Talks lessons relevations #2
The second talk that I attended over the weekend was by Rajender Singh.He is a Magsaysay Award winner and more importantly the winner of the goodwill of people in 6000 villages. His work? To help the villagers find solutions to their water problems. Not with sophisticated technology. Not with expensive methodology. Simple schemes to harness nature in harmony with nature.
Here I would like to touch upon an unintended fall out of his efforts. The intended fall out was to help people get access to water. Remember this is in a village in Rajastan where people had to walk 18 miles everyday to fetch water. And invariably those people were women. Once people had access to water, they had time and thought for other things. Women started participating in the local political process since now they dint have to spend as much time worrying about water. Girl's enrollment shot up.
My hinch is no effort in trying to put those girls in school would have been so successful. The conditions needed to be right and the availability of water in close proximity was a major step in that direction. To me this is analogous to a strong foundation. Yes we need the building and that is what will be visible to the world. That is what will fetch the revenue. But the building cannot stand without the foundation. Education is the building of those lives. Better living conditions are the foundation on which the building can rest. The building may come up on a weak foundation and a politician may come to open it. But it will come crashing down the very next day. If a mother needs to decide between sending her daughter to fetch water or fetch education, she would send her to fetch water. Not that she wants to do it. She does not have an option. So its better to provide water to the mother than try to provide education to the daughter. Do the first and the second will follow automatically. Not what I conclude. Its what that has happened in a village in Rajastan.
Picking up from my previous posting, education is important. But it cannot be force fed. It cannot be imparted in a mind of thousand worries. Try preparing for an exam with the thought of having to find a source for your next meal and water at the back of your mind. You cant. Neither can they. Fix that and you dont have to tell them to get educated. They do want to get educated.
Here I would like to touch upon an unintended fall out of his efforts. The intended fall out was to help people get access to water. Remember this is in a village in Rajastan where people had to walk 18 miles everyday to fetch water. And invariably those people were women. Once people had access to water, they had time and thought for other things. Women started participating in the local political process since now they dint have to spend as much time worrying about water. Girl's enrollment shot up.
My hinch is no effort in trying to put those girls in school would have been so successful. The conditions needed to be right and the availability of water in close proximity was a major step in that direction. To me this is analogous to a strong foundation. Yes we need the building and that is what will be visible to the world. That is what will fetch the revenue. But the building cannot stand without the foundation. Education is the building of those lives. Better living conditions are the foundation on which the building can rest. The building may come up on a weak foundation and a politician may come to open it. But it will come crashing down the very next day. If a mother needs to decide between sending her daughter to fetch water or fetch education, she would send her to fetch water. Not that she wants to do it. She does not have an option. So its better to provide water to the mother than try to provide education to the daughter. Do the first and the second will follow automatically. Not what I conclude. Its what that has happened in a village in Rajastan.
Picking up from my previous posting, education is important. But it cannot be force fed. It cannot be imparted in a mind of thousand worries. Try preparing for an exam with the thought of having to find a source for your next meal and water at the back of your mind. You cant. Neither can they. Fix that and you dont have to tell them to get educated. They do want to get educated.
posted by d'na | 9:58 PM
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