Every morning, as I walk to the bus stand, I cross a local school here, a government school. I hear loud singing voices; the same songs every morning – the prayers and the national anthem. I pause and smile. School is such a beautiful feeling! Only when I am returning home in the afternoon do I mutter curses under my breath. Swarms of children run madly in all directions in and out of the school. With their uniform loosely hanging over their bodies and a few torn books falling out of their bags, I see the dismal picture of ‘education’. I wish these kids had a way to study at better schools, where they would truly be educated. There could also be an alternate option. Why not improve the quality of education in these government schools? That’s exactly what Sikshana does.

In 2002, Mr. E S Ramamurthy, retired chairman of BHEL in Bangalore wanted to work on a social cause. He started working with a primary school to understand their functioning and their problems. Initially he remained associated with aangan badis, overseeing the midday meal programmes. Yet, after it was taken up by the government, Ramamurthy decided to do something more. He decided to focus on the quality of education in government schools and act as a facilitator. The founder member of Sivasri Trust, which operates Sikshana, Ramamurthy started out in 2004. In the next one year, he could cover ten schools. Since then, there his idea has known no bounds. He gradually strengthened the Trust and found more board members. In 2007, one of the funders, Mr V.R. Prasanna, having returned from the US after 16 years, joined the Board as a fulltime Director.

Prasanna explains the Sikshana model, “I realised that the model was very successful and could be replicated. I joined as the Programme Director with a view to scale it up. It is a decentralized approach. We try to understand the basic needs of each school, based on the village and community conditions. The idea was to empower schools by disbursing funds and bring in management concepts. Since 99% of our schools are in rural areas, we noticed that students found it difficult to express what they knew. Hence, we focused on four skills – Read, Write, Compute and Express!”

What started with ten schools has today grown to 375 schools, covering almost 50 000 students. Sikshana acts as a facilitator, providing resources and guidance to the schools. In India, 90% of all children in the 6-14 age group attend a public school, which is why the Sikshana team felt that any meaningful effort to improve the educational standards of the new generation should necessarily start here. The value additions are countless. Take technology, for instance. Prasanna explains, “We started our initiative of providing one laptop per school and one pendrive per child. Being able to access a computer helps children overcome their fear of technology. Kids are even learning English faster, because of computers. We have English-Kannada dictionary installed in every system. We make sure every child comes forward to use the facility. We also help those who excel or are able to do better than the others by conducting summer technology camps for them. At the end of every year, we organise a computer summit, across schools. Two students from each school give presentations. This increases their confidence levels. We know that our students will be able to become whatever they want in life, because of the kind of exposure they get.”

Many individuals who want to make a difference in the society often wonder how they would do it all by themselves. When I look at Sikshana and the magnitude, impact and diversity of their projects, I am assured that anything is possible if you want it bad enough. Prasanna writes on the Sikshana blog, “With Sikshana yet to hit the 20 employee mark and the need to manage nearly 375 schools in 7 blocks, a question that naturally comes to one’s mind is how is Sikshana able to conduct such large events in addition to mentoring all the schools. I am seeing increasing signs of the teachers and the department taking ownership of Sikshana. An increasing number of teachers have started to believe in themselves.”

Thus, on one hand children are imbued with an enthusiasm to learn actively and on the other, the staff is more aware of its role and potential. With Skishana playing the facilitator, the day is not far when public schools will be at par with, if not superior to, the private schools.

Today, The Better India completes 2 years of its existence. What started as a personal quest for positive news is now shaping up into a media organization covering some wonderful stories of courage, entrepreneurship, compassion and development. For this, we would like to pause here and thank you, our reader, for encouraging us and showing us that we were not the only ones who wanted an alternative view of life around us.

We would also like to thank the following:

• All the readers (yeah, once again!) who believed in our vision and helped us by referring to individuals and organizations that are bringing about a change.
• The fantastic organizations and individuals who are working relentlessly to bring about a difference in our society, community and environment.
• Dr. Sandeep Kochar who, even though he didn’t know us, flew down to Bangalore all the way from the USA to meet us and help us in our endeavors! You can read his experience here.
• MAM movies for inviting us over to IIM-A, where we addressed an esteemed gathering and showcased this initiative.
• Sowmya, a regular reader with a visual challenge, who was inspired by the article “Blind with Camera” to follow her dream of pursuing photography.
• The hundreds of readers who write to us regularly with kind words of appreciation. It really helps us to keep going!
• The freelance journalists who have contributed guest articles and added new perspectives to this site.
• Our Twitter followers for spreading the word about every article lightning fast. Also for offering to help us get our own logo (which is due to come out soon!)

It has been a wonderful 2 years of trying to practice positive journalism. As we reflect back, we would like to feature some of our favourite articles:

• Mirakle Couriers: Career Haven for the Deaf
• Comics for a Cause
• Doctor couple does wonders for tribals at Sittilingi
• Khabar Lahariya – A Weekly Newspaper in Bundeli
• Interview: Smita Ram – Rang De

We are loving this discovery of the better India, we hope so are you.

Everyone knows the benefits of planting trees: cleaner air, good monsoons, no global warming. But most of us don’t get the time or sometimes don’t really have the inclination to go that extra mile to plant a tree. Trees for Free is a wonderful organization that has taken up this initiative in Bangalore. They involve volunteers and companies, inspiring them to give  back to the environment. Corporate houses can become a Tree Planting Member as part of their CSR activity and adopt a cause whose benefits will be felt across the globe for years and generations to come.

Individuals can become a ‘Tree Planting Member’ , by donating  a minimum of 100 Rupees for 1 tree a month.

Here’s an interview with Janet Yegneshwaran, Founder of Trees For Free.

The Better India Team wishes Trees For Free all the best in making this country green.

Contact Details

Site: http://www.treesforfree.org/
Blog: http://treesforfree.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/treesforfree/

In our society, the differently-abled and mentally challenged citizens find it extremely difficult to be able to make a living and live a life of dignity. These individuals do need work and subsequently the advantages of work. However, prejudices towards them have caused them to be treated as surplus citizens incapable of being contributing and productive members of society.

This is where Diya Foundation makes its mark. Started in 1999, Diya Foundation is a vocational training center which provides training and, more importantly, employment to adults who are mentally challenged as well as others who are differently-abled physically.

Sarah Santamaria, founder of Diya Foundation, shares her insights with us:

This Diwali, Diya Foundation urges you to add sparkle to your life by doing more. They have a range of delicious chocolates and colourful diyas on sale for individuals and corporates. Handcrafted using imported cocoa, the Chocolyn chocolates are available in a range of flavours and along with the diyas, make for a delightful gift. A gift that will give you double the joy because of the cause it supports.

Diyas for Diwali

Diya Foundation Chocolates

The products can be custom wrapped to suit varied preferences and budgets. For more information and to place your orders, contact Diya Foundation here:

One question that you would perhaps like to answer is “How do I reduce my contribution to the city’s garbage system without altering my lifestyle too much?” Well, let Daily Dump answer that for you.
Daily Dump provides a commercial compost ‘pit’ that you can have at your home. All your leftovers and other organic waste can be dumped into these pits. Within a few months this becomes manure and you can use it for your garden or just sell it off to a needy farmer maybe.

Early Days

Daily Dump, the brain child of Ms Poonam Bir Kasturi, evolved from the question – How can design make a difference? Poonam graduated in Product Design in 1985 from the National Institute of Design. She worked in a small scale manufacturing company after college and then set up a craft based design company called Industree with two other partners. She quit after 5 years and set up Playnspeak, a proprietorship concern, to make products for the home. At the same time Poonam also was the founding faculty of Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore which she in May 2008 to start Daily Dump.

So, what exactly is Daily Dump?

In simple words, this product allows every homeowner to reduce their contribution to city waste. In India, no commerical home composter was available till the Daily Dump product was launched.
It is designed for a single family as the “customer”. It is supported by a service backup and customer support. It actually helps families convert their wet waste into eco-friendly compost. The knowledge base is open-source to encourage micro-enterprises.

The Product and its elements

Daily Dump has designed a product with which anyone can convert kitchen waste into compost at home. The product, made of terra-cotta, is sourced from village potters. It is marketed through word-of-mouth referrals, media awareness, and their website. It is sold through channels including individuals, retail stores, and societies. The designs are ‘open source’, so individuals in other locations can replicate, adapt, build on, sell and use – for wide and rapid propagation of the idea.

The current product works well in independent homes; and they are working on a ‘mechanical composter’ for use in flats. Daily Dump’s vision is to see a composter pre-fitted in every flat sold in the country, as a standard fitting. Daily Dump not only retro fits composters at homes and other establishments but also provides maintenance advice and assistance through its service plans, essentially allowing you to just dump and letting nature and Daily Dump do the rest.

Product Range

This product, in addition to reducing waste, serves as a way to get over the social stigma attached to waste in our country. Without being preachy it makes the job of taking care of your waste “doable” and “possible”.

The potters who make the terra cotta pots have benefited significantly – their profitability has increased since they started making these products.

The Team

The current Daily Dump team comprises of:
Poonam Bir Kasturi (Founder), Delara Damania (Designer), Savitha, Shwetha, Vinita, Trupti, Sudheer and Anupama

Current Challenges

The challenge faced by the team presently is to create sustainable revenue streams and make money out of all the research and design work that they have done. The team has also learnt a lot and is looking to partner with NGO’s now to make strategic connections to enable waste to be managed better all over the country. Daily Dump has a robust design and an easily replicable one, which can be adapted by most people all over India.

Looking forward, Daily Dump is in the process of prototyping a mechanical composter to be retrofitted into homes in India. For this, they are looking to work with builders and see if this product can then enter into every home as a standard fitting.
The Daily Dump team is constantly trying to figure out:

• How to get builders to retrofit a composter in each balcony and utility?
• How to design a new mechanical composter such that it follows the cradle to cradle philosophy and yet is cheap and fits into the informal manufacturing setup that dots the Indian urban landscape?

Recognition

Daily Dump has received the following awards & honors:

• “Nominated for the INDEX awards 2007 – an international award to improve the quality of life
• Awarded the Green Product of the Year by Anchor Better Interior Excellence Awards 2007
• Made it to the final round of the TATA NEN Hottest Startups 2009.
• Indira International Innovation’s ‘Star Entrepreneur of the Year Award’, 2009
• Made it to the final round of the Sankalp Social Enterprise and Investment Forum Award 2009.

This article is a reader contribution. Our reader Neeraja Raghavan talks about her tryst with a wonderful Government officer, breaking the myth that everyone out there is inefficient. Read on in her own words:

I was told by my auditor that IT returns of quite a high amount (above Rs 25K) were due to me, from the filing of tax returns for the financial year 2007-2008.

Although these had been filed before 31st July 2008, and the returns are supposed to ‘automatically’ get credited into one’s account after six months, my auditor told me: “Madam! This is the most corrupt department in the country! The officer handling this told me he wants a 2% cut.”

“Bribe?” I asked.

“Yes, madam,” was his answer.

“I am not going to bribe,” I replied.

“Then, Madam, it will take more than 2 years,”he replied.

I said ok, let it take as long as it takes, but I refused to bribe anyone.

Nevertheless, I filed a grievance on some website in December 2008, when 6 months elapsed, but apart form getting a fancy and instant acknowledgement on the website with a registration no:, nothing further happened. (Needless to say, every attempt of mine to get the name of the bribe seeking IT officer from my auditor failed utterly.)

Well, I had an eventful day about two months ago.

Hot as the afternoon was, I decided to invest some of my sleepy time at work, in telephoning the IT department. So I went onto the Net and searched for every telephone no: there is for IT officers in Bangalore.

From the lowest to the highest: that is my usual thumb rule in such cases. So I patiently telephoned from the lowest rung in the ladder to the highest.

Firstly, every single number of the fifteen EPABX numbers rang off the hook, with no one even bothering to pick up the receiver.
Secondly, the PRO cell by some fortuitous chance, managed to tell me which ward/range my PAN number came under, so that helped in my further tracking.
Very knowledgeably, I then began asking for the IT officer in charge of my Range, if at all I was lucky enough to have a human voice answer me at the other end.

Now this went on and on from 2 to 3:30 pm, after which I was emboldened enough to go all the way upto the COMMISSIONER in charge of my Range, and listen to this: at 3:30 I was told by his peremptory secretary: “He has gone for lunch and will be back at 4:30 pm. No, I don’t know his e-mail address.” I laughed: for if an officer goes for lunch saying he will return at 4:30 pm, you can be sure he will not return for the day, for don’t all Government offices close at sharp 5 pm?
Well, I made good use of the time between 3:30 and 4:30 pm, and managed to get the e-mail address of this commissioner, from his colleague, yet another commissioner in charge of yet another range/ward. (Madam, I am sorry this does not fall under my jurisdiction…OK sir, could you please tell me whose jurisdiction it does fall under? And would you be so kind as to give me his e-mail address?)

I mopped the sweat off my brow and sent off an e-mail to the lunching Commissioner, and no sooner did the clock strike 4:30 pm than I called up his office. Very reluctantly, his secretary handed him the telephone.
I explained my problem. I took care to also add that all EPABX numbers were just ringing off their hooks, and since I could not reach the concerned officer, I was sorry but I had no option but to bother a high up person like him.

He not only listened to me patiently, he also asked me if I would be interested in exposing the officer who purportedly asked for a bribe (to which I said sure, but since I only had my auditor’s word without a name for it, I really had no authentic proof).

Then he noted down all my contact numbers, and called me back within 15 minutes.
He explained that due to some new system of computerisation, there had been enormous delay in processing of 2007-8 returns, and I was amongst 80% or more tax payers who were still waiting for the refund.
He said that despite this, since I had been inconvenienced to such a degree, he had arranged for my returns to be credited into my account right away. (He also clarified that the bribe angle could not have much truth in it, as there were so many whose dues were pending, so my auditor could well have been voicing his won desire! I agreed that this could well be the case.)

Further, he said the EPABX was indeed not responding as he had himself tried the telephone nos and found my experience to be his as well. He said he was looking into this as well.
All this happened on that one day. Now, I am not only in receipt of the full money (with interest), my attempts to thank the concerned officer have met with embarassed brush offs! “I am only doing my job!” he said.

So there are good Government officers, too! And it has been my good fortune to encounter one such!

Above article written by Neeraja Raghavan. Thanks!

In this post we bring to you an insightful interview with Maitreyee Kumar who is the founder of Dream School Foundation. Before we get into the actual questions, here is a brief background about Maitreyee.

Maitreyee started her career as software professional and worked with multinational software development firms in India and abroad for over 8 years before she made a shift towards social development. Her desire for social change and interest in child development through civil society mobilisation urged her to join CRY (Child Rights and You). She worked with CRY in the resource generation and volunteer management divisions for a decade and was instrumental in setting up and coordinating Volunteer Action at national level. Educated at Pune University (Masters in Computer Science), Maitreyee provides leadership and direction to the organisation and is primarily responsible for the overall management and administration of the organisation. She was also a recipient of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust Fellowship.

Interview

The Better India (TBI):Tell us about Dream School Foundation (DSF) and the work that it does?
Maitreyee: Dream School Foundation (DSF) is a Bangalore based non-profit organisation working to ensure the child’s right to quality education. Our School Development Programmes help with holistic development of government schools while our initiative – HeadStart, addresses and assists a smooth transition from primary to secondary stages of education and strives to ensure continuity till the 10th grade for the vulnerable and underserved children.

We started as a group of committed individuals volunteering their time and skills for the cause of quality education for disadvantaged children in Govt. schools. Later we formally registered the organization and now 4 years later, we are fairly established with organizational framework in place, focused school programmes and two Education and Development centres for High School students. The underlying belief of our organisation is faith in people’s ability to contribute towards the education and development of our children.

DSF Volunteers with Maitreyee (5th from right, standing)

TBI: Who has benefited from your program and how have you made a difference?
Maitreyee: The objective of the our intervention at the school level is to enhance the learning levels of the children studying at the government schools through support and partnership with teachers, active participation of the community coupled with intensive class room and school level interventions through trained personnel, teachers & volunteers. We believe that these interventions create an environment and processes, which ensures holistic development and enhanced performance of the school and its students.

Our initiative HeadStart aims to mentor and track individual students from the various schools, we support, through and beyond their Higher Primary / Middle school and High School Education. The underlying driver of the programme is to ensure that children both continue into high school (not drop out) and make an informed choice of schooling in the neighbourhood schools that are willing to give them an opportunity to share a learning experience without being discouraged by the financial liabilities.

The programme is strengthened by volunteer-involvement to mentor and track the performance of the participant – students and motivate them through the commitment of financial support for 3 years of High School Education. It is closely associated with our Learning Centres where the student-participants will have the opportunity to capitalise on Spoken English and Life –Skill Tutoring. We have seen marked improvement in the academic performance as well as personality development of these students and they are much better equipped to face the challenges of the world today.

TBI: What inspired you to create an organization like DSF?
Maitreyee: My experience and exposure as a software professional and later work with CRY gave me lot of opportunity to have a world view of society and social development. I came across several well meaning individuals who wanted to do something to bring about a change but very few ended up doing anything worthwhile. Some of us who were really passionate for the cause of Education and felt it is the only sustainable tool that can empower the nation and bridge the economic divide between communities in India started getting together.

We saw that while govt. efforts have ensured that most children have access to schools, quality education in these schools was still a dream. Schools needed to be equipped to provide education that is more than just development of cognitive abilities and rote learning and make learning an exciting and stimulating experience for children. Thus was born the idea of a Dream School which was developed by this group of passionate individuals with a keen desire to bring about a change.

TBI: How does DSF sustain itself?
Maitreyee: A large percentage of our funding comes from CSR initiatives of corporate firms while another significant part is from individuals and groups.

TBI: What are the schools that are currently under the purview of DSF?
Maitreyee: DSF partners around 20 schools across Bangalore for the Holistic school development and extends its services on smaller scale to several other needy schools. Our schools are primarily located in North Bangalore – RT Nagar, Yeshwantpur, Rajajinagar areas, while we also work with some schools around HAL airport area. Our Learning centres are situated at Yeshwantpur & RT Nagar.

Students at a DSF Adopted School

TBI: What plans do you have for the future?
Maitreyee: This year we would primarily focus on strengthening our interventions both at our existing partner schools and Learning centres. Meanwhile the public education scenario in the urban context is undergoing several reforms and changes. We need to wait and watch before we step further in our programme expansion in urban areas.

Instead it’s the rural schools that are kind of orphan and need developmental support. There we also have tremendous scope for enhancing community participation in the school development. We plan to take on a pilot School development programme in the outskirts of Bangalore, extend our existing programmes to the rural community and then explore possibility of scaling up the initiative.

Computers at the DSF's R T Nagar Center

TBI: In what ways can our readers contribute to DSF?
Maitreyee: DSF owes its beginning to few committed individuals who volunteered for the cause of quality education. We have full faith in people’s ability to contribute towards the nation building process. Whether it is through volunteering your time or financial contributions, each one of you can reach out to underserved children. One can be a member of our School Support teams and volunteer at a school or mentor / teach students at our centres. We are in need of sponsors to contribute to the High School education of our HeadStart children.

One is also welcome to help in specialized areas like website & content development, financial accounts, counseling, child psychology, education etc.

TBI: Any other message you would want to provide or talk about?
Maitreyee: We believe that people at large are responsible for the situation of the state of education and children today. And people should play a proactive role to change the situation through collective action. We need to work on formation and strengthening of alliances that promote collective action which will finally result in influencing govt. policies and bringing about constitutional changes. We as educated citizens need to widen our perspective, get more aware and involved in the education system and advocate the right cause that would benefit a larger population than a narrow segment of society.

Maitreyee is ably supported by DSF’s Co-Founder Sabu Joseph. Sabu holds the post of Director – Strategy & Partnerships. Here is a brief bio of Sabu:
Prior to initiation of DSF, Sabu worked with Centre for Environment Education (CEE), in Bangalore where he initiated and managed projects in Environment and Sustainable Development. He taught Social work and management in IIRM, MATS school of management and was visiting faculty in many management institutions and organisations. His interest lies in training and development and has conducted various programmes in corporate, academic and NGO settings. Sabu currently consults with global organisations on sustainability and business transformation.

He provides vision and direction to DSF and is responsible for strategic planning and partnerships. He holds a Masters in Social Work and also a recipient of Common wealth Secretariat scholarship on Environment Education (TEE).

Contact DSF

For further information, please click here to visit the website of Dream School Foundation.

You can also e-mail DSF: info[at]dsfindia[dot]org

How much fun can Science be, you ask? Lots, if it is taught with the help of a simple rocket experiment and other practical applications! The techie duo of Udaya M V and Adithya B, who visit select government schools in Bangalore on weekends, do precisely this.

Both young software engineers who are in their early twenties realized that Indian students need to break away from the traditional mould of “mugging” and start taking a greater interest in their learning, with the aid of science projects. While educating themselves on the internet, they came across a demonstration on how to make Water Bottle Rockets. Taking off from that, they haven’t looked back. After successful programmes in six schools and a summer workshop as well, they are overwhelmed by the tremendous response. So much so that it has inspired them to create an NGO called Education Informal for improving the education process.

Handling everything by themselves, the two techies have so far funded their little experiment on their own. They do hope however that if they were to come across some talented student in need of financial backing, they will be able to source help.

Read the complete article in Bangalore Mirror.
Image Courtesy: Bangalore Mirror
Link Courtesy: Rithish. Thanks!

How many people would pay from their own pockets to restore life into old trees? Perhaps not many. That is why it is inspiring to hear about Dr Ramana Rao, who paid nearly Rs one lakh of his own to relocate two ancient peepal trees that were felled in Bangalore to make way for new roads.

Catching sight of the two giant trees – one 225 years and the other 240 years old, lying at the side of a highway, Dr Rao decided he could not let them die. With the help of 40 people and two 50-tonne trailer trucks, he managed to transport the trees to T Begur village, where they have been planted and given a new life.

Dr Rao wishes he could find sponsors for many more such rescue efforts, as more and more trees are being subject to the axe. Infrastructure projects in Bangalore have recently evoked the ire of citizens in their injudicious and widespread tree-felling. The latest victim to this mass tree-cutting drive has been the pristine locale of Lalbagh – a 250-year old botanical garden that has been the pride of Bangalore since the days of Hyder Ali.

A portion of this beautiful garden has been earmarked to make way for the Bangalore Metro rail project, which will lead to the felling of nearly 300 old and lovingly preserved trees. Dr Rao wishes the City authorities would take an interest in conserving trees, especially those of great significance like the ones in Lalbagh.

“These trees have seen and weathered so many storms. It would be tragic to uproot them merely for the sake of new infrastructure,” he said.

Citizen protests have fallen on deaf ears as the government refuses to consider alternatives. Read more about the citizen efforts and how you can participate at Hasiru Usiru. There is also a rally on Saturday, May 9th, at 8.00 am on Nanda Road in a final bid to save these trees. Bangalore readers, do try and be there to lend your support to the campaign.

Deccan Herald carries the remarkable story of Dr Rao’s efforts in this article.
Image Courtesy: Flickr

Link Courtesy: Faiq Gazdhar. Thanks!

A cooking stove that not only cooks faster, saves fuel but also reduces harmful emissions by 80%. This is the promise of the stoves manufactured by Envirofit India Pvt. Ltd, part of the Shell Group. And they have already found 50,000 takers in the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

Eliminating the dependence of poor people on gas and electricity, both of which are expensive and hard to come by in rural areas, the Envirofit stoves work on wood which is easier to collect. By working on a fuller combustion model and using heat insulating material, they reduce cooking time by as much as 40% as compared to traditional three stone stoves. However, at a retail price of a minimum of Rs.700 for a single pot burner, they might still be a little unaffordable for the large population living below poverty line. Envirofit aims to bring down this price to Rs. 500 in order to cater to this segment as well.

Poornima Mohandas reports in Mint:

The retail channel in south India sure seems ready. Sadathulla, a home appliances retailer in Gundalpet, says he sells more Envirofit stoves in a month than kerosene, electric or gas stoves.

With a reported 1.6 million deaths globally due to the use of solid biomass fuels, 400,000 of which are in India itself, it appears that the Envirofit stove could not have arrived sooner.

Read the complete article here.

Photo Courtesy: www.livemint.com