National Doctors' Day

“Next to creating a life, the finest thing a man can do is save one.”- Abraham Lincoln

If there’s one person we all have had to visit at least once in our lives, it has to be a doctor. A doctor is has the tremendous responsibility to serve his or her fellowmen.

The National Doctors’ day is celebrated on 1^st July every year across India in honor of the legendary physician Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. The main purpose to celebrate this day is to ‘show the importance of doctors and physicians in our lives and how their treatments are used to cure us. The celebrations are indicative of the respect that they command in the lives of their patients and this obligate them to fulfill their responsibilities as well. Doctors have dedicated all their lives to innovation, sacrifice and high quality service which is worthy of our recognition and gratitude every day.

India is a country of 1.2 billion people who depend of the efficiency of physicians to large extent at all times. Out of these 1.2 billion people many are from the rural and isolated areas of the country. There are thousands of doctors stepping out of their comfort zones and committing to help people in these rural areas free of cost. They are definitely, true heroes of this country.

We are at the hands of doctors every single day; they take decisions that can completely alter the way we live. Therefore, we must be grateful to them and must acknowledge the great service they provide to mankind. For the page that wakes them up at 3 a.m.; for their sacrifices, personal and professional. If there is one thing we can do, it should be to just call our own doctors on this day and just thank them for everything they have done for us until now, make them feel appreciated and special.

For their expert advice and compassionate care. I dedicate this entire post to all the great doctors of this nation. I salute each and every individual who is currently a doctor or is in the process of becoming a doctor and taking up this huge challenge for society. These are the pearls of tomorrow, they will make this nation proud and they will shine bright.

Thank you.

www.ngocacr.com

The Irony of Indian Education

“Irony is the gaiety of wisdom and the joy of reflection.”

In India however, irony seems to be the daily staple of our lives as we reflect on the happenings in the country.

The best defense to a false degree accusation.

From being a country where pissing on the road is fine, but kissing/any form of PDA isn't and where moms want their daughter to control their husbands and expect their sons to control their wives, the latest in a long list of ironies is that Smriti, Irani, the cabinet minister for Human Resource Development, responsible for education in the country herself has extremely murky education credentials.

In the ongoing furore that followed this revelation, one could not help but wonder, how education came to be such a controversial topic at times.

Even before the above mentioned incident occurred, a massive “fake degree scam” in Bangalore was unearthed where offers of degrees and certificates were openly advertised. The ads, posted on various websites, claimed to provide degree certificates from various varsities in no time to (un?)suspecting netizens. Another popular example of disrespect for our education system was the famous  IIPM or Indian Institute of Planning and Management issue, where a complaint by the University Grants Commission UGC, revealed that the institute is ‘cheating’ and ‘fooling’ its students as it is not recognised by any regulatory body.

Scams are more staple in our country than rice and wheat.

Even despite outright illegal acts, a  lot of activities in India’s education sector have been in a certain grey area; these include the system of “donations” to gain entry into universities, the setting up of universities and educational institutes without accreditation etc.

The main reason for a general sense of disrespect and heedlessness towards the education sector, is mainly that education is either viewed as a simple means to an end; students look at degrees from colleges as one way tickets to placement with an MNC and lifelong series of foreign trips and a priority savings account with Axis bank, or education is viewed as an inconvenience to be dealt with before entering the job sphere.

Education is neither of these two; it is meant to be an enlightening experience, to prepare you for the numerous challenges that you are inevitably to face in your later life.

Rural areas have particularly low literacy and education rates

A degree is meant to be nothing but a proof of these efforts, and a sign that you have the knowledge required to survive in the world, instead of being a “employable” stamp.

The moment that we as a country realize this, education and fake degree scams will cease to exist, and rural parents will start sending their children to schools 57.8 million children are out of primary school globally with India, ranking among the top five nations with 1.4 million children being out of school.

In the meantime, one can only hope that our other ministers make more educated claims henceforth.

- Anand Banerjee is a  creative intern with +Citizens Association For Child Rights, a non profit working in public schools on India to improve the standard of education and well being of children.

www.facebook.com/CitizensAssociationForChildRights

www.ngocacr.com

Video Tutorials: Possible future or an illusion?

We have read countless time that the basic problems facing public/municipality school is lack of empathy/support from Government and teaching staff. Government is always facing shortage of resources -Teachers, school buildings, study aids, etc 

The obvious solution found a few years back was using video tutorial. The advantage of it was you do not require a teacher or internet facility on your computer. It was an answer awaited by all children whose parents’ were not in position to sent them for private education. The technique was low-cost and effective.

CACR volunteers use Video Tutorials to teach English 

But has this idea brought out the required change or relief to these common woes? You could say in a small measure they have helped, but looking at the larger picture it probably has a long way to go.

The basic problem this idea faces:

• No room for computer lab in schools. Certain classes in government schools are being closed down due to insufficient number of students, there is still no provision for a computer lab in many public schools of India 
• A mandatory law that every school should have a computer lab with fully functioning computers and a computer teacher assigned is a must. A large population of educated Indians is unemployed and it’s time to accommodate them into public schools thus providing them an employment opportunity and resolving the teaching staff situation. Even retired or handicapped people should be given an opportunity for teaching positions.
• Maintenance of computers is another issue. In those schools where a lab is provided with the necessary software and a maintenance contract, still many of the computers are inoperable. No maintenance is done and no sign of future actions to get it done are in the to-do list. Neither the government nor the required school personnel are accountable for it.
• How to operate video tutorials? Students are definitely not born with an internal manual on how to operate computers or video tutorials. The only advantage the current and future generations have is their ability to grasp computers and other electronic gadgets like smartphone/tablet at faster rate than their parents.

E-Learning via Video Tutorials 

           Few solutions could be -getting into a five year contract with the I.T. firms (who have made India famous in the world of IT)who  will solve the problem of maintenance and provide regular updates to software. A special audit team should be created by the Government for random checks in school regarding student welfare, day-to-day operating problems in schools and computer labs functioning.

Students learn basic IT skills via Video Tutorials

           So, what we essentially need is a teacher for some period of time to teach them basics and an access to computer lab to practice it on regular basis. Practice is what is needed to make these students masters in their game and for a possibility to use more video tutorials to expand their knowledge. These same students can in turn help their juniors who are on a novices to  the world of computers.

Once these bottlenecks  are removed, we will have a bright future for the BMC (inner city) schools and its students. All we need is participation from all the stakeholders – parents, Government, teachers, volunteers and public to give their time and effort to this endeavor.

-JZ is a engineer and a  volunteer with +Citizens Association For Child Rights a non profit working in public schools on India to improve the standard of education and well being 

The Rise of the Youth Intelligentsia

George Bush at a Young Leaders' Summit.

Being a part of the urban youth population today, doesn't mean what it mean what it meant before. At the risk of sounding clichéd, an undeniable truth is that today's young generation is highly empowered! 

    There has been a unmissable boom in youth related events, actions and organizations. Conferences, donation drives, NGOs and social service initiatives that are 100% founded and run by young persons are an extremely common sight, and what is even more evident is their inherent efficiency and success.

Many of these initiatives are by highly driven and motivated students from some of the best institutes across the country, who have the requisite support systems, ideas and verve to brainstorm solutions to current day  and execute them. This can be seen in organizations like CACR itself, where we have tie-ups with students from social service cells of some of the finest colleges in Mumbai, as well as a tie-up with IIT-Bombay for the computer literacy programme.

Tapping into this potential is essential, especially from a social perspective. Majority of college and school students have summer holidays and vacations at this time, and again the vast majority of them have a desire to have a productive summer, making this the perfective time for undertaking such initiatives.

A youth related NGO leads relief efforts in Nepal.

The only thing that is between the youth and making a difference is a direction.

      The good news is that opportunities are abound for contributing to any cause that you hold dear. Not only can one try to start their own initiative with a couple of equally driven friends, or intern at an NGO, one can also volunteer with multiple NGOs over the course of months.

Not only is this is a highly productive and beneficial thing to do from a career and CV building perspective, but it imbues one with a sense of satisfaction and personal fulfilment. Realizing that you are a part of something that is larger than yourself, and incessantly dedicating your time, efforts and energy towards a social cause is something that is internally fulfilling and rewarding, and teaches you empathy and dedication, qualities that are highly admired and looked upon in today's day and time.

Additionally, in a time when the majority of students while away and waste the precious summer months, productively working toward a social cause is no mean feat, and definitely sets you apart!

So, what are you waiting for? Head to your nearest NGO now and make a difference.

- Anand Banerjee is a social media intern with CACR , a education non-profit based in Mumbai ,India. 

CACR +Citizens Association For Child Rights works to improve the quality of education and health of school children in municipal (inner city) schools

www.facebook.com/CitizensAssociationForChildRights

www.ngocacr.com

Are we really educating India?

"After my 13 years of education I still don't know how mortgage or taxes work but at least I know about the cells inside a leaf" - this is the story of every 18 year old in the country.  The Indian education system focuses more on theoretical knowledge than any kind of practical education that will actually help most of our population to get jobs in the future. Providing hard skills or understanding of practical know how will empower a very large section of students coming from a lesser-privileged background.  The point is not to do away with what is already being taught in our classrooms, the point is how to incorporate life skills and lessons within the already set and existing structure.  It is important to nurture the young minds of India with both education and the ability to be employed.

Government and Education

If we take our private and government sectors expenditures, we are spending a 4.8% of our GDP on education (even though the target set by the government was 6% , which is still a long way to go) where can we see the effects of all this investment. The tragedy is not that there is no money. The tragedy is that we do not know what to do with the money that is available; that we do not have structures through which we can channelize it.  There is no doubt that in many areas the schools have been given better infrastructure and new technology. But the lack of maintenance and basic knowledge as to how to operate such systems is absent. This causes a lot of wastage of precious resources and capital.

In order to tackle the loopholes in the education system, the following things can be undertaken. The first points of contact for any education society are the teachers. The government has a tremendous challenge of expanding the school system and at the same time putting resources in training teachers.  Across India around 25 per cent of teachers remain absent everyday. Improving the method by which the teachers teach can be a solution to education reform in India.  It is important to motivate and support the teachers so that they become quality-conscious and feel responsible for the improving the system.  One way of doing so is by identifying and implementing no or low cost teacher led practices that have the potential to make a significant positive impact on student learning. The best part about is that there is almost no cost involved in this method as it is something that is already existing within the system.

Children learning while playing 

Another thing that can be done in order to reconstruct the education system, is adding innovative life skills sessions within framework of the classroom. It is important to provide students with a set of skills that are going to help them deal with situations that may arise in the future. This will help them battle such times aptly. Students from underprivileged backgrounds, who may drop out of schools at later stage can use this very knowledge to their advantage in some way or the other. This set of skills can range from how to tackle your debts to even carpentry. The list can be vast.

One of the most important and grass root method that can be adopted to improve this system is letting the citizens of the locality taking charge of the schooling system near them. This is what we do at CACR.

Citizens Association for Child Rights-CACR , is a network of like minded citizens concerned about ensuring child rights with specific focus on ensuring good quality of education and health for all children. The network comprises of citizens who visit neighbourhood municipal schools and clinics, and participate in various programmes like School Management Committees, Computer Literacy Programme and Virtual Classroom projects, etc. and oversee the overall functioning and quality of education in municipal schools. We at CACR believe that regular interaction and discussions with the hierarchy of the Education Department and sharing of observations and suggestions with them periodically will ensure improved accountability and proper distribution of facilities and amenities for children enrolled in these schools. Citizens Association for Child Rights very strongly believes in supplementing the system and does not believe in creating parallel systems. We believe that the urban privileged public has immense power to influence and impact the lives of affected children for the better through government interface and participation.

CACR volunteers helping students get creative 

All the above will help us change the face of the education system in India.
Irrespective of all the cons in the system I believe that education is something that takes time to build-up but we should be hopeful on that count. 

-by +Meesha Gandhi is a intern with CACR , a nonprofit startup working to improve the education and health in public schools of Mumabi,India . Edited by +Richa Singh 

IMPACT : The essential component of Fundraising and Social giving

Rescue operations underway in Nepal 

          One of the worst natural catastrophes has be-fallen the hilly country of Nepal. A devastating Earthquake of 9.6 earthquake Richter scale. TV channels, newspapers, Face book, twitter, etc all all filled with imagery and story of the destruction. All our prayers and hearts go out to the injured, killed, trapped individuals and kids. At the same time our phones, emails, and news buzz about various NGOs, Government rehabilitation  schemes collecting money for the tragedy hit people of Nepal. "DONATE TO #NEPAL today!" - the messages read. Given the situation we are more than inclined to help out by giving money.

         But there are a few who are skeptical to donate.  Will my donation be used for the cause? Where will my money go? How will my donation be put to use?... are questions that occupy their minds. If you come to think of it , these people being circumspect cannot be taken as insensitivity or selfishness but their lack of trust that the money they part with will go the desired cause. So what is the cause of this doubt? It is a mix of bitter experiences in the past when people have been duped in the name of fund raising and people being kept in he dark about the impact their contributions created.

            I remember meeting a citizens group few years back when I started talking about the pathetic condition of municipal (inner city)schools in Mumbai, despite huge budgets for primary education, etc. and requested them to allow one of the "Volunteer Action Managers" from the NGO to organize a power point presentation to explain the situation and the support expected by their participation. The immediate reaction I got was  "We do not want to listen to some lecture or a presentation from these NGOs sitting in their comforts of their air conditioned offices and talking about issues related to child rights, specially when we do not see any activity or impact made at the ground" The fact is that the NGO is one of the most well known in this field for more than 25/30 years now, this came as a surprise that the impression was so negative.

Video Quantifying the improvement in English Skills :44% in 1.5 months

           It is extremely important to understand that without a track record of projects successfully implemented and budget correctly visualized, planned and utilized, it is difficult to gain trust of individual donors, corporate companies, and supporters to secure substantial funding for projects. Rather than feeling frustrated, it is a challenging time for NGOs to continue doing their good work selflessly with whatever resources available and also observe and learn from the success stories of other credible NGOs in the field, since finally giving selflessly for the cause committed should be the sole objective of any credible NGO, and a large part of the revenue generated, however small it is, should be utilized for the cause. 

Starving Children 

   Another observation is that, If we see a photograph of a starving or malnourished child or child labor or child abuse, or even statistical data on these issues, etc.evokes sympathy and does make an immediate impact on the donors, whereas NGOs who are involved in advocacy, working with various departments in creating awareness about various important schemes, facilities and amenities, etc. observing the shortcomings and network in getting like minded partners involved and help them in implementing various important projects within the framework, find it extremely difficult to get donors, since there is no direct visibility of the impact made.

    So it is essential for good and credible NGOs to not only focus on their vision of making a social impact through their efforts and projects, but also educate and enlighten their donors on how and where their donations are utilized to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged, which offers a feel-good factor to the donors and helps in creating LOYAL DONORS...

     We at CACR don't ask our donors to give us money based on sympathy or pity by using the plight of children to evoke emotions but we ask our donors to see the work we do. Projects we undertake and impact we create only then they should give us their  hard earned money and precious time. You can see the projects we have done impacted we have created in our video and impact stories

At Donate for Good - our 1st fund raiser we did just that. We made a short Video film and let the audience hear from all stakeholders  to see for themselves the improvement we have made in schools - infrastructure,  midday meal, e-learning, computer literacy, dance training, health and hygiene etc. 

Screenshot the the CACR IMPACT Video shown during the fund raiser

This will tell them precisely how their donations will be utilized. Fundraising for any cause is challenging and takes patience but communication of your objectives and impact are key to connecting with the right people. 

~by  +Nitin Wadhwani , Founder Director CACR ; Edited by +Richa Singh , CACR Core team member

CACR is a start up non-profit working to improve the education and healthcare in public schools of India

Website- www.ngocacr.com  

Face book -https://www.facebook.com/CitizensAssociationForChildRights
Photos are for representation purposes only