Rochun: Pay It Forward has been fulfilling its major goal that is to make academic and other kinds of books accessible to students from every corner in Mizoram by establishing a library, enhancement of existing and dysfunctional libraries through donation of large number of books and electronic devices, and by providing offline computer software that consists of all the important academic and non-academic resources. All these ongoing and future projects are made possible through partnership and collaboration with other selfless organisations, interested parties, and individuals.
Chin Christian University (CCU) was founded in 1990, and it is the only university in Chin State, Myanmar to offer B.A. English and B.B.A. The University is open to diversity and its students and faculty are from different parts of the world. The University is the recipient of the book project of Rochun: Pay It Forward and its partner Book Aid International. The students come from varying family and cultural backgrounds, many of them coming from financially difficult families pursuing higher education through scholarships. Hence, the donated reading materials open up learning opportunities to its student body and community.
Lawngtlai Government College is the only college in Lawngtlai district. The college was established in 1980 due to a high public demand for higher educational institutions. Even though the college has been standing for four decades, the college is still in need of educational resources especially high quality books that offer exceptional knowledge and outview to the students and the community. Hence, through Rochun: Pay It Forward in collaboration with Book Aid International, the college has received more than a thousand donated books, which proves to be a great milestone in the history of the college.
This programme consists of several smaller projects. First, it is to provide computer literacy to all people from all age groups in this village in Jharkhand, India. In the computer literacy program, they are able to learn some useful computer skills and internet based applications ranging from booking train tickets to filling up online application forms. In order to pay electricity bills, villagers have to travel to the nearest city (Bokaro, which is around 30 km away) and wait in a long line to pay the utility bill. Intermittent bus services to and fro to the nearest city adds another layer of complexity and inconvenience for the villagers. Although electricity bills can be paid online, lack of information (due to low literacy rate) and limited internet connectivity create major barriers for villagers and restrict them from using online services. In this case, it is very important to train them how to use computer and the internet based applications as it is becoming a basic human right in this digital era.
Another project is providing leadership training to students and teachers of existing two schools of the village: Governmental High School and the Middle School. Quality of education in both schools are very low and both students and teachers are not very motivated towards education. As a result, dropout rate is very high particularly for class 8th and 9th students. Moreover, students who can finish till class 10th struggle to get admission in class 11th and 12th grades. Unsurprisingly, lower socio-economy condition and prevalent child-marriage play important roles in keeping students away from getting higher education. Education can be used as the most powerful tool to enhance the socio-economic conditions and empower villagers. In order to sensitize teachers and ignite passion for education among children, they are given training in the beginning. There are regular meetings every three month for all 50 mentors and mentees (40 students and 10 mentors) to discuss and assess the progress of the program. This works as a pilot project, and each step of the project is closely assessed and feedback is effectively integrated.
Aiming to empower the youth to follow their passion and dreams and to discover their purpose in life as well as the unlimited potential stored within, Rochun: Pay It Forward conducts consultation/mentorship sessions, which are defined by the following characteristics:
