Bridging gap between Intent and Action: Protsahan India Foundation, encouraging empowerment

The gripping clutch of agony, pity, and helplessness at the sight of the deprived souls remains universal; but, those who dare to dream and tread towards action do justice to ease the clutch. They defeat agony, capitalize pity, and turnaround helplessness to devise and implement solutions, the real changes. One such attempt is Protsahan India Foundation.

– Devashish Dhar, Youth Leader India

The founder, Sonal Kapoor, reminisces, “A visit to the slums in Delhi for a corporate film shoot for my organization changed my life forever. There I encountered a woman heavily pregnant with her seventh child, six girl children in tow. None of the girls could read, none of the girls had toys, on lucky days, they got two meals, they did not know any other life, their dreams had died, or probably their eyes had never learnt how to dream.”

Protsahan aims to lead them to their dreams by “Spreading awareness through education & expanding livelihood opportunities for the poor by training them and getting them into the mainstream economy.” Protsahan lays a specific emphasis over the inclusion of women as it believes, “…because they are half of the population and are vital in fostering change in their families and communities.”

From Intent to Action

Sonal further recounts, “When their mother was asked how she would bring up a seventh child, she said that if it’s a boy, he would grow up to support us, if it’s a girl, I would kill her. We do not need more mouths to feed.” The desolate sight and the blunt statement from the mother moved Sonal, a graduate from Symbiosis Institute of International Business in Marketing and International Business. She figured, “….my corporate communications profile, of not much value, when I knew one step of mine could change thousands of lives.” The intent, as universal it is, found a place in Sonal’s mind. The promptness at which she crystallized the intent into action defined the moment. “I came back from the slum with a mission to make their life better and within exactly next 3 weeks of research and feasibility studies that I carried with the locals in the area, Protsahan school was born.” Thus, Protsahan found its birthplace in Vikas Nagar, a lesser known area of Delhi in summer of 2010.

Building blocks

Protsahan, an honest and innovative initiative, rapidly went into the ramp-up stage. What started as “a one-room classroom for educating the girl child on the street and in the slums” is now “reaching out and impacting the lives of over 90 slum children and started creativity programs for the women in the urban slums.” Having an educated and sharp mind as the driving force, Protsahan benefitted in more ways than one. Sonal used the modern media to bolster Protsahan’s activities, learning for kids, and garner support. “We carry our laptops, show videos, and spread awareness amongst this audience. We make use of YouTube to train them with things like how to make paper/jute bags; creatively paint, etc. and then sit with them and help them learn these skills.”

Customization, the hot-selling business principle, could not have been any more obliged than to have been used for a noble cause. “Despite our obsession with reading and writing and rote learning & RTE, I knew it all had to be done differently for a girl from the red light area, or a girl who gazes at the hot sun while her dad bricks up the wall at a construction site, or a rickshaw puller’s daughter. So, I decided to teach them through creativity and Art” admits Sonal.

With the idea of “real solutions for real people” as the backdrop, Sonal designed the curriculum for Art and other activities. In fact, the founder learnt through one hand and taught through other, “I learnt Warli Art from YouTube and taught them. I learnt how to make candles and taught them.” The best of the ideas perish in the absence of encouragement and the simplest of notions do wonders through encouragement.

Protsahan, brilliant idea that it is, received encouragement with base broadening through corporate volunteering and people joining the cause. Soon, the activities gathered pace. While, Accenture employees painted the walls in the slums, Singapore-based Shruthi who is also an IIT Madras alumnus coordinated volunteer management and inductions in her role of Head of Communication and Liaison, and Sonal’s friends from NIFT structured the Eco-Encouragement program which created employment opportunities for the poverty-ridden women. Their products were sold by Protsahan in companies such as Airtel, Moser Baer, TCS and Infosys to raise funds. After 14 months, the gang comprises of people from different geographies such as USA, South Africa, Ireland, Germany, UAE and diverse backgrounds. “The volunteer team comprises of very young people pan India, right from school students to young professionals, filmmakers, Advertising, PR and media professionals, coral experts, fashion designers, doctors, photographers, IIM and IIT grads. This team of youngsters is bringing change in a manner unimaginable” With all the encouragement pouring in Sonal believes, “they have shown, its not MONEY, but the INTENT that is needed to bring REAL CHANGE.”

Anatomy of Change:

Protsahan has conceptualized a multi-pronged strategy to take over poverty in urban slums. It fights it in more ways than one, namely:

Educating India, Encouraging India: This constitutes Protsahan Classrooms which encourages educating the bottom of the pyramid. It places slum kids away from alcoholism, unending tiffs, child labor and mistreatment to functional literacy on basic English, Hindi and Mathematics along with classes on varied art forms like Madhubani, Warli, theater, dance, glass and fabric painting, and jewellery making workshops.
Remedial Teaching: These are short term teaching classes for women in the slums and more importantly at construction sites which spreads awareness about issues like AIDS, health and hygiene.
Eco-Encouragement: The initiative is aimed at promoting Self employment. It makes women independent by making eco-friendly diyas, other handicrafts, kurtas, etc. using lead free paints and green substitutes to generate livelihood opportunities.
Restoring Artisans Honor: This aims at encouraging artwork in India through, especially through the traditional and long forgotten art forms like Madhubani, Tanjore etc. Out of total proceeds, 50% goes to the artisan and remaining goes to Protsahan’s classroom program. Protsahan has successfully concluded fundraisers at corporates viz. TCS, Accenture, KPMG, Larsen & Toubro, Airtel, Tata Docomo, Mudra Group, etc.

Win some and Lose None

Protsahan, to our great pleasure, has recently been shortlisted as the only Indian entrant at the World BankConference. This is one more accolade in the journey of Protsahan. Sonal confesses, “It just makes me smile and say – Whoa! The journey has only just begun. It’s an international platform where I am hoping to come back with a million learning which I wish to incorporate to create more happy and empowered faces back here in my country.” In October, Sonal will also be giving a TED Talk, a prestigious international platform which showcases ‘Ideas worth spreading’. Protsahan also found support from The Delhi Twestival (Twitter Festival) 2011 as its official cause. 100 Happy Faces – Photography Campaign was another immensely successful campaign where young students and professionals clicked pictures based on different themes for over a month. “The contest saw great participation and some wonderful pictures that are on Protsahan’s Facebook Page,” exclaims Sonal.

One of the major reasons why Protsahan could swiftly change roles from an idea to an action was that they considered bumpers non-existent in the light of the larger picture. Thus, perishes their consequences. Sonal proclaims, “Challenges come and challenges go. There is no big deal about them. They just end up giving you more brains and tact. Even today, funding is always an issue. But it has never even occurred to me that Protsahan’s encouragement in those lives can ever stop. If challenges make you stop, scare you, then you don’t belong to that sector in the first place at all. Poverty alleviation with an entrepreneurial zeal has become a goal for me. It will forever keep me going.” Talk about courage, guts, and determination.

The path ahead:

Protsahan, with all the support and encouragement, is preparing for a bigger role in the coming decade. Proclaims Sonal, “In the coming decade, Protsahan India Foundation remains committed in addressing the issues of massive poverty in the country’s slums. It seeks to further expand its reach to at least over 10,000 families by the year 2020.” She is quick to admit, “To achieve such scales of operation, Protsahan is aware of the need to venture into new things, and not continue doing only more of the same. This requires a radical shift in stance, becoming more outward-focused in goals, more proactive in collaborations, and more aggressive in building synergies with corporates.” Though, she sticks to the founding principle of Protsahan and wishes to, “…to see a world where no girl shall be exploited just because, she has been born as a girl.” Adding further, “….so it’s certainly a no brainer, that we’ll make a million more lives ENCOURAGED, if not more.”

Links: http://www.protsahanindiafoundation.org/

Twitter : @NGOProtsahan
Facebook : Protsahan
Mail at: www.blog.protsahanindiafoundation.org

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About the author

Devashish Dhar – I am an Equity Analyst by profession and based out of Gurgaon. A graduate from India’s pioneer undergraduate B-School – CBS, I am currently working in a financial research firm. A staunch believer of – ‘ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country’, I pursue my interest in political developments, international development, public policy, and history after my work hours. I am also a voracious reader and world cinema enthusiast, along with having interests in swimming and music. Going by my belief – ‘This is the best time to be an Indian to make a worthy difference’, in the long run I wish to work towards infusing contemporary and robust fundamentals in India’s public policy.