BITS of Social Impact - A Teaser

Social Entrepreneurship (SE)- going beyond the buzzword! National Education Policy-2020 has given a thrust to SE and startups. 

What does SE mean? If it is meant for common good of the society, how does an SE sustain itself? How do we identify the need for an SE?  What are the practical tips for setting up a social venture? Are there some examples of social ventures from Indian context?

To answer above questions and more, here is a new book for you authored by us. Titled 'BITS of Social Impact', it is like a primer on Social Entrepreneurship with 25 real-life stories of founders and co-founders who have set up successful social ventures in India and overseas. These founders have pursued their chosen paths with passion. 

For ease of readability, the stories of these founders and co-founders have been grouped under the following sections:

1. Healthcare (Four stories of founders and co-founders)
2. Education (9)
3. Environment (6)
4. Art and Culture (2)
5. Community Transformation (4)

In addition, the book also showcases nine Emerging Stars who have founded or co-founded NGOs or ventures in recent past. They have displayed incredible empathy for people around their communities and taken up various social causes ranging from organic farming to assistive technology for disabled and from countering hate to mental health.  Some of these emerging stars are current students.

The title of the book was selected through crowd sourcing of ideas from BITS alumni across the globe. The suggestion by Akarsh Shroff emerged as the clear winner.

It was a privilege interacting with these passionate founders who are all alumni of BITS Pilani. The book is to be released during BITS Alumni Association's Global Meet (BGM) being held in Jaipur from 6-8 Jan 2023. All BGM delegates will get a complimentary copy. Later the book will be available on Amazon and other sites.

The book is our humble contribution to our alma-mater as it enters its diamond jubilee soon (1964-2024). The book has been dedicated to BITS Pilani and we have pledged the entire royalty from the book also to BITS Pilani.

We dedicate this book to our alma mater, BITS Pilani, for nurturing the social impact creators…

We are grateful to Dr Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chancellor BITS Pilani for the Foreword. We also thank all those who have helped us in putting the book together. They have been included in the Acknowledgements section. The book would be of interest to entrepreneurs, researchers, students, budding SEs, policy makers, civil service organisations, NGOs, educational institutions, investors and the government.

Once the book is released, do share your feedback. The book is available at Amazon both in hard copy and Kindle versions.

Those interested to browse excerpts from our previous book may click the link 'BITS of Success'.

     -  Harsh Bhargava with Sai Prameela Konduru/ Secunderabad/ 15th Dec 22

#socialentrepreneurship #NGOs #socialventures #reallifestories #NEP2020 #BITSPilani #BITSAA #BITSians #BGM #bitsaaglobalmeet #alumni #changemakers #impactcreators #foundersofsocialventures #BITSofSocialImpact #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

3Es of Volunteering- Nirmaan Way

What are the 3Es of volunteering? Enrolment, Engagement and Empowerment. Many of you may have heard it from me before. But, how to enroll the volunteers? Specially student volunteers? How to engage and empower them?

Am delighted to share the practical way Nirmaan does it. Nirmaan is an NGO working in 12 of the 17 diverse UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) such as education, livelihoods and healthcare. Readers may browse Nirmaan's website for more details.

In this picture story, we highlight the way Nirmaan promotes volunteering by both students as well as Corporate professionals. Nirmaan traces its roots to ten students of BITS Pilani as MyIndia NGO, to teach the under-privileged children of neighbouring villages. The founding students upon graduation, took up respective corporate careers. One of them Mayur Patnala, gave up his corporate job and set up Nirmaan in 2005. Seventeen years down the line, the student chapters of Nirmaan continue to thrive in BITS Pilani campuses. We share below what the student chapters do every year. Pictures courtesy Nirmaan Volunteers.

Ignite: The annual social festival of bliss and heartfulness at BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus. Saikumar the outgoing President of Nirmaan Student Chapter says, "Every year around 350 to 400 kids from 15 to 20 different orphanages are invited and housed on our campus. The event comprises a variety of workshops, competitions, events and activities for children of various ages. The volunteers become so tethered to the children that they cry when they bid goodbye, yet they are glad in their hearts because the youngsters will return the following year."

Daan Utsav: An event which brings givers and takers together on a common platform. It is a festival of giving money, time, resources and skills. Mohan VP of student chapter added, "Working on such projects all year, we know how to best allocate funding. We create channels for interested donors/ CSRs and philanthropic partners to contribute."

Manthan: An NGO conference for NGOs to connect and discourse. It creates a common forum for NGOs/NPOs to get together and exchange ideas, as well as draw corporate attention to their work.

Project Parishkar: An year long event for the kids of non-teaching staff residing in the campus. It entails frequent tutoring sessions by our volunteers to assist the children with their academics. These sessions also include some fun activities; the volunteers and children form strong bonds with one another.

School Adoption Program: An initiative to assist neighbouring government schools with tuitions, cultural festivities, Annual Outdoor Campaigning/ Field trip, repair/renovation of restrooms, play areas etc. This initiative impacts the lives of over 200 school children across three neighbouring villages.

 

Saakaar: A branch of the Livelihood opportunities initiatives that focuses on creating employment opportunities for rural women residing in neighbouring villages. Saikumar added, "We taught various skills to women in Pothaipally village like candle making, chocolate manufacturing and doormat stitching. They were also provided with market facilities. Stalls were put up in a few schools, gated communities, and at our campus fests to sell the items manufactured by the women."

Udaan: It provides quality education and extra curricular activities to the children in the communities around the campus. It sensitises the students to the needs of the under-served communities. For primary school pupils,  arithmetic lessons, simple scientific techniques, and outdoor games were conducted. Science experiments from their textbooks, as well as Aptitude and Reasoning classes for Merit and Scholarship tests were conducted for high school students.

The above pictures and activities have aptly answered the second E- how to Engage the volunteers? Nirmaan as we can see, has developed the systems and processes to do it effectively, based on which, students from BITS do their Practice School-2 (a semester long industry work experience) as Interns. It is a recognition of a strong working environment of learning and knowledge sharing.

Let us now look at the first E- Enrollment of volunteers.

How does Nirmaan Enroll its Volunteers? 

Nirmaan follows a four step process.

1. Call for volunteering giving details of programs and activities to be conducted by the volunteers 
2. Application including an essay why the student wants to volunteer
3. Interview by HR Team of student Chapter
4. Induction of selected volunteers

How does Nirmaan Empower the Volunteers?

The student volunteers work for three years while pursuing their degree program. The empowerment happens as follows:

1. The students derive an inner satisfaction of doing something for the society
2. Field work exposes them to real life outside the classrooms. They develop empathy and feel empowered to do more.
3. In the first year of volunteering, they are part of a team.
4. In the second year they are selected to lead a team as Team Lead.
5. In the third year, they become part of the Exec Committee. They plan and conduct various activities and events. They then prepare and present the Annual Report of their activities.
6. A formal Swearing-in ceremony is held in the campus to welcome the new volunteers and thank the outgoing team. Attended by the Campus Director, it empowers all the volunteers.

Hope the readers got a feel of how the 3Es of volunteering work through the above example of Nirmaan. The empowerment goes beyond the student life. Anirudh Mishra, a volunteer with Nirmaan decided to work in social sector after graduating from BITS Pilani. He went on to set up ApniClass which provides content for school students in Hindi. It is another example of the power of volunteering in shaping lives and careers!

Senior bureaucrats from the Government of Telangana addressed the event online. Ghumakkad also had an opportunity to speak to the volunteers at the above event. It was very encouraging to see the energy and enthusiasm of the volunteers at BITS Hyderabad campus. Nirmaan felicitated Dr G Sundar, Director BITS and me amongst others at the event. Few more pictures courtesy Nirmaan Volunteers.

Special thanks to Nirmaan for giving me the opportunity. Congratulations to the outgoing team of Nirmaan Volunteers for doing an excellent job and all the best to the incoming team.

Readers may browse two of our earlier stories on the power of volunteering:

Volunteering to Tame the Second Wave of Corona

Winning the Hearts of People

We close with a quotation by Swami Vivekananda, "They alone live, who live for others".

 Thanks for browsing.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Hyderabad/ 26th October 2022

#volunteering #3Es #engagement #enrollment #empowerment #nirmaan #bitspilani #bitsalumni #joyofvolunteering #NGOs #studentvolunteers #bitshyderabad #joyofgiving #swamivivekananda #bitsaa #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb

A Legend Lives On

"He was a towering giant"
"A different breed of people who showed us how to have strong work ethics and yet full of love, compassion and empathy.
"Always full of life"
"Amar his name- personified his actions"
"Instrumental in setting up a world class Institute"
"We have lost an institutional treasure"
"Lived a full life with purpose and honour"
"Will always continue to live in our hearts"
"बहुत ही मिलनसार थे "
" I still have all the postcards written by him on my birthdays year after year"
"He was a father figure to one and all who met him"
"A memorable part of our past has moved on"
" He led an exemplary life"
"It is a great loss not only to the family but to the entire Pilani fraternity"
"I am going to look up the sky tomorrow as he becomes a star"

These are some of the messages which came on our father's demise. Shri Amar Nath Bhargava passed away peacefully on 17th Jan 2020 in Jaipur. He was two months short of his 93rd birthday. The fact that he touched so many lives is a testimony of his persona. From his six year old great granddaughter to ninety-three year old elder in the family, responses have been spontaneous and heart touching. For a life lived so well, let us not be in grief. Rather, our Dad's life needs celebration. 

We thank each and everyone who visited us, messaged, called, or sent flowers. The void created by his death is being filled with your love and affection. Keep it coming friends, family, former colleagues, past and present neighbours, former students, their parents, friends' friends- we just love it! Pilani was in his blood. Mere mention of Pilani would brighten up his face.

"You have made me ten years younger"- was his instantaneous reaction on being felicitated with Guru Dakshina by the Alumni of BITS 1970-75 batch. You may browse the full story here.

As we were preparing him for the final journey, BITS Alumni Association Global Meet (BGM) 2020 was in progress at Goa. On seeing an on-line message, the BGM proceedings were interrupted on 18th morning and two-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect to him. A great gesture indeed.

Sharing few pictures of last few months when many people had visited him in Jaipur. Countless others whose pictures with him are not here, please pardon us. Do share your picture with Dad or an anecdote. Am sure he will be happy viewing it from top!

When he turned ninety in 2017, we wrote a short poem for him on his 90th birthday. You may like to browse it here.

A Legend lives on.
Once again with gratitude to all of you.

    - From all of us in the family
      - Harsh-Neeta, Raj-Sarita, Rishi-Poonam and Ankush in Jaipur
      - Prabjoth, Ansh and Anuva in Chennai
      - Akanksha, Ankur, Nikhil and Naman in USA
      - Deepti, Karthik and Arjit in Greater Noida

20th Jan 2020
Jaipur

#lossofaparent #fathergoesaway #legendliveson #celebratinglife #dad #touchinglives #amarnathbhargava #broughtsmiles #postcards #bhargavas #bitspilani #institutionbuilder #largerthanlife #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

BITS of Success

_________________ BITS of Success: Our next Book _____________________

In a world besieged with Facebook, LinkedIn, smartphones, WhatsApp, Kindle, iPad and the like—who reads a book? Even the cranky toddlers of today are given an iPad by their mothers to remain busy! Then, why write a book when print media is threatened with oblivion? We still chose to do it—for two reasons. Firstly our alma mater BITS Pilani celebrates its Golden Jubilee this year (1964-2014) and secondly we wanted to showcase BITS alumni achievers of this period. Further brainstorming led us to ‘BITS50@50’ signifying 50 achievers from BITS during last 50 years. Setting the target was the simpler part.

The real challenge was to identify and select 50 achievers to be included in the book. Read the book to know how was the selection done. But as it turned out, majority of the achievers took the challenging path of entrepreneurship. They all had the proverbial ‘fire in their belly’ and toiled to realise their dreams.

This book is about passion, about dreaming and about the ability to realise the dreams. It is about building teams and succeeding against all odds. It is about falling down and bouncing back. It is about humility. It is also about making a difference in the lives of others. It chronicles the inspiring stories of 50 achievers. It includes the frustrations encountered by the individuals. The achievers also share how they achieved or could not achieve the balance between their work and personal lives. But one thing which was common in all the stories—all the achievers credited BITS for being where they are. 

We were pained to exclude many other achievers for want of timely information and/or space. Few other achievers did not want to be in print/limelight. Besides the 50 achievers who are featured in this book, there are countless other BITS alumni who deserve to be showcased. 

Perhaps, the authors of the next volume during Diamond Jubilee of BITS (1964-2024) can include many more of such achievers.

We chose the social media/crowd sourcing seeking suggestions for title of the book and for selecting the best title. Within just three days of posting, more than 50 suggestions were made which were assessed on-line by more than 500 BITSians. The title ‘BITS of Success’ was an outright winner. It was suggested by Jatin Chuglani an alumnus of BITS Hyderabad campus. We thank Jatin for his creativity and spontaneity.

We are grateful to Dr Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chancellor BITS Pilani and Chairman Aditya Birla Group of Industries and Dr K Kasturirangan Former Chairman ISRO and Member Planning Commission for writing the Forewords.

A project of this magnitude could not have been completed without active support of so many people. We have acknowledged them in the book. Omissions if any, may please be excused.

Here is the back cover:

-         

The book will be of interest to Entrepreneurs, Business professionals, Students, Faculty, Educational Institutions, Researchers, Start-ups and anybody having a question 'How do I succeed?' Of course for BITSian readers, the book will result in reactions like 'Look he was my wingie at BITS!'

The book has been published by the Universities Press Hyderabad and has an ISBN Number: 978-81-7371-914-1. It is an initiative of BITSAA Hyderabad.

If you are coming to BITSAA Global Meet (BGM-14), you will get a free copy. If not then you may order it on-line using the link http://universitiespress.com/display.asp?categoryID=0&isbn=978-81-7371-914-1 

We wish to thank our families for believing us every time when we said ‘just coming’ and took another two hours thereafter! Here is the team in action:

Who are these crazy authors-cum-editors? 

Well, all three are BITS alumni and all of them live in Hyderabad.

Anu- an IT professional, Agile Computing expert; 

Kinnera- former Dean ASCI Hyderabad and a social activist and lastly 

Harsh- former Commodore Indian Navy, Adjunct Professor in a B-school, volunteer wellness coach and a learning-lensman! His previous books include 'Virtual Leadership'.

We would like to mention that we have pledged the royalty from this book to BITS Alumni Association Hyderabad.

Hope you enjoy reading the book as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

Postscript: Those who would like a sneak-peak at the book may like to browse the next part of this picture story at http://ghumakkadhb.blogspot.in/2014/01/bits-of-success-is-released.html 

We would welcome your feedback at bitsofsuccess@gmail.com.

   - Ghumakkad Harsh with Kinnera and Anu 

Secunderabad

December 2013 

____________________ End of BITS of Success ______________________