Application Exercise By Meha Dalvi Roll No 18 PGPDM Batch-21

Basics of Program Design

This exercise is about how we can apply the various techniques learned from the
videos by Ganesh Devy, Shiv Visvanathan, U R Ananthamurthy and Ashis Nandy in
our NGO for various projects.

Ganesh Devy has rightfully shed light on how we have various languages in our
country and how we need to respect each language. In the NGO where I work we
have various sectors such as Livelihood, Education, Health, Disaster Management
and Meal. In our Livelihood program we train people in basic skills such as
Computer, Soft Skills and Spoken English. These trainings are conducted pan India
on the online platform. Here beneficiaries from various educational backgrounds,
culture and language participated. So we customized our spoken English training
curriculum according to the needs of these beneficiaries. Even we made sure that the
trainer is bilingual and teaches in the both the languages in which the beneficiaries
are comfortable to understand. They were taught English language with the use of
their regional language. It made their learning easier. The beneficiaries were happy
and content.

Ethical consideration and community engagements – We wanted to provide free

books to students for reading. So we used to have exhibitions for people to come and
take free books. Many people would come to take books and would take as many as
they desired.

Once one principal suggested that people are taking books just because they are free
and you are making it easily available. But are these people really using it. So what
we did is we arranged a meeting of teachers and principals and asked their
requirements for books in schools and colleges in various parts of India. We asked
them what kind of books they require in their college or school library and
accordingly we started providing them the books. This open discussion helped us to
understand their requirements.
Video of U.R Ananthamurthy- Speaks about how actions taken by people can
change or transform the society. We ensured that we organized workshops where in
our beneficiaries come up with solutions for their issues. Also, we ensured that we
provide them with appropriate handholding. This approach helps in building strong
relationship with them.

Ananthamurthy also made us aware that how everyone involved is important and
plays a pivotal role.

Ashish Nandy's insights into the intricate and multifaceted nature of culture greatly
influenced my involvement with an NGO. We were endeavoring to extend our
initiatives into a new region characterized by a distinct culture. However, our
conventional approaches proved ineffective in this context, and this is where Nandy's
ideas came to our aid. Nandy prompted us to acknowledge that what may succeed in
one location may not be applicable elsewhere due to cultural disparities.
Consequently, rather than employing uniform methods universally, we adopted a
more introspective approach. Our aim was to engage with the local population, gain
insights from their experiences, and subsequently adapt our strategies to better align
with their culture."