Here are the details of the funds sent to MJV so far:

As you know, we are offering these scholarships to bright and needy Jain (any sect) boys and girls in India for pursuing undergraduate studies. They may be coming from the places where either there are no MJV facilities or the MJV facilities are available only to the Murtipujak boys. Every year, we usually support about 15-20 students and award scholarships worth about Rs. 85,000.

We would like to thank Mr.Sureshbhai Kothari for donating Rs. 50,000 recently towards this project. We would like other alumni who have money available in rupees to do likewise. If some of our members can pick up this tab every year, then we won’t have to send dollars to India. We can use this money for other programs in this country.

This year we received 60 applications not only from Gujarat and Maharashtra but also from the Rajasthan area and have approved 18 so far. This figure includes past recipients and as well as new applicants. The program is being managed by Arunbhai Bhavsar (MJV alumnus) and Mr.D.M.Shah. We would like to thank them for their hard work and commitment.

We organized a Summer picnic for our members and their families on Aug.16, 1998 at Siddhachalam. About 100 people-mostly from northeast- attended the picnic and enjoyed the opportunity. We started with a nice breakfast at about 9:00 a.m., following by a Puja at around 11:00 a.m. Naren Shah led the Puja and music was provided by Dinal and Nejal, talented daughters of one of our alumni-Vinod Vora. After lunch, Anop Vora addressed the group and discussed the progress of the association to-date and future course of action.

One of the suggestions that came from Dr. Shirish Patrawala was about the possibility of IAAMJV offering some help in getting marriageable age kids together. Most people felt that this was one of the most difficult problems faced by our community and we should do our part to help the situation. We are enclosing herewith a survey form to get your reactions. Please take a few minutes of your time and tell us how IAAMJV can help the parents and what role you would like to play if we start something.

We would like to recognize the following people who funded the picnic:

Total expenses for the event were $810, leaving us with a surplus of $392. We have put this money in our general account.

We would like thank the following individuals who made the picnic possible:

This picnic was an excellent social and religious fun event. We had consciously decided not to do any fund raising in this meeting. Every one enjoyed this set up and left with good feelings. In all probability, we will organize this type of event every year. We suggest that MJV alumni residing in other parts of the country start this practice too. These get togethers promote friendship, brotherhood and allow our kids to mingle with each other. The long term benefits are just enormous.

We would like to thank Dr. Babubhai Prganai for donating $2,000 to Tapovan and to Kantibhai Mepani for making this opportunity known to Babubhai. We will forward this money to Tapovan along with a token donation of $250 from Anop Vora. Tapovan is an excelelnt boarding school for Jain kids (Grades 5 through 12) located near Koba, Ahmedabad and is directed by Pujya Chandrashekhar Maharajji. They have several schemes through which you can help. If you are interested, please get in touch with us. You may also wish to contact Dr. Dinesh Shah, Los Angles at 213-258-4010. He also has a lot of information about this institute.

We would to like report that Mr. Bipin Shah has recently been elected as the President, Shri Virendra Patni as the Treasurer of the MJV Alumni Federation, India. We would like to congratuate both of them and wish them success in their new positions.

Amit Lodha, 1997 IAAMJV Scholarship Recipient, received excellent grades- Spring GPA 4.0/4.0, Cumulative GPA of 3.92/4.0. He is pursuing a Master Degree Program in Business Management and Manufacturing in Toledo, Ohio. We are very proud of his achievements. (Note to other IAAMJV scholars: If you excelled in school, tell us about it. We will be glad report your accomplishements in this newsletter.

Dr. Mukesh Desai, 1972 Ahmedabad MJV Alumnus, is residing in Australia currently. If any Jain student from India wishes to go to Australia, he is willing to provide factual information about schooling, part time job opportunities, and immigration. His fax number is 2-4921-6991. We would like to thank Mukeshbhai for making this gesture.

Pravin Mehta (Tenessee), one of our members, was instrumental in helping Deepesh Bhandari, an IAAMJV Scholar, get a job in Memphis. We would like to thank Pravinbhai for extending this help and urge every one to look out for the new students who might be in a similar situation.

Thanks to Dilip Sheth (Missouri) IAAMJV Member, who made a presentation about our association to his local Jain community. We would like more members follow suit and spread the news about about our activities.

1. Do you feel IAAMJV should provide a forum for the youth of its members to meet or should we let JAINA do this task?

	Yes or No
IAAMJV
JAINA

2. Should the youth meetings coincide with the IAAMJV meetings or JAINA meetings?

	Yes or No
Coincident with IAAMJV meetings
Separate from IAAMJV meetings
Coincident with JAINA meetings
Separate from JAINA meetings

3. Are you willing to volunteer for this effort? If yes, please list the activitis you are interested in.

Activities of Interest

4. Any suggestions/ideas or comments?

Your Name & Phone Number: ______________________________________________

Please return this form to Chandra Vora, 35 Wesson Terrace,North Boro, Mass.01532