A Success
The Summer Camp’s last day was this past Saturday. I know I’ve been very bad about posting updates regarding the camp, but the month just flew by! In the end, we had 25 students (including one very brave girl) with a variety of skills and talents. Throughout the course of the camp, we taught English, computers, and leadership. Although the camp came with its own set of unique challenges, it was a success overall.
Some highlights of the camp included the lively debates about capital punishment and football vs. cricket as well as the guest lecturers who pushed the students to explore their creative sides and build their confidence through role plays.
The camp culminated with the students being told to think about and present ideas regarding how they could continue the learning process. They had some great ideas, including sharing the cost of subscribing to an English newspaper.
Youth leadership seems to be a good anchor initiative of the community leadership work stream. Next steps include a follow up session with the students as well as a modified version of the Future Leaders Course.
Source For Change makes the news again!
Source For Change makes a splash in the local newspapers. On the occassion of the opening of their new offices and computer lab, the SFC associates were interviewed. Read their inspiring story in this article entitled “Source For Change made us independent”.
Bagar Live!
For the past month, I have been working on creating a website for Bagar, a way to bring the identity of this lively town to the worldwide web. I have spent my days walking around the village, taking pictures and also talking to as many people as possible about the culture and history of this town. The other day, I spent (a very warm) morning walking around talking with Manalal Ji, a retired army veteran from Bagar who told me about some of Bagar’s history and interesting sites. Together with my partner Anurag Dutta, the technological backbone of the website, we have been able to begin to create a virtual space for Bagar at www.bagar.org. Now, the site features information for citizens, visitors, and volunteers. There is an article about the history of Bagar as well as a list of frequently asked questions about the town and a photo gallery. Coming soon will be a directory for schools and businesses in Bagar as well as lots of other resources and information. Keep checking for updates!
One of the goals of this website is to attract tourists to the town. This will allow people to experience just how great Bagar has become and will also help boost the economy here. Also, www.bagar.org is a great resource for volunteers who are considering coming to work at GDL. Within the next few weeks, certain projects will have their own pages on the site and will easily be able to make updates based on their latest achievements and accomplishments.
Tell everyone you know about www.bagar.org and take a look yourself at what is soon to become the best website for any rural town in the world!
An experiment in trust
Despite one month of living and working in a new place and interacting in a language and culture I had only a passing familiarity with, I have not yet taken the time to write about my experience. Friends have encouraged me to write both about my time in Bagar and about specific successes and disappointments. My work at the Bagar Employment Exchange has definitely provided much material to write about as we have had a string of successes recently. Yet it was not until a group discussion last weekend that I really felt the impulse to write. Despite being such a seemingly simple concept, it was this idea of “trust” and its role in development that finally pushed me to write. So much of what one reads in development literature and encounters in a developing country such as institutional problems, lack of rule of law, public goods becoming de-facto privatized, etc. boils down to a lack of trust. And, in my experience thus far, this lack of trust is so widespread that personal relationships are needed to get anything done, business can become a painful ordeal, and one must always be on the offensive when dealing with others as written rules may not be respected. It’s a prisoner’s dilemma that one lives each and every time they interact with others and it perpetuates itself each time someone gets burned. Yet I’m also hopeful because once a process begins to be understood, alternatives can be imagined. What is my vision of a developed India? It’s one where trust exists between people and in public institutions and norms. It is of a broad, increased level of public trust rather than the intensely personal relationships I’ve encountered thus far that seem to trump any attempts to create trust beyond the individual. So let us see. My whole time here, everything I do, every person I meet on behalf of BEX, GDL, and the Piramal Foundation, is an experiment with trust. I’m looking forward to what it brings.
BEX scaling to new heights
BEX is now scaling to new heights. We have over 400 aspirants registered, and in less than 2 months since our inauguration on April 20, we have already placed over 60 students.
Many more updates to come soon.
Good luck Football Campers!
As part of it’s community leadership effort, GDL interns Akshay Singh and Anurag Dutta started a football training camp for the Bagar Youth this summer. The goal was to impart football skills, and also to impart equally valuable teamwork and leadership skills. The ultimate goal is to excite youth about coming together through sport, and leading this effort every year.
The football camp, along with some of the GDL interns this summer, entered an open tournament being held in Bagar, and have achieved great success. The football camp team has been the sole representative for Bagar, and it’s progress is starting to create a buzz in the community. Here’s an article in the local newspaper featuring their performance:
The Newspaper: (click to enlarge)
The Article: (click to enlarge)
Good luck on the upcoming matches Team Bagar!
Source For Change featured on Economic Times
Economic Times article featuring Source For Change (June 25, 2008)
The article was in All-India edition.
Congratulations to Shrot, Gagan, Alim and all the SFC interns on achieving this. This comes on the back of two other major milestones this week: SFC inaugurated it’s new office and computer lab on Monday, and has now expanded to 20 women!
BEI’s Spoken English Students Land Retail Jobs
As indicated in my last post, four Spoken English students appeared for interviews at a top retail company this past week. All of them made it to the third and final interview.
Two of the four students, Balveer Bundela and Praveen Bundela of Bagar, were chosen for the CSR (Customer Service Representative) position. They have both accepted the job and have begun work today, June 23rd. Should they prove themselves committed, skillful and capable, they are likely to get promoted within the next six months to a year.
Up until the last interview the candidates’ communication skills were observed, their interest and commitment level tested, and a basic knowledge of retail and selling skills were sought. They were also tested on the content of their resumes. In addition, Balveer had noted that he had won a dance competition and was even asked to demonstrate his dancing skills at the last interview!
For those who didn’t get the job, their optimism is remarkable. This experience has served a motivating force for them to improve their English speaking skills and confidence. They admitted how much they learned from the week-long interview process and even shared their learnings with the two English batches that are now in session. In doing so, one of the students is so determined that he said that he knows he will get a job when he interviews again some time in the future. They know, recognize and are making a commitment to work hard. These students should be proud of themselves for extracting lessons from this experience.
Congratulations to Balveer and Praveen (below) and best of luck to the others! BEI is behind you 100%!
SourceForChange.in gets a makeover!
SourceForChange, the rural BPO that was incubated right here at GDL, has a website which recently got a makeover. Check out all the progress, recommend it to potential clients and be inspired by the stories of the all-women staff.
The website: www.sourceforchange.in
Spoken English class students interview in Jaipur
To kick off the week, four students of the Bagar Employment Institute’s Spoken English class, interviewed at the Jaipur branch of one of India’s top retail stores. They hope to get jobs to earn, continue to build their English skills and to get experience before they pursue their MA or MBA.
As India’s middle class has grown, its retail sector has earned a sizable position in the market in terms of revenue generated and people employed. After agriculture, retail employs the most people in India. That said, the retail industry seems an excellent point from which to build one’s career, whether it be in the retail sector itself or only as a means to improve one’s English or gain corporate experience.
By the end of the week, we’ll find out whether any of the students get placed. Out of 10 who were shortlisted for the customer care executive positions, four were those from BEI’s Spoken English class. It is hoped that several of them get placed at this company so that they may find an apartment together and so that the transition to city life is less alarming. Let’s hope for the best!