Message on 1 December, 2012

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Akanksha! We appreciate your interest in the volunteer development activities led by the IAS Officers Wives Association of Uttar Pradesh and invite you to become a part of Akanksha’s objective to facilitate capacity development and empowerment of under-served and marginalized women and children of our State through access to information, training, income-generation and service provision initiatives.

​

 In my first few months now as President, I have been moved by the stories of the transformational power of Akanksha’s work, particularly the Masala Matri Kendra initiative and its contribution to empowering the lives of poor women. In my conversations with Akanksha members and office bearers, I am impressed by the commitment of the Uttar Pradesh IAS officers’ wives through volunteering their time and talents to the organization, which is sometimes besides their regular full-time jobs, and with the passion they bring to the work. The participation of civil society members is another strength of Akanksha, bringing in a strong community perspective and ensuring relevant and robust initiatives.

​

This is a particularly invigorating time for Uttar Pradesh and the needs in the area of Akanksha’s mandate of development of women and girls are many. The life expectancy of females is less than 55 years and the under-five child mortality in the state is one of the highest in India/world. If a girl is born in Kerala she can expect to live 20 years longer than if she is born in Uttar Pradesh and only just over half of the female population in the state is literate.  The IAS will, as they have done before, and across other states in the country, rise to the challenge of addressing these critical issues. Our organisation, which draws strength from, complements and contributes to the spirit of the Service, is poised to effectively partner and help craft a future of hope for the women and girls. In consultation with officers and partners, we are developing Akanksha initiatives, such as the pilot village project, that will build on our unique perspective and strengths. Every drop is important and counts!
  
Meanwhile, we must position the organisation to expand and contribute more substantively in the future. Now that we have the full membership of the Executive, and also selected Committees for the various initiatives have been established at the Lucknow headquarters, it is important to develop momentum and strengthen policy and procedures that will enable district-level Akanksha Societies to be readily set up and operational.  The goal is to have functioning Akankshas in all districts of Uttar Pradesh led by the IAS Officers Wives contributing to the needs of poor women and girls. A start will be to develop a plan of establishment of Akanksha Societies in few selected districts in 2013, under the leadership of the interested district Akanksha presidents.

By putting our minds together in a spirit of constructive discourse, we have a historic opportunity to contribute to the development of women and girls of Uttar Pradesh. As I mentioned at the last general body meeting of Akanksha in November 2012, I am committed to fully support all of you – the membership- to the best of my ability. I invite you to communicate with me, including through e-mail or telephone conversation, so that I may hear your thoughts and ideas for strengthening IAS women’s volunteer development initiatives in our state.

​

I look forward to hearing from you!

Best Regards,

​

Farah Usmani​​​​​​, President