Transcript
Employability skills for underserved youth
Neem Tree is a symbol of
value. Hard at work from
roots to leaves. Sincerely
making itself useful to all it
connects with.
News Letter Volume 3
July’2012
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PERSPECTIVE
How volunteering can change the
flavor of an organization
“I always wondered why somebody didn't do something
about that. Then I realized I was that somebody.”
Lily Tomlin
I had been thinking for a long time to connect with
those less fortunate. Things would always come up
that seemed threateningly urgent and I would again
become relentlessly occupied. Last year I finally got the
opportunity through a giving initiative launched in
NIIT. I took my daughters to visit an orphanage where
we spent half-a-day with some very energetic and
zealous kids, generally chatted with them and handed
over to them loads of snacks. These kids enveloped us
in love and gratitude. Suddenly we were the ones who
felt cared for. It was very humbling. Giving changed us
for the better - I realize that this is the formula for
manufacturing happiness!
Giving is up to us, we can choose how. We can give
our time, which is most precious, or the next best thing
- money. However, for the entire experience
of giving to be satisfying, here are some
of my takeaways.
First, we got to concentrate on
‘giving’. When we do this, the
noise of judgment quietens;
we concentrate on
creating value rather than
demanding it. In other words, whether
our time is „best utilized‟ by the
NGO or not, we got to make our
visit count and make a
difference.
Second, volunteering requires us to set aside our
social status and link at a human-to-human level.
This sets us free from the boundaries we have
created for ourselves.
I believe giving trains the mind to stay on the
positive side. Realization that we have done
something good naturally instills a sense of
wellbeing. This boosts not just our mood, but an
entire gamut of things, from self-esteem to
relationships, even competence.
With this conviction, last year we launched the
social giving initiative in NIIT – we call it „I
Give‟. Each NIITian is encouraged to give back to
society through volunteering or donations. NIIT
offers a special type of leave „IGive Leave‟ where
NIITians can take up to four days off to support
their cause! Many are already taking advantage of
this initiative, and I hope many more do this year.
Shampi Venkatesh
Chief People Officer
NIIT Ltd.
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STUDENT SPEAK
“Bhaiya apka photo chhapa hai paper main” (Your picture has come in the
newspaper), someone cried from the heavy mob that wrestled against
unplastered walls of Narayan Baghel‟s house. Narayan, the eldest son of a
farming laborer, was chosen from all over India for DPE-MSL Global Scholarships
for professional training through NIIT Foundation.
Narayan‟s beginnings were tougher than you would guess from his brave smiles.
Knowing Rs.2000 per month hardly sufficed for his family of five, from an early
age of 12, Narayan spent weekends working on farms earning Rs. 20 per day for
school fees. When school finished, he quietly buried his hopes of being an
Engineer. Concentrating hard on practicality of life, doing B.Com.(Hons.), and
moving to Bangalore with his Aunt seemed like a sure shot way to land a job.
Three years of home tuitions to earn fees, endless chores and errands, nights of
pouring over English books to comprehend what professors talked about and
finally a B.Com.(H.) degree however failed to do the needful. Narayan returned
to Chhindwara, MP his hometown without a job. Just another statistic confirming
that traditional education system does not prepare youth for industry.
Narayan then heard of NF District Learning Center in Chhindwara. Professional
Job oriented courses offered at the center seemed within Narayan‟s reach,
bringing hope of a job. Still, the 5 hours of daily travel, and sheer battle for
sustenance posed a challenge. “But then I would think how I had come a long
way, I was finally learning about computers, professional behavior, and conversing
in English. Ravi Sir supported me a lot at DLC. I would remember my dream of
being an Engineer, to have a computer of my own, and I would somehow find the
strength to go on for one more day”
Narayan‟s dedication and hard work earned him the DPE-MSL Global scholarship
that is helping him fulfill his dream. Today Narayan has his coveted laptop, he is
studying to be a software engineer from NIIT on full scholarship, and interning in
NIIT Foundation Head Office, New Delhi.
From an aggressive kid who had joined DLC Chhindwara, Narayan has now
transformed into a calm, cooperative and responsible young man. His improved
speech, posture, and dressing match his new self perfectly. He says he still has a
long way to go. Being a farmer at heart, he is prepared.
For more information on Narayan’s scholarship story, kindly visit:
http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/dpe_msl_scholarship/b/weblog/
archive/2012/05/17/narayan-s-transformation.aspx
From above:
Top: Narayan at Chhindwara
District Learning Centre.
Middle: In Delhi streets on his
way to NIIT office.
Bottom: At NIIT, where
Narayan studies through his
DPE-MSL scholarship.
Narayan Baghel : No Dream Too Big
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Dr. Nutan Bharati, Commonwealth of Learning Educational Media Centre For Asia (CEMCA), New Delhi
I had an opportunity to visit one of the career
development centres (CDC) of NIIT Foundation some
time back. NF is making an effort to address
employability issues for urban underprivileged youth by
providing industry linked skill-sets. In the following
paragraphs I am sharing my experience of that day when
I was at CDC Gharoli along with my friends from other
countries.
Gharoli Settlement
Gharoli is a settlement near the city dump at Ghazipur
off the National Highway 24 from New Delhi. If we were
to ignore trying realities, this dump encircled by vulture
in the grey sky, actually presents an art surrealist‟s image
of human existence looming larger than human
dwellings, hopes and aspirations.
The resettlement, Mullah Colony with well measured
streets, has materialized around high tension
transmitters. These big electric transmitters provide
unique relief to the topology of this colony, as
sometimes, they appear like mini towers underneath
which motorbikes can easily pass through somewhat like
everyday traffic crosses bridges and tunnels.
Some other towers offer a roundabout
chance to narrow lanes. The towers
stand there tall and very inclusive.
This is a monument of human
capacity and a will to adjust to
environmental hurdles!
Another spacious feature
that attracts attention
because of its potentially
beautiful architecture is a mosque
housing a Madrasa, a place of learning.
NI I T F ou nda t ion ‟ s ca re e r
development centre called NIIT
Yuva Star is housed close to this
building.
Guests from NGO-Kamalini
A visit by guests from NGO- Kamalini, represented by
Claudia from Peru, Paolina from Brazil and Anu Thomas
from India, created a chance to interact with local
students registered with CDC. This interaction was
valuable as it generated
stories that can be shared
across with like minded
people.
Rahul, a young
shy boy in the soft
skills class, was
game for the
„Jeevan Chakra‟ activity. He chose the area of life:
physical environment as an important part of his life.
Physical environment was rated eight on a ten point
scale. According to Rahul‟s observations, eight meant
an acknowledgement to what has already been done
for locality‟s environmental cleanliness. He aspired for a
rating of ten which would mean more cleanliness
around the houses. He made a commitment to himself
to speak to his landlord to allocate one container for
household garbage so that it is not strewn all over the
place. Rahul‟s face was beaming at the possibility of
meeting his commitment.
Puja, a young lady, expressed concerns over health
issues for women and committed to mobilize her
community for a health awareness mela. Rohit felt he
cannot bear to see the poor suffer; he has committed
to share at least one skill with people he wishes to help
in order to search for ways to achieve freedom from
poverty.
This class of fourteen, predominantly dreamt, planned
and committed to take steps for improving
communication and computer skills to earn a
certification and achieve financial freedom for
themselves and their families. They are truly
unstoppable!
Disclaimer: Views expressed are from writer's personal perspectives and do not
necessarily represent viewpoint of CEMCA.
READER’S ANGLE A Visit to CDC Gharoli
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EVENTS
Civil Lines CDC Delhi, celebrated completion of one year in
operation. In the picture: Chief Guest Purnima Rai and Sapna
Moudgil (Implementation Head, NIIT Foundation)
Parent Awareness workshops were organized to address
inhibitions associated with employment of their daughters
and problems encountered in feeling the connect with
children once they become young adults.
The Industry visit to VRPL, Pitampura was a first visit to
a retail outlet for most of the fresh students of our CDC.
The Store Manager showed a realistic picture of the
work culture, growth path and the technicalities of the
job to the students.
Volunteer workshops were conducted across
CDCs to build mass awareness on issues like
Health, Domestic Violence and Women's Rights
On the eve of CII Center inauguration in Chhindwara, Hon‟ble Minister Mr. Kamal Nath presented WIPRO job offer letters to NF
students. Mr. S. Ramadorai, Mr. Adi Godrej, Mr. Pradeep Bhargava, and Mr. Deepak Saxena also graced the occasion with their
presence.
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SPECIAL MENTION Rag Picker Project
NF Rag-Pickers‟ Project is entirely funded
by individual donations. Two batches
have already passed out of Gharoli center.
In Sangam Vihar the entire batch was
placed in Lord Krishna Public School.
Students Impacted through rag-picker’s
project: 118
Students admitted to schools through this
project: 52
Sangam Vihar and Gharoli are two rag-pickers‟ colonies that have sprouted
around the prominent garbage dumps of Delhi city. Rag-picking remains the mainstay of inhabitants whose daily
concerns are as much about meeting the goals set by local Kabadis (Scrap Shops) as they are about communal
tensions, diseases and crime.
“We had available capacity in the centers. Moreover, centers are there for the benefit of the community. It was hard
to ignore that (some of) these (rag-picker) kids had never been to school. They will become the youth of tomorrow.
We gathered kids of all ages (6 to 13 years) in the center and began with basics. Alphabet, grammar, maths, and
Weekly Schedule at NIIT Foundation Center
for Rag-Picker batches
Day Activity Resource
Monday Listening & speaking Books
Tuesday Speaking & Writing Notebook, White Board
Wednesday Oral Test Trainer
Thursday Written Test Computer Software
Friday Dancing, Alphabet games Trainer
Early every morning, a half asleep Muskan is piled on to a rickshaw on which her father
drives her to work (picking broken glass objects) on the pahaad (Garbage dump) at 7.30
am with her parents and younger siblings. Her first meal of the day comes only after half
past noon. On the days that they are not able to meet the required pick, they work longer.
After coming back from the pahaad, while her parents set about sorting out the garbage,
she was left to her own devices on the basti streets for rest of the day.
On talking to Muskan, we learnt that she had never been to school. Within a few sessions
at NIIT Foundation Center, Gharoli, she has bloomed into a bubbly talented child. Her
natural urge to learn and participate in class discussions have won her first place in
alphabet reading, basic arithmetic and multiplication table tests many times.
“I love computer and dancing. I wait every day after reaching home to come back the next
day”- Muskan
Muskan 10 Years Old Gharoli Rag Picker
Mampi
7 Years Old
Ragpicker
Mampi could not understand anything except Bengali.
She did not come for her classes at NIIT Foundation
(NF) Center for a week because she got scared by the
strange things called alphabets.
Thanks to contributions of NF individual donors, she is
now in school learning those unfamiliar things.
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NIIT Foundation (NF) is a not-for-profit education society that makes critical interventions
towards upgrading the skill base and employability of the marginalized youth in urban slums
and rural areas. In addition, it works with other NGOs to offer NF Certification to the NGO‟s
beneficiaries.
PROJECT UPDATES
District Learning Centers
(DLCs) focus on imparting
employability skills to under-
privileged, non-working graduates
in rural areas. DLCs are currently
functional in Madhya Pradesh.
Synergy Project set up in
partnership with CII and Delhi
University, focuses on building
employability skills of the Distance
Education students at Delhi
University, with a special focus on
Career Development
Centers (CDCs) cater to the
skilling needs of the vast employable
population residing in urban slums.
CDCs are currently functional in
Delhi-NCR, Jaipur, Mumbai, UP and
Urban Slum
NReach builds capacity among
NGOs by providing structured
courseware, training NGO trainers
and providing trainer and student
certifications. This program is
offered nationwide.
Rural Youth
NGOs DU SC/ST
Sponsor a career for youth, a livelihood for a family and hope for the na-
tion!
Performance Areas Total
No. of Students Impacted 36031
Percentage of girl students 43%
Percentage of placed students 78%
No. of NGO partners 84
No. of partner employers 250
100% Scholarship for SC/ST Students this quarter 47
100% Scholarship for Girl Students this quarter 41
Volunteer hours 6580
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(Above from Left) - Smita, Deepak, Neeraj, Wasim, Devendra, Amit, Amin, Manish,
Chhavi, and Rahul
DLC
Bar
ku
hi T
eam
GET CONNECTED
This change in
students can happen in
as short a period as six
months or up to a year, with
the right mix of technology,
training, industry input and
experienced faculty.
Join our mission by sponsoring
a needy student, volunteering
to spread awareness in
communities, or connecting us
to your network. You can start
by sharing this newsletter with
all your friends. We look
forward to meeting you.
DLC
Ch
hin
dw
ara
Te
am
(Above from Left) - Dharmendra, Aaradhna, Vikram, Dinesh, Garima, Pankaj, Piyush, Saba,
Deepak, Vijay, Rita, Manoj, and Pratiksha
NIIT Foundation District
Learning Centers (DLC)
in Chhindwara, Madhya
Pradesh started on the
hypothesis that it is
possible to bring a rural
or semi-rural graduate
to the same level of
proficiency as the urban
student by providing
focused and high-quality
training.
Corporates, individuals, NGOs
and funding agencies can
connect with us in varied ways.
Please do write to us at
Partner@niitfoundation.org
to explore synergy.
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CENTERS
Noida-51: Lavkush Market, near Post Office, main road Hoshiyarpur,
Sector 51, Noida -201301, Tel: 9811597208; Begumpur : Basti Vikas
Kendra, Behind Begumpur Bus-stop, Malviya Nagar, Begumpur -110017,
Ph. 40580305; Paharganj: 9329/1, Gali No.7, Multani Dhandha, Paharganj
- 110055, Ph. 47506874, 47506873; Prem Nagar : I-180, Prem Nagar II,
70Ft Road, Kirari, New Delhi -110086, Ph. 25185560; Gurgaon : Vishwas
Vidyalaya, Sector 46, near Unitech Cyber Park, Gurgaon -122001, Ph.
7838177728; Mangolpuri: L-625, DDA Flats, (near Mother Dairy)
Mangolpuri, Delhi Ph. 011-27918987; Sangam Vihar : Green Aravali
School, I-4/35, Ratiya Marg, Sangam Vihar, New Delhi -110062, Ph.
26043709; Sunder Nagri: N-25/26, Sunder Nagri, New Delhi -110093, Ph.
22597745; Madanpur Khadar: H.No 317, Chauhan Mohalla, Manshukh
Singh Marg, Near, Anglo Indian Public School, Madanpur Khadar, New
Delhi – 76, Ph: 29947891; Civil Lines: No. 2 Raj Niwas Marg, near Shah
Auditorium, Civil Lines, New Delhi, Ph: 23982620; Ghaziabad: Gram
Niyojan Kendra, Adhyatmik Nagar, Opp. IMS Engg. College. Dasna,
Ghaziabad, Ph: 7838177728 Nizamuddin: MCP School, Hazrat
Nizamuddin Basti, Delhi -110013. Ph: 9818942279; Gharoli: C-548,
Harijan Basti, Gharoli Extension -110096, Ph. 22628857; Brahmpuri : C-
185/36, 1st Floor, Above MTS Office, Main Brahmpuri Road Delhi -110053,
Ph. 22560344; Jawahar Nagar: 2/600, Jawahar Nagar, Opp. Sanatan
Handa Ki Gali, Near Satya Sai College, Jaipur, Ph: 0141-2650554;
Shastri Nagar: DD-82, Vishvakarma Colony, Nahari ka Naka,
Shastri Nagar, Jaipur, Ph: 0141-2309699; Jajpur: JSL
Institute of Industrial Training, Trijanga rehabilitation
colony, P.O. Danagadi Jajpur 755026, Ph: 07735565556;
Mumbai:FSC-1,1st floor shopping complex, opposite Airport high
school, New Airport Colony, (opposite Hanuman road) Airport
Authority of India, Vila Parle East Mumbai- 400099, Ph:
09619619074; Hisar: JINDAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL
TRAINING, (Formerly Stainless Skill Training Institute -
Prerana), 126 Green Square Market, Hisar - 125 005, Ph:
07206790140; Chhindwara DLC: NIIT District Learning Center, near
FCI warehouse Seoni road, Chhindwara Madhya Pradesh-
480002, Ph: 0716 2232228, 0716 2232229; Barkuhi DLC:
Barkuhi old VTC building, near SBI Barkuhi, Madhya
Pradesh- 480447, Ph: 0716 1263334
Project Director NIIT Foundation
8, Balaji Estate, Kalkaji, New Delhi - 110019, India
Website: www.niitfoundation.org
Email: niitaffirmativaction@niit.com,
Giving@niit.com, Partner@niitfoundation.org
Facebook :http://www.facebook.com/NIITAffirmativeAction
Office: +91-11-4167-5000, FAX: +91-11-4167-5178
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