Kanthari international campus- a view from the entrance DSC7085a

kanthari international is an educational and training institute at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It was co-founded by Sabriye Tenberken and

Paul Kronenberg Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

in 2007, with the first members jointing in 2009, as an extension of their pioneering project

Braille without borders Braille Without Borders (BWB) is an international organisation for the blind in developing countries. It was founded in Lhasa, Tibet, by Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg in 1998. Overview BWB's mission is to give hope and practical skil ...

. The not-for-profit institute aims to identify and train persons who have had to face adverse social conditions including physical disabilities, poverty, war strife . Its original official name was "International Institute for Social Entrepreneurship". However, to avoid the common notion of monetary gains with the usage of word 'entrepreneurship', the founders are renaming the project as kanthari international. The initial lower case letters used in the name are intentionally kept as a symbol of their ideology.

kanthari, the word

'kanthari' ( Malayalam: കാന്താരി) is the name of a pepper chilly that is indigenous to the land of Kerala state, India. Kanthari is known for its extreme hotness despite the small size. According to Sabriye, the head of the institute, the spice is very representative of the 'small' people who in fact, with the right motivation and preparation, can bring in a drastic and innovative change within the society. As a symbol of the institute's deterrence to prejudices and normally accepted conventions, kanthari international is spelt and written with all letters in lowercase.

Founders

Sabriye Tenberken

Sabriye Tenberken, (German) became blind at the age of 12. Due to her interest in development work she studied Central Asian Sciences at

Bonn University The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

focusing on Tibetology,

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and sociology. In order to be able to read and write Tibetan texts she developed the Tibetan Braille Script.

Paul Kronenberg

Paul Kronenberg (Dutch) has worked for various international Non Governmental Organisations in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. He completed his studies in the areas of mechanical engineering, computer science, commercial technology and communication system science.

Program

The IISE addresses to people that have overcome significant life challenges ranging from vision impairment, disability,

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

, war,

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

and exploitation in order to help them in setting up their own social project. It trains its participants in skills like management,

public speaking Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

, communication, leadership, fund raising,

budgeting A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmen ...

bookkeeping Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. Tr ...

, marketing and computer usage. The program takes 11 months.

Impact of kanthari

Jane Waithera is from Kenya. Jane is a person living with Albinism. This means that she lacks melanin and her skin is white. In east Africa it is believed that possessing a body part of an Albino brings good luck. Therefore Albinos are killed and their body parts sold for a high price. Jane is a 2009 kanthari graduate. Since her return home she has been fighting for the rights of Albinos. Over the past five years we trained 98 participants from 35 countries. The graduates have started over 65 projects and initiatives and reach thousands of beneficiaries.

Location

The institute is located at a campus near the village Vellayani, close to Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state. It consists of several eco-friendly buildings.

References

{{cite news, title=True Vision, url=http://www.timescrest.com/society/true-vision-4047, newspaper=Times of India, date=2010-11-20, url-status=dead, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110908035055/http://www.timescrest.com/society/true-vision-4047, archivedate=2011-09-08

External links

* * *Interview a
KnowYourStar.com

kanthari partners with Confederation of Indian Industry to bring in Solar energy Cycling at Thiruvananthapuram
Private schools in Thiruvananthapuram Social enterprises