finding rickshaw.

My co-worker Niraj urged me to push for my abstract logo desgin.  Rajubhai approved and we will be using the logo below for the Livelihood Resource Center:

LRC Logo.

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Our Livelihood Resource Center (LRC) implementation is underway. Roopali, Mohan (Umeed faculty) and I are working towards a January launch date. The LRC is essentially a miniature “career center” for Umeed graduates where they can check e-mail, talk to a counselor about jobs / life, and search / apply for jobs (a better version of gtown’s). Meanwhile, the LRC will help Saath formally track students’ progress and provide a foundation to explore a highly-specialized training and employer staffing model.

So far we’ve received funding approval for 6 new computers, a printer and a scanner. I’m working on a marketing brochure (by working, I mean asking someone to write it for me in Gujarati). I’m also making an excel database to collect / track student progress (i made a small fist pump when I opened excel). We are also looking to hire a career counselor and a data manager.

Yesterday, we interviewed potential data managers, all of whom were former Umeed students. This was HARD. First because, I was leading the interviews and my questions had to be translated to Hindi or Gujarati which it made it challenging to get clear responses. But mainly because each student wanted the position badly, so it was difficult to separate desire from capability.

Last week, when my family was visiting, my mom and sister questioned whether they could work here because they feared becoming too emotionally attached to be productive. I felt the same way during these interviews – I wanted to hire everyone I met.

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Last Tuesday was Eid (the Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan), so I had the day off from work. While Gujarat has a lot of religious tension, the state does “formally” honor religious freedom by declaring major Hindu, Muslim and Christian events as Holidys. My parents, my cousins, Harsh and Kanisha, and I went to the Adlaj stepwells (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalaj), which were built in 1499AD and used to keep water cool. The wells are five stories in height and blend Hindu and Islamic architecture. At different points in the day, the sun makes incredible reflections on the water.  Very cool.

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Georgetown 79 – Memphis 70.

Nothing like a Saturday night spent refreshing ESPN.com.

Am happy. Good night.

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A lot has happened over the past two months at work. Every day, Saath is unveiling a new inititaive: a construction survey (analysis of the families living in the blue tents on the side of the road); scaling up Umeed, the vocational training program (Microsoft is sponsoring the rollout in Rajastan); starting an affordable health insurance scheme; housing models, etc.

This was rather intimidating at first because I wanted to help, but had no idea where to start. But after meeting with Umeed students and faculty, interviewing alumni and conversing with co-workers, we (Umeed staff and I) put together proposal for a “Livelihood Resource Center” (LRC). I sat down with Rajubhai (head of Saath), Hitesh (head of Umeed) and Niraj (head of the URC) two weeks ago and after their significant input / comments / guidance, we are going to implement a pilot of the LRC.

Essentially, the LRC will:

1. Document the progress of all Umeed graduates by routinely calling each student (to measure impact).
2. Provide formal post-placement counseling/mentoring to Umeed graduates.
3. Provide computer access (MS Office, internet, higher training).

We are launching the first LRC in January at the Behrampura center. In addition, we are also putting computers in the URC (Urban Resource Centers where residents get access to basic services, livelihood programs and health info) as there is a large demand for basic computer access. This will be launched at the Vasna URC.

We will charge nominal fees for each service, but the long-term goals are:

1. To set-up a staffing service where we charge employers for placement services (within one year).
2. To equip community residents with computer skills so they become marketable for e-commerce (within 2-3 years); create employment through BPOs, consumption and distribution through e-retail, and e-governance, healthcare and education.

In other work-related news, I attended a co-worker’s wedding (and his bachelor party). A bunch of us from work went to the wedding, which was 20 kms outside of Ahmedabad. My co-workers (and their kids) are fun. Pictures below:

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My sister and the rest of team Google Chicago (sans Ernie) were in Delhi last week for Sonya (their co-worker) and Rohit’s wedding. I played wedding crashers and joined them at the last minute. The first night I met up with Carolyn, a fellow fellow, and looked forward to a night out in Delhi...we settled for mocktails though, as Delhi went “dry” for the weekend due to the city elections. 1 mocktail cost Rs. 400…not sure how Carolyn survives on the stipend in Delhi.

On Friday, we (Priti, my cousin Amy, Amy’s fiancé Jesse, Kerry, Bex, Melissa, Emily, Erica, Kevin and his brother) went to the wedding. When it comes to describing “fun” experiences, I have no credibility, because I think each subsequent event is always the “greatest ever”. However, in terms of venue, amenities, decorations, food and drinks – this was the best wedding I have even been to – it was replete with elephants, authentic Indian decorations, a 3 acre venue on “farm” land, a 40 foot bar, a shot bar, delicious food, American and Bollywood (yes, Desi Girl) music, QT with the married couple and paying off the India po-po 3 times to keep the reception going until 4am (only in India?).

Highlights include: Amy vs. Priti; Jesse giving shots (10) to the innocent shot bartender (leading to his inevitable firing) ; Harry and Pam; Priti’s newest dance moves (ie jumping straight up and down w/ drink in hand); Erica, her favorite dance partner & spilled wine; Emily and “IFI”; Bathroom confessions; Bex’s search for rum; Hyderabad planning; Sibling pictures and candid shots.

Some pictures below, the rest on Picassa:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rick.desai/AGoogleWedding?authkey=YJOnJQrwP08#

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I’ve been meaning to write an update about work and I will tomorrow … but below is a story from last week.

I sat in on a class that teaches child laborers basic life skills (importance of education, nutrition, hygiene, etc.). In the middle of the class, the teacher began reading Gujarati and English poems and the children would recite the poems back. The students don’t speak English, so it was more of a fun memorization exercise.

Taking pictures and enjoying the moment, I was caught completely off guard when the teacher asked me to give a poem for the kids to recite. I was stumped. And the only thing I could think of was the Johnny Appleseed grace we used to say before lunch at DCD Junior School. I tried to make it relevant and PC, but failed:

Original: Oh, the Lord has been good to me; for giving me the things I need; the sun, the rain and the apple seed; Oh, the Lord has been good to me.

My new version: Oh, our Bhagvans have been good to me; for giving me the things I need; the sun, the rain and the keda seed; Oh, our Bhagvans have been good to me.

(In Gujarati, Bhagvan = God and Keda = Banana … do banana’s even have seed?)

It was embarrassing – but I think the kids enjoyed it.

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I’ve been delinquent on writing about my Diwali-Kerala trip, but because my fellow fellows, Michael and Meera described the trip perfectly, I’ll just pass along their summaries:

http://yaudaipur.blogspot.com/2008/11/beef-beer-and-bananas-in-gods-own.html & http://meerasinha.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/kerala/

Kerala has moved past Cinqueterra and is now just behind Kenya for best places I’ve ever visited. See some of the pictures below; I’ve posted the rest to Picassa:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rick.desai/GodSCountry?authkey=aXtlhada-eI#

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I wanted to thank everyone who inquired about my family and my safety after the Mumbai attacks — thank you for your concern.

Since July, there have been terrorist bombings in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bangalore (over 150 killed) – but none received the local attention that these Mumbai attacks saw. The rest of the world was also much more aware of the hotel shootings; CNN and BBC had dedicated coverage and I received concerned inquiries from family and friends. In the previous attacks, I feel that Westerners (like I do at home) barely batted an eye. I wonder if the peaked interest / concern was due to belief that “US and western citizens were targeted” or the three day tragic duration of the attacks or the fear of conflict escalation between Pakistan and India. Whatever the case, I hope that 1) India begins to adopt more preventative measures of security rather than reactionary, that 2) the rest of the world remains involved in terminating India’s recent terror wave, and 3) India’s states become united in their fight on terrorism.

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Everyone here calls the months of November – February “NRI Season” (NRI = Non-Resident Indian). They are right. Already, I’ve been treated to a few nice dinners by my visiting relatives and my friends’ families from the US. Before this trip, I had only come to India with my family during NRI season as well; the weather, a San Diego esque 75 degrees, serves as a great reprieve from the Midwest winters and allows us to visit family without suffering through the heat or the monsoons.

In the next few months, Mihira, my sister, my parents and Shobin are all visiting. Am excited.

Over the past five years, there has also been a steady flow of young American born Indians coming to India at all times of the year, however their motives aren’t the weather, the family, the shopping or vacation. Rather, young NRIs (like me and my fellow fellows) have come to India to work, serve and live. The livelihoods are all vastly different; some are (were) here working with global companies, others for volunteer work, some to be entrepreneurial and a few to pursue religious causes. The following link is to an engaging article that details this “reverse migration” very well:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/weekinreview/23anand.html?_r=3&em

While I agreed with 90% of the article, I thought it 1) discounted America and 2) overlooked the glaring issues of India. If America’s “crisis of confidence” has proved anything, it is that the world is increasingly interconnected and that unfortunately, given the world’s dependence on the US, America’s problems have to be endured by the world (ie India’s stock market has moved in lock-step with the Dow and economic growth is declining).

Additionally, as it stands today, the “brighter future” of India’s youth only includes 50% of India’s children as the rest of of the country lives in inexcusable poverty. The world often criticizes the US and I have too recently, but at the end of the day, the US’s societal problems involve trying to get affordable health care from 85% of the nation to 100%, not trying to get basic services to half of the population.

I love that so many people have come to India, that I’m here, and so many more are interested in coming here to serve, live and even profit. But, it should not be lost on us, that while India has achieved tremendous economic success, it is still very much a developing country that needs to prioritize and reallocate resources to its masses.

Happy Thanksgiving; Go Lions.

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