This Blog is created to promote social awareness, consciousness and commitment amongst general public and tune their thinking and actions to all-encompassing loyalty to our society, our country, our people and indeed to all humanity and to motivate and inspire them to ably, efficiently and whole-heartedly discharge their social duties and national responsibilities.
Around the world millions of children are not getting a proper education because their families are too poor to afford to send them to school. In India, one schoolboy is trying to change that. In the first report in the BBC's Hunger to Learn series, Damian Grammaticas meets Babar Ali, whose remarkable education project is transforming the lives of hundreds of poor children.
At 16 years old, Babar Ali must be the youngest headmaster in the world. He's a teenager who is in charge of teaching hundreds of students in his family's backyard, where he runs classes for poor children from his village.
The story of this young man from Murshidabad in West Bengal is a remarkable tale of the desire to learn amid the direst poverty.
Babar Ali's day starts early. He wakes, pitches in with the household chores, then jumps on an auto-rickshaw which takes him part of the 10km (six mile) ride to the Raj Govinda school. The last couple of kilometres he has to walk.
The school is the best in this part of West Bengal. There are hundreds of students, boys and girls. The classrooms are neat, if bare. But there are desks, chairs, a blackboard, and the teachers are all dedicated and well-qualified.
As the class 12 roll-call is taken, Babar Ali is seated in the middle in the front row. He's a tall, slim, gangly teenager, studious and smart in his blue and white uniform. He takes his notes carefully. He is the model student.
Babar Ali is the first member of his family ever to get a proper education.
"It's not easy for me to come to school because I live so far away," he says, "but the teachers are good and I love learning. And my parents believe I must get the best education possible that's why I am here."
Raj Govinda school is government-run so it is free, all Babar Ali has to pay for is his uniform, his books and the rickshaw ride to get there. But still that means his family has to find around 1,800 rupees a year ($40, £25) to send him to school. In this part of West Bengal that is a lot of money. Many poor families simply can't afford to send their children to school, even when it is free.
Chumki Hajra is one who has never been to school. She is 14 years old and lives in a tiny shack with her grandmother. Their home is simple A-frame supporting a thatched roof next to the rice paddies and coconut palms at the edge of the village. Inside the hut there is just room for a bed and a few possessions.
Every morning, instead of going to school, she scrubs the dishes and cleans the homes of her neighbours. She's done this ever since she was five. For her work she earns just 200 rupees a month ($5, £3). It's not much, but it's money her family desperately needs. And it means that she has to work as a servant everyday in the village.
"My father is handicapped and can't work," Chumki tells me as she scrubs a pot. "We need the money. If I don't work, we can't survive as a family. So I have no choice but to do this job."
But Chumki is now getting an education, thanks to Babar Ali. The 16-year-old has made it his mission to help Chumki and hundreds of other poor children in his village. The minute his lessons are over at Raj Govinda school, Babar Ali doesn't stop to play, he heads off to share what he's learnt with other children from his village.
Haath Mein Sehat is Hindi for "Health in Hands." An estimated seven million people currently live in the slums of Mumbai, India. Residents of these underserved communities suffer from a high incidence of enteric dysentery largely in part to contaminated drinking water, poor hygiene habits, and a lack of adequate sanitation. In response, the HMS team has been working since the summer of 2004 to help improve livelihoods trough health education and appropriate, low-cost water treatment methods. HMS is an interdisciplinary, international collaboration between local organizations and institutions in Mumbai and students at the University of California, Berkeley.
The Haath Mein Sehat (HMS) project began in 2004 in the community of Behrampada, a slum in the Bandra East district in Mumbai, India, as a collaborative effort between students from the University of California at Berkeley and the community’s Mahila Mandals (women’s groups). The community’s estimated 175,000 residents, living on less than 2 square kilometers of land, obtain their water mostly from public taps spaced along lanes. These water pipes run through sewers and drainage canals, leading to contamination from feces and other sources that infiltrate due to low water pressure and leaks. Further contamination is caused by unsafe storage and handling of water in the home.
The Behram Mahila Mandals identified poor water quality as one of the biggest drivers of enteric disease. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive approach, Berkeley students have worked for the dual objectives of hygiene education and development and promotion of economically viable point-of-use treatment methods. The HMS team is now comprised of student volunteers from UC Berkeley as well as colleges across Mumbai, including Somaiya, SIES, and others. The project has evolved into a comprehensive intervention that includes low-cost water treatment technologies and complimentary hygiene education programs. Now in its third year of operation, HMS is expanding its outreach in collaboration with the NGO SAHAS to another slum, Panchsheel Nagar, located in Sion, Mumbai, and exploring how the program can be adapted to Hubli, a city in the state of Karnataka, with support from the Deshpande Foundation.
Workshops and public events such as street plays and market stalls hosted by HMS volunteers provide education and enable the community to make well-informed decisions about unsafe water and prevention of disease. Before beginning work in a community, students conduct needs assessments to determine residents’ general understanding of diarrheal illness, impressions about their water, and treatment methods in use. In addition, HMS teams are researching social marketing, distribution, and financing methods, and identifying point of use treatment systems that are appropriate for the environmental conditions and economic levels of Behram and Panchsheel Nagar residents. Students have also developed a unit for water treatment that consists of a water filter to remove large pathogens, chlorine to kill bacteria and viruses, and a safe storage container to prevent recontamination. Additional teams of volunteers conduct water quality testing and epidemiological surveys of households. In January 2007, the project was filmed by the Discovery Channel for inclusion in a series on technology in India.
While each of these communities varies significantly in their demographic, infrastructure, and environmental conditions, HMS is using the processes of creating and implementing its programs to develop a model for scaling interventions in urban slums in India.
Job Title:Head of Contracts and Procurement Advice Section (CaPAS)
Location: New Delhi
Reporting to: Head of Corporate Services Team (CST)
Background:
DFID India is responsible for the British Government’s development cooperation programme with India. Contract and Procurement Advice Section (CaPAS) was established to provide contract and procurement advisory services and letting contracts. Although CaPAS is directly funded and managed by DFID India, it has a professional reporting line to Department for International Development (DFID) Procurement Group (PrG) based in UK which is responsible for providing contracting and procurement services to DFID outside of South Asia Region.
CaPAS is the largest procurement unit outside the Headquarters of DFID and has delegated authority to issue contracts up to £5 million which is likely to be increased shortly. In 2008/9 CaPAS let 406 contracts with a value of £8.5M. These contracts cover both programme related assignments as well as corporate services.
CaPAS leads on all local procurement activities in Department for International Development India (DFIDI) and works closely with the other development partners (UN, World Bank, etc) and the State and Central Government of India (GoI).
Procurement is an integral component in governance in India; CaPAS is involved in capacity building with GoI and State Governments, particularly in the area of service contracting and systems. CaPAS will be taking on the role of South Asia Procurement Hub early in 2010 and will then provide support to Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan for contracts above the OJEU threshold.
CaPAS forms part of DFID India’s Corporate Services Team (CST) which also includes Financial Management Team, Human Resources Team, Facilities and Estates Team.
Reason for Hire:
To provide leadership, oversight, technical advisory and capacity building support to ensure DFID India and offices in the South Asia region are fully compliant with DFID’s procurement policies and procedures.
Key Roles and Responsibilities:
Contract Management Functions
ŸManage CaPAS so that it provides value adding and cost effective contracting services above OJEU threshold to other DFID Offices within the South Asia Region
ŸCarry out the processing of consultancy contract requests up to a contract value ceiling of £5,000,000.
ŸHelp DFID India to delivery DFID’s Commercial Strategy
ŸRefer contracts with a value of £5,000,000 to £10,000,000 to DFID India’s procurement Advisor for approval.
ŸEnsure that consultancy firms are given fair consideration for competitive selection processes
ŸCarry out or supervise commercial/financial evaluations and have an insight on the technical bids
Management of Staff and the Section
ŸOversee the day to day operations of CaPAS and ensure that it contributes effectively to achievement of overall Corporate Services Team’s Delivery Framework.
ŸEffectively line manage CaPAS staff to enable them to utilise their full potential and also contribute to their further development.
ŸRepresent CaPAS in internal and external meetings.
ŸDeliver contract & procurement training to DFID India and potentially other offices in South Asia Region.
ŸUndertake post tender negotiation to deliver value for money and achieve annual contractual savings of over £1,000,000.
ŸProvide timely and accurate advice on procurement and contracting issues for both programme and TA contracts.
ŸContribute to the policy and strategic development of CaPAS and inputs to the implementation of DFID’s Commercial Strategy.
ŸAdapt ‘ways of working’ to support the development of more strategic procurement capability across DFID
ŸLiaise with PrG and DFID India’s procurement Adviser on procurement policy issues.
Procurement Advisory
ŸAssist Procurement Advisor in mapping procurement to corporate strategy
ŸTo influence the programme output by being involved at the design stage
ŸManage CaPAS so that it assists DFID India in working closely with Development Partners, GoI and HMG to develop harmonized procurement procedures incorporating best practices.
ŸAssist in resolving difficulties in procurement related programme problems.
ŸCapacityBuilding to develop State and GoI procurement systems
ŸProactively participate in the Procurement Professional Cadre
Other responsibilities:
In addition to working with colleagues within the Office, the post holder will need to liaise closely with other Development Partners in India. In addition as part of the Shared Services/Harmonisation Agenda CST works closely with other HMG Departments based in the British High Commission in Delhi, and CaPAS undertakes a significant (and increasing) amount of shared contracting activity.
DFID India is currently located away from the British High Commission but is planning to co-locate in 2012. Head of CaPAS will play an important roll in assisting DFID India in this move, and in subsequent provision of “post co-location” harmonised corporate services.
Key qualifications and skills:
ŸApplicant should ideally have MCIPS, or University degree or Masters in Business Management, Materials Management or Business Administration.
ŸHave at least 6 - 8 years of extensive relevant procurement and logistics experience
ŸDemonstrate the ability to apply technical skills in a team leadership role to resolve and manage complex issues in relation to procurement policies and procedures.
ŸAbility to use technical expertise to advise and support Program Teams and Partner Government(s) in procurement planning and design.
ŸHave proven and effective negotiation and influencing skills/experience
Ÿ·Have sufficient professional procurement knowledge to be a source of professional advice to DFID in both India and in South Asia Region on issues relating to procurement.
ŸA history of personal effectiveness, with a strong ability to communicate and develop effective working relationships with various stakeholders.
ŸThe ability to work to tight deadlines and deliver quality outputs.
Desirable
ŸA broad understanding of public finance management issues.
ŸApplicants should understand the broad range of development issues, including the aims and practices of the UK’s and other Donor Partners’ development assistance, and the policy and institutional environment affecting development outcomes.
Nature of employment: Full time Open ended position. To apply, one must either be an Indian national or have necessary employment permit to work in India. DFID is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from all parts of the community.
Compensation: The salary for the post will be 12.3 lacs per annum plus other benefits including coverage under accident and medical insurance schemes.
For more details/ Interested candidates can send in their CVs and 3 references to anamika@thirdsectorpartners.comor Contact us at: +91 22 6660 3558/6660 3559. Only short listed candidates would be contacted.
Last date for receiving applications is 19 Oct 2009.
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
This course has over the years empowered the lives of many women who are now employed as health care personnel for patient management at home and in hospitals. Interested and underprivileged women and girls are invited to register for the same. Scholarship facilities will be provided to deserving candidates.
Duration: 5 Months
Eligibility: 10 pass/fail
Time: 2.00 pm. to 4.00 pm. (Monday to Saturday)
Fees: Rs. 2000/-
Course commencing on: 23rd November, 2009
Registration forms and information about course content available at: Sophia Centre for Women´s Studies and Development, Sophia College, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai-400026, INDIA Tel.: 2351 3280
I was dismayed when I heard Barack Obama was given the Nobel peace prize. A shock, really, to think that a president carrying on two wars would be given a peace prize. Until I recalled that Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Henry Kissinger had all received Nobel peace prizes. The Nobel committee is famous for its superficial estimates, won over by rhetoric and by empty gestures, and ignoring blatant violations of world peace.
Yes, Wilson gets credit for the League of Nations – that ineffectual body which did nothing to prevent war. But he had bombarded the Mexican coast, sent troops to occupy Haiti and the Dominican Republic and brought the US into the slaughterhouse of Europe in the first World War, surely among stupid and deadly wars at the top of the list.
Sure, Theodore Roosevelt brokered a peace between Japan and Russia. But he was a lover of war, who participated in the US conquest of Cuba, pretending to liberate it from Spain while fastening US chains on that tiny island. And as president he presided over the bloody war to subjugate the Filipinos, even congratulating a US general who had just massacred 600 helpless villagers in the Phillipines. The Committee did not give the Nobel prize to Mark Twain, who denounced Roosevelt and criticised the war, nor to William James, leader of the anti-imperialist league.
Oh yes, the committee saw fit to give a peace prize to Henry Kissinger, because he signed the final peace agreement ending the war in Vietnam, of which he had been one of the architects. Kissinger, who obsequiously went along with Nixon's expansion of the war, with the bombing of peasant villages in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Kissinger, who matches the definition of a war criminal very accurately, is given a peace prize!
People should be given a peace prize not on the basis of promises they have made – as with Obama, an eloquent maker of promises – but on the basis of actual accomplishments towards ending war, and Obama has continued deadly, inhuman military action in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Nobel peace committee should retire, and turn over its huge funds to some international peace organization which is not awed by stardom and rhetoric, and which has some understanding of history.
By Howard Zinn is the author of “A People’s History of the United States,” “Voices of a People’s History” (with Anthony Arnove), and “A Power Governments Cannot Suppress.”
