Ms. Anuradha Goburdhan Bakshi.- Founder of Sri Ram Goburdhun Charitable Trust.

What is the vision of your organisation and what are the set objectives ?
When the Sri Ram Goburdhun Charitable Trust opened it's first center in Oct' 2000, it was determined to better the plight of slum children by giving them access to quality education and the skills to enhance their employment options. We believe that meaningful education must teach a child to learn, to do, to be and to live with others.

To this end our objectives are:
1. Evolve a sustainable child support system for deprived children
2. Ensure that all children attend school regularly
3. Help develop life skills
4. Empower the community to play an active role in education
5. Generate community resources to sustain the activities of the centre
6. Build confidence and competence

What are the key achievements of your organisation ?
The last year particularly has been eventful and a year of dramatic progress and adaptation. From a family of 125 children we are now a family of over 503 children. Some of the key achievements that we can mention are:

1. 97 % of our school going children passed their March 2003 examinations in their respective schools (primary and secondary, class i to XI)

2. 98% of the staff comes from within the community so this way we generate employment: this is essential if we are to make the project self sustaining and replicable

3. Individually: Rani is a great success stories, a school drop out and nurse's aid, she joined as part time facilitator for nutrition and health, in a short time she proved efficient and extremely organized. Today she runs the day to day activities of the Giri Nagare Centre right from Adminstration, human resources, trouble shooting in a highly charged community- this is even more incredible as she is just about 20 and was born in this very street- some of the staff are much older than her.

4. One our achievements are also to start an education program for the children of 'Gadiya Lohar' community.

Are you working with Corporates and what kind of partnership you have with them ?
Currently, we are not working with Corporates.

Our this year focus is to give computer training to our children, so a support in terms of trainer, computers (old) from corporates would surely help us in achieving the same.

Last year we got help from Mr. Narain and Radhika (NDTV) through a personal relationship. I am happy to say that It was not a charitable decision but a one well thought after seeing the project progress.

Do you get support from NRIs or funding agencies in ways like financial supporting, volunteering etc ?
We are not receiving funds from any Funding agency. We are getting financial as well moral support from NRI friends as well friends in here, but they all are based on our personal relationship with them.

Last year the Irish Ambassador helped us with funds for running the project. These individuals help us in fundraising and also sometimes they also participate in our specials programs for the children to boost their morale.

How can corporate volunteers work with your organisation ?
I would like them to help us fund raise.

We also need somebody to do our marketing plan for our products from 'Project Return'. Some individual, who can sit with us and tell us about packaging, branding and the right strategy to market them. It would really help us in giving this project a proper shape.

Tell us more about the idea behind the project Return ?
We conceived this idea with the following objectives in mind:

• Creating a new broad based income generation activity in both the urban and rural context
• Promoting a low cost alternative source of energy for villages
• Encouraging a return to the habitat of origin for the urban slum migrant.
  

Please visit the website www.projectwhy.org to know more about new initiative Project Return.

Your suggestions to improve the credibility of the NGO Sector ?
I wish, I had the answer…

I think it lies in the fact that the 'word' NGO is an umbrella word for far too many activities, many not even remotely connected to what social work actually is! It, i seem a lucrative bagwagon on which everyone jumped! Maybe there should be a redefinition of terms…. NGOs should not become corporates and much of it is to do with the moral conscience of society and individuals. I also feel that for many, social work is a job, and not a means of empowerment.

A project should always have sustainability and an autonomy objective, otherwise it becomes charity and that defeats the very purpose. We manage to reach out 500 children with just 80 000 Rs! We do not have a corporate image and do not want to have one.

How do you evaluate your programmes ?
We are extremely fortunate to have a in built monitoring tool as all our children go to regular schools and are evaluated three times a year! These exams are assessment tools for academic progress of our children and also of our efforts and the teachers' efforts.

How do you use technology in your programs ?
We have a computer center where our approach to make the child comfortable and friends with the computer. However shortage of funds, equipment and space unable us to give as much computer time as possible. We would also like to make children familiar with the net as a tool so that they can use it. We have also come up with a website www.projectwhy.org. It talks about our projects, our initiative and also about our children. We mention the achievements of individual children on the site; this feature encourages them to work better.

Any specific points you would like to share with the audience of IndianNGOs.com ?
We would like to say that a small organisation like us don't have time to and to market our projects as we are so involved in our project that we get passed by. For me social work is a mean of empowerment. Standing behind the people and showing them the way and let them stand on their own. That can only be done when you are with them. It cannot be don't by remote control.

To make people aware about our projects, I keep posting the developments on our site on a weekly basis so that people know that there is a continuous development.

If somebody can support the outing for our children, we would like them to take around, as there are children who have never even been out of this street.
I have just got our bank details and we are left with funds for less than 2 months. All we need is five or six people who believe in us enough to give us 10 000/ a month.