Shanti Lal: Project JyotiWhere there is a will, there is a way

Shanti Lal of Upreda village in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan is the father of two adorable children, and his wife, a bundle of energy, manages the home and the fields with an ever-faithful smile. Victim of a terrible electrical accident, he lives with two amputated arms. And yet, he earns twice as much as he did when he could use his two arms like anyone of us.Shanti Lal worked for an electrical contractor and on the fateful day when tragedy struck, he was still working on the wiring when a co-worker accidentally switched on the power source. It was enough to singe his arms and leave a part of his neck horribly burnt. After two months in hospital, Shanti Lal came back home without his arms. The gritty young man did not let his tragedy get the better of him. Picking up the pieces of his life, he learnt how to operate a mobile with his toes. When he showed the district collector his newly acquired skill, she referred him to the Microsoft backed iLEAD (Institute for Livelihood, Education and Development) centre run by the NGO, Aide et Action, with the support of the Rajasthan Government at the village Bhadsoda. Microsoft’s involvement in iLEAD is a part of its Project Jyoti initiative, a technology skills programme that imparts basic computer literacy to young people for better employment opportunities. So far, the programme has made a difference to the lives of over 450,000 young people, of whom 70 per cent are in jobs or self-employed.

For Shanti Lal, it was the turning point. He attended a three-month iLEAD course in 2010 that taught him how to operate a computer using Microsoft Office and Windows – and more importantly, how to use the mouse with his toes. Shanti Lal was ready to turn adversity into an opportunity using ‘Innovative IT’. Operating the keyboard of his computer with the stump of his right hand and the mouse with his toes, today he’s the powerhouse, the ‘e-mitra’ (e-friend), driving the Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra (Building India Rajiv Gandhi Assistance Centre) at a neighbouring village named Khorip. As ‘e-mitra’, Shanti Lal is literally the hand that guides the villagers through their dealings with the state government. Working with at least a dozen state government departments that are e-friendly, Shanti Lal helps villagers fill up online forms for jobs and exams, and issues them online certificates authenticating their Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe status, residence proof and income. He’s the interface between the residents of villages within a radius of 50-60km and the government departments that matter to them. They also turn to him when they have to get a PAN card or a driving licence.