Sixton and Bala
Trevor Jensen, IHF Board Member and former India Fellow
Sixton and Bala are extraordinary young men by any measure. They have advanced training in computers, can read and write in several languages, are hard working, and show a rare sense of charisma. With a background like that and living as they do in one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it shouldn't have been hard for them to find work. Nevertheless, the search for employment remained a struggle for these two young men in 2003. Bala and Sixton were from rural areas outside of Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, and once they finished their education in the cities, they needed to move home to help their families. While returning home is something many look forward to, it can be bittersweet when home offers few employment opportunities. Bala and Sixton both found somewhat consistent work, but it was difficult for them to find anything that would help them build skills, let alone a career.
Then the IHF and Betsy Elizabeth Trust teamed up to install ventilated stoves in the rural villages around Kodaikanal. Known in the community for being able to do everything from repairing damaged roofs to managing websites, Bala and Sixton were natural choices to head the project. Within months of the project's inception, the two were devoting several days a week to the project; organizing the purchase, installment, and maintenance of improved cookstoves. Under the supervision of the Betsy Elizabeth Trust, the two continue to run the improved cookstove project in Kodai. In this job they are able to utilize their computer skills, network with non-profit workers and local craftspeople, and build relationships within the community. They have been responsible for hundreds of stove installations and their continued maintenance. They have also become involved in other Betsy Elizabeth Trust work, allowing them to build new skills in the field of development work.
The IHF seeks to create new jobs in the places it operates. In the case of the cookstove project, we achieved this goal by employing potters and stove installers as well as people like Sixton and Bala. In the end, however, this story is less about the IHF helping people like Bala and Sixton and more about how those people are helping their community. The IHF model is to enlist and support local people on the ground in a community. By doing so, we empower those who are familiar with a community's people and know the lay of the land to benefit the community organically. The IHF and its partners hope that once individuals like Sixton and Bala are empowered by their positions within our organization, they will continue working within that community long after any given project has run its course. In terms of lives touched, this would be the greatest success of all.
Click below to support the IHF's work with people like Sixton and Bala:
Sixton and Bala are extraordinary young men by any measure. They have advanced training in computers, can read and write in several languages, are hard working, and show a rare sense of charisma. With a background like that and living as they do in one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it shouldn't have been hard for them to find work. Nevertheless, the search for employment remained a struggle for these two young men in 2003. Bala and Sixton were from rural areas outside of Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, and once they finished their education in the cities, they needed to move home to help their families. While returning home is something many look forward to, it can be bittersweet when home offers few employment opportunities. Bala and Sixton both found somewhat consistent work, but it was difficult for them to find anything that would help them build skills, let alone a career.
Then the IHF and Betsy Elizabeth Trust teamed up to install ventilated stoves in the rural villages around Kodaikanal. Known in the community for being able to do everything from repairing damaged roofs to managing websites, Bala and Sixton were natural choices to head the project. Within months of the project's inception, the two were devoting several days a week to the project; organizing the purchase, installment, and maintenance of improved cookstoves. Under the supervision of the Betsy Elizabeth Trust, the two continue to run the improved cookstove project in Kodai. In this job they are able to utilize their computer skills, network with non-profit workers and local craftspeople, and build relationships within the community. They have been responsible for hundreds of stove installations and their continued maintenance. They have also become involved in other Betsy Elizabeth Trust work, allowing them to build new skills in the field of development work. The IHF seeks to create new jobs in the places it operates. In the case of the cookstove project, we achieved this goal by employing potters and stove installers as well as people like Sixton and Bala. In the end, however, this story is less about the IHF helping people like Bala and Sixton and more about how those people are helping their community. The IHF model is to enlist and support local people on the ground in a community. By doing so, we empower those who are familiar with a community's people and know the lay of the land to benefit the community organically. The IHF and its partners hope that once individuals like Sixton and Bala are empowered by their positions within our organization, they will continue working within that community long after any given project has run its course. In terms of lives touched, this would be the greatest success of all.
Click below to support the IHF's work with people like Sixton and Bala:
