Skip to main content.

HRDF Current Focus

While the support we seek from individual philanthropists, philanthropic institutions, and professionals is in respect of all the objectives already listed, our current focus are the following three areas of critical interest:

Action Against Blind Faith & Superstition

This is the bane of Indian society, especially in villages, tribal areas and urban slums. Belief in ghosts and spirits, magic and miracle, witchcraft and voodoo, and a host of other unscientific notions and related rituals and practices is still widespread. Indeed, even educated people in India suffer from such irrational beliefs in the absence of relevant scientific information. This is a serious impediment in the promotion of scientific temper and rational outlook among the masses.

Over the last 15 years we have been conducting five-day training workshops for teachers, students and the lay public on 'Science behind mantra, magic and miracle,' scientifically demonstrating and explaining these and related phenomena to the participants. Unfortunately, lately, not enough financial support has been forthcoming for this important task. We have now evolved a one-day module for this program, to be implemented in collaboration with NGOs, educational institutions, even government organizations. Our target is to conduct at least 300 such one-day programs spread over a period of three years, all over the country.

Considering the vastness of this country and the difficulties encountered in traveling to remote areas, we envisage an average expenditure of Rs 10,000 or US $ 240 (approx) per program, including TA/DA, honorarium to resource persons, cost of materials, and incidentals. The total expenses for 300 programs thus work out to Rs 3,000,000 or US $ 72,000 (approx). We are looking for support from individuals or institutions to finance this project, fully or partly.

Community Library-cum-Information Centers

Despite a fairly high literacy rate in some parts of India, almost all villages and towns totally lack basic facilities for getting useful information. Indeed, both children and adults sorely lack reading habit because of the absence of reading materials like books, newspapers and magazines. Of course, very few can afford television or Internet facilities. Thus, in the absence of any infrastructure for dissemination of information, people especially in the villages tend to remain mired in old ways of looking at life and continuing to remain 'under-developed,' while the world around them races by.

This is the age of information. The lack of information is becoming an increasingly important factor in the marginalization of the already backward communities. To our way of thinking this is a huge problem and needs to be tackled on a priority basis. The Government can't handle this problem and the various funding agencies do not find such projects fashionable enough.

Conceived as a post-literacy program the proposed Community Library-cum-Information Centers (CLIC) are aimed at catalyzing functional literacy and continuing education of the community to facilitate all-round development of the human mind and body, especially among children and women. Its activities would be designed to bring knowledge and information to the doorsteps of the people who need them most, especially relating to science and technology, health and nutrition, environment and energy, sustainable agricultural practices, vocational training and employment opportunities, etc. It would thus promote love for books and generate the urge for utilitarian information. It would also make people familiar with computers and the immense potential of the Internet to retrieve useful information.

We envisage an expenditure of Rs 1,000,000 or US $ 23,850 (approx) per CLIC spread over a period of five years. We have identified 10 NGOs in eastern part of Uttar Pradesh province of India, which is among the most backward areas of the country, who have the potential to collaborate with us in setting up 10 CLICs to serve the information needs of the people in their respective areas. The total expenditure, spread over a period of five years, for setting up 10 CLICs works out to Rs 10,000,000 or US $ 238,500 (approx). Since this project would also, incidentally, empower the NGOs concerned they would be more than willing to take them over after completion of the project. This project can later be replicated in other parts of the country as well. Here again we are looking forward to individual and/or institutional support to finance this project, fully or partly.

Quality Education of Children in a Rural Setting

In 1990 we founded Bal Shishu Niketan, a school for children in village Nadwasarai, tehsil Ghosi, district Mau, Uttar Pradesh. Indeed, the Founder donated his own house, which was quite big, for this purpose. It is now a triple-story building housing classes from pre-Nursery (Junior & Senior) to Eighth standard. It has about 350 children of whom about 30 percent are girls; and nearly 15 percent of children from poor families get free education.

The school endeavors to provide quality education in a predominantly rural setting, despite financial constraints.

We have just started a Gymnasium for indoor games (since we do not have playgrounds) and a Children's Library which is yet to be stacked with adequate number of books. We have also created space for a Science Resource Center, which is yet to be equipped. Hopefully, given the availability of funds, we would like to have a Toy Corner for the tiny-tots; a Computer Education & Training Center with Internet facilities; and a Vocational Training Center for boys and girls. We also need to have a Planetarium and a Telescope, a TV set and a VCR, educational cassettes, CD-ROMs and related equipment, and back-up power from solar panels. Besides, we would like to set up at least 10 Nursery/Primary Schools in the nearby villages.

The idea is to convert this institution into a model school for modern education of children in a rural setting. We envisage an expenditure of about Rs 4,000,000 or US $ 100,000 (approx) for this purpose. I shall be happy if some philanthropists donate this small sum to facilitate education of village children.

We would also appreciate if some philanthropists support the education of children from poorer families at Rs 3,600 (or $80) per child per year.

Vocationalization of Education

The current pattern of education is such that we seem to be adding to the number of educated unemployed. The HRDF is keen to take up programs that combine education with vocational training of boys and girls, destitute men and women, to improve their productivity and earning capacity. Some of the areas that seem appropriate for this purpose are computer applications, repair of electrical/ electronic goods, screen printing, tailoring and embroidery, cloth printing and batik, food processing/ preservation, home science & management, and so on. We shall be happy to receive support from philanthropists and funding agencies for setting up a Vocational Training Center at Bal Shishu Niketan to meet this objective. We envisage an expenditure of Rs 4,000,000 or US $ 100,000 on this account.