Cisco's Charitable Culture Expands with VIDE

February 14, 2001

What do you get when you combine a company known for its generosity and a handful of philanthropic-minded employees with big ideas? Over $400,000 raised for earthquake victims in India in less than two weeks!

When a group of engineers at Cisco, each involved in outside charitable organizations and each determined to create a more efficient way to move funds and see results, joined forces to make a difference in Indiawell, "giving" took on some new characteristics. With the support of Cisco's matching gift program, a driven group of individuals who operate on Internet time, and the power of email and word-of-mouth, VIDE (Volunteers for India Development and Empowerment), is having great success.

Led by Vivek Ganesan, Tara Jagannathan, Shyam Palleti, and Manoj Panda,VIDE was created in May, 1999 as a chapter of Sustainable Economic and Educational Development Society, Inc. (SEEDS). The team consists of 50 members. Working for VIDE means working on your own time, apart from any and all responsibilities at Cisco. The hours can be grueling, and volunteers often find themselves working into the wee hours of the night. But everyone involved is that dedicated to achieving VIDE's short and long-term goals.

VIDE's mission is threefold: to give a sustainable advantage to the under-developed areas of India; to provide people and groups in India with the tools they need to empower themselves; and to help victims of natural disasters with relief and rehabilitation.

In less than two years, VIDE has directly affected the lives of (thousands) in India. In May of 1999, VIDE members raised $67,000 to benefit victims of the Kargil War. In November, 1999, VIDE came to the aid of victims of the Orissa flood by raising $65,000 with a Cisco match for a total of $130,000. All funding supports basic needs, like food, shelter, clothes, and the rebuilding of the Uchaballi school, home to 500 students and ten villages in the Orissa area.

Currently, VIDE is focusing its efforts on raising funds for victims of the massive earthquake that struck Gujarat, India on January 26, 2001. Measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, the quake caused terrible destruction with an estimated 40,000 deaths and several hundred thousand people left homeless. So far, VIDE has collected more than $200,000, an amount which will again be matched by the Cisco Foundation, for a total of over $400,000.

In addition to emergency relief fund work, VIDE is responsible for constructing two new health centers to serve more than 20 villages in Orissa. In addition, VIDE is working with the Indian Research Institute for Integrated Medicine to provide medical assistance to 40 flood-affected villages in West Bengal and with Central Rice Research Institute to aid low-income farmers with resources such as seeds.

The development challenges in India are numerous. With the world's largest number of people living in poverty in a single country, 87% of the Indian population lives on the equivalent of $2.00 U.S. per day. Almost 75 million children suffer from malnutrition and an entire third of the country lacks adequate food supply.