Class 11, Language Development, Unit 13 Career and Entrepreneurship

 

Unit 13, Career and Entrepreneurship

 

Mahabir Pun: A Visionary Social Entrepreneur

Visionary: Farsighted/thinker/imaginative/creative thinker etc.

(A social entrepreneur is a person who pursues novel applications that have the potential to solve community-based problems. Such people are willing to take on the risk and effort to create positive changes in society through their initiatives.)

 

Before you read:

Name any four renowned social workers of Nepal and mention their contributions to the country.

S.N.	Name of Social worker	Contribution
1	Pushpa Basnet	works to strengthen the rights of children living behind bars with their incarcerated parents
2	Angur Baba Joshi	Women's empowerment
3	Anuradha Koirala	stopping girl trafficking
4	Sushila Karki	Stop corruption

 

Mahabir Pun:

v Birth- 22 January 1955 (9th Magh 2011 BS)

v Birth place: Nangi, Myagdi District

v Teacher, social entrepreneur, innovator, social activist,

v Founded the Nepal Wireless Networking Project in 2002 to build a local communication network using wireless technology to connect people in the Himalayan communities. His goal was to bring the Internet to the rural schools, to promote digital literacy and to improve the quality of education.

v Also designed income generation initiatives to deliver new economic possibilities to villagers allowing being sustainable.

v He is helping community run schools to improve the quality of education,

v Creating job opportunities to villagers

v Recognized by the Ashoka Foundation, the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation, University of Nebraska, Global ideas Bank and Nepal Government, 

v 

An interview with Mahabir Pun

His plan for Nepal after graduation in the USA

Despite being a good student, liked by his professors and an easy access to find a job there, Mahabir Pun didn't like settle down in the USA. Life and earning money there is so difficult, so he decided to come back Nepal as soon as he finished his graduation. In the beginning he didn't have money and any idea to do so he decided to stay in his village Nangi in Myagdi helping his villagers to start a high school and working there as a volunteer teacher.

 

Reason for his return back to Nepal from the USA

Many graduates in the USA do not return back Nepal because of lack of job opportunities. But Pun didn't like work in the USA for the so-called better living. He wanted to work independently and do something for the benefits of the people in his village. He started to live in his mountainous village working for his communities. He was comfortable and free to do anything.

 

Motivation for his innovation

He found many problems in village life and sought ideas to solve the problems. He thought of starting viable projects for the community development. The desire to find solutions of those problems made him an innovator. He started income generating projects through innovative works such as cheese making. He also invented wireless networking project to bring the internet. He also founded National Innovation Center despite having any idea and money. The main objective of this project was to retain the most talented and innovative young people in Nepal for economic development. This is his main motivation.

 

Beginning of entrepreneurship

He started from Nangi village after a few years' studies about the situation of mountainous village. First he worked as a volunteer in educational field, helped the quality of education there, and built schools where he introduced computers and the internet. He set up community clinics for providing basic health facilities to the villagers, and made linkages the clinics with hospitals in Pokhara and Kathmandu through the internet. He worked with community leaders for promoting income generating activities such as yak farming, camping grounds for the trekkers, cheese making, jam making, paper making, bee keeping, vegetable farming, handicrafts, fish farming etc., for creating job opportunities. He also started wireless internet in remote mountain villages, community owned and managed ecotourism. Currently he has been working for National Innovation Center (Rastriya Awishkar Kendra) being engaged with other innovative and creative people. It is now his daily routine encouraging young people to be innovative.

 

Establishment and Goal of National Innovation Center

He founded it on 9 Dec. 2012 as a Non Profit Making Organization (NGO) at the premise of Research Center for Applied Science and Technology, Kirtipur, TU, Kathmandu. It started some researches since 2016 however it was formally inaugurated on 18 October 2019. The mail goal of this organization is to retain innovative and talented youths in Nepal for its economic development through researches and innovations. It aimed to bring economic prosperity helping people to become entrepreneurs. Furthermore it also aimed to reduce trade deficit by creating and developing products to reduce 92% import and boost 8% export.

 

Campaign Supporters

The main supporters are community people because they are taking a huge advantage of the projects he started. The wireless networking project was founded with the community support because they found it valuable. Income generating projects and eco-trekking programs are also run by community support. Over all his projects are funded and managed by people for the benefit of people.

 

His projects and Development of our Country

Research and innovation are the main basis of economic development of any country so a huge amount of money must be invested on such things. Countries like the US, the UK, Germany, Japan, Israel and other countries so much developed because they gave utmost priority to such things. But Nepal is not investing money in such things and we have no culture of boosting innovative and creative people. The sole objective of the establishment of National Innovative Center is to encourage such people by providing a well equipped platform and full supports for innovative and research works. It produces different types of products and services that can be commercialized in the market. This helps for the development of our country.

 

Suggestion to the Youths who go abroad

The opportunities and environment must be created in Nepal to stop talented youths to stay in Nepal. Country must utilize such people for economic development. People go abroad for study and job, it is natural, but they should not forget mother land. They must come back bringing back innovative ideas that can help to create the economy of our country.

 

About his plan and vision

He encourages young people to become innovative and creative entrepreneurs cultivating their knowledge and being engaged in researches. Young students start their innovative works even before graduating from schools and colleges. People of Nepal must help to nurture the innovative center and innovators. Government of Nepal must allocate a small percentage of budge for setting up innovation centers in order to utilize the innovative human capitals for the economic development of Nepal.

 

Ways with words:

A. Find the words from the text which mean the following. The first letter has been given.

a. Making you fell physically relaxed; pleasant to wear, sit on etc. -Comfortable

b. having degree from the university          - graduated

c. without being connected with or influenced by something or by each other - independently

d. the introduction of new things, ideas or ways of doing something - innovative

e. familiar with something, having read, seen or experienced it - acquainted

f. a person who makes money by starting or running businesses, especially when this involves taking financial risks        - entrepreneur

g. an opportunity or a place for somebody to express their opinions publicly or make progress in a particular area  - platform

h. to use something, especially for a practical purpose - utilize

 

B. The plural form of bacterium is bacteria. Irregular plural nouns are nouns that do not become plural by adding -s or -es, as most nouns in the English language do. Now, write the plural forms of the following nouns.

 

calf          - calves

louse         - lice

ox               - oxen

analysis       - analyses

basis         - bases

crisis           - crises

fungus        -fungi

curriculum     - curricula  

sheaf          - sheaves

person        - persons

goose          - geese

appendix     -appendices/appendixes

cactus          - cacti/cactuses

formula       - formulae

oasis         - oases

 

Comprehension

Answer these questions.

a. How did Mahabir Pun begin his life journey in Nepal after coming back to Nepal from the US?

Ans:- Despite being a good student, liked by his professors and an easy access to find a job there, Mahabir Pun didn't like settle down in the USA. Life and earning money there is so difficult, so he decided to come back Nepal as soon as he finished his graduation. In the beginning he didn't have money and any idea to do so he decided to stay in his village Nangi in Myagdi helping his villagers to start a high school and working there as a volunteer teacher.

 

b. Why didn't he want to work for the other companies in the US or in Nepal?

Ans:- He didn't want to work for the other companies in the US or in Nepal because when he started living the mountainous village and working with the communities, he found his life comfortable there and he was free to do anything he wanted to try.

 

c. Why did he involve in innovation?

Ans:- He involved in innovation because he wanted to gain something in life. Beside this he observed many problems in the communities and started to think to find solutions of those problems and started several income generating projects to make community people economically strong.

 

d. What are the income generating programs that he helped to start?

Ans:- The income generating programs that he helped to start are yak farming, camping ground for the trekkers, cheese making, jam making , paper making, bee keeping, vegetable farming, handicraft making, fish farming etc.

 

e. Whose support is Pun getting to proceed with his campaign?

Ans:- He is getting support from community people to proceed with his campaign.

 

f. How have the developed countries become prosperous?

Ans:- The developed countries have become prosperous by investing a huge amount of developmental budge in innovative projects and researches. Investments in such sectors help for economic development so they give the topmost priority to researches and innovative projects. It also helps them to retain creative and innovative people in own land.

 

g. How can we keep the most talented and innovative people in Nepal?

Ans: - The opportunities and environment must be created in Nepal to stop talented youths to stay in Nepal. Country must utilize such people for economic development. People go abroad for study and job, it is natural, but they should not forget mother land. They must come back bringing back innovative ideas that can help to create the economy of our country.

 

g. How can we keep the most talented and innovative people in Nepal?

Ans:- Most talented and innovative people can be kept in Nepal by encouraging such people to be more innovative and creative by establishing well equipped platforms with full support system.

 

Critical Thinking

a. Pun says, 'We don't have culture of innovation that encourages young people to be innovative and creative". Do you agree with him? Explain.

Ans:- The major reason of economic backwardness of our country is underestimating the innovative projects and researches. I fully support the idea of Mahabir Pun. Most of Nepalese people are following traditional types of occupations and few people prefer to work for others. They don't have economic and technical support system as a result they don't take a risk. We don't see genius and talented people supported by government. Even Mahabir Pun is not fully supported by government. He has been working with the help of community support. For implemented innovative ideas technical and financial supports are needed, but due to lake of support and encouragement such talented people can't implement their idea.

 

b. What qualities do an individual need to become an entrepreneur?

To become an entrepreneur is to become a hardworking professional person. To become an entrepreneur means to become economically and technically sufficient to produce products and services. A single entrepreneur has potential for economic development of the nation. But it is not an easy task. First of all he must be innovative. There are many distractions in his goal, so he must be disciplined and dedicated to his goal. He must be confident to make his business successful. He must have talent to get business opportunity from every event and situation. He must be constantly looking for innovative ideas. He must manage time and control over performance. He must be determined to his goal handling ups and downs. He must have strong communication skill and power to convince to the service or product consumers. And always he must be passionate to his work.