: On September 27, 2018, the Voluntary
Agency Placement Programme organized a talk with Ms. Nishitha Banerjee, an alumna
of LSR and Gandhi Fellowship on “Careers in the Development Sector”.
x. Interactive Session on Public Policies for an inclusive growth in collaboration with
REACH: This interactive session with Mr. Nipun Malhotra was held on October 9,
2018, to answer the question “How can public policy aim for smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth?” The talk emphasized that small efforts made by individuals can lead
to big changes in other peoples lives.
xi. Field Trip: To provide members of VAPP an opportunity to understand better what
unfolds behind the scenes at non-profit organizations, a field trip was organized to the
Goonj processing Centre at Sarita Vihar. The display of antique objects received as
donations and the reuse of one-side printed sheets were some examples of ingenuity at
Goonj. An inclusive and affirmative employment policy was adhered to by Goonj at
the centre. The visit concluded with the team happily shopping for a range of products
from ‘Green by Goonj.’
xii. Workshop on Cybersecurity: The Voluntary Agency Placement Programme organized
a workshop with Mr Rakshit Tandon- a cybersecurity expert, who explained that “The
‘Virtual world’ is not merely a game but an unavoidable part of life and, therefore,
requires a diligent approach to deal with it”.
xiii. Talk on the “Fight against Child Sexual Abuse”: “You took away my innocence but
you can never take away my spirit to survive”. This was the inspiring message by Ms.
Mariam Rauf, an alumna of LSR, who had avidly contributed to the development of
VAPP as an ever-evolving space to explore and shed fears
xiv. Session on the National Health Policy of India: VAPP in collaboration with Global
Youth, organized a session on the ‘National Health Policy of India with respect to
Women’ on February 28, 2019. The talk was delivered by Ms. Avani Kapur, the
Director of Accountability Initiative, the Centre for Policy Research. The session shed
light on the various facets of the public health system in India and its socio-political
 and economic implications.
xv. Field Trip: VAPP organized a field visit in collaboration with Light Up Foundation to
Sanjay Camp at Chanakyapuri, Delhi on March 3, 2019. The foundation is a social
venture advocating the need to practice emotional intelligence in low-income
communities and classrooms. The students gained an insight into the implementation
of such activities, and each one of them felt inspired to do more for others.
xvi. Dance Movement Therapy Workshop: A Dance Movement Therapy workshop was
organized on March 28, 2019. Ms.Rashi Bijlani, the Director and Course Designer of
ASHA HAI, and the founder of the Centre for Dance Movement Psychotherapy
facilitated the workshop for a group of 45 students.
xvii. Internships and Fellowships