Sandbox

The Rural Edge: Sandboxer Zhihan Lee in India

January 14th, 2010 by Sandbox

Sandboxer Zhihan Lee is currently taking part in a three month long project, supported by his university in Singapore, to support “The Rural Edge“, an Indian-led project which works towards reducing rural poverty sustainably. During their one month stay in India he and his colleagues supported them in creating an online presence and by raising funds in Singapore. Their goal is to set the ground work for future business development. In this post, Zhihan shares his experiences and learnings.

Rajesh Bhat, 27, charismatically stretched his arms outwards and suddenly pointed to a young villager, “You! Why are you here! Tell me now!” The boy, who could not be more than 20 years old could not answer him, instead he stammered “I want to learn, Sir! I want to learn English and get a job.” Rajesh brushed away his comment and looked at the young Indian crowd of 100 and said, “We do not want you to just get a job, that’s selfish! I not only want you to get a job, I want you to help reach out to your fellow villagers and transform their lives!”

The essence of The Rural Edge is embodied in the speech that Rajesh gave to 118 trainees involved in the project in Kanakagiri, India. When I first met Rajesh, he was an unassuming software engineer- turned entrepreneur only for one purpose, to enable poor, rural villagers in India to live a life of dignity, through the power of training and work. Rural poverty has plagued India for a long time. According to the World Bank, more than one quarter of India’s population still lives below the official poverty line today. In 2007, Rajesh had an idea to transform rural India using the internet and he set out to do it. Today, The Rural Edge has completed a proof of concept, having trained 8 villagers with no and little education and has successfully employed them to work in a BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) company, Village BPO, based in Bangalore. The Rural Edge is currently training more than 100 villagers.

The first question which I had for Rajesh was how he plans to do this because it was obvious that the Indian education system was not good enough. Villagers tend to go back to the fields after they have completed compulsory school. For many, the only other alternative is to travel to the city to find work. Rajesh realized that he could reverse this trend by creating BPO centers in villages. First, he needs to train villagers with little or no education within a very short time span. With the curriculum tailored specifically to the criteria of the hiring companies, The Rural Edge was able to educate villagers in Basic English, Mathematical, Computing, and Logical skills to conduct basic administrative work within 4-8 months. Setting up the internet infrastructure was a major problem. However, with close ties with SAMUHA, a well-established local NGO, he was able to maintain three campuses with broadband internet connection.

After a one year experience with a med-tech company in Stockholm and various encounters with entrepreneurs working on various social problems, I was more than inspired to work with one, hoping somehow to learn, not only to see what works and what not, but to instill myself with the values that a social entrepreneur embodies – the audacity and tenacity in working against all odds, selfless, inspiring all while providing the sustenance to solve a pressing need in society, just like a lotus flower in a harsh and unforgiving environment.

The Rural Edge had, among many other needs, a severe need for funds (one of the founders had to put a mortgage on his home in Bangalore) , a need to have a standardized teaching curriculum and an even more pressing need to find more companies to outsource their work to potential graduates of the program.

In India, I work in a team of 6 Singaporeans, supported by our university’s entrepreneurship center. All of us have some business experience in start-up companies such as in Stockholm (Sweden), Philadelphia (US) and Shanghai (China), were hopeful to contribute to this social enterprise with our diversified expertise in a very short one month. In the past two weeks, the team and I were involved in establishing an online presence through brand creation, producing effective marketing collaterals and raising funds in Singapore. Our task can be quite a handful for just three months (one in India and two months in Singapore) but ultimately, the aim is to set the ground work for future business development for both The Rural Edge and its business entity, Village BPO Pvt Ltd.

Working in a technological oasis amongst dry farmlands in rural India seems to be of relative comfort, while battling with constant power outrages, pesky mosquitoes and the dubious source of portable water.

However, nothing can beat the fact that I am in India, where the cows rule the roads. Otherwise, the right of way in the one way roads goes to the bigger vehicle. It is also important for vehicle-vehicle communication, which one often witness in the form of an echoing of the horn when vehicles near each other. There are hardly any traffic lights at road junctions. Speed regulators are in the form of a sharp bump which will often jolt you off the seat, reminding you of the harsh realities that some people face in the world, suffering under the inequality, injustice and stigma of whatever system. Using the fingers of the right hand to eat I enjoy the food better. That is when I realize that not only our taste has been made numb with the use of in-animate folks and spoons, unfeeling instruments that we have been putting into our mouths. Meeting villagers with no education, I feel humbled by their eagerness to learn. I came here to help make a difference to these people and realized that our potential as a human species is limited by our willingness to help one another, to understand and empower one another.

Visit http://www.theruraledge.com for more details on the project that I am working on. If you have 5 minutes to spare, also take a look at this video which was just produced, at http://vimeo.com/8305717