This continues a new set of posts. Guest columns from practitioners
and bloggers I respect. The category - The Real Deal describes them
well.
Everyone in the software industry seems to know M.R. His Sandhill events, his site, his rolodex all bring the industry closer. 2 weeks ago he was in India the same time I was. When I heard what he was there for, I urged him to write about it for my blog. I was pleasantly surprised he did. He says this is the first blog he has written. What a great start - and what a noble mission!
"Everyone seems to be visiting India for business these days –
it’s the fashionable thing to do. A business class seat, a whirlwind trip to Bangalore including $400 a
night hotel room,
a visit to Infosys...
Most do not take time to see the other India where 70% of Indians live – rural India. I have
been guilty of the same until my recent trip a couple of weeks ago.
On the spur of the moment I decided to visit a
Micro-finance organization’s weekly village meeting . A grueling
car trip from Hyderabad in 110 degree weather was indeed a rewarding one. Village women had gathered
promptly at 11am on a Saturday morning . Everyone sat on clean local carpets
and they were neatly organized in a square pattern. The SKS staff person
started the meeting and the women responded by repeating the goals and
objectives of the group. Using the Grameen bank model the
women were in teams of 5. Money was handed out for the purchase of a new
buffalo or for financing a retail operation. Loans were settled and new loans
given out only with group consensus.
No wonder they get 99% plus repayments – compare this to the
huge defaults in the US.
A visit to the SKS branch was also an eye opener. Many of
the staff’s families were either clients or lived in the rural areas. They were
enthusiastic and knew how many clients they had and the loan disbursement
amounts. SKS is scaling rapidly from 80 branches to 350 this year! How can they
do this? SKS has a cookie cutter approach and runs on simple IT systems.
My thought on the car ride back was why cant’ we do this in
the US.
Everyone has heard of the destruction caused by the Asian Tsunami a year and a half ago The fishing village of Serudur in Southeast
India, had over 700 houses of which 275 had been completely destroyed and had
lost around 600 people, mainly women and children. The Swami Dayananda Educational Trust had
taken up the task to construct 250 temporary dwelling units and provide fishing
nets and other equipment to help the people return to their normal life. Each dwelling unit is around 175 sq ft using
wood, red mud plastic roofing, brick and cement flooring.
I wanted to see if the relief efforts had indeed been
delivered as promised. This necessitated a one hour plane ride in a puddle
jumper and a 2 hour bumpy car ride to the destination. I was amazed to see that
the homes had been delivered within a month of the Tsunami!! Neat clean
residences along with trauma counseling and rehabilitation! I could hardly see
what the Tsunami had done. People were carrying on with their daily lives and
the village seemed idyllic and peaceful as it has always been.
How have these two organizations succeeded? It is because of
passionate leadership, attention to details, moving politicos and bureaucracy
forward and the relentless pursuit of meeting commitments.
I encourage all of you to take a time out on your next
business trip whether in the US or abroad and visit a shelter, clinic, school and see human spirit thrive and succeed!"
M.R. can be emailed at [email protected]
