Dr. Kalpana Sankar is the Co-Founder of Hand in Hand India. She has helped lakhs of people to become entrepreneurs
By Shevlin Sebastian
Whenever Dr. Kalpana Sankar thinks about Meera Soundarajan, a smile breaks out on her face.
Meera belonged to the backward Irula community. She stayed in the village of Chinnakadambathur in Thiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu. The family eked out a living by working in brick kilns, going into the forests to cut wood and graze the cattle. They were always on the move. Because of this, Meera and her three younger siblings had to drop out of school.
Thanks to the intervention of Kalpana, Meera was enrolled in school. In 2018, Meera reached Class 10. After her stellar performance in the final exams, Meera won the ‘Pratibha Award’. This is given to meritorious students by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The other siblings are also studying in lower classes. “They have a bright future,” said Kalpana.
Kalpana’s life changed when she met Dr. Percy Barnevik on May 2, 2004, in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. Percy is a Swedish business executive. On a visit to Tamil Nadu, he saw first-hand the devastating impact of child labour in the silk saree industry. At that time, Kalpana was working with the Tamil Nadu Women’s Development Project.
Percy asked Kalpana whether she would join him in his mission. She accepted the offer. They set up Hand in Hand India.
The organisation has helped women get jobs or become entrepreneurs and free the children to go to school.
“Unless you empower the families, they will not send the children to school,” said Kalpana. The group targeted the mothers by providing looms and sewing machines, at subsidised rates. Later, they began to help the men and the youth.
For the youth, they provided skills training. They learned to become plumbers and electricians and to be eligible for the armed forces. Thereafter, Hand in Hand India began working with farmers.
“We are very keen for people to become entrepreneurs,” said Kalpana. “So we are willing to give loans. We provide options for the trade they could enter into. In that way, they can become independent. We try to inculcate the concept that everybody has potential.”
To provide finance to Hand in Hand India, Kalpana set up the Belstar Microfinance Limited. She is the Managing Director. The Muthoot Group is a major shareholder. The funding is provided by philanthropists, both in India and abroad, corporates and the government.
But there has been a dark spot: the Covid epidemic. “It was a major setback,” said Kalpana. “Many entrepreneurs are yet to recover completely from the financial blow.” So far, the organisation, which has branches in 18 states, has helped 40 lakh women.
Recently, Kalpana saw film director Kiran Rao’s well-received ‘Laapataa Ladies’ on Netflix. In the film, a lost bride, at a railway station, cannot tell the name of her new husband’s village to the stationmaster. So, he is unable to help. Kalpana told her staff to show it to the women who come to their centres. She hoped they would understand the importance of education.
Kalpana’s parents also stressed to her the importance of education. She has a doctorate in Nuclear Science and Women’s Studies and Self-Help Groups. And an Executive MBA from the prestigious TRIUM through modules in London, Paris and New York.
Asked whether the middle class lives in a cocoon, Kalpana said, “I don’t blame anybody. For various reasons, there is a rich/poor divide. So people are self-absorbed. What they need is sensitisation. Once they become aware of poverty and issues relating to it, they do reach out to help.”
One way for early sensitisation is for students of schools and colleges to spend time in the villages. “Only then will they understand what is happening. Then they will be able to contribute in a way to bridge the divide,” said Kalpana.
Most people are not sure whether state governments are helping the poor or not. But Kalpana said that everybody is doing something. “But because of our huge population not everybody can get the benefits,” she said. “The good news is that numerous people have moved from the ‘below poverty line’ to the middle class. They have bought TVs, refrigerators and two-wheelers. Many are determined to educate their children.”
But Kalpana has a suggestion. Central and State governments should set up programmes to encourage entrepreneurship. “Then the people will be able to generate incomes and be contributing members of society,” she said.
(Published in the Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)
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