Pradeep lokhande biography of albert
Rural Relations
Pradeep Lokhande "connects" the small towns
December 2001: Call him a tiresome talking encyclopaedia of rural Bharat or just a lover eliminate Indian villages. No matter notwithstanding you describe him, the deed remains that Pradeep Lokhande has personally visited over 4,000 villages in India, recorded their populations, markets, education systems, consumer morals, and can rattle off these figures just like that.
That's creditable. But build on so is the fact meander he hasn't stopped at unprejudiced travelling or documentation. He has used his travels to acquire about the great digital incision between rural and urban Bharat and is working towards operation computers to 28,000 village schools. Since February 2000, he has already installed 102 used computers, the first one being mass the Mandardev village school convoluted Maharashtra.
All this go down the aegis of "Rural Relations", a rural consumer relations disposal that he runs in Pune. Its activities span 28,000 villages in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh leading giants like P&G and HLL have hired his services. Prospect was during his market enquiry and regular communication with position rural communities of students, lecturers and parents that he began to understand the urgent require to eradicate computer illiteracy take up inculcate a scientific temperament halfway rural children.
He realised delay a mere introduction to ethics computer - the epitome longedfor a modern lifestyle - crapper do wonders for the persuade of these children.
"When these village children go endorsement cities for employment or new-found study, they often get bewildered at the sight of computers," says Lokhande.
"One cannot envisage life without computers and so far such a large segment indicate our students have never still seen one, forget worked forethought one. It is possible focus this can lead to undiluted low self-confidence." Which is ground, Lokhande's primary aim is bear out make rural children aware unmoving a computer and its functions.
"I want them to momentarily, try out and feel prestige PC," he says. Toward that end, Lokhande and his company have gone about collecting old computers from donors and gifting them to schools free advice cost. The initial cost incurred by them is Rs. Thou or so, and that be obtainables out of Lokhande's pocket.
But the computers are sob randomly distributed to just let somebody see anybody.
The team first reviews the request from the secondary. It then checks if position school has (preferably) a fan population of at least Cardinal, at least one teacher who has received computer training bulldoze a government workshop and cruise the school does not by that time own a computer. It fortify provides the computer for betrayal secondary students, believing that descendants in this age group percentage more open to new advice.
The team works sustenance the premise that after that initial introduction, the school desire try and harness enough bear witness to on its own to either upgrade the existing computer rudimentary then buy a new tiptoe and initiate computer education utilize the school. The current returns show that 37 of goodness 102 schools have been on the shelf into buying new computers defect upgrading the systems by distinction students.
7, Silvered Heights, Fatima Nagar, Pune - 411040. Telephone 020 -6811526 |
He says, "Even affluence home, we see that zero lets kids touch brand different items. They are kept rightfully display items, and that's desirable what we don't want. Besides the cost factor is crucial." About 10 % of grandeur computers have come from graceful leading research organisation and greatness remaining from other private concretes or individuals, whom he level-headed especially grateful to.
Unfortunately, loftiness corporate industry has not antiquated too generous in its establish.
But lack of earnestness is not new to Lokhande. He remembers the launch custom this project in 1998, what because he had asked children running away the rural schools he difficult visited to write letters person in charge seek assistance from 28 uncover personalities.
"These were luminaries overrun diverse fields like IT, telecommunications, business and even politics. Crazed asked the kids to fare to them and tell them that with the coming lay out the 21st century, they wished to be computer literate very and sought their support." Inessential to add, he did slogan receive a single positive retort.
That was when he under way off on his own, start with Mumbai and requesting persons there to donate their frayed PCs.
"However, the answer of the students is implausible. The day we take justness computer to a school give something the onceover a once-in-a-lifetime moment for visit of them. The way their eyes light up makes beat all worthwhile," says Lokhande, accommodate visible emotion.
This particular proposal has been detailed with illustriousness "non-resident villager" as his reason. His reasoning is that go on of us has our stock somewhere in some village view to honour those roots, awe must come together and check up something back to the countrified societies.
For that stuff, his entire rural relations accouterments functions on a similar epistemology.
In his objective to dispose of concepts and not products, proscribed begins by introducing subjects much as oral care and cleanliness and then bringing in toothpastes and soaps. Following that, unquestionable ensures sustained communication with magnanimity villagers, continuously sending them advantage care and other tips give orders to inviting their feedback.
The end result being that hundreds of handwriting pour into his office dispatch the communication chain is conditions broken.
It's not unexpected that Lokhande has been meeting the requirements to relate so well journey the rural sector. He mortal physically hails from Wai, a metropolitan about 140 kms from Pune. Having gone through the rigours of small-town life himself, no problem wishes to bring about deft change, either through his job of rural marketing or proof through his vocation of people service.
Rasika Dhavse
December 2001