Dhruv Lakra

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2009

Dhruv Lakra

Mirakle Couriers

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Community Improvement & Economic Development

The Bold Idea:

The Bold Idea: Create meaningful and sustainable employment opportunities for low-income deaf adults in India, thereby increasing their standard of living and making them economically independent.

It is estimated that 6 percent of India’s population suffers from some kind of hearing loss, 32 percent of deaf citizens suffer from profound deafness and 39 percent suffer from severe hearing disability resulting in one of the largest deaf populations globally. A staggering 66 percent of the Indian deaf population is unemployed. Coupled with their disability, skewed education and low-income status has resulted in a deaf youth population that is not part of a productive labor force but suffers from seclusion and constant discrimination.

Mirakle Couriers is a full-service courier company that offers delivery and tracking services to clients in Mumbai. All delivery and back office functions will be performed by deaf employees. In addition to providing job training, Mirakle Couriers provides life skills training for their employees including personal financial management.

Mirakle Couriers will take the lead in employing deaf adults and aims to employ roughly 1 to 2 percent of deaf/hearing impaired adults in every major capital of the Indian states. Mirakle Couriers seeks to become the number one employer for low income deaf adults, generating employment for over 10,000 members of India’s deaf community.

Dhruv Lakra pitching at Echoing Green Selection Weekend (May 2, 2009)

Biography:

Dhruv Lakra has a strong background in the social and finance space. He started his career in investment banking and shifted to the social sector after the devastating Asian tsunami of 2004. His experience ranges from helping social organizations scale programs, measuring their impact, strategic planning, developing skill sets for the program staff, to designing information systems and advising high net worth individuals on effective giving. He was named a Skoll Scholar in 2008 at the Said Business School, University of Oxford.

Moment of Obligation: What experiences led to the desire to start your own organization?
Two instances stood out for me. The Asian tsunami of 2004 showed me how poor India is. It helped me to see the 'real India'. Second, my father is a paraplegic. This was the initiator for me in the disability space. India growth trajectory is neglecting this vast untapped community. We are talking about inclusive growth, but somehow the differently able are not included in this growth. These experiences helped me to start Mirakle Couriers.

Gall to Think Big: What has given you the ability to dream big and take on deeply entrenched social and difficult problems? (Such as experiences, skills, events, etc.)
Having spent four months with the fishermen community during tsunami relief and rehabilitation, I realized that for effective social change one needs to dream big. The problems that I was facing that time were so trivial in comparison to the problems at hand which pushed me to realize that we need to do something. The devastation caused by the tsunami left an indelible mark on me. Working for my passion and following my heart are the most important things for me.

New and Untested: What's innovative about your new idea for social change?
Mirakle Couriers is an innovative courier service as it has been set up for the employment generation of low income deaf adults. Other organizations working for the deaf have isolated this population by developing vocations that do not do justice to their abilities. These organizations also have done a poor job in spreading the use of sign language and have not sensitized the society about their culture. Deaf adults do not study after tenth grade and have been taught very basic English. Lack of English and computer skills today puts one in a very precarious situation hence the irregular employment avenues such as tailoring have been developed. Our approach is innovative as it engages the deaf adult population in a manner which uses their existing skill sets and gives them a white collar job. As they have basic training in English, we have incorporated the use of vernacular languages to assist them in pick up and delivery. For example, text messaging and writing of landmarks for finding addresses will be in a vernacular language like Marathi. Constant traveling and interaction with a wide range of people will improve their confidence and will have a domino affect on awareness about deafness in the society.

Seeing Possibilities: What are the most important qualities to be a successful social entrepreneur?
I strongly believe the most important quality to be a successful social entrepreneur is never forgetting that a cause is greater than everything. A social entrepreneur should be humble and an excellent listener.

Which musical artists/albums get you going and keep you inspired?
I have a very wide range of music tastes ranging from metal to trance and from fusion with Indian classical instruments to rock and roll. Some of my favorite bands are The Doors, Tool, Karunesh, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd and Karsh Kale.

What books do you recommend (pleasure, work and anything in between)?

• Maximum City--Suketu Mehta
• Cave in the Snow--Tenzin Palmo
• Banker to the Poor--Muhammad Yunus
• The Last Lecture--Randy Pausch
• It’s Not About the Bike--Lance Armstrong
• The Kite Runner--Khaled Hosseini
• Complete Works of George Orwell

Which websites do you visit often (work and/or personal)?

• socialedge.org
• google.com
• twitter.com
• vccircle.com
• ndtv.com
• tehelka.com
• wikipedia.com
• techcrunch.com
• indiatogether.org
• ashoka.org

What advice or quote do you keep close to your heart as a social change leader?
The following have made an impact on me: “You don’t take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains, bring him to the starting line in a race and say, ‘you are free to compete with all others’, and still justly believe that you have been completely fair.” - US President Lyndon B Johnson. “Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.” - Helen Keller. “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” - Rabindranath Tagore.