Written by Suraj Kumar—Project Manager, India

On the invitation of a school’s headmaster, I participated in a meeting for teachers and parents called by a group of educators from our block last week. The purpose of the meeting was to motivate parents and teachers to interact regularly in order to improve their schools — a welcomed step after our previous intervention in schools. The two teachers who started the mission of holding these meetings are organizing these events in different schools in the district once a week.

The meeting was held at 2 pm, which is after school hours in Mohammad Baad School. More than 20 teachers from 10 different schools attended, along with 70 parents (including 10 women) participating. Women’s participation in meetings in Mewat villages is an unusual occurrence, and was greatly appreciated.

It was surprising that a headmaster accused of charging parents illegally (claiming the charges were to cover fees and books) started the meeting with a message that the teachers of schools should become models of honesty, and perform their duty sincerely.  Another headmaster spoke at length to motivate parents to visit the school at least twice a week to discuss their child’s performance. One teacher requested the parents teach good hygiene habits, such as teeth brushing, bathing and fingernail trimming. This same teacher also asked the parents to send their children to school only after checking their children’s school bags and diaries for homework. The homework diaries are not put into general practice in the area, but the teachers promised to start the practice soon.

I asked the participating parents — especially the women — to ask the teachers questions and even voice any complaints they had, as this was the best forum to raise their grievances. The parents were happy the teachers have at least begun to interact with the community. The village’s Sarpanch (leader) thanked White Lotus for encouraging teachers to face the community in person as a group, instead of addressing parent-teacher matters only on paper. The meeting participants were offered tea and snacks at the event’s conclusion.
The two teachers initiating these meetings have also thanked White Lotus for their participation, and in turn asked me to attend all of their future meetings for better group cooperation and mutual support. These teachers (Mr. Shamuddin and Mr. Mukut) also suggested that we organize a sports competition for girls-only from 10 primary schools of the block. This competition would come along with help from White Lotus sponsoring refreshments gifts to children as prizes, which will certainly encourage and boost the girls’ enrollment in schools in Mewat — a serious problem presently.

More pictures of the meeting can be viewed here.

Filed under: Education, India, lotus outreach on September 4th, 2008 | No Comments »

Lotus Outreach recently finished putting together a 9 minute promotional video that showcases the problems of human trafficking and child labor in India and Cambodia and demonstrates how Lotus Outreach International is working to combat them.

Please take the time to watch this important video and pass it along to your friends, families and colleagues.

Filed under: Uncategorized on August 22nd, 2008 | No Comments »

Written by Suraj Kumar—Project Manager, India

We have recently witnessed a lot of fanfare surrounding the high pass marks of Indian children sitting the 12-year board exams.  What most people do not realize is that 90% of India’s children are attending government “schools” that often consist of nothing more than a few children gathered for a short class.  By creating the appearance of a school, local teachers and education authorities are able to pocket the money allocated for education for their own use.

As a part of our ongoing drive to survey government schools across two districts in Haryana (neighboring the desert state of Rajasthan), we recently visited three schools to examine classroom conditions, enrollment levels and attendance rates.  Unfortunately, our findings were less than positive.  In one class 1-5 school, we found only 12 of 87 students present during the middle of the day.

We watched and photographed as children from the poorest village families trudged in one-by-one after crossing hot sandy roads in rubber flip-flops and scant clothing.  Their school consisted of nothing more than a two room concrete structure standing alone in the middle of a dry, dusty field.

As the children filed by us, the temperature outside reached 40 degrees Celsius. Their faces lacked expression and they avoided the camera as much as possible — a stark contrast to most children we meet in their age group. They then sat on the floor of the sweltering room without so much as a ceiling fan.  Ironically, the room contained a television connected to a Direct to Home (DTH) satellite — a result of a World Bank supported program.  Unfortunately, this positive development remains largely overshadowed by the fact that very few of these schools have the electricity necessary to power such devices.

We asked the school principal to continue with the class so we could observe. The class consisted of the children – still expressionless – staring at the TV screen. Meanwhile, an education program from their syllabus was very formally presented, as if the class was a management course for graduates. An uncomprehending teacher vacantly stood by with a stick in hand, making sure  the students did not talk to each other. I asked a child what she was watching and she smiled innocently, but gave no answer. I asked the same question of another child and she also gave a timid smile, but sat silent. After asking the teacher what was being taught, even they had no idea!

The school had no boundary wall, no playground, no trees and no gardens. With only one toilet on the premises, most children are forced to relieve themselves in the open. Altogether, it appeared to us that those in charge of the education of these children are inflating enrolment by 50% to 70%. They only open the doors for a couple of hours to justify the most of the expenditure…which is clearly not being spent to school children.

Follow-up News:

A copy of our original report, sent to the Department of Education, was recently forwarded to the local District Education Office (DEO) at Mewat with suggestions that immediate action be taken to remedy these problems.  In addition, the Education Minister ordered a half-page advertisement to be published in the prominent local newspaper on June 22nd, 2008, highlighting the incentives being given to the children in schools as suggested by Lotus Outreach through a letter to Chief Minister and copied to DEO.

Filed under: Uncategorized on July 31st, 2008 | No Comments »

Written by Vannakserey Raksmey Var – Partner and Project Liaison, Cambodia

It seems to be universally accepted that culture is an integral part—or “the heart”—of a society and that without it, a nation is incomplete. Despite their significant role in defining a society, cultural traditions often perpetuate inequality and gender discrimination. In many cultures, girls and boys are treated differently starting from infancy. In China, for example, a baby boy is considered a blessing whereas to a baby girl, her gender is a curse. Chinese government policy often reinforces gender discrimination. The one-child policy, for example, forces parents to opt for abortion once they learn the unborn fetus is a girl. Cultural tradition dictates that the boy will maintain the clan by passing on the family surname to the next generation. The girl, on the other hand, will take her husband’s surname. As a result of this tradition, boys are considered more valuable than girls and when a family is limited to only one child, the preferred gender is obvious.

The discrimination does not stop here. After birth, sons and daughters are treated differently and unfairly. Traditional gender roles dictate that a boy’s duty is to act as the breadwinner whereas a girl’s duty is to act as the homemaker and caretaker. Consequently, little emphasis is placed on girls’ education. These traditional roles also have an effect on the psychology of girls and women: many are conditioned to be dependent and lazy and just wait to be married off to a rich guy. In addition, many men prefer not to marry well-educated women as they don’t like their wife to be smarter than them. Girls are likewise discouraged, by society at large, from obtaining higher levels of education because well-educated and capable women are considered too proud and arrogant which leads to higher divorce rates. Thus there is not only a lack of incentive for educating girls, but female ignorance is often considered a virtue.

Is there any merit in these perspectives? Is it the case that well-educated women acquire a level of pride which exacerbates marital problems, or is it in fact the case that ill-educated women feel too powerless and dependent to stand up for themselves? Women who lack education, skills, or the capacity for self sufficiency are incapable of supporting themselves. They are voiceless. They have no choice but to remain patient, accept their arrangements, and even learn to live with domestic violence and abuse. Given their high level of dependency, to do otherwise is tantamount to suicide.

What’s more, the culture has a strong influence on girls’ perceptions of themselves. Because they are conditioned to feel less valuable than boys, they often themselves believe that their futures don’t deserve the same level of investment as their male counterparts. They accept subordination not only to their husbands and fathers, but to their male siblings, as girls often work so their brothers can attend school. In sum, they are not encouraged to become educated, self-reliant or pursue their dreams.

I asked a waitress at the Freedom Hotel restaurant where I stayed in Siem Reap why she quit school at grade 8. “Our family was poor” she replied, “and since daughter is not as important and valuable as son, I quit school to help my family eke out a living and to support my older brother’s education.” I really don’t like the perception that since the daughter is of less value, less or no education is suitable for her. And I have very little doubt that this mindset is strongly influenced by traditional culture.

What does it mean to preserve culture? If this culture is maintained, so is gender discrimination. We need to recognize that protecting human rights and protecting culture are often antithetical goals. To try and pursue both at the same time is to ignore the deep roots of gender inequality and to treat it as a superficial endeavor. We need to highlight gender issues and their sources…otherwise they will just be left behind, ignored, forgotten, faked, and fade into oblivion without question.

Filed under: Education, Healthcare, Trafficking on May 20th, 2008 | No Comments »

Written by Glenn Fawcett – Executive Director, Field Operations

It’s funny - when I think of ‘-ation’ words, I often remember a childhood rhyme that really cracked me up as a kid:

Dictation, dictation, dictation
Three sausages went to the station
One got squashed
One got lost
And one had a big operation

In this case the ‘-ation’ word is ‘inflation,’ and it’s no joke in Cambodia these days. You only have to look at the basic everyday commodities anywhere in the world to see the extent of prices rising, and the impact it will have on the people in the streets. The writing was on the wall (or at least the filling station neon signs) showing 4800 riel ($1.2) per litre as I passed during my taxi ride from the airport. A 20% increase since leaving Cambodia some 3 months earlier?! Does that mean inflation is 80% per year? Well, if it continues like that…I guess it does.

My first trip to Lucky’s Supermarket on Monivong Boulevard after arriving in Phnom Penh confirmed that first impression. As I thriftily shopped for the best value milk brand in a carton, I found that in the same time a liter of UHT milk had increased from $1.20 to $1.60 - a hefty 30% increase. Of course, that’s not going to stop me from buying milk. I even switched to fresh milk, as they were now the same price. However, for local Cambodians (Khmers) food inflation is deepening an already too tragic misery.

To cap it off? Rice (the staple of staples in Asia) has almost doubled in price. Even my relatively well-to-do landlord from the upwardly mobile Tonle Bassac Commune was shocked. The poorer Cambodians are the real losers in growth-driven inflation that rose to 10.8 percent in December 2007, compared with 2.8 percent at the end of 2006.

I’m not looking forward to getting the news first-hand as we travel out into the provinces to meet the poorest of the poor. Knowing that where we are working, poor Khmers are now selling their land in numbers - just so they can eat. Food infl ‘ation’ is pushing them over an already crowded edge.

This is bringing us back to those sausages at the station. All squashed and lost, and doing it very tough.

Filed under: Cambodia, Education, Healthcare, India, Trafficking on May 20th, 2008 | No Comments »

Welcome to the new Lotus Outreach Blog – a place where our hard working and passionate people in the field bring you up close and personal with the living conditions in the countries where we work, the people we serve, and how our programs are impacting human lives.

Lotus Outreach is a secular, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the living conditions of vulnerable children and their communities through education and healthcare. We work in some of the most troubled and poverty-stricken parts of the world to protect children and help them build self-reliant and dignified lives.

Our primary aim is to prevent child labor and sexual trafficking. Our approach in combating these problems is multi-pronged, with a focus on prevention, rehabilitation, and long-term sustainability.

At present, we fund and manage projects in India and Cambodia. We work to increase school enrollment and improve education standards in rural communities in order to keep children out of quarries and brothels, and in school. We provide non-formal education and counseling to young women who are victims of the commercial sex trade, trafficking or rape. And we inform vulnerable migrant communities about the dangers of trafficking and provide safe places and rehabilitation for those who have already fallen into its tragic grip.

Our ‘bloggers’ include:

Glenn Fawcett – Executive Director, Field Operations

Glenn moved to India in 1996 and began directing White Lotus Charitable Trust with special emphasis on education, skills training and cultural preservation for Tibetan refugees. He has organized and implemented White Lotus projects in Tibetan settlements to improve school and community libraries, encourage the performing and literary arts, develop computer literacy, increased opportunities for employment and support for working parents. Glenn has spent 3 years living and working in Cambodia. He has traveled extensively in remote village areas meeting the poorest and most vulnerable and developing an understanding of the root causes (economic, political and cultural) of human trafficking, the sex-trade, and other forms of violence toward girls and women. He has identified partners at the local level and is helping to guide the implementation of projects that are designed to help young victims secure an education, shelter and employment skills. Glenn currently divides his time between Cambodia and India to monitor and expand Lotus Outreach projects, programs and partnerships.

Vannaksereyraksmey Var, Partners and Projects Liaison

Raksmey first started voluntary work in 2001 when she organized a group of secondary school children to participate in Environment Day. She went on to volunteer for a youth group that provided social services to poor children. She taught them about children’s rights and dental hygiene, and encouraged them to get involved in recreational games. At the same time, she was also a part-time teacher of English at a private school which allowed her to interact with young people and children every day. Raksmey loved working with children, but she wanted to do more to help them. Raksmey received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting in 2004 from National University of Management in Cambodia. She was also granted a Master’s Degree in Gender and Development Studies in 2007 from the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, where she completed her thesis of “Gender Differentiated Issues in Balancing Work and Education for Working Children in the Context of the Tourist Boom: A Case Study of Angkor Park, Siem Reap, Cambodia”. Her areas of interest include children’s education, children and youth’s mobility and employment, livelihood development, child labor, trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Suraj Kumar—Project Manager, India

Suraj is a Delhi native who started working with Lotus Outreach as a member of the Social Jurists of Delhi in 2005 as a part of the Right to Education Task Force (RETF). Following the success of RETF, Suraj was invited to join Lotus Outreach as Project Manager for our new Lotus Education as a Right Network (LEARN) program, which is applying the lessons learned from the highly successful RETF to the rural state of Haryana. As RETF program manager, Suraj was responsible for surveying the conditions of Delhi schools, mobilizing local volunteers, managing a help line and coordinating with a myriad of government and Municipal departments. Suraj’s previous work involved collaborating with local and international NGOs to build Children’s Right Networks as well as providing computer training to children in slums and urban villages.

Filed under: Cambodia, Education, Healthcare, India, Trafficking, Uncategorized, lotus outreach on May 20th, 2008 | No Comments »