by admin | May 25, 2021 | Entrepreneurship, Islamic Finance, News, Social Entrepreneur
By Mohammed Shafeeq,
Hyderabad : There is no dearth of generous people in society who want to do something for the less fortunate, but their help often doesn’t reach the needy or gets misappropriated. To make charity a satisfying experience that brings the intended results to both benefactor and beneficiary, a Hyderabad-based group, Safa Baitul Maal, is showing the way by creating and using data to link the rich with the poor and needy.
Every month, this educational, welfare and charitable trust spends Rs 70-80 lakh on its charitable activities in different states. Set up by Moulana Gayas Ahmed Rashadi in 2006, the organisation has 70 branches in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.
Headed by a group of five “ulemas” or religious scholars, Safa Baitul Maal has a 450-strong staff who are paid salaries. “We make sure that the aid by the rich reach those who are genuinely needy,” Moulana Rashadi told IANS.
He is also trying to bring ulemas into the field of charity. The organisation is roping in the imams of mosques in its activities. “The imam of a mosque is not just the head of that mosque but he is the head of the people of his area, irrespective of their religion,” he said.
Every day the organisation’s call centre in Hyderabad receives 400-500 calls, both from those who are in need of help and those who want to donate. The organisation ensures transparency in such a way that every donor can get all the details of how his money was spent and the names and contact numbers of the beneficiaries.
“Whoever approaches us seeking help has to provide all the details and we send our people to cross-check the information provided by the applicant,” said M.A. Muqtadir Imran, in-charge of the Safa’s branches.
Based on the findings of the survey, the applicants are issued white, yellow or pink cards, enabling them to receive aid in varying degrees.
Safa Baitul Maal receives ‘Zakat’, ‘Fitra’, ‘Sadqa’ and other charities and donations from the people. However, collection of house-hold scrap is its biggest source of income. On an average, it receives 100 calls to pick up old items from houses in Hyderabad.
The group runs 12 vehicles to pick up the scrap and shift it to its workshop. Some items, which are in good condition, are repaired and sold at its unit at Bandlaguda at affordable prices to mobilise funds. The organisation earns Rs 18-19 lakh from scrap and the money is ploughed back into charity activities.
In Hyderabad alone, the organisation is sponsoring the education of 150 orphans, spending Rs 2,000 on each child per month on school fees and food. A representative visits the schools to monitor their academic progress. The children are provided free uniforms and books.
In addition, Rs 1,000 is deposited every month for every student in a mutual fund to take care of their higher education. Half of this money is contributed by another organisation, the Saleha Rasheed Trust.
A similar number of widows are provided assistance of Rs 1,000 each while the physically and mentally handicapped are given Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000.
In poor and backward neighbourhoods like Kishan Bagh and Baba Nagar, Safa conducted surveys to identify orphans, widows, the handicapped and others who are really in need of help.
Every day, the organisation conducts medical camps in 26 identified slums in Hyderabad, covering one slum every day. The beneficiaries are examined by a team and are given free medicines. The white card holders are also eligible for free tests in a diagnostic centre run by Safa. It also runs three healthcare centres. The trust spends Rs 8 lakh every month on health activities.
The organisation has a unique system for providing assistance for marriages. Safa extends help on condition that the marriages should be performed on its date, with its expenses and at its venue. “We spend Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 on each marriage, providing the couple with furniture and house-hold items,” Imran said.
Safa runs 10 tailoring centres, which train over 1,000 women. It invites fashion designers to train the faculty. A manufacturing centre set up by the state government’s Minorities Welfare Department and administered by Safa trains dozens of women with 40 machines.
Safa also provides microfinance through interest-free loans to small businessmen. Vendors take Rs 3,000 a week as loan and they are allowed to repay in six weeks. Those prompt in repayment are extended higher assistance.
In the holy month of Ramadan, Safa distributes 25,000 ration packets worth 50 lakh among the needy. It also distributes packets on Eid.
On Eid-ul-Azha, Safa organises the sacrifice of cattle in 600 villages across different states to ensure that the poor and the needy get meat.
As lot of food is wasted in Information Technology companies every day, Safa recently tied up with couple of MNCs to collect food, pack it and distribute it among the hungry.
Digging of borewells, distribution of sewing machines among women, education kits to poor students, arrangement to provide drinking water at few government-run hospitals during summer, distribution of blankets among madarsa students and those living on footpaths, construction of mosques in villages and summer camps for students are some of the other activities of Safa.
Organisations like Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust (HZCT) and Helping Hand are also tying up with Safa Baitul Maal to provide assistance to the needy.
Rahman Foundation run by eminent religious scholar Moulana Sajjad Naomani in Uttar Pradesh sent its staff to Safa for training. Assam MP Badruddin Ajmal, along with a team from his Ajmal Foundation, also visited Safa to study its unique functioning.
(The weekly feature series is part of a positive-journalism project of IANS and the Frank Islam Foundation. Mohammed Shafeeq can be contacted at m.shafeeq@ians.in )
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Entrepreneurship, News, Social Entrepreneur, Women Entrepreneur
By Quaid Najmi,
Mumbai : It was barely three months ago that a US-returned medico started a small cafe in upscale Juhu as a unique venture — employing mostly those who suffer from various developmental disabilities. Now, Cafe Arpan has gained huge popularity — among patrons, many of whom have become regulars, and among the 19 specially-abled staffers who love to slog 30 hours over six days a week to make this trendsetter eatery a super success.
“It was like a dream and in planning for nearly a year, but only after getting a proper place and crowdfunding that we finally opened the doors on August 2. I have 19 staffers, mostly full-timers, including my elder daughter, all suffering from some or the other form of developmental disability,” the founder-owner, Dr. Sushama Nagarkar, told IANS.
A psychologist and single mother of two daughters — Aarti (32), who suffers from autism, and Divya (30), settled abroad — Nagarkar wanted “to do something different, and empower people suffering from developmental disabilities”.
Initially, she started with a tiffin service, around one-and-half years ago, which proved to be a hit and had over a dozen staffers with afflictions like autism and Down Syndrome, as also under-developmental and intellectual disabilities, all of which are incurable but impact normal life among all age groups.
Situated opposite the SNDT Women’s University Juhu Campus in Santa Cruz West, Cafe Arpan is specially designed for them.
“With a limited yet distinctive menu, there is ample space for the staffers to move around conveniently and everything functions on electricity for their safety. They can comfortably work around five hours a day and take home salaries comparable with industry standards,” Nagarkar told IANS.
In the age group of 23-50, most are barely literate, but they have learnt to handle everything “with complete dedication and focus”, said Nagarkar, who opened the eatery under the auspices of Yash Charitable Trust (YCT) of which she is Managing Trustee, and which carries out multifaceted social activities.
“I returned to India after 15 years in the US and started the YCT in 2014 to bring people with developmental disabilities into the social and national mainstream, and make them responsible and contributing citizens,” she smiled.
Nagarkar feels these specially-abled people have great potential but severely lack opportunities — and that the Cafe Arpan and the tiffin services have started to contribute in a small way, helping them become independent and capable of supporting themselves and even their families.
Initially, there was a communication gap between the staff and patrons, but the latter proved very understanding and now the going is smooth, with customers appreciating the initiative.
Open for 12 hours from 8 a.m., Cafe Arpna offers a simple but specially-designed menu of barely 30 items like burgers, pizzas, hot/cold beverages and the like, which the specially-abled staffers can themselves handle without complications or calamities.
“During a visit for a snack, I was surprised when one of the staffers took my order, unusually quiet, but apparently efficient, and then served it gracefully. Later, I realised that all the staffers here are specially-abled and the experience was amazing,” said an awed customer, Mini P. Menon.
She feels the venture would help commoners view people with developmental disabilities in a new light and open up new avenues for them to become valued members of the community.
Cafe Arpan’s hand-picked special team includes: Nazneen Kagalwala, Sudha Chhabria, Pratibha Kamath, Ashritha Shetty, Nandini Rajwade, Abuli Mamaji, Aaron Colaco, Samvit Desai, Chetan Jawale, Nikhil Sharma, Shefali Gundecha, Saurabh Kambli, Shonali Menon, Bunny Aman, Ram Bhiwandikar, Raees Shaikh, Anand Jangir, Gaurav Vanvari and Aarti Nagarkar.
She urged people and the society to come together and create more such gainful opportunities that can enable people with developmental disabilities become self-sufficient and lead a dignified life.
On her part, Nagarkar said that all the staffers here have come through word-of-mouth publicity and the demand of the specially-abled job-seekers is increasing.
“I briefly considered a similar venture in the US where I could have got ample state funding. However, I decided on the option here as the need is more in India, though I had to start from scratch. But we are satisfied with the results and may consider expansion plans soon,” Nagarkar concluded.
(The weekly feature series is part of a positive-journalism project of IANS and the Frank Islam Foundation. Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in )
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Entrepreneurship, News, Social Entrepreneur
By Nivedita Singh,
New Delhi : On a scorching summer day, the likes of which are plentiful in Delhi, what one needs most is a glass of water to quench one’s thirst, more so for those who toil in the unbearable heat to earn their livelihoods. The hundreds of civic workers, rickshaw pullers, street vendors and road sweepers cannot afford to buy water several times a day from vending kiosks. To their rescue come the “matkas”, or traditional earthen pitchers, installed at different parts of the city which seem to get magically filled up with water every single day.
Behind these matkas is a 69-year-old man who wakes up every morning before dawn and steps out in his van to fill up the 70 matkas — used to store water in homes before refrigerators and coolers arrived — he has installed in the city to ensure the poor don’t go thirsty. The man who overcame cancer and gave up his business in Britain, finally found happiness in this daily routine with which he gives back to what he says is an “interconnected” community that has lost its social purpose.
He says he wants to start a “revolution in human kindness”.
The story began in the summer of 2014 when Alagarathanam Natarajan — now known as Delhi’s Matka Man — realised that even something as basic as cold drinking water was not accessible to all even in the national capital. So he put a water-cooler outside his home.
“Once, I casually asked one of the guards who came to take water from the cooler why he was coming here and not taking water from where he worked. He said they did not provide him water,” said Natarajan, who earlier ran a corner store in upscale Oxford Street in London.
The answer shocked Natarajan and also motivated him to do something.
“It was always on my mind to do something for my community. I discussed it with my family. But installing water coolers was difficult as it required space, electricity and also needed a lot of maintenance. So, I thought of installing matkas to help people in the hot summers,” he said.
However, it became a throughout the year ritual to wake up in the morning and fill the pitchers. During the initial days, people used to consider him as someone appointed by the Delhi government.
“I am not backed by an NGO, nor am I a government-sponsored organisation. I am mostly self-funded through my pension and life savings. I do get a few donations and, most importantly, lots of help and support from my family,” he said.
Brought up in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), Natarajan moved to London as a young man and spent 40-years there as a businessman running a souvenir shop. There he was diagnosed with intestinal cancer and, after his treatment, he decided to return to India and do something for the less privileged.
“It was always on my mind to come back to the country. I saw cancer as nature’s reminder of my wish.”
After returning to India, he volunteered at an orphanage, a last-stage cancer hospice, served langar (free food) to the homeless in Chandni Chowk and even carried out the cremation of destitutes to give them a dignified end.
In 2014, he turned his attention to water which then expanded to encompass a much larger range of activities for the poor. Natarajan not only provides free drinking water to the poor but also distributes food and fresh fruits.
“I distribute seasonal fruits and vegetables like cucumber, watermelon, white radish twice a week to labourers and the poor when I go to distribute water in my van. It also include other items like ‘lassi’ (a curd-based summer drink) or ‘jalebi’ (a popular syrupy sweet snack) as well,” he said.
“Through this work, I have come to believe that we are all crucially linked together but that society today has abandoned this inter-connectedness,” he said.
For the water distribution, Natarajan has modified a van fitted with a 800 litre tank, a pump and a generator to run it. From the van, he fills the matkas daily and maintains the stands.
“In the summer, I do up to four rounds a day to ensure the matkas are always filled.”
“The matkas need around 2,000 litres of water a day in the summer months. The water is supplied by a school nearby and two kind souls. The rest I supplement from my own home. I maintain these stands daily with my van.”
“The stands have a sign with my personal telephone number, so people can notify me when a matka is empty. I have also installed a bench for people to sit,” he said.
He also urges people to place matkas outside their homes so that he can fill those up as well, an advice that many have taken seriously.
With each trip to fill water taking three to four hours, Natarajan now also has an assistant who helps him in doing this.
Apart from the matkas, he has also placed 100 cycle pumps around the neighbourhood to help those in need.
“Delhi roads are hard on cycles. These pumps give poor people the flexibility to fill air 24/7. Some are stand-alone units and some are part of the matka stands. I also distribute glow-in-the-dark stickers for safety purposes and spare nozzles for their wheels.”
He believes that people in a community must sincerely care for one another. “Every one of us has something to give and share with society.” Unfortunately, today we live in a culture where we, as a society, have become greedier and more self-indulgent, he said.
“As a consequence, the poor, who are watching this growing inequality from the periphery, have become angrier; and as a result of this injustice, crime is on a rise.
“I wish to help those in need around me and also to inspire people to help those around them. Perhaps then, I can start a quiet revolution of human kindness,” he adds.
(The weekly feature series is part of a positive-journalism project of IANS and the Frank Islam Foundation. Nivedita Singh can be contacted at nivedita.singh@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneur, Success Stories
By Archana Sharma,
Udaipur : In a small village near this famous lake city in Rajasthan, thousands of physically challenged people are given a fresh lease of life. Not only do they receive corrective surgeries free of cost but, during the course of their treatment, they are also imparted training to repair computers and mobiles or learn the art of stitching to ensure they become self-reliant.
The Narayan Seva Sansthan houses in its premises a modern hospital, an orphanage, a smart school, skill imparting institutions, and centres for rehabilitation, physiotherapy and naturotherapy. It is branded as a “smart” village because it has all facilities and means of sustenance for all its inhabitants within the campus, including ATM machines, Internet connectivity and even its own toy train.
Set up by Kailash Agarwal ‘Manav’, a recipient of the Padma Shri for distinguished service, the sole mission of the organisation is to ensure that the differently-abled can stand on their own and start earning a livelihood when they leave the campus.
The organisation provides medical treatment not only to polio-affected people via corrective surgeries, but also offers surgeries to those suffering “by-birth” disabilities, Narayan Seva Sansthan President Prashant Agarwal told IANS.
“Besides caring for the rehabilitation of the poor, needy and differently-abled people, we also equip them and their attendants with skills through computer, mobile repairing, sewing and tailoring classes. Over 4,276 people have benefited from this till date,” Prashant, who is Kailash Agarwal’s son, said.
Vinod Kumar, a physically challenged man from Agra with deformities in his limbs, expressed excitement on being trained in mobile repairing. With twinkling eyes, he told IANS, “I want to set up a shop and start earning once I go back to Agra. The best part here is that I am being trained while undergoing treatment.”
Asha Devi, who was here to get her grandson operated, said: “Although I am 60, I am enjoying learning to stitch frocks and kurtis in different designs. No one in our village has this expertise; hence I am confident that I shall earn a decent income.”
She said the Narayan Seva Sansthan had promised her a sewing machine when she returned to her village.
“As our lodging, food, training and treatment is all free, we treat this place as a temple where all our prayers are heard,” she added.
The organisation has also been conducting regular “mass marriage ceremonies” twice a year for young, physically-challenged boys and girls from underprivileged backgrounds. Till date, 1,298 such couples have tied the knot here.
Agarwal senior, who set up the organisation in 1985, started working for the cause of humanity after visiting a bloody accident site in Sirohi district in 1976, where seven people lost their lives.
“My father was working as a clerk in a post office when he heard about a bus collision in Pindwara, Sirohi. Taking leave from his job, he rushed to the site and was shaken to see the blood-splattered mess. With help from others, he admitted the injured to the general hospital. He started visiting the hospital daily to look after their needs,” Prashant said.
During these visits, he realised how patients battle with daily challenges while also grappling with financial crises. He saw they were hesitant to buy medicines and food as they had no money left with them after incurring medical expenses.
“To help such people, he started distributing a few containers, with ‘Narayan Seva’ written on them, among his relatives and acquaintances and asked them to put some flour in it on a daily basis. Every morning, he and my mother used to prepare chapatis out of the flour they had collected and feed the hungry. Even my sister and I helped,” he said.
While Kailash Agarwal kept this up on his own from 1974 to 1984, he set up Narayan Seva Sansthan as a non-profit charity organisation in 1985 to serve patients belonging to the poorest of the poor of society.
Over time, the organisation grew and is now among the few centres in the world where over 100 corrective surgeries of polio and cerebral palsy are done each day. The institute has given a new lease of life to over 325,000 people with free-of-cost polio corrective surgeries.
Not only does it provide treatment to the patients, it also ensures their relatives are taken care of. Once they reach Udaipur, all expenses of patients and their attendants are borne as long as they are at the institute for treatment.
Prashant said the organisation is blessed with a strong team of medical practitioners.
“With its headquarter at Udaipur in Rajasthan, the organisation has a 1,100-bed hospital where patients from around the country and abroad make their way for treatment and surgeries,” he said.
Irrespective of caste, creed and religion, the organisation serves all — Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, he said.
It also runs a Narayan Children’s Academy, with its well-equipped classes, for tribal students residing nearby. It is a delight and surprise to see tribal students studying in e-classes. The organisation runs a school bus which picks up students in the morning, are given breakfast and lunch in school, and are dropped to their homes in the evening. This too is a free service.
The students are also provided school uniforms and stationery. The organisation also runs a residential school for the deaf and dumb, blind and mentally-challenged children.
However, Prashant said this was just a start as there are thousands awaiting their turn to get surgeries done.
“Our vision is to spread our wings to ensure that all differently-abled people walk with confidence, overcoming all odds — be it physical or financial.”
(The weekly feature series is part of a positive-journalism project of IANS and the Frank Islam Foundation. Archana Sharma can be contacted at archana.s@ians.in )
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Entrepreneurship, News, Social Entrepreneur
A midwife conducting basic tests on a pregnant woman
By Mohammed Shafeeq,
Hyderabad : The scenic beauty of Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh is in stark contrast to the lives of indigenous tribes people inhabiting the region. Living in virtual destitution, these tribals — like their counterparts scattered in remote locations across the rest of India — lack access to basic amenities like safe drinking water, healthcare and education. Till a few years ago, some of these habitations were not even covered in the national census and nobody knew they even existed.
But efforts of a leading NGO over the last seven years have yielded results in 181 habitations around Araku. This is testified by the fact that no maternal deaths have been reported here over the last two years — a giant step forward for a place where maternal mortality was double the national average.
Before emerging as a tourist destination about a decade ago, Araku, 100 km from the port city of Visakhapatnam, was an area that was the redoubt of Maoist extremists. Politicians and officials used to stay away from this forested area in the Eastern Ghats.
The population in scattered and inaccessible hamlets was suffering from malnutrition, leading to high maternal mortality and neonatal mortality rates. Some traditional practices of the tribals and deliveries at home were also contributing to this situation.
When the NGO Piramal Swasthya, the health vertical of Piramal Foundation, launched the Asara Tribal Health Programme in 2011, maternal mortality in this tribal area was over 400 per 100,000 live births as against the then national average of around 200.
No maternal deaths have been reported over the last two years while the percentage of institutional deliveries has risen from 18 per cent to 68 per cent. The neonatal mortality rate too has come down from 37 to 10 per 100,000 live births, say the officials of Piramal Swasthya.
The agents behind this change are Auxillary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) like P. Padma who toil selflessly to help the pregnant women in these remote hamlets. The 27-year-old has been working with the NGO for six years and has attended about 3,000 women. She has seen the transformation.
“The situation in the tribal hamlets was pathetic as women were reluctant to come to hospitals for delivery. A major reason for this was the superstition among tribals. Piramal Swasthya has removed the superstitions and motivated the women,” Padma told IANS.
Padma travels 12-13 km in a four-wheeler and, when the road ends, she goes on a bike driven by a “pilot”, covering another 11 km. When this narrow path also ends, she hikes across mountains and valleys for another 12-13 km to the last habitation of Araku.
This is what she does every day, explains Vishal Phanse, Chief Executive Officer, Piramal Swasthya.
Once in the habitation, the ANM identifies every pregnant woman, conducts basic tests, provides counselling on healthy practices and fixes an appointment for consultation with a specialist at the telemedicine centre. The next day, a four-wheeler is sent to pick up all pregnant women registered and get them to the telemedicine centre, where an expert gynaecologist sitting in Hyderabad provides the consultation through teleconferencing. Free medication, along with nutrition supplements, is also provided to the expectant mother and she is then dropped back to her habitation.
“If a woman can’t walk we arrange ‘palki’ (a kind of palanquin) to bring her till the four-wheeler to take her to the telemedicine centre,” Padma said. Last month, a woman delivered a baby on the palki in Colliguda village. She helped the woman and later safely transported her and the newborn to the hospital.
ANMs support the women and children through their pregnancy, child birth and neonatal period while keeping the government machinery in the loop.
Piramal Swasthya overcame all odds to achieve its goal of ending preventable deaths in 181 habitations, serving 49,000 pregnant women.
Adding some more interventions like training traditional birth attendants and health education of adolescent girls, it is now expanding the programme across 11 “mandals” or blocks comprising 1,179 habitations in the tribal belt of Visakhapatnam district to reach 2.5 lakh population.
It is currently running six telemedicine centres and plans to add five more. The NGO will also be opening two more community nutrition hubs in addition to existing one, where women are educated about a healthy and nutritious diet and trained in the use of traditional and locally available food items.
Based on the learning in Visakhapatnam, the NGO wants to create something which can be replicated in the entire tribal belt of India. More than 10 percent of India’s population is tribal and among them maternal mortality is two-and-a-half times the national average.
“If what works in Araku, works in Visakhapatnam, then we can replicate it in the entire tribal belt of the country,” said Phanse.
Niti Aayog, India’s policy think-tank, is looking at this model with key interest as to how they can scale it up.
“In fact, a lot of people including the United Nations, governments in states and at the Centre are looking at it. We had a lot of visitors trying to understand how we managed to do this. We ourselves are learning every day. Technology is a great enabler if you have to scale it up at the national level.”
Phanse believes that 80 percent of what worked in Araku can be replicated in tribal areas across the country and 20 percent could be local customisation that they have to work on.
What worked for Piramal Swasthya in Araku? “We have doctors, public health professionals and experts with the youngest aged 26 and the oldest 78. That’s the kind of expertise we have with actual feet on the ground. Our actuality to work with them, for them, staying with them and understanding them is what I think has worked best for us,” said Phanse.
“If you want make anything sustainable in healthcare you have to create health seeking behaviour in the community. We were successful because we changed the community,” he added.
Phanse feels that the community engagement and participation in the programme is key to its success.
For Piramal, winning the trust of the local community was the key challenge. As Araku was an extremist stronghold, gaining the trust of locals took time.
Most of the 38 people that work for the organisation are from the local community who are wedded to the cause. Forging the local partnership by using the services of dedicated individuals who can speak the language of the community ensured smooth implementation.
With 4,000 employees in just its health vertical, Piramal Swasthya is prehaps the largest NGO in India, implementing 29 healthcare projects in 16 states.
India ranks 131 among 188 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) 2016 released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). India was placed behind countries like Gabon (109), Egypt (111), Indonesia (113), South Africa (119) and Iraq (121), among others. The government is working towards improving this rating by creating competition between states to perform better on key social indicators like infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate and life expectancy.
(The weekly feature series is part of a positive-journalism project of IANS and the Frank Islam Foundation. Mohammed Shafeeq can be contacted at m.shafeeq@ians.in)
—IANS
