An inspiring journey into the lives of families and teachers in the poorest communities of India, Africa, and China who have successfully created their own private schools in response to failed public education.

Wandering into the slums of Hyderabad’s Old City, Tooley was initially shocked to find it overflowing with small, parent-funded schools.  Could these be the answer to help achieve universal education?

The Beautiful Tree movingly uncovers the efforts of poor communities in education, and finds competent, committed entrepreneurs who have started schools catering to slum children. He discovers young, engaged teachers, passionate entrepreneurs, and teaching models that work to ensure that students are engaged and learning. He finds that even among the unrecognized private schools, average teacher attendance, and English and maths proficiency surpass the apathetic government school system.

This is a passionate and engaging account of the children, parents, teachers, and entrepreneurs who Tooley encounters in the face of staunch government denial that these schools actually exist. They taught him that the poor are not waiting for educational handouts—they are building their own schools and learning to save themselves.

Named after Mahatma Gandhi’s phrase for the schools of pre-colonial India, The Beautiful Tree is not another book lamenting what has gone wrong in the Third World. It is a book about what is going right, and it offers a simple lesson: both the entrepreneurial spirit and the love of parents for their children can help overcome the stifling effects of poverty.

An initiative that pioneers responsible rural tourism

Inir Pinheiro talks of a ‘noise’ in his head; a disinterest in a typical ‘successful’ corporate life, and an urge to help others. A voice that eventually lead him to set up Grassroutes, a venture that promotes responsible rural tourism, by developing villages as tourist destinations.

“The basic cause of our problems is the lack of opportunity, which leads to exploitation and violence. So our aim is to create sustainable opportunities so a person can provide for themselves, their family and then their community,” says the 29-year-old MBA graduate, adding, “We’re doing this through tourism because it is the largest economic multiplier. Plus, if the local community is at the centre if tourism, they will protect the land better.”

The Grassroutes concept is simple: city-dwellers in want of a relaxing weekend, a taste of rural life and a fresh environment to stay in, travel to villages where they are taken care of and housed by locals, for about Rs 1,000 a night. In return, the villagers see an influx of business and money, and a livelihood. The attempt is to keep everything organic and preserve local culture and resources.

There are currently two villages on the Grassroutes trail, Purushwadi (250km from Mumbai), and Kohane (230 km away), both with predominantly tribal populations. The tourists are mostly Indian – from Mumbai and Pune – and the trips last two or three days. And though bookings are made through Inir and his team, a village tourism committee – made up of locals who have been trained – supervises the trip. Any number of people, from one to 40, can go on a trip.

Inir Pinheiro

“In the past three years, there has been an annual inflow of about Rs 5-6 lakhs in each village. Average income has gone up to about Rs12,000-16,000 and 50 of the households have benefitted directly from tourism,” says Inir. Plus there are the non-monetary benefits: “The Purushwadi tribals used to migrate for livelihood, but they stay put now. Their local tamasha had died out, but is now being revived because of tourist interest. The youngsters are now occupied, have access to opportunities and have the confidence to go after them.” Inir says the model deliberately engages with youth and women, because “men are dumb and power-hungry; it’s the women who know people’s needs and are interested in growth”. 

– Aditi Seshadri

For more information, go to www.grassroutes.co.in

To know more about Unltd India, go to www.unltdindia.org

Oscar-winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty says he was inspired to start his own NGO as he was inundated with requests for financial help after he won the Academy Award for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009.

“Over the last one year, I received a huge number of letters from across the country, seeking financial help because many people thought that A.R. Rahman and I have won billions of rupees along with the Oscar, which was false because Oscar awards don’t have prize money attached to it,” Pookutty told IANS. “I thought may be this is my time to give it back to society, however little I can.”

The Resul Pookutty Foundation focuses on the health needs of the underprivileged and has tied up with Lakshmi hospital in Kochi. The project was launched February 7 and Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan donated Rs.11 lakh to the foundation. The foundation is providing 300 free surgeries, including open heart procedures.

Bachchan is also linked to the Resul Pookutty IIFA Foundation Scholarship for economically backward students. “It started off with a personal conversation with Mr. Bachchan. They wanted to felicitate me at IIFA awards, so I suggested they start a scholarship in my honour and he agreed. We will start providing this scholarship in the 2010 IIFA edition,” Pookutty said.

Hindustan Times

During a hearing on a PIL seeking implementation of the Traffic Restraint Scheme (TRS) proposed by V.M. Lall in 2000, additional government pleader S.K. Nair told the court that the government was working towards improving public transport by increasing the number of coaches on local trains from nine to 12. A division bench was hearing a PIL filed by NGO Bombay Environmental Action Group seeking implementation of the TRS formulated in 2000 to decongest the city roads.

Nair informed the court that more AC buses were being introduced and a metro rail network was also coming up. “Results will be seen in the next five years,” said Nair, adding that Lall’s schemes were impractical. The TRS aimed at restraining traffic during peak hours. One of Lall’s recommendations was restraining plying of vehicles ending with certain numbers on a particular day in a week. This would help bring down the number of vehicles on the road on a daily basis. For this, the state would require sensors and a lot of manpower. Besides, what was to be done about vehicles coming from outside the city, asked Nair.

However, Shiraz Rustomjee, counsel for the NGO, argued that the government’s scheme of more flyovers and sea links only encouraged the public to use private cars.

Hindustan Times

Shaheen Mistri

Twenty years ago, an 18-year-old girl who had only lived abroad till then came to Mumbai on a holiday. But something made Shaheen Mistri stay, and she traded in the American dream to pursue a dream of her own – to provide an excellent education to all children. She started The Akanksha Foundation, which provides formal and non-formal education for underprivileged children. Today, the non-profit has an impact on the lives of about 3,500 children in Mumbai and Pune.

More recently, in 2008, Shaheen also signed on as CEO of Teach For India (TFI), a movement that places college graduates and young professionals as teachers in low-income schools, with the vision that young leaders can help remove the education inequity that exists in India.

Shaheen’s pursuit is relentless and inspiring. Here, she talks about her journey to bring change:

 Have you been able to meet your goals?

For the children we have impacted, we have been able to bring about transformation in their academic achievement and character development. Today, Akanksha children speak in fluent English, have a high level of confidence, have increased aspirations for their own lives, are in college and are getting good jobs.

In its first year, Teach For India is reaching 3,000 students and creating leaders who will build the movement to eliminate inequity in education.

What challenges have you faced?

Our challenges include getting sufficient funding and really determining the key factors that enable a child to meet his or her full potential.

What has your personal journey been like?

It has been a journey of learning by doing, of working and learning from diverse people, of multiple challenges that have forced us to think and re-think our programmes. It has been a path of personal transformation.

What does every Mumbaikar need to do?

I think every person in Mumbai needs to commit to making the city better by really becoming better ourselves. We need to become more aware, more caring, more proactive.

What will drive change?

A change in mindsets, the desire to change, strong leadership, a clear plan, a commitment to meeting goals and the ability to work relentlessly.

– Mumbai Action team

To know more about Akanksha, log on to www.akanksha.org.

To read about Teach For India, go to www.teachforindia.org

That changed in January. Kathpalia was in her home in Churchgate when two men fired gunshots through the front door, and Punj received several threatening phone calls; both women have now been provided with 24-hour police protection. Rattled but as determined as ever Kathpalia talks about Citispace’s work and Mumbai’s needs:

Nayana Kathpalia

“We started 11 years ago. Citispace deals with policy and advocacy, and aims to empower people, providing them with information, guidance and other tools they might need, to fight their local battles. It also works as a network, informing and involving people in different local issues. With the exception of one architect, all the members are volunteers and the organisation runs primarily on the strength of individual citizen donations.”

Key Citispace projects

• Hawking zones: “One of the first issues we took up a decade ago was the problem of hawkers taking over public spaces. We discovered that there was an order that areas in the city were to be demarcated into hawking and non-hawking zones, but this had never been implemented. Citispace pursued the matter and tried hard to have the order implemented.”
• Open spaces: “We’ve been running a campaign to prevent public spaces like recreations grounds and parks being taken over by private entities. Why should public land be turned over to private clubs which restrict membership? That space is meant for the people. When the O.V.A.L trust – of which I am a trustee – restored the Oval maidan in Churchgate, people scoffed at us ‘elite women’, but my point is, it is only the so-called elite women who have the time and money to get involved in projects like this; I don’t expect a middle-class women who is struggling to keep her household together to have the inclination.”
• SRA: “A few years ago, Citispace tackled an SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority) policy that allowed developers to take over reserved open spaces that had slums on them. We went to court and got an order that said no further development could be sanctioned without the court’s permission.”

Why were you attacked? How do you feel?

“Our campaign against the SRA scheme has, naturally, upset many builders. But what can we do now, the matter is in court, and it’s up to the judge to clear redevelopment projects.

I am angry, not just for Neera and myself, but for the city. I am angry at the loss of my liberty and that justice is being toyed with. Our families are shaken but our work must continue.”

What does Mumbai need?

“People need to be alive and alert. They have to push the government to realise that the middle class cannot be taken for granted. We have to think ‘what do I do’ and participate. There is no pride or vision for Mumbai. It must not be all about money; we need a balance, the rich or the poor can’t stay in ghettos.”

– Aditi Seshadri

To get in touch with Citispace, mail citispace@nagaralliance.org

The course is on from April 5 to June 15 from 10am to 12noon, Monday to Saturday, at YWCA, 53, J.P.Road, near Navrang cinema, Andheri (West).

We are looking for volunteers to teach. They will be trained from March 15th for a week between 3 pm and 5 pm. The methodology followed is fun, games, music, conversation and play. Those women interested in volunteering may contact Lalitha Dhara (9819683940 or lalid02@yahoo.com) before March 10.

Is astrology a science or an art of making money? Mumbai NGO Janhit Manch has started a debate on the issue in the Bombay high court.

A public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the manch and its convener Bhagwanji Raiyani, along with his associate Dattaram Kumkar, has questioned the validity of predictions by well-known astrologers, including Bejan Daruwalla, and unknown babas like Brahmarshi Shri Kumar Swami.

Taking note of the PIL, a division bench of justices FI Rebello and JH Bhatia on Wednesday directed the Union government, Maharashtra government and state director-general of police to file separate affidavits, stating the number of cases registered by the authorities under The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.As Daruwalla and Brahmarshi were not represented by their advocates, the court issued notices to them to file their replies in four weeks.

The PIL urged the authorities to ban articles, advertisements, episodes and practices promoting astrology and its related subjects like vastu, reiki, feng shui, tarot, palmistry, zodiac signs and rashifal.

Hearing the submissions, justice Rebello remarked: “It is difficult to understand how wearing a stone on a finger can change one’s fate! But astrology is a science and that has been accepted by the Supreme Court.”

DNA