The Nanhi Kali program of the Naandi Foundation is about ‘changing girls lives’. I have been working on promoting this program since the beginning of 2009. Now, a year later, the time has come to see which lives are changed, how they are changed and by whom. In both Mumbai and Hyderabad I have the opportunity to see how the Nanhi Kalis live, eat and most importantly go to school. A detailed schedule has been set up, all I have to do is be available. The people from Nanhi Kali will take me to schools, an orphanage, hostel and slums to show me what needs to be shown.
12th of March, Mumbai – Worli Naka school
Nanhi Kali Program officer for Mumbai – Sneha Senapati – picks me up from my hotel to take me to the Worli Naka Primary School. This school is located in the middle of busy Mumbai. Most children are doing their end of year exams, so it’s difficult to interact with them in the classroom. Instead we walk into the nearby Prem Nagar slums to see how these girls live. In this slum most people are Rag Pickers. The people that scavenge garbage dumps looking for stuff that can be reused.
One of the Nanhi Kali girls escorts us. She knows where the girls live and more importantly knows her way in the slum as well. We are considered to be important guests and on most occasions either or both parents have stayed home from work in order to see me. Home is often limited to just one room where the whole family eats, lives and sleeps. Washing and sanitary needs are outside, in the communal facilities of the slum. Things we cannot imagine in the Netherlands are part of the day-to-day routine here. The parents are grateful that Nanhi Kali takes some of the burden of their shoulders by sending them to school and very proud of the performance of their girls. The future looks brighter, all girls are positive that they can become doctors or teachers.
One of the Nanhi Kali girls escorts us. She knows where the girls live and more importantly knows her way in the slum as well. We are considered to be important guests and on most occasions either or both parents have stayed home from work in order to see me. Home is often limited to just one room where the whole family eats, lives and sleeps. Washing and sanitary needs are outside, in the communal facilities of the slum. Things we cannot imagine in the Netherlands are part of the day-to-day routine here. The parents are grateful that Nanhi Kali takes some of the burden of their shoulders by sending them to school and very proud of the performance of their girls. The future looks brighter, all girls are positive that they can become doctors or teachers.
Back to school.. The girls have finished their exams so I’m allowed to enter class. The teachers show me their administration of every Nanhi Kali girl. It is impressive. Presence in class, performance on all exercises are captured. I’m still very much the interesting guest of honor, so I’m glad I’ve come bearing gifts.. And the girls in turn are very willing to receive the gifts from Capgemini especially the chocolate that I brought. It’s sometimes difficult to see who’s more excited to see whom. Being tall, blue-eyed and Dutch makes me so completely out of this world that at times we are all lost for words. However it feels really good to be surrounded by girls that have the chance to grow up and do something different than picking rags.
19th of March, Hyderabad – Yusufguda State Home / Bholakpur Girls Hostel
After taking courses for a week in the well-protected environment of the Novotel Hotel in Hyderabad Naandi gave me another opportunity to see a different face of India. Smitha Chakravarthula, head of National Head of Nanhi Kali Project, has set up a program for me to visit an orphanage and a girl’s school.
The orphanage is a place where girls stay from their fifth until they are fifteen. There are almost 70 girls in this home. Strangely enough the other part of the population of the home is formed by a group of elderly women. For both groups I seem to be equally alien. I’m welcomed by a group of about 30 girls. They sing a song for me and, of course, request a Dutch song in return. Feeling really lost and shy I end up singing the National Anthem (..at least the first two lines…). Even bringing chocolate doesn’t save me from this.
Later on the girls show me the uniform, the bag and what’s in the bag that they receive from the Nanhi Kali program. When I ask them what they want to become when grown up, they tell me that they want to become doctors, teachers or dancers. Just like all over the world. Smitha tells me later that this is very unlikely, even with the support they are getting from Naandi, because going to college costs a lot in India.After a short tour of the orphanage we move on to the Bholakpur Girls Hostel. When we get there the girls are in the middle of extra classes that the Nanhi Kali program provides. In the morning every child takes the regular classes from the government school. In the afternoon the Nanhi Kalis receive extra training from mostly female teachers that are employed by the Naandi foundation. This could be any of the following subjects: Hindi, English, Telgu, Maths, Sciences and Social Studies. Every class is split up into groups of five where one of the girls is in charge of teaching the rest. This way of teaching is based on the cooperative reflective learning model.
Later on the girls show me the uniform, the bag and what’s in the bag that they receive from the Nanhi Kali program. When I ask them what they want to become when grown up, they tell me that they want to become doctors, teachers or dancers. Just like all over the world. Smitha tells me later that this is very unlikely, even with the support they are getting from Naandi, because going to college costs a lot in India.After a short tour of the orphanage we move on to the Bholakpur Girls Hostel. When we get there the girls are in the middle of extra classes that the Nanhi Kali program provides. In the morning every child takes the regular classes from the government school. In the afternoon the Nanhi Kalis receive extra training from mostly female teachers that are employed by the Naandi foundation. This could be any of the following subjects: Hindi, English, Telgu, Maths, Sciences and Social Studies. Every class is split up into groups of five where one of the girls is in charge of teaching the rest. This way of teaching is based on the cooperative reflective learning model.
India is a very competitive country in terms of school results. Children take exams at least every year and results are logged throughout their education. Because of this it is possible to benchmark the Nanhi Kali’s against their peers. The extra effort that the Nanhi Kali programs provides pays off: Nanhi Kali’s score significantly higher. Empowerment of Indian women is on its way!
20th of March, Hyderabad – Midday Meal Kitchen
The Indian government has pledged that they will provide every school going child with one warm meal a day. For many children this is the most important and nutritious meal of the day. There are some areas however where the government struggles with this promise. Preparation, budget or logistic problems prevent children from getting a good meal. The Naandi Foundation stepped in to resolve this problem and now creates up to 1 million meals a day across the country. The government provides rice and 3 rupee (€ 0,05) per meal and Naandi executes.
My visit is to the Hyderabad midday meal kitchen which feeds up to 125.000 children a day. I arrive at the kitchen just before 6 in the morning, a time when the meals are still being prepared. Meals in the midday meal kitchen are finished by eight to make sure that the children eat at lunch time. A restaurant of this size must have a tremendously effective process in place. I expected a very big place, but in fact it’s a small but highly efficient food factory.
There are 12 different meals on the menu to give the children variation in their food. Once a week extras like an egg and a piece of fruit are added to the meal. What strikes me most is the simplicity and effectiveness, everything seems to be for a reason. No meat is used in the curry because it costs a lot, takes more time to prepare and most people are vegetarian anyway. No fridges are necessary because ingredients are bought fresh every day. Brilliant! Because of this highly effective process Naandi manages to prepare all the meals within the budget serving one million happy kids a day. Barely awake when the tour started, I can only be impressed and hungry caused by the smell of great food! And the tastes only reconfirms: this midday meal kitchen is doing a great job!
Written by Wouter van Twillert, Capgemini Netherlands
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