I'm standing in front of you today in all humility, wanting to share with you my journey of the last six years in the field of service and education. And I'm not a trained academic. Neither am I a veteran social worker. I was 26 years in the corporate world, trying to make organizations profitable. And then in 2003 I started Parikrma Humanity Foundation from my kitchen table.
Stojim pred Vama danas u svoj poniznosti, želeći podijeliti svoje putovanje posljednjih šest godina u području služenja i obrazovanja. Ja nisam obučeni akademik. Niti sam veteranski socijalni radnik. Bila sam 26 godina u korporativnom svijetu pokušavajući učiniti organizacije profitabilnima. I tada sam 2003. osnovala Zakladu Parikrma Humanity na svom kuhinjskom stolu.
The first thing that we did was walk through the slums. You know, by the way, there are two million people in Bangalore, who live in 800 slums. We couldn't go to all the slums, but we tried to cover as much as we could. We walked through these slums, identified houses where children would never go to school. We talked to the parents, tried to convince them about sending their children to school. We played with the children, and came back home really tired, exhausted, but with images of bright faces, twinkling eyes, and went to sleep.
Prva stvar koju smo učinili bio je obilazak siromašnih četvrti. Znate, postoji dva milijuna ljudi u Bangaloru koji žive u 800 siromašnih četvrti. Nismo mogli obići sve četvrti, ali smo pokušali pokriti što je više moguće. Hodali smo tim četvrtima, utvrdili koje su kuće u kojima djeca nikad ne bi išla u školu. Pričali smo s roditeljima, pokušali ih uvjeriti da pošalju svoju djecu u školu. Igrali smo se s djecom te se vratili kući zbilja umorni, iscrpljeni, ali sa slikama vedrih lica, blistajućih očiju te smo otišli spavati.
We were all excited to start, but the numbers hit us then: 200 million children between four to 14 that should be going to school, but do not; 100 million children who go to school but cannot read; 125 million who cannot do basic maths. We also heard that 250 billion Indian rupees was dedicated for government schooling. Ninety percent of it was spent on teachers' salary and administrators' salary. And yet, India has nearly the highest teacher absenteeism in the world, with one out of four teachers not going to school at all the entire academic year.
Svi smo bili uzbuđeni zbog početka. Ali, tada su nas pogodili brojevi. Dvjesto milijuna djece između četiri i četrnaest godina trebalo bi ići u školu, ali ne idu. Sto milijuna djece ide u školu, ali ne znaju čitati, 125 milijuna onih koji ne znaju osnove matematike. Čuli smo i da 250 milijardi indijskih rupija odlazi na državno školovanje. 90 posto od toga troši se na učiteljske i administratorske plaće. A ipak, Indija ima gotovo najviše učiteljskih izostanaka s posla u svijetu, s jednim od četiri učitelja koji ne idu u školu cijelu akademsku godinu.
Those numbers were absolutely mind-boggling, overwhelming, and we were constantly asked, "When will you start? How many schools will you start? How many children will you get? How are you going to scale? How are you going to replicate?" It was very difficult not to get scared, not to get daunted. But we dug our heels and said, "We're not in the number game. We want to take one child at a time and take the child right through school, sent to college, and get them prepared for better living, a high value job."
Ti su brojevi bili apsolutno zapanjujući, porazni i neprestano su nas pitali: „Kada ćete započeti? Koliko ćete škola osnovati? Koliko ćete djece uzeti? Kako ćete vrjednovati? Kako ćete to ponoviti?“ Bilo je zaista teško ne uplašiti se, ne obeshrabriti se. Ali bili smo odlučni i rekli: „Nismo u igri brojeva.“ Želimo uzeti jedno po jedno dijete, obrazovati ih, poslati na fakultet i pripremiti za bolji život i cijenjen posao.
So, we started Parikrma. The first Parikrma school started in a slum where there were 70,000 people living below the poverty line. Our first school was on a rooftop of a building inside the slums, a second story building, the only second story building inside the slums. And that rooftop did not have any ceiling, only half a tin sheet. That was our first school. One hundred sixty-five children. Indian academic year begins in June. So, June it rains, so many a times all of us would be huddled under the tin roof, waiting for the rain to stop. My God! What a bonding exercise that was. And all of us that were under that roof are still here together today. Then came the second school, the third school, the fourth school and a junior college. In six years now, we have four schools, one junior college, 1,100 children coming from 28 slums and four orphanages. (Applause)
I, tako smo osnovali Parikrmu. Prvu Parikrma školu osnovali smo u siromašnoj četvrti gdje je živjelo 70.000 ljudi ispod donje granice siromaštva. Počeli smo, prva škola bila je na krovu zgrade unutar četvrti, dvokatna zgrada, jedina dvokatna zgrada u četvrti. I ta terasa na krovu nije imala nikakav strop, samo pola limene ploče. To je bila naša prva škola. Sto šezdeset i petoro djece. Indijska akademska godina počinje u lipnju. U lipnju kiši, nebrojeno smo puta svi mi bili zbijeni ispod limenog krova čekajući da kiša prestane. Bože, kakva je to bila vježba povezivanja. Svi mi koji smo bili pod tim krovom, zajedno smo ovdje danas. Tada je došla druga škola, treća škola, četvrta škola i viša škola (nešto tipa srednje, 11. i 12. razred). Nakon šest godina, sada imamo četiri škole i jednu višu školu. 1.100 djece dolazi iz 28 siromašnih četvrti i iz četiri sirotišta. (Pljesak)
Our dream is very simple: to send each of these kids, get them prepared to be educated but also to live peacefully, contented in this conflict-ridden chaotic globalized world. Now, when you talk global you have to talk English. And so all our schools are English medium schools. But they know there is this myth that children from the slums cannot speak English well. No one in their family has spoken English. No one in their generation has spoken English. But how wrong it is.
Naš je san vrlo jednostavan – poslati svako od te djece, pripremiti ih da žive, budu obrazovani, ali i da žive spokojno, zadovoljno u ovom kaotičnom globaliziranom svijetu vođenom sukobima. Dakle, kada pričate o globalnom, morate pričati na engleskom. I tako su sve naše škole na engleskom jeziku. Ali, oni znaju da postoji mit da djeca iz siromašnih četvrti ne mogu dobro pričati engleski. Nitko iz njihove obitelji nije pričao na engleskom. Nitko u njihovoj generaciji nije pričao engleski. Ali, kako je to krivo.
Girl: I like adventurous books, and some of my favorites are Alfred Hitchcock and [unclear] and Hardy Boys. Although they are like in different contexts, one is magical, the other two are like investigation, I like those books because they have something special in them. The vocabulary used in those books and the style of writing. I mean like once I pick up one book I cannot put it down until I finish the whole book. Even if it takes me four and a half hours, or three and half hours to finish my book, I do it.
Video: Djevojčica: Volim pustolovne knjige i neke od mojih najdražih jesu Alfred Hitchcock i [nejasno] i Hardy Boys. Sve su tri slične, iako su slične u drukčijem kontekstu, jedna je više magična, druge dvije su više o istražnom postupku. Sviđaju mi se te knjige jer ima nešto posebno u njima, rječnik korišten u tim knjigama i način, stil pisanja. Jednom kada uzmem knjigu u ruke ne mogu je ispustiti dok je ne završim cijelu. Čak i ako mi za to treba četiri i pol sata ili tri i pol sata da je dovršim, učinim to.
Boy: I did good research and I got the information [on the] world's fastest cars. I like Ducati ZZ143, because it is the fastest, the world's fastest bike, and I like Pulsar 220 DTSI because it is India's fastest bike. (Laughter)
Dječak: Puno sam istraživao i pronašao informaciju o najbržim automobilima na svijetu. Sviđa mi se Ducati ZZ143 jer je najbrži, najbrži motor na svijetu. I sviđa mi se Pulsar 220 DTSI jer je najbrži motor u Indiji.
Shukla Bose: Well, that girl that you saw, her father sells flowers on the roadside. And this little boy has been coming to school for five years. But isn't it strange that little boys all over the world love fast bikes? (Laughter) He hasn't seen one, he hasn't ridden one, of course, but he has done a lot of research through Google search. You know, when we started with our English medium schools we also decided to adopt the best curriculum possible, the ICSE curriculum. And again, there were people who laughed at me and said, "Don't be crazy choosing such a tough curriculum for these students. They'll never be able to cope." Not only do our children cope very well, but they excel in it. You should just come across to see how well our children do.
Pa, ta djevojka koju ste vidjeli, njezin otac prodaje cvijeće uz cestu. A ovaj mali dječak dolazi u školu pet godina. Nije li čudno da mali dječaci širom svijeta vole brze motore? On nije vidio jedan. Nije ga vozio, naravno, ali je mnogo istraživao putem Google tražilice. Znate, kada smo započeli s engleskim školama, također smo se potrudili usvojiti najbolji mogući nastavni program – ICSE program. I opet, bilo je ljudi koji su mi se smijali i govorili: „Jesi li luda, biraš tako težak program za te učenike? Oni se nikada neće biti u stanju nositi s tim.“ Ne samo da su se djeca nosila s tim dosta dobro, nego su ga i nadmašila. Trebate samo vidjeti kako im dobro ide.
There is also this myth that parents from the slums are not interested in their children going to school; they'd much rather put them to work. That's absolute hogwash. All parents all over the world want their children to lead a better life than themselves, but they need to believe that change is possible.
Postoji i mit da roditelji iz siromašnih četvrti nisu zainteresirani za odlazak njihove djece u škole te da bi ih mnogo radije poslali na posao. To je potpuna glupost. Svi roditelji diljem svijeta žele da njihova djeca imaju bolji život nego oni sami. Ali, trebaju moći vjerovati da je promjena moguća.
Video: (Hindi)
Video: (Hindi)
SB: We have 80 percent attendance for all our parents-teachers meeting. Sometimes it's even 100 percent, much more than many privileged schools. Fathers have started to attend. It's very interesting. When we started our school the parents would give thumbprints in the attendance register. Now they have started writing their signature. The children have taught them. It's amazing how much children can teach.
Shukla Bose: Imamo 80 postotnu posjećenost za sve roditeljske sastanke. Nekad je čak i 100 postotna posjećenost, mnogo više nego u brojnim privilegiranim školama. Očevi su počeli prisustvovati. To je vrlo zanimljivo. Kada smo započeli našu školu, roditelji bi davali otiske prstiju u registar dolazaka. Sada su se počeli potpisivati. Djeca su ih naučila. Izvanredno je kako djeca mogu poučavati.
We have, a few months ago, actually late last year, we had a few mothers who came to us and said, "You know, we want to learn how to read and write. Can you teach us?" So, we started an afterschool for our parents, for our mothers. We had 25 mothers who came regularly after school to study. We want to continue with this program and extend it to all our other schools.
Imamo, nekoliko mjeseci ranije, zapravo prošle godine, imali smo nekoliko majki koje su nam došle i rekle: „Znate, mi želimo naučiti čitati i pisati, možete li nas naučiti?“ Tako smo započeli „večernju školu“ za naše roditelje, naše majke. Imali smo 25 majki koje su redovito nakon škole dolazile učiti. Želimo nastaviti ovaj program i proširiti ga na naše druge škole.
Ninety-eight percent of our fathers are alcoholics. So, you can imagine how traumatized and how dysfunctional the houses are where our children come from. We have to send the fathers to de-addiction labs and when they come back, most times sober, we have to find a job for them so that they don't regress. We have about three fathers who have been trained to cook. We have taught them nutrition, hygiene. We have helped them set up the kitchen and now they are supplying food to all our children. They do a very good job because their children are eating their food, but most importantly this is the first time they have got respect, and they feel that they are doing something worthwhile.
98 posto naših očeva su alkoholičari. Možete zamisliti koliko su traumatizirane i koliko su disfunkcionalne obitelji iz kojih nam dolaze djeca. Moramo slati očeve na odvikavanje i kada se vrate, većinom trijezni, moramo im naći posao da se ne vrate na staro. Imamo tri oca koja su priučena kuhanju. Naučili smo ih nutricionizmu, higijeni. Pomogli smo im namjestiti kuhinju i sada opskrbljuju hranom svu našu djecu. Rade vrlo dobar posao jer njihova djeca jedu njihovu hranu, ali što je još važnije – ovo je prvi put da su poštovani i osjećaju se da rade nešto vrijedno truda.
More than 90 percent of our non-teaching staff are all parents and extended families. We've started many programs just to make sure that the child comes to school. Vocational skill program for the older siblings so the younger ones are not stopped from coming to school.
Više od 90 posto našeg neučiteljskog osoblja jesu roditelji i šira obitelj. Započeli smo brojne programe kako bismo osigurali dolazak djece u školu. Strukovno usavršavanje za starije rođake kako mlađi ne bi bili spriječeni dolaziti u školu.
There is also this myth that children from the slums cannot integrate with mainstream. Take a look at this little girl who was one of the 28 children from all privileged schools, best schools in the country that was selected for the Duke University talent identification program and was sent to IIM Ahmedabad.
Postoji mit da se djeca iz siromašnih četvrti ne mogu integrirati s glavnom strujom. Pogledajte ovu djevojčicu koja je među 28-ero djece iz privilegiranih škola, najboljih škola u zemlji izabrana za program identificiranja talenata Sveučilišta Duke i poslana na IIM-Amedabad.
Video: Girl: Duke IIMA Camp. Whenever we see that IIMA, it was such a pride for us to go to that camp. Everybody was very friendly, especially I got a lot of friends. And I felt that my English has improved a lot going there and chatting with friends. There they met children who are with a different standard and a different mindset, a totally different society. I mingled with almost everyone. They were very friendly. I had very good friends there, who are from Delhi, who are from Mumbai. Even now we are in touch through Facebook.
Video: Djevojčica: [nejasno] Kadgod vidimo da [nejasno] velika je čast za nas ići u taj kamp. I bili smo ondje. Svi su bili vrlo druželjubivi te sam stekla mnogo prijatelja. Osjetila sam da mi se engleski dosta poboljšao ondje zbog svih događanja i pričanja s prijateljima i svega toga. Ondje oni upoznaju djecu koja su drugačijeg standarda i svega toga, imaju drugačiji sklop razmišljanja te su iz potpuno drugačijeg društva. Družila sam se gotovo sa svima. Bili su vrlo ljubazni. Ondje sam imala jako dobrih prijatelja iz Delhija, Mumbaija. I sada smo u kontaktu preko Facebooka.
After this Ahmedabad trip I've been like a totally different mingling with people and all of those. Before that I feel like I wasn't like this. I don't even mingle, or start speaking with someone so quickly. My accent with English improved a lot. And I learned football, volleyball, Frisbee, lots of games. And I wouldn't want to go to Bangalore. Let me stay here. Such beautiful food, I enjoyed it. It was so beautiful. I enjoyed eating food like [unclear] would come and ask me, "Yes ma'am, what you want?" It was so good to hear!
Nakon ovog putovanja u Amedabad potpuno se drugačije družim s ljudima i sve to. Prije toga nisam bila ovakva. Nisam se čak ni družila ili počinjala razgovor s nekim tako brzo. Moj engleski naglasak dosta se poboljšao. Naučila sam i nogomet, odbojku, frizbi, brojne igre. I nisam se htjela vratiti u Bangalore. Pustite me da ostanem ovdje. Tako predivna hrana. Uživala sam. Bilo je prelijepo. Uživala sam jedući hranu kao da [nejasno] netko bi me došao i pitao: „Da, madam, što želiš?“ Bilo je to tako dobro čuti!
(Laughter) (Applause)
(Smijeh) (Pljesak)
SB: This girl was working as a maid before she came to school. And today she wants to be a neurologist.
Ova djevojčica radila je kao sluškinja prije nego je došla u školu. A danas želi biti neurolog.
Our children are doing brilliantly in sports. They are really excelling. There is an inter-school athletic competition that is held every year in Bangalore, where 5,000 children participate from 140 best schools in the city. We've got the best school award for three years successively. And our children are coming back home with bags full of medals, with lots of admirers and friends. Last year there were a couple of kids from elite schools that came to ask for admissions in our school. We also have our very own dream team.
Našoj djeci izvrsno idu sportovi. Zbilja nadmašuju očekivanja. Postoji međuškolsko atletsko natjecanje koje se svake godine održava u Bangaloru gdje sudjeluje 5.000 djece iz 140 najboljih škola iz cijelog grada. Mi smo tri godine za redom osvojili nagradu za najbolju školu. I djeca se kući vraćaju s torbama punim medalja, s brojnim obožavateljima i prijateljima. Prošle je godine bilo nekoliko djece iz elitnih škola koja su pitala za upis u našu školu. Mi također imamo svoj tim iz snova.
Why is this happening? Why this confidence? Is it the exposure? We have professors from MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, Indian Institute of Science who come and teach our children lots of scientific formulas, experiments, much beyond the classroom. Art, music are considered therapy and mediums of expression. We also believe that it's the content that is more important. It is not the infrastructure, not the toilets, not the libraries, but it is what actually happens in this school that is more important. Creating an environment of learning, of inquiry, of exploration is what is true education.
Zašto se to događa? Odakle ova smjelost? Je li to zbog izloženosti? Imamo profesore s MIT-a, Berkeleyja, Stanforda, Indijskog instituta znanosti koji dolaze učiti našu djecu brojnim znanstvenim formulama, pokusima, mnogo opširnije od programa. Umjetnost, glazba smatraju se terapijom i načinima izražavanja. Vjerujemo i da je taj sadržaj važniji. Nije to infrastruktura, toaleti, knjižnice, već je ono što se događa u školi daleko važnije. Stvaranje okoline za učenje, za istraživanje i ispitivanje jest pravo obrazovanje.
When we started Parikrma we had no idea which direction we were taking. We didn't hire McKinsey to do a business plan. But we know for sure that what we want to do today is take one child at a time, not get bogged with numbers, and actually see the child complete the circle of life, and unleash his total potential. We do not believe in scale because we believe in quality, and scale and numbers will automatically happen. We have corporates that have stood behind us, and we are able to, now, open more schools. But we began with the idea of one child at a time.
Kada smo započeli Parikrmu, nismo imali pojma kojim ćemo smjerom ići. Nismo zaposlili McKinseya da nam napravi poslovni plan. Ali sa sigurnošću znamo danas da želimo uzeti jedno po jedno dijete ne zatrpavajući se brojevima te da želimo vidjeti dijete kako ispunjava svoj životni krug i ostvaruje svoj puni potencijal. Ne vjerujemo u skalu jer vjerujemo u kvalitetu, a skala i brojevi dogode se automatski. Imamo korporacije koje su stale iza nas i sada smo sposobni otvoriti još škola. Ali, započeli smo s idejom o jednom po jednom djetetu.
This is five-year-old Parusharam. He was begging by a bus stop a few years ago, got picked up and is now in an orphanage, has been coming to school for the last four and a half months. He's in kindergarten. He has learned how to speak English. We have a model by which kids can speak English and understand English in three month's time. He can tell you stories in English of the thirsty crow, of the crocodile and of the giraffe. And if you ask him what he likes to do he will say, "I like sleeping. I like eating. I like playing." And if you ask him what he wants to do, he will say, "I want to horsing." Now, "horsing" is going for a horse ride. So, Parusharam comes to my office every day. He comes for a tummy rub, because he believes that will give me luck. (Laughter)
Ovo je petogodišnji Parusharam. Prosio je pored autobusne stanice prije nekoliko godina, pokupili su ga i sad je u sirotištu i dolazi u školu zadnja četiri i pol mjeseca. On je u vrtiću. Učio je pričati engleski. Imamo model po kojem djeca uče pričati i razumjeti engleski u tromjesečnom periodu. Može Vam pričati priče na engleskom – o žednoj vrani, krokodilu i o žirafi. I ako ga pitate što voli raditi, reći će Vam: „Volim spavati. Volim jesti. Volim igranje.“ A, ako ga pitate što želi raditi, reći će Vam: „Želim konjiti.“ Dakle, „konjenje“ kao odlazak na jahanje. Parusharam dolazi u moj ured svaki dan. Dolazi da mu počeškam trbuh jer vjeruje da će mi to donijeti sreću.
When I started Parikrma I began with a great deal of arrogance of transforming the world. But today I have been transformed. I have been changed with my children. I've learned so much from them: love, compassion, imagination and such creativity. Parusharam is Parikrma with a simple beginning but a long way to go. I promise you, Parusharam will speak in the TED conference a few years from now. Thank you. (Applause)
Kada sam osnovala Parikrmu, započela sam s velikom dozom arogancije o mijenjanju svijeta. Ali danas sam ja promijenjena. Promijenjena sam sa svojom djecom. Naučila sam se mnogo čemu uz njih – ljubavi, sućuti, mašti i tolikoj kreativnosti. Parusharam je Parikrma s jednostavnim početkom, ali dugim putem za proći. Obećavam Vam, Parusharam će pričati na TED konferenciji za nekoliko godina. Hvala Vam. (Pljesak)