Amit Kataria comes from a humble background. Brought up in Choma village, Gurgaon, Haryana by his father, a farmer and mother, a housewife, he always dreamt of making a change in the society. Never having let his walking disability come in the way of his dreams, today he has successfully transformed the lives of many in his village by imparting computer literacy and in the process, setting a precedence worth following.

Amit’s journey began in 2007, “I completed my primary education in Choma but beyond that level of education, there was no opportunity there so I decided to study at a school in West Patel Nagar and passed my tenth and twelfth class there. In my final year, I came back to my village in 2006. I realized that most villagers owned land and money but they had little or no literacy especially in computing. They were ignorant of the need for computer skills. I found that this was the biggest need of my village and its future generations. That was when I decided to start a computer learning institute in my area.”

Students in Rose Computer Academy

With a vision to spread computer literacy throughout India, especially in rural areas, Amit started his venture ROSE Computer Academy in 2007, when he was only nineteen years of age. Having learnt computers, he realized its potential in making his community independent and in the long run, in contributing to strengthening of the economy and the nation at large. At no point of time did Amit lose heart in the face of difficulties even when finances were few and far between, he persisted. “I still remember September 7, 2005, the day when I had earned my first hundred rupees. When I set out to start my institute, I had twenty-three thousand rupees of savings. My maternal uncle agreed to lend me one lakh rupees and I could start my computer lab.”

Amit’s academy has so far trained 300 students from his village, offering courses such as Basic computing, Java, Graphic Designing, Tally, C++ and many others. His is the only academy in Palam Vihar, Gurgaon which offers different kinds of computer courses under one roof, working 18 hours a day. Some of his students have also gone ahead and opened their own enterprises, while others have taken up jobs. Some start working at the academy itself.

One of the students at ROSE Academy is seventeen year old Ashok Silwal. Born in a small village of Nepal, Ashok came to India in 2007. His father is a bus driver at a school in Gurgaon and had no money to support his education so he went back to Nepal and enrolled for a correspondence course in India. “In Gurgaon, my father met Amit Kataria sir. Sir needed an office boy, so I started working with him at the Academy. I soon developed an interest in learning computers. I completed a Certificate Course in Computer Application and Desk Top Publishing and also completed my schooling here. Then I started teaching at the ROSE Academy and earned salary also. Now I am able to contribute to my family too,” Ashok smiles, gleaming with pride.

ROSE Academy has provided computer skills and employment opportunity to many like Ashok. Besides computer education, ROSE Academy also provides learning assistance to students in their studies, considerably brining down the examination failure rate. As Amit puts it, “ROSE academy is like the rose flower that spreads its fragrance everywhere.” True to its name, the work and virtues of the Academy are an inspiration by every measure!

A less traveled track to Tilonia gives one a journey into Indian entrepreneurship and perhaps changes the way our villages are perceived by city dwellers. Tilonia brings you face to face with the real spirit of India. Its misty hopefulness uncovers the nature of the task that is ahead for a social entrepreneur, its uniqueness and challenges.

Tilonia is a small town 25 kms from Kishangarh near Ajmer in Rajasthan. Barefoot College, established in 1972, inspires this town with the conviction that solutions to rural problems lie within the community. These solutions are broadly classified by Barefoot College into solar energy, healthcare, education, water, rural handicrafts, people’s action, communication, women empowerment, income generation, wasteland development, electricity and power as well as social awareness and conservation of ecological systems in rural communities.

Barefoot College was founded by Sanjit ‘Bunker’ Roy, an Indian social activist and educator. Roy was influenced by the philosophy of Mao Zedong, and modeled his organization after Mao’s Barefoot Doctors. Roy has worked all his life with the Barefoot College.

Spread over more than 8 acres of land, the campus of Barefoot College was built between 1980 and 1986, designed by a team of rural ‘barefoot’ architects, masons, blacksmiths, farmers and members of women groups who sat and struggled through the initial basic designing of the campus. This institution believes in imparting informal, non-structured, on-the-job practical training by identifying the poor, unemployed youth who have been unable to finish their formal education and have returned to their respective villages as dropouts. The five principles which are an integral part of the functioning of the college are equality, collectiveness, self-reliance, decentralization and austerity.

The education program focuses on the overall development of rural children, with literacy being just one part of it. It encourages hands-on or learning-by-doing process of gaining knowledge and skills. Lessons are focused on awareness about the environment and socio-economic and political forces that dominate development. The aim is to provide the children with a right balance of education and literacy so that they choose to stay in their village and work for its development. The college has different programs for children and women. There are Balwadis (rural crèches) established for children between the age of 6 months-5 years for the convenience of working mothers. Night schools have been set up for ‘working children’. There are bridge courses, courses for night school children who aspire to join formal day schools. In these night schools, initiatives like the children’s parliament are established which allow them to participate in the management of their schools through a democratic process. Candidates are selected through a proper election process, giving them an idea of the working of a democracy.

There is also a huge emphasis on the holistic development of women by empowering them socially, financially and politically. In the past 38 years, the college has trained more than 15,000 women in jobs ranging from construction work, education, metal craftsmanship, toy making and solar engineering, to mechanical repair and fabrication, health care, water testing, handicrafts, film making and social activism.

Vocational Training at Tilonia

The Barefoot College has setup eight field centers in Rajasthan and a society known as SAMPDA (Society for Activating, Motivating and Promoting Developmental Alternatives) through the collective efforts of which the Barefoot approach is replicated in rural communities across 14 states in India.

The global response received by the organization is worth acknowledging. The institute has witnessed semi-literate middle aged woman traveling from places as diverse as Afghanistan, Cameroon, Gambia, Mali and Sierra Leone to undergo training to become barefoot solar engineers.

To know more about this organization and to read on some of its wonderful initiatives, please visit their website at www.barefootcollege.org.

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

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/

Meet Laxman Rao. He sells tea on the roadside in Delhi. He is also an author, having penned 20 novels in Hindi so far. What’s more, Hindi is not even his mother tongue! Laxman originally hailed from Maharashtra and has settled down in Delhi, running a tea stall. His interest in writing manifested in the form of a book in the late 70s when he published his first novel Nayi Duniya Ki Nayi Kahani.

When he wrote his first book, no publisher was ready to give him a second glance. After numerous failed attempts at getting the book published, Laxman decided to take the task upon himself. He got the book printed at his own cost and then set out to market it as well! Since then, Laxman has been printing his books and distributing them to various organizations. His books are available at the Delhi Public Library and many school libraries.

Laxman’s penchant for writing started early in his life, during his school years. Since then, he has read a great deal including the works of Gulshan Nanda, Mahatma Gandhi, Shakespeare and many more. By virtue of his novels, Laxman has had the chance to meet Indira Gandhi and recently President Pratibha Patil. Winner of the Inderprastha Sahitya Bharti Award, Laxman is an inspiration for many of us! To know more about Laxman Rao and to see his pictures, please check out the following stories about him:

1. More than his cup of tea | The Tribune – This is a great profile of Laxman, talking about his past, his current life and how he has managed to keep his passion alive.
2. Brewing up Books | Open Magazine – This is a recent article on Laxman and continues to convey his message of positivity and persistence.

Image on the homepage courtesy AFP and The Tribune.

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

Here comes the latest in the wonderful series of profiles from our guest writer, Utkarsh Joshi. This is the story of Padmashree Dr. Anil Joshi, who learnt early in life that in order to develop the hill community where he worked as a lecturer, he would have to focus on rural advancement and making the best use of local resources. Read on to know how he brought about this revolution.

To the people of the hills in the upper reaches of India he is no less than a messiah and what he has achieved is no less than a miracle. Padmashree Dr. Anil Joshi, or “Sir” as the local populace refers to him, has made it his life’s mission to make the villagers in the hills more self reliant – by promoting the local economy through local means and by upgrading generational hand-me-down wisdom.

Dr. Anil Joshi was born in 1955 in Kotdwara – a small town on the edge of Uttrakhand, at the foothills of the Shivalik range of the Himalayas. A bright student, he did well through school and college and after completing his PhD. in environmental science he eventually joined the Kotdwara government college as a lecturer. But being a man of the hills, he wanted to do more for the mountain community than just research. With inaccessibility, a lack of infrastructure, and most of the men folk either working in urban centers or foot soldiers in the army – these communities were getting increasingly dependent on urban centers and products for their livelihood. The answer as per the young Dr. Joshi was rural development and one which needed to employ local resources and make the villagers self reliant.

That was the initial thought with which he tried to break ice with the locals, telling them that he was a social worker. But most of the villagers he first approached shunned him, telling him that since he was not staying with them, he would not know enough to help! When he remarked he was a social worker – they asked why he didn’t think of roads or schools. But he remained patient and slowly worked on building his relationship with the hill community. It’s a relationship which has prospered in the intervening 29 years and brought about a silent revolution in the way these communities exist today.

He began alone, but decided to give a more formal name and face to his approach, and thus Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization or HESCO was formed in 1981. Some of his students and colleagues joined him as well. Based on their fundamental principles of participatory research and with a combination of science and tradition, they have gone to villages and enlisted local people to help them with their research. Doing this, they have developed new things while at the same time upgrading their hand-me-down knowledge to make them more relevant in today’s age. For instance, the hills were overrun with ‘Kurri’ a wild shrub which was identified by the HESCO team as a weed. They identified uses for the shrub in order to control its growth. The sticks were strong enough to be used for furniture, the flowers and leaves could be used for incense sticks and the leftovers as fodder for goats! This has provided employment as well as monetization. HESCO has also worked on upgrading the local water mill used to grind grain or the ‘gharat’ – to make it an effective tool for power generation and provided indigenous electricity to these villages. According to Dr. Joshi, if all the traditional ‘gharats’ are modernized in the same way, local employment can mushroom while at the same time the hills can produce up to 2500MW of power for the country at practically no cost!

Stopping landslides and soil erosion using biological methods; creating a social platform for women to generate employment and marketing opportunities; advocating forest fire prevention and disaster management methods; circulating a local children’s newspaper; using local development as a tool to wean away youth from anti social activities in border states – these are just some of the activities that HESCO and Dr. Joshi have been tirelessly working on to bring about a change. His highly educated team gets paid between Rs 2000 and Rs 6000 per month but their motivation keeps them going.

The government and the international community have also taken note of the stellar work that is being done by Dr. Joshi and team. Dr. Joshi was awarded the Padamshree in 2006 and HESCO works closely with government organizations like the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Bio-Technology, BSF, ITBP, CRPF, the Social Security Board – to name a few.

Dr Joshi’s role model is Mahatma Gandhi, and he believes that to help the common people, one needs to stay with them and stay like them. Thus he leads a simple and austere life with the villagers and knows that his work is far from done. But he can sit back and be satisfied as an agent of change for his first love – the hills. It is not everyone who has the satisfaction of doing something which impacts close to 5 lakh villagers, in more than 10,000 villages, spread across 9 mountain states of the Himalayas.

The mountain man has truly lived up to his name.

To learn more about HESCO and their work, visit their website.

Welcome to the second contribution from our remarkable guest editor Utkarsh Joshi. In this interesting article he talks about the selfless commitment of one man who has made it his life’s mission to identify and nurture talent that has the potential but not the financial means to make it to the IITs. This is the story of Anand Kumar and his Super 30. 

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It takes a lot of resolve and hard work to come out of difficult situations and succeed in life. It takes even more to share one’s success with others like oneself and help them also succeed.

Anand Kumar has been there and done that.

Based out of Patna, Anand Kumar lost his father at a young age and his family faced many financial hardships early on. There was a time when the entire family was dependent on his mother’s earnings. At a point in time he even delivered home made papad’s made by his mother, to shops and homes on his bicycle. However, gifted with superb mathematical skills, he was encouraged by friends and family to pursue his dream of higher studies abroad. In 1992, he founded the Ramanujam School of Mathematics as a club where anyone could join free of any cost and attend training camps.

In 1994, he secured an admission in Cambridge and Sheffield universities but his financial health did not allow him to pursue his dreams. However he did not let that deter him. He converted his club into a coaching institute providing coaching for various competitive examinations. At the same time, he decided that what happened to him should not happen to others. Financial health should not come in the way of talent being recognized and nurtured.

This led to the creation of the Super 30 initiative.

This initiative provides free coaching, boarding and lodging to 30 talented students from financially weak backgrounds. These students are handpicked by Anand and his team and trained for the IIT JEE entrance exam. This initiative is funded by the money he earns from his coaching institute where he teaches up to 500 students in a single batch, thrice a week for two and a half hours each. He teaches upto 4 such batches at a time and charges these students a very reasonable 4000 rupees for the 11-month course. This money is channeled into the Super 30 initiative. The results for the Super 30 initiative have been extremely encouraging.

Founded in 2003, 18 students made it to the IIT’s in the founding year. The number rose to 22 in 2004 to 26 in 2005 to 28 in 2006 and 2007 and up to 30 in 2008 and 2009. Yes that’s correct! In the last two years, the super 30 boasts of a cent percent record with 30 out of 30 students coming through.

Today Anand Kumar has come a long way. His dream of going abroad has been fulfilled and he has been a speaker at Atlanta, where he addressed an annual conference organized by the American Mathematics Society and the Mathematics Association of America. He also has made contributions to The Mathematical Gazette and the Mathematics Spectrum, both reputed journals published from the UK, and Parabola, published in Australia. But he derives most satisfaction from the fact that he has helped talented students from the lower strata of society to fulfill their dreams. With future plans of spotting and nurturing talent in young students, he now intends to set up schools for the financially weak segment of society and leverage a similar business model. So that talent does not fade away for want of finances, and education does not remain the privilege of the financially stable only.

Visit the Super 30 website to read more about the wonderful initiative.

Image Courtesy: The Hindu

Read other articles by Utkarsh Joshi here.

A 16-year old who teaches 600 students in his backyard. A single man who led to an entire city being declared smoke-free, a year before the nation enforced it as a law. The saviour of the endangered whale shark who has rescued as many as 50 so far. A former Tisco employee who gave up her secure job to help poor tribal families in a remote Maoist-infested village build a new life. And a Physics professor who learnt all there is about rain water harvesting and then made it mandatory for all official buildings in Tamil Nadu. These are just some of the everyday heroes that are doing their bit to change lives, whether they are recognized for it or not.

Babar Ali is a class XI student in Berhampore, West Bengal. Moved by the plight of poor parents who could not afford to send their children to school, this youngster has been conducting classes after his school hours since he was 11. His students come from nearby villages, some even walking four km to reach his house. In order to induce better attendance, Ali also managed to get government officials to distribute free rice at the end of the month.

Besides lessons, the children are drawn by the free rice distributed at the end of each month. “Attendance was falling drastically. That is when I hit upon this idea. As my school is not recognised by the government, I couldn’t have got free rice. But government officials helped me,” says Ali.

Ali has big dreams for the future. “I dream that my school will grow and expand to other parts of the state and country where children want to but can’t go to school.” But for now, he will be content if his students get a proper classroom.

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Hemant Goswami had been committed to act against tobacco since a school project he did in 1987. In 2004 he filed a writ petition with the Chandigarh High Court, following which the government was instructed to follow the tobacco Act in letter and spirit.

In 2005 when the Right to Information Act (RTI) came into force, Hemant decided to use it to make Chandigarh the first smoke-free city. He filed over 300 RTI petitions with all government departments and offices, raising questions about their adherence to tobacco control laws. In a year, more than 1,800 signboards warning people of the health implications of smoking were up in all government offices. Educational institutes too fell in line.

Hemant’s efforts finally resulted in Chandigarh being declared smoke-free in July 2007. But he didn’t rest even after that. He continues to monitor the proper enforcement of the law, and smokes out the violators.

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Dinesh Goswami is a daily wage earner in Junagadh district of Saurashtra in Gujarat. But every time he hears of the whale shark being indiscriminately hunted by fishermen on the rough and choppy sea off the coast of Saurashtra, he rushes to their rescue.

Describing his most dangerous rescue so far, Goswami recounts, “State officials called me after reports that a shark was trapped in a net. After we set off, the sea got very rough and every minute, we thought the boat would overturn. Thankfully, we managed to save the whale shark and return safely.” Goswami now runs Paryawaran Mitra, an NGO for the protection of sea animals.

Having learnt about the whale sharks and their plight in a documentary by environmentalist Mike Pandey, Goswami decided to make it his mission to save them every time they are in danger.

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In Purulia, along the Bengal-Jharkhand border, Jayati Chakraborty has started a school to help a tribe called santhals build a better future. Inspired by an NGO run by Kamalesh Chakraborty for developmental work in the area, she decided to stay on and make a difference.

She quit her job, faced down appalled friends and family. “They found it hard to believe that I would be better off working with poor people in a godforsaken village.” And she tried new things — linseed and tomato farming — finally deciding the area needed a school. “We converted a hall into a classroom and started with 66 students in 2001. It seemed the school was waiting to happen,” she says. Students pay Rs 30 a month. But paid pupil or not, no one is turned away.

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Chennai-based professor Sekhar Raghavan’s passion for saving and harvesting water found an outlet when he worked with the Centre for Policy Studies, which examines traditional ways of living.

He says he found “we had the complete records of Chengelpet district for 200 years and realized rain-water harvesting is not new, it’s just something we had forgotten”.

His Akash Ganga Trust eventually led to rainwater harvesting becoming compulsory for all buildings in Tamil Nadu in 2002.

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Thus we see that it is possible for a single person to change the lives of many, even while performing normal duties like going to school or earning a daily wage. All our barriers are just imaginary.

Read the complete article in Times of India here.
Image Courtesy: jyothsnay.wordpress.com

His name is Raja, but he is more popularly known as “Auto Raja”. Once a youth given to gambling, drinking and even stealing money from his home, Raja left home when he was 15, and experienced first hand the hardships of living on the streets. Sleeping on the roads and eating from dustbins on the streets of Bangalore taught him about the realities of life. Now, at 41, he has rescued over 3000 people from the rough streets over the past 12 years, and offers them hope and rehabilitation at his New Ark Mission of India, also called the Home of Hope.

Auto Raja, as the name suggests, took to driving an auto rickshaw to earn a living. However, as he plied his way around the city, he was struck by the sufferings of the homeless on the streets. Though he had meager means of income himself, he was so moved by the plight of these people that he had to give in and start helping them. Madhumitha B writes more in Deccan Herald about the inspiration behind this man and his mission:

Most people feel the need to help the underprivileged but it’s always only a select few who go the entire mile. For Raja, it was a constant struggle with his conscience until he gave in one day to help a person on the street and from then on, he gradually set up a place they can call home. “I began to realise that this was my calling. I felt a sense of satisfaction, an inner bliss everytime I helped someone. It was very difficult but I strongly believe that if you help the poor, God will help you and that keeps me going,” says Raja.

It doesn’t stop with providing a place to stay. Raja also provides three wholesome meals a day, medical care as well as round-the-clock presence. “While the men and women have separate areas to stay, I have moved in here along with my immediate family where we stay together with the children we have sheltered,” he says. In return, daddy as he is referred to by all of them, is blessed with lots of love and affection. This, he says, is a reward in itself.

Surviving mainly on charity and grants, the home is housing 300 inmates at present, with a capacity for only a 100. With limited help, Raja has still been managing to provide food, clothes and medical help to his inmates. The home has about 15 staff members, some of whom are senior inmates. What about the inmates themselves? ThaIndian News reports in this feature:

The oldest inmate of the home is Tatha, a 101-year-old man, who is fondly called “anna” – meaning elder brother in the Kannada language – by other inmates and staff.
“I am almost blind and had been roaming the city’s roads without food for days. I was rescued from the streets by Raja’s team members almost a year back and since then I have been staying here. I am lucky to get a home, many are still suffering and dying on the streets,” said Tatha.
The youngest inmate is a one-year-old girl who is yet to be named. She was rescued by the team almost a year ago.
“We rescued her as a newborn from a garbage bin in the city. She is cute and we will celebrate her birthday Jan 30, the day she was brought to the home. We will also name her on that day,” smiled Padma, a staff member.
Some inmates trained in various vocations at the home are now leading independent lives. Around 1,000 destitutes have died in dignity in the home in the last 12 years.

While the going is tough for this Home of Hope, we do hope that “Auto Raja” goes a long way in his noble cause and receives greater support from various individuals and organizations along the route.

Read more about this personality and his work in Deccan Herald and ThaIndian News.

Image Courtesy: www.newarkmission.org