Posts Tagged ‘Dhiraj’

Primera medición del impacto social de FairMail

martes, marzo 18th, 2014

yomira werk vroegerFairMail fue creada para traer fotos con una perspectiva original en el mercado, pero – lo más importante – para llevar a cabo nuestra misión social:

Dar a los adolescentes, en situación de riesgo, la oportunidad de crear un futuro mejor para sí mismos.

Pero, ¿cuánto impacto hemos creado en nuestros siete años de funcionamiento? En 2013 los 50 fotógrafos adolescentes ganaron € 20.530 para invertir en su propia educación, la vivienda y la atención médica de sus familias. Los que más ganancias obtuvieron entre Perú y la India son Yomira y Sandhya con 1.419 y € 1.801 , respectivamente. Sí, chicas poderosas! En segundo lugar Elmer y Dhiraj con 1.226 y € 1.306 cada uno. Pero, ¿Qué lograron los adolescentes con sus ganancias?

FairMail tasa de abandono escolar es muy inferior a la media nacional

Anshu in school uniform


Anshu in school uniform

Estas ganancias son cruciales para los adolescentes sean capaces de cumplir con sus planes para el futuro soñado. Pero el dinero no es garantía ya que el éxito también depende de su perseverancia, situación familiar y la motivación para FairMail. Debido a una combinación de estas razones, hasta ahora, el 20% de los adolescentes que comenzaron FairMail no llegaron a la edad de jubilación de 19 años. Estos 10 jóvenes perdieron la motivación, ya sea a lo largo del camino, se introdujeron de nuevo en problemas por los » viejos amigos «, o tuvieron que enfrentarse con grandes problemas personales que no les permitieron continuar en FairMail.  Aunque sólo 40 adolescentes lograron llegar a la final, el 86% de todos los chicos que comenzaron FairMail o terminaron o aún están en la escuela secundaria. No está mal en comparación con el promedio nacional de 52 % de todos los adolescentes de la India que hace a décimo grado (o el 65% de todos los niños en Perú que acaban la escuela secundaria) .

85 % de los adolescentes FairMail seguir aprendiendo después de terminar la escuela secundaria

Yuli in front of her university

Yuli in front of her university

Los adolescentes que terminaron la escuela secundaria durante su tiempo con FairMail, el 35 % ha continuado en la (pre) universidad y 50 % ha continuado con una formación profesional. Sólo el 15 % decidió no seguir estudiando en absoluto después de terminar la escuela secundaria. Ya sea por no haber terminado la escuela secundaria o porque no tienen suficientes ingresos en sus fondos después de terminar FairMail .

78 % de los adolescentes FairMail » retirados» ha roto la cadena de la pobreza

Akaash invested his earnings in his bike repair shop

Akaash invested his earnings in his bike repair shop

En total hasta el momento el 68% de los 50 adolescentes FairMail siguen estudiando algo. De los que no estudian, más del 55% tiene un trabajo decente (que varían desde el turismo a la construcción o ventas ) y el 23% tiene su propio negocio o trabaja por cuenta propia (que varían desde la producción de pelotas de fútbol a las portretas fotografías). De esta manera han roto la cadena de la pobreza y se puede empezar a construir una familia y proporcionar mucho mejores oportunidades para sus hijos.

Sin embargo, no todo es un éxito. Aún así el 22% está desempleada o tiene un marginado o un trabajo inestable (que varía de cargar las compras en el mercado a estar en la cárcel). 4 de los 5 adolescentes que están en esta situación resultan ser adolescentes que no terminaron el programa FairMail hasta la edad de 19. Esto sólo demuestra la importancia del enfoque y la orientación a largo plazo de FairMail.

Cinthia graduating

Cinthia graduating

El nuevo reto de FairMail

lunes, febrero 3rd, 2014
4 new FairMail co-managers

4 new FairMail co-managers

Besides being a social enterprise where teenagers earn money while learning, we have decided to expand the scope of our social impact to some of the retired ex-photographers, who leave the company at the age of 19. As of January 2014, both in Peru and India, FairMail’s daily management is in the hands of ex-photographers who have shown the desire and ability to grow professionally. A huge step for them to accept this new challenge and responsibility. And a huge challenge for us to decide to invest in training new managers internally instead of recruiting externally as FairMail did so far.

FairMail’s new policy to recruit new managers amongst the ex-teenagers has four big advantages:

Firstly it will help the selected ex-teenagers to grow professionally. For example in Peru the new managers are studying human resource management and to become a teacher. For both fields they will be able to practice part-time in FairMail what they learn at university in the meantime.

Secondly the new managers will be inspiring examples for the current teenagers of what you can achieve in life by working hard and being creative and responsible, even if you come from a difficult background.

Thirdly by working only with ex-teenagers we are sure to have managers on board who fully understand the essence of FairMail’s philosophy and who are happy to be able to give back to the organisation that helped them improve their lives.

Last but not least the money paid in wages by FairMail now ends up in the pockets of ex-teenagers who still really need the money. This way they are able to contribute directly to their family income or invest even more in their own education.

Apart from these four advantages our new policy also has risks. We have chosen to work with staff that has hardly any management experience. Running a business is a totally new experience for them which means a lot of time and effort has to be put in training them on the job. FairMail founders Peter and Janneke will be spending more of their time in Peru and India this year to give that training and guidance.

Read more about our new Peruvian managers Mariaflor Alvarado Reyes (22) and Yuli Silva Acuna (19) here.

And more about our new Indian managers Dhiraj Kannaujia (21) and Anil Rao (17) here.

Dhiraj, fotógrafo de FairMail India aprueba su examen!

martes, noviembre 27th, 2012
Dhiraj with his family

Dhiraj with his family

Remember Dhiraj? The Indian FairMail photographer who traveled through Europe last summer on a FairMail promotion tour and to investigate his card market? When asked by his audience he often repeated that he was waiting for the result of his exam in political sciences.

Now, 7 months later, he finally got the result. As we figured many people would be curious to know we asked him about it. These are the answers we got from him:

1. So what was the result of your exam?

The result was good.The entire process of the exam took about one month to complete with written and oral segments every few days. My goal was to receive 53% and that is the score that I got. 

2. How long did you have to wait between taking the exam and hearing the result?

I had to wait six to seven months to hear the result.

3. Why did it take so long?

Well, Uttar Pradesh (the largest Indian state, where Varanasi is situated, red.) has the highest population of students and my college has different boards throughout Uttar Pradesh that are all graded at the same time. So it takes a long time to do that.

4. So what is the next thing you have to do to become an IAS officer?

I have to take an entrance exam and if I pass I will be invited to have an interview. In the next six months, I will prepare for that exam at an institute for IAS officer preparation, and then I will take the exam in May or June.

5. How much money do you still need to earn to finish your study to become an IS officer?

For preparation I will need about 50.000 rupees (725 euro) More or less.

Fotografos de la India visitan a Europa

miércoles, mayo 30th, 2012

Two Indian teenage photographers will travel to Europe to tell the unique story behind their fairtrade greetings cards: How by taking pictures for their own greeting cards they where able to improve their life and pay for their own education. During the last three years the teenagers sold more then 1 million cards in 14 countries. Now they have become inspiring examples for their surrounding showing that they have the will and creativity to break the chain of poverty themselves.

The teenage photographers from India will travel through the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium and Switzerland taking with them a photo exhibition, a documentary about their lives and participating in different public events. This will take place between the 11th of June and the 3rd of July. On the 12th of June there will be a kick-off event for the tour in Cafe Noorderlicht on the NDSM terrain in Amsterdam.

Download your invitation for this event here.

Both teenagers of 16 and 19 years old live in the Nagwa slum of the Indian city of Varanasi. It is in this part of the city that many inhabitants come from the lower castes in Indian society of which some earn an income collecting animal dung and leather tanners. Many of the youngsters are forced to work at a young age to supplement the family income. This means there is no time and no money to go to school. With FairMail they earn the money that is necessary to go to school by themselves.

FairMail is a company that produces fair trade greeting cards in Peru, India and soon in Morocco too! The pictures on the FairMail cards are taken by deprived teenagers from Peru, India and Morocco. On the back of each card you can see the name, age, email, age and picture of the teenager who took the picture. FairMail provides these teenagers with free photography training, part-time work, health insurance and guidance in making their future plans. The teenagers receive 50% of the profit made from the sale of their own cards to finance their housing and education. FairMail is a monitored member of the World Fair Trade Organization.

Schedule FairMail Promotion Tour June 2012

You are more then welcome to visit any of the activities below:

Date Activity
mon 11 June Leave Delhi, arrival in Amsterdam (05.45 am), Relax
Tue 12 June Amsterdam tour, visit World Press Photo 19.30 Kick-off event Café Noorderlicht, NDSM terrain, Amsterdam
Wed 13 June Waalwijk, Context Cards logistics & market research
Thurs 14 June The Hague: ASN Bank office Delft: Stanislas College, Delft worldshop & presentation
Fri 15 June Amstedam: Greetz headquarters & market research & interview
Sat 16 June Festival Mundial Tilburg – photo exhibition
Sun 17 June Festival Mundial Tilburg – photo exhibition
Mon 18 June Culemborg: Visit Cash & Carry Fair Trade Original. Travel to Hamburg, relax & welcome party
Tues 19 June Hamburg & Kiel: shop visit
Wed 20 June Munster & Halle: visit shop and distribution center
Thurs 21 June Wurzburg: shop visit and interview
Fri 22 June Geneve: Visit to Co-op supermarket in Zurich and interview
Sat 23 June Freiburg: Visit shop
Sun 24 June Freiburg: Visit Europapark
Mon 25 June Travel to Paris
Tues 26 June Free in Paris
Wed 27 June Paris: meet La Carterie marketing team, photographer and interview
Thurs 28 June Reims: meet sales team Reims & interview
Fri 29 June Rennes: meet sales team Rennes & interview
Sat 30 June Back to Amsterdam and free
Sun 1 July Amsterdam: Free
Mon 2 July Amsterdam: write marketing report and make presentation for FairMail India team
Tues 3 July Amsterdam: Departure to (11.30 am), arrival India (22.50 pm)

Fotografo Dhiraj de la India obtiene empleyo como asistente de gerencia

miércoles, mayo 30th, 2012

On the first of May 2012 FairMail India photographer Dhiraj retired from FairMail after three years working as teenage photographer. Because of his responsible attitude and improved English skills he got a new job as the first assistant manager of FairMail India. We asked him what he thought of his early retirement and the new challenge ahead of him. Here is what he said:

Dhiraj in the FairMail India office

Dhiraj in the FairMail India office

What do you think about your retirement from FairMail as photographer?

«Retirement from FairMail as a photographer its little bit sad because I enjoy taking photos for postcards. I miss that very much. The way I learn photography and English in FairMail was very cool. And also my friends in FairMail have more years then me as I started at an older age. I wish that I could have had more time as a photographer.»

(FairMail works with teenagers until they reach the age of 19. Then they retire, handing over there camera to a new and younger teenager so they can have the same opportunity. This way we prevent dependency from FairMail and make it clear to the teenagers that they only have a certain amount of time in which they have to be very motivated to get out of FairMail what is in it for them. Their «pension» consists of 50% of the earnings of their pictures which FairMail keeps selling for them as long as possible. They can’t product NEW pictures though.)

What did you like most about your time as photographer? What was your best memory?

«As a photographer I like taking photo’s with friends and having fun together. Every day was nice. I always got something to learn and improve myself. But my best memory was when my photo was selected for the HEMA christmas cards. That was my best memory. I was very happy because there was competition from Peru and India and Peru got 4 out of the five pictures selected by the HEMA.»

What was the most valuable thing you got out of your time as photographer for FMI?

«I earned money, photography skills and I learnt English.»

As you can read on Dhiraj’s profile page he earned 2050 euro so far with the sale of his photographs and cards.

What do you think about your new job as assistant to Akshay?

«It is a new experience for me. I have things like translating before during classes, but then I was still a photographer. I like FairMail so much as I said, I wish I could have more time in FairMail as a photographer because I will learn more things. Akshay, our national coordinator, has so many work to do in FairMail and outside of FairMail so I like to help him because he help us lot.»

What do you think you still need to learn to do  better to be a good assistant manager?

«I need to improve my in English, think like a responsible person and be strict but in a cool way.»

Which of your new tasks do you like?

«I like translating the English photography classes the volunteers teach us into hindi for the students because I like to teach people.»

Besides translating the photography classes Dhiraj is also in charge of giving photography classes when there aren’t any volunteers and help manage the pictures the teenagers take and store on FairMail’s computer.

Viaje de promotion listo para arancar!

viernes, mayo 18th, 2012

FairMail is ready to get started with it’s European promotional tour that will take place from the 11th of June until the 3rd of July 2012. Special guests are two of FairMail India’s teenage photographers, Dhiraj and Anil. We just thought «Who is better at explaining the unique story behind the FairMail Cards and the impact it has on the life of its teenage photographers than the photographers themselves?»

Destinations

During the three week tour they will be visiting The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France and Belgium (download the itinerary here). In each country they will be promoting FairMail via interviews with the media, meetings with the shops and sales people that sell their cards and of course directly with the people that buy their cards at public music festivals. Besides promotion the other goal of the trip is that they investigate «their» Western greeting card market. What kind of pictures sell well, what are the latest trends and what is the competition doing? Back home in India they will present and share their valuable market knowledge with their fellow young photographers so the whole team is better equipped to sell to their main market. Besides these «serious» goals the trip will simple be the trip of their lifetime and a chance to meet up with former photography volunteers and participant of the photography trips to India in the past. What an experience!

Meet the teenagers

For you it is a unique possibility to meet the teenagers in person, hear their personal story and ask any questions you want. Feel free to hook up with us anywhere along the road. Find out when we will be close to you by downloading the travel itinerary here.

On the 12 of June we are also organizing a kick-off event for the tour in Amsterdam. The teenagers will present themselves, we will be showing a movie about their life in India and what there work for FairMail looks like, opening of a photography exhibition and an American auction of one of their photographs. It will be a big party and a great chance to meet them. You can download your invitation here.

For more information about the promotional tour, meeting the teenagers of for organizing an interview with them please contact Peter:

peter@fairmail.info

00-31-(0)6-52020467

Dos fotografos de FairMail India visitan a Europa en junio

miércoles, abril 25th, 2012

FairMail India photographer Dhiraj

FairMail India photographer Dhiraj

What’s happening?

In June two Indian FairMail teenagers are coming to Europe to promote their greeting cards and learn more about the European card market they sell their pictures to. If all goes according to plan Anil Rao (15 years old) and Dhiraj Kannaujiya (19 years old) will travel through Europe between the 11th of June and the 3rd of July 2012. During this period they will visit the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France and Belgium.

FairMail India photographer Anil

FairMail India photographer Anil

Preparations being made:

We are currently busy preparing their travel schedule in which they will visit their most important clients, do press interviews, open picture exhibitions and sell their cards directly to consumers at different consumer festivals. If you have any suggestions or contacts to help get press coverage for the teenagers’s visit please contact us by clicking here!

Hope for the best & pray for the rest:

Now all we have to hope for is that also Anil gets his passport in time (he has already been waiting over 7 months!) and that the visa application on Monday the first of May goes well.

A big thank you for:

The Promotional tour would not have been possible without the kind financial and organizational support of: FairMail Distribution Partner in Germany, La Carterie in France, Fair Trade shop in Delft and the Fair Media Foundation in the Netherlands.