How Facebook is Being Used to Improve the Education of India’s “Flowers in the Desert”

By Suraj Kumar, LEARN Program Officer, White Lotus Charitable Trust and Haryana State Representative, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)

Best use of technology is being practiced by Directorate of Elementary Education and Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad (the agency managing Education for All) by posting pictures on Facebook every day. This can be a big help as it is difficult to communicate with schools in remote villages and sometimes the teachers are not able to express their feelings through a letter. A photograph tells many things, a message, a visual of the event and the expression of the subjects in the picture is clearly visible. Pictures of schools with beautiful gardens and well-maintained buildings, School Management Committee (SMC) trainings, sports events, and summer camps are some examples.

This is highly innovative to use Facebook for communication and it is showing its positive results. The best practices which were going unnoticed earlier are now being appreciated by authorities as well as the teachers in other schools. The honest teachers (majority of teachers are honest) are able to express their views and get commended by honest officials at Directorate.

The Block Resource Coordinators (BRCs) and Block Education Officers (BEOs) are posting pictures of School Management Committee (SMC) trainings from all over the state and pictures of girls showing their talents in summer camps organized in June are being appreciated every day. This is a very effective learning tool for all the schools, teachers and children as well.

I have been working in Mewat for the last five years and never heard about a summer camp in those five years but this year I was invited to participate in the closing ceremony of the summer camp at Shikarpur village in Tauru block in Mewat. The camp was organized for 15 days under the guidance of two teachers including one female teacher for 50 girls and the participants were trained on different subjects like:

1. Operating bank accounts (lessons were given by officials of a local bank).
2. Road safety measures (taught by the local Police Officials).
3. First Aid tips were given by the officials from local health centre.
4. Respecting our parents, human values and importance of girl’s education was discussed in a non-formal manner among teachers and students.
5. The parents also participated in the camp by giving tips to their children in making many beautiful household items which were displayed by the students very enthusiastically during the closing ceremony.
6. Many girls sang patriotic songs during the closing ceremony. It was heartening to see highly emotional feelings towards the motherland and the National Flag.

Another notable benefit of the Facebook communication is that teachers and authorities are discussing serious matters through posting comments and getting answers from the horse’s mouth. I saw a very interesting discussion between a teacher and Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad about construction work in schools. The teacher was finally convinced with the arguments given by the government.

You can go to http://www.facebook.com/ssarteharyana and https://www.facebook.com/HSSPP to find informative pictures and information about the schemes and programs being implemented in schools which can be seen by every school and get the correct and first hand information which is better than reading some information in the newspaper and interpreting it in a confusing manner.

It is true that the Internet and Facebook are not easily accessible in rural India but something is better than nothing. The teachers in towns now have computers at home and are using them daily and it is hoped that the computers shall reach villages very soon following the mobile phones. The head teacher of Shikarpur school does not have a Facebook account but he asked me to post the photos of the summer camp and I did it through my account. The pictures were appreciated by one government official that told me, “flowers can blossom even in deserts.” So it is possible to reach people even if one is not on Facebook. It is also hoped that very soon many parents will also join Facebook to make the communication more effective.

I have also made many new friends working in schools in other districts of Haryana on Facebook and now some of them want to talk to me on phone to discuss the problems in schools. I am looking forward to make many more teachers as friends and want to start a campaign to improve schools through Facebook.

This initiative has given me a hope that one day people from Mewat also will be able to communicate their views with the policymakers via Facebook, such as the fact that children in Hathin block are still waiting for the better quality and regular supply of mid-day meals from an outside agency even though it is already being supplied in other nearby areas of Palwal district. School Management Committees of Mewat shall also be made aware of their roles in ensuring the rights of children being realized through proper intervention, such as ensuring teachers are actually teaching rather than focusing on school construction and cooking lunches. The entitlements being supplied to children shall be displayed on walls of every school.

I appreciate the Directorate of Elementary Education and Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad for this revolutionary initiative and salute their courage to invite the schools, parents and every concerned person to express their views in a public forum. I think this is the only state in the country talking to the stakeholders so directly and openly.

The LEARN program utilizes community mobilization, legal advocacy and public interest litigation to expand access to quality public education for thousands of marginalized children in rural Haryana, India.  To learn more, please visit http://lotusoutreach.org/learn/.

Are Human Development and Environmental Conservation Antithetical Goals?

By Erika Keaveney, Executive Director

This delicate subject periodically comes up in my conversations with both Lotus Outreach (LO) supporters and environmental activists.  On one hand, the short answer is yes: they are indeed antithetical goals.  LO works to lift our target communities out of poverty, and ensure they have access to safer, more nutritious food, healthcare, transportation and many other aspects of modern life.  When people are educated and economically empowered, their standard of living increases as does their consumption.  And with current technologies, this undoubtedly means more fossil fuel burning, more carbon emissions and continued encroachment on the natural environment.

Some people, however, take the perspective that the terrible poverty confronting our target communities serves as a form of “population control” which will ensure environmental sustainability.  It is my opinion that this Malthusian position is not only inhumane, it is horribly misguided.

LO focuses primarily on improving access to education for women and girls.  Though we believe that basic health and education are essential human rights, we also believe that focusing on girls’ education is one of the most effective ways for countering the environmental costs of poverty in developing countries.  And here’s why:

• Thirty-eight percent of girls in the developing world marry before age 18.
• One-quarter to one-half of girls in developing countries become mothers before the age of 18.
• When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children.

The Sun Bear is one of many species that stands to benefit from enhancing village-based livelihood opportunities for poor communities in the Cambodian jungleFurthermore, continued human poverty often causes--rather than prevents--environmental degradation. Take our Integrated Rural Development program, for example, which operates in Cambodia’s Pursat province at the intersection of the Phnom Aural Wildlife Sanctuary and the Cardamom Protected Forest.  Covering nearly two million hectares of land, the Cardamom Mountain Range represents the largest mainland forest in Southeast Asia. The mountain range is considered one of the main biodiversity hotspots on the planet, with 16 distinct ecosystems and 14 globally endangered and threatened species. It is one of the last remaining elephant corridors in Southeast Asia and is the hunting range for the Pileated Gibbon, Asiatic Black Bear, Malaysian Sun Bear, Marbled Cat, Southern Serow, and half of Cambodia's bird species.

In rural Phnom Kravanh (meaning “Cardamom Mountain” in Khmer) of Pursat, thousands of villagers teeter on the brink of survival.  In this remote and forested district, illiteracy, lack of access to education, poor health and food insecurity continue to plague the already desperate local population.  Because of their lack of alternative livelihoods, rural villagers often resort to illegal logging, wildlife poaching, foraging, and slash-and-burn agriculture in order to ensure their survival.

While many conservation efforts in this region are underway, relatively few organizations are working with local populations to provide them with alternative economic opportunities.  LO is responding to this great human and environmental need by providing rural villagers and ethnic minorities in Phnom Kravanh with resources and training to help improve their livelihoods.  By helping villagers start small, village-based businesses through microloans and providing them with tools, training and resources to start small family farms, we hope to remedy both the human and environmental effects of poverty in this extraordinary region of the world.

A village-based fish farm in Pursat helps ensure income and sustenance for a poor familyDespite innovative programs like these that successfully address both human and environmental needs, we are still confronted with the reality that as developing nations move up in their standard of living, their impact on the environment will likely increase. 

So what is the solution?  Can we expect these communities to want any less than what we have – electricity, clean water, and the freedom of movement transport vehicles bring?

It is my feeling that developed nations bear most of the responsibility for environmental degradation, and we need to start by turning the mirror inward.  I have read before that the U.S. makes up only 5% of the global population, but consumes 25% of the planet’s resources and produces 50% of the world’s waste.  So in the absence of a clear-cut solution to this problem confronting the international development sector, it is my feeling environmentalists would do better to focus their energies on reducing our own consumption to make a bit more room for everyone else to have a better standard of living, while continuing to advocate for rigorous investment in the development of green technologies.

For our part, LO will continue to identify and invest in sustainable development solutions—including teaching our beneficiaries about the importance of protecting the environment around them—so we can help both people and the natural world thrive.

Third World Traveler: Four Ways to be a Responsible Tourist

By Erika Keaveney, Executive Director

My husband and I love to travel, particularly in the developing world, which gives us an affordable taste of some of the most breathtaking civilizations, ecosystems and cuisines on the planet—not to mention a welcome break from the cultural homogeneity of our home country.

But cheap travel is cheap for a reason.  Indeed, anyone who has ever stepped foot off of a plane into a developing country immediately understands that an inexpensive vacation will happen against a backdrop of heart-wrenching poverty, ceaseless peddling and begging, and that nagging worry that you might be making things worse through your presence.

I wrote this blog to share some general philosophies on travel in the developing world that I have developed over the years in the hopes of giving you a more enriching and more humane experience in your adventures.

#4 Go local.  Tourism represents a considerable portion of gross domestic product for many developing nations (in Cambodia, tourism is second only to textiles as a generator of hard currency) and your dollars have the potential to push the economy—and therefore the development process—along.  The problem?  Foreign investors, aware of cheap land and a booming tourism sector, are swooping in and opening sprawling beach-front resorts and moving the bulk of your tourist dollars offshore.  In the case of Jamaica, ocean front property is not part of the public domain and in many parts of the country, Jamaicans cannot go to their own beaches without paying a fee.  Though resorts may provide much-needed employment to locals, they compete with locally owned and operated hotels and do not reinvest their profits into the local economy.  Before you book, consider taking a few minutes to learn about the owners of your hotel.  Do they live in-country?  Do they express a commitment to sustainable, local development?  The same thing goes with restaurants and tour companies.  But don’t be fooled by the proprietor’s nationality: often times expats are more committed to sustainable economic development than émigrés!

#3 Don’t give to begging children.  I should open this point by saying that you should absolutely open your heart to these children – but think twice before opening your wallet.  Your dollar may make that child’s day easier, but it will not make her life easier.  Her parents may pull her from school to make her beg (cute children are much more successful beggars than their elderly parents) or worse, she may be part of an organized begging ring.  But don’t exonerate yourself of sympathy and become callous, like so many tourists do…consider buying her a meal if she is hungry, and putting aside the dollar you would have given her into your travel charity fund.  Every time your sympathies are aroused enough to open your wallet, set that money aside to donate to a charity that helps street children by supporting education and (for older children) skills training.

#2 Support local artisans.  Your vacation might be in July, but it is never too early to start your Christmas shopping.  Not only will you please your friends and family by bringing home one-of-a-kind exotic travel gifts, but you will encourage self-sufficiency, entrepreneurship and creativity while celebrating and preserving indigenous handicrafts.  This is guilt-free retail therapy at its finest – enjoy it!

#1 Don’t deny the humanity of the locals.  It is easy for a tourist to feel overwhelmed by the poverty and just block it out completely.  I was shocked during my recent trip to Cambodia when a table of college-aged tourists completely ignored a landmine victim who was selling books on Cambodian history.  Not even eye contact and a “no thank you” – they literally pretended that he did not exist.  This phenomenon is unfortunately all too common.  Tourists do fear—and rightfully so—that if they pay attention to one person that they will be flooded by others seeking similar acknowledgment, whether for a dollar or a sale.  But this reality is something that I personally feel is a part of third world travel.  You are in their country, enjoying all of its richness and beauty, and you must confront the poverty that makes your cheap travel possible.  What message do we send to the people in the countries we visit—about us, and our culture—when we deny the humanity of the local people?  Make eye contact, acknowledge their existence, and say “thanks but no thanks” (or better yet, consider buying a book—you might learn something about why such poverty exists).  It is true that many locals will see dollar signs when they look at you, but that is because comparatively speaking, you are extremely wealthy while their families are hungry.  To pretend this is not a truism is to close yourself off from what I consider to be the most significant and enlightening aspect of third world travel: realizing our common humanity set against a backdrop of tragic disparity in circumstances.

So get adventuring, and maybe even do some good along the way!  Here are a few recommended websites to help you plan your next third world odyssey:

http://www.kayak.com/explore/ allows you to check out a variety of destinations by entering your departure city and budget.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree has experienced travelers on standby to answer questions and give recommendations.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ is the global version of Yelp.  Don’t book a hotel without consulting it!

http://www.globalgiving.org/ is your one-stop shop for finding the recipient of your travel charity fund.

Erika and her husband Courtland at Volcano Pacaya in Guatemala

Angus Lawson Memorial Trust reports from Cambodia

After generously contributing nearly $27,000 this year to our Girls' Access to Education project in Banteay Meanchey, the Angus Lawson Memorial Trust headed to Cambodia to meet the girls in October. Here are just a few impressions they brought back:

Residential Homes – "We visited three residential homes for girls attending high school. Their ages range from 16-22 because many have only attended school sporadically and continually have to restart the year they didn’t complete. Girls in residential housing must live over 8km away from the school and each are given a bike so that they can travel home at the weekends. The roads in Cambodia can be very difficult to travel on - at one stage our 4x4 had to be towed by a tractor through a particularly flooded stretch.

The houses are rented from local families and cost around US$40. In some of the houses, the owners continued to live on the ground floor with the girls upstairs, in another of the houses the girls lived alone. We had some concerns with this but apparently the owners are normally connected to the school, and in the houses where the girls live alone, the project has good relations with the neighbours and asks them to keep an eye out for any problems. It should be noted that almost all of the girls are over 16 years of age and not as vulnerable as younger girls might be. The girls also receive regular visits from the CWCC Programme Officers and almost all have access to mobile phones.

The houses were basic but seemed to be kept very clean with the girls dividing the chores amongst themselves. There were no beds, with girls using mats on the floor, but this seems to be the same as what they would use in their family houses. Most had electricity although one was dependent on paraffin lamps. All of the girls we met seemed very happy, giggling teenagers who enjoyed their studies. The majority wanted to further their studies and become teachers, so they could return to their home villages and help their communities. Nursing was also a popular choice."

University Residential Home – "We also visited a residential home for eight girls attending the local university situated just 100 metres away. Six of the girls had scholarships to study Korean language and literature (Korea is one of Cambodia’s biggest development partners). The two other girls were studying finance and banking. The owners lived on the ground floor of the house. As with the girls we had met in Phnom Penh, the girls each received a stipend of US$2.50 a day along with funds for tutoring and textbooks.

The GATE programme is clearly performing very well, with a dropout rate for 2011 of 0%. We were very impressed by everything that we saw. Lotus Outreach clearly has a very dedicated team, committed to ensuring that they are doing the best they can for each of the girls. There is a very effective model for monitoring and evaluation and the programme is flexible enough to continually evolve to meet the emerging need. Therefore if there is an opportunity for the ALMT to continue its contribution to this work then we would wholeheartedly support it."

We at Lotus Outreach would like to thank the Angus Lawson Memorial Trust not only for its financial support of the GATE project, but for its enthusiastic engagement with us on every level. For instance, members of the Trust didn't just go see the beneficiaries they support - they stopped by our SMART and CTC projects, too! We are truly fortunate for to have such a fantastic partner, and we look forward to a new year together in 2012.

Boys back up the Girl Effect

This post was so good, we just had to borrow it. Julie Trell of Salesforce.com brought this report back from Uganda, which she shared on the blog of a fellow Girl Effect champion, 10x10. Above the video is Julie's narrative of what took place, and below the video is a transcript of one boy's argument in favor of educating girls.

Julie:

"Youth never ceases to surprise and I was reminded of this on a recent trip to a school in Uganda. I had a chance to visit Sr. Miriam Dugan Primary School in Kamwokya, a slum in Kampala, Uganda. I dropped in on a class where 70-100 students, crammed into desks, were practicing their debating skills.

The topic at hand was whether Africa should continue to receive foreign aid. I found myself very impressed with the students’ ability to articulate and debate the weighty issues at hand, and I decided to pose a question to further the discussion: What are your beliefs on the importance of girls education? One young boy stood up and eloquently presented the following:"



Student debater:

"Yes, yes, it's just a very good question. Because, you see, these girls are not what most people perceive them to be.
Now, there's one problem, the older generation, think like the way things were done is the way they are supposed to be done now. And in the future for ever and ever. But this is not the right mentality, because, these people are also brilliant. They can be of use to a country like Uganda. Which badly..and you see, there's something that I've realized, most girls at advanced levels they take science, which is very surprising for me. And you see, Uganda needs more scientists now. To find that we have only one female engineer in Uganda is very embarrassing to me. Very embarrassing.
But with education, you find that this thing is going to be solved. And Uganda is going to be as developed as America or any other country."

Is that impressive, or what?