An old adage says, “A vision without action is merely a dream.” I’ve always been intrigued by social enterprise ideas and their impact on the community at large. Over the years, I have worked on different projects and issues to make a change in the way society works. My one-month internship with Sehgal Foundation has changed the shape of my working technique and ideas. This was the first time I worked in an office setting, following a standard 9–5 routine. Sounds monotonous, right? Well it turned out to be the exact opposite. Walking into the Green Building every morning, I mingled well with the other interns and ended up with good friendships, the coffee machine being the closest of them. Work was fun too. I worked with the Communications team with software called Zoho, a platform with forty applications and multipurpose utility. I studied all the features, handled CRM data analytics, worked on campaign management used for planning and mailing newsletters, and designed posters. Scrolling through contacts and data cleaning improved my accuracy and judgment. Designing work put my creative skills to good use and brought me closer to a hobby I nurtured as a child. The entire team was very helpful and disciplined, providing a warm and productive workspace.

Sehgal Foundation emerged from an idea for impacting our own society in a bigger way. In 2011, when Facebook had taken over the entire world and other platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram were following its path, other initiatives were far away from the world ruled by social media. A grassroots initiative pursued by Sehgal Foundation is community radio. Alfaz-e-Mewat FM 107.8 was started by the organization in Nuh district of Haryana in 2012. The station has given a voice to rural communities in the region. I had an opportunity to visit the Community Center in Ghaghas, a small village on the foothills of the Aravallis. A small setup has one transmission room and one recording studio. The station is run by a staff of five people and reaches more than 250 villages. With more than twenty different programs, the radio channel runs five hours in the morning and eight hours in the evening. The staff has learned so much due to their energy and skills have made the station well-known in the community radios across the nation. Shakir and Fakat, lead staff at the station, gave me insights about the programs and how the recording and transmission work.

Mubina, the caretaker who lives behind the building, learned radio by witnessing the work day in and day out. It was a great to see a local Nuh singer, Niyamat, perform and record songs at the station. The harmonium and table used in the recording added a local touch to his singing.

The peaceful ambience at the center gets its green streak from a nearby crop demonstration plot used for piloting new techniques and methods. Although my internship is over, the experience and memories I am taking with me will stay with me for my entire lifetime.

(Nitish Mehta, a student of BTech Computer Engineering at Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, interned with Sehgal Foundation for the month of June 2019.)

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I had the opportunity to do an assignment with the Sehgal Foundation and visit some villages in Mewat (Nuh) district along with Crystal Harris, from the World Food Prize in Iowa in the United States. Our first day at Sehgal Foundation, March 8, 2017, was celebrated as International Women’s Day. The women on staff got together to celebrate womanhood. The theme of the event was Nazariya—to change the mindset of everyone toward women. The topics discussed were mostly related with women’s empowerment. Many panchayat (village council) members and field workers presented their views on women’s issues and shared various success stories. Village women and girls were really enthusiastic in sharing their experiences. It was enriching to listen to the experiences of grassroots workers.

EXPERIENCE AT COMMUNITY RADIO CENTER (ALFAZ-E-MEWAT)

We visited the community radio at Ghaghas village. Community radio is a unique initiative by the foundation in collaboration with the Government of India that has given voice to the people of the region and furthered a community-led development process. After an amazing experience talking with the people who coordinate activities at the center, we had a sense of how community radio has created a platform for villagers to discuss their problems and their views about social issues, including issues generally considered as taboo in our society. Community radio has also helped villagers during the demonetization period, giving them timely information. Children participated as well in various activities that day.

I had the opportunity to record a program on the radio regarding exam fever. This was my first time on radio. I shared my own experience as a child during exams and suggested the importance of proper diet, sleep, and of course preparation for exams.

TEACHING A DIGITAL LITERACY CLASS

Our next stop was to witness a digital literacy class in progress in Nangal village. We shared some of our own knowledge about digital devices to adolescent girls. We talked about Internet banking and various apps, such as BHIM, USSD, Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It was a great experience talking to those girls. We asked them about their dreams and aspirations. Some wanted to study more, some want to become teachers, and most want to pursue a career in the medical field. They complained about financial hardships as well as the lack of available facilities. Everyone eagerly came forward to discuss about their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, all of them wanted to learn the English language.

Visit to a life skills center, a primary school, and the site of a check dam

On our last day, we visited with women at a life skills center who were learning stitching. They were so much excited to show what they have made and discuss their learning experiences.

We then visited a primary school. The renovation and wall paintings on the building were done by Sehgal Foundation in collaboration with Mosaic Fertilizer. The school looked bright, and it was amazing to see all the images on the wall of the school.

The most interesting thing to learn about was the seesaw machine that served a dual purpose. Children can play on the seesaw and their playing activity pumps water to the storage tank. This innovative initiative by the foundation needs to be adopted in more schools.

We visited a check dam in Firozpur-Zirka block of Mewat district built by Mewat Development Authority in collaboration with Coca-Cola India and Sehgal Foundation in 2012. This check dam turned out to be a boon for villagers in this area. Before this check dam, they were facing severe water scarcity and a drinking water problem. The groundwater level in this area has increased by about 100 meters and provides irrigation for agricultural purposes.

These ten days were really amazing for me. I had a great learning experience of the foundation’s work going on in the villages that need to be replicated in other areas also. I enjoyed a great engagement with Crystal Harris. She is a great human being who was very much inclined to do whatever can be done for those girls in the villages. It is really good to meet with people who have concerns for others. I hope that this kind of good work will continue with great vigor for the welfare of people in rural India.

(This is the edited version of the blog by, Ritambhara Singh, who volunteered with Sehgal Foundation during March 2017)

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Positivity has started to rule, and the earlier inhibitions, the negative clouds of doubts, and justification of my move toward this fellowship are becoming clear. A few days back I had an opportunity to understand and begin the main work of my fellowship. A studio in a radio station at the foothills of the Aravallis in Haryana, housed in a community center in village Ghaghas, is a place where people talk and let the community talk, make others listen to their voice through community radio and try hard to bring a change within the community. And there I was, about to take my first step inside and trying to understand the focus of this fellowship. Many questions crossed my mind; will I be the one who might inspire a few? Or will I be able to bring some change? I went ahead to find answers to those questions.

People handling the studio were very respectful and welcoming, looking at such warmth to a stranger; then a part of me started to doubt their intent. To put aside the anxiety and stress, I gulped down several mugs of water and sought relief.

Later on, my mentor introduced me to all the studio members and therefore, past the introduction, I achieved one of the crucial experiences of my life, which made me a little confused about my destiny, but surely brought me a step closer to discovering it.

Some Studio Experiences

First time LIVE: Till now, I had done two live programs. The first one was on the occasion of International Youth Day in which we discussed various problems faced by the youth of Mewat related to education, employment, drug addiction, etc. We also took some phone calls from the community in which citizens shared their views about how the youth of Mewat is attracted toward crime because of their unemployment. They asked some interesting questions like the importance of education, and if parents are uneducated then how they can inspire or provide good education to their children? And why don’t today’s youth want to pursue the agriculture sector, their traditional occupation? Through the medium of radio, we heard some of the most critical issues faced by the youth of the nation.

The second program was kind of fun activity in which “हिन्दी दिवस” was celebrated in order to promote the Hindi language. We played a telephonic quiz with the listeners and asked the Hindi meanings of some very common words such as cycle, cricket, matchbox, etc. We took it upon ourselves to speak in Hindi only, and if anyone violated the rule, that person was penalized by singing a song or poem. We had a huge response from the community that I enjoyed a lot. It was a very different experience from the previous one.

I am excited to work on a new radio program focused on the cultural heritage of Mewat. Mewat has a very interesting and a unique history. The historical structures have been damaged due to simple ignorance of the value of ancient remains. The community wants their history and heritage to have its rightful place and recognition. I am hopeful that the program will be able to achieve this vision.

(This blog has been written by Aman Sharma, an Ideosync UNESCO India fellow hosted with S M Sehgal Foundation in 2016-17.)

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