Reflections on India by Richard Hawkes, CEO, British Asian Trust
I love my job - the people I meet, the stories I hear and the places I get to visit. It’s hugely satisfying to piece together these experiences and insights to raise funds for programmes that will genuinely change peoples lives.
At the British Asian Trust, we work with governments, corporate partners and local organisations (among many others) to drive change which is systemic and sustainable. To make an impact we need strong relationships and while Covid-19 made us all appreciate video calls, I still believe nothing beats the connection you get from real life encounters.
I was reminded of this during my recent trip to India, where the British Asian Trust has been working since our story began in 2007. Meeting local colleagues and seeing our programmes in action is without doubt, the best part of my job.
When I landed in Mumbai it was nearly two years since my last visit, which ended up being nine weeks long after emergency treatment for a blood clot prevented me from returning home. Naturally, the team in India were thrilled to have me around for so long! It was a strange feeling to be back but overwhelmingly positive.
I was eager to reunite with our partner organisation, Magic Bus, who are part of our hugely innovative Skill Impact Bond. Our aim is to transform the skills ecosystem by focusing on getting people into jobs, as opposed to finishing training courses. The young people I met talked about feeling more confident and ambitious, they were on a career path that offered stable employment and a sense of genuine hope and ambition for the future. I didn’t require convincing, but I’m heartened to see how this approach is creating positive outcomes at a time when young people are facing greater challenges than ever before.
In Delhi, I also spent time with Peepul, an incredible organisation which is working closely with the Indian government to transform public schools as part of LiftEd - a programme which will strengthen Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) for 4 million children across the country. At a school on the outskirts of the city, I met the Head and the teacher who are implementing the programme here and it was fantastic to learn more about their work.
The rural landscape of Uttar Pradesh provided a stark contrast as I travelled to remote villages where our Child Opportunity Fund is helping to keep children safe and provide them with the best opportunities to grow and thrive. Perhaps the most memorable was a small village of 400 people that has limited road access and electricity, where the community has set-up an education hub to ensure local children learn literacy and numeracy.
In addition to these inspiring field trips, I was fortunate to spend time with MSEMVS, ROSA and PGS in Varanasi – followed by an incredible boat ride on the Ganges! I also had the opportunity to discuss the British Asian Trust and our future plans with a range of key partners and stakeholders including the British High Commissioner, UNICEF, CIFF, our amazing partners at BT Group, Mission Karmayogi (with whom we hope to train four million civil servants on child protection issues), the Access to Justice network, Give India and the MacArthur Foundation.
The British Asian Trust now has 40 members of staff in India who work tirelessly to drive positive change across the region. On this visit I was fortunate to meet most of them. Our programmes are achieving incredible results at scale and none of this would be possible without the remarkable efforts of all these amazing colleagues.
Unlike my last visit to India, I left India when I was supposed to – with all my colleagues no doubt cheering when the airplane took off!
It was a busy and brilliant week with too many highlights to mention here. Above all however, it served as a great reminder about why we exist and why this work matters. And the really bad news for all my colleagues is that I have come back more energised than ever. Also, I’ll be back – I’ve had the privilege of visiting India more than 60 times over the last 30 years and I’m determined to hit a century!