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Board Members President:
Tansukh
Maru (732) 495-2304 Vice-president: Navin Dedhia
(408) 629-1723 Secretary:
Dinesh
Chheda (973) 394-1701 Treasurer:
Mangal Shah
(203) 847-3418 Regional
Directors (1) Southern California Kalyanji Mota ….. (714) 956-0405 (2) Northern
California Mahesh
Gogri ……(510) 490-1282 (3) Texas
Area
Dhiraj Gosar …….. (281) 530-1931
(4) Chicago
Area
Ram Gada ………. (651) 636-1075 (5) Florida
Area
Nitin Shah ………. (770) 825-0190 (6) Cleveland
Area
Ramesh Dedhia ….(517) 349-8213 (7) Washington
Area
Manoj Dharamsi …(703) 620-9837 (8) New
Jersey Area Rajesh Chheda … (856) 768-4442 (9) New
York
Chhotalal Bheddah.(516) 883-0345 (10) New
England |
Jai Jinendra! Happy Diwali and prosperous New Year to all! Our KOJAIN had a
very successful three day Sammelan at the Cherry Hill Hilton, Cherry
Hill from July 28 to 30, 2000. The
three day event was well attended and was full of activities for adults
as well children. Our youth
participation was excellent. The
youth actively and enthusiastically took part in all the activities. Some of the
highlights of the program were a performance by the musical group,
“Khelaiya” with Dandiya Raas on Friday evening and a cultural
program performed by the young community
on Saturday evening. Other well attended events included a panel
discussion on career choices, parent and youth discussions on
interracial marriages and growing up in the midst of two cultures, a
medical discussion by community doctors, and a drought relief
presentation by community
youths. “Who wants to be a Kachchhi Scholar” game, generated by
Vimla Chheda, Sudhir Shah and Anita Shah and hosted by Navin Chheda and
Samir Dedhia was a huge success. Young children enjoyed participating in
a fabric painting and embroidery workshop.
Kantisen Shroff and Tulsibhai
Gajra (VRTI-Kutch) made a good presentation regarding the present
situation in Kutch. Our sincere thanks
to all the Sammelan committee members and chairs and all the volunteers
who worked very hard to make this Sammelan a real success! Our thanks to
the sponsors of Lunch, Breakfast and Dinner during the Sammelan. Our
special thanks to all the participants, whose active participation and
enthusiasm was key to our Sammelan success! As we enter the
year 2001, here is a review of some of our main activities and projects: KOJAIN DIRECTORY: We will be publishing our Directory next year and are currently collecting data on our website, Kojain.com. We have included a form in the newsletter also. It is important that we get all the |
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information,
including e-mail addresses, so that our Directory is updated properly. SAMMELAN
2002: The success of our
Sammelan 2000 generated quite an enthusiasm for the next Sammelan and we
have already started receiving requests for hosting the next Sammelan.
Please let us know by May 31, 2001 (through your Board member) if
you are interested in hosting the KOJAIN Sammelan 2002. Scholarship:
During the last two
years we have awarded scholarships to 10 youths who had finished high
school with high honors and were pursuing studies in colleges. This year
we have awarded scholarship to 4 college bound youths.
Further details are
provided in this newsletter. Thanks to Nitin
and Leena Doshi for contributing $5000.00 towards this year’s
scholarship fund. Special
thanks to Chhotalal Bheddah for his efforts in soliciting this fund from
Nitin and Leena Doshi. Our sincere thanks to Arvind and Asha Vira who
have pledged $5000.00 for next year’s scholarship fund. ENDOWMENT
FUND: Dr.
Chandravadan Haria had sent a proposal on establishing an endowment fund
to the Executive Committee and the Board has appointed Dr. Haria as the
Chairman of the Endowment Fund Committee. Our objective is to set up an
endowment fund for natural calamity, emergency fund, loan scholarship,
etc. Dr. Haria and his committee will prepare the guidelines and rules,
which will be subject to the Executive Committee’s approval. NEWSLETTER:
We thank Dinesh
Chheda for publishing the previous newsletters.
He has volunteered to publish three newsletters by December 2001.
We need your support and cooperation by submitting
advertisements, news and articles.
Please contact Dinesh Chheda if you are inclined to help in any
of these activities. The advertisement rates for the newsletter are:
entire newsletter sponsorship¾$500.00,
full page¾$250.00,
half page¾$150.00 KOJAIN
MEMBERSHIP: We have at present 172 life
members and 15 regular members.
Our goal is to have all the members of the society become life
members and for them to become active participants in KOJAIN and we urge
all members to have a membership drive in their area. Once again, thanks to all the community members who participated in the Sammelan and whose support and cooperation was vital to our Sammelan’s success! We look forward to your involvement and support in all our future activities. |
NIRMALA
MOMAYA, TRUMBULL, CONNECTICUT November
30, 2000 To, Enclosed please find a check in the amount of
$ 7,000. Allow me to explain why I am sending this
check to you at this time and what I want KOJAIN to do with it. You will recall that many KOJAIN families
created for me a support fund in 1997, following the death of my
husband, Navin Momaya. That fund helped me and my son, Sachin, as well
as my grandson, Rushbh, a great deal in our time of need. We feel
blessed that there was an outpouring of sympathy as well as a keen
desire to help someone, like me, in need. I wish to record my sense of
appreciation to the members of our community who rushed to help me
when help was needed the most. Now I have a full-time job and my son also is
working full time. From our combined, modest income, we have made an
extra-special effort to save this amount that I am now donating to
KOJAIN with a request that KOJAIN maintain this amount separate from
their general fund by establishing a FUND FOR THE NEEDY WOMEN from
this amount and help someone who finds herself in a situation where a
helping hand from this fund may make a difference in her life. Thank you. Yours Sincerely, Trumbull, Connecticut Note: Thanks
Nirmlaben for your donation of $7,000 to the KOJAIN. We are glad that
our token gesture helped you to overcome your difficult transition.
The executive committee will discuss your proposal in the next
meeting. |
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Secretary's Note Excerpts from the June 10, 2000 Executive Committee meeting:
3. Mangal Shah said that the account balance is about $60,000. We have $14,000 in the Nari Utkarsh Yojna. We have collected $160,000 for Matunga Boarding and sent $150,000 to them. 285 people have registered for the Sammelan.
4. The
Executive Committee unanimously approved the appointment
of the following Regional
Directors:
Mahesh Gogri - Region 2
Dhiraj Gosar - Region 3
Ram Gada - Region 4
Nitin
Shah - Region 5
Ramesh Dedhia Reg. 6 Manoj Dharamsi - Reg. 7
Rajesh Chheda - Reg. 8
Lata Champsee - Reg. 11 Excerpts from the November 12, 2000 Executive Committee meeting:
2. Kishorbhai from India is developing a noncommercial website: “Panjokutch.com" |
and requested general
help from KOJAIN community. 3. Vijay Chheda conveyed that California is interested in hosting the 2002 Convention. 4. Kala and Bhavi Jain have declined to take the lead in publishing a KOJAIN directory at this time. 5. Mangal Shah announced that Sammelan2000
collected $54,000
(of which about $3,125 has yet to come) from registration, 6. KOJAIN has a bank balance of $82,000 of which
$36,000 is for
7.
Sammelan2002: All
Executive Committee members are 8. Chairmanship of the KOJAIN Directory is open. 9. Dinesh Chheda has volunteered to publish
three newsletters. The
10. The Executive Committee has appointed Dr.
Chandravadan Haria as the Chairman
of the KOJAIN Endowment Fund. Dr. Haria is
at liberty to form a committee and
negotiate on behalf of
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Treasurer’s Report Our auditors Chokshi & Company, PC gave the following independent report: for the year 1998 Independent auditor’s report To We have audited the accompanying balance sheet
of the Kachchhi Oswal Jain Association of North America (KOJAIN), a
nonprofit organization as of December 1998, and the related statement
of activities and the cash flow for the year ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the
organization’s management. Our responsibility is to express an
opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with
generally accepted auditing standard. Those standards require that we
plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about
whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An
audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the
amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also
includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant
estimate made by management, as well as evaluating overall financial
statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a
reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the financial
statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects,
the financial position of KOJAIN as of December 31, 1998,
and the changes in its net assets and its cash flow for the year then
ended in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. December 31, 1999. Signed |
Balance
sheet as of December 31, 1998 Revenues:
Total Grand
Total:
164,263 Expenses: Newsletter
____________________
2,765 Total
154,777 Increase in net
asset
9,486 Sammelan 2000 Accounts: Income: Souvenir:
$2,588 |
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Washington Area News Atthai during Paryushna:
Rekha Chheda from Baltimore; Pravin Dand & Manoj Dharamsi from
Washington DC area; Dilip Dharamshi from Culpeper, VA. College
graduate: Shital Ratilal Chheda of Baltimore received B.S. degree from
Virginia Tech. High
School Graduates: Miheer Sudhir Khona and Mehul Navin Vora from Washington DC
area. Following
youths graduated from the Jain class curriculum of the Jain
Society of Metropolitan Washington after successfully completing the 5
levels of Jain classes: Sonali Bhavsar, Jeenal Ratilal
Chheda,
Mittal Mansukh Haria, Rajiv Bhawanji Jain, Amol Talak Shah, Shalin Naren
Vira, Amit Bhavi Vora and Mehul Navin Vora. Marriage:
Kailash
Harilal Gangar of Metro Washington area was married to Dr. Anita Vidyut
Shah of Houston on Nov 18, 2000. After the very successful cruise trip to
Caribbean in 1999, Washington Kachchhi Group is arranging a land and
cruise trip to Alaska in July 2001. It will start with a 7-day land
trip from July 7 to 14 (or 5-day trip from July 9 to 14), followed by
a cruise trip from July 14 to 21, 2001. The group rate will be from
$2230 to $3580 per person or $4460-$7160 per couple for double
occupancy cabins on the Princess cruise line (cost mainly dependent on
the location of the cabin, and also on 5-day or 7-day land trip). The
cost does not include air travel to Alaska/Vancouver and food expenses
during the land trip. For
further details, please call the travel agent Mr. Krishnamurty at
1-877-457-4746 (mention Shanti Group), or Kanti Gangar at (301)
598-3093, Email K_Gangar@hotmail.com
or Go to web site: www.cruiseone.com/skrish
or Email: skrish@cruiseone.com New
England Area |
betterment of Kachchh. They are: Vivekanand Research
and Training Institute, Kachchh
Mahila Vikas Sangthan (KMVS) and
Yusuf Meharally Center (YMC). YMC will use the funds for its
Bhadreswar project and KMVS
will utilize it for the training of the volunteers. (Recommended by
Vivek Maru) This
year's Diwali party of the New
England group attracted over 100 people. The theme for the party was
“Children". They were taught how to make RANGOLI
using the colored powders.
Divas were made from
wheat flour, and then were colored and decorated. Plates were decorated
using colored rice. The
evening concluded with Mehendi
application. Children enjoyed these activities so much that they are
looking forward to the next Diwali gathering. Northern
California Area
1. San
Francisco Bay Area KOJAIN Group arranges 3 -4 programs a year to
network, greet, meet, exchange information, and communicate with the
KOJAIN members living in the area.
There are about 70 families living in the Bay Area.
Many have come to the area recently.
The group met in May for a get-together dinner in a local
restaurant, had a picnic in a park in June, and a Diwali Dinner at a
restaurant in October.
2. Bay Area
KOJAIN members attended and participated in the Pratishtha and opening
of a new Jain Bhavan of the Jain Center of Northern California.
There are 7 idols in the Ghabharo
(4 Shwetambar and 3
Digambar idols) and 24 Tirthankars in the Bhamati along with Simandhar
Swami, Bahubaliji, and Gautam Swami. Five Devis and four Devs are in the
Rangmandap. KOJAIN members attending the Pratishtha Ceremony met during
the event.
3. Tapsaya
during the year and Paryushan time: Varshi
Tap Parna:
Saroj and Himat Dagli, Fremont 9 days
of fasting:
Navin S. Dedhia,
San Jose
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New
Jersey Area :
Girl
Mehal
to Aruna & Mulchand Gala, PA Graduates: Ronak
Jayant Savla Carteret, NJ age 13 Maas Khaman (30 Upvas) Mital
Rajesh Chheda Atco, NJ
age17 2nd Atthai Damyanti D. Dedhia
Collins Lake, NJ Atthai & Aayambil Oli Meena
K. Shah Wilmington, DE
Atthai Rajesh
Chheda Atco, NJ
Aayambil Oli KOJAIN
congratulates all the Tapasvis and good wishes to them. We are proud of
young Ronak for his achievement at a young age. Also Prabhaben for her
7th Varsitap--quite a remarkable achievement and "siddhi"
along with carrying on the regular work and household duties. Marriage: Dr.
Pallavi Jayant Shah to Dr. Deepak Kashyap Matunga
Boarding The
construction of new building is in progress. The work is going on in
full swing. So far about 80,000 sq. ft. is completed. The additional
40,000 sq. ft. construction is almost completed, and another 40,000 sq.
ft., R.C.C. structure has been completed. The total six floors are
completed of Phase 1. The fund raising activity is also going in full
swing. So far the amounts collected are as under: Swikar Abhiyan – Rs. 1,67,63,000/-. |
2.
From The community at large, we call it as Management's Fund raising Rs.1,09,65,000/-. 3.
Fund received from U.S.A. with the help of all of you friends
The total amount spent so far on the
construction work including State Govt. and Municipal Corporation
charges is Rs. 3,14,13,165. (Up to Sept. 2000). We
hope this noble project at the Matunga Boarding will be completed soon,
and the rejuvenated institute will
better serve the society. VRTI: From the KOJAIN and JAINA donation received, Vivekanand Research & Training Institute (VRTI) has planned to spend the money on two villages Raga and Shekhadia on the following activities: Shekhadia: Help 41 families to build their homes, drill one tube well, start one flour mill and one provision store by selecting one capable person and giving him interest free loan, build one temple, plant trees and train some of them for carpentry and masonry. Raga: Help 18 families to build their homes, drill two tube wells, and train some women for sewing. Scholarship:
The scholarship committee has evaluated all the applicants for
the scholarship00. The committee consist of Navin Dedhia, Navin Chheda,
Tansukh Maru and Dinesh Chheda. The following college students have been
awarded a scholarship for the school year 2000. So far we have awarded
$10,000 to 15 students. Many of our members have appreciated the
excellent work done by the scholarship committee. We
at KOJAIN are proud of all the recipients of scholarship and wish them
continued success in their career. 1)
Lena Vasant (Bhanu) Chheda,
Voorhees, NJ 2)
Darshini Dilip (Kastur) Vira
Palmdale,
CA 3)
Dimple Nemchand (Hema) Chheda Houston,
TX |
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Directory/Membership
Form Name: ____________
___________ __________
email______________@________ Spouse's name: _____________
Spouse's email:________________@________ New Address:
____________________________________________________
Street
City
State
Zip Phone: (
)_______________ Fax:
(
)_______________ Your Profession/Business: _______________________________________ Spouse's Profession/Business:
_______________________________________ Your Village in Kachchh/Other: __________________
Spouse’s Village in Kachchh/Other: _______________
Your Education:
____________________________________________________ Spouse's Education:
_______________________________________________ Children’s
Name:
1)____________
(Year Born) ______ 2)_____________
(Year Born) _______ 3)____________
(Year Born) ______ 4)
_____________ (Year Born) _______ Other
family members living with you. 1) ________________ 2) ______________ Are
you a member now? ____Yes
___ No If
yes, what type of member ____ [
] Life
member (US $200)
[ ]
2-year ( $30)
Donation: [ ]
$_________ Scholarship
[ ]
$_________ Endowment Fund
[ ]
$_________ Matunga
Boarding
[ ]
$_________ Other,
specify 1. Use
this form to become a member, to include your name in the upcoming
KOJAIN directory, or to
give a donation to the KOJAIN. STAY IN TOUCH WITH KOJAIN MORE FREQUENTLY VIA INTERNET/EMAIL Also visit KOJAIN's website at http://www.kojain.com
for submitting information for the directory. |
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27th
Medical Camp Announcement Bidada Sarvodaya Trust has organized the 27th
Eye, Dental, Medical and Surgical Camp from Jan 2nd through
Jan 21st 2001 at Bidada, Kachchh, Gujarat, India.
Over 15,000 patients will be examined and treated at the camp
as well as 700+ surgeries will be performed. Anup Jalota, a famous singer, will be
the chief guest at the opening ceremony and the US Consulate General
will inaugurate the Cardiac Camp. Around 50 doctors and volunteers from
the USA will participate in this upcoming camp in India. Many of you have contributed generously for this humanitarian
cause. If you are
interested in participating in the medical camp please call Dr.
Manibhai Mehta at 714-898-3156 or email him at Manilal.B.Mehta@kp.org
or email Vijay Chheda at vijaychheda@hotmail.com.
For further information please visit our website at www.bidada.com Kachchhi Oswal
Jain Association |
As
the snow blows in the wind by
Heena Maiseri, IA As the snow blows in the wind So many days, so many nights Without you at my side How
I long for the day As the snow blows in the wind |