MSID visits LSS, computer education data, and other updates

Hi all,
     Been a while since my last post, but great things are happening, so I thought I'd take time to write a new one. Let's not delay.

     The first thing that we are ecstatic about is that MSID - Minnesota Studies in International Development - program through which I (Derek) went to India and first became in rural economic development programs, is coming to see LSS's work. A note about the MSID program: the first few months of the semester students get acclimated to their new environment, learn the language, culture, and history of the area, and tour various NGOs to see which ones might be a good fit for them and their interest in development. Then, for the second couple months of the program, the students do an internship at an NGO of their choosing, helping contribute to that NGO's work and learning about development process up close and personal. Year long students come back in the spring and can continue to work with their earlier NGO, or switch to another if they think it would be a better fit. It was through the MSID program and the internship that I first met Rohitash, Gopal, and Shyam (LSS's current field workers) and got my start in development, watching their work in microcredit and analyzing data on the various groups in the area to see what their needs might be. It was obviously a life-changing experience for me, and all of us, and one that I cherish dearly. To have MSID visiting our NGO five years after I was a student visiting NGOs feels like a truly special event, one that signifies the progress we at LSS have made in building a solid program that would appeal to the people at MSID India. We will work to ensure that that continues to be the case. We'll have photos of their visit soon. Stay tuned. For now, enjoy the photos below from my time in the MSID program.

Rima Hooja, the MSID India director, talking with students at the end of the program.

MSID students standing in front of pile of vermicompost, an alternative organic fertilizer that one NGO was working on in order to mitigate the effect of inorganic fertilizers on drinking water.

Gopal and Derek sharing a moment outside the office during Derek's original visit to India.

      Alright, so that was super exciting news. Now for a few updates on our current work.

      One of the most exciting things is that our computer information center is really starting to get traffic from old and young people alike. They are coming to read newspapers and books, to book train tickets, to learn typing and other aspects of the computer, and so forth. Recall that basically no one in these villages has access to a computer, let alone consistent access. Our goal with this center is to allow people access to the computer so they have the same advantages by people in towns and cities, namely learning about the computer and using the programs on the computer and the internet to their advantage, e.g. in applying for jobs, checking crops prices, etc. We hope it will be a boon for old and young alike, as the youth can learn about the computer and how it can work for them now and in the future, and the older generation can take advantage of the benefits to make their lives easier. More details on this to come. We will work on how to measure how people are using the computer so we can track the effect. Exciting progress, though.

A young man looking at a vacancy that needs filling in the Rajasthan police.

Middle-aged man and kids learning about the computer at village information center

    As promised, I have some data on the results of the computer education courses in the villages in which we worked this summer. The data comes mostly from a post-survey that we did with the students. We gave them an essay exam on what they learned, but I think the results were a bit difficult to extract, so that is not included here. We want to improve on this method of assessment, firstly by developing an exam that tests what they learned and from which we can easily extract the results. I will work on this with the workers in December, or I will have a possible MSID intern work on it in October-November. Secondly, we will starting next year administer pre- and post-exams and surveys, so we can measure progress made during the course. With that caveat, here's the data, which I'll discuss a bit below. An apology in advance for the mass of data and the slight formatting differences.

Name of the Center - YLTC Mohangurjar ki dhani
	Total Student	Male	Female	Total
		6	8	14
S.N.	Questions
1	Before center what did you know about the computer ?	Basic Knowledge	Open and Close	Saw anywhere	All Three	Nothing
	Answer in %	0%	36%	0%	0%	64%
2	What did you learn in the computer class?	Basic Knowledge	MS word	MS Excel	Typing	All Four
	Answer in %	0%	0 %	7%	0%	93%
3	How does it feel coming to the computer center?	Great	Good	Ok	Time pass	Bad
	Answer in %	64%	36%	0%	0%	0%
4	Do you want to continue learning about the computer ?	Yes	Maybe	Don’t Know	Ask parents	No
	Answer in %	78%	0%	0%	22%	0%
5	When school is running how often do you want to come to the center?	Daily	Some Time	On holiday	After Exam	Don’t Know
	Answer in %	7 %	0 %	86 %	0 %	7%
6	How do you feel about  the computer teacher?	Good	Bad	So, So	Useless	Don’t Know
	Answer in %	57 %	7 %	36 %	0%	0%
7	How will you use the computer in the future	Daily Life	Read and Write	For Employment	All Three Point	Useless
	Answer in %	15%	0%	0%	85%	0%
8	What do you want to use the internet for?	Daily Life	Read and Write	For Employment	All Three Point	Useless
	Answer in %	10%	0%	25%	65%	0%

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Name of the Center - YLTC Barwara
	Total Student	Male	Female	Total	Appear in Exam. M	Appear in Exam. F	Total
		12	13	25	3	7	10
S.N.	Questions
1	Before center what did you know about the computer ?	Basic Knowledge	Open and Close	Saw anywhere	All Three	Nothing
	Answer in %	0%	30%	20%	0%	50%	100%
2	What did you learn in the computer class?	Basic Knowledge	MS word	MS Excel	Typing	All Four
	Answer in %	20%	0%	0%	0%	80%	100%
3	How does it feel coming to the computer center?	Great	Good	Ok	Time pass	Bad
	Answer in %	70%	10%	20%	0%	0%	100%
4	Do you want to continue learning about the computer ?	Yes	Maybe	Don’t Know	Ask parents	No
	Answer in %	60%	0%	0%	40%	0%	100%
5	When school is running how often do you want to come to the center?	Daily	Some Time	On holiday	After Exam	Don’t Know
	Answer in %	70%	10%	20%	0%	0%	100%
6	How do you feel about  the computer teacher?	Good	Bad	So, So	Useless	Don’t Know
	Answer in %	70%	0%	30%	0%	0%	100%
7	How will you use the computer in the future	Daily Life	Read and Write	For Employment	All Three Point	Useless
	Answer in %	0%	0%	0%	100%	0%	100%
8	What do you want to use the internet for?	Daily Life	Read and Write	For Employment	All Three Point	Useless
	Answer in %	0%	0%	0%	100%	0%	100%

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Name of the Center - YLTC Pando
	Total Student	Male	Female	Total	Appear in Exam. M	Appear in Exam. F	Total
		15	5	20	10	3	13
S.N.	Questions
1	Before center what did you know about the computer ?	Basic Knowledge	Open and Close	Saw anywhere	All Three	Nothing
	Answer in %	15.38%	38.46%	0%	0%	46.153%	100%
2	What did you learn in the computer class?	Basic Knowledge	MS word	MS Excel	Typing	All Four
	Answer in %	53.84%	23.07%	0%	0%	23.07%	100%
3	How does it feel coming to the computer center?	Great	Good	Ok	Time pass	Bad
	Answer in %	84.61%	15.38%	0%	0%	0%	100%
4	Do you want to continue learning about the computer ?	Yes	Maybe	Don’t Know	Ask parents	No
	Answer in %	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	100%
5	When school is running how often do you want to come to the center?	Daily	Some Time	On holiday	After Exam	Don’t Know
	Answer in %	69.23%	7.65%	7.65%	15.38%	0%	100%
6	How do you feel about  the computer teacher?	Good	Bad	So, So	Useless	Don’t Know
	Answer in %	84.61%	0%	15.38%	0%	0%	100%
7	How will you use the computer in the future	Daily Life	Read and Write	For Employment	All Three Point	Useless
	Answer in %	23.07%	7.69%	0%	69.23%	0%	100%
8	What do you want to use the internet for?	Daily Life	Read and Write	For Employment	All Three Point	Useless
	Answer in %	61.53%	0%	15.38%	23.07%	0%	100%

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Name of the Center - YLTC Dhudi Amloda
	Total Student	Male	Female	Total	Appear in Exam. M	Appear in Exam. F	Total
		13	7	25	6	7	13
S.N.	Questions
1	Before center what did you know about the computer ?	Basic Knowledge	Open and Close	Saw anywhere	All Three	Nothing
	Answer in %	30.76%	0%	0%	0%	69.23%	100%
2	What did you learn in the computer class?	Basic Knowledge	MS word	MS Excel	Typing	All Four
	Answer in %	0%	7.65%	0%	0%	92.30%	100%
3	How does it feel coming to the computer center?	Great	Good	Ok	Time pass	Bad
	Answer in %	92.34%	7.65%	0%	0%	0%	100%
4	Do you want to continue learning about the computer ?	Yes	Maybe	Don’t Know	Ask parents	No
	Answer in %	92.34%	0%	0%	7.65%	0%	100%
5	When school is running how often do you want to come to the center?	Daily	Some Time	On holiday	After Exam	Don’t Know
	Answer in %	23.07%	7.65%	53.84%	15.38%	0%	100%
6	How do you feel about  the computer teacher?	Good	Bad	So, So	Useless	Don’t Know
	Answer in %	76.52%	0%	23.07%	0%	0%	100%
7	How will you use the computer in the future	Daily Life	Read and Write	For Employment	All Three Point	Useless
	Answer in %	15.38%	30.76%	0%	53.84%	0%	100%
8	What do you want to use the internet for?	Daily Life	Read and Write	For Employment	All Three Point	Useless
	Answer in %	30.76%	23.07%	0%	46.15%	0%	100%

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Name of the Center - YLTC Kukrela
	Total Student	Male	Female	Total	Appear in Exam. M	Appear in Exam. F	Total
		12	4	16	9	1	10
S.N.	Questions
1	Before center what did you know about the computer ?	Basic Knowledge	Open and Close	Saw anywhere	All Three	Nothing
	Answer in %	80%	10%	0%	0%	10%	100%
2	What did you learn in the computer class?	Basic Knowledge	MS word	MS Excel	Typing	All Four
	Answer in %	0%	0%	0%	0%	100%	100%
3	How does it feel coming to the computer center?	Great	Good	Ok	Time pass	Bad
	Answer in %	90%	10%	0%	0%	0%	100%
4	Do you want to continue learning about the computer ?	Yes	Maybe	Don’t Know	Ask parents	No
	Answer in %	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	100%
5	When school is running how often do you want to come to the center?	Daily	Some Time	On holiday	After Exam	Don’t Know
	Answer in %	10%	0%	30%	60%	0%	100%
6	How do you feel about  the computer teacher?	Good	Bad	So, So	Useless	Don’t Know
	Answer in %	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	100%
7	How will you use the computer in the future	Daily Life	Read and Write	For Employment	All Three Point	Useless
	Answer in %	0%	10%	0%	90%	0%	100%
8	What do you want to use the internet for?	Daily Life	Read and Write	For Employment	All Three Point	Useless
	Answer in %	30%	50%	0%	20%	0%	100%

    Alright, so what do we see from the mass of data above? We see that Barwara and Mohan Gujar ki Dhani have the best gender ratios, Dhudi Amloda is so-so in this department, and Kukrela and Pando could use some serious improvement. You have to keep in mind, however, that these are very conservative rural areas, so getting any young girls in a computer class is an achievement. Nonetheless, we will work to have equal gender ratios in all our classes going forward. We are very happy with Mohan Gujar ki Dhani and Barwara for giving their girls the opportunity to learn about the computer.


   You can also see that the students new basically nothing coming into the course, they are very enthusiastic about learning the computer, and they see many uses for it in their lives in the future. This is EXACTLY why we built this program and want to continue to make it a success. It is vital for the youth of rural areas and they are hungry for it. We will work to improve our program, including assessment of learning, as mentioned above, but we are very happy with our results during the first two years of operation. We are excited for what the future holds for our program. We'll keep you updated.

Students at youth computer education group.

Same. Notice the good mix of boys and girls. This is an accomplishment in very rural conservative area. The villagers see the need for computer education.

   A few other notes: we have started two new microcredit groups and will start a third soon. That work is going very well and is a linchpin of our NGO's program. We are still working on getting our application ready to apply for directly receiving foreign funds. That will be a big step for us.

SEG group in Pando. These are a main linchpin of our work, as they provide economic benefits, a forum through which to talk to women about the issues they face in their villages, a way to dialogue with the villages about our programs and how they might improve, and so much more.

Shyam Singh with an SEG group.

    Right now the villagers are 80% done with the millet harvest, according to Rohitash, so they will have a bit of respite in work until it is time to plant wheat, chickpeas, barley, mustard, and other winter crops.

Millet field. This has just been harvested in RJ.

Mustard field. This will be planted soon and the fields of RJ will be a beautiful yellow in January.

    Finally a bit of a sad note that I must report: about two weeks ago there was an outbreak of malaria in the area in which we work and eight people died, five in Amloda and three in Nau Rung Pura (nine pure colors). Many others were also sickened. Rohitash, Gopal, and Shyam had to hold emergency meetings to help the villages figure out how to cope with the deaths and difficulties faced. They tried to be a force for comfort and an organized response. I have no doubt they did admirably in this role, as they have been NGO workers and community leaders for some twenty years now. This definitely brings home the fact that the communities in which we work are very vulnerable to disease, the conditions, and many other challenges they face. My thoughts are with the families who lost loved ones. May they find peace. I wish you all a happy and healthy week.

Gopal's village, Amloda, was hit hard by the malaria outbreak, with five dying. His family is all ok, fortunately. May the families who lost loved ones find peace, health, and solace during this time.