About Us
ONDRU (Tamil; ஒன்று) n. one, equality; v. become one with. Ondru is a place where people & ideas come together; where diversity unites.
Our Story
Through the use of art, Ondru evokes the human senses to provoke thought, create dialogue, raise awareness and inspire change around issues of social injustice.
Ondru is a Melbourne- based, non-profit, humanitarian organisation striving for a more connected, compassionate and equitable society.
We strive to build a greater understanding of the human condition, deepen knowledge, generate respect and inspire positive social change.
Ondru was founded on 6th June 2009 in a backyard in North Richmond, Melbourne, and was formally launched on 23rd October 2010. Our very first art project was created on 15th May 2011.
Core Values
We have a clear set of committed values. Each value demonstrates how we represent ourselves as a collective, connect with others & conduct our work.
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We believe courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, we can't practice any other virtue consistently.
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We believe integrity is about embodying moral courage. Integrity in its true essence is about maintaining our moral principles when faced with extreme challenges, in chaos or while experiencing prolonged uncertainty.
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We believe respect comes from the journey of realising the truth. The ability to decipher the truth from noise and lies not only develops compassion and kindness for others, but also to oneself.
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We believe “I am because we are”, and therefore we are nothing without the others who make us possible. Humanity prevails only when the community endeavors together.
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We believe that we must remain truly authentic in what we do and how we do it, if we are to remain relevant and give voice to the silent, unheard, and misunderstood stories across the vast globe.
Board of Directors
Krishna Rajendram
Jessica Githiomi
Jared Walton-Bhim
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Description text goes here
Anbu Mohan
Gopika Gnanakumar
Our Team
Our team is made up of passionate, committed & hardworking thinkers, doers and artists who work together to develop & deliver our projects.
desh Balasubramaniam
Debra Plueckhahn
Laila Sfrantzis Hallak
Kamal Sharma
Flora Ngo
Arjun Pandit
Lisa Mihara
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lisa.ms@ondru.org
Trung Mai
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trung@ondru.org
Emily Burnham
Rishabh Vishwakarma
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rishabh.vishwakarma@ondru.org
Kathy Li
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kathy.li@ondru.org
Angela Shieh
Tharushi Liyanaarachchi
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tharushi.l@ondru.org
Yos Tampi
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yos.tampi@ondru.org
Tina Cui
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tina.cui@ondru.org
Justin Jones Li
Abigail Poeta
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abigail.poeta@ondru.com
Pragun Ramesha
Megan Bowers-Vette
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megan.bowersvette@ondru.org
Thanh Truong
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thanh.truong@ondru.org
Maneesha Wickramaarachchi
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maneesha.wickramaarachchi@ondru.org
Asma
Associate Artists
About desh (Our Founder)
Ondru was founded in the backyard of a share-house in North Richmond, Melbourne with the desire to create an equitable & humane society through the art of storytelling.
“Ondru was influenced by my own displacement and conflict over my identity while being poised between a number of languages, cultural traditions and countries, but it continues to exist and grow because it’s shared and shaped by many who come together as one to inspire positive social change; to provide a voice through art to many of our human conditions”.
“I have often felt somewhat as a remnant of war —affected by displacement, and having to forge a new sense of place, people and purpose”.
desh Balasubramaniam was born in Sri Lanka and raised in both the war-torn Northern and Eastern provinces. At the age of thirteen, his family fled to New Zealand on humanitarian asylum. He completed his Law degree at Victoria University in Wellington and a degree in Management Studies at the University of Waikato. He works on various community-based social change projects across the globe.
Your Support
We rely on the generous support of many organisations and individuals to create art that evokes, challenges and inspires positive social change, and your donation really matters.