Kiran Sethi, an inspiration !

Graduate from prestigious institute like NID……..

left her fledging designing career to start a school as she was dissatisfied with her sons learning experience, Riverside her school on the banks of Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad is one of the top most schools in Ahmedabad and nationally recognized as a pioneer in education for several innovative learning models (schoolriverside.com)………

started “Aproch” and “ Design for Change”, 2 innovative initiatives…………

got several prestigious awards like the Asian Game Changer Award 2015 , awards from Rockefeller foundation, Ashoka and so many more…………….

is a highly sought out speaker at prestigious forums across the globe ………….

has pictures with Bill Clinton and Obama …..

PHEW…..and not to mention she is gorgeous, humble and with an infectious energy and charm that can blow you away when you meet her in person ……I was super lucky to meet this super woman a couple days back……KIRAN SETHI…talk about multitasking and excelling at everything !!!!

If you want a glimpse of her world please see her short but impactful 8 min you tube vide as a TED speaker in 2009, https://www.ted.com/talks/kiran_bir_sethi_teaches_kids_to_take_charge?language=en

Also see her episode with Amitabh Bachchan on “Aaj ki Raat hai Zindagi”

My take away of her fundamental belief – Children are not just our future, they are the NOW. Why wait till they are older to have them make a change? Make them “Aware” and then “Enable” and “Empower” then now to be the change !

She believes that when students engage with their community, demonstrate empathy and feel good about themselves, they also do well academically!

Some key facts about the incredible work being done by this amazing lady

·      Design for Change – This is an initiative that encourages children to identify a problem in their community that is bothering them and “design” a solution. It is about changing their mindset from “Can I” to “I Can”. They get a week to do this. 4379 schools participate, thousands of stories pour in ever year from even the remotest corners of India, followed by annual “I can awards”. Children through dharnas, fundraisers, street plays and so many creative means find solutions to community problems like alcoholism, child marriage, child labour, bullying and so many more issues. 40 countries across the globe have adopted this initiative (talk about Make in India !!)and more to join ….. (www.dfcworld.com). Help bring DFC to more schools and communities, spread the word….

·      Aproch is an initiative where she has worked with the government to make Ahmedabad India’s first child safe city. Every Sunday, the busiest streets of Ahmedabad close down and are taken over by children from all walks of life, children are skating, drawing, cycling, a truly inclusive and safe environment. Same with playgrounds and cinema halls across the city! (www.aproch.org)

To me Kiran is a role model, I feel proud that 40 countries have adopted her model instead of the other way around, thanks to Kiran and DFC, they think of India as a hub of education innovation !

Nothing was handed to her, several naysayers told her that her ideas would not get funding, were too impractical, larger than life…..but persistence and passion can work wonders and Kiran is a living case study of just that !!! Kiran, Thank you for inspiring me J

Teach for India

15^th December – my 3^rd year visiting a TFI class room. This year was as inspiring and over whelming as the previous 2. The kids sang for me and showed me a short video on their Design For Change project (DCF is an amazing initiative by Kiran Sethi, do google it and read about it).

Their love for their Didi (TFI fellow), twinkling eyes, big smiles, eagerness to answer my questions and the beautifully decorated classroom spoke volumes of the efforts taken by their Fellow !!

Then arrived a thank you note and the TFI book by mail(Redrawing India by Kovind Gupta & Shaheen Mistri)….I was intrigued and started reading, couldn’t put it down….. The stories of little children and the hardships they face…exposure to alcoholism, wife beating, pornography, bad language, superstitions, stories of children tied to their beds for safety while moms go to work, cloth stuffed in their ears to keep bugs away, girl child put in a garbage bag and dumped in a bin, drugs given to a crying baby……why do they have to be exposed to this life & worry about the next meal or the next place to sleep when instead they should be learning, reading, laughing……why is it such a privilege to get a decent education in our country ??? Why are there so many children and such few opportunities ???

The book made me go through a range of emotions in just a matter of few hours, anger and sorrow when I read about the plight of these children and the education inequity, awe when I read about Shaheen Mistry’s (founder of Akanksha and TFI) privileged background and how she gave up a life abroad when she was barely 18 to live here and make a difference (without knowing a word of hindi), pride when I read about all the Fellows and their persistence and finally hope when I read about the 5 year journey and their impact assessment !

A short summary on the program  (2014 – 15 statistics from their annual report)

1.     58% children don’t complete primary school, 90% don’t complete school, 32% grade 2 students cannot recognize numbers, 52% grade 5 students cannot read grade 2 text, 45% schools don’t have girls toilets.

2.     13426 applications for TFI fellowship received and 7% acceptance rate.

3.     910 fellows, 660 alumni, 271 schools, 7 cities. A good set of sponsors & believers (especially proud of my role models Anu Aga and Meher Pudumjee)

4.     The “Firki” is their symbol – “spinning discovered colours to form a movement” – so apt

5.     Each fellow teaches for 2 years and has a target of 1.5 years of growth

6.     Art and Musicals are a big part of the learning experience. Their musical Maya had 75 children participating, practice spanning 18 months which resulted in 11 spectacular shows in 2 cities

7.     Classroom emergencies arise daily – disruptive and disrespectful kids, pencil stabbing, kids fainting of hunger, leaking roofs, non functional bathrooms, waterless taps, desks falling apart as the iron is stolen for sale, non co-operative school staff …..but there is a strong induction and training program for incoming fellows and structured hand holding through the 2 years to help

8.     The fellowship is a unique leadership development opportunity, 64% alumni are engaged in some form of education development initiative.

9.     TFI has adopted a strong corporate approach in terms of a super competent board as well as group of advisors, sincere management team with positions for key areas such as training and fellows impact, alumni impact, national events, city directors, HR, technology. I would strongly advise you to read their latest annual report on their website. This corporate approach has helped them with their scale & sustainability.

What I liked the most about this book is the afterword – long list of specific suggestions given for how you can help …..apply for a fellowship, donate money, spread the word, connect with a child (take them to a movie, give them an ice cream or gift of their choice), make your children more socially aware, grateful and responsible, advocate for education equity…..

Most importantly, this book & my personal experience with TFI has reinforced my sense of gratitude – to focus on what I have rather than what I don’t have, to switch from musing over problems to finding solutions, to change my limiting mind set from being judgmental and opinionated to giving faith a chance……

Stop thrashing Mark !!

I write when I am happy and inspired and I write when I am angry and want to express my personal opinion, I am writing this on a sunday morning as all the Mark thrashing going around on social media and news is getting to me and making me truly angry.......

On Dec 1, Mark Zuckerberg announced that he will give away 99% Facebook shares on the birth of his daughter Max, accompanied by a beautiful letter written to his daughter.

What I thought about this ---what a great gesture, I hope more celebrities do more of this to inspire others…..

But I am amazed and shocked by how cynical our society has become. Last few days all I am reading about is

--he is giving shares and not cash, this is a tax saving measure (so what ?!!)

---why is his foundation structured as an LLC and not an NGO

--there is a Zuck Sucks club thrashing him online

---supposedly shareholders are also not happy

----this is a publicity move to distract from the evils of Facebook (really ??)

is this what the world has come to?

Chennai is flooded, Delhites cant hardly breathe due to smog, this morning Pune Newsline had an article about 8500 disabled demanding disability aids (wheelchairs, scooters and others), have not got it for months and given up

Not to mention heart-wrenching poverty staring us in the face every day

So many problems and all we can do is thrash Zuckerberg ??

Separate topic – so many spent hours watching Amir Khan being thrashed a few days back, I can guarantee these very people didn’t watch even 5 min of his beautiful show “Satyamev Jayate” but oh yeah, they found the time to watch him being hounded for hours on national television.

Come on guys, cant we focus on “doing something productive” and not spending hours  “judging”??

Some role models abroad whose work we should follow

·      Warren Buffet has pledged 99% of his wealth

·      Bill Gates has pledged 95% of his wealth

·      Richard Branson has pledged 50%

·      George Soros has given away $11.4 billion

Role models back home whose work we should follow (data as per Hurun report 2014)

·      Azim Premji has donated Rs 12,316 crores (first indian to sign up for the Giving Pledge started by Gates and Buffet)

·      Shiv Nadar, Ashish Dawan, Nandan and Rohini Nilekani, Ronnie and Zarina Screwvala, our very own Any Aga at home

My favorite quote was and will always remain Spidys “with great power comes great responsibility”

Sad reality is we know more details and spend more time discussing the multi million dollar destination weddings or the specifics of a billionaires new yatch or jet rather than giving our time and intellect to reading and working on some good causes. I am no saint, I like glamour and the good life but surely we can balance the two a bit more ???

And most certainly we can as a society stop judging people like Mark Zuckerberg who for gods sake are trying to do something good ???

Juvenile Diabetes

We all know that India is the Diabetes capital of the world!

What is sad is to see this disease impact children.

I recently attended a diabetes awareness program in Pune by reputed diabetologist Dr Abhay Mutha. It is one of the largest awareness movements in India and was truly an eye opener for me.Some facts I learned -  Treatment for Type 1 diabetes that can cost 1.5 to 4 lakhs a month (how can a middle class family afford this?) Awareness and detection is very low in a country like india. Type 1 diabetes cause can be genetic or due to environment factors such as viral infection. If a child is not treated well, it can result in a coma. Not to mention the lifestyle issues like the child being denied chocolates and not allowed to play cricket with his friends due to ignorance (beautifully highlighted by a play by Delhi Public School at Dr Mutha’s event). Even these kids can lead a normal and happy life IF this is detected and managed well.

But in a country that spends 4.1% GDP on healthcare compared to 18% in the US and in a country where health insurance is a luxury, it is truly a curse for a low income family to get such an expensive lifestyle disease!

It was wonderful to see a doctor who is one of the busiest and most sought after names in this field, take out the time, supported by his entire family to help needy diabetic patients by providing free treatment and even free education. Every year he conducts a walkathon with over 1000 students and also gives an award to a diabetic child who has achieved something significant inspite of this disease. This year the award was given to Maitree from Ahmedabad who completed her trek to the highest peak in Greece with her sheer will power! Dr Mutha gets sports and bollywood celebrities to attend and encourage the attendees.A very well organized and sincere effort from a man who passionately believes that every one must do their bit to help these children!

If you are a mom like me and want to help these children, do 2 things, contact and contribute to his foundation at dcrfpune.com and next time you feel like indulging your kid by making him eat some junk food or by allowing him to skip his sports class, think of what harm you are doing by giving such bad habits and STOP yourself.