Our Startup Story

Rohan's day starts at noon. With a stack of 200 Middays (a local newspaper), he goes to the subway paanwaala at Churchgate station in Mumbai, India, and asks what the headline is.

"Amar Naik's gang-member killed in an encounter"

He parrot-speaks it with dexterity and briskly sells 200 Middays by seven in the evening. Gives Rs. 600/- to the Midday middleman, Rs. 200/- to his drunkard father, and keeps the rest for his expenses on food, doping and clothes.

He is a smart, uneducated kid — heading towards a graveyard of existence, fear and burden. Rohan is 12 years old. He will be 13 next year and 14 the year after. These years may change his profession; change his sense of delight or source of pleasure — all from bad to worse.

Kids like Rohan comb Mumbai day and night in lakhs.

We are curiously bothered by social problems like that of Rohan. We had been trying to ignore them when we were kids ourselves. But as we grow older, each such scene — on screen or in reality — subconsciously stirs our thoughts towards life and society.

"These ordinary scenes of daily life give the extraordinary push to work for social development, scientific and economic justice. Though I gave a formal start to this organizational venture, all the ideas behind the birth of PeFSSED are not entirely mine — rather they are the outcome of interactions with friends and people over several years. PeFSSED sustained its life afterwards due to the never-to-die attitude and enthusiastic efforts of PeFSSEDians." — Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan, Founder Secretary, PeFSSED

As individuals, we might have reacted in isolation — "this is bad, friend." As a nucleus body we jointly believed: "there can be something better than the bad, which would probably be close to good." PeFSSED was founded out of this common need shared by young professionals during their academic years. We are proud to admit that the more restless we are, the more motivated we become.

On the occasion of the 53rd Human Rights Day (10th December 2001), the founding members gathered at the TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) veranda, brainstormed, and decided to go ahead with grassroots work and its official make-up. The formal formation of the organization in late 2002 triggered PeFSSEDians to share all they wanted and to work for a cause that had long disturbed them.

The organization went on to accommodate young professionals from both social and technical backgrounds — forming the mind and heart of the organization, though not necessarily in that strict order.

We have struggled, stumbled, and even gone slow. But we have never fallen back, nor have we retreated. PeFSSED made a humble beginning with the launch of its Children Education Programme in Mumbai — and the story has just added pages…