C2P - It's the journey that counts.

“When a business idea meets a community need, what you have is the power to empower!”

This was the basic idea behind the C2P Case Grant Competition, held by Enactus SRCC, in association with the Campus to Community Partnership Foundation.

But what exactly is this 'power to empower'?
YOU identify a community in need; someone whose life you want to change; someone on whose face you want to see a smile, you understand and analyse their problems, and what you, as an individual can do, to alleviate those problems, to make this community self sufficient, self reliant, and content with their lives.

WE provide you with a platform to present your own business model and if the model is practical self sufficient, sustainable, and if, above all, you truly believe in it, we give you a grant of Rs 30,000/- to implement your business model!

This year, the C2P Case Grant Competition rolled for the second time and it was BIGGER and BETTER than ever before!

From being open only to SRCC students last year, we invited applications from all undergraduate students in the Delhi NCR region this year. The two round format last year was changed to a three round one this year. We went on college to college promotion, telling students about the competition and putting up posters! Social entrepreneurship, once an elusive topic, was now being understood and attempted by students, who till sometime back, had not even heard of this concept. A desire to undertake to do something for the society, to not give donations but actually help empower people, a belief in this desire..is what these students identified with. When, for the first round we received a staggering 150 applications, our belief in social entrepreneurship was re-affirmed!

Next, the participants had to answer some basic questions about their community and how they intended to empower it! Teams that moved on to Round 2 were allotted an Enactus mentor to help and guide them through their business model. It was touching to see participants make community visits and build a bond with the people whose lives they were attempting to change.

Finally, it was The Big Day ! From 150 we were down to the 14 best and most promising business models, which would now contend in the final round for the coveted Rs 30,000/- grant. With Ms. Neelima Khaitan, the CSR and Sustainability Head of Coca Cola India & South West Asia; Mr.Ravi Sinha, Founder Chairperson, Centre for Social Innovation, BIMTECH, Greater NOIDA, and Mr. Guarav Mehndiratta Executive Director, Tax and Regulatory Services, KPMG India, judging the final round, the participants knew, it was going to be a tough one!

Finally, Practicality, Enforceability, and a Belief in your project were the things that mattered. The three teams declared winners were:

Project Annapurna - Aims to recover surplus perishable food and create a mechanism for efficient and self-sustaining distribution of this recovered food.

Project Angel shop - An online e-commerce portal which would tie up with a non-profit every month to raise awareness about their cause and help raise funds.

Project Black Revolution - Aims to empower subsistence farmers by facilitating a micro-credit system for them to enable them to produce a carbon-negative replacement of soil.

For the Projects that won, it is a new beginning. The end of the competition is metaphorical. A long journey lies ahead of them. A journey to change someone’s life, a journey to see their projects implemented, a journey to empower. The path ahead will not be easy but we hope and believe that it will be worth it.

For those projects which could not win; remember, making a difference to someone’s life does not depend on a competition, does not depend on whether you win or lose. You feel for the community, you want to make the world a better place for those who are not as privileged as us, BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE!

With faith in our hearts and belief in ourselves, we will be back next year. The C2P Case Grant Competition, even bigger and better.


- Ipshita Agarwal

Reflecting upon the new beginning... Life On Wheels

The first meeting with the community is a day which marks the true beginning of every SIFE, now Enactus member's journey. 

Recollecting mine, I was looking forward to it with the nerves of a frightened kitten (I fervently hoped that I didn’t squeak!). The D-day finally dawned and my project, being Life on Wheels, there wasn’t any long journey to calm myself with. 

The rickshaw pullers were supposed to be in the college campus by 4:00pm and to my amazement the parking area was almost full by 4:10pm, the turnout was very encouraging. They were initially addressed by our Seniors, who introduced us, the oh-so-innocent Freshers………. And then we were on our own. It was SHOWTIME!

My nervousness heightened, what was I even going to say? 

I finally gathered the courage to take a peek and was greeted by a group of smiling faces, looking at us with trustful eyes. Then it struck me, these were real people with real problems, not a school project which could be finished and forgotten. And what was more overwhelming was that we were doing real work, which would have a positive impact on their lives and families. There was an instant feeling of ‘rightness’, this was where I always wanted to be.

The rickshaw bhaiyas, as people were fun and cheerful and put us at ease instantly. We got the opportunity to interact with all of them individually. They were highly amused by our lack of knowledge in Hindi numbers, to our extreme embarrassment (NOTE: a tute needs to be arranged ASAP for us illiterates). And we were surprised by their open and friendly nature, their simple approach to life. It was a very refreshing experience and there was so much to learn too.

Three hours later, we were left with completed targets and an experience which changed our lives. The very thought that we could help make a difference in anyone’s life was very stimulating. The initial anxiety was replaced by a pleasant sense of my-ness…. and from that day on, I have worked with new-found enthusiasm for my community, for my society.

- Akanksha Sinha

Azmat - First Field Visit

It’s easy to think about social entrepreneurship while sitting in an air conditioned room enjoying a sub, but on reaching the harsh reality grounds - one learns what it really is - a toddler running with a dry roti and a stray dog wagging along to snap at the same meal.
The first Azmat visit...something that I’ll always remember;started pretty early, left for Ghaziabad at 8:30 am from Kashmere Gate. On our way to meet the community,driving on inside lanes next to fields, I could feel a new experience… like never before in my life.
 
We reached the establishment/hutments and there I was left shocked, SHELL shocked! It was the description one finds in the stories of foreign researchers and documentary makers. A part of “Real” India struck me hard. The lanes were narrow enough to allow only one person to walk across, the drains were open and all across basking in the sunshine were stray dogs. Add to it there were monkeys swinging on the branches of trees under whose shade we were seated on a charpai . 


Despite all the mess and dismal state of affairs, the women welcomed us and made us feel comfortable. They blessed all the senior members and interaction commenced.
 
Agrata, our dear project director immediately got to business. Slowly we got the requisite details, it took some time, but we ended up getting all the details and photographs. Meanwhile, I observed the environment around me; toddlers with their dripping nose running around, a child returning after school and a grandmother giving her grandson his lunch- a bit of roti with a piece of pickle and vegetable. It seemed awful, that we as a nation still believe we deserve the title of fastest growing economy in the developing world.
 
The sad scenario around me was made better only by the warmth of the community members who shooed away the monkeys and stray dogs and cooperated with all our questions. We went on to inspect the toilets constructed by Sulabh International and were satisfied with the progress. The houses where the toilets were constructed completely gave an extremely positive feedback. We even visited the community centre which seemed perfectly set up for the production. 


Overall, I learnt a lot about the community and the immense work yet to be done. 

The breakthroughs achieved by the second years despite all the blockades are indeed remarkable. I am humbled to be part of the project and words can’t express the humane feeling I felt. 

All I can say is after this visit I felt a greater desire to work harder for the welfare of "our" community, "our" India and "our “world.
 


As of now, the conditions for the community are definitely imperfect and undesirable, but the future gives me hope.  Hope for a better lifestyle, a better livelihood and more just and equitable society, which is not only profit making and encourages entrepreneurship but also growth sustainable.