This letter is to give everyone a brief report on how your Time, Talent, and Treasure have been applied by WHEELS in 2022. None of the following would be possible without your support.2022 – A year that started with optimism post-COVID times, defining a new standard to work in a hybrid model of virtual and offline modes in various program sites. At WHEELS Global Foundation (WGF) our team of engineers, doctors, volunteers, and philanthropists came together with both public and private entities to apply technology to address the many unmet demands of people in some of the most impoverished corners of India. On behalf of the entire WGF family of Board members, Partners, Volunteers, Staff, Donors, and well-wishers, I would like to thank each and every one for their dedication, passion, time, talent, and treasure to design, development, and implementation of solutions for maximum impact. I take this opportunity to focus on just a few of the achievements and initiatives in this past, difficult year, that have yielded measurable, and tangible impact.
For WGF, the year 2022 was focused on laying the groundwork for an organization built for longevity, sustained impact, and a go-to-giving platform for the broader Pan-IIT community that created it. We made a lot of progress as reflected in the following key achievements:
Robust organizational structure with a new group of very senior leaders, called Trustees, to guide WHEELS for the long-haul.
We overhauled our website with an intuitive and modern look and content structure to make it easy for our broader stakeholders and participants to engage.
New formed Councils took their initiatives for a virtual ‘road show’ through a series of webinars bringing in some of the most accomplished experts in the field.
we initiated and forged numerous new partnerships, including one with Stanford University’s Ideal Village division, leading to a very successful Conference, as detailed next.
Fully functioning Councils across five WGF domains. Not only Councils has brought in 100+ highly accomplished non-IIT professionals & leaders who share in WGF’s vision, but they have also led to the creation of a robust portfolio of ten initiatives giving very diverse and attractive impact initiative so that every IIT alumni can find an initiative that meshes with their heart and their home community and thus provide enthusiastic support.
Outreach efforts – we signed formal MOUs with both of our key alumni communities (PanIIT USA and PanIIT India) giving us collaborative access to a worldwide 440,000+ strong alumni communities. Building on that, we held several meetings with individual chapter leaders from Phenix, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Delhi.
One of the major events of 2022 was the Ideal Village conference that was held at Banaras Hindu University campus from 11-13 Nov. WGF leadership team has made huge investments in these events and preceding trips – opening doors to many strategic partners we were able to bring on stage. Many of these partners clearly saw the value of associating with the WGF & IIT brand and offered to partner with us. We will be capitalizing on that opportunity by nurturing these strategic relationships and translating them into meaningful execution partnerships whereby we can tap into the necessary resources and capabilities they offer.
Leading to the conference at Varanasi, the board members of WGF invested their time in visiting the project sites across India.
Our Delhi trip got a fast start with an amazing meeting with Central Jal Shakti Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who upon learning about WGF and our success in H.P. Spring Rejuvenation initiative & Collaborative Governance innovation, extended the meeting from 15-mins to nearly an hour, and then extended support of his entire ministry for our efforts. WGF leadership team leveraged the Delhi location for several other high-potential visits such as NITI Aayog, CII, PHDCCI, AIF, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Each of these highlighted tremendous interest in WGF’s portfolio of initiatives across all five domains as well as the opportunity to integrate & scale up (via WGF’s technology prowess) their complementary in-progress initiatives, such as borewell recharging, sanitary pads for rural girls, telemedicine & preventive services, newborn health, and advanced skills training.
Some new partners such as Six Sigma HealthCare opened exciting possibilities for WGF’s next-generation rural telemedicine model and scaling acceleration across far-flung areas such as North- East states and high-altitude communities. Delhi visit rounded out with an inspirational visit and interactions with SOIL (School of Inspired Leadership) Institute of Management’s Manesar campus staff and students that are breaking new ground in integrating business education with ethical leadership & entrepreneurial thinking.
The first leg of the travel was to Shamlaji, Aravalli, Gujarat.WGF is getting into an MoU with IEEE’s Ideal Village Division in partnership with Magan Sangrahalaya Samiti, Shamlaji College, and Sarjan Foundation for education & livelihood-focused initiatives. The activities involve digitization of the existing computer lab to introduce spoken Tutorials modules from IIT, Bombay; Developing rural entrepreneurs and Livelihood opportunities through partnerships with local leaders; Setup the local office at Shamlaji in the premises of the Arts College with two field personnel.
The WGF team received a memorable welcome from staff & students at Shamlaji college, and the dialog highlighted their urgent anticipation for the full acceleration of planned project streams. The power of the WGF / IIT brand was palpable in impromptu visits by two senior IAS Govt officers to meet the WGF team on site and commitments to support our initiatives.
MSS works with the local SHGs and communities in the areas of livelihood, water conservation & management, sustainable agriculture & organic farming, women empowerment, health, and micro-entrepreneurial activities. Hearing the life-changing stories of the impact of MSS’s interventions on dozens of simple housewives left indelible imprints and motivation boost on the WGF team. With MSS’s pioneering work in building more than 1,600 SHGs and nearly half-a-dozen high-impact rural enterprises built around local produce (e.g., ginger, cotton, turmeric, sugarcane) and modern technology, WGF sees a huge opportunity in scaling MSS success in many places including Aravalli.
The team visited the Shri Vithal Education & Research Institute (SVERI) and interacted with the staff and students of this young but high-energy institution in the midst of one of the most venerable places in India. The team participated in the inauguration of the Centre of Excellence on “Accelerating Rural Innovation & Social Entrepreneurship” in collaboration with SOBUS, SVERI, and WGF. WGF team marveled at the sheer passion & enthusiasm of dozens of young engineering students who showcased their science projects with an unabashed entrepreneurial spirit, easily matching that at any IIT. The team further got the demo of very promising innovations in clean water filters and agricultural domains. The trip ended with an enchanting cultural show by the students of SVERI. Being a cultural and religious center, Pandharpur gives a lot of opportunities to work in the aligned areas. WGF will be looking forward to working with SVERI to create opportunities in and around Pandharpur.
PanIIT Alumni Reach for India Foundation (PARFI) invited WGF leaders to see firsthand the amazing work to enable young tribal girls from some of the most disadvantaged communities in Jharkhand. Interacting with these girls who, before coming to PARFI’s vocational training centers, had never stepped out of their remote villages, and now presenting confidently their skills in nursing, manufacturing, and culinary domains, was a moving and exciting experience that would stay for life. PARFI has built a perfect model to blend public resources (land, buildings, program access) with the rigor of private execution and ingenuity, which presents a huge opportunity for WGF to help scale in many other states beyond the success in Jharkhand.
The 7th Ideal Village Conference on Rural Transformation for Sustainable Growth was held at BHU, Varanasi Campus from November 11-13, 2022. The conference was attended by more than 1000 delegates across 3 days. The sessions were well attended with many eminent people participating in panel discussions and breakout sessions. Besides 50+ non-profit & Corporate/CSR partners, seven deans/directors from IITs participated in the conference and a bespoke panel discussion. The College of Management and BHU University extended all their support in ensuring the event was a great success.
The Conference provided an excellent platform to network and explore partnerships across academia, NGOs, Corporations & their CSR divisions, Foundations, Government bodies, and individual activists. Some of the expected key outcomes in the form of MOUs partnerships & joint initiatives will be with organizations like GATES Foundation, CII, PHDCCI, FICCI, Mahindra & Mahindra, Samhita, ITE Chandra Foundation, Himalaya Wellness, Amrita Vishwa Vidhyapeetham, ITC, TCS, Utkarsh Micro Finance, Aditya Birla Capital Group, Amul Dairy, IIT Bombay’s CTARA, IIT Tirupati, IIT Guwahati, etc, going forward in the year of 2023. Delegates from Govt bodies viz., Jal Shakti Union minister, U.P. agricultural minister, Biden Administration (Drug Czar), Niti Aayog, AARDO also participated in the event.
Overall branding was enhanced by live news and newspaper articles, and social media postings. India’s PMO and the USA’s Biden Administration have shown strong interest to participate in the 2023 conference. Participating organizations showcased their work and products through the stalls that were provided.
Though the initial aspirational fund-raising goal was $50m, we fell short in direct contributions but we may come close indirectly with follow-on large investments in joint initiatives like YEIDA paved by the Conference interactions. Overall, finances were a strong net positive and thus strengthened WGF’s operational capacity for impact activities in 2023.
Water
WGF’s successful work in water in H.P., and associated pioneering model of Collaborative Governance & Portal, was appreciated by the Govt. of UP which has invited WGF to collaborate in water body rejuvenation in the areas covered by the Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) along with a consortium of partners. We are bringing together diverse partners for a water security-led collaborative consortium for a holistic rural resurgence. Brought together with the state government, seamlessly and harmoniously, through the Execution Convergence Portal of WGF, it will map the shared outcomes with tasks and timelines by individual organizations. In H.P., our Spring Rejuvenation initiative is now well on its way into phase 2 where the State Govt has committed to scaling to nearly 500 springs. Thus, the initiative has now created 10 times resource leverage on WGF’s core investment and impacted tens of thousands of lives. Further, our Save Farmers Initiative is gaining tremendous momentum bringing together nearly a dozen NGOs and Govt bodies, with a very successful first demo of BoreCharger innovation in A.P.
Health
Health Council continues to scale its ambitions for Rural TeleMedicine (RTM) solutions and held very productive deep-dive sessions with its key NGO partners Mission Samriddhi, Jeevika Bihar, and Rural Development Trust, paving the way to scale from its current 300+ locations across six states to the target of 1m sites through our next-generation RTM model. As part of that effort, WGF just initiated, in partnership with Maharashtra Govt, a large-scale Medical Screening initiative covering 100,000+ people. Further, Health Council added three new initiatives: Health Spoken Tutorials (jointly with Education Council) for newborn health, ‘Sangini’ – sanitary pads for rural girls and women led by the partner NGO NOBA-GSR, and mental health solution in partnership with Ishan Shivanand Foundation.
Education
Our Spoken Tutorials (S.T.) solution has taken its innovative learning model to nearly 7 million learners in high schools, colleges, and universities, enabling them to develop competency in advanced IT skills which are essential for better-paying digital economy jobs. From IT, the same innovation is now making a huge impact through Health Spoken Tutorials for new mothers, and plans are in progress now for a similar impact on adult nutritional health and mental well-being.
Energy
Under the guidance of nearly two dozen luminaries across renewable energy, storage technologies, and microgrids, the team is actively assessing several renewable energy-driven rural enterprise models. One of the exciting innovative solutions under its wings is RuKart – a cold-storage solution built on materials innovation and using no electricity. Built by young alumni from IIT-Bombay, it has already impacted thousands of rural farmer-sellers of fresh produce.
Livelihood & Sustainability
While our Smart Village initiatives in Aravalli and Social Business Entrepreneurship initiative in Pandharpur made good progress, WGF embraced an exciting new initiative called EcoSchool. In partnership with Auroville Foundation, it has the potential to groom, through hands-on learning, millions of middle-school learners to become tomorrow’s stewards of the environment and healthy living.
Just as 2022 has been a year of significant and impactful activities, 2023 brings new promise and hope as more effective vaccines, methods, and treatment options help to mitigate and fight the deadly covid virus – none of which would be possible without advances and research in science and technology and delivery systems. At WHEELS Global Foundation we remain committed to our creed of embracing every individual and entity who is willing to partner with us for applying their talents, time, and treasure to leverage technology to scale philanthropy. We greatly cherish your engagement with WHEELS and appreciate your participation in our activities.
Watch for our announcements of a Global Conference likely to be held in the USA on Sept. 28-30, 2023 at the Washington Mall, DC – we will look forward to your active participation in this event. Meanwhile, we wish you and all your loved ones Joyous Holiday, a Very Happy New Year, and our thoughts and prayers for your safety, peace, and good health.
None of the work would be possible without the able guidance, contribution, and stewardship of all the WHEELS Global Foundation Board, The WHEELS Health Council, WHEELS Water Council, and Team: Rajat Gupta (Chairman-USA), Ashank Desai (Chairman – India), Anil Bhandari (Chairman – Advisory Board), Suresh Shenoy (President – USA), Digvijay Chaudhari (President- India), Arjun Malhotra, Ron Mehta, Hiten Ghosh, Raj Shah, Smita Siddhanti, Gulab Bhavnani, Kannan Srinivasan, D.C. Agrawal, Witty Bindra, Ratan Agarwal, Sushil Bhatia, Pradeep Kapur, Kavita Kapur, Yogesh Andlay, Indrajit Chatterjee, Gauri Kumar, Kannan Moudgalya, Pradip Nadkarni, Yagya Datt Sharma, Ganesh Pateria, Himanshu Verma, Kishen Goenka (WGF-North), Mahesh Vaidya (WGF-West), Sujata Roy (WGF-East), Ramnath S. Mani (WGF-South), Surendra Makhija (WGF-North), Girish Sampath, Rajesh Tripathi, Bindu Kumar, Nandini Tandon, Priya Tandon, Raj Bhayani, Chintu Patel, Chirag Patel, Buddhdev, Ashok Gupta, Varsha Vaidya, R. S. Sodi, C. S. Buch. We also wish to acknowledge all the Directors of the IITs who have been actively engaged in participating in WGF activities. Several members of the faculty have also been actively engaged in Data Analytics, Language translations, Site Visits, and student-led projects. My apologies if I have missed the many volunteers who have been actively engaged with us over time.
Sincerely,
Suresh Shenoy
President – WHEELS Global Foundation
