Conversations in the Hinterlands

By Azeez Gupta

A quick introduction – I have recently joined the Pratham Institute as part of a pursuit for happiness and meaning. The past 2 years spent working at a renowned consultancy saw me engage in stimulating work with fantastic minds – yet I could never escape the nagging feeling that I was coasting. I missed the violent single-minded passion I experienced during my most fulfilling college years, and hope that working for a cause again will help me re-discover those emotions.

Seeing as I came to Pratham as a relatively green, mostly city boy, who had grown up seeing the poor, but had never really interacted deeply with underprivileged people, I was promptly packed off to see all our programs and centers on the ground. The resulting 2 week trip through the hinterlands of Maharashtra was truly eye-opening. I met dozens of our students, learnt about their lives and heard their stories. In the process, I went from being an armchair intellectual to… well, definitely not an expert, but someone who’s starting to get a pulse of India today. The things we all pontificate about, but really know very little about. In this post, I will try to put down some of my observations, as I remember them. These are random and unstructured reflections, often mundane, and accompanied by my unsolicited comments – but may be interesting to my peers, as cossetted as I was.

• I asked students what they liked best about their time at Pratham training centers. The quickest and most enthusiastic response – “Shaving”! Shaving?! Here we are, claiming to turn your lives around, give you opportunity and all that jazz, and what you like most is shaving?! It was very endearing – and jokes apart, the shaving was part of a broader theme of following rules and regulations and living a structured life. Concepts that we elites resist resolutely, but are both important for and attractive to these young people who’ve lived their lives in relative chaos.

• The level of attention in classes and devotion to learning was extraordinary – it put me to shame, looking back at how many of my batch-mates and I went through our IIT education.

• I heard the personal stories of many students – most were from villages and had absolutely no jobs available at their homes. They spent their times roaming around the fields aimlessly, with nothing to do, and occasionally working on the farms. It bought the scarcity of opportunities home to me very starkly, especially in contrast to the vast expanse of options I have been blessed with all my life.

• The more things are different though, the more they remain the same When I asked what kids use the computer center for, after their daily studies are over, there was a lot of sniggering followed by the euphemism ‘watch videos of movie stars on the internet’. Young men are the same everywhere!

Sunil's newfound ability to support his mother

- by Janie Lee

Sunil Jathar is 19 years old and hails from a small village called Rajur Gahpanti in the district of Jalha. When he reached the 10^th pass, he ranked 2^nd and thoroughly enjoyed school. Although Sunil was fully capable and determined to complete his education, he could not afford the exam fees of 50 rupees and subsequently had to drop out of school. He mentions that he had never held 500 rupees in his hand during his youth.

Sunil’s entire family faced financial hardships as they lived in a small shed in the village. His father and mother were laborers earning less than 2000 rupees a month to support a family of six. His older brother maintained a job as a construction worker and his younger brother and sister were both farmers. In order to contribute to his family’s wellbeing, Sunil took a job cleaning dishes for 10 rupees a day. Although Sunil got a better job as a laborer breaking stones, he still was unable to help support his family.

A mother's success story

At the age of 22, Kaveri has overcome a wide array of obstacles to become a strong mother. Due to familial pressures, Kaveri was unable to finish her education. Rather than completing her schooling, Kaveri married at an early age and has since had two children. Because of her added responsibilities as a mother, Kaveri rarely left home. Although Kaveri wanted to contribute to her family’s wellbeing, she did not see a realistic opportunity that was available for someone who did not complete her education.

Shridevi's second chance

Shridevi is a 19 year old from Latur, who is now employed as a bedside assistant at a local hospital. Prior to taking the bedside assistant course, Shridevi stayed at home after failing to complete the 10^th standard. At home, she was extremely unhappy and felt like she was not doing anything meaningful with her life. Not only was she staying idle, but she was also craving to support her family’s only means of income, which came from her father’s occupation as a laborer. Less than a year after staying at home, Shridevi now finds herself satisfied helping others and earning a salary equivalent to that of a nurse.

From grieving widow to determined employee

As a 22 year old, Bhalebar has had to endure many challenges that females her age have not had to go through. Despite the age, she is a widow as she lost her husband to a tragic accident. As a result, she currently lives at home with her parents. Her brother recently moved to Mumbai to work as a policeman. In contrast to her brother’s active live as a policeman, Bhalebar has stayed at home following her husband’s death. Due to the depression and sorrow brought on by the tragedy, Bhalebar had little reason to leave her home.

Sandhya's Self Determination

- by Janie Lee

18-year old Sandhya did not let anything get in the way of continuing her education and pursuing her career. Coming from a family whose beliefs are strongly traditional and conservative, Sandhya faced much opposition when she told her parents that she wanted to take a vocational skilling course and become a bedside assistant. Her father serves in the military and her mother is a housewife. Both of them had never heard about the occupation and were deeply concerned about the foreign concept of her working on her own.

The Power of Persistent Mobilization

- by Janie Lee

 

Manisha is an 18-year-old female from Akola, a city near Nashik. When Manisha was taking the exam for standard 12, she was not successful and discontinued her education. Because she did not pass, her parents were embarrassed and did not allow her out of the house. This meant that she was no longer able to see friends or pursue any type of career.  

Hearing about Manisha’s situation from townspeople, a Pratham mobilizer decided to visit her home. The mobilizer visited Manisha and her family to explain the bedside assistance vocational skilling program. The mobilizer discussed the opportunity for Manisha to take theoretical classes on basic healthcare and gain practical experience through hands-on work in a local hospital. By the end of these six months, Manisha would be ready to work in a hospital alongside nurses and doctors.

Ganesh's Unwavering Will

- by Malav Shah

Ganesh Gurmare is 20 years old and hails from a small village in the district of Gadchiroli. His father is a farmer who places tremendous importance on Ganesh's academics. Ganesh is a very bright student and always did well in academics. Despite this, his father was far from satisfied. He always said to Ganesh, "Become successful, then we'll see." Ganesh confessed that he studied hard just to see his father happy. By the time he reached college, his interest in academics had become negligible. Even though he attended no classes during his first year of B.A, he still managed to pass his exams.

Ganesh's family lives in moderate conditions, but his father is the sole earner which puts a lot of pressure on him. Ganesh wanted to do something substantial to support his family. This was when his friends, who were attending the PACE hospitality program in Aurangabad, told him about the same. When Ganesh told his parents that he wanted to drop out of his studies and join the hospitality program his parents blatantly refused. But, Ganesh was not one to give up so easily. He was determined and tried every trick in the book to change his parents' minds. Eventually, he even went on a hunger strike for 2 days before his parents gave in to his will. So, with 4 friends from his village he set out for Satara.

The Domino Effect

- by Janie Lee

(Priya, on the right, takes a picture with Sandhya and Deepali, the center head of the training center)

Priya, a 19 year old, is a star employee at a local hospital in Nasik. Prior to being a bedside assistant, Priya was unable to find a passion and struggling to contribute to her family’s income. The only source of income that her family received was through her father’s salary as a laborer. However, Priya heard about an opportunity to become a bedside assistant and decided to pursue the course. Priya found out about the course through her sister, who was pursuing a diploma for computer applications at the PACE Center. In similar fashion, her sister was also referred to the PACE Center by a friend.

This chain reaction did not stop at Priya. After completing the course successfully and finding a job, Priya encouraged a close friend and classmate, Sandhya, to take the bedside assistance course. Because Sandhya was able to witness Priya’s steady transformation, she agreed to give it a try. After completing the course, Sandhya was also hired at the same hospital that Priya works at. Currently, Priya is training and onboarding Sandhya to the hospital. This domino effect captures the power of sharing opportunities and experiences.  

How Student Became Teacher

- by Janie Lee

Pankaj Verma is a 25 year old from a village in northern India, near Nepal. He comes from a family of six – in addition to his parents, he has two older sisters and an older brother. His father is a mechanic, his mother is a housewife, his older brother owns a small jewelry shop, and his sisters are also housewives.  

Since growing up, Pankaj loved teaching. He volunteered to help little children locally, but decided to pause his passion for teaching in order to better sustain himself. He did not have enough income to maintain a good standard of living. As a result, he enrolled in the food and beverages course at the PACE Center in Aurangabad, which is about three days of travel from home.

(Pankaj Verma exhibiting plates and cutlery he uses to teach students in his food and beverages course)

A three month transformation

- by Janie Lee

Bhashkar Bogar is 21 years old and grew up in a small village called Munjalgondi. He comes from a family of five. His father is a farmer, his mother is a housewife, and his two younger siblings are not old enough to work. Bhashkar helped contribute to his family’s support by taking on jobs that barely paid enough to buy clothing for his younger siblings.

After a local forest officer told Bhashkar about the opportunities at the PACE Hospitality Training Centre in Aurangabad, he decided to make the 1200 kilometer journey in March of 2012 and enroll in the housekeeping course. His parents gave him permission to go, hoping that he would have the opportunity to break out of the family tradition of being farmers. Upon arrival to the campus, Bhashkar was intimidated and uncertain about fitting in. Many people were speaking in Hindi or English, and he was not well versed in either language. He spoke Gondi at home and Marathi otherwise. For ten days, Bhashkar did not speak to anybody at the center and was extremely lonely. He decided to return home after the first ten days, but a fellow classmate told him to complete the course, as it was three months long. Listening to the advice of his classmate, Bhashkar completed the housekeeping course. Despite having difficulty in the beginning, he adjusted quickly and excelled in his course. 

Ambition Personified

- by Sara Khan

On my first visit to a center, I expected to be overwhelmed. I was expecting stories of heroes emerging out of despair. I think that is what creates most sensation in the mind. What I did not expect was to see such intense passion, will and positivity. These qualities emit from Rangaya Talandi, a student at the automotive center in Kolhapur. He hails from a small village in the tribal area of Central India, but his eyes gleam with ambition and fire.

(Rangaya Talanda, on the right)

A Lesson Learnt

- by Aditi Narain

When I decided to write this blog, I didn’t want it to be just another one of those blogs where I go on (in circles) about what a fantastic experience I had, how great and how important the work Pratham is doing is, how many youth we are impacting etc.  Because the truth is, yes I did have a fantastic experience, Pratham is doing outstanding work and we are impacting thousands and thousands of youth across the country.  But that is not the point of my blog. A lot is said about what we do for the students.  I guess the main point of my blog is to share what meeting the youth at the Aurangabad Center did for me. 

Desire to succeed

- by Aparna Achuthan

I have been working at Pratham as a part of the Placements team for the past 2 months. During this period, I have had the opportunity to interact with the students of the vocational training courses at PACE Chembur. On one of my visits, I witnessed a discussion that the students of the Beauty Care Course had with some MasterCard employees. The discussions revolved around time management, leadership qualities and entrepreneurial skills needed to run their own business.

The most important thing that struck me from the discussion was the enthusiasm and belief the young women had to become entrepreneurs. These students included young college girls and women who had children and other family responsibilities. In addition, many of them faced difficult financial and other personal problems. However, they did not see their personal responsibilities and problems as an obstacle, but rather as a motivation. Their will and desire to succeed by working hard was very strong. The need to succeed was not only to support their families but also to become independent by having a career of their own. This positive outlook towards work and life was very heartening and was an inspiration in itself.

- Aparna, who is the Regional Coordinator for Placements, describes an inspirational discussion with our students

Bridging the skills gap in today’s economy

-by Vishwajit Singh

In this era of high-paced growth and dynamic investment in India, the demand for skilled labour across many industries has definitely increased. The shortage of appropriately skilled labour has emerged as a significant and complex challenge to India’s growth and future. 

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit the PACE center in Chembur, a suburban neighborhood in eastern Mumbai, which is preparing youth from low income backgrounds in skills which are in high demand in the Indian labour market.

PACE is an initiative of Pratham Institute for Literacy, Education and Vocational Training which views education as an effective tool for bringing social change through community development.

The PACE center in Chembur currently offers courses in English, Marathi, personality development, basic mathematics, banking and taxation, tally, hardware and networking, mobile repairing and has a beauty centre offering beautician courses. It caters to youth from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who have not had access to formal education or have studied only up to grade 8. The courses, which usually last for 2-4 months and are conducted from morning to evening in different batches, provide them with greater access to the job market and enable them to meet the growing demands of the Indian labour market. The centre has 15 qualified trainers who provide not only theoretical knowledge but also practical training and help students raise their aspirations for the future. According to the centre in charge Ajit - we need more such centers for youth from low income backgrounds to improve their income generation opportunities and to bridge the skills gap .The centre so far has been able to secure jobs for more than 75% of its students in related industries. Many students also pursue higher education after completion of these foundation courses.

Jaya Sheikh, a resident of Mysore, Karnataka who shifted to Mumbai to look for employment opportunities in the unorganized sector said “I found out about the centre from a friend and joined the foundation course. I had always dreamt of speaking in English and learning computer skills and now my dream has come true.”  She seemed quite confident in her ability to secure a good job, having now learnt basic conversational English and computer skills.

Having spent some time talking to students and trainers and seeing their commitment and motivation levels, I am confident that the center will continue to grow in the future and achieve its mission of training youth from low income backgrounds in different vocations and help bridge the skills gap in today’s economy. I look forward to seeing students of this centre improve lives of people in their community and become role models for others like them.

Till my next visit!

A visit to Latur, the earthquake-prone city

-by Aparna Bhasin

Healthcare is one of India’s largest sectors, both in terms of revenue and employment, and is continuing to expand rapidly. However, India faces a huge shortage of medical personnel to meet the demands of rapid expansion (PWC, 2007). This not only includes doctors and nurses, but also paramedics and support staff such as nursing assistants. The PACE center in Latur is contributing to filling this gap. The center provides certification in bedside assistance as an alternative to formal higher education, at a nominal cost. The course is three months long, with one month spent in the classroom and the remainder in practical training at a local hospital. Most of our students are then placed with a local hospital where their starting salary is Rs. 3,500.

I recently visited the center in Latur, and want to share the stories that I heard with you.

In the Land of Lakes...

- by Vikram Singh

The Pratham Arora Center for Education (PACE) in Udaipur is one of our smaller training centers. In the beautiful city of Udaipur, the center runs a hospitality course for students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Being in a city with a bustling tourist and hospitality industry, the center has the advantage of being close to many hotels – most notably the Taj Lake Palace. The Taj Group supports us greatly and, as our knowledge partner, aids us in our endeavour to provide vocational training to underprivileged youth. Students from the center even get a chance to learn from the experienced staff at the Lake Palace.