The COVID-19 pandemic has altered many things around us. Many organisations are experiencing the impact of this once in a lifetime kind of a situation. Santanu Mishra, Co-founder and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation spoke to Indiatimes about where the civil society organisations stand as the world prepares for a post-pandemic time.

Table of Contents

• How have civil society organizations served and survived over the past two years since the pandemic hit?
What are the specific ways the pandemic has changed the way non-governmental organizations work on the ground?

• Access to quality healthcare services and education remains a challenge What is your assessment of the change that community-based organizations have been able to effect in both these areas?

• There are several community-based organizations that are unable to muster resources for impact-related work as they have been hit particularly hard by Covid How is Smile Foundation working to build their strength, so their work does not suffer?

How have civil society organizations served and survived over the past two years since the pandemic hit?

Santanu Mishra: The past two years have, no doubt, been challenging especially for civil society organizations. Development projects take a cycle to achieve visible impact. Managing resources, continuity of projects, keeping the experienced manpower together, approaching and engaging the community were among the challenges that cropped up during the pandemic. Moreover, the pandemic owing to its very nature demanded a plethora of responses and work to be done with urgency.

In many cases, funding support for non-Covid causes almost dried up, which presented an unexpected challenge. In general, there was a cloud of uncertainty across the board. Many organizations such as ours had to innovate, realign their delivery strategies and also to arrange resources in an emergency situation. The pandemic was unannounced but it was also a phenomenon that was much more than just a healthcare emergency. It affected almost every major areas of people’s life and hence civil society organizations were very much part of it.

What are the specific ways the pandemic has changed the way non-governmental organizations work on the ground?

As the pandemic has not just been a healthcare crisis, it changed the way we travelled, worked, lived, studied and did many other things. Naturally, civil society organizations had to adapt to a number of changes so as to bring change on the ground.

Beginning with schooling, in no time teachers had to be trained in a dynamic digital learning environment. Children and their parents were also made to be familiar with virtual and blended mode of schooling, which were never thought of before.

In healthcare, tele-medicine, virtual counseling and care etc. were brought into practice, especially for the communities living in urban slums and remote rural areas. The pandemic brought to the fore the issue of mental wellbeing among children, from both underprivileged and privileged backgrounds. Organizations had to analyze the issue, develop possible solutions and prepare the mechanism to address the same.

Skilling, especially the employability training programme, had to undergo a disruptive market-driven transformation. Many jobs and the related skills simply vanished; at the same time, many new areas of employment emerged. For example, we put our major focus on developing courses and training youth on general duty assistant and patient care, e-logistic and supply chain management, digital marketing, banking service etc. and achieved great success in placing them too.

Working with the communities demands frequent visits in person, unavoidable human interaction and frequent travel. The pandemic put restriction to many such crucial activities.

Project management and planning, resource mobilization, human resource development etc. also needed major rethinking and realignment with the changing the environment.

Overwhelmingly, application and integration of technology were not only accelerated but also preponed. In many areas, it would otherwise have been possible by 2030. In my view, a majority of the disruption is for the better and there is no looking back from here.

Access to quality healthcare services and education remains a challenge. What is your assessment of the change that community-based organizations have been able to effect in both these areas?

Healthcare and education are key indicators of human development. It is true that there is a scope of more work to be done in these spheres, which includes better convergence between different players in the society.

Community-based organizations, first and foremost, have the last mile connect with communities. Their understanding of issues with respect to a specific area comes handy in delivering solutions. The complementary roles they play in the efforts of the colossal governmental endeavour and also in pursuing independent efforts are praiseworthy.

Specifically speaking about the pandemic-stricken time, it was more than just a health crisis as it disrupted every possible areas of life. The innovation, resilience and perseverance displayed by community-based organizations, especially in the areas of education and healthcare came out as a blessing in disguise.

Amidst the peril of loss of livelihood and migration of families, commendable efforts were made in continuing education of less privileged children. Motivating the communities in so, preparing both teachers and students in the new ways of schooling, taking care of mental wellbeing of children, mobilizing teaching and digital aids etc. among the changes the sector has been crucial in bringing in.

Healthcare, without doubt, was at the very centre of concern. Existing healthcare facilities were either over-burdened or no-go zones during the pandemic. The community-based organizations played a remarkable role in ensuring basic healthcare services that included curative, preventive and promotive aspects most importantly in urban slums and remote rural areas. Besides launching Covid-specific initiative, we for example linked our existing pan-India mobile healthcare programme with static facilities and tele-medicine centres. We have now been scaling this up so that specialized healthcare can be delivered at the grassroots with the application of technology.

There are several community-based organizations that are unable to muster resources for impact-related work as they have been hit particularly hard by Covid. How is Smile Foundation working to build their strength, so their work does not suffer?

Thousands of genuine community-based organizations have been playing a crucial role in the social and economic growth of the nation. They are empowering the bottom of the social and economic pyramid persistently.

The good intentions and hard work of grassroots organizations are often hindered by various challenges even in normal, non-Covid time. It ranges from unprepared leadership to organizational anomalies, inability to communicate effectively to, importantly, mobilizing adequate resources.

There existed a crucial need for a dedicated and effective endeavour that is focused on enabling, training and handholding small, genuine orgnisations to help maximize their efforts on the ground.

We have a structured initiative named Change the Game that aims at strengthen the capacity of community-based organizations (CBOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to raise funds, continue their developmental efforts.

The innovative blended-learning programme helps change-makers from communitu-based organizations and social entrepreneurs from all over learn and imbibe fundraising best practices.

The goal has been to enable social entrepreneurs working at the grassroots by mobilizing funds from diverse sources, inculcate practices that deepen organizational capacities and empower communities.

I personally believe in the philosophy of ‘Civic Driven Change’ that means unless and until privileged members of the society are involved in the process of development, lasting change will continue to elude us. At time, that is the only way forward.

Smile Foundation has been one such organisation that has been running it campaign ‘Shiksha Na Ruke’ aimed at bringing drop out children back to school. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

Access to education for underprivileged kids has always been a matter of concern in India for a long time now despite almost six times the literacy rate since independence. But the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic disrupted the education sector on an unprecedented scale as millions of kids found themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide. While kids with adequate resources managed to continue their education through virtual classes, the underprivileged kids – with no mobile phones and computers – were cut off from formal education. The civil society, in general, and many individuals and non-governmental organisations, particularly, played – and are still playing – a massive role in helping underserved children access to education. However, ensuring access and keeping the children in school are two different things.

Smile Foundation has been one such organisation that has been running its campaign ‘Shiksha Na Ruke’ aimed at bringing drop out children back to school and also in enabling uninterrupted learning for children through access to resources needed for their education.

We talked to Mr. Santanu Mishra, co-founder and executive trustee, Smile Foundation, to understand the role of NGO in providing the underprivileged kids access to education, especially in the post-pandemic era, the work needed to ensure the students finish the secondary education, and the challenges faced by them on regular basis in a country as diverse as India. Here are some of the edited excerpts from the interview.

When states have the obligation to provide education to children under RTE, where does an NGO like Smile Foundation come in?

Smile Foundation, with presence in 25 states of India, plays its share of role as a catalyst to facilitate underserved children benefit from the Right To Education Act 2009. As per the provisions, every child between the ages of six to fourteen years shall have the right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school, till completion of elementary education.

Meaningful participation of the civil society is imperative in order to achieve the efficacy of RTE. While RTE is directed toward providing children with education, the act itself is not enough. Multiple efforts need to be made to raise community awareness and help them avail education. Knowing that education is the key to development, communities need to be sensitised. Right from identification of out of school children, preparing them with age appropriate curriculum through bridge programs admitting them in mainstream schools, and further hand-holding them through Remedial education to avoid their drop out, all these initiatives fulfil the purpose of RTE.

What should be done to ensure that the children are not just brought back to school but stay there to finish schooling?

Interest of a child in being in school is essential for completion of schooling too. The learning-enabling environment with basic facilities of clean drinking water and functional toilets, well-equipped classrooms and properly trained teachers will surely make the environment meaningful.

The overall well-being of the child is as necessary as a holistic approach in education. If a child is healthy and happy then he/she will attend school regularly. Engagement and retention of learning will also be effective. Our Interventions play a crucial role, especially for children from underserved communities, as there are multiple gaps and challenges in their lives. Supporting children with remedial education, providing accessibility of education through standardised digital aids, provision of experiential learning, and training the teachers for effective teaching go a long way.

The Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2019-20 says that schools across India taught 265 million children, that is 4.2 million more than the previous year.

Is it enough to bring children back to school when there have been serious questions about the quality of education imparted at government schools? How is the Smile Foundation working on that front?

This would be improper to generalise the quality of education whether in non-government, government or private institutions. As far as organisations such as ours are concerned, we complement the overall efforts.

India is home to one of the largest school education systems in the world with more than 1.5 million schools. Almost two-thirds of them are government-run. Between 2012 and 2020, the pupil-teacher ratio has gone up by 7.5 percentage points. The gender parity index has also been improving.

When we are invited to work with select government schools, we again play the role of a catalyst in furthering its holistic mission. The focus is on making the environment for the student conducive and the teaching-learning effective.

Smile foundation has a 4-pronged approach focusing on children, teachers, infrastructure, and making the community have a sense of ownership. This definitely improves the teaching-learning in the classroom, makes children curious learners with experiential learning, and the interventions related to nutrition, health etc. take care of the well-being of children which promotes the regularity of the children. This involves working towards a child-centric approach, teacher-centric approach, enabling a learning environment, and community connect.

What is the most effective way to create awareness about the importance of education among underprivileged kids, especially when the parents’ income is insufficient to support the family?

We connect with children and families through community engagement activities to make them aware of the importance of education. The community engagement activities include focused group discussions, street plays, awareness campaigns, and also orientation of the stakeholders and influencers at the local level.

We also do one to one connect with parents and sensitise them on the need for education for the progress of the family. Emphasis is also given on ‘Girl Child Education’ to let their daughters go to school. Creating Mothers’/ Parent Teachers’ association, School Management Committees, other such important community stakeholders and raising awareness on the importance of education help the mission a great deal too.

We make the communities aware not only of the importance of education but also its availability and accessibility. It is important to make the community aware of different government schemes to provide free and quality education, free-ships and scholarships available for different categories, etc. and also handhold them in availing the same.

This assures the parents that education is important and it can be availed easily without creating any unwanted burden in their life.

What kind of challenges do organisations find in implementing interventions in a large and diverse country like India?

The major challenges in implementing grassroots development interventions in large and diverse India are in the form of geography, language and culture. At Smile Foundation we also partner with grassroots, Community Based Organisations (CBO) and handhold them to implement development projects. Right from the programme implementation plan to executing on-ground activities, the CBO partners are trained to work under our supervision and support. With the empowered CBO partners, this ensures the sustainability of the quality interventions even when the project period is over. Moreover, such organisations possess a wealth of experience with respect to a specific community or locality. Effective community-connect and trust are crucial in making such projects effective.

While designing the project, regional specifics and local dynamics are factored in, which include local language, locally available nutritional ingredients, available service providers for infrastructure upgradation, teacher training in the locally spoken language, etc.

“State government is committed to improving accessibility of healthcare in the state and efforts like the launch of mobile healthcare units will aid in improving accessibility,” he said.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/lucknow-news/deputy-cm-brajesh-pathak-flags-off-mobile-healthcare-units-for-3-east-u-p-districts-101657738255069.html

World Youth Skills Day emphasizes the need to equip the youth with skills that make them employable, able to deliver stellar work and become job creators. As the world revives from the pandemic, World Youth Skills Day 2022 is a chance to assess the need for skill development in a world undergoing remarkable socio-economic and technological changes.

The pandemic might have disrupted the pace of skill development and there might be considerable ground to be covered to upskill youth in preparing them for a better tomorrow. The job sector and various industries have undergone a major transformation during the pandemic and the demand for enhanced skills has only grown.

India has the largest youth population in the world with an average age of 29. Nearly 40 per cent of the Indian population is aged 13 to 35 years. The youth (18-29 years) form 22 per cent of the country’s population, totalling more than 270 million in number.

The Prime Minister has rightly reiterated that India would lead the fourth industrial revolution, supplying a high-quality workforce to the whole world. Skilling youth properly, across urban and rural India, will be the key to actualizing this vision and ensuring a strong, future-ready workforce for India.

India’s demographic dividend opportunity is the longest in the world, available over five decades, from 2005 to 2055. India has the potential to emerge as one of the largest consumer economies in the world too, thanks to emerging economic dynamics and favourable demographics. The young and working population brings many unique possibilities for India’s future too. They include social mobility, economic growth, and more inclusive and equitable society.

“Both employability and entrepreneurship are the keys to enabling today’s youth to take the nation into the future. I feel convergence of endeavour among all the important players will play a significant role in the path of nation building,” says Mr Santanu Mishra, Co-founder, and Executive Director of Smile Foundation.

Smile Foundation has been one of the leading organizations working in the areas of skilling and upskilling youth across India.

Smile Foundation receives Certificate of Appreciation from District Health Administration, Nuh, Government of Haryana, for its efforts to improve quality of healthcare services

New Delhi, July 12, 2022: Smile Foundation has received a certificate of appreciation from the Nuh District Ad ministration Health Department, Government of Haryana, for its efforts to enhance the quality of healthcare services in the district. Smile Foundation has established telemedicine centers and trained frontline workers in the district.

The Nuh District Administration – Health Department, Government of Haryana and Smile Foundation organized a three-day training workshop for frontline health workers in the district, supported by SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd. The workshop focused on training frontline health workers on the detailed procedure for registrati on of beneficiaries for Mother-Child Protection Cards to boost immunization in the district.

The frontline health workers were also trained on providing tele consultation services and on the importance of adequate nutrition for pregnant women. They were taught ways of ensuring adequate nutrition through locally available fruits and vegetables.

The district administration praised Smile Foundation’s efforts in pr omoting health-seeking behavior. “We are de lighted to witness th e consistent efforts being made by Smile Foundation to improve health outcomes in their intervention areas within Nuh district, Haryana. The Foundation’s efforts are praiseworthy,” said Dr. Sure ndra Yadav, Civil Surgeon, Nuh District Administration – Health Department, Government of Haryana.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder & Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation said,
“We are honored by the recognition received from Civil Surgeon (CMO) of district Nuh. This recognition will motivate us to continue working to improve the healthcare system in the state. There is a lot that civil society organizations can and must do to improve health outcomes in the country.”

Nuh is an aspirational district in Haryana. The district administrati on and health department of Nuh are working in a concerted man ner to improve the health outcomes of the population. As part of efforts to strengthen the he althcare system in the district, Smile Foundation is bracing the telemedicine centers in Nuh.

Smile Foundation runs the Health Cannot Wait campaign through out the country that prioritises improving pri mary healthcare del ivery. The initiative aims to provide quality primary healthcare se rvices to two million peop le and promote health-seeking behaviour among underprivileged communities. Hea lth Cannot Wait works thro ugh four initiatives – Smile on Wheels mobile healthcare units, Smile Health Camps, Baaton Baaton Mein Sehat – a tele-counseling initiative, and Health Online – e-clinics through tele-medicine.

About Smile Foundation

Smile Foundation is an Indian development organization directly benefiting over 1.5 million children and famili es through more than 400 welfare projects on education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment sp read across 2,000 villages and slums in 25 states.

BHUBANESWAR: Short films, made by Odia filmmakers, have been showcased in two ongoing international film festivals.

While feature films — Torch and Manayun-My Wonderland — both produced and directed by Santanu Mishra and Pranab Aich respectively have been screened at the Durban International Film Festival Audience Award, Nitya Mishra-directed The Salon has been showcased at the India Film Festival, Stuttgart, Germany.

Torch is a story of a 19-year-old boy from a remote village of Odisha who aspires to be an electrical engineer despite several challenges related to his health and situation. Manayun-My Wonderland is a documentary on the journey of a village teacher of an Odisha district who takes up the challenge to bring children of the Kutia Kondh tribal community to school.

“These are true stories about dreams, aspirations, dedication and victory of human spirit. Smile Foundation, an NGO, has co-produced both the films to sensitise people and engage them proactively in initiating social change,” said Santanu Mishra.

The Salon delves into the story of Nimmi, a middle-aged woman, and her widowhood.

“I wanted to explore the identity conflict of a widow, which may come with liberation and guilt, through this story. In the film, Nimmi strikes up a conversation with her hair stylist. It’s interesting for me to see the brief connection between two strangers,” said Nitya Mishra

New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) Two short films — “Torch” and “Manayun” — made by NGO Smile Foundation were screened at the ongoing Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) on Monday.

The shorts were screened at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Film Festival, DIFF’s partner for the 2022 edition.

“We have always believed that real and sustainable change can only be brought by people. Hence we continuously make efforts to sensitize the civil society towards vital social issues,” producer of the short films, co-founder and executive trustee of Smile Foundation Santanu Mishra said in a statement.

“Ever since we made ‘I am Kalam’ in 2010, we have realised the power of films as a tool to sensitise and inspire the masses. These films too are a step forward in vocalizing challenges that are faced at the grassroots, and exemplify how ordinary people can bring a change,” he added.

“Torch” centres on a 19-year-old boy living in a remote village in Odisha, who dreams to be an electrical engineer despite several challenges related to his health and situation. According to the markers, the film is a “true short story about dreams, aspiration, dedication and the final victory of the human spirit.”

“Manayun – My Wonderland” is a real-life documentary on the journey of a young village teacher, who takes up the challenge to bring children of the nearby tribal community to school. PTI SHD

New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) Two short films — “Torch” and “Manayun” — made by NGO Smile Foundation were screened at the ongoing Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) on Monday.

The shorts were screened at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Film Festival, DIFF’s partner for the 2022 edition.

“We have always believed that real and sustainable change can only be brought by people. Hence we continuously make efforts to sensitize the civil society towards vital social issues,” producer of the short films, co-founder and executive trustee of Smile Foundation Santanu Mishra said in a statement.

“Ever since we made ‘I am Kalam’ in 2010, we have realised the power of films as a tool to sensitise and inspire the masses. These films too are a step forward in vocalizing challenges that are faced at the grassroots, and exemplify how ordinary people can bring a change,” he added.

“Torch” centres on a 19-year-old boy living in a remote village in Odisha, who dreams to be an electrical engineer despite several challenges related to his health and situation. According to the markers, the film is a “true short story about dreams, aspiration, dedication and the final victory of the human spirit.” “Manayun – My Wonderland” is a real-life documentary on the journey of a young village teacher, who takes up the challenge to bring children of the nearby tribal community to school. PTI SHD SHD