Glitz, Glamour & Philanthropy @ Pratham Holiday Luncheon & Fashion Show!

Pratham Houston Board of Directors along with Keynote Speaker Gabriella Rowe and Co-Chair Susan Boggio at the Pratham Holiday Luncheon & Fashion Show on Friday, December 1 at The Junior League of Houston.

Pratham Houston Board of Directors along with Keynote Speaker Gabriella Rowe and Co-Chair Susan Boggio at the Pratham Holiday Luncheon & Fashion Show on Friday, December 1 at The Junior League of Houston. Photos: Deborah Wallace, Barfield Photography

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By Vanshika Vipin Varma

HOUSTON: Fashion, Fun & Philanthropy- these were the three flavors that spiced up the afternoon, last Friday, December 1.  The Junior League of Houston witnessed the intriguing, glitzy and benevolent Pratham Holiday Luncheon & Fashion Show 2017. Established in 1995, Pratham is one of the largest and most successful non-governmental education organizations in India, that aims at providing education to children in India. Pratham USA is a volunteer-driven organization with 14 chapters across the United States that raises awareness and mobilizes financial resources for the work in India. Each year, Pratham Houston organizes two events that help raise funds, The Gala and The Luncheon, which are the talk of the town, days before and after they take place. And the reason for this popularity is multi-fold, and you will agree as you read further.

From left: Ash Shah, President, Pratham Houston; Asha Dhume, President Elect, Pratham Houston; Dr. Sapna Singh; Dr. Marie Goradia, Board members, Pratham Houston.

From left: Ash Shah, President, Pratham Houston; Asha Dhume, President Elect, Pratham Houston; Dr. Sapna Singh; Dr. Marie Goradia, Board members, Pratham Houston.

The luncheon started with a social hour, where the enthusiastic guests showed up, dressed in glamorous holiday spirits. The main hall soon got packed with these delighted guests. The Master of Ceremonies- Rekha Muddaraj, TV anchor for KHOU 11 News, welcomed everyone and shared some details about Pratham. She mentioned that Pratham provides quality education across 20 states in India. She also stated that Pratham’s effective and low cost methodology, collaborations with government, local communities, parents, local teachers and volunteers, has helped them immensely in achieving their mission. Rekha then welcomed Ash Shah, Pratham’s President and supporter for the last 11 years, who has served on the Houston Executive and advisory board and has been the Houston chapter president for the last 2 years.

Fashion show by Ghungat showcasing the Shalimar Collection.

Fashion show by Ghungat showcasing the Shalimar Collection.

In his welcome note, Ash Shah mentioned that this event is special to him as his two-year presidency comes to an end, sharing his last presidential speech. He said that the funds raised in the Luncheon, will be donated for offering vocational skill training to young women. He also shared details about Pratham’s methodology, and described Pratham as a comprehensive mentoring organization. He said, “Pratham helps young women realize their dreams about entrepreneurship by financing their micro enterprising like beauty salons”. Ash mentioned that various chapters in USA raise over 30 million dollars annually, for different Pratham initiatives in India, and that has in turn helped over 50 million children and youth over the last two decades. Audiences were astounded to know that the average annual cost to educate a child is just $25. Ash closed his speech by saying, “ I have enjoyed my two year term a lot, and I am blessed to be around such amazing people, generous donors and an incredible team. I am overjoyed and emotional about passing the torch to the next president, Asha Dhume”. He then thanked the national board members in attendance Swatantra Jain, Dr. Marie Goradia, all other board members, along with the events co-chairs Susan Boggio, Dr. Sippi Khurana, his wife Leena Shah and the entire Pratham Houston team. Complimenting this solid speech, a video featuring Pratham Board members sharing their belief in Pratham and the importance of education was played. Leena Shah, event co-chair, then introduced the keynote speaker of the event, Gabriella Rowe, Head of School at The Village School.

Bimla and Swatantra Jain, Treasurer and National Board member, Pratham USA.

Bimla and Swatantra Jain, Treasurer and National Board member, Pratham USA.

Gabriella Rowe, moved to Houston in the summer of 2014, from New York City. After she started her work at The Village School, the school grew from 1400 students to 1700 students in one year. Her first meeting with Pratham was through some parents, and soon she became a part of this organization. From her various accomplishments, she has held a Readathon at the school and raised funds for Pratham. Gabriella spoke very passionately about the importance and power of education for children and its impact on their future, which in turn is the future of our world. She stated that Pratham is the biggest and the most important global educational effort. She congratulated the team at Pratham and applauded the remarkable work that has been done globally. Susan Boggia, the event co-chair then presented a token of appreciation to Gabriella Rowe, who had just wowed the audience with her high-octane and impressive speech.

Rekha Muddaraj, TV Anchor, KHOU 11 News

Rekha Muddaraj, TV Anchor, KHOU 11 News

The uplifting and energetic flow of the gala flowed into yet another powerful and inspirational mode, with a video of Radha. Radha, a small town girl from Gwalior, India, had a troubled child marriage and went through severe domestic violence. The torture from her husband and in-laws traumatized her so much that she considered committing suicide. Fortunately, she happened to connect with the PACE program initiated by Pratham and with the help of Pratham, her resilience, courage, and the burning desire to fight for her rights, she is a successful entrepreneur today. Pratham trained her in a beauty salon center and Radha now runs her own business. This emotional video was truly a testimony to the noble cause and journey of Pratham. This soul-stirring segment was transformed into a light-hearted and cheerful spirit as some palatable and scrumptious lunch was served. Ash Shah came up back on stage to conduct the donation pledge drive. As he encouraged everyone to donate he cited some examples of the importance of donations. The Luncheon raised nearly $175,000, of which 10% of the amount raised shall be donated to Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Harvey Relief Fund.

From left: Asheet Yagnik, Pratham Houston Board member; Pankaj Dhume; Asha Dhume, President Elect, Pratham Houston; Harish Katharani; Madhusudan Desai; Swatantra Jain, Treasurer & National Board member, Pratham USA.

From left: Asheet Yagnik, Pratham Houston Board member; Pankaj Dhume; Asha Dhume, President Elect, Pratham Houston; Harish Katharani; Madhusudan Desai; Swatantra Jain, Treasurer & National Board member, Pratham USA.

The aura completely altered as the spectacular fashion show was exhibited. Indeed, everyone was so looking forward to this extravaganza. Ghungat presented the remarkable pageant, and designers Shaveta & Anuj displayed their recently launched Shalimar collection. Ghungat offers a wide range of traditional Indian wedding style clothing, and these talented designers had some stunning design on display this afternoon. Their eye-catching splendid designs were complimented by Simran Rihal’s graceful choreography.

From left: Swatantra Jain, Treasurer and National Board member, Pratham USA; Leena Shah, Co-Chair, Houston Luncheon; Ash Shah, President, Pratham Houston; Brigitte Kalai.

From left: Swatantra Jain, Treasurer and National Board member, Pratham USA; Leena Shah, Co-Chair, Houston Luncheon; Ash Shah, President, Pratham Houston; Brigitte Kalai.

As the phenomenal event was coming to an end, Asha Dhume, President Elect gave her vote of thanks. She thanked everyone and mentioned, “It has been a wonderful experience working with Ash Shah and I am honored and excited to start my term as the next President of the Pratham Houston chapter”. She announced the dates for the next two events; Pratham Gala on May 12, 2018 and Pratham Holiday Luncheon on December 7, 2018.

It was undeniably an afternoon of style and philanthropy, a phenomenon that will be cherished.

Visit www.prathamusa.org or email at info@prathamusa.org for more details.