Rabiya is 12 years old, and the best English student in her class. Since becoming a student at CHILDReach, an Atma Partner school, Rabiya has been able to excel in subjects that were previously inaccessible to her. This is because CHILDReach offers Rabiya a classroom environment and specialized attention that supports her unique learning style.
Photo by Neha Kumthekar (more…)
The Foundation for Mother and Child Health India (FMCH) improves the lives of mothers and children by providing programs focused on preventative healthcare, education, and nutritional interventions to underprivileged communities. Founded in 2005 in Indonesia, FMCH believes that a child’s development in the early years of their life is a foundation for their future educational and personal development.
Malnutrition in children is the result of several factors, most of which fall under a lack of access to resources and education. A limited family income, poor knowledge of basic nutrition and hygiene practices, and limited access to medical support, safe water and proper accommodation all contribute to the issue of child malnutrition. FMCH’s mission is to tackle malnutrition in innovative ways. Through medical clinics, health talks, home visits and cooking and parenting classes, FMCH approaches early childhood development and health from multiple angles. By addressing health issues and malnutrition in pregnant women, infants and young children, and by teaching proper nutrition, they focus on the holistic development of the child and empower women to make smart health choices for their families.
In 2011, The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon raised 12.16 crores towards charities and NGOs across Mumbai. Through their participation in the Marathon, 138 corporate companies played a large role in the fundraising effort.
Over the past 11 years, the Marathon has grown into a fantastic event for NGOs, corporates and individuals to come together towards creating social impact. Why should a corporate company take advantage of the incredible exposure and community engagement opportunity that comes with the Race day?
Photo by Cory Goldberg
The Corporate Challenge is a category which allows corporate companies to participate in the Mumbai Marathon on behalf of a nonprofit organisation of their choice. Besides the visibility and exposure provided by the large scale event, there are multiple other benefits for corporate companies that choose to engage in the Marathon.
The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is Asia’s largest marathon, and one of India’s single platforms for fundraising. [1]
In the past, the Mumbai Marathon has served as an incredible event for awareness and fundraising for NGOs across India, as well as to help showcase the social issues they address. In 2010, 107 NGOs chose to participate in the Mumbai Marathon. In 2011, 179 NGOs were registered in the Marathon, collectively raising Rs 12.16 crore. Based on the growth witnessed over the past few years, NGO involvement is expected to continue to grow exponentially.
The key to a successful Marathon campaign for any NGO is having an extensive planning process and clear goals. Preparing for the Mumbai Marathon encompasses much more than showing up on Race Day: planning requires a large investment of time and energy in marketing your cause, finding participants and corporate teams, and completing the registration processes. However, approaching the Marathon preparations in a strategic way guarantees an incredible outcome for an NGO.
In 2010 Emily Quinan came to India for the first time from Canada on an AIESEC internship to teach as a volunteer at a school for children with special needs in Kerala. Through this experience, Emily glimpsed the challenges faced by the NGO sector in India. She also realized that although teaching for a short period was a rewarding experience, her time in Kerala didn’t have a long term impact on the NGO or the community.
So, when Emily graduated with a BA in psychology from McGill University, she began looking for a way to engage in capacity building that would have a more lasting impact. “I was drawn to what Atma does because I realised that there are so many NGOs in India that aren’t running to the best of their ability,” said Emily Quinan of her initial attraction to working with Atma. Emily saw the potential of NGOs to facilitate change, but also observed that organisations often need someone to devote their time and expertise to take projects ahead. Emily was also looking for an opportunity to gain professional experience and use her expertise in the field of education. Before coming to India, Emily had done significant research in the fields of special education, effective motivation and praise, and teaching methods for children with special needs. Based on her research in the Interpersonal Relationships lab and Language and Memory lab at McGill,her background working with children with learning difficulties and her interest in curriculum design, Emily was paired with Atma Partner CHILDReach to develop an English Curriculum for children with learning difficulties.
“One of my high school teachers once said to me, ‘If you’re not doing something about it, you don’t get to complain about it.’ The most important thing I have learned over the past 4 years is that talk is meaningless. It’s not enough to complain about the problems we see in the world today, the only way to make change is to stop complaining and start doing. Action does not just speak louder than words, it is the only thing that will create change.”
Atma began with an idea. Mumbai has thousands of NGOs that are founded by passionate social entrepreneurs who have an incredible vision. However, most NGOs struggle with a lack of resources which prevents them from truly achieving their goals and effectively reaching underprivileged children and young adults in Mumbai.
Divya arrived in Mumbai in June 2010 to begin her Atma volunteership. Almost one year later, she looks back on her professional experience in the Mumbai social sector.
As a recent undergrad of Indian origin about to immerse myself in the Canadian corporate world, I was looking to contribute to the non-profit sector in India in a meaningful way. I knew volunteering would provide perspective on international development issues, be personally fulfilling, and allow me to reconnect with my roots. While researching development sector opportunities, I was impressed by Atma’s professional website, well structured volunteer program, and defined volunteer roles. Atma’s extensive experience weaving volunteers from all over the world into the fabric of Mumbai assured me the transition would be smooth. Atma’s position as a ‘capacity builder’ also seemed like the ideal place to bridge my corporate experience with the non-profit sector.
I had worked in a variety of corporate internships and had volunteered in an ad hoc manner during my university career. However, I had very little experience as a full-time volunteer. My first and most important goal was to make an impact by using my skills in a meaningful way. Secondly, I was hoping for a better understanding of what life in India is like and what working in the non-profit sector is like. In short, I wanted to give of my skills to a cause I believed in, and take away a personal and professional development experience. (more…)
After finishing her BA in International Business, Simran Daryanani began considering working in the field of development. She knew that her classroom studies could only take her so far, and was looking for an opportunity to use her skills on the ground and gain professional experience. Her search for real hands-on social sector experience brought her to Atma.
In April, Simran finished a six-month Atma volunteership. Simran assisted with organisational development at Atma’s newest partner, the Foundation for Mother and Child Health (FMCH).FMCH aims to improve early childhood development by providing underprivileged communities with health and nutrition education as well as interventions such as clinics and nutrition supplement programs.
Photo by Jacek Rezsko
At FMCH, Simran found a challenging volunteer opportunity: one that allowed her to truly work on the ground in the strategic planning and programs of an NGO.
A newly released book “Poor Economics” by renowned economists Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo compiles economic studies investigating some of the most challenging development issues of our time.
At Atma, we address the issue of quality education in India through our daily efforts to strengthen NGOs in this field. Esther and Abhijit address the issue of quality education by taking a critical look at the effectiveness of social efforts in education. What works? What does not work? The practitioners we work with every day understand this from the reality of their experience, working in difficult social and political environments. So what do Ether and Abhijit say that reflects the insight our partners have developed from their own years in the field?
One study by Abhijit Banerjee shows that mobilizing communities to improve education is not as simple as it seems. “Pitfalls of participatory programs: evidence from a randomized evaluation in education in India”[1] looks at the impact of a program pilotedby Pratham designed to mobilize communities in order to support the improvement of the quality of education. By providing information to communities, like the quote below, Pratham hoped to shock communities into mobilizing through Village Education Committees (VEC), who hold the power to manage educational entities, including hiring and firing local school staff.
Sheetal is like many of the mothers living in the Mahalaxmi area: she works hard to care for her daughter and provide opportunities for her development. Unlike many of the women in her community, Sheetal and her daughter are benefiting from regular doctor visits and nutritional counselling to ensure their best possible health.
The program that allows Sheetal and other young mothers to access nutritional education and counselling is called ‘Bloom’. Bloom is just one of the initiatives of Atma Partner ‘the Foundation for Mother and Child Health (FMCH). FMCH focuses on innovative ways of addressing health and nutrition education with specific, community-based interventions.
