NewsLEtter JuLY 2011ilfsets.com/pdf/parvaaz_news_jul11.pdf · NewsLEtter JuLY 2011 From the desk...
Transcript of NewsLEtter JuLY 2011ilfsets.com/pdf/parvaaz_news_jul11.pdf · NewsLEtter JuLY 2011 From the desk...
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NewsLEtter JuLY 2011
From the desk
Mr. B.K. Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Rural
Development, Government of India.
While referring to the e-learning modules
and learning tool kits that will be
customized for Parvaaz, Mr. Sinha said,
”The course content, pedagogy has to be
different and I am very happy you have
come up with exactly that. I am amazed
at the care that has gone into the creation
of e-learning modules for Parvaaz.” He
further added that in the last 38 years of
his experience, he has seen a lot of
projects have started with a lot of fanfare,
but have ended with a whimper. He does
not want the same to happen with
Parvaaz. “We look forward to a great
inauguration. A good publicity will
generate a lot of hope…and hope is all a
poor man has. It is a huge project that will
impact BPL families to come out of the
vicious circle of poverty by empowering
them with a job in the organized sector. I
wish you all the best, to continue the
outstanding efforts you have already
started in this direction.”
∞∞∞∞∞
Welcome to the second edition of the Parvaaz Newsletter! The beginnings are well in place. After months of
planning and preparation, Parvaaz has finally come at its crucial roll out phase at the level of states.
Inception Workshop, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi
In purview of the same, on July 14, 2011 an inception workshop for Parvaaz was organized at Krishi Bhawan,
Ministry of Rural Development office at New Delhi. The purpose of the workshop was to acquaint the
government officials with the project essentials and progress updates along with major highlights. It was to
familiarize them on how Parvaaz will take flight at the classroom level and what kind of learning kits and
project manuals will be used for imparting the training to the rural BPL minority youth. About 50 participants,
including representative heads from various ministries, IL&FS, TIE Foundation, Koyothore Bata Foundation
along with others, attended the workshop. Mr. B.K. Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development; Dr.
Arvind Mayaram, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Rural Development; Mr. T. Vijay Kumar,
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD); Mr. Ashish Joshi, Director (Planning & Programme),
Ministry of Minority Affairs; Ms. Preeti, Director, NRLM (National Rural Livelihood Mission); Mr. R.C.M. Reddy,
MD, IL&FS Education; Ms. Saleha Waseem, Director, TIE Foundation; Dr Raj Dravid,Chief Operating Officer,
Skills Development with their respective teams.
~~First Reactions~~
Dr. Arvind Mayaram (Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, MoRD) congratulated Ms. Saleha Waseem,
Director, TIE Foundation and Mr. R.C.M Reddy (MD, IL&FS Education) for bringing good teams together for the
project. He stated, “Though it is a pilot project, the methodology and philosophy behind Parvaaz has found
resonance even with Jammu and Kashmir and left wing affected areas, as it seemed like a very sound strategy
to follow for bringing the marginalized into the mainstream. This has the potential to be the game changer for
thousands who are in need of such a programme. My best wishes are with the Parvaaz team.”
In the picture, Mr. B.K. Sinha, Secretary, MoRD, Dr. Arvind Mayaram, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, MoRD and Mr. T. Vijay Kumar, Joint Secretary, MoRD addressing the teams from TIE Foundation, led by Ms. Saleha Waseem, Director and IL&FS, led by Mr. R.C.M Reddy, M.D. at the Inception workshop at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi.
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Mr. Ashish Joshi, Director (Programmes & Planning), Ministry of Minority Affairs added that in the 11
th FYP, education and
employment has been given tremendous emphasis. It was skill development per se that needed a more focused approach. “I
am glad that your pilot program addresses the problem of skills development. Also, I feel that there has to be more stress on
the cluster approach, i.e. the convergence of various government schemes.” He offered full support of Ministry of Minority
Affairs to the project through the mention of National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC), which was
set up by the Government of India to promote economic development of the minorities. He appreciated the scientific basis of
the baseline survey that has been carried out and hence was therefore confident of the project being successful.
Ms. Preeti, Director, National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) referred to the project as a “commendable effort” and said that, her team will be looking forward for it to be successful and be converted into a full-fledged government scheme.
Training of State Coordinators for Community Mobilization
Picture Left: Interaction and discussion with Banapur villagers including Panchayat mukhiya, parents, teachers and all important representative
stakeholders on how to reduce drop out rate from cluster schools. Picture Right: Ms. Meenu Gulati, Project Head, training and orienting the
state coordinators at Jamui, Bihar.
The training for State Coordinators was held at Jamui district, Bihar from 26th
to 29th
July. Mr Venkat Reddy,
National Convenor, MV Foundation, which was running several successful bridge courses in the state, coordinated
the training. The main objective of this mobilization training was to expose the teams from TIE Foundation and
IL&FS Education to the mechanism of tried and tested methodologies of the residential bridge courses in naxalite
hit clusters of Bihar. This was crucial from a learning standpoint as mobilization of volunteers from the toughest
areas for the developmental process was being experienced by the state coordinators who would further be
mobilizing the communities in their respective states. Banapur and Ghari village were visited by the teams at Jamui
and the system of Residential Bridge Course (RBC), Cluster Resource Centre (CRC), Bal Bandhu and Bal Mitras was
very closely understood. The significance of ‘interface mobilization’ was explained via extensive counseling during
parent-teacher-children meetings with the important stakeholders of the community.
Community Mobilization Workshops conducted across states.
Mobilization and Sensitization workshops at the grassroot level were conducted in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar on 30th
(for influencers) and 31st
July 2011 (for community mobilizers). On the first day, the participants of
the mobilization and sensitization training workshop were the influencers from the community, academicians,
sarpanches, Imams and school/college principals and teachers. It started with the trainers from TIE Foundation
making the participants understand the need for Parvaaz, and then subsequently followed by what were to be its
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key components. The present situation of the Muslims in today’s context was depicted with respect to the status
of education and employment and basic statistics from Sachar Committee’s report were also discussed. Once the
community started understanding the need and implications of the project, the major highlights of the project
were shared. It was told, that 5000 school dropouts from 17-25 years of age in the rural BPL category will be
taught through innovative and technological teaching aids and given employment in the organized sector with due
hand holding post placement. Genuine doubts and questions were asked which were convincingly answered.
Parvaaz brochures and follow up written material was handed out to the participants as reference material.
Important pointers about women participation came up from the influencers themselves. Considering the fact,
that the rural minority communities in Haryana, UP and Bihar are somewhat conservative, the participation of
women in large numbers came as a pleasant surprise. In words of Nazma, a young school teacher from Nuh block,
Mewat, “Parvaaz will be an opportunity to change the mindsets. Sabse zaroori hai ki soch badli jaye. Main umeed
karti hun ki hum jaisi teachers ko bhi Parvaaz ke zariye ek naya moka milega. (It is extremely important that the
mindsets are changed. I hope that teachers like us, are also given an opportunity to be a part of this programme.)
School teachers and retired principals also came out in full support for Parvaaz. Interactions with community
leaders were done to assess the problems Parvaaz might face in future. These issues and challenges were
important to know and to be understood in depth so that plans and strategies could be drafted well in advance to
stay clear of them.
The second day saw the participation of young volunteers from the community, who were to act as community
mobilizers during the course of the project. This was a much younger crowd than the previous day and was
enthusiastic to lead as changemakers in their respective communities. Women participation from all three states
was exemplary. The need of ‘samudai bhagidari’ (Community Mobilization) was effectively explained through
presentations in Hindi followed by the screening of a 5 minute movie clip. The qualities that were needed on the
field by the mobilizers were listed through an interactive process and what was their role as mobilizers, was
thoroughly discussed. A lot of discussion and brainstorming was done in groups and the ideas were generated by
the members from the community themselves on how and in what ways do they plan to reach out to the
community under Parvaaz. A well drafted work plan was formulated block wise by the members and roles were
assigned with timelines (from 1st
-31st
August). This plan of action, was brought back to the TIE Foundation’s, Delhi
office to be further incorporated in the strategies that were to be charted in the coming month.
~~ Reactions from the community mobilizers and other major influential stakeholders ~~
“Community is desperate to change itself. Everyone wants to come ahead and feel empowered. A
sense of hope is all what they want. Parvaaz will give them that.” - Ms. Memuna Sultan, Member,
Juvenile Justice Board, District Faridabad, wife of Mr. Aftab Ahmed, MLA, Nuh, was very impressed with what the
project had set out to achieve.
“Bihar might have the richest soil...but some of the poorest people as well. A project like Parvaaz will offer a
wonderful opportunity for education and more importantly employment and jobs. Humse jo ban padega hum
karenge. (All that we can do for the project, we will.)” - Abdul Khaliq, B.D.O, Amour, Purnia, Bihar
“If you want success for Parvaaz, women participation is must. Also, collective supervision and collective
responsibility of the community for the project is crucial. Until a sense of ownership doesn’t come from the
community, changing mindsets will be difficult.” - Mohd. Rafiq Azad, 66 years, Jamia University, Nuh, Mewat
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Community mobilizers and influencers getting oriented in full swing at the training workshops in Mewat (Haryana), Moradabad (Uttar
Pradesh) and Purnea (Bihar). As seen here, women participation was seen in large numbers which was a positive development for Parvaaz. The
communities charted out a draft plan for mobilization using resources available locally in their respective communities. Retired principals,
school teachers, etc, came out in full support to the project.
Community Mobilization – Pictures speak a thousand words!