This article was first published in the Mint newspaper on June 1,2016. A few months ago, children in Mungaska village in Alwar district of Rajasthan started using Google Images to travel around the country. Aman, one of the children there, who studies in Class V, had been reading about Qutub Minar in his school textbooks.…
This story by a DEF team member was first published by The Better India on February 16, 2016 The women of Tilonia are in love. And this love is for their newly acquired iPads. Strolling around the campus of Barefoot College in Tilonia village of Ajmer district in Rajasthan, you’ll come across several women walking…
Himanshu and Nitika are two studious siblings who hail from the Tipli Village of Tehri District. They stay with their father Kushal Singh, who is dependent on MNREGA for sustaining his family. The scheme provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household…
This story by a DEF team member was first published in The Better India on March 27, 2016 Every morning at 7 am about 40,000-60,000 people in and around the village of Tilonia in Ajmer district of Rajasthan turn on their radio transistors and tune into 90.4 FM to listen to Norat Mal and Aarti…
This story by a DEF team member was first published by The Better India on May 5, 2016 A foreign national working in India with Digital Empowerment Foundation, Cathy Pin-Chun Chen was recently touring in rural parts of India to document stories of women whose live have changed following digital interventions. She shares their stories…
Soochna Seva Kendras have been established across five districts in five states to act as a one-stop hub for people who want to seek information about government schemes and entilements. One day, when Dhanna Ram, a 58-year-old tailor from Rani Gaon panchayat in Uttar Pradesh, heard about Soocha Seva from one of his neighbours, he…
Twenty-five-year-old Kunti Devi had received a cheque worth Rs. 2,000 under the Janani Suraksha Yojana in 2014 when she was pregnant. However, her husband and her had no knowledge of how to encash a cheque and receive the money entitled to them. And so, the cheque simply gathered dust in their cupboard for a year,…
Fifty-year-old Kamala Devi gave birth to a baby girl at Rani Gaon panchayat in Uttar Pradesh under the Janani Suraksha Scheme, which provides institutional support to beneficiaries. And this was made possible by the assistance of the local Soochna Seva team. “They came to my house when I was three months pregnant. Once I was…
In the high mountains of Katkodh Village, Narendra Nagar Block of Tehri district of Uttarakhand resides an old elderly woman named Gabli Devi. On the day of the field visit of the Soochna Seva Team, they happened to meet Gabli Devi, who was differently abled and very old. Gabli Devi was facing hardships and difficulties…
One of the major solution areas under which Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan, works is Water. Each individual on the campus believes that every drop of fresh water that falls on the ground should be harnessed for use. And so, they use various techniques and methods to conserve as much water as possible. For this…