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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Field Update

A typical house set up in Rajasthan, with buffaloes out front, eating their feed and greens.

It occurred to me that I had not explained the short-term plan of LSS's work on this blog. So, the plan is for the workers to mainly go around to different villages via motorcycle and talk with the people about the benefits of starting microcredit groups and youth groups. Due to the isolated nature of these villages, the people are often very suspicious of outsiders, especially since many people who start NGOs in India are less than pristine. Add to this the conservative culture, and it equals a barrier that must be overcome to start these groups. Hence, there is a need for this foundation of conversation and good relations to be layed and nurtured for some time before work starts properly. The workers are currently doing this, and our plan is that this work will be roughly conclude in the first 3-5 pilot villages by the end of the year. In January we will start in earnest with operating SHG groups and youth groups.



That being said, the workers have already made sufficient inroads in two villages, Kukrela and Sundarpura, that they have been able to start micro-credit groups there. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it previously on this blog, but Kukrela is the home village of Rohitash, so that is nice to have a foot hold there. It is also nice to have a group setup in Sundarpura, in which neither of our workers live.

Additionally, the workers have been talking with school principals in the villages in which we plan to work, to get them to talk up our computer education program (as part of the larger youth group program). This program really is novel in the village area, where a poll that we gave in a representative village last year showed that only 1 boy out of our group of 20 had even seen a computer up close. There is a lot of opportunity here, and enthusiasm on the part of the village children and their parents. They are well aware that computer literacy is very important in the job market, and that the village children will benefit immensely from gaining experience with computers. I am particularly excited to see how this part of the program develops, since it is new and innovative, I think. We know the SHGs work and are a great benefit to their members, so I'm hoping these youth groups will turn out the same. We will strive to make it so, making adjustments as we go.

Speaking of computers, I had my first laptop donated last week. I would like to thank D. Quan for the very kind donation. There is some possibility that I can get it sent to India in December, but if not, I will bring it with me in August. These donation are a terrific help, as they free up some of the funds I had earmarked for these youth groups to go towards other developments besides just the computers themselves, i.e. perhaps I will be able to get internet in some villages, or send some of the youth group members to a week-long computer training school, or something along these lines. In the long run, building up donations will help us move towards meeting all of our goals as an organization, with management of the environment, especially water, being high on our priority list. We definitely hope to have the funds to run a water management program with the internationally-renowned, Maharastra-based NGO WOTR. I will write on WOTR and our hopes to partner with them in a coming post. Long story short, with these environmental management programs, a crucial part is often paying for the labor of the villagers in building, e.g. the water harvesting structures. This takes more funds than is currently in the budget, but less than you might think ($5-10,000, I believe) for very important work in this desert state. More on this soon.

On this subject, I end with some great news: it's been one of the best monsoons in Rajasthan in years and the people in the village are currently harvesting millet (or bajra). The good rain was much needed, as the last few years had scant rain and were quite rough on the crops, and hence the village income. I am very happy about this, as I'm sure the buffaloes pictured above are as well, as they love swimming in puddles of water.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for staying tuned.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Early B-day Present, and Notes on Administration

Rohitash watching a herd of sheep go by. Nomads were coming through town. From last summer.


Chili plants, a specialty of Rajasthan's, often at a very high cost in terms of water. They are beautiful though.

Work from a previous organization (SVS), with similar youth technology and leadership groups.

Gopal Singh running a women's micro-credit group in previous work with the organization SVS. This is the experience that is going to make LSS an effective organization in the field.


S
o, I received an early birthday present this last week when I was presented with a donation numbering in the several hundred dollar range from a close friend of mine. It is the organization's first large donation, and I am very grateful to have received it. I think that it will go towards buying a computer to be used in our youth technology and leadership groups. I want to thank the donor again for the kindness.

Speaking of donors, I have gotten word from multiple people that they would like to donate once the system for such donations are in place. This is most gratifying. I anticipate that we will be able to take donations to an official organizational account starting in late December or January, once we are registered with the state of CO as an organization. However, if you are interested in donating now, I have cleared out an old savings account I have (I had to get new one in CA in order to get residency) and am leaving it open for donations. This is where I will deposit the money from the donation mentioned above. Absolutely nothing personal will done with this money. Donor id numbers will be issued and bi-annual reports will be issued laying out where money from all sources has gone. Annual external audits will also be performed. The funds for this year's work are already secured, so no rush, but I just thought I'd mentioned this in case anyone was interested in donating for future work. Note that we are running the organization in CO, as opposed to CA, because in my experience thus far CO is an easy state in which to operate.

A note on my philosophy in running this organization. Though the workers have insisted on calling me the head of LSS, I can't say the title has ever really suited me. The main reason is that the workers have most of the experience and thus the judgment needed to assess whether certain activities are of value in the village setting. We have agreed upon a core focus of women's microcredit, youth technology and leadership development, and environemental management. This is summed up in the charter I have attached (which still needs some revision in English; the one in Hindi has already been submitted to the Indian government for our registration there).

Given this shared vision, I am largely leaving the implementation up to the workers, who, as I have said, are the real experts in this area. However, I do provide guidance and suggest things that might help how things are running, e.g. suggesting they attend various types of computer training so they become more fluent with using computer applications and the internet. I see my main role as providing some ideas on things that might be carried out, and in maintaining the fiscal transparency of the organization by keeping track of monies spent. I will of course travel to India, most likely annually, and we will meet to discuss organization philosophy, focus, etc. Hence, I am the head of the organization two clear ways: 1) the financial buck stops with me and 2) I have set up an organization with two very like-minded field workers with a given philsophy in mind so that I can say with confidence what our work is and how we are achieving it. I leave many of the details to the workers, as I believe should be done in these circumstances, as it is foolish for foreigners to try to dictate the exact details of implementation. Indeed, villagers often bristle at having city folk from the same state in India importing their "foreign" ideas about how exactly things should be run. There is a careful balance in respecting local custom and methods of operation, and bringing useful change. This balance must always be kept in mind, and LSS's governing philosophy is based on maintaining this balance.

Well, that's basically all for now folks. I also wanted to add that any donations are also, unfortunately, subject to about 1-2% in bank transfer fees, as is standard for international transfers. It's an annoying reality of working between countries. Hence, the percent of donations that reach the field workers will be about 80-82%, given the 17.5% administration fee of our partner organization NSS (see previous post). I feel the need to be upfront and forthright about this fact.

Hope everyone is well. So excited about LSS's work. The NGO workers continue to make contacts with the aforementioned villages, and have made lots of headway in convincing the villagers of the benefit of starting self-help groups and youth technology and leadership groups. We anticipate having groups set up in the coming weeks. I will post the names of the villages where we are working once we have official books set up. Great stuff!

Here is where you can see our charter:
https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1_egvofMQZ-VxmOz8CKBOdRRwJEPHGnXDGDes91ha2LI&hl=en&authkey=CJLC9qsO

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Work started



Above are some photos from field visits on past trips to India. The top photo is women cutting chara for buffalo feed, and the bottom is me holding a goat in front of the Hero Honda motorcycle, a workhorse for NGO travel.



I have received a message from the field workers detailing their work thus far. As I mentioned, they have the office all set up in Khora, and they have a self-help group (SHG) set up in Kukrela. The term self-help group refers to our microcredit groups, most of which will be established amongst the womenfolk, to use the Indian term, of the various villages. Additionally, Rohitash and Gopal have been going around on motorcycle, setting up meetings in villages to talk about the possibility of setting up SHGs there, as well as youth technology and leadership groups (YTLGs). In short, they have been laying the ground work for setting up future groups. They anticipate that very soon there will be groups in the villages of Bhamod, Bhindor, Sundarpura (purely beautiful, in Hindi), Chechawala, and Berakee. So, again, I am very satisfied with the pace of progress in our work. Just a year ago this organization was just a dream.

A quick word on the structure of our women's microcredit groups (this information will be formalized into a document, probably next summer): our model is that the women put their own money into a central fund, from which members can take loans. Hence, no funds from the NGO are used to "give" women loans, but instead their own money is used to provide these loans. We provide the logistical support, primarily maintaining the account with the bank. We hope after a few years of operation these groups will be able to take over this function accounting function themselves. In previous work, we have found the women in these groups use the loans to buy buffalos for milk, or seed for their fields, or medicine for their family, and many other such things. Thus, health, wealth and many other things are increased by their activity.

Finally, one other things I found it relevant to note: by Indian law, LSS cannot directly accept funds from foreign sources during its first 3 years of operation. Hence, we have to work through an auxiliary organization that monitors our activity to ensure transparency. This organization is Naman Sewa Samiti (NSS). The key point is for their services they take a 17.5% fee on all funds sent over to India. This is fine with me because it's the price of getting started in India, but I thought any potential donors should know this. It cannot be denied that during the first few years of operation our organization will not be the best "bang for your buck" on donations. Nonetheless, we think we are getting started on something very special and hope that you will still consider make a donation.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Just getting started



The bottom photo is Gopal Singh and I sitting and eating, Indian style. The top photo is Rohitash Kumar Meena and myself catching a little shade.

This a first post to just make the blog not be blank.

Lok Sahbhagi Sansthan has gotten started on its work, and the field workers and I are very excited to be moving forward. In Hindi Lok Sahbhagi Sanstha (LSS) means, roughly, Public Participatory Institute, reflecting how the organization see itself: as a facilitator to activities that can help villagers better their situations economically, educationally, and so forth. The field workers are are Rohitash and Gopal. They have just begun work after beginning the first round of funds. They have rented a small office, for which they have bought a computer, desk, cabinets, and other supplies needed to run day-to-day operations. They have also gotten a motorcycle and are currently visiting villages to establish connections in the area. Our work will focus on women's micro-credit group, youth technology education, and watershed management. When I spoke to the workers last, there was already one micro-credit group set up, with a goal of setting micro-credit groups and youth computer education groups in 2-3 villages in the next month or so. The field workers have roughly 18 years of experience in this line of work, and so bring a wealth of knowledge that will work to the organization advantage in the years to come.

A board for a US-based support organization has been provisionally established, consisting of myself, Meg Fowler, and Richard Johnson. Richard, a student in law, will be working in the months to come on the legal details for obtaining 501(3)(c) status. I hope to do some fundraising in the near future, and hope you will consider giving to my organization if you feel so inclined. I will work to make sure that we have completely transparent operations, with clear records of where all the money donated is going and a yearly outside audit of accounts. The fieldworkers have been keeping receipts and proper documentation will be made. I know trust is key in such an enterprise, and I will work to maintain a trustworthy enterprise at all times.

I am most excited about the beginning of operations and hope to get others excited about it as well. I have posted some photos of myself and the field workers, from past visits (above).