“…the pressure has started to get to me and I cannot take it any longer…I hope they will understand,” says a 17 year old boy’s suicide note1.
Teenagers today are under so much pressure to perform well in their exams that they take the most extreme and final step of ending their own lives. According to the latest figures available, in 2006 alone 16 students a day killed themselves due to exam stress in India.2 Yet there are no absolutely clear and distinct signs that warn parents of their child’s suffering. Many feel helpless and shocked when confronted with such a tragedy.
However, exam pressure is not the only issue facing children. In a world that demands more and more of them everyday, many students feel lost and unsure of themselves. This is even more true of the millions of children in India who suffer from the effects of depression.
Educationalists are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of informal, life skills training in child development. Life skills are a set of cognitive, personal and interpersonal skills that help children cope with the pressures of growing up.
In India today, there has been a noticeable shift in emphasis from classroom based learning to experience based education. At the forefront of implementing this change are non-profit children’s organizations like The Akshaya Patra Foundation.
This Bangalore based, children’s charity provides life skills training to nearly 40 000 students in Karnataka through its ‘Akshaya Life Skills’ initiative.
Conducted in collaboration with Edumedia, India’s most awarded and respected children’s events company, this program gives children the opportunity for new and exciting life experiences that develop their personality as a whole.
With everything from leadership abilities to motivational and confidence building lessons, Akshaya Patra’s life skills program helps children where they need it most: it gives them the boost they need to deal with life.
As Sultan Ahmed of Edumedia says, “It is our responsibility to provide children with all the tools they need to face life. The greatest gift we can give them is the inspiration to dream.”
Akshaya Life Skills does just that for 35 000 children in India.

1, 2, http://www.dawn.com/2008/05/20/int12.htm

Dr.Gururaj Deshpande, co-founder and chairman of Sycamore Networks and chairman of Akshaya Patra, USA , has been appointed as one of the Co-Chairman of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, This is to support President Obama’s innovation strategy by helping to develop policies that foster entrepreneurship, create jobs, and drive economic growth. This was announced by US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke at a U.S. Department of Commerce University Innovation Forum at the University of Michigan.

Dr.Deshpande is one of 26 members and the only Indian to be co-chairing this council. Members of the council include serial entrepreneurs, university presidents, investors and non-profit leaders. Steve Case, Mary Sue Coleman, and Desh Deshpande will serve as Co-Chairs.

“America’s innovation engine is not as efficient or as effective as it needs to be, and we are not creating as many jobs as we should,” Locke said. “We must get better at connecting the great ideas to the great company builders. The National Advisory Council will help the administration develop a broader strategy to spur innovation and enable entrepreneurs to develop breakthrough technologies and dynamic companies, and to create jobs all across America.I want to extend my gratitude to the leaders selected to The National Advisory Council. Their work will be a key component of America’s economic recovery.”