Manishaas Socioeconomics Foundation

Our office is in Ward Number 8, near Rampur Ghat in the Central Market area of Gopalpur, Begusarai. Being right in the market means there is never a quiet moment. You can hear the vendors shouting and the motorbikes zipping past all day long. The foundation is a small operation run by a few of us who live right here in Begusarai. We have a couple of rooms that are usually overflowing with folders, newspapers, and local records. It’s not the most organized place in the world, but we know where everything is. We focus on the socioeconomic side of things, which basically means we look at how people are making a living and what's stopping them from doing better. We don't have any fancy software to analyze things; we just use our eyes and talk to the people who come into the market every day. Manisha started this because she saw a gap in how things were being handled locally. We don't have a big mission statement on the wall or a glossy brochure. We just have a pot of tea and some chairs for anyone who wants to talk about their business or their family’s situation. It’s an honest, slightly messy place because that’s how life is in a busy market. We’re just trying to make sense of things and help out our neighbors in Gopalpur whenever a chance comes up.