Milaap has stepped into lending and supporting the Education Sector for the first time. The domains that Milaap has been working on are water, sanitation, health & others. The business model of lending is completely different from the other domains. The entire process of raising and allocating funds, sourcing applications, tying up with educational institutions, candidate verification, collections, repayment schedules, etc. have to be designed from scratch. At present, the market reach is very minimal. The business has just started and the working model is under discussion. My role is to design a system that ensures a smooth flow of the process. It is a pilot project and I am responsible for implementing standard operating procedures and practices to run the business. The following briefly cover my deliverable at Milaap partially over the next 6 months.
Building Milaaps risk management frameworks for wide range of loan products (education loans, green loans, SMEs etc)
The actions which I will take would be to research on the acceptable practices in the industry & verify whether it's feasible to apply for the product which we are building on. As the pilot project is live, I'm already working out & looking out for options which can help reduce the risk & also have suggested on couple of actions on the legal aspect which could help us overcome the loss which otherwise would be incurred. This will be done on continuous basis throughout 6 months.
Building appraisal and rating systems that aid in field partner selection
As Milaap has just begun to reach out to the training institutes. The Co founder is working on it as he wants to know the ground reality & I will be trained on the same after 2 months from now.
Managing portfolio risk as well developing and executing policies and practices to limit Milaap lenders; exposure to loss
This is an on going process. Trying to learn & find out more by interacting with the target audience, institutes & all other stakeholders involved. This helps to know on the psychology of the various stakeholders & thereby trying to set up a control point which can defeat the purpose of lag in the process.
Build frameworks and tool to understand the social performance of our field partners and measure the impact of these loans on the poverty level of their clients
This will done once we start expanding. When discussed with the Co founder he wants this work to begin from when we a handful of field partners. Suggested to begin after 4 months from now.
Manage Field Partner relationships and communications. Including traveling to train field partners' staff on Milaap's processes
An on going process as the business is in the introductory stage wherein there is a requirement of a continuos communication.
I guess life's about to take an interesting turn as I plan to take up an Impact Evaluation Study as a part of my IDEX Fellow program. The opportunity has come from Youth for Seva (YFS), which is primarily a platform to provide opportunities for youth who want to take active part in community development. Through this platform, YFS aims to empower youth to become positive change makers who will enable organizations and institutions to work without a vested interest. The goal of YFS is to support schools, NGOs, government hospitals and other organizations in the social sector through volunteers who can help them mitigate some of their shortcomings and challenges. Volunteering is made easy and customized to the individual’s interests and time constraints.
So, my role is to visit all these places where YFS has taken initiatives to empower women and the society and prepare a Social Impact Evaluation Report on these projects. Basically the project would involve analyzing on the impact that the organisation has made on the lives of the women's coming from the rural background. These women's are trained in Bangalore and then placed on the various projects at tribal villages in Karnataka. The projects are running successfully over a period of time. But then there has been no report which speaks about the work going on and the impact it has made. Thus, I will have to travel to these tribal villages, prepare a report which will portray and give the whole idea about the project. Further define the actions which can help better the impact of the project in terms of employ-ability, build life skills and there by look out for the platforms wherein the organisation can provide them with more opportunities to help them build their lives.I would define these objectives to be achieved in 3 different stages as follows:
Data Collection and Research
At the first stage I would be interested to know about the organisation in detail. The structure, business model, different projects they are involved in and every other detail which would give a whole idea of what is the purpose of it's establishment. Further, would be meeting people who could give me a background about the project which I'll be associated and work in the coming days. Also, I would be conducting research about the tribal villages which I'll be visiting so as to be familiar with the culture and norms which will be help me conduct an interview with ease which in turn will enable to me to get all the questions answered to support the impact report. I will also be working on the questionnaire which will help me ensure all the aspects will be covered in preparation of the report.
Field Visit:
Once done with collection of the data and well versed with the organisation and people, I would be required to visit the tribal village and thereby conduct an interview with the ladies there and get all the required information which in detail explains about the entire process which went into making the impact.
Report Submission
After the visit would be working on the tools and procedures which can help me in preparation of the impact report which will give a clear picture about where the project is heading and what will be needed to take a step ahead to enable in impacting more lives.
I'm sure this is going to be a highly challenging and a definitely interesting project.
In midst of a brand new social journey with IDEX, I have been experiencing lot of emotions, situations and challenges, which made me pause for a while and reflect on what has been added to my life, personally and professionally. I joined IDEX with a purpose to apply whatever skills I possess, make use of my strengths, thereby also challenging myself to build a better world around in whatever way I can. Further I wanted to try, experiment, learn, unlearn and relearn my beliefs and assumptions. The biggest learning for me has been of creating an opportunity in-spite of less space to accommodate oneself. The strong opinion that invoked me is to create your own space irrespective of whatever challenges one face. As I could believe by this practice that challenges are temporary and this is the time one needs to put in extra effort to figure out what one wants out of the situation. Being calm and thinking about the solutions with various options has helped me to deliver the best of my capabilities in the job till date. Social Enterprise was completely a new sphere of work for me as I had worked earlier in the MNC's. One major difference I could see in this space is that efforts of the organizations are built to get the basic facilities or accommodate the people at BOP with the facilities that can enhance their living experiences with having fulfilled the basic needs. This becomes very essential as a economy as a whole because in India it is said that until and unless the poverty & unemployment is not eradicated a country cannot progress & around 33% of the population is below poverty line according to the UN report 2013. The companies working out of social sphere are focused on making the experiences better for the one's who already have enough to live life with all comforts. They are attracting and creating a market which enriches the experience of the population who are already self sufficient with everything that is required to lead a normal life. Agree that economic development of the country is very essential but then this development need to drive along all the people irrespective of the financial strata only then we can see the real difference and growth in the economy.
When we say industries, we refer to the group of companies who build the products and services which caters to the needs of the industry. These companies usually tend to be organised as they need to ensure output in a timely manner. To manage the process they have core departments specialized in Human Resource, Marketing, Finance, IT, Maintenance, Facility, Security and many more. Each department has its own set of goals apart form the Mission/Vision of the company at the Strategic level. Marketing department caught my attention because this is one branch which drives the entire business as it involves in promoting the products, sell it and thereby earn revenue for the company. It aims in numbers, meaning it aims to increase material wealth. Further if we observe the companies operating in a particular industry try to compete with each other in providing better or an additional service in comparison to its competitors.On the other hand if you observe marketing team in a social sphere they are trying to build human network than building an asset. Trying to earn wealth not to amass wealth for it's company or employees but for the people around who are in real need. Wondered how the same marketing department have complete two dimension of goal. It was amazing to learn in this social space.
Have learnt to deal with the unexpected situations, overcome them by handling it with effective communications. Allot time to research on the work assigned which helps to deepen the knowledge & has helped to implement the solutions effectively. Understanding the various processes & skills that goes into building a team or a project. Developing marketing and fund raising skills which I never explored. The research attributes to a major extent in my work and playing a great role to ensure for the right action at the right time. Awaiting for more learning and exploring the microcredit industry and social enterprise as a whole in the second half in the journey of IDEX.
With Mr Vijay Ladha. Hon. Program Director, Bangalore Division, MAWF India
Someone has rightly said, "Life is a struggle between birth and death". Some are definite to know about their struggle well before and for the more fortunate ones, the struggles comes as a surprise. Every individual makes efforts in this journey to achieve their dreams, fulfill their wishes and satisfy their desires. Life is never fair with everyone and that's how it is. Some, are destined to get all they desire without any effort and some, even after all struggle, end up with no returns. While I was talking to Mr Vijay Ladha, Program Director of Make A Wish Bangalore, I was thanking the Almighty for blessing me with all that I need to live a contented life. At the same time, I was pained listen to so many stories of people struggling between life and death. Especially the stories of these little young children who are supposed to laugh all along and live merrily, but the cruel world puts them into adulthood very early. While there are kids laboring to earn a meal, there are many suffering from life threatening illness. Each sunrise is an achievement for these kids.
While on one hand, there are kids planning their future to be a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer, etc., there are these kids who can not even dream of such aspirations. Undoubtedly, these kids too have wishes, as small as buying a doll to as big as being a great businessman. Most of these kids, when questioned, revealed very similar wishes that we all have, i.e., to be happy and successful, work in the profession of their choice, have a good family, own things like a doll, a pair of shoes, a bicycle, a toy car, etc. However, destiny plays different games with these kids and they end up focusing all their efforts to make sure they survive, to say the least.
I was extremely delighted to learn about Make A Wish Foundation (MAWF), an organization that toils to fulfill the wishes of these innocent kids to whom, in my view, life has been extremely unfair. After all, what justifies the kind of life these innocent hearts are exposed to, by their birth.
There are numerous social enterprises focusing on providing facilities to make living better. The unique aspect of MAWF is that they are working on providing a platform for the kids to help them satisfy mentally and emotionally. One of the most important determinant of human happiness is their dreams. We all want to be something and when we become what we want, we call it success. Psychologists study about negative emotions and say that negative emotions are necessary for a human to flourish but positive emotions are by nature subtle and fleeting; the secret is not to deny their transience but to find ways to increase their quantity. MAWF believes in giving reasons to children to be positive and thus, help them think and move ahead with a positive frame of mind.
If we are enjoying music, it is not exactly the music that makes us happy. It is the expression of our love for the music that creates our joy. If we are happy in our job or career, it is not the job that makes us happy but the expression of our love for what we do that creates the experience of happiness. If we are enjoying a beautiful day, it is not the day that is flooding us with emotions. It is our love for the experience of the day that we are flooded with. MAWF is building it efforts day by day to enrich such experiences in the lives of these kids.
MAWF started in the United States and now, it is growing in India. It began way back in 1990s when a couple from Mumbai went to the US to get their son treated on a life threatening illness and they came across MAWF. Seeing the struggle that children were undergoing and how MAWF was trying to support them, the couple decided that this concept should get implemented in India too. They began MAWF in Mumbai and further expanded to 9 cities including Bangalore.
How it works
MAWF trains volunteers to interact with kids.
MAWF gets kids' profiles from hospitals.
Volunteers spend time with the kids and learn about their wishes (without the kid's knowledge)
MAWF starts working on fulfilling the wish by collating resources, monetary or otherwise
Wishes are generally from one of these categories
To own things
To visit a place
To meet someone, especially celebrities
To become something, especially a career dream
Donors, Contributors and Volunteers are appraised of the requirements.
The network works together to make the child's dream come true.
Conclusion
MAWF is working on such a critical field. This is an amazing work and no less than a genie making their wishes come true. This is such a wonderful initiative to create hope and happiness for children facing life threatening illnesses and providing these kids an experience they will remember forever. If life is a race against time, MAWF is helping these kids who find it impossible to fight against time. I hope MAWF continues to contribute more and more value in making lives colorful.
Here are a couple of stories sourced from Make A Wish Foundation's Bangalore Blog
The Bangalore Division was started in February 2008 and as of March 2013 we have fulfilled more than 1500 cherished wishes of children with life threatening illnesses.
Make-a-Wish has fulfilled more than 30,000 wishes nationally since its inception in India. Everyday the Make-a-Wish Foundation adds many wish sponsors. With their support and encouragement, the Make-a-Wish team works towards fulfilling wishes of hundreds of young children and brings smiles to their faces.
Wish to be a Policeman
With a tube running from his nose, frail six-year-old Anwar Razaak was carried into Sanjaynagar police station at 11.30 am on Thursday. His eyes lit up seeing men in khaki and there was a sudden surge in energy. Then came the small-size khaki uniform along with a toy gun. Soon, he was all dressed up to play the cop, sporting uniform, cap and gun. Anwar’s big wish had come true.
Anwar has dreamt of becoming a policeman ever since he saw police beat up people in his village, Naragund in Gadag district. But the road ahead may not be smooth for this young boy as he is suffering from brain cancer and is being treated in Baptist Hospital. It was the Make a Wish Foundation that brought Anwar's fantasy to life. He was taken to Sanjaynagar police station to make him feel like a policeman for a day.
I wish to read Bengali Poetries
Our volunteers came across with a 13 years old cheery and lively girl suffering from Rheumatic Heart Disease referred from Bowring and Lady Curzon hospital. She lives with her parents and 4 elder brothers in one tiny village of West Bengal.
Make A Wish Volunteers met this kid in the inpatient ward, they gave her a small soft toy to play and started talking with her about her interests and hobbies. She told them that she is having in-depth interest in drawing and learn more Bengali Kavitas. Most of her leisure time, she will spend with her blossom friend Meherun. Both of them will having keen interest in drawing, writing kavitas, learning different types of Rangolis and Mehendi designs. She expressed her aspiration to become a doctor and treat the kids without taking any money. And she is keen on doing social service for the orphans and provide them food, accommodation and educational service with free of cost.In addition to this, she is having habit of reading Bengali Kavitas which her class teacher as taught. She told 4 kavitas to our volunteers though shewas under the pain of dialysis. As our volunteers told “ Her kavitas inspired her to sang those many kavitas in the ward”, all other kids in the ward listen to her kavitas with lots of hope and joyfulness. Then our volunteers start talking to her about her wishes, she said her only wish to have Bengali poetry books of books of Rabindranath Tagore, Bankhim Chandra Chatarjee and Aurobindo Gosh in Bengali.
They fulfilled her wish in the hospital when she came for her follow up treatment; there are no words for her to express her happiness. She thanked all our volunteers who made effort to got those books and make her wish come true.
After our previous IDEX Fellows, Thomas and Mary completed their internship successfully with us, it was time to get a new fellow who was equally enthusiastic and passionate about making a difference. Priyanka is our new IDEX fellow who is working on various important projects like loan management, deployment and closely associated with our vocational training/school project field partners. We had a small chat with her to know more about herself and this is what she had to say:
Q) Tell us about yourself and your prior experience before joining Milaap
Working as a socially responsible person reaching people to enhance and enrich their lives has been on the top of my to-do lists ever since my childhood. I have always been passionate of education. It has transformed my life in several ways. I am also passionate of working to promote the other basic needs of life, namely access to affordable healthcare, good environment, integrity and harmony, and general well being in life. In the little time that I have spent on these areas, I have taken little steps to support these dreams.
During my college days, I was actively involved in the volunteering activities including community engagement programs, social awareness programs, cleanliness drives, role plays on social causes, etc. For all the initiatives and efforts in these directions, I was awarded as the best “NSS Volunteer”. I joined the corporate world with a clear objective of working for a couple of years, get to know more about how the world functions, get to know people and processes, get to understand education’s impact in practice, and then move on to work at social enterprises. The decision to move on from the new found happiness in investment banking to pursuing a dream that was dreamt long back was tough.
However, as I continued to participate in several CSR activities during my working life, the motivation remained. I spent almost all my weekends at NGOs, especially helping children learn, recording classes for them, making their small wishes come true and other similar activities. I kick started my social entrepreneurship journey with the Jagriti Yatra 2012, the train journey of 15 days that takes select youth across the nation to inspire them to build enterprises that make a difference.After the Yatra, I volunteered at Youth for Seva (YFS) and then, joined them as an Intern to work on a NGO Connect Project.
Q)What was your motivation for joining Milaap?
My social entrepreneurship journey began with the Jagriti Yatra 2012. I wanted to know the ground realities of the social sector as well as get a brief understanding of lives of people across the nation. Jagriti Yatra gave me move than brief understanding as I interacted with numerous change makers who had so much to tell. Microfinance is one such field that has caught my attention. It has the power to create an impact on families instantly by helping them create a revenue stream. With this passion I happened to be a part of Milaap who is impacting millions of life by helping them fulfill their dreams and to live a life with dignity.
Q)And how did you hear about our organization?
Very recently, my application for the IDEX Fellowship in Social Enterprise was accepted. I wanted to work in the field of Micro finance and accordingly, IDEX placed me with Milaap, India’s first online micro-lending platform. With Milaap, I’m working on several areas including deployment, loan management, new delivery channels, etc. with a focus on upbringing people to attain a better living through education, sanitation, small business financing, etc. There are several plans underway and I’m certain to make the best of them in the coming days.
Q)What is your expectation from Milaap?
I want to be a part of an organization that will work towards making life a better experience. I want to see a world with happy minds and humble hearts. Milaap is one such serious opportunity for me as I look forward on a journey to create positive impact, an exposure with a platform like Milaap will cut down my gestation period significantly and help me focus on doing things more effectively and efficiently leading to better results. A launch pad like this will do a great deal in taking life forward in the longer run as well as help me run longer.
Micro-finance is one domain that has caught my attention off late and this has a great potential for social entrepreneurs. It has the power to create an impact on families instantly by helping them create a revenue stream. With this passion I happened to be placed at Milaap. Let me briefly run you all through the journey of Milaap.
Let's Empower India
Thanks to ten awesome folks around the world, Annapurna has been able to expand her Self Help Group and increase revenues by 15%. Help Milaap provide sustainable sources of income to ambitious entrepreneurs like her!
Introduction
I'm sure most of us have heard the carpenter, cobbler, driver, gardener, maid & others usually who are at the bottom of the pyramid talk about how difficult it is for them to get loans to support their children's education, getting the groceries every month, getting a toilet built or even to have access to a clean drinking water. May be most of us wouldn't even think of planning to cover such expenses but yes it would matter for most of the others i.e, over 700 million people living at less than 2 dollar wages in the world. Banks having higher interest rates would let them eliminate from this supply chain. This is where Milaap empowers the individuals who can lend to make social investments to better the lives of over 700 million people to get access to the basic facilities while lending on a vary low rate of interest which the people at the BOP can afford.
The Inception
Milaap is an online fund raising platform that encourages people around the world to fund & impact lives who are in need of basic facilities in India. It is the only online platform in the field of microfinance domain which enables people globally to lend to the one's in need through online platform. This has led Milaap to be the first & only platform for NRI's to lend in India. These loans are aimed to facilitate the borrower in getting access to the basic facilities like sanitation, clean water & renewable energy. Vocational training or skill development is a new domain wherein Milaap is trying to lend a helping hand for the Youth which creates a path way to build career. Milaap is based in Bengaluru, India with its headquarters in Singapore started in 2010.
What's your Cause?
Two investment bankers, Shiva and Vikram cycled across Singapore and raised funds for 50 families in need of clean water. Inspire your friends and family to do more.
The Kick Start
So, how did the Milaap journey begin. Anoj Viswanathan was inspired by the impact of a $10 solarlantern sold on credit to the extremely poor in tribal Orissa. Founded in June 2010 by Sourabh Sharma, Anoj Viswanathan and Mayukh Choudhury. It took Milaap almost a year to gain approval from the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) to enable lenders outside India to lend to India through their website.
Idea Generation
Microfinance Institutions(MFI's) that lends micro credits to the entrepreneurs usually tend to have high rate of interest rates as these institutions in turn borrow loans from banks at a high rate of interest which places the borrower to bear the higher rate of interest. The borrowers are usually taking the loans form the MFI's as they need in small scale wherein it becomes difficult to get it approved. Further the borrowers wouldn't be willing to pay a high rate of interest as they are taking a loan to pay off the liabilities which makes up their operation cost. With this scenario it would become very difficult for an individual to approach bank or MFI's to get loan in order to cover the cost of basic facilities like water, sanitation, drinking water & vocational training. Thus, Milaap comes up with an idea of sourcing funds from individuals globally who are willing to lend & thereby able to provide loans at a lower rate of interest. This has been possible because the of eliminating the MFI's borrow from banks.
Crux Of The Business Idea
Milaap in their online lending platform display the profile of the borrower who seek to help to get the basic needs like clean drinking water, sanitation, healthcare, electricity, education etc., individuals who have access to internet & can choose the borrower whom they want to lend & thereby fund a part of the loan. The Lender can also track as to how the money lended is used. The best part of such a donation is the lender receives back the money given at the end of the loan term. Now, you might wonder how the people at the BOP get connected to Milaap as they lack internet access. Well, Milaap has collaborated with other organisations(field partners) who are working with the people who are looking out for finance. Thus, the field partners collect the loan from the borrowers creating a transparent place to lend & borrow. By investing in such projects Milaap is looking at solutions at the fundamental level considering the crucial parameters that impact the purpose of the borrowing.The profit model involves a mix of profit & non profit models to enable a sustainable model. Basically aiming at sustainable scaling business model.
The Road Ahead
Milaap on a continuous basis is expanding its business having its impact on millions of people. These impacts are not only solving the financial problems but also aims to focus on increasing the productivity of an individual, income generation & reducing the current expense. Certain initiatives by Milaap like raising funds through campaigns involves youth in majority. This helps indirectly in bringing about an awareness among the youth to think of the social issues around & do their bit to make this place a better world to live in.
Excited to be a part of IDEX Cohort 2013. As this is my first step to explore the world of opportunities wherein I can challenge myself and look out for a unprecedented learning experience.Today even after six decades of independence, the challenge for our nation would still remain the rural development as a whole and people of the villages remain unreached. The rural people have been deprived of education, health care, employment and over all welfare. Bridging this gap by making accessible the education and spreading awareness about the importance of education and hygiene among the community which will definitely lead to reduce the gap if not bridge it completely.It is difficult to bring about change. IDEX will help me work on real life projects and also connect to professional experts who are motivated to make the world better. I feel I'm at a right place to explore this world of opportunities which can help me build a better society by impacting the lives of people around who need support.
Day 1
Orientation at Tata Institute of Social Science gave a holistic beginning to the journey. Having entrepreneurs share their experience as to how they are successful to start on their own was really inspiring. Beginning with Ms.Aparajita Agarwal, Director Sankalp Forum could give an useful insight as to how one can create a space for themselves in the industry you desire to work. Shalab Sahai, Co-founder iVolunteer shared his personal experience which come up with a learning that say - "Ideas are just next door, watch your step, step ahead & never look back". Also talk by Mr.Pradeep Sharma, Country Director GMC told us about how to make the best out of this fellowship & gave us some insights on social entrepreneurship. Mr.Krishna Sree Kumar, CEO AgSree with his enormous experience & exposure in the field of social enterprise was boon for the day. The amount of energy & the passion he carried moved the fellows to be more interactive & discuss on issues which can impact business. The corner games which helped us discuss on various issues namely, education affordability, health care system, women empowerment etc., helped us think on the existing scenario across globe as we had fellows from India, US, Egypt, Nigeria. This turned out to be a debate as everyone tried to share their experience based on the demography & it was amazing to see that every single aspect has a different impact on a particular issue.By EOD few things we could reflect on are mentioned below:
What does social enterprise focus on : Social impact, Profit margin
What domain of social enterprise you are passionate about to work for
Do you have any idea in place to give it a game plan
How does BOP community survive with <$2, what do they exactly need, what are the challenges they face etc.,
How do you define a social enterprise : Sustainable, operate in critical need sector
Checking if blush can pull me, Yana and Troy
More importantly the first day at orientation exposed us to this world of social enterprise by helping the fellows across globe to join hands together to work for the society & wonderful people around. Having an impact even on one life is difficult & we could know what aspect of one's life we are going to touch upon. The day leaves us with a network of professionals.
Day 2
Second day at orientation had in store lot of exciting things for the fellows. An awesome start by ex-fellow Averil Spencer, Co-Founder - Voice4girls. Her personal experience at IDEX & the work she has done was just splendid. It was amazing to know that the number of lives she touches upon in spite of the cultural difference she come across. There was an interesting session my be none of the fellow could think about it & that some awesome tips on blogging by Nelson Moses from Billionbulbs. We could learn that yes, the stronger you convey your message the stronger s the impact. Another ex-fellow Zoe took us through the importance of having a mentor & how this relationship can help you build leadership qualities that can drive your career path. Another interesting session which help us understand the hustle that goes between the head & heart. This could help us know what we are are passionate about & what skills we possess to accomplish the same. Second day was a blend of fun & activity.
Finally, orientation comes to an end with lot of learning & network building. And according to orientation comes into play when an individual is exposed to the new environment. Orientation is aimed at providing all the required information to the beneficiaries, enabling them be in the comfort zone in the new environment. Orientations aim to provide basic information of about the prevailing atmosphere, culture and etiquette that are predominantly followed, possible challenges to be faced, solutions so on. Overall, it aims to ensure that an individual is prepared to take up the challenge and thereby help him sustain by further guidance. Well, I must say the orientation program did do justice and covered all aspects by which one could be familiar before jumping into ground realities.
City Orientation Day 1 was just amazing. Scavenger hunt. I must say this one was just crazy. Explored the city with many different perspectives known & unknown. Kick started with triple ride on a bike. Getting to know how to make a dosa turned out into business talks with complementary coffee in royal silver glass. Headed to the Yana's workplace. The task of getting defined the word "social enterprise" in 8 different languages. Then a drive to Lalbhag to get people crazy & say how much they love Bengaluru with some yummy mangoes tasted. Then drove to Jaaga with all smiles & feeling satisfied for having accomplished all the task on time. Woooo...... That was a lovely day for me just because Yana & Troy were just wonderful. All these task helped us get acquainted to the new place to some extent. Especially the Hindi/Kannada crash course, role play how to choose on the mode of transport, recognizing the food items on the menu was just amazing day.
The Day 2 of city orientation could give us a new world altogether. We could connect to so many people in fact build a network. This was a perfect blend of professional & personal space. Starting with details on EAP the moving on to explore the world of start ups at IIHS & the wonderful evening at Crescent with placement enterprise.
To describe the experience till date was just perfect to get acquainted with the new world of IDEX.
However, despite best efforts, education doesn't reach a large number of kids. Providing basic literacy to adults who have not been to schools is another thought that keeps drives my mind. Ensuring that people are not denied of the fundamental rights and they also understand their fundamental duties is another factor that drives me. If everyone works on their duties, the world will be a better place. I am passionate to work to enhance people's living experience and add value to as many lives possible. I run with a passion to see a beautiful world and it matters me the most, a beautiful world
I believe that good education can help the nation grow tremendously. Good education is not just about mark sheets and academic records. It is more about moral, ethical and social responsibilities. It is about helping every kid understand life and realize his full potential. It is about building a nation with happy minds and humble hearts. It is about nurturing talent and focusing on long term growth of every individual. I wish to make such education accessible to everyone. Healthcare is another important aspect that I want to work upon considering the ballooning healthcare costs.
Education is one such tool which facilitates an individual to ably lead their life on par with the nation's progress and get access to every opportunity that will pave way for the betterment of the society.
Yes, there is lot of floating population in the silicon city. Professionals from IT, Management, Science, Arts, Communications, Electricians, Plumbers, Potters, Artists, Masons name any and you find them. The elite class though come in bulk they are capable to manage themselves with their very fair income. The problems arises when the people who migrate in search of their livelihood who earn on a daily wage basis. I'm talking about the people behind the beautiful buildings - The Masons. They work harder to get some extra money than their daily wage. The fact is harder, they end up staying with lower facilities than the basic one's. They come all along with their family to a new place, new city, new environment and work with new people. Yet they experience hard life struggling to get two proper meals a day. Just observe when we plan for a tour to a new place which we never visited before we explore the culture, people, food, art, craft and the famous things of that place. But Masons, come with only one intention of earning money but at the end they do not as much as they could have. As their earning roughly would be Rs.4800/- pm which is Rs.160 per day. The expenses that they have to manage in this highly inflated city is difficult.
All the difficulties apart. The major chunk of the problem lies with the children who migrate along with their parents. These innocents have to pay by leaving their education behind in order to compensate the survival and living of the family and it's members. There are organisations coming up with certain support to this community. And I feel happy to be a part of such process. The reason being you see the happiness in the eyes of these kids for having given them a note book and a pencil and a teacher to teach. They welcome and accept everyone with the same warmth and love. I could see lot of willingness in them to make an attempt to study and come up in life. I could see the hope they had on the people supporting and help them study. I could see the interest to study. The talent was very much visible. When I learnt that there are people and organisations who care about this community I was overwhelmed.
Today, I happened to learn about the organisation called Sampark, an NGO which is involved in building women SHG's basically at Koppal.
Sampark works with 8000 families in Koppal district where it works with women and children in field of education, health, micro enterprise and micro finance.
In Bangalore Sampark works with migrants workers in construction sector. Sampark runs crèches for children of migrant construction workers. Sampark started its Workers Resource Centre in Kaikondrahalli which is going to going to work with 5000 construction workers in next three years through right based education empower workers to avail their rights.
There are laws which these people are unaware of. It's very obvious, we being educated and having access to all the information lack the knowledge. Sampark is making all it's efforts to bridge this gap. They are getting these Masons get registered to avail all the facilities that they are entitled to. Issues like accidents at the work place, education support for their children, prevent them from the exploitation in working hours, basic medical facilities etc.,
" Laws are existing, they don't walk up to you. You need to recognize what are the benefits available to you and run behind them. Else they just remain on paper"
A wonderful initiative by Sampark in taking these available facilities to the audience eligible and more importantly has every RIGHT to avail the same.
An unbelievable experience I went through yesterday. Even today, I can not believe if what I heard yesterday was really true. We ought to learn so much from so many people. In fact, we learn the most from the ones who we least expect from. Yesterday was just impossible equation.
My brains juggled as I spoke to a lady standing on one of Bangalore most posh roads yesterday night. I was taking off my vehicle from the parking and she said, "Beta, jara madad karo" meaning, "Dear, please help me". I smiled and inquired what she wanted. She had a bandage on one eye and she said that she had been waiting for an auto from almost half an hour and nobody stopped. After all, the RCB vs SRH (IPL6) match had just gotten over and autos were in huge demand. She was unable to move, due to her lofty physique, and I starting waving hands at autos that almost fled on the road. We struck a conversation and it went something like this (translated to English)
Lady : What do you do?
I did not want to explain all that I do and so, kept it simple : I work nearby
Lady: Achcha, thank you beta. I am sorry I am bothering you so late at night
I : Why are you alone here? I mean, you are so old (60, 70 years). Why don't you get someone with you?
Lady: There is no one. I am alone
I was shocked. I observed the lady even more closely. She was lofty, one of her eye was operated (or missing?) and she had a chair, a fold-able metal chair, in her hand. She definitely looked very normal. Before I could decipher something, I just kept the conversation going, "You mean, you stay alone? Like, your family stays away or?", I didn't know how to ask any further.
The lady took over, "Its a long story beta. I was married to an IAS officer and we were very happy", I was like, WOW, what the heck, as she continued, "We have 10 children", I was searching for my brains now, and then, she had all the shocks, "My husband died of cancer and from then, I am homeless"
It was simply impossible for me to believe. How could this happen? Can life take such a turn in just a moment? I asked, "How about your children?"
She had an arrow hitting my heart right away, "They are all married. Some stay in India, some abroad and I do not contact them because I do not want to be a disturbance in their life. So, I live alone in a PG (paying guest)"
I was like come on, today ain't an April Fool's day though this is April. It was just bouncing over my head. I managed to just peek in a question, "So, you work somewhere nearby?"
She massacred me saying, "Yes, I beg here"
An auto stood by and the autowallah asked, "Where do you want to go?"
The lady got into to the auto, with great difficulty, and I stood there with a completely shattered feeling, with total inability to digest what I had heard. There is such a lesson behind everyone's life. There is story behind everyone looking for help. If we get to know these stories, perhaps, they would inspire us even more than the stories of Gates, Buffets, Jobs, Zucks or Ambanis. The humanity will be put to shame when we learn about these struggles. How can the world be so cruel? Can a moment cause so much disaster that can not be set right in a lifetime?
As I pondered, the auto started and I, without my knowledge, bent down to take the lady's blessings. She had a shine in her eye, perhaps due to a drop of tear, as she said, "Khush Raho Beta (Be happy). God Bless You"
Life, without our loved ones, might just become null and void.
How nice it would have been to enjoy the cool breeze out there in summers throughout the day. How better it would have been to visualize the wonderful landscape around with the flowers blooming at every sight and butterflies adding beauty to this beautiful surrounding. Well, all this is a history. Yes, it's our past. Residents of Bangalore are shocked to witness that a city once called a "Green City" is now called a "Silicon City". My survey with most of them conveys that at the retired life everyone would like to settle down in a village among-st the nature. This was available at free of cost decades ago as a gift by nature to the human kind. Now, when a green city is replaced by a silicon city how can anyone even plan or think to live amidst nature. All this is past.If at all one wants to make it as a present and the future then one should start building a greener city than a silicon city. Be sure that your greener retired life is in your hands. So build it before it becomes impossible and remain as past.
Mother earth - Environment is supporting and protecting us against so many challenges. Why only the organisations should take the initiative to save it? Are they only beneficiaries? As a responsible, sensitive and a beneficiary don't we owe to come in action to save our earth? The fact is there are only few organisations who are involved and most of them are into building the mankind. When are we as a human, begin to care about the other living creatures around us? Are we so selfish that we focus only on our species? Do we not take so much from other species living around? Don't we have a responsibility to give it back? All these are serious questions to be answered than any competitive exams because when human don't exist what is the importance of anything else? We are at a very critical stage of life. We have lost so many species around us which we could witness at our childhood and they have become extinct. If each one of us do not make an attempt to at least care about the existence of the other species around us soon they will vanish completely leaving behind the mankind alone to suffer. They are now silent even after huge exploitation from us but their end will give an end to human life with loads of sufferings.
Today I met Suresh Heblikar sir and his team, a well known filmmaker (director as well as actor) and environmentalist. Discovered that he is from my home town, Dharwad, and soon, we were chattering in our north Karnataka accent. He runs Eco-Watch, 1998 with a key objective of spreading a message of environmental conservation through relevant, focused yet diverse programmes and activities. These outreach activities are aimed at building awareness about various environmental issues and concerns among student communities, organisations, corporate entities and the masses, in a simple yet effective manner. A worthy discussion today.This will hopefully create an eco-conscious culture which will help protect and improve existing ecological and environmental conditions in both urban and rural areas.
Simple yet wonderful activities like tree plantation, river cleaning, watch on emissions, celebrating World earth day, Environment day etc.,
You are just one step away, yes there are so many activities in which one can involve by spending few hours of your life. Trust me the time you spend in such activities is worth spending. This will ensure more life to your existing one's by your own contribution.
For democracy to flourish and deliver on its promises-including political participation, human rights, access to justice, a good education, an improved quality of life, a healthy environment, and personal security-its citizens must be informed, engaged, empowered, and assertive. Similarly, institutions of governance must be inclusive, transparent, accountable, and responsive.
Youth constitute to about 50% of the existing population and considered to be as the most potential resource to bring about a change. As a youth I feel that every young generation of a nation has the willingness to learn, urge to take up tasks and successfully accomplish the task which is taken up. Youth fall in the learning period of a human life cycle and thus are open to learn and impact the people around.
However, youth participation is not solely about developing active citizens or building democracy for the future. It is vital, if participation is to be meaningful for young people, that they can influence and shape decisions and actions when they are young and not only at some later stage in life.
A wonderful initiative by CMCA - Children's Movement For Civic Awareness. An NGO invloved in engaging children in the democratic process & civic issues. They stress on the concept of "Be the change you want to see in the world". Majority of the population falls under the category of "If one person(self) doesn't behave in harmony with people & nature it doesn't make difference, let others take the responsibility". Carrying this attitude each one of us try to pass on the responsibility on others & thus end up no one taking up the responsibility.
To mention a few of their initiatives - Pourakarmika Day, Traffic police Day, World Democracy Day, Water workshop, Environment workshop etc.,
CMCA conducts classes on civic awareness issues for the school children. Till date the private school numbers outraged the government schools. Recently they are collaborating with the government schools & nearby villages to Bengaluru.
To mention a few of their initiatives -
Volunteers are their strengths. Volunteers drive the entire events. They have a fixed set of curriculum on which they will train the volunteers for 3 days. They are very keen on the commitment of the volunteer for at least one full academic year starting from June to February. The volunteer is expected to take the class on civic awareness as per the prescribed modules by CMCA on the weekdays. As these classes fall into the regular time table of the day. Volunteer is expected to take at least 2 - 3 classes per week. Well, it doesn't mean that they are not allowed to take off that space is always given.
As of now they are trying to reach out their programs to the colleges. They would welcome volunteers to take up classes at colleges as well. They will provide a small honorarium & a certificate as well at the end of the program. Conduct various programs that enhance the volunteers skills & knowledge.
Young minds & hearts are easy to mold & shaped in the way required. CMCA focuses on molding these young minds into growing a more responsible & sensible citizens of the nation. Yes, it is very important for each one of us to be equally responsible for whatever happening around us. It's not a big deal to be an active citizen, it just takes the mind to know what's wrong & correct thereby choose to do right with the attitude of taking the responsibility individually.
Had an opportunity to know learn on the women entrepreneurship at AWAKE
AWAKE -Association Of Women Entrepreneurs Of Karnataka. An NGO working in the field of women empowerment since 1996 is situated at Rajajinagar industrial estate.
They are involved in the activities that support & develop the entrepreneurial skills focusing on women. They conduct various training program that support the budding entrepreneurship & also the existing entrepreneurs. Apart from conducting classes they also support the budding entrepreneurs in designing a website for the business, marketing strategies for the promotion of the product, financial support, designing the project proposals, etc. The classes/courses held at AWAKE are at a certain fees. The group comprise of skilled, semi skilled, privileged & less privileged women's who aspire to take up entrepreneurship. The training details are advertised in newspapers, facebook & reach out in person to the slums to attract & motivate the women's to take up entrepreneurship. They work on various projects which their partner NGO's offers them.
They also conduct focused program's like Entrepreneurship Development Program.
As a responsible citizen sensitive to the surroundings around can support & build these women's who are less privileged may be economically but they have all the spirit & courage to take the risk to run a business.
At present they are carrying on a project under HP to promote computer literacy among the budding women entrepreneurs. They need volunteers who can come on Saturday/Sunday & teach the audience the use of computers which can help them to understand the basics & also the application of the same into their ventures. The volunteer has the liberty to take a call on the topics that one is going to cover. On the similar lines they are looking out for support in teaching English, Photoshop & hardware as well.
They have a library & they want to set up into a full fledged one. From arranging of the books on the racks to the data to be entered in the database. Basically want to make ease at the users space. New ideas are welcome. Volunteer has the space to experiment & set up the library.
Case study collection - As they are into the development of the entrepreneurs they are looking out for volunteers to help them collect some case studies which can help them understand the real business conditions.
Events - They have certain one time event wherein they need help from volunteers to co ordinate the entire program. The layout of the program, setting up a stall in the exhibitions etc. Video recording, photography are also welcome.
Talks - They are looking out for volunteers who can talk on life skills, personality development talks, stress management, risk management, time management etc.,
Apart from the above mentioned opportunities they are open to give the volunteers an opportunity to conduct any event which can help the women's to enhance their skills in the field of entrepreneurship.
All sounds so small but yes, all these small activities pave way to build an individual & enables one to handle the odds one faces in the journey.
Feel so good to learn about various opportunities in the filed of women entrepreneurship & active citizenship.
Very recently, I came across children playing along the road side. While I stood there to grab a lemon juice, these kids were running around merrily. They didn't seem to be localities I happened to smile at them and they responded. We struck a conversation and it went on for long. I learnt that their parents work at a construction site nearby. When I asked them if they went to school, I was puzzled with their response, "Didi, gaon mein jaathe the. Jab shehar mein aaye, toh chod diya", meaning, "When we were in the village, we went to school. From the time we came to the city, we stopped". It left me with a big question mark. In a world where people move from villages to towns to cities to metros to foreign destinations for education, here's someone saying that they are losing education for having moved up. I smiled, with a confused mind, and left.
I have always been passionate about the education sector as education has worked wonders in my own life. I feel energized when I see education reach the underprivileged as it is one such tool that enables individuals to participate in the growth story of the nation, contribute even more, access opportunities and work towards a better society. It is this passion that made me quit my banking job and volunteer with Youth for Seva (YFS), an NGO that works for a numerous social causes (For a brief description, read towards the end of this post). I have learnt that value education (not mere literacy) is by far, the greatest and the most commonly spoken of solution to almost every problem that the world faces today. I am running with a goal to ensure that kids are not mere English readers, Orators, Number Cruncher. They should be groomed into responsible adults with sensible definitions of all factors that affect their journey on earth.
Today, even after 6 decades of independence, the challenge for our nation still remains the rural development as the people of the villages remain unconnected to what the other side of the nation has been progressing towards. The rural people have been deprived of education, health care, employment and over all welfare. According to the latest World Bank estimates, nearly 40% of the Indian population falls below the poverty line and every third poor in the world is from India. On the contrast, India has as many as 69 billionaires which is fourth largest in the world. These statistics give a clear picture on social imbalance in India which consequently has affected India's over all development. The gap can be bridged by making education accessible and spreading awareness about the importance of education to a large extent. Further, we also need to work on making basic necessities of life like a clean environment, healthcare facilities, safe drinking water and food, etc. available for everyone in the nation.
The Revelation
After the construction site incident that left me dumbstruck, I narrated the incident to my mentor at YFS. Surprisingly, YFS had already been working on this cause along with NGOs like Surabhi Foundation, Shalaya, etc. (For a brief description, read towards the end of this post) and with the support of organizations like the Government's Education Department itself, ISKCON's Akshaya Patra and several other large-hearted people. It felt great to note this. We discussed further to understand how rapid industrialization, most of it unplanned, helps some people and affects some others. Building replace open spaces in no time in cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Namma Bengaluru (our Bangalore). Over the last many years, we have seen huge urbanization as people moved to cities for education, job and a, so called, better life. We also saw a large people moving in to run services for these people - cooks, hoteliers, laundry boys, grocery sellers, vegetable vendors, bakers and construction workers. While there is one category of people who settle in cities, there is another category that hops from place to place in search of work. Construction workers fall under the later. Thus, the children either continue to work along, until somebody in the area is seriously opposed to child labor, or while around till they find something to do. If the parents wish to send them to school, the high costs of education and living in cities as well as regular move from one place to another discourage the children.
For the past two decades Bengaluru has been the fastest growing city of India. Bengaluru’s residential market interests all stakeholders – developers, landowners, double income households and growing migrant population. Many prominent national and international developers have entered Bengaluru's residential market and many more to enter in the coming years. Bengaluru’s residential market is likely to grow annually at 15% for the next 3 years. The economic outlook for the city remains strong in coming years as many large IT/ITeS, Engineering and automobile MNCs have aggressive growth plans for the city which will ensure healthy growth rate.
The aforementioned statistics imply that the construction industry will continue to seek more laborers/ employees. The ambitious metro rail project, road projects towards the international airport, aggressive expansions in Sarjapur, Hennur, Bagalur and in fact, every end of the city calls for many more people to work. These opportunities are definitely going to drive masons from different rural areas to migrate to Bengaluru along with their family in the next few years. The fact that it is not a permanent situation creates the problem for the kids. They lose their connect to school and slowly, the interest in studies dries out. Providing education to these kids at their doorsteps is the need of the hour or else, only after a few years, they will realize/repent on what they missed. We should make efforts to help them learn skills and improve their abilities according to their age so that they continue schooling, irrespective of where they go.
The Initiative
YFS is working on providing non formal schooling at certain locations where such a need is seen. It is an initiative with a mission to educate children by proper resource channelization. It would be very essential to catch these kids young and start training them lest they enter the trap of child labor and thereby, the viscous circle of poverty. Mumbai Mobile Creches is an example of a similar initiative through which, lives of almost 5000 children are touched.
At present, YFS has started non formal schools at three locations in Bengaluru - AGS Layout, Poornapragnya Layout and Raja Rajeswari Nagar. Each of these schools comprise of 30 - 40 kids whose parents are working at the construction site. They migrate very often as their job demands to do so. In this journey their kids get disconnected to the regular schooling. The very motive to come up with non formal schooling is that the kids can have access to education than losing it completely. Each of these schools, though have a single objective of educating the kids, are made up of varied models. School at Poornapragnya layout is run under the sheds of a temple wherein one paid teacher who is associated with Surabhi teaches. Along with this teacher there are two volunteers who are housewives who teach the kids. The main attraction for the kids to come to school is a meal. YFS has tied up with the government school nearby and have made arrangements for the food. The elder sibling has the freedom to get their younger one's to the school along with them. The parents are happy and content and do not stop the elder kid from going to school. The books and other materials are arranged from various sources. The school at RR Nagar is conducted at a room at the construction site which is sponsored by the builder himself. The teacher at that school is again a YFS volunteer. The school at AGS Layout is conducted at YFS volunteers home and she takes the responsibility of teaching the kids.
The Process
The first step towards getting all children into school would be to get to know them informally and persuade them to join a short non-formal education. The purpose is to serve this as a bridge course through which the children and their parents would become interested in the possibility of going to school. The central focus is to socialize children, provide them with some skills, and facilitate their admission to the government school in that locality.
Parents usually tend to send their kids to the school as they do not have time to take care of the kids. However, it is very essential to take their permission and learn about their interests as it creates a bonding and they feel motivated on being involved. Most parents tend to say that they are going to live in the city for 2-3 years and it doesn't make a big difference. However, the impact of these couple of years is huge. These are crucial years and in many cases, these couple of years push the child out of the education path. It is essential to discuss these points with the parents and help them take a decision keeping the long term impact in mind. These discussions are handled very sensitively, especially when the case is pertaining to a girl child, as education is still seen as an unessential burden by most people.
A strong attempt is made to promote the idea with the builder and in most cases, the builders are happy to consider the proposal. In case the builder doesn't agree, a community place like a community hall, temple premises or any place where classes can be conducted is being located. In case, both options fail, a place could be hired on rent. Identifying the location where the construction work is going on and study the profile of the children in the area, categorize them and find who/how many could be helped by the plan, plays a critical role.
On the financial front, each such project could cost up to Rs 1lac per annum (10 months) considering about 40 children in the class. Approximately Rs 30000 is spent to remunerate the teachers (the amount is only paid as a honorarium, Rs 40000 is spent on food, water and related facilities, Rs 10000 is spent on books, Rs 10000 is spent on helpers and another Rs 10000 could be other miscellaneous expenses.
The Workarounds
Kids or even for that matter adults, in general, are motivated by one or the other factor. Motivation, self or external, is one very important aspect of life as it prepares us to face challenges boldly. As the parents are daily wage earners, its difficult for them to take care of every need of the kids. They struggle to even provide a square meal a day. Many studies indicate, and I have observed it myself on interacting with people, that a square meal a day attracts kids to the school more than the opportunity of learning. Food is being arranged in two ways. One, it can be procured in collaboration with ISKCON directly and two, by connecting with a nearby government school, if any, by requesting the school authorities. Books, study materials and stationary are generally sponsored by the corporate and other organizations around. In most cases, the construction sites will be the prospect venue to accommodate such kids to the non formal schools to ensure they live their childhood with all the laughter, joy and happiness. In some cases, the classes are held in temple premises.
Many factors are taken into account while appointing a teacher. The most important point is that the teacher must be in a nearby location so that the access is easier. It would also make punctuality and continuity, easier tasks. The volunteers are given an opportunity to teach in these locations. Teachers can also be appointed in collaboration with NGOs like Surabhi. Further, in some cases, the educated housewives in the adjoining areas show interest in spending a couple of hours with the kids, which could be utilized for teaching. As the kids usually are the age group between 4-12 years (LKG to Class 5), anyone with education up to 12th and a passion to teach is in a position to take up the task.
The kids who are deprived of childhood life, the kids who are taking responsibilities more than their age, the kids who have all the innocence to laugh, play and learn are given a platform to help them mold as a better citizens. These kids are being trained on the basic reading and writing skills. In addition, something called as Samskara Shikshana, i.e, life skills on how to behave with various stakeholders in the society, how to lead their life path, the values to be learnt for leading a happy and content life in each aspect, etc. are being taught to enhance their living. All these activities are taught by making use of vachanas (verses), learning from epics like Bhagvadgeeta, patriotic and devotional songs and many other tools so that the kids can experience the holistic learning.
The Result
Once the kids are trained on the above skills they are in a position to be enrolled in the nearby Government school so that they can continue their schooling like any other kid going to school. In case the kid is going to another place, the NGO certifies their eligibility to a certain class/standard. The non formal school acts as a bridge to tap the kids who are not being sent to school due to various difficulties one is facing at home mainly due to the frequent transfer of their parents due to job. One such step will pave way for all these kids to be literate and have a better understanding of life and living.
India is, undoubtedly, the land of resources, resources of every kind, especially knowledge. If we channelize these resources appropriately, we can definitely work miracles. However, despite best efforts, education still doesn't reach a large number of kids. We should be considerate, in fact passionate, to take education to such kids who are left behind. Providing basic literacy to adults who have not been to schools is another mission that can be accomplished from non formal education system. While a value education process ensures that people are not denied of their fundamental rights, the most important contribution it does it that it makes people understand their fundamental duties and thus, evolve them into useful citizens.
Taking this and similar initiatives forward can definitely bring about changes in the lives of many people by helping them write their future, who would otherwise leave it to something called fate, which is yet to prove its existence.
Little drops of water, Little drains of sand. Make the mighty ocean, And the beauteous land.
And the little moments, Humble though they be. Make the mighty ages, Of eternity.
So our little errors, Lead the soul away. From the paths of virtue, Into sin to stray.
Little deeds of kindness, Little words of love. Make our earth an Eden, Like the heaven above.
Julia A. Carney
The Passionate
Youth For Seva (YFS) began operations in April 2007 to create a platform for volunteerism for the youth who wanted to take an active part in community development. Through this platform, YFS aims to empower youth to become positive change makers who will enable organizations and institutions to work without a vested interest. The goal of YFS is to support schools, NGOs, government hospitals and other organizations in the social sector through volunteers who can help them mitigate some of their shortcomings and challenges. Volunteering is made easy and customized to the individual’s interests and time constraints. Youth for Seva (YFS) is a project under Hindu Seva Pratishthana. (Source: YFS Website)
YFS has engaged more than 6000 volunteers until now. More than 250 volunteers engage themselves actively to teach kids. YFS has around 60 tuition centres, including many of them in slums. YFS volunteers cover more than 80 Government schools where they toil to build the basic blocks of education, communication, computers and other learning.
Surabhi Foundation Trust is an NGO established in August 2005 with an objective of building capacities of the rural population and empower the development of children and women in rural areas. It strives to bring the children to the main stream of education, empower women by creating employment opportunities, create awareness on health issues among rural population through Health Awareness and Rural Health Camps, address environmental issues and promote Self Help Groups constituted by rural women. (Source: Surabhi website)
Surabhi runs a programme called NRBC (Non Residential Bridge Course) under which they aim to provide Food, Shelter, Education and Medical Facilities to under privileged children like, be it single parented kids, orphans, migrated kids, runaway kids, children of masons, rag pickers, beggars or any child who is in need of help.
One of the best ads promoting education in India under the aegis of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Universilisation of Elementary Education) addresses the needs of the children. It completely changed the way people looked at education in those days and perhaps, today, we see a totally different India due to initiatives like this. There is still a long way to go and this video motivates me each day.
This blog post has been written exclusively for iDiya, ISB's National Social Venture Competition that aims to stimulate, enable and develop high-impact, self-sustaining social businesses in India. The competition is being held as a part of IndiBlogger's new initiative of working for social good, IndiChange. You may participate in the competition by writing a blog about any social cause you are passionate about, and its potential solution. If there are any inspiring people or organizations working towards solving it, blog about them as well. For further details, go to http://www.indiblogger.in/topic.php?topic=75.
