In my recent work trip to Tamil Urdu in Southern India, I had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Kulandei Francis, the founder of Integrated Village Development Project (IVDP) in Krishnagiri district. It's not very often that one gets to meet inspirational leaders who are truly making a difference in their community, and I felt very lucky to have a chance to be in Mr. Francis' presence.
Mr. Francis is the 2012 winner of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, and has an amazing life story. He was the only child in his poor family to have an university degree, and started out as a pastor. After preaching Christianity for awhile, he decided that preaching is not enough...he wanted to do more! He eloquently said, "helping hands are holier than praying lips", pulled up his sleeves, and in 1979 started IVDP, a network of self-help women group. He painstakingly educated the community about issues that will help the community and made available products that will improve their lives (i.e. sanitary napkins, d.light solar lanterns, water purifier...etc.) Just imagine how a man can start discussing the topic of menstrual cycle and use of sanitary napkins in a community where the topic is taboo and women don't even wear underwear! THAT is an extreme behavior change and a marketer's ultimate challenge!
His organization is now entirely self-sustaining, and he re-invest any profit back to the community. All the women in his community now uses sanitary napkin, and he has boldly proclaimed that he wants to eradicate kerosene in his district; in fact, he's already 1/3 way there!!! It's truly amazing what 1 individual, with determination and strategic approach, can achieve. In the international development space, "scale" is the talk of the town; however, have we underestimated the power of changes drip by drip, which ultimately change the world?
Mr. Francis is the 2012 winner of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, and has an amazing life story. He was the only child in his poor family to have an university degree, and started out as a pastor. After preaching Christianity for awhile, he decided that preaching is not enough...he wanted to do more! He eloquently said, "helping hands are holier than praying lips", pulled up his sleeves, and in 1979 started IVDP, a network of self-help women group. He painstakingly educated the community about issues that will help the community and made available products that will improve their lives (i.e. sanitary napkins, d.light solar lanterns, water purifier...etc.) Just imagine how a man can start discussing the topic of menstrual cycle and use of sanitary napkins in a community where the topic is taboo and women don't even wear underwear! THAT is an extreme behavior change and a marketer's ultimate challenge!
His organization is now entirely self-sustaining, and he re-invest any profit back to the community. All the women in his community now uses sanitary napkin, and he has boldly proclaimed that he wants to eradicate kerosene in his district; in fact, he's already 1/3 way there!!! It's truly amazing what 1 individual, with determination and strategic approach, can achieve. In the international development space, "scale" is the talk of the town; however, have we underestimated the power of changes drip by drip, which ultimately change the world?
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