CriSys Foundation

CriSys Foundation
क्रायसिस फाउंडेशन
Formation June 8, 2012 (2012-06-08)[1]
Founder Glenn Fernandes[2][3][4]
Type NGO
Legal status Non-profit Company (Section 25)[1]
Headquarters Thane, Maharashtra
Region served
India
Services ERP systems, Management systems, Websites, BPO services[5]
Website crisys.in

CriSys Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in Maharashtra, India, formed for the purpose of using technology to improve governance, business and society.[2][4][5][6] Its vision is to create a connected, abundant and responsible society through technology.[6][7]

CriSys has developed innovative software and technology for business and governance.[6] Their services include development of enterprise resource planning systems, business software and websites.[2][4][5] Supporting services include business process outsourcing and data entry.[2][4][5]

CriSys was established for the development of backward sections of Indian society.,[2][5] and conducts the PACT residential program to train tribal youth in computer skills, and the Snakeathon project to develop and distribute relief measures to snakebite affected villages across India.[8]

History

In 2003, a team of volunteers assembled in Mumbai, for the development of integrated social systems, from disciplines such as software, electronics, medical, bio-technology, sustainable development & management.[1][6][9][10] They conducted research & development into software, education, healthcare, agriculture and construction.[10][11]

After nearly a decade of research, CriSys Foundation was founded in June 2012 by Glenn Fernandes, a visionary technologist who worked in Siemens India for 20 years before he quit his job to dedicate his life to social work.[1][6][11] The foundation was registered as a non-profit private company, "Creative Responsible Integrated Systems Foundation".[1][6]

The Magicarpet Platform was launched in 2012, for the development of business and industrial solutions.[10]

Services

CriSys has a range of services for business and industry, which include:

CriSys offers some of its non-profit products for purchase:

Social work

CriSys Foundation social logo

CriSys Foundation is primarily run by lifetime volunteers from various fields, and provides job opportunities and apprenticeship programs for indigenous tribals, hearing disabled and underprivileged youth.[2][4][5] Volunteers come from various parts of India and Europe, and work on a non-salaried basis.[2][4][5]

The foundation has a unique financial model, and is entirely self-funded.[2][4][17] All revenue comes from information technology projects undertaken by the foundation, which in turn funds the rehabilitation and apprenticeship programs they conduct.[5]

The programs run by the foundation target the impoverished tribal population of India, which suffer from poor living conditions and lack of livelihood, many of whom are literate and educated.[5][18] Their PACT program trains tribal youth in computer and language skills free of charge. Common causes of early death among Adivasis include malnutrition, snakebite, lack of hygiene and sanitation.[19][20] The foundation has developed innovative solutions for Snakebite victims within the Snakeathon project.

PACT Program

Tribal youth students learning 3D modeling within the PACT program.

CriSys Foundation has been training tribal youth in advanced computer skills and foreign languages, in a residential program known as Pratigya Apprenticeship for Community Transformation (PACT).[2][4][6] In 2014, the foundation started a pilot PACT center in Yeoor, Maharashtra, in collaboration with Anantashram trust.[2][4]

Apprentices are trained in computer software, graphic design, animation, and digitization of documents.[2][4][6][19] Language experts also volunteer with the foundation, to teach apprentices foreign languages like German and Arabic.[2][4][5][19][21] The apprentices are also developing educational multimedia relevant for tribals,[2][4] which will be used to provide free education for tribals across the India.[2][4] The candidates also use their skills to train youth from their local villages, and help them earn a living.[2][4]

The trained apprentices are required to help the NGO in carrying out their snakebite project by distributing safety kits developed by it.[22]

Snakeathon Project

The mono-wheel stretcher designed for off-road transport of snakebite victims

Venomous snakebites kill more than 50,000 people yearly in India, with more than 250,000 reported snakebite cases.[19][23][24] According to the Million Death Study, 3 of 4 snakebite victims in India snakebite die due to inability in reaching a hospital.[3][19][23][24][25][26] Deaths by snakebite increase during and following monsoon seasons, which are periods of peak agricultural activity for farmers.[3] Over 40,000 people will die over the course of the monsoon season in India alone.[3][25][26]

According to petition filed in the Bombay High Court by the Foundation, 50% of snakebite cases in the world take place in India.[22] In Thane district alone, snakebites claim up to 10 people a day, and in the monsoon season, the toll rises to 20.[22] A close study of the deaths has shown that it was mostly the male members of the family who had died, bringing hardships to the family. Moreover, three of the four victims had died only because they were unable to reach a hospital in time due to lack of roads in rural areas.[22]

Relief Measures

In 2014, Dr. Sarita Parikh and other researchers at the foundation developed innovative relief measures for victims of snakebite.[2][3][4] The primary relief measure is a "mono-wheel ambulance" for areas that lack roads and vehicles, areas that are completely disconnected from the road network.

The mono-wheel ambulance is a stretcher that can be carried or pulled by a bicycle, with an integrated portable ventilator to provide respiratory support to the victim.[3][6][19] Its single-wheel design enables transport on rough and jungle terrain.[3][6] The relief measures also include a first aid kit.[3][6][19] The ambulance kit is to be distributed free of cost to over 300 jungle settlements by June 2014.[3][6][8]

The mono-wheel ambulance is suited for rough and rocky terrain, and the portable low/no power ventilator can be used in villages with no electricity.[6][27]

Public Interest Litigation

In 2014, Dr. Sarita Parikh and Apoorva Agwan of CriSys Foundation filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Bombay High Court, requesting removal of obstructions in distributing the free mono-wheel ambulance kit to tribal areas.[22][27][28] The petition urged for direction to the government to set up an emergency team to organise logistics and funding to help deliver snake-bite kits to all affected persons.[27] The petition also stated that the Foundation was helping the tribals save their lives, and if an individual or an organisation hindered their life-saving work, it amounted to an offence under section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).[22]

In response, the High Court stated that it was "quite impressed by the research which has been done by CriSys Foundation", and acknowledged that they had provided "statistical data about snakebites in Maharashtra and the other States in India" and that they gave "a definite proposal how this problem can be resolved".[28] The High Court directed the police in Thane, Maharashtra to ensure that members and apprentices of CriSys Foundation are not obstructed by anyone in carrying out their work.[22][28] There has been resistance to their NGO work from Anantashram Trust and some adivasis, including an ex-sarpanch and a social worker.[22][28]

Following the PIL filed by Dr. Sarita Parikh, on the increasing number of deaths due to snake bites in rural Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court ordered the state government to consider framing an Emergency Medical Services Act along the lines of the one in Gujarat, that will make emergency medical aid as good as a fundamental right.[28][29]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Company Profile, CriSys
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Yeoor tribal girls may soon greet you in Arabic, German, Times of India, Thane, Mar 21, 2014
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Snakebite victims get lifeline in the form of mono-ambulances, portable ventilators (ePaper version), Times of India, May 30, 2014
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Yeoor girls speak German!, Thane Vaibhav, Know Your Town, 21.3.2014
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 आदिवासी तरुणी होताहेत सक्षम (Adivasi youth get empowered), Maharashtra Times, Mar 11, 2014 (English translation)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Don’t Give Me Charity, Give Me a Chance, says Crisys, Moneylife Magazine
  7. ↑ Company Vision & Mission, Crisys
  8. 1 2 3 सर्पदंशावर मोनोव्हीलचा ‘उतारा’, Maharashtra Times, Jun 2, 2014 (English translation)
  9. ↑ Company Structure Chart, Crisys
  10. 1 2 3 Company History, CriSys
  11. 1 2 ठाणे तिथे.. : खरंच 'लय भारी', Loksatta Thane, January 22, 2015 (English translation)
  12. ↑ Magicarpet™ Business Solutions, CriSys
  13. ↑ SuperSite™ Web Solutions, CriSys
  14. ↑ Embedded Product Development, CriSys
  15. ↑ Business Process Outsourcing, CriSys
  16. ↑ G1 Ventilator, CriSys
  17. ↑ Work Model, CriSys
  18. ↑ Adivasis of India, "Current issues", Minority Rights
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 For these girls, earning means helping their village, DNA India, 12 March 2014
  20. ↑ Adivasis keep dying of poverty, diseases, The Daily Pioneer, 18 May 2013, Kochi
  21. ↑ आदिवासी मूली बोलणार परदेशी भाषा (Adivasi girls speak foreign languages), Pudhari Kolapur (पुढारी), 24 March 2014
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 50% of snakebite cases in the world take place in India, DNA India, Monday, 16 June 2014
  23. 1 2 Snake bites kill 46K in India yearly, Times of India, Dec 6, 2011
  24. 1 2 India's battle against snake bites, BBC News, 10 Sept. 2006
  25. 1 2 The Killers Underfoot, The New York Times, APRIL 12, 2014
  26. 1 2 ASIA: Why snakebites matter, IRIN News and Analysis, 17 Nov 2010
  27. 1 2 3 HC notice to Maharashtra government on relief for snake-bite victims, Times of India, Jun 9, 2014
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 Will there be a new Emergency Medical Services Act in Maharashtra?, Moneylife Magazine, 16/10/2014
  29. ↑ HC asks state to frame new law to deal with medical emergencies, Mumbai Mirror, Oct 17, 2014
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