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Apr-07-2008
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As a yatri I had planned to visit about 25 villages in seven states in seven weeks.
As one of a 30 member NRI team called RILJ (Rural India Learning Journey) we visited (December 14 - 21, 2007) more than thirteen villages in Tamil Nadu (TN). A three member team visited additional one dozen villages within 80 km radius of Mysore, KA (Dec. 22 - 24) and Pune, MH (Dec. 25 - 29). A fourth NRI joined the team for Pune area yatra.Two members visited additional five to ten villages in Haryana (Jan 5 - 9), Madhya Pradesh (Jan 11 - 16, 2008) and Rajasthan (Jan. 17 - 22).
We traveled by air, train, buses and cars. The car and bus travels were on parts of the world-class Quadrilateral highway infrastructure in each of these states. Each yatri paid for his/her travel expenses except in three northern states accommodations, meals, and cars for local travel were provided for at no costs to us by our hosts and we are grateful to each of them for their kind hospitality. The Pune team thanks Nayana, Ram Krishnan"s wife for free accommodations in their apartment.
I was physically exhausted by Jan 22. I called off a visit (Jan 24 - 27) to Rajkot, Gujarat as I was afraid that I was coming down with some sickness, but fortunately did not.
The rural yatra has enriched and enlightened me in more than one ways, not to mention thirty new yatri friends I made during this trip. The friendship is to last for as long as each of us continues to maintain it as we see it fit.
I managed to accomplish my rural yatra goal, which was to identify about ten credible NGOs with an established record of accomplishments and also, as a catalyst, to serve in bringing together these fine institutions for adopting and implementing replicable established programs in five key areas of rural development. For such activities, Kiran, my wife and I have set up an unregistered foundation called INDUSA Endowments that will offer start up funds to every NGO that agrees to participate in implementing replicable established programs from each other for further rural development in their respective areas of operations. We also offer grants for school library books. We have already initiated contacts with concerned NGO managers to begin the process of initiating and replicating established programs and the cross-fertilization of replicable established initiatives.
We are NOT for reinventing NGOs and micromanaging their operations. Our goal is to solicit from NGO operators projects conceived and designed by them with tangible targets, timelines and self-instituted criteria to judge performance of the project. We review project initiatives and sponsor it by offering start up funds if we are convinced that it would serve the larger goal of income enhancement for rural youth and adults. We consider the program a success after it has met its defined goals and all functionally skilled students start earning a living wage - a sustainable minimum monthly income in 2007 was Rs. 3,000+.
At last count there were more than a million NGOs in India and only 600,000 - 700,000 villages linked to 275,000 Panchayats in 600+ districts of 30 Indian states. A question we asked was why not identify existing NGOs to associate with and do what we can - as fast as and as much as possible - in one or all of five following areas of rural development:
Education, Power Generation, Water Harvesting, Income Enhancement and Healthcare.
If each of the million plus NGOs pooled in their resources and each NGO dedicates it to developing one village or a part of it, then theoretically India can be a developed nation in less than five years. Here are our justifications for such optimism in each of five areas:
Education is a must to have knowledge or to be a skilled worker. It is necessary for wealth generation and self-motivation to have salaried employment or to start a sustainable small business.
Limited sporadic supply or a lack of power and energy means a lack of any access to connectivity via computers and cell phones, inability to use electrical water pumps, electronic devices and motorized transportation, etc. It is that simple.
INDUSA seeks help set up power plants, specifically Tiny Power Plants (TPP) of 10 - 50 KWH capacity to serve each village with about 300+ families and 1,500+ citizens.
To get an idea of how TPP can bring about a desired transformation of rural life please watch a video: (13 minutes).
Our mantra is - cut the wire to power grid by using locally available biofuels, solar and wind energy for power generation to initiate a self-reliant and environmentally friendly or Satvic mode of rural development.
India is experiencing fruits of telecom revolution and near double digit economic (GDP) growth rates by cutting wire to landlines and our belief is that comparable results can be achieved in power generation at the village level.
The TPP idea for villages will generate much needed and prized jobs in villages and it will decentralize power sector. The operations of existing national power grids - notorious for frequent power cuts and unreliable service - are overburdened by some of the most incompetent, not to mention corrupt bureaucrats and elected officials who have cultivated dependency of rural masses on government handouts, using mostly rhetoric and counterproductive means.
No water means no agriculture and no life. As a yatri I learned this simple relationship.Growth is the best antidote to poverty. Poverty is a shame and a stigma; with rapid economic growth and a workforce that will stay predominately young (below 30) for decades India could eliminate abject poverty in less than two decades. Absent good health, potential for growth is limited.
India is challenged as the good and bad is a set of warring realities. Great natural resources are available but administrative policies and laws are inadequate to exploit them efficiently. For example, an abundance of native talent and young workers are handicapped by an education system too small to handle the task of turning out the managers, engineers, judges, and doctors for a country of more than a billion people. India has a first-class medical system available in urban areas and weaknesses exist in delivering healthcare to the countryside.
A part of being challenged is a legacy of the last three to five decades that saw growth of the "monstrous and rapacious structure" of a socialist government. Socialist jargon pervades all walks of life. State-run economies are unwieldy and socialism of early decades "stilled entrepreneurs." India"s biggest remaining challenges are in five areas identified above.
Sudhir (ssakrishna@yahoo.com) is a team member of the TN yatra. Like Sudhir, we like the idea of piggybacking on existing NGOs as there are a million to choose from. Sudhir has personally visited operations of a number of NGOs after conclusion of the TN yatra; he has selected several NGOs to work with as his contribution to rural India development.
Byrraju Foundation: Under Chairman Ramalinga Raju, they have made this a PLATFORM for others to contribute to rural development.
DHAN Foundation: Under the excellent leadership of Vasimalai, Raghini, and others it is doing great work.
Pratham/AID-India: The leadership of people like Balaji Sampath is doing fantastic work in children"s education (basic literacy, science education, creativity expression). I learn every time I listen to Balaji Sampath. He combines both HEAD (exceptionally smart) and HEART (extremely dedicated).
Krishnamurti Foundation of India: Inspired by the great world teacher, the foundation operates many schools in India devoted to education in the real sense of the word.
Vivekananda Kendra: We all saw their holistic approach at the museum and technology center of the Kendra.
Janaagraha: This NGO headed by a young, dynamic and persistent leader is devoted to URBAN improvements in Bangalore and Chennai.
To this short list of credible NGOs with an established record of accomplishments we add our favorites:
ARTI (Appropriate Rural Technology Institute, Dhayarigaon, Pune District, MH), Barefoot College, (Tilonia, Ajmer District, Rajasthan). BAIF (Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation, Nagar, N. H. 4, Warje, Pune District, MH), DRI (Deendayal Research Institute at Chitrakoot, MP)
Hiwarebazar is near Ahmednagar, MH, Infra-sys (Sutter, KA) Lend-a-Hand India.Org has offices in New York and Pune.
Pani Panchayat (Purandar, Pune District, MH), Ralegaon Siddhi is near Ahmednagar, MH, SMS Foundation (Sehgal Foundation, Gurgaon, Haryana), SVYM (Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, Sargur, KA), Vanasthalee (Pre-primary education, Pune District),
V. I. L. D. (Viveka Institute of Leadership Development, Mysore, KA), Vigyan Ashram (Pabal, Pune District, MH),
The three outstanding organizations that provide world class healthcare for rural masses are:
Dr. Ajay Kumar"s Cancer Research Hospital serving residents of more than fifty rural communities in and around Mysore, KA.
IHO (International Health Organization, Boston, MA) is operating in a number of states - Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, BIMARU states and Nepal and SHARE, USA"s MediCiti Hospital with a medical college, a nursing school and a medical R&D facility (Medchal Mandal, outside city limits of Hyderabad, AP), is organized along major American Medical Centers to serve one lakh residences in more than 100 villages in three Mandals. MediCiti and Byrraju Foundation are neighbors in Medchal Mandal.
Being a land of 600,000+ villages with an estimated 700 million rural citizens India requires rural development at an accelerated rate. A study of examples like the Barefoot College designed for training functional literates with "learning by doing" methods for rural development shows that by using tiny (5 and 10 KWH) solar photovoltaic (SPV) plants installed, serviced and operated by semi-literate and functionally skilled local women labor, a dedicated NGO can duplicate success of the College with a commendable record of achievements in more than thirty years of operations. The College has successfully developed a few hundred rural communities in its life and turned out more than 15,000 students, mostly il- or semi-literate rural youth and adults, into functionally skilled knowledge workers in areas of water harvesting, solar energy (solar cookers and SPV systems), income enhancement, etc to meet most of its and the area"s developed communities needs.
Deendayal Research Institute is dedicated to Ayurvedic medical practices and it offers an Ayurvedic hospital and a naturopathy treatment center in a picturesque setting atop a hill at Chitrakoot. It has completed in each of five identified areas rural development of 80 of 500 villages within 100 km radius of its main campus and development of the balance is expected to be completed by 2011.
Lend-a-Hand India, Org is systematically implementing a Plan 100 to introduce IBT (Introduction to Basic rural Technology) developed by the Vigyan Ashram to 100 public schools. The IBT program is already active in forty public schools in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa, etc. and we hope a Plan 1000 will follow upon completion of the Plan 100.
Various programs implemented by BAIF and its associate organizations are spread to more than 45,000 villages in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand.
At the V.I.L.D. we distributed certificates to 137 the Y4D (Youth for Development) program graduates on Dec. 22, 2007; the Y4D program was sponsored by INDUSA Endowments starting 2006. Previously, a year ago I had distributed about 70 certificates to the Y4D graduates bringing total to more than 200 graduates in less than 18-month. Each of these students is now earning a living income. The demand for the Y4D graduates has shot up as by word of mouth the area"s industry managers have learned of the Y4D program and some of them are now offering the V.I.L.D. full cost of education in selected areas and guaranteed jobs for 200 Y4D graduates every six months.
In my estimation India needs only 2,000+ rural colleges and NGOs equivalent to those identified above to develop all 600,000+ villages as fast as possible.
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