In Kalaunjar, seeing is believing. With the community spread across a spectrum of social, economic and cultural stratas, it is the physical world they trust the most. Behavioural changes and those in the environment are intangible and hence poorly understood by the community. In comparison, the value the presence of infrastructure like the new building, drinking water and toilets.

Amongst other things, the school Facebook group is an interesting case study which has connected the migrant population of Kalaunjar from across the world to the school. Tangibility can also mean effective communication. It works two-fold - on one hand it builds the confidence in the community that change is happening but on the other it inspires them to want to be a part of change.

Building a learning community and transforming a school is a long and tedious process. While different people have different motivations, recognition motivates everyone. Building small wins for different stakeholders energises them and refuels their passion.

Changing mindsets takes a long time and it is useful to break down larger daunting goals like connecting the school with the community to smaller goals that are easy to achieve.

A child’s energy is infectious and often they don’t look at the world logically. This willingness to dream and try to achieve is really helpful for the changemaking process. Children can be active agents of change and through them parents and the larger community can also be reached.

Taking the first step is often the hardest. Convincing people that change is possible and then empowering them to be a part of change are difficult things to achieve, especially in a stratified community like Kalaunjar.

Once people start connecting with the larger cause, support from the community increases exponentially. Taking the first step requires humility and a will to do a lot before you see results.

Building partnerships with individuals and organisations are an integral part of scaling up change. Blaise and VBERC were indispensable to the project and stepped in to support Quest’s internal capabilities.

The connect with the community is also equally important. Gaining trust is one of the most difficult things to do but perhaps the most significant to drive change sustainably.