Author: Smile Team

Business Standard (29 June 2015 )

Punjab Kesari (23 July 2010)

(March 08, 2015)

Nagpur: It has been around five years since Swati Deshpande (name changed) is working in a city-based NGO for child development but her honorarium remains to be Rs13,000 per month – the same amount with which she started. After completing her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from a city college, Swati was hired by the NGO during campus placement in 2011 and since then, there has been no turning back for her.

“Initially, when I decided to make a career in social work, I was frowned upon by many but I followed my passion nevertheless. I have no fixed working hours and I am constantly on toes doing my bit for society. However till now, I didn’t get any increment in my pay or significant promotion. I have kids now and find it tough to support them. How will I help the children of society when I don’t have enough money for my own kids,” she asks.

Like her, many social workers are in dire straits as they remain underpaid and without the benefit of promotions or appraisals. This is the main reason why youngsters today are shying away from considering social work as a full-time profession and merely perceive it as a voluntary sector.
Says 21-year-old Jeswin Rajan, founder member of a city-based NGO Take a Step, which works for homeless people, “We are all a bunch of young passionate social workers and there is so much we want to do. But finance is one major hindrance that comes in our way every time. We don’t expect any funds from government, so we brainstorm and try to come up with different methods for fund-raising. Putting up a stall at local food festivals, exhibitions, performing at music concerts or taking photographs are the options left for us.” He adds that some government projects which are allotted to NGOs demand financial investment from the side of social organizations. “Rather than leaving projects incomplete, the government should outsource work to more NGOs as we have a better connect with people and manpower. There should also be a fixed pay-scale for the NGOs concerned so that they can fulfil the tasks,” he suggests.

Principal of Matru Sewa Sangh Institute of Social Work, John Menachery, agrees that the social work sector is highly underpaid when compared to its other counterparts. “Social work is a major profession but unfortunately it is neglected by the government as it just wants cheap labour. There is absolutely no willingness from the government’s side to revise the salary structure in this sector due to which many students don’t consider taking social work as a full-time profession,” he says. He adds that the average package offered to students during campus interviews is between 15,000 to 20,000. “Because of this, the quality of students who are opting for social work course is also affected. Youngsters with calibre do not want to be a part of underpaid jobs,” he points out.

Agrees Shilpa Jibhenkar, assistant professor and placement in-charge of Tirpude College of Social Work. “Social work is not just another 10-to-5 job. To get quality work, proper salaries and funding are needed. Many NGOs which come during placement drives offer honorarium to candidates and not salaries. Social work is a vast field and has immense scope in the present scenario. There should be strategic, well-planned funding from the government’s side so that NGOs are able to sustain and survive.”

However, Suryakant Narvekar, Smile Foundation’s regional director (West), Response, differs and believes that the field of social work is performance-oriented and one needs to prove himself first before demanding a good salary. “If one is truly passionate about his work and has the potential, sky is the limit in this profession. The sector might not have a corporate-like pay scales but holds scope for personal growth. One just needs to prove that he is here to stay and be proactive. Making money won’t be a problem then,” he says.

He also adds that some kind of a monitoring system is needed to ensure accountability and transparency in the working of NGOs. “This will help the government in even distribution of funds and will avoid corruption,” he says.

Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Is-social-work-worth-it/articleshow/46488212.cms

The Telegraph (27 July 2010)

Mint (31 July 2010)

Evening Plus (17 August 2010)

(March 02, 2015)

The challenges that our societies are facing today are varied, starting from high poverty rates to unacceptably high child labour, malnutrition, illiteracy among the underprivileged children, inequality and a raft of other issues. These challenges have triggered interest in social innovation among many NGOs across the country. Challenges, however daunting they are, have precisely offered the right circumstances to philanthropists to look and tackle old problems in new ways.

In trying to understand the realm of social innovation and finding out the best ways to catalyze social innovation, many Indian NGOs have comprehended the fact that the seeds of change are the civil society, community entrepreneurship and public-private collaborations.

A small innovation that brought a paradigm shift to the ongoing efforts in protecting the girl child in Rajasthan is the “Padharo Mahari Lado” campaign. The scale and complexity of the issue on the declining child-sex ration in the state kept on thwarting several attempted reforms for decades. The government of Rajasthan initiated a year-long campaign, known as “Padharo Mahari Lado Campaign”, to prevent the evil practice of female foeticide and sensitize the community towards girl child in October 2012. Smile Foundation has joined hands with the Department of Health, Barmer, NRHM and Cairn India Limited to support this initiative.

Padharo Mahari Lado has brought sizeable acceptance among the stereotype cultural set-up. Today, in the intervened communities, there is an increased participation of the parents both mother and father in providing a protective and secure childhood for their daughters. This is a fine example of channelling change by making collective impact work. When a social innovation is intended through collaboration, it is very necessary that it features a common agenda, unbroken communication, effective measurement systems, and the presence of a core organization.

With philanthropists changing their practices, the speed of change in the areas of need is now faster than before. There is enormous untapped potency in our communities at the grass roots level that are waiting to be harnessed. Many individuals have come up with initiatives at community levels to address issues pertaining to education, health, livelihood, and women empowerment within the community itself. These grassroots level nonprofits work untiringly to make a profound and highly focused impact on a relatively small population. The total number of such organisations across the length and breadth of India is overwhelming. The work done at the gras root level by each of such organisations is an intentional innovation in itself. On the ground, good ideas are constantly being transformed into actionable projects.

But at times, due to lack of critical support, handholding, and training on good governance, project management and relevant areas, these grass roots organisations, though clear in their intentions, fail to sustain. This directly affects the chance of development of those local children and their families who would have otherwise been empowered. Effective handholding of such community based organisations is a proven way of propelling change in communities across the country.

To catalyze and support social innovations, the NGOs acting as social venture philanthropists are more like engines for impact. From identifying a community-based organisation to making an effort to building their capacities, enhancing their efficiencies, communication and process of good governance, the social venture philanthropists provides whatever it takes to help an initiative actualize and broaden its potential. Such innovations have enabled many an Indian NGO to broaden its impact and bring about impressive outcomes that benefit the sector as a whole.

(About the author: This article has been written by Mr Santanu Mishra, Co – Founder and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation)

Source : https://www.businessinsider.in/How-Indian-NGOs-are-marrying-Philanthropy-with-Social-Innovations/articleshow/46426703.cms

Evening Post (17 August 2010)

Dainik Navjyoti (17 August 2010)

Mahaka_Bharat (17 August 2010)