Exuberant techies form Prasanna technologies in Mangaluru, an IT company catering to public utilities were busy at their desks trying to complete project assignments within the stipulated time. In the modern galloping world ‘time is money’ for all techies where they have to race against time to meet project deadlines. Holidays during weekends provide them necessary break from routine to move their bodies though brains remain at work most times. In this scenario finding time to work on any other assignment is out of question and if they allot little time, ultimately they will have to bear the extra burden for going off-track.
Good managers find time for everything, every time and use every opportunity to augment company’s growth with meticulous planning. Astute team leaders are an integral part in the present day work structure but asking them to do something different is an arduous task.

Few techies, over ‘Chai pe churcha’ sessions expressed their willingness to do something for the society which has given them everything to keep them happy. It is this noble thought that turned the team to formulate a special program to work in an unfamiliar field with no returns coming their way except contentment. Self motivation, internal drive, team work are all necessary to reach one’s goal when one thinks of a program which has far reaching effect.

Not that they were not aware of such initiatives in the past. Through their company most had taken part in fund raising events for charities, blood donation camps, Swach Bharath campaign and other social activities. In most cases it used be a simple affair and once completed forgotten forever. Aware of consequences they wanted to design and develop a program which can change the face of the society and rightly they chose theme ‘education’. Literacy is at the heart of basic education, essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy.

Keeping the international day of literacy in mind which is on September 8, this team thought of little children studying in grade 1-3 in a state where primary education has not taken off in expected lines despite concerted efforts by the government.

The UNESCO in its message has clearly stated its goals in the fast changing world and emphasised on literacy and education for overall development in third world countries. Taking a leaf out of the UNESCO’s message techies devised a forty day planning program for a one day mission starting from scratch not only to create an impact in the field of education but to inspire their generation to work and support them to change the face of nation. In that 40 days trail they had to develop an interesting package to make little children get involved actively and also assess the overall response, present societal literacy levels and devise newer strategies for future.

Every employee was designated some role or the other to ensure participation with team leaders for this specific project being different from those in the existing company structure. Scripting the content (syllabus), creation of graphics (for puzzles and activities), choosing the right activities for a 3 hour session to know children skills in analytical & logical reasoning, fund raising, arranging gifts, handling official correspondence and logistics were meticulously planned for this program which costs round around Rs 5 lakhs with major contribution coming from employees themselves.

In the first phase around 130 government schools mainly from Dakshina Kananda, Udupi, Shivamogga, Bengaluru and Hubli were chosen to reach 10,000 students with two employees to coordinate activities in each government school. Around 250 employees supported by few volunteers were on a one day mission.

Accordingly techies set out on September 3 morning like polling officers on election duty and reached their designated school well in advance to carry out the given assignments. As usual the day began at 9 am with morning assembly and progressed during regular school hours. An activity booklet of 25 pages was made specifically for this program which contained activities like drawing, picture puzzles, number puzzles and painting and few others. Techies donned the role of educators during the 3 hour period where sufficient time was allotted for children to carry out each individual activity.

Ground realities

The respective school teachers and students were very receptive though it took few minutes in the beginning to break the ice.

Teaching fraternity listed their problems. The team came across a single-teachered school where the sole teacher spoke of her difficulties of handling her nine students from Grade 1 to 5.

Few teachers opted for guest teachers by paying from their own pockets to counter work pressure and to keep children happy. Children belonging to lower strata of society mainly of migratory labour force had no motivation on their own to reach the school. Lack of adequate infrastructure and teaching aids found wanting in few schools. In the field of value education children were lagging way far behind their peers in other schools.

Techies’ views

Techies themselves interacted with the children from their own families and those of friends, teachers and academicians to formulate strategy and syllabus to fine tunes all aspects of their mission. They made prior visits to gather inputs so that core areas can be addressed, Unfortunately support from clubs, NGO’s and leading corporates linked to education field fell short of expectations. The void was filled by the management of Prasanna technologies which invested in this ‘start up’ whole-heartedly by giving employees enough time and resources to execute a special ‘non-profitable’ project.

The enthusiasm which existed throughout the 40 day period did not evaporate after the mission as techies wanted to go back and do more in future. Reacting on their own day’s experience team member Preetham said, if each individual working in corporate sector can give 1% of his/her valuable time (15 minutes daily) and resources, the face of India can be changed in quick time with little involvement from the government.

Another lady from the group said, children studying in government schools are smarter than what we think but they just need little impetus and constant monitoring to equip them to face challenges of future.

Awestruck by their skills in problem solving another techie said, in few cases little kids were solving problems in quick time than most of us and were able to figure out problem areas well in advance.

One more member said the girl studying in Kannada medium not well versed in the medium of instruction worked wonders when interacted in Hindi a language she was more familiar with.

Most techies admitted the broken English language skills of students were better than their own at that phase of life.

Little angels’ aspirations

Little kids who interacted with the team did speak of their aspirations, which left eyebrows raised.

A little girl from grade 2 wanted to own a fancy store while a boy from Class III wanted to join Indian armed forces. One wanted to be bus driver, while another wanted to be a school teacher.

Unforgettable experience

Glee on the content faces of techies summed up the day’s outcome. Their resolve to continue the good work and not stop like others (most teachers and students gave instances where many never turned back in the past) should inspire all other corporate employees to do their bit to society to make India a superpower in true sense!

Techies gifted valuable ‘learning kit’ to each child and ‘education kit’ to all teachers, but unknowingly, they had gifted another precious gift and that was their time and dedication. The experience associated with joy of giving and good times spent with children will remain forever live among all those who took part in the event  to mark the 50th anniversary of UNESCO international literacy day under the banner ‘Reading the past, writing the future’.