Lighting Up Lives

Kumuds father, who used to sell plastic goods sitting on the footpaths of
Delhi died when she was three years old. The sudden demise shattered the whole
family and her mother was left to raise her three children alone. During CAP
Foundations (an NGO) community mobilization process in 2006, which focuses on
rescuing child labor from hazardous conditions, Kumud was found working in a
Bindi making factory and was counseled to join the CAP training program. She
enrolled in the customer relations and sales (CRS) course along with the
Microsoft Unlimited Potential (MSUP) IT training module.

Kumud was later selected as a customer care executive by a private insurance
company through campus recruitment. Today she has started her own agency with
two employees. She now uses online systems to issue insurance policies. She is
earning a handsome amount and the satisfaction of being a source of employment
for others. Kumud has Microsofts Project Jyoti to thank for this.

Creating Identities

Started in August 2000, Project Jyoti under the Microsoft Community Affairs
Program has rehabilitated many young children and has helped them to create
their own identity. Since inception, Microsoft has tied up with fourteen NGOs
for this project and disbursed several grants worth of Rs 40 crore to promote
Project Jyoti. This is a continuous process and every year grant is allotted for
this program. Microsofts community investment efforts are focused on
increasing digital inclusion and bringing the benefits of technology to the
downtrodden, says Dr Vikas Goswami, lead, CSR, Microsoft India. We believe
that digital inclusion is one of the ways by which people can further
enrich/elevate their socio-economic status in life.

Training classes in progress at one of the Project Jyoti technology learning centers

In the last two years Microsoft has been more focused toward employability
and has modified its training courses to help students qualify for a job that
will enable them to earn a living and respect in life. Under this program the
company has established twenty technology learning centers across the country.
And in the last four years, over 1,60,000 people has been trained under the
initiative of which around 35% have found job. Says Goswami. These are people
who do have the basic skills required today to get employed. Under this program,
all these trainings are being imparted to make them job ready, she adds. Most
of these people are working in the healthcare, hospitality, insurance, BPO and
other such emerging sectors.

Similar is the case of 24-year old Madhavi, who now works as a field manager
in CAP Foundation at Hyderabad and earns Rs 11,000 a month. Prior to this she
used to stitch dried leaves to make cups and plates. Through CAPs Employability
Training Program, Madhavi could transform her life by making herself financially
independent and also support her family. She was recently awarded the CII Women
Exemplar Award. I used to think my life would be that of a young school
drop-out forcibly married off, just cleaning vessels at home. Thanks to the CAP
ETC and Teen channel programs, I have earned my own independent identity, she
says.

In India, there is an acute shortage of skilled people required especially at
the entry level. Given the situation in India, Project Jyoti is relevant for
many more years to come and we aim to cover as much of the backward and rural
mass as is possible and help them benefit through this program, says Goswami.
However, the key challenge that Goswami and her team face is that of poor
infrastructure like shortage of power supply, poor or no Net connectivity,
availability of skilled trainers willing to go to the rural areas and train,
among others. As we keep on visiting remote villages or slums, we are now very
hopeful about peoples changed attitude. Their willingness to improve their
lives with the help of digital inclusion is sure to usher in a new dawn, Says
Goswami

Piyali Guha

piyaliguha@cybermedia.co.in