1. What does Diya mean?

Diya in Sanskrit means lamp. Just like a lamp eradicates darkness, and brings in light, Diya works to illuminate the lives of the underprivileged, and bring them on par with the rest of society. Our motto is Illuminating Lives.

2. Is Diya a registered organization?

Yes. Diya is registered as a trust with the Government of India. It has a panel of trustees who manage its activities.

3. How can I volunteer with Diya?

You can choose to get involved in any of our activities, based on your time schedules and interests. Get in touch with us to know how you can contribute.

4. What will be my role as a Diya member?

Diya has a very informal setup, where each volunteer can get involved to the extent that he/she wishes to. At any given time, we have various ongoing projects which are constantly in need of volunteers/monetary support/both. We encourage people to proactively come forward and join us in making our work more meaningful, in whatever way they can.

Apart from this, if you know of any genuine cause which needs support, get in touch, fill us in on the details, and we can help you take it forward.

5. How can I donate to Diya?

We have a trust account with ICICI Bank, to which contributions can be sent. Here are the details:

A/c Name: Diya

A/c Number: 602201201645

Bank: ICICI Bank

Branch: Royapettah High Road (R. H. Road), Chennai

MICR Code: 600229007

 

6. How do you use the various donations you get?

The money we collect is used to fuel our ongoing projects and meet whatever expenses are needed to keep them going. Broadly, following are the categories into which our expenses typically fall -

Infrastructure for tuition centers

Development/procurement of innovative teaching aids for students

Education sponsorships for deserving children

Monetary support to other organizations with whom we collaborate

7. How can I be sure that the money I donate is managed correctly?

You are always welcome to accompany Diya volunteers to our various project locations and see how your inputs are being utilized. Most of our work happens over weekends, making it even easier for people who are interested, to come along and take a look at how their contributions help drive our initiatives.

8. How long have you been into this?

Diya was formed on September 19, 2004. We were formally registered as a Trust in early 2007.

9. What are your plans for the future?

Though our work so far has given us immense gratification and pride, we are fully aware that the journey ahead is long and arduous. We also derive a lot of inspiration from people we collaborate with, whose work dwarfs anything we can ever hope to achieve. Our choices of projects are always guided by using the knowledge and network of our members to directly identify issues that need support. We have thus constantly ventured into newer territories, letting ourselves be guided by whatever seems important to take up at a particular stage. As our member base and cash inflow builds up, we will look into further expanding our services from time to time.