Bharat Calling - transforming lives of rural India through education
This story is a part of Portraits of Purpose series sponsored by DBS Bank.
Maya Angelou once said- “I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.”
When an ordinary man gathers this courage and starts acting towards a problem, things are bound to change. One such man, Sandeep Mehto, founder of Bharat Calling, wants to ensure no student is ever denied the right to higher education due to poor socio-economic conditions.
Bharat Calling is the story of a man who once turned away from any kind of social work, until his life took a fateful turn. It’s the story of a man who faced discrimination in his early years, but turned his experience into an enterprise that helps others like him.
Sandeep Mehto – the man behind Bharat Calling
Mehto hails from a village -Pathrota- in the Satpuda forest in Madhya Pradesh. Growing up in a lower middle class family, Mehto could not relate to his father’s altruistic behaviour. His house had a sign on the entrance that read- ‘Daya Hi Sukh Ka Karan Hai’ (Compassion is the only root of happiness). Mehto would always take it off, and his father would put it back on.
Mehto’s father had a small business that wasn’t going well, and his health was deteriorating, too. Mehto says, “I had a very democratic kind of upbringing. Finances were a constraint many a times, but my parents always urged me to go for the best education possible.”
He managed to complete his higher secondary education, but with poor grades. He was often not allowed to attend classes as he could not pay his tuition fee on time. Despite the financial crunch, Mehto completed B.E Electrical Engineering from SATI Vidisha. He says, “Not more than 2% of students in my college were from a rural background. My friends back in school -who were far better than me in academics- dropped out of college due to lack of encouragement.”
In the final year of Mehto’s graduation, his father passed away after a heart attack on Diwali. At the funeral next day, there was a long queue of people waiting to pay tribute to him. He remained in the hearts of the people he selflessly helped.
Mehto says, “This fateful day further strengthened me to choose what I wanted. I got selected for MA in Social Entrepreneurship at TISS- the course that made me organised, and showed me the way to work for society. And, also to prove to everyone -including myself- that what my father practised his entire life was actually the bigger goal to make life meaningful not only for oneself, but for the society we live in.”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNzKWn3xPEg]
A calling to be the change – Bharat Calling
During his social entrepreneurship course at TISS, students were asked to take up a project for their internship. “When we started our research, we went to explore the rural higher education sector. We were faced with the same realities that I have seen in my life, such as a drop out rate of 90% before XII standard in rural India, and different socio-economic prejudices. It cleared the picture in my mind that getting into higher education depends on the social, cultural and economic capital a person gets, and not just how intelligent or eager a person is to learn.”
Lack of role models, poor access to online college applications, socio-cultural prejudices hindering progress and the unavailability of information on higher education puts rural students at a gross disadvantage most urban ones never have to face.
Before 2009, no student from Mehto’s own village had ever secured admission in a NAAC-qualified college (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). With support from TISS, Mehto decided to take the challenge with the social enterprise he founded in 2009, Bharat Calling.
In the beginning, Bharat Calling provided information to students on higher education, helped them fill out application forms, conducted summer camps and helped connect students to higher education institutes. What began as a program in one school to raise awareness about higher education options has now expanded to a network of 27 schools. On average, 12,000 students enrol for Awareness Sessions every year and around 280-380 students for higher education.
For Awareness Sessions and summer camps, dedicated volunteers are selected from various universities to take up teaching roles.
This growth journey has been equally fulfilling and challenging for Mehto and his team at Bharat Calling. As an African proverb says: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” Mehto definitely wants to go far and he found the right partner to go together with in the DBS Bank India.
He says, “With DBS Bank, problems are actually opportunities. DBS has taught us to work with our brain, not just our heart. Their team has not only supported Bharat Calling financially, but has also got our processes, our hiring our accounting in place. They are like a family to Bharat Calling, which takes care of all its needs.”
With DBS Bank coming on board as a partner, Bharat Calling started scaling rapidly in 2012. Both organisations conduct regular meetings for a detailed analysis, as well as prospective scaling.
Mehto is highly optimistic about the future of Bharat Calling. He says, “The best scenario will be that ten years down the line, Bharat Calling becomes non-existent. I hope the government acts to absorb the initiative and make it a well-rooted system across India, especially rural India.”
Portraits of Purpose (PoP) is a series through which we have showcased the journey of the Social Enterprises that are supported by DBS. A journey that will take you through the dedication, passion and a sense of belief that drives each of these social entrepreneurs. These stories are a testimony of how perseverance backed by innovative sustainable solutions can emerge triumphant over social and economic challenges that confront our society. Over 500 DBS employees have volunteered with the ventures in the past two years.