Philanthropy: A new chapter in B-Schools

Who had thought there would be lessons to teach the humane aspect of mankind.This life full of materialism and high on speed did not suggest anywhere that we would look back to promote human welfare at the cost of our own time and resources.Still, this love for humanity has come, be it in the form of,corporate social responsibility or corporate governance.A separate field of education has altogether come up to study the social aspect of the course of business and society. B-schools MBAs are taking immense interest in weaving philanthropy into a social-enterprise course catering to the increasing realization and demand for social management instead of a capitalistic approach to problem-solving.This affinity is also a by-product of the urge of students to register their presence outside the academics, to create a valuable impact, to practice active learning and to serve the society at the other end. The ones who ultimately are desirous of serving on the boards of non-profits or to embrace philanthropy as a career are passionately coming up to join hands with various trusts and organizations. As a member thereof, they are also actively contributing in the raising of funds and simultaneously ensuring that these rare funds are invested in the most productive activity amidst huge competition for the scarce resources. Wise decision is to be made by the allocator owing to the priority and rarity of the situation.

There comes the importance of a proper structure to be brought in place to develop the students socially aware and responsible. Philanthropy as an academic subject has been designed and adopted worldwide with strong likes(as in social networking) and some 36  B-Schools have floated about 100 courses including those  at undergraduate levels.An appealing term for the business students, philanthropy is imbibing in them the essence and art of giving and sharing. Business students grab this as an opportunity to create an impact on their community voluntarily.They can actually implement what they have learnt and make a difference to the world around them and this is what drives them to an effort and then to a goal, big enough to earn smiles for many.

Pay It Forward, a U.S. University philanthropy program in 33 college campuses of Ohio,Michigan and Kentucky offers each selected course a certain sum of money-$4500 annually for the past 2 years. Students need to rationally allocate the money to local non-profits and devote 15 hours minimum serving one. At some institution. they spent a whole year researching how best to divide the funds after a proper evaluation of the quality and financial health, analysis of tax filings and systems of operation of other charity organizations.The students selected from among so many options to finalize the institution in Columbus called Directions for Youth and Families,whereby the funds hired a dance trainer who would train students to maintain their energy level and engage in some activity after the classes.

As an MBA student they have the eagerness to become better-educated and savvier philanthropists,they need
to assess how good can they do with the given sum, a strategic issue which calls for application of business skills and thus an enhancement of the present skills.In the quest of creating a direct impact they go for a hands-on experience in serving the needy.

The experienced say “It really drills down into your belief system and helps you discover what you believe is an effective strategy,” You get a holistic view of the philanthropy field  and as a result you feel more effective at your job.“It just gives the students a taste of what they would be doing later.”

Ch. Lakhiram Arya Anathalaya

Aug 21,2011

This was the day when our journey with Ch. Lakhiram Arya Anathalaya gained momentum. When we reached there early in the morning, the children were busy playing and we thought it would naturally be a tedious job to make them sit and study. The first thing was quite true but they proved our second assumption wrong by the great interest they showed in learning. We started our mission with each one of us handling a particular class of students. We had to get back to our school days to explain their lessons. It was interesting and at times challenging too when they asked questions which sounded simple but needed some extra effort to explain them in the simplest form which they can understand.

One of the interesting things was we had to teach even English in Hindi!! It was a real challenge to Krishna and me as we don't know Hindi. It was a good experience. When the kids learnt English, we learnt Hindi from them by the way.The classes went so interesting to the children and us as well that we realised very late that we had to leave.There came a touching moment, when we were about to leave the place, two kids came running with their books and were pleading to teach their next lessons too.We were dumbstruck and then somehow managed to do some part of the lessons which the kids asked for.

It was a great experience which gave us that feel of contentment and complacence. Not only the kids, even we are eager and excited awaiting our next class....

Another day-out with the kids!!

It was yet another step in the direction of being of some use to the society, a step towards the accomplishment of the said objectives: Educating the kids!!..These things actually work..trust me...the satisfaction you get from service to the ones from whom you might not get much materialistic stuff  in return is huge!...simply undefined!

We went there with the intention of taking classes and finally could succeed in the endeavor to our excitement and expectations.I was to teach a group of  seven students: Surya pratap, Sanjiv, n the rest Hindi grammar.Yes a very tough subject for me i believe after this class.Singular and plural may sound very easy in English Grammar but extracting the complicated threads of our mother tongue ....that was something worth it!

The kids super-excited by our arrival were all ears to whatever I said and excuisitely receptive.It seems they were not in standard fourth instead I got to learn some frequently used Hindi words to my rescue.
Two of them very bright to pick up the rules and principles of conversion from singular to plural n vice-versa.
But yes all of them were equally eager to learn.It might take time for them to pick up but well said saying goes true here: "Where there is a will there has to be a way"(slightly amended as per my convenience)...with me determined to make them learn n them with  even more quest for knowledge would definitely catalyze the hopes and path further.

Like my profs never forget  even i made sure to give them some assignments but to be a milder one made sure to discuss the solution for the same before leaving them on the onus of completion at least.More important was them to realize that they have potentials as much as other kids have and to develop interpersonal communication skills.Yes, though very small to understand this i tried to initiate in them a need for each other n to communicate with each other.To discuss the classes after i would leave, to encash upon the other fellow's  expertise and intelligence, to share ones own potentials and knowledge to the benefit of others n oneself.

Tried my level best to inculcate in them a thirst for discussions and small get-togethers so as to learn from other's experiences and thinking. To contribute to each other's upliftment and use brain sometimes apart from the bookish content.

Did my level best to add to their current state of behavioural and course knowledge.Am due to take a test of the same in the next class(time to check if could accomplish what i did say or is it just on paper). Will see what could i change and add in a positive way on the whole.

Time to leave had come and these kiddies : Didi kab aoge?...aj sham ko?.....(oh! these questions even i am wanted somewhere at least). Got to meet them soon!.....:)

Independence day:A day out with my special ones!

A day of huge reverence in every Indian's life : Independence day celebrated with loads of zeal around the corners of the country,channelized me to do something worthy enough to be recalled with pride and joy. Yes, today i.e. 15th of August'11, would be a chapter I would love to go through again-n-again with all enthusiasm every time. Yet another day in the orphanage left behind some memories to be shared by you all.As intimated earlier,a quest to contribute my part of effort to the development of few deprived in terms of education and love,lead me toward this institute. A batch of some 48 children of the Ch.Lakhiram Anathalaya and we,IIM-R students-what a fun it was! As an exercise to give the children an environment full of fun and content, six of us as described earlier : Dipti, Adithya,Krishna, Renuga, Ajay ,Chitranshu and me reached the institute with the members of cultural committee and few other batchmates with all preparations. All energetic n excited kids and lots of fun activities for their meal:oh! what can you expect? A wonderful participation.We organized an event consisting of various games starting from a quiz competition coming out with talented kids being awarded chocolates and appreciation.Name of India's first P.M.,Why do we celebrate Independence Day,they knew all these....:)...This was followed by a drawing competition between the kids of the institute.Small,innocent kids sketching their heart out on blank sheets some depicting the National Flag,some a house,some a scenery,and the list goes on and filling vibrant colors of their dream,imagination and purity(and of course the crayons too). A very interesting interaction with the kids to reach their self,some of them performing much above our expectations trying to portray things not even obvious otherwise at their age in life.Then party time for kids: serving refreshments and drinks to their great happiness. An attempt to reach out to their emptiness and fill it up with few moments of joy and achievement was hopefully successful. Next came  a musical chair game, all of them running for a chair ....that was real fun!...but the most precious thing was the glitter in their eyes,the smile on their faces,the caliber in their presence,all so amazing.!.The longing to sit made them catch hold of a seat even before the music stopped(well this is way we still do).The first runner up and winner exhibiting tough competition and ending up earning so many chocolates for themselves..hmm..much more than their counterparts!

The way they mixed up with us and we engaged in their sweet aura is something which can't be wrapped up in   a few ostentatious words and presented here.Its a feeling inexplicable in exact forms.We were rather getting acquainted with our childhood days full of mischief and masti. Some of us stealthily helping our favorite kids over the paintings to make them win the first prize,correcting them from any kind of deviations though we ourselves were into it by helping them... ;)

Last of all a voluntary show of talent:dancing,reciting poems,cracking jokes,all were unique performers,difficult to figure out who was the best of all. Nursery rhymes: Twinkle-twinkle, Machli jal ki rani hai; some patriotic songs ; some jokes and yes extra-ordinary dance performances at just this level of facilities is commendable. Even our batchmates could not match their typical standards(though they tried hard to)......yup...they were star performers claiming full right over the ever acceptable and wanted chocolates.

Among so many boys there was a very small and the only girl...Naina.i think the cutest of all and everybody loved her like anything. Deprived of her father's love and protection at this tender age,hope we did succeed in bringing a true smile on her face.

Then came the final moment of prize distribution for drawing competition winners: all happy and gay. So many prizes,trophies and constellation prizes to boost their confidence and participation in future.We turned kids with them...yeah enjoyed the fun-rides: sea-saw,swing and merry-go-round a tonne!....some guys enjoyed playing with them ..ant yet others got totally engrossed with them...did even remember their them when returned.

Such is the warmth of kids,the purest soul on earth.They could win our love and attention in just some 3-4 hours of time..isnt that very small to take a big business investment decision but its definitely not for a social cause.The satisfaction which these moments brought to us is not comparable with any any business merger or joint venture,its something beyond:intangible but yet the effect is profound. I am working when will you begin,that is the only question i have!

Sristi Gyan Kendra

Contributing to social development, finding time for the needy and helping them in some way or the other is a thought that most of us have deep within us, though we seldom make a move in achieving the same. We joined the Social Development cell at IIM Rohtak, thinking we could make some move in this regard though we were still doubtful about the contributions we could make. But once we walked in for the first meeting of the SDP cell, we realized, this is it. The energy, enthusiasm and commitment evident among the other members instilled in us the extra confidence to work towards it.

As part of our first venture we visited Mr. Kamal Jeet who is closely associated with the Sristi Gyan Kendra (SGK) NGO situated at Rohtak, Haryana. He was very friendly and approachable, giving us a warm welcome. Interaction with him was really an enriching experience and he explained to us the basic functioning of SGK. The basic funding of SGK comes through volunteers and membership fees money from messaging contracts. The mission statement of SGK is pursuing mission of documenting & disseminating knowledge related to sustainable technologies, green grassroots Innovations and Traditional Knowledge. The basic functioning of the NGO started in 1997,when volunteers of Honey Bee Network – Haryana (a group of like-minded individuals, innovators, farmers, scholars, academicians, policy makers, entrepreneurs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)) started scouting and documenting Traditional Knowledge & Grassroots Innovations. The efforts towards the same had been well pursued by its dedicated members and in year 2007 SGK was formally incorporated at Rohtak, Haryana with support from National Innovation Foundation. Some other areas of work by SGK are Intellectual property rights protection along with support processes like business incubation.

Something that interested us the most was the innovative ways in which they managed to reach their target audience, which include a two wheeler, with a modified sidecar, being converted into a mobile office with their focus on systematic augmentation of knowledge among societies and hunting unacknowledged minds. These methods have definitely increased the efficiency of the organiser in identifying the innovators. The newsletter Saksham which started distribution in 2009 is another achievement that Mr Kamal and team have to their name with a distribution of over 20000. Plans are being implemented to make SGK self sustained and an Innovation Promotions Company is also in the pipeline. The members of SGK also focus on business creativity improvement with case studies for guidelines. SGK also has some projects running like the Agribusiness Knowledge Centre Project which was conceptualized, with an idea to develop backend & forward linkages to support farming community, in the era of rapidly changing Agri Food System. A part of SGK is focused on making farmers understand government projects. SMS is used as a method for the same put into practice in connection with Kisan mobile information centre having around 4500 registered farmers. SGK also co-ordinates with Kisan sanchar.com which is a content management system.

SGK is now being involved in a new nationwide project, Digital Panchayat. This project is being taken up by SGK for the state of Haryana. Under this they plan to take the villages online, by setting up websites for them, detailing the village history, population statistics and other details. This would help the villages place themselves in front to a large audience. SGK has requested that we take up the documentation of the villages as a first step to this activity. We were really happy to know that we could contribute to the organisation and that too in a developmental activity as big as this. We eagerly await the beginning of our journey.

Service To Society: A small attempt!

Feelings are difficult to be concretized,still are the first thing to come out when you experience something unusual.The orphanage, Ch. Lakhiram Arya Anathalaya, Dayanand Math, Guhana Road,Rohtak, is engrossed in catalyzing the education and boarding facilities for 47 children in the age group of 7-18. Registered with govt. on 21^st Jan,1986 the NGO came into practical existence by 1^st June ,1996 with around 5 students. To be straight : a not so maintained but spatial office big enough to accommodate 6 of us: Dipti,Renuga,Adithya,Krishna Prakash,Chitranshu and myself , with all acceptance. A huge dedicated mess , lush-green campus, playground in the backyard, a hawan-kund, hostel furnished with fans and lights, and all that you think is necessary in your life to make it worth living. The management head Mr.Zile Singh Chhikara, was the person to talk to us directly over the issues pertaining to the working of the orphanage. I must say a retired army officer and a very interesting personality to talk to, was so vibrant to be a senior citizen and enthusiastic to share our views on the current system and history as well.Oh! To his respect,he did speak in English for most of the times to create a comfort zone for the team members who din’t understand Hindi:Krishna Prakash…J. His aversion for vast technological development exclusive of the poor and rural population was deep-rooted in the face of his past experiences probably.Who will take care of the deprived?...this was the question I believe which brought him to this field work. What has been the history of India: From Jhansi Ki Rani to Late Ms. Indira Gandhi, the current system:how does it correspond to the traditional one ?

The major issues that came to light after a healthy chat were educating the children after the school hours due to lack of voluntary initiative on the part of capable teachers. Some children from the orphanage are even in engineering colleges and few others are on good paid government and private jobs. Yet another issue is collection of funds for their new hostel which they are planning to acquire for expansion as the old hostel is totally occupied. Talent needs correct direction. An initiative by establishing the orphanage has been taken, apart from arranging free education for them in schools of Rohtak with the help of government grants and approvals.

What seems to be our goal is to create a healthy relationship with the children over there so as to be able to bring out the best in them by harnessing their talent adduced by the  bulletin board displaying photographs of different events conducted in the orphanage and children with one or the other award at their disposal: all happy and with a lot of zeal for yet another opportunity. Giving them all kinds of support in school course plus developing a minimal knowledge of basic computing, skills at sports and artistic enthuse of small kids would be our major motto here.

Now just looking forward to epitomize their satisfaction in maximum possible way  and earn some smiles which are most precious for a person.

It was time well-invested and energy best utilized to find so many kids playing around, some of them sharp enough to answer our queries and all of them disciplined and eager to attend  us and welcome us with all warmth, pleasure, mischief and mystery to be revealed ahead sometime in future . Wish we get such days in future too.!  ……………would keep updating the same ……………stay in touch………J

Thankyou.

Visit to the Satyam Seva Sansthan

August 2^nd, 2011

Today Tanuj Maggon, Anand S., Achyuta and I had a meeting with Mr. Ajay Agarwal, one of the co-founders of Satyam Seva Sansthan. We had the plan to learn more about the NGO and get insights into how they wanted to serve the society. We also wanted to get a clear picture of how we could assist them in any possible way.

More details about Satyam Seva Sansthan:

There are total 7 co-founders and all of them are working people including service-men and bankers. They have formed a trust but the work has not started yet officially. Mr. Agarwal owns a business of manufacturing surgical and medical equipments and he provides his services to hospitals with custom-built products. The office is located in Jhajjar Chungi Chowk, Rohtak.

As this was our first interaction with any NGO, we had some apprehensions before meeting him. But Mr. Agarwal is a very humble and kind person. He gave us a big smile the moment he saw us. We started with discussing about his mission and his NGO. He answered all of our questions and cleared our doubts.

He himself has some plans which he wants to execute in the near future. He is thinking of organizing some medical camps for the needy people in Rohtak. These camps will be used for performing minor surgeries, blood tests and other pathological tests of the patients. For that purpose, he may arrange a team of doctors and medical practitioners to stay at some place for a few days. The required medical and surgical equipment will be supplied by his own shop.

He is also thinking of helping charitable hospitals by providing them free ambulances periodically. Earlier, he had organized a camp with some NGO but his experience was bitter. He found out that the NGO was more interested in getting funds and famous people for its camp than serving humanity.

The main problem that is stopping him from initiating further work is lack of time. Currently, his business is in expansion mode and that’s why there is a lot of workload these days. Moreover, all other members of the trust are working people living at different places which does not allow them to conduct meetings.

Some New Suggestions:

He suggested us to visit the Medical College of Rohtak. He told us that a lot of issues such as sanitation, mismanagement and lack of professionalism in workers are prevalent there. Some NGOs are providing support to the college but they do not care to know whether their funds are being used properly or not. He also threw light on the condition of the Primary Health Centres in our country. There are many occasions when the technicians do not even know how to operate the machines.

Finally Mr. Agarwal told us that he would not be able to give time to the NGO for at least 1-2 months due to his business and other commitments. But whenever possible, he would be contacting us. So we have decided that we would follow his suggestion and have some visits to the Medical College. Once we find out some possibilities of improvement after detailed observations, we would take further steps.

It was really an amazing experience knowing about the other side of the society in which we live and tend to ignore because of the so-called development.

Jan Seva Sansthan- The Journey Begins

Date 31^st July 2011

We started with our initiative to contribute to Jan Seva Sanstahan. As per the decision of the group me (Salil) and Priyamvada were given the responsibility to start off the first session with the students. The ride from college to the ashram was filled with the discussions as to where to start and how to be at best comfort with the children. And soon we were in front of the ashram.

Guard bhaiya (who happens to be an inmate of old age home) welcomed us with a big smile, which showed that not just the children but every single person in the ashram holds hope and optimism in their life. We reached around 3:15 pm in the afternoon and found children were sleeping. We went to their rooms just to see how calmly they were sleeping. Some were nicely stretched out, while few bundled up together on a single bed. The Caretakers asked us whether to wake them up but we preferred to wait. It’s never good to steal someone’s sleep and that too from those who are yet to know how to complain.

Few minutes passed by and it was time for their snacks. We were seated in the lobby which is in the way to their mess. One by one we could see them waking up, rubbing their eyes, smiling at us. Some felt shy, some said ‘Namaste’, but I’m sure all were delighted to see us.

After snacks, they were supposed to do self-study for an hour in their common hall. So we decided to start off with our session by first getting to know them and making them comfortable. It was nice to see them all sitting together and study though they were more interested in what we were doing, but sitting together mattered a lot. For our ease and to keep it effective and interactive, we decided to divide our tasks in two:

1. I took up the charge of helping the children with their Maths and English doubts.

2. Priyamvada tried to focus on their knowledge in Computers.

Priyamvada sat in an adjoining room with her laptop to start the session with enthusiastic students. Meanwhile I asked the students to carry on with their home work and call me if they have any doubt. After interacting with a few senior students we came to know that computer classes start from 3^rd standard in their school. So I asked students class wise to go the adjoining room with their computer books. Everyone seemed happy hearing the word computer.

First was a little kid from 3^rd standard, a little nervous and more excited to see the laptop. She asked him about his basic details so as to keep a database about them. But instead of updating the excel Sheet herself, she asked him to do the honours. And this became our first evaluation about their English knowledge and typing abilities. Likewise, children from each class came and filled the excel sheet. Most were excited, curious and quick learners. She guided them with the typing, English and also had look at their syllabus. They are keen to learn but are unfortunate not to have proper facilities.

In the mean time I was entertaining the doubts of students. The doubts ranged from solving quadratic equation to doing addition/subtraction. One challenge was that few students were having their subjects in Hindi medium. So it was not a learning experience for them but for us too. But their commitment and enthusiasm really impressed us. Time flew by and we did not realise it was already 5 pm, their play time. None of them explicitly asked to go because we had been able to keep them busy and interested in the work. Some kept working even after we asked everyone to go and play.

Overall it was a satisfying and fulfilling experience.