Special Feature: Reflections from a Co-founder

When I was asked to write a special feature for Dream A Dream's 11th year journey I did not know where to start.

When I was asked to write a special feature for Dream A Dream's 11th year journey I did not know where to start. How does one put into words the reality of seeing a small dream started by 12 people which has now become an organization with over 1500 volunteers? We started Dream A Dream in 1999 with the conviction that we wanted to make a change in society by working with children, the future of tomorrow. We did not know how we were going to do it or what exactly we were going to do, but we knew for a fact that we as a group could make a difference and we wanted to do it the right way. We were not a group who randomly wanted to get together and visit different NGO’s and play with the children there. We wanted to have an aim, we wanted to have set goals and we wanted to do it the right way.

We were very firm that even though we don’t know where we may be one year from now, we wanted to have the organization registered and have a legal name to it. And thus began Dream A Dream! And what a journey it has been. I take a lot of pride in saying that I was the first full time employee of Dream A Dream, and what fun I had. My make shift ‘office’ was between my bedroom at home and my Maruti 800 (which also used to transform into a jungle gym for the children at Freedom Foundation.) Those were extremely special days for me. I am so proud of Vishal and his team for bringing Dream A Dream to what it is today.  Out of the 12 founding members, Vishal is the only one who is still actively involved, and he is responsible for bringing Dream A Dream to where it is today. We may have provided the foundation for Dream A Dream, but Vishal and his team are the heart and soul of the organization. Thank you all for taking our dream and making it yours!! Neha Arya Co-founder & Dreamer.