In our lives whenever there is a financial emergency we have the privilege of access to a whole gamut of banking and financial services. We could walk into a bank avail a loan , use our credit cards. But there is a vast majority in our country who don’t even have access to a bank account.

That is where ‘Microcredit’ comes into play. Microcredit refers to providing small loans to low income households – mostly to start a micro-enterprise like livestock rearing, tailoring, grocery store etc. These income generating activities enable poor households to become self-reliant and get out of the vicious circle of poverty.

One can simply register on rangde.org to become a social investor. Choose borrowers to make a social investment of as little as Rs. 100. At the end of the repayment schedule, the investor receives a 2% interest on the investment.

Here’s an interview with Smita Ram, Co-Founder & COO , Rang De:

What was the whole idea behind starting Rang De?

The idea behind starting Rang De was to create a sustainable initiative that will address a problem at its roots. Prior to starting Rang De, we were dabbling with several ideas relating to child labor, domestic help, media etc.

But soon we realized that most of these problems had poverty as its root cause and unless we address poverty, the rest will continue to exist. While we were researching these problems, Mr. Mohammed Yunus won the Nobel Prize in December 2006. That’s how we were introduced to the concept of micro-credit. Something that intrigued us was the interest rates that the borrower paid and how little people like us knew about the concept.

Thus Rang De was born as an initiative that facilitates small loans (micro-credit) for Indians that do not have access to credit. You can lend from Rs. 100 onwards on www.rangde.org to entrepreneurs identified by our partners across India. Join us to make poverty history in India!

What kind of hurdles you had to face during setting up the organization?

There were plenty of challenges right from registering the entity, to attracting talent to getting funds. We continue to face similar and other challenges but that is what makes working for Rang De enjoyable.

Rang De has a fabulous repayment rate, how do you guys achieve that?

We follow a model that is similar to the one propagated by Mr. Mohammed Yunus. We lend money usually to individuals in groups.The group could be a self help group or a joint liability group. In both cases, the group members vet each other and the group leader signs as a guarantor. The group also agrees to pitching in with the repayments if one of them fails to repay. This is the main reason for the repayment rate. Apart from this, we have a criteria for the selection of the borrowers which our field partners follow.

What has been the response of the social investors?

Our social investor base is growing slowly but steadily. We have a little more than 1000 social investors and in some sense, we are a close-knit community. Those who invested their money first have also now begun to invest their time to make Rang De more efficient.

In how many states does the organization have its presence?

We currently have a presence in 10 states – Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh,Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,West Bengal.

Although the impact is quite evident, could you tell us some anecdotes of the social impact of Rang De, on individuals and the community in general?

Women entrepreneurs we are reaching out to in Orissa are getting access to loans for the first time. Their loan size is as small as Rs.1000. They are able to borrow money for the first time because it is affordable.

Any plans of making it a for-profit organization?

No. We do not plan to make it a for-profit organization.

How do you plan to take it forward? Where do you see it 5 years down the line?

We would like to be able to reach out to people across all states in India and go deeper into the territories where we have started to work. We would also like to provide a wide range of social investing options to the investors and make social investing a norm.

The Better India team wishes Rang De all the best of their mission to create a macro impact through micro credit.

Contact Details
Do visit www.rangde.org for more info
Twitter: http://twitter.com/rangde
Facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/127485?m=96aaaf39/

In this maddening hustle bustle of the modern day, most of us dream of a vacation , set in some tranquil abode of nature, a unique experience that enriches the body , mind and soul , full of contrasts and diversity. Something that can’t really be located in a guide book.

Well, if you are looking for all of that and want to contribute to Responsible Tourism in the country Travel another India is the answer.

As traditional sources of income erode , Travel another India aims to provide an alternate means of livelihood to many rural farm and forest fringe communities , artisans and craft persons who are willing to play host.

Travel another India won the Sankalp award for emerging companies in Rural Innovations for 2009.

Here’s an interview with Ms. Gouthami, Co-Founder of Travel another India.

Contact Details

Please visit http://travelanotherindia.com to know more
Blog: http://travelanotherindia.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Travel-Another-India/120624356334

SAMAG is a registered, Non-Profit support group which is relentlessly working for the cause of “Ataxia” and “Muscular Dystrophies”- a set of Neuro Muscular degenerative disorders resulting in body imbalance and heart problems which gradually worsens until the victim becomes totally incapacitated. At present, there is no known cure in this world for this disorder.

SAMAG was founded by Chandu George in 2006 in Hyderabad, India with a vision to spread awareness about Ataxia and to provide information and counseling to families coping with Ataxia. Journey has been difficult for this budding organization but thanks to the positive efforts of volunteers led by Chandu, SAMAG has slowly and steadily created awareness on Ataxia and has successfully paved the way to create a forum for Ataxians thus bringing in hope and voice for Ataxians in India.

Chandu George, belonging to a middle class family in Hyderabad, has grown from being a shy and introvert guy into a confident personality leading the way for better life for Ataxians. Diagnosed with Friedreich’s ataxia from the tender age of 14, Chandu realized very early that living with Ataxia was a part of his life and a reality. Over the years he has accepted this hard bitter truth in life and maintaining an ever optimistic attitude, he has strived relentlessly in building SAMAG, an effort to better the lives of families coping with this rare condition.

Completing 4 years of operation, SAMAG has been successful in getting attention from local organizations and volunteers who have come forward to help in its efforts by tree plantations, donation of wheelchairs, organizing fundraising activities etc. SAMAG has also been featured in local channels like Saakshi TV and TV9 along with getting published in local newspapers. It continues to act as an advocacy and lobby group for Ataxians and continues to prepare volunteers who can contribute their time and energy for the welfare of Ataxia patients and help them in obtaining essential commodities like wheelchairs, walkers, medicine etc.

However, despite all its achievements, SAMAG is still in need of funds as well as volunteers to realize many of the pending projects. One such project is SAMAG Rehabilitation Center. SAMAG aspires to build a disabled friendly rehabilitation centre where it can bring the Ataxian families together along with care givers and volunteers. Chandu truly believes that spending a weeks time in a direct interactive environment , Ataxian families can share their concerns, reduce their worries and also develop a feeling of ” togetherness” which can bring them new hope in life.

This project is yet to be realized due to the lack of funds and resources.

Another project is to open a branch of SAMAG in Bangalore which is again not been realized because of lack of volunteers and like-minded people.

I take this opportunity to remind The Better India readers that SAMAG is a registered non-profit support group which entirely depends upon donation, charity, grants and fund raising events. It needs helping hands to support the cause and funds to implement projects. Even a little help can make a huge difference.

So, please feel free to contact Chandu at sam_ataxiaindia[at]yahoo[dot]com in order to find out ways of help, how to become a volunteer, how to conduct fund-raising activities, sponsor a victim or make a donation.

Please visit www.samataxiagroup.org to know more.

Read more about Ataxis here: Ataxia on Wikipedia

Every seven minutes, a woman in India dies due to pregnancy-related complications. Over a million babies born in the country die within their first month of life. India has the unfortunate distinction of claiming more than a quarter of the total newborn deaths in the world. The majority of these deaths occur in rural areas where poverty and lack of knowledge about proper maternal and child health care are the real cause of these fatalities.

The Indian government has come up with schemes such as the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and the soon-to-be-launched National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) to address this dire situation. Both schemes give high priority to the issue of maternal and newborn health for marginalized communities, and seek to improve the availability of and access to quality health care for those at the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder. Additionally, government programs such as the Janani Suraksha Yojana incentivize delivery in hospitals by encouraging mothers to opt for institutional deliveries.

Effective development communication programs can play a pivotal role in bridging these knowledge gaps by identifying barriers to behavior change, analyzing these barriers, and developing original techniques to overcome them.

AKHA

For instance, in Assam, a collaboration between the Indian government, UNICEF, and local bodies is using a boat called Akha to reach underprivileged indigenous tribes that inhabit geographically isolated sandbars and islands called chaporis. The chapori residents, who live near the lifeline of Assam—the Brahmaputra river, are often cut off from accessing health care facilities due to floods and other natural hazards. What’s more, awareness about maternal and child health care is all but drowned out by the other concerns for survival that face this group.

The Akha Boat

The Akha, which comes equipped with medical staff and communications materials, makes visits to these isolated regions with the mission to regularly provide facilities for maternal and child health as well as promote awareness about health-seeking behaviors. Findings suggest that the service delivery undertaken by the boat, which has been continually expanding over the last few years, has dramatically improved thousands of lives. 71 percent of the chapori mothers sought some form of antenatal care during their last pregnancy; of these, 42 percent sought care from the Akha.

This is one example of how an intervention tailored to the specific needs of a community can raise awareness and create tangible change.

SURE START

Another example is the work done by a project called Sure Start—an initiative based at PATH, an international not-for-profit organization supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The project is working with rural communities in Uttar Pradesh and settlements of marginalized people in Maharashtra to help mothers and their children to survive and stay healthy.

The project’s communications program is innovative in its efforts to raise awareness and interest about maternal and child health care issues. In villages, for example, the “letter from an unborn child” campaign reached out to 40,000 fathers-to-be, educating them about the importance of taking care of their wives during pregnancy. In both Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, the program uses interactive and entertaining tools including dance, music, theater, and games to create awareness.

Mr. Nirbhay Singh, the elected head of one of the villages in Uttar Pradesh where Sure Start operates, estimates that since the program began in his village in 2008, 70 to 75 percent of adults in the community have become aware of safe delivery practices and the vital importance of ensuring access to maternal and child health services. One result is that payments under the government’s Janani Suraksha Yojana (a scheme that incentivizes institutional delivery) have increased alongside the growing awareness about the health benefits of giving birth in hospitals.

In this way, projects such as these use customized communication techniques to raise awareness of maternal and newborn health issues, thus helping local communities benefit fully from existing government schemes. It has often been said that knowledge is power, and the projects mentioned above give that power back to the communities they work in.

Sure Start works to educate women in India on maternal and neonatal health. Sure Start, an initiative by PATH, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to promote safe childbirth practices in India.

Connect with PATH at:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sure-Start-Project-by-Path/178629192101
Twitter: http://twitter.com/pathsurestart

Article courtesy: Vikas S from PATH Sure Start. Thanks Vikas!

We have all read comics when we were young. Many of us continue to read them due to their fascinating nature of conveying stories very easily.

But comics need not necessarily confine to the comedy genre. Can they be used to communicate an issue, a cause or a fact? World Comics India, led by Sharad Sharma, is doing exactly that – using the power of comics to bring about a social change!

World Comics India is a collective of cartoonists, media persons and grassroots activists. This organization makes use of comics to serve as a communication tool and as a mode of self-expression in remote areas of not only India, but many countries in South Asia.

Sharad Sharma, who leads World Comics India, is a cartoonist from Jaipur and has initiated numerous workshops where cartoons and comics are used to spread awareness. A novel idea indeed, considering that comics can easily cut across language barriers!

One of their campaigns was the Girl Child Right Campaign which aimed to address the issue of female infanticide in the region of Western Rajasthan. Here, they trained children and adults in comics making. These trained people in turn created over 300 comics focused on the girl child’s rights. World Comics India then conducted a road-based tour with all this material which was distributed to various villagers and local leaders. You can view all the comics created as part of this campaign here: Girl Child Right Campaign Comics

Similarly, they had also initiated a campaign against corporal punishment in Uttar Pradesh. Students of a school in Maharajganj used comics to spread awareness amongst teachers that punishment by beating is not really the right way to discipline children. Details of this campaign available here: Corporate Punishment campaign.

Their website is comprehensive with a lot of material available for people and organizations to make use of. For instance, the entire manual on how to go about creating these comics is available in both English and Hindi (both files are about 2 MB each).

If interested, you can download a series of videos available on their website which showcases how the various campaigns were initiated and also on how World Comics India trains people in the art of comics making! Click here to view and download all resources related to World Comics India, including a book written by Sharad Sharma and Leif Packalen titled “Grassroots Comics – A Development Communication Tool”.

For contact details, please visit their website www.WorldComicsIndia.com

Pointer to WCI provided by Sunandini Basu of Inktales

Mrs. Savitri of Sangli

Mrs. Savitri is a weaver at the Physically Handicapped Training and Rehabilitation Centre in Sangli, Maharashtra suffers from leprosy but is learning to make scarves using wool for the first time.

Mr. Anbazhgan is a disabled wood-cutter, part of The Helen Keller wood carving group in Kalakurchi in Tamil Nadu, who is learning about the problems he could face with the use of an unfamiliar wood for an international client.

Mrs. Kankadurga works at Bethany Products, Bethany Leprosy Colony in Andhra Pradesh to create bed webbing that is used in the production of strong and beautiful bags.

Tarak Nath Roy of Susunia

Mr. Tarak Nath Roy of Susunia, West Bengal, is a gifted stone carver but disabled by polio.

The lives of these four artisans and several hundreds like them have been changed by an organization called MESH (Maximizing Employment to Serve the Handicapped). Earlier they were all being paid half of what their products were worth because of the presence of middle-men. But now, due to the efforts of a MESH, these artisans are able to market their wares directly and receive their due credit.

Mission and Activities:

MESH aims at providing opportunities for social and economic development to disabled and leprosy-affected people. It achieves this by acting as an intermediary between the disabled artisans and the market place. In effect they secure orders from national and international buyers, forward those orders to the skilled artisans, train and guide the artisans in fulfilling these orders, and promote fair wages among the artisans.

In addition to this, MESH helps the artisans by providing access to a host of design and product development ideas from its own Design Studio in order to keep them updated on the latest market trends. The organization helps add value to the artisans’ products by telling their stories. It also provides training in best business practices and helps the artisans secure 50% advance payment if required so that they can buy their raw materials without taking loans.

Products and Contact Information:

Their product catalogue includes shoulder bags, table mats, scarves, bedcovers, tablecloths, office stationery, toys, cards in a large variety of shapes, sizes, designs and materials to keep up with the latest trends and cater to various needs. All of these are available at their stores at the following locations in India:

MESH
5, Local Shopping Centre,
Uday Park,
New Delhi 110 049
Tel. +91 11 26965039/26568048
email: mesh@del6.vsnl.net.in

MESH
Shop No. 8,
NTR Gardens
Necklace Road,
Hyderabad
Tel. +91 9703879557

Besides this, MESH also has retail outlets in Britain, Germany, Sweden, USA and some other locations. Check their website for more details.

MESH has truly helped in filtering out the middle-men and enabled the handicapped artisans of India to earn their due.

We read, we learn, we understand. Sites like the one you are currently reading, along with countless other blogs, books, newspapers make up our reading spectrum. Make us aware, make us improve.

But what if we were to be visually impaired? How would we fare with a total lack of reading material? Did you know that most of the material available so easily to us is just not accessible for the visually impaired? In fact, only 0.5% of books are made accessible to the visually impaired in India. So, how do we ensure that those with visual impairment are able to read all those wonderful things that we come across regularly everyday?

This is where BookBole steps in. An initiative of Inclusive Planet, BookBole is a website that is designed for easy access for the visually impaired. Most visually impaired use text-to-speech converting software. Now, while there are standard guidelines for websites to ensure that text-to-speech software can easily ‘read’ them out, most websites do not adhere to these guidelines. The result is a lot of clutter and subsequent loss of information for the visually impaired. Bookbole solves this by making varied content available in easily accessible form.

The Problem

With the digitization of content as a result of the internet, as well as specific governmental and non-governmental initiatives to increase the volume of accessible content, there is now much more accessible content though the volume of content remains a major issue. However the problem is not just one of quantity but of relevancy i.e. of not just responding to general needs but specific user requirements. Large-scale global initiatives to make content accessible are just a drop in the ocean, albeit a very useful one. They can only cater to some needs of some people in some parts of world. With so much information captured in partially or fully inaccessible formats (print or digital non-readable formats) how does one respond to culture, language, industry and domain specific needs?

The Solution

The answer to this decentralized and hydra-headed problem is a decentralized community-driven solution. If similarly placed print and visually impaired across the world can connect with each other and share their efforts to fulfill their specific needs then there is a durable and dynamic solution at hand.

From books to class notes, journals to cooking tips, product reviews to personal stories. BookBole is all about the small stuff, but on a really large scale. A vibrant universe where people reach out, connect and fulfil each other’s needs. A universe created by aggregating the pools of accessible content that the visually impaired community has created for itself. A place where the value to the community of an individual effort is truly unlocked. Sharing that goes to the heart of the problem.

Bookbole.com is the consequence of this thought process. Designed exclusively for the 300 million-strong global print impaired community, it enables them to connect with each other and share accessible content, including books, notes, articles, blogs, audio recordings and so on, and furthermore, to build conversations around this content. It is a social network, with a difference. In the fashion of all things simple and useful, Bookbole will no doubt come to mean different things to different people across the world – a learning tool for some, an entertainment platform for others, and for all, a place to make friends and have conversations.

BookBole’s vision is that of a large, vibrant, pulsating community that shares useful content and conversations in a more-that-just-accessible environment, and where publishers and content-creators across the world, see the value of making available their content in mutual beneficial arrangements. Going forward, the largest community of visually and print impaired people in the world could see Bookbole become a social network, a content platform, a marketplace and a policy platform rolled into one. The makings of a true social venture.

Sittilingi is a remote village in Dharmapuri district, 125 km away from Salem town in Tamil Nadu, which used to be a god forsaken land caught under the spell of quacks and black magic. Noisy drums and fake injections were all they had to cure illnesses. This is when Dr. Regi and Dr. Lalitha took the plunge. This doctor couple went ahead to provide medical services to the tribals of Sittilingi, leaving their promising careers in the cities.

The couple found their calling in service to the underprivileged and wanted to use their knowledge where it was needed the most. Their hunt for the right place to offer their service ended at Sittilingi, a totally neglected and ignored tribal village. They ventured into the village, faced tough resistances and now they have emerged successful in establishing a full-fledged medical center for the tribals. A service beyond praises! 

Regi and Lalitha called their service the Tribal Health Initiative (THI). Their perseverance and continued service has brought about dramatic change in the living conditions of the natives. Infant mortality rate in Sittilingi has reduced to 20/1000 and there are no mothers dying in childbirth for the past 5 years. The nutrition levels of children and the general well being of the people have improved to a great extent.

Another striking fact about the Sittilingi initiative is that the girls who serve as nurses at the medical center are personally trained by Regi and Lalitha. When Regi and Lalitha saw that it was extremely difficult to get nurses to work at this tribal village, they decided to go choose smart and trainable girls from the village. This became such a wonderful uplift to the self esteem of the girls that they are extremely proud to be part of this initiative and to serve their community.

THI’s approach to medical care went one step ahead in educating the people and ‘helping the tribals help themselves’. They wanted to create a general understanding about health and health issues and make the natives acquainted with basic first aid. Today, over 21 neighbouring villages are benefiting from the Tribal Health Initiative that sprung at Sittilingi.  

And, the couple didn’t stop with medical facilities. They organize educational programmes, cultural activities and community development initiatives. There is a library facility that is available for children who also get to listen to motivating stories from a community worker every month.  Truly commendable, right?

It is very heartening to know about the selfless and committed service of Regi and Lalitha and many others who are supporting them. You can visit them at Sittilingi and get to know their service better. We also encourage you to support the initiative by contributing to the cause. Visit http://www.tribalhealth.org/

Flamenco, as Wikipedia defines it, is a Spanish musical genre. It can be both a musical form, known for its intricate rapid passages, and a dance characterized by audible footwork.

Recently, a Flamenco group from Spain performed at the Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur. At this function, the Spanish ambassador Ion de la Riva announced that the origins of this art form are believed to be in India. Now, the Spanish government plans to set up a flamenco center in Jodhpur, India.

Sohini Chattopadhyay writes in this article in The Open Magazine:

Fernando Casas Granadino, artistic producer of the flamenco troupe says “We would like to eventually develop a festival of gypsy culture where flamenco would be a key element and a meeting ground for possible collaborations between Spanish and other European gypsy art expressions with Indian culture. We’d like to organise in a festival that will include dance, music, but also art exhibits, film festivals, lectures, workshops and master classes and collaborations among different cultures.”

The DNA reports in this article on the similarities between Flamenco and Rajasthani music:

Speaking through an interpretor, Antonio Rey who plays the guitar for the group says that since both the performance art forms — Flamenco and Rajasthani folk music originated from similar backgrounds, it was but natural to try and figure out a perfect co-existence.

Another interesting snippet of information shared in the above articles is the setting up of a Spanish classical music academy in Kolkata. World music coming to the shores of India should augur well for our music to get recognition as well as opening up opportunities for innovative artists.

Image courtesy: Wikipedia (shared under a GNU license)

Children in over 70,000 government schools in Bihar are now enjoying reading hundreds of colourful, well-written, and well-produced storybooks – thanks to Pratham Books and its novel mission to see “A book in every child’s hand”.

In our country, children are expected to learn to read and comprehend simple text by the end of their first year in school. Textbooks in early school grades require children to read fluently by the end of class two. However, available evidence indicates that a large proportion of school children are still struggling to recognise letters and decode words after 2 or 3 years of formal schooling. This makes helping children learn to read one of the biggest challenges in India today.

Pratham Books, a children’s book publisher with a difference, is addressing this challenge in style. The organization is a not-for-profit trust that was set up in 2004 with the objective of publishing high quality, low cost books in Indian languages and giving Indian children the opportunity to read interesting books that they can identify with, in their own language.

Last year, the government of Bihar introduced Bodhi Vriksha Karyakram, a programme to improve reading levels in early grades of school. However, for reading skills to actually improve, children need many, many books that stimulate their imagination, expand their minds, and evoke enough interest to keep them reading. In an extremely foresighted move, the Bihar government utilised 2% of the funds provided by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to buy storybooks and other such resources for students of standards 1 and 2.

The Government invited publishers including Pratham Books to participate in ‘Pustak Melas’ held in 37 districts of Bihar from November 2008 to January 2009. The schools were encouraged to attend these Melas and buy books for their students. In what could be the biggest investment in India’s history towards making books other than textbooks available to young children, this programme spent Rs. 30 crores, and reached no less than 6 million children! In just 7 weeks, truckloads of books, approximately 400 tons, were distributed across thousands of government primary schools in Bihar.

The Bihar government’s initiative is a simple, efficient model that can be replicated in other states. Efforts like these immensely improve reading levels among young students, and bring us closer to making India a reading country.

You can get more information on Pratham Books at http://www.prathambooks.org/.

For related articles please visit:

http://blog.prathambooks.org/2009/01/books-reach-children-in-bihar.html

http://www.scribd.com/doc/9812691/Kitabain-Chali-Bihar-Ke-Bachhoan-Ke-Pass