In the recent time the district of Kishanganj has witnessed a number of youth who had taken initiatives in different fields and dared to start their own firms. Many of them are doing very well with their own start-ups and serving to the society and nation. One such name in the list is Arshad Hasan Kauser from Tyonsa village of Kishanganj who in association with his friends has taken the unique initiative to help-out the weaker section of the society. With ALIG (A Literacy Initiative Group), which is an Educational and Welfare Society, Mr. Arshad has vowed to bring a positive change and help out the weaker sections of the society.
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| Arshad Hasan Kauser, Programme Director ALIG |
An AMU Alumni, Mr. Arshad has done his Masters in Social Work from Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and worked with globally renowned UNESCO, WHO groups in the past. However, he had some different plans in his mind and after working for different social groups finally bid adieu to the job for giving full time to the goals of ALIG. Being a proud Alig, the term used for those passed out from prestigious Aligarh Muslim University, Mr. Arshad conceived the idea of ALIG (A Literacy Initiative Group) with his friends and established the society. Mr. Arshad is holding the position of Programme Director with ALIG.
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| Various Images of the ALIG |
The founders of ALIG claims it was an initiative by concerned individuals to help ameliorate the living standards of the underprivileged started in 2006 in Jamshedpur. The organization was formally registered under Societies Registration Act 1860, in Jharkhand in 2008. Society was established to promote modern education and welfare activities among the weaker sections of the society. Through partnerships it intends to facilitate education, which would be sustainable and transformational, thus contributing to India’s path of progress and development. It also helps the marginalized section of the targeted community in skill building. Mr. Arshad says, “ALIG as of now has its presence in all the nine blocks of East Singhbhum district and Saraikela and Kharsawan. With new initiatives in pipeline, the area of operation will spread to other nearby districts as well.”
Further Mr. Arshad shared about the programmes run by ALIG:
Child Sponsorship Programme (CSP): - Child Sponsorship Programme (CSP) is the flagship of ALIG Educational and Welfare Society. The idea behind the programme was that children coming from socially and economically excluded communities should be given equal opportunities to complete their education. It has been noticed that drop-out rates amongst the above mentioned communities are also highest in the country. More than 70% of the children leave the school before they reach middle school. As of this date there are 125 children whom ALIG is supporting under this Programme. Under this programme for every child being supported there is a sponsor, who takes care of the school fee, uniform, books and other school related expenses for the whole year.
Community Outreach Programme:- ALIG started Community Outreach Programme in the year 2011. This was started on 2nd October, keeping in mind the vision of our father of the nation, who propagated and believed in Gram Sawarajya, meaning empowering the village and making them self-sufficient. The programme started with a group of 25 women, who were trained in stitching and embroidery. Once their training was complete, they were linked with the market, so that they could earn a regular income and utilize the skills they have learned. Till date ALIG has trained 225 women in stitching and embroidery. Apart from the skill training, these women are also exposed to different debates in the society through regular lectures on issues affecting them. Regular workshops are conducted to inform them about health, hygiene, importance of education etc.
Market Linkages:- It has been culture of ALIG that mere training is not going to work with such kind of target groups so help is provided in market linkages for getting work from market so that the pass-out candidates could enhance their income. So far we have been able to solicit works for trained participants from whole sale business houses. Sewing machines available at the center are used for production work by them as now as majority does not have facilities at their home. From the last batch we been able to also place 5 trained participants in a boutique named “Ahmad Boutique”. The plan is to link them up with bigger business houses to sell and get work from them.
Community Reading Room Programme:- There are two reading rooms functional under ALIG. One is at the main office and another at the community level, which is referred as Community Reading Room. The idea behind the reading room/library programme was to provide a space with adequate facilities where children from the locality could come and study in peace. According to the log book that we maintain in the library, the facility has been used more than 6000 times from the day the reading room started in January 2010. On an average the reading room is used for around 500 hours per month, if we take into account the number of hours put in by all . The students coming to library. The reading room is open from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm, six days in a week. In the main reading room we have around 600 books and in the Community Reading Room, we have approximately 250 books at present. Both the reading rooms are supported by individual funding and donation of books. We also purchase books from time to time according to the need of the student. Major resources come from donation. Given the reach of the programme and its success Pratham Books have granted three library kits for the reading room.
Madarsa Intervention:- ALIG Educational and Welfare Society conducted a survey in 19 madrasas to assess the quality of education, infrastructure, teacher-students ratio, support etc. The madrasas taken for survey were identified from the length and breadth of Jamshedpur. It was noticed that those Madrasas which are situated in the heart of the town are relatively well off and have better infrastructures. Although they too lack tools for modern education but they had better retention rate as well as strength in terms of students. The Committees running these Madrasas are more informed and open to collaboration and experiment with modern tools of learning.
Spoken English Programme:- ALIG in collaboration with JILIT has been entrusted with the task of providing spoken English classes to the students of Jharkhand under the Skill Development Initiative Scheme of Ministry of Labour and Employment. The course provides spoken English classes for the eligible students. The eligibility criterion for the course is 7th Pass and 14 years of age. The duration would be 180 hours. Successful candidates will be provided with the certificate from Government of India. The course is designed so that children can learn basics of English as well as be able to converse in their day to day work. There are 30 centers and 28 teachers involved in training students under this programme. So far we have been able to register 1875 Students. Out of these 1875 students, 100 students have been assessed by the assessing body.
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| Children helped by ALIG |
Contact Details:
Arshad Hasan Kauser
Programme Director
ALIG Educational and Welfare Society
1/2 Vatika Green Valley, Pardih Road, Mango
Jamshedpur- 832110
Phone No: +91 657 2362538
Mobile No: +91 9031014412
+91 8084120786
Email: arshadkauser@gmail.com
