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%

-->

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%

-->

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.

Note from Brianna

Hi all,
      This is a quick post, from me at least. I am posting below a note written by Brianna, who visited LSS in April of this year (2012). It tells of her impressions of our work in microcredit, women's empowerment, and youth technology education. I have added some photos of her visit, along with captions, just for illustration. I think it is important to have outsiders visit the organization and give their impressions, since it gives an unbiased window into what we are doing. I know we are doing important work, but it is nice to see it put into words by someone else. Thanks for taking the time to write this post Brianna! I hope you enjoy the post.

I had a wonderful experience visiting LSS.  From the start, Rohitash, Gopal, and Shyam were welcoming and kind.  I got the impression that they care deeply about the work they're engaged in.  It was reassuring and heartwarming to meet people on the opposite side of the world who are so dedicated to a worthy cause.

Brianna with Rohitash and Gopal at Mohan Gujar ki Dhani.

During my visit, I had the opportunity to sit in on a self help group meeting and on multiple computer literacy classes.  I really like the model the self help groups are built upon--empowering community members through microcredit loans.  I realized during my visit that the groups are much more than just microcredit finance groups, however.  Because they meet on a monthly basis, they also serve as a place for people to come together to discuss community issues.  I was impressed that the majority of the self help groups are groups of women, and I think the support they find in those groups is particularly important for them.  I was particularly heartened by an example that Rohitash relayed to me: when one of the communities was not getting an adequate water supply, the women discussed this issue in their self help group and decided to approach an official about it.  When the local official dismissed them, they went to the next higher official, who fixed the issue for them.  Though approaching an official about a problem may seem small, it struck me as an incredible example of how the self help groups are empowering women.  I was also impressed by how organized and democratic these groups were.  There are records of all the microcredit loans, and they decide who should receive loans using a democratic voting process.  That democratic process reinforces the empowerment of women since it emphasizes that they all have a voice.

Brianna with microcredit group members and their kids in Kukrella

Brianna in Kukrella. You see the fields that are staples of the livelihood here.

I was also glad to have the opportunity to visit several of the computer literacy centers.  Since computers are so ubiquitous in the US, I was a bit taken aback by the realization that most of the kids in these villages have never touched a computer before in their lives.  The excitement at each of the centers was palpable--these kids are definitely eager to learn, even if there are twenty other kids sharing one computer.  I was thrilled to see that at the first computer literacy center we visited, the girls were just as eager as the boys.  At that center, girls were actually in the majority.  Boys were in the majority at the other centers we visited, but I'm hopeful that the gender ratio will even out over time.  Rohitash, Gopal, and Shyam seemed genuinely concerned when we showed up to centers where the balance was less than equal.  Derek explained to me that, ultimately, parents are the ones to decide whether or not their daughters can take computer literacy classes.  He emphasized that "This is why the microcredit groups and all that we do to promote gender equality is so important: it is slowly changing this culture."  That there were at least some girls at most of the centers and a great number of girls at the first center I visited demonstrates that progress is being made.  I wouldn't be surprised if that progress was a direct result of the microcredit work.

Brianna at Mohan Gujar ki Dhani's Youth Technology and Leadership Group (YTLG). This village has the best gender ratio and overall attendance.

Brianna at YTLG in Amloda. The gender ratio is not as good in Amloda. More work to be done, but we are diligent and will work to get an even number of girls going forward!

One question that passed through my mind a number of times when I was visiting the computer literacy centers was, How are computers going to make these villagers' lives better?  I've conditioned myself to ask this question since I've grown up in a society in which we often fail to think critically about the impact of technology on the quality of our lives.  On the whole, I did think that computer literacy would improve the lives of people living in the villages LSS is working with, but I was still curious to hear Derek's response to that question.  His response was practical, thoughtful, and compassionate.  For one, computer literacy is a gateway to both education and jobs.  Without that computer literacy, villagers are at a distinct disadvantage.  LSS's computer centers are striving to correct that injustice.  Furthermore, LSS hopes that teaching computer literacy to villagers will "stanch the flow of villagers to the city, where they often end up in slums."  Computers could potentially allow villagers to work from more rural areas. I found his response to my more philosophical concern about the dangers of technology so spot on that I think it's worth sharing in full: "You have to have faith in the communities you work with to know how to deal with [technology]. I think that's what we're all doing as human beings and we should not treat the people we are working with any differently. They deserve the opportunity to make technology work for them and we are there to facilitate that."

YTLG member getting Brianna's email. Maybe they can become pen pals!

On the whole, I was very impressed with the work that LSS is doing, and I look forward to hearing about the positive impact LSS makes in the future.

Possible land donation, foreign contribution registration, 2nd year audit, and more

Hi all,
    Been a bit since my last post, so let's get started with the latest news from Rajasthan.

    First of all, we have two exciting things going on that will help propel our organization forward. The first one is that someone has contacted us and wants to give us a plot of land for our NGO office. We currently pay rent at an office in Khora, so this would help us establish ourselves more permanently in the area. The deal has to be approved by the local gram panchayat (village council), so we will wait to hear from them. Regardless of the outcome, we are excited by the offer, as it shows the belief in our work coming from the community. We'll cross our fingers and hope for a yes.

Gopal, Meg, Derek, Rohitash, and Grant on the roof of our current office in Khora

    The second thing is that the field workers are currently meeting with a man from Delhi who is an expert in applying for the foreign contributions registration (FCRA). As I mentioned in the past, in India for the first three years of operation you have to have an oversight organization monitor your work. For us, that organization is NSS. NSS does good work, but they also take a hefty fee for it, roughly 17.5%, so we are very excited to be starting the process to strike it out on our own and to be able to use all of our funds for operations. The extra money will allow us to hire Shyam Singh on full time (here is currently half-time), and do a few other things currently out of reach. Additionally, without the fee we will be able to fundraise much more aggressively because donors do not get turned off by the fee. This should allow us to expand our current operations and finally start the environmental work that is part of our organization's mission. It is exciting to be starting this process.

 Shyam Singh facilitates an SEG group meeting. With our FCRA registration we will be able to hire Shyam full time and expand the scope of our work.

    An important piece of applying for our FCRA registration is the audit of our 2nd year's work, which I have posted below. We are committed to the utmost transparency so that all who give to us can trust our work. Please take a look at it and see all of what goes into our work.

    Finally, a few more loose ends. We continue our microcredit work, including adding more groups. Everything is going very well in this area. We are currently converting the bank accounts of the groups to conform with new government rules, so that has taken time, but it's getting close to being done.

SEG meeting receives training from government agricultural officers

Shyam Singh facilitates an SEG meeting

SEG meeting with Gopal and bank staff. We are currently converting the bank account of the SEGs to conform with new government rules.

    As for the computer groups, they are currently less busy because the coming of the school year, but there are still students practicing on the computers when they have time. We are currently getting the data collected and analyzed from their exams and surveys. I'll post that data as soon as I have it. Below are photos of the students working on the computer and taking the exam. I think the photos show the environment we are working in and why this work is so important. We will work to keep improving this program, including integrating the results of the surveys and exams into future work. We will keep you updated.

Student practicing with a typing game in Barwara.

Students taking computer exam in Mohan Gurjar ki Dhani

Students taking computer exam in Pando

Well that's it for now. Exciting things are afoot! Have a most lovely rest of your summer.

Progress of the Summer Computer Program

Hi all,
    Well, the summer computer program is wrapping up and I must say that we are very happy how it has gone, though there have been hiccups. In the next couple weeks I will give some reports on how everything has gone. For now, I'll start by discussing my exciting phone conversation in which I talked with Rohitash, a field worker, and also with the computer teacher and one of the students. All were very excited about the program.

Girls working on the laptop in Barwara

  
     Let's start first with what the teacher and student said. When I asked them whether they liked the program and thought it was useful, they both said that they liked it very much and thought the students were learning useful and necessary skills. Indeed, the teacher said the program was important because jobs these days require fluency on the computer. Both said that the students had learned the programs of MS Paint, notepad, Word, and Excel thoroughly. They also reported that the students had all greatly increased their typing speed with practice. I find this very gratifying because I think it is basic comfort with the computer/typing and crucial applications that will give these students the opportunities they need in the job market and for college (depending on which path they choose to follow).  As I've said before, the one of the overarching goals of this program is to provide rural youth (and rural people in general) with the same opportunities that are available to those in urban areas. I think the progress shown thus far is a crucial step towards this goal. We will work to continue this progress.

Students working on laptop in Barwara

   A few more notes on my conversation with Rohitash. A quick anecdote to start things off. Rohitash told me that sometimes the power goes out during the day and they cannot use the computers for the class (power outage is a common problem in India, especially in rural areas). Nonetheless, he knows the students continue to learn because when he rides by on his motorcycle on the way home at night, he sees them huddled up around the computer in the classroom. You could tell this made him smile, and it sure makes me smile. I think we have really built something the people really believe in and we will work to keep it going. This anecdote reinforced the rest of our conversation, in which Rohitash re-iterated what was said by the student and teacher above. Namely, he said that the students and villagers are very excited for the program and that they are now basically fluent in all the MS programs listed above. Indeed, when the teacher and Rohitash told them the other day that they would work on MS Word again, the student responded by saying, "No, we already know everything there is to know about Word." I think that's great.

Students work on the computer in Pando

Rohitash with the students in Barwara

    So, the qualitative evidence of success of our program is very satisfying. However, we want to be a more rigorous in accessing our programs, so at the end of last week we gave exams on the course material and survey assessing the students' perception of the course (did they like it, could it be improved, how could it be improved, etc.). We will be analyzing the results in the weeks to come and will be sure to post the results here. Also, with the end of the course we will be looking at trying to recruit some of the students to help around the NGO, especially with the computer program and other computer-related work. I will also keep you updated on this.

Rohitash with the students in Pando

Alright, well as I said, very exciting stuff! We are very happy with the progress made during this summer program, with the students becoming basically fluent in a suite of important MS programs and increasing their typing speed. We will be posting more analysis and information as we have it.

Have a great day!

Youth Computer Program, US visitor, FCRA registration

Hi all,
     It's been a bit since my last post and much has occurred, so I shall not delay in getting to the progress of the last month or so.

     First of all, we had a visitor from the US, Brianna Balke, who came to see our work during a trip to India. We have many photos from that visit, which you will see below as I discuss our work. Thanks for coming Brianna!

     First and foremost, we have had lots of progress in our youth leadership and technology groups. Building on the progress and enthusiasm from the last year, the students have been learning MS paint, word and excel, as well as working on their typing speed. Excitement is high and they are rapidly learning these programs, which are, as we all know, essential programs to know for jobs and for college. Turnout is excellent, with 15-20 students per group, which is basically the capacity of each group given the space and number of computers available. So, all in all we are very happy with the results this year. Here are some photos before I delve into details about metrics we plan on using for measuring progress.

 Brianna participating in the discussion with the YLTG in Mohan Gujar ki Dhani.

Brianna amongst the group in Mohan Gujar ki Dhani.

Brianna, Rohitash, and Gopal with the YLTG at Mohan Gujar ki Dhani. Good group photo.

Youth practicing on the computer in Mohan Gujar ki Dhani

Brianna participating in discussion in Kukrella YTLG.

YTLG in Kukrella working with the computer teacher

YTLG member getting Brianna's email. I assume this was not under duress!

Brianna observing the YLTG in Amloda.

Rohitash discussing with male members of the YLTG. Notice the goats on the right. Very typical setting for our work in rural RJ. We're trying to bring computer education to these very rural areas.

A very good photo of Rohitash's niece Priyanka working on the computer at home. Shows how our program is building interest in computers in many ways. Just the presence of the computers for all to use in the village area is a huge step. We are working to make sure the villagers get the maximum usage out of the computers.

    Alright, well, as I mentioned before we are very happy with the progress our computer work is experiencing. Excitement and interest are high, with all the villages buying into our program, which is very crucial. Additionally, the students are progressing rapidly in learning the key programs mentioned previously. They will also start learning about using the internet starting in June, which is obviously a crucial component of the program, since we want to the villagers to have access to things via the internet that they wouldn't normally have, e.g. agricultural and other information, job and college applications, etc. The question now becomes, how do we measure our progress in bringing computers to the village area? We think we have developed the means to do this, though we are of course always open for input and our approach will evolves as experience teaches us what works and what does not.

      Let's start with the short-term part of measuring progress. The first thing we will do is give a short exam at the end of the course that tests what the students learned during the program. This will give us valuable information about how much they learned, what they didn't learn, and what we can improve in our instruction and program generally. We are additionally going to give a survey to the students to assess their opinion of the program and how they think we might improve it. It will include questions such as: what did you know before the class? what did you learn during the class? Was the class useful? Was the class exciting? Do you want to continue learning about the computer? Is there any thing you would change about the class? We are going to try to see how much they knew coming into the class (probably just what they learned in last year's class), how much they learned during the class, and how we can improve the class to make it more exciting, engaging, and educational. After this we'll assess the situation and adjust our plans for the coming year with the new supply of data. We will keep you updated on this process!

      Ok, well that's the short-term, but we also want to be able to measure the progress of our work over the long-term after our students get jobs and go to college. This may be a bit difficult as the students move around, but I don't think it will be too big of an obstacle because it is unlikely their families will go anywhere so we should be able to contact them to get the necessary information. To this end, we will also survey the students after they leave the program, asking questions such as: why did you know before the program? What did you learn during your years in the program? How were those skills useful for you in your job/school? Did our program give you the ability and comfort with the computer so you could learn new programs? If so, what new programs have you learned? Would you participate in the program again knowing what you know now? From this we will ascertain the efficacy of the program. Obviously many other questions are possible and we will develop this aspect as time goes on. We will track the number of people our groups have trained and what sort of benefits were reaped by those former members. This will give us a good idea of how to shape our programs in the future. We are all excited and interested to see how this all goes! We'll keep you updated on all this.

Our donated laptops are beginning to wear out and could use replacement. Please donate your old laptops, or get friends to donate them. They are invaluable to our work. Email me at derek.vigil@gmail.com if you are interested in donating your laptop.

We would like to make a plea for old laptop donations again. We are very thankful to Denny Vigil, James Arnott, and David Quan for their generous donations of their used laptops a year back. However, we all know these things wear out, and this is especially true of used laptops in a place as hot and dusty as RJ, where additionally there is no AC to speak of and all places are pretty much open, even if they are "inside." So please, if you have any laptops please email me at derek.vigil@gmail.com if you would care to donate them. Please also check with friends who are looking to upgrade from/replace their old laptops. This would help us so much in continuing the progress of these youth groups. I will be going to India in December, so any time before that would be fine. Let me know.

Let's transition and talk a bit about our microcredit groups (SEGs). They continue to be a linchpin in our work and to work excellently, as was shown a few posts back with the data table detailing the level of activity in the groups. They are important to our functioning as an organization because we rely on constant input from the group members to improve all of our programs. There's a neat photo below showing where the SEG group members are interacting with the computer. As mentioned previously, the talking with the SEG members has given us invaluable insight in how to structure our computer program so as to achieve success. The importance of these groups cannot be overemphasized. 

Brianna participating in group discussion in SEG at Kukrella

Brianna with SEG members and their children in Kukrella

Again in Kukrella. Notice the surroundings here. You see the livestock and the fields that are staples of the livelihood here.

SEG members interacting with the laptop

Brianna during some free time with the SEG members.

Alright, well this has been a long post so let me finish up with a few details. Rohitash and Gopal will be meeting with a man from Delhi who is very knowledgeable about applying for our registration to receive directly foreign funds (FCRA registration, in Indian government lingo). As I've mentioned before, all Indian NGO's go through a three-year period where they cannot directly receive foreign funds and must have an oversight organization monitor their work. We are nearing the end of that period and so will be applying to receive foreign funds directly. Once this is done we will be able to receive the funds directly and, more importantly, avoid the sizeable fee (17.5%) charged by such oversight organizations. This will allow us to fundraise much more effectively since we will get rid of this overhead, which donors do not like to see (and neither do we, but there is no choice during this three-year period unfortunately). We are very happy to have the aid of knowledgeable people during this process so it can go as smoothly and as easily as possible. We will keep you updated on this.

Finally, a note about the weather and crops in India right now. It is the blistering hot time in the summer before the monsoon. Temperatures range from 40-50 C, or 100-118 F, so it's pretty scorching. Farmers - which means nearly everyone, including our workers, where we work - are starting to plant tomatoes, chillies, and eggplant, all very tasty parts of the Indian diet.

Chillies, tomatoes, and eggplant are all crucial summer crops in RJ, although the growth of chillies is not ideal because they take up so much water and RJ is very water scarce. Nonetheless, people like to eat them, so the farmer's grow them.

Well, that's it for now. Have a great memorial day weekend!

Newpaper scan

Hi everyone, I just wanted to follow up and post the news articles from Rajasthan Patrika and Dainik Bhaskar here. The scan of the articles is given below, followed by my translations:

Upper one (from April 9th version of Rajasthan Patrika)
 The Start of a Computer Literacy Center
       On Wednesday in the village of Kukrela in Gram Panchayat (village cluster) the sarpanch (village mayor) Dholaram Khatik ceremonially opened the a computer literacy center. The sarpanch said that computer knowledge is very important for today's youth. He said that Lok Sahabhagi Santha is a volunteer organization. In the Viratnagar block (county) LSS is starting a pilot computer literacy center.  NGO worker Rohitash Kumarmeena said that during the summer vacation the students will be taught basic information about the computer. NGO workers Gopal Singh, Shyam Singh, and others were also present at the ceremony.

Lower one (from April 9th version of Dainik Bhaskar)
 Students to Learn About Computers
     In the village of Kukrela in Gram Panchayat Bhamod on Wednesday the sarpanch  Dholaram Khatik ceremonially opened the computer center of Lok Sahabhagi Sanstha (LSS).  Sarpanch Karthik said that computer education is of great importance for today's youth. During the summer vacation students will learn about computers at the center.    


Anyways, no photos made it, but I still think this is exciting stuff. We will work to continue our progress. Have a great day!