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ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The SUNY College at Oneonta, the City of Oneonta,
the Oneonta City Schools, and the Ninash Foundation will celebrate the
eighth anniversary of the Sister City Project between Oneonta and Dundlod,
India, with events scheduled April 15-30. Three principals from the
Indo-International Schools, the project which engendered the sister-city
relationship, will be on hand for the celebrations.
Admission to the events at SUNY-Oneonta is complimentary, and members of
the community are invited to attend. The events at the College include a
presentation for the College and community on Monday, April 21, at 7:30
p.m., in the Craven Lounge of the Morris Conference Center, and a "Sister
City Community Celebration" on Friday, April 25, from 6 p.m. until midnight
in the Hunt Union Ballroom.
At the April 25 event, third-grade children from the Oneonta schools will
give a presentation, and the principals from India will be welcomed and
recognized. Organizations that raised funds for the Indo-International
Schools will be acknowledged. There will be a performance by classical
Indian dancers, followed by a Bollywood dance party until midnight.
Dinners to benefit the Ninash Foundation will be held on Wednesday, April
23, 6 p.m.- 8 p.m., at the Autumn Café, and Thursday, April 24, 6 p.m.- 8
p.m., at Alfresco's.
The relationship between the sister cities has emerged largely from the
efforts of SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor
Ashok K. Malhotra, who
teaches philosophy at
the College and is the founder of the
Ninash Foundation. Through the College's
Learn and
Serve in India program and the Foundation, whose mission is "to promote
literacy among children and adults throughout the world," four
Indo-International Schools have been established in underprivileged regions
of India, the first of which is in Dundlod.
In 2000, the City of Oneonta Common Council, headed by then-Mayor Kim
Muller, endorsed a Sister City Project between Oneonta and Dundlod. The
Council's proclamation encouraged "the continued exchange of information and
financial assistance through the Ninash Foundation in order to share the
values of educational justice, fairness and opportunity through the
establishment of additional schools throughout India similar to Dundlod."
With continuing support from the Ninash Foundation, the
Indo-International Schools now include three elementary schools and a high
school, educating more than 750 of the poorest of the poor children of
India. Sixty participants from the College's Learn and Serve in India
program have contributed their volunteer services to help build the schools.
Beyond their direct impact in educating students, the schools have
promoted an understanding and exchange between Oneonta and Dundlod.
More information about the Sister City Celebration is available from
Linda Drake, Director of the SUNY-Oneonta
Center for Social
Responsibility and Community, at (607) 436-2633 or by e-mail to
ninashfoundation@yahoo.com.
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