AID-Bay Area Newsletter Apr '03 - Jun '03 CONTINUED PROJECT SUPPORT 1) Chenchu Tribal Empowerment by Sakthi PROJECT UPDATES 1) Kondh School Project 2) Updates from HBP in Tamil Nadu 3) CAME update EVENT REPORTS 1) AID - Cup Cricket Tournament 2) NATAAK production of 'Where there's a will' PUBLIC TALKS 1) Medha Patkar enthralls Bay Area audience 2) 'Grassroots Development and Environment Protection - experiences from Gujarat' by AID Sathi Swati Desai 3) Talk by Bhopal gas disaster survivors Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla 4) More talks OTHER NEWS 1) Recent events in the Narmada Valley 2) ANANDI recognized Asia's Heroes by TIME magazine 3) Fifth annual AID conference in Pittsburgh APPEAL FOR SUPPORT THANK YOU *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* CONTINUED PROJECT SUPPORT ------------------------- 1) Chenchu Tribal Empowerment by Sakthi AID - Bay Area chapter approved the second round funding of $3000 for the Chenchu Empowerment project by SAKTI. The Chenchus are a marginalized and impoverished tribal community living in the Nagarajuna Sagar Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh. In 2000, SAKTI got Chenchus the right to vote in the Panchayati elections. They also helped the Chenchus force the ITDA to form Eco-development councils (EDCs) for the Chenchus. In 2002 SAKTI won two major public interest litigations (PILs) in favor of the Chenchus. The first PIL got the Chenchus right to fish in the Rasool reservoir. The second PIL put a stop to the AP governments plans to evict the Chenchus from the Sanctuary. SAKTI is currently working to get the Chenchus involved in the AP government's eco-tourism initiative. SAKTI is also working to convert forest villages to revenue villages and ensure that Chenchus get the minimum wages as specified in the Ministry of Environment and Forest guidelines. *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* PROJECT UPDATES --------------- 1) Kondh School Project AID - Bay Area, along with Asha, Silicon Valley, has been supporting 10 schools in the remote Kondh tribal villages in Vishakapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh since August 2002. The non profit group Nisarga began running these schools with a long term goal of developing leadership in the community and organizing the Kondh people for their rights. Project Updates: Inspite of some challenges, the schools have been running smoothly. The teachers meet has become a monthly affair, held on the 10th day of each month. In the last meeting on June 10th, two teachers had to be replaced because they hadn't been performing at par. The village community has welcomed the schools. The schools were constructed by the villagers themselves using local materials. Pictures of all the schools are available at http://www.ashanet.org/siliconvalley/projects/kondh/photos_kondh.html Villagers from ten neighboring Kondh villages now want schools to be started in their villages. Sponsored by AID volunteers, five teachers from the schools will be attending a teachers training workshop from July 12-14 at the Timbuktu Collective in Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh. It is being organized by the learning network initiative of Asha. The workshop will train the teachers in arts and crafts and their use in teaching/learning more conventional subjects like math and science. Additional details about the workshop can be found at: http://www.ashanet.org/lni/events.htm During her India trip in June, Aid volunteer Madhuri Yechuri delivered the toys and books that had been collected for the school children. AID and Asha volunteers are also sending a variety of books for the school children, via a program initiated by some Asha chapters. The books have been compiled by Tulika publishers, Chennai. They comprise children's story books, activity based books resource books for teachers and books on languages and social issues. A feedback visit to the project has been planned for some time, but hasn't yet materialized. We are also planning to assist the project with building education resource materials for the schools as well as first aid kits for the villages. If you are interested in helping with any of these, please contact Neerja Bhatt (nbbhatt@h...) *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* 2) Updates from HBP in Tamil Nadu AID volunteer Ramani had a conversation recently with HBP (Hundred Block Plan) full timers working in the Thiruchuli block, Virudhunagar district, Tamilnadu. Some updates include a) Kurinjiselvi (block full timer) attended Madurai state level review meeting in May. State full timer visited the block in March for 3 days and reviewed the status through village visits. b) Monthly training for activists happening regularly. The activists are very receptive and enthusiastic. c) Weights are taken and health registers are filled in all the villages. There are 5 malnourished children in this block. d) There are about 85 Self Help groups in the block with at most 20 people in one group. e) In Errampatti, the age at which girls marry and the interval between child births has increased due to the advice from full timers. There's also a reduction in infant mortality. f) Thiruchuli panchayat's Village Health Nurse (VHN) is taking care of Vidathakulam and Melakulam also currently. But Kurinjiselvi and others have raised the issue to the Public Health Center and asked them to provide a new VHN for these Panchayats. *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* 3) CAME update The Cultural Association for Mass Education (CAME) organization has been funded by AID for its work on Dalit Rights and Organized Resistance in four mandals in the Sathyavedu constituency in AP. They have helped setup SHGs in 20-30 villages and helped them get govt. loans. CAME keeps track of the workings of the SHGs ensuring meetings/record taking happens. It plans to teach tailoring in two centers and also arrange for low-interest loans. CAME has facilitated the assignment of 100s of acres of land from the govt. to farmers in a number of villages. Since the dalit who get the land do not have irrigation facilities, CAME has started forming groups for cooperative farming, wherein CAME helps with setting up bore wells etc on a loan basis. On Feb 15, a Dalit land rights and awareness campaign meeting was held in which 1500 people attended. CAME regularly helps people write petitions to govt. officials. V. Anandan, who is the founder of CAME, said that awareness among people, specially women is low, and CAME works hard to increase awareness and help people fight for their rights and get what is due to them. *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* EVENT REPORTS ------------- 1) AID - Cup Cricket Tournament AID - Bay Area organized it's first AID-CUP, a six-a-side tennis-ball cricket tournament in April. Thanks to an overwhelming response from cricket-fans in the Bay Area as well as the efficient and systematic organization of the volunteers who took care of all the logistics, it was a huge success! More than 50 teams with interesting names like 'Valhalla Vikings', 'Beerboyz', 'Da Gung-HO Crew' 'Match Fixers' & 'Girl Cricket Rocks!' played enthusiastically in the cricket grounds in Sunnyvale while their supporters cheered from the side. Finally, it was 'Tamilnadu Titans' that lifted the Cup. 2) NATAAK production of 'Where there's a will' NAATAK's adaptation of Mahesh Dattani's play 'Where there is a will' was their first English production; the play which ran for 3 nights in West Valley College in June was a benefit event for ASHA, Udhavum Karangal and AID. We thank NAATAK for selecting AID as a beneficiary. *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* PUBLIC TALKS ------------- 1) Medha Patkar enthralls Bay Area audience On June 27th, the AID Bay Area chapter hosted a public lecture by one of India's foremost social activists, Narmada Bachao Andolan leader, Medha Patkar. The event held at Stanford University's Cubberley Auditorium was well-received and attended by close to 350 people. Medha Patkar spoke about the ongoing non-violent struggle by the people of the Narmada valley against destructive large dam projects and connected it to similar struggles in other river valleys across the world and the broader fight against corporate globalization, sectarian violence and rising militarism. The Bay Area audience related to her message very well and she received a standing ovation. The NBA leader was also interviewed by local radio stations and articles covering her visit have appeared in the Indo-American media including India West, India Abroad, India Post and Silicon Valley Guru. The Bay Area chapter of AID has resolved to be in solidarity with the people of Narmada valley in their non-violent struggle for fair resettlement and rehabilitation for affected populations. The chapter also organizes events to raise awareness about it in our local community. Links: Activist Medha Patkar calls for more humanity in this world India West. July 4, 2003 edition. http://www.aidindia.org/medha/Medha-IndiaWest-070403.pdf As Flooding Dam Displaces Thousands, Indian Activists Appeal to U.S. Radio segment on Pacific Time, KQED FM Radio. July 10, 2003. http://www.kqed.org/programs/program-archive.jsp?progID=RD37&ResultStart=1&Resul\ tCount=10&type=radio Watch taped version of Medha's talk in College Park Campus, Maryland at http://www.aidindia.org/ *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* 2) 'Grassroots Development and Environment Protection - experiences from Gujarat by AID Sathi Swati Desai' Swati Desai, an AID "Sathi" spoke about the grassroots work she and Michael Mazgaonkar have been doing in the adivasi villages (Juna Mozda and surrounding villages of the Dediapada block) in Narmada district of Gujarat for the past 12 years to a group of 30 people on June 22 at Stanford University. Swati started her talk by explaining their approach which is to empower local people to come up to come up with their own developmental ideas and they providing support to execute the ideas. One such effort supported by AID-Bay Area is in watershed development: to conserve soil and water, farmers are encouraged to build bunds around their lands. The farmers decide where to build bunds, build them as a community effort and in return, get paid with grains. She also talked about other community efforts such as women's co-operative to process organically grown grains and a small dairy of indigenously bred cows. The second half of Swati's talk focused on the work done by Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti (PSS, translates as Environment Protection Group), that is involved in fighting industrial pollution in the 'Golden Corridor' (a 400 km industrialized belt in the western part of the Gujarat containing several industrial estates producing toxic chemicals) Swati also briefly touched upon their work during the earthquake in 2001 and during the widespread communal violence in the state in 2002. This was followed by an lively Q/A session with the audience asking her many interesting questions including how people here can help, replicating their work, scaling up, whether they are part of any bigger group, motivation for the work they do, most important thing they have achieved so far, whether they have been able to influence policy etc. For more information about the work Swati and Michael do, please read their annual newsletters at http://www.clubs.psu.edu/aid/activities/events/michael_2001.html *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* 3) Talk by Bhopal gas disaster survivors Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla On May 28, Champa Devi Shukla and Rashida Bee, survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster and leaders of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karamchari Sangh (Bhopal Gas Affected Women's Stationery Workers' Union) spoke at an event organized by AID - Bay Area and the North American Association of Madhya Pradeshis in Stanford University. They were joined in the stage by Krishnaveni, co-ordinator of ICJB (International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal) as well as Diane Wilson, environmental activist and long-time supporter of the Bhopal struggle. Champa and Rashida along with Satinath Sarangi of the Sambhavna Clinic were on a tour in the US to raise awareness about their struggle to achieve justice, win solidarity among different labour, environmental & people's groups as well as to attend the DOW shareholders meeting in Michigan where they demanded that DOW own up to it's responsibilities. To obtain a recorded copy of their speech, contact Aniruddha Vaidya(asvaidya@c...). For more information about their visit to the US, see http://www.bhopal.net/endtour.html *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* 3) More Talks a) AID and Praja Net co-hosted a talk on 'Electoral Reforms in India' by Jagdeep Chokkar, co-founder of Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) as well as a professor in Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad on June 20, 2003 b) ASHA Stanford and AID - Bay Area presented 'Working on Women's Health and Rights - Experiences from Uttar Pradesh, India' on June 11 by Dr. Abhijit Das, a physician by training and co-founder of the voluntary organization SAHAYOG and the health advocacy network Healthwatch UP Bihar. c) ICA, AID, ASHA and ILP organised a talk by Rashmi Mishra co-founder of VIDYA, a group providing for education of slum children, skills-training & income generation and health education for underprivileged women. This event was on June 10 at Komala Vilas d) On April 26 2003, AID - Bay Area along with Jonaki (Bay Area Assamese community) hosted a film screening of "A River's Story: The Quest for the Brahmaputra" followed by a discussion with Dr. Sanjoy Hazarika, well known author, journalist and one of the film makers which was attended by more than 60 people. e) AID organized a book-reading of "Terror, Counter Terror - Women Speak Out' followed by a discussion with author & free-lance journalist Ammu Joseph on April 16, 2003 in Stanford Unviversity. *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* OTHER NEWS ---------- 1) Recent events in the Narmada Valley On May 15th, the Narmada Control Authority, permitted the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam to be increased by a further 5 meters to 100 meters. This will cause displacement of over 12,000 additional families in the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat who have not been resettled prior to the onset of the monsoon. With the arrival of the monsoon in Central India, the safety of hundreds and thousands of affected families as well as their livelihoods and food-security may be under imminent threat. See: http://www.narmada.org/sardar-sarovar/damincrease.html for a background note on the dam height increase. Also, www.narmada.org provides a very comprehensive background and resources on the Narmada struggle as well as the Narmada valley dam projects. *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* 2) ANANDI recognized Asia's Heroes by TIME magazine One of AID's collaborators in Gujarat, Ahmedabad-based NGO Area Networking and Development Initiatives was recognized in a special issue of the Asian edition of TIME magazine as one of Asia's heroes. An article titled the "Good Women of Gujarat", in the special especially recognized the courage and contribution of ANANDI in working with the victims of communal violence that occurred in Gujarat in the first half of 2002. In the past year, AID has supported two efforts by ANANDI. The first one was for doing drought mitigation work in the Panchmahal/Dahod region of Gujarat by deepening and recharging of wells. This was for an initial sum of $4000. In the last few days, we have approved funding of an additional $700 to support additional costs incurred by ANANDI (while key project goals were exceeded). The second effort was to help rebuild lives of those affected by communal violence in Gujarat. AID supported $15,000 for partial cost of rebuilding homes in the village of Boru in Panchmahals. Both of these efforts were covered in some detail in the previous edition of our chapter's newsletter. We are privileged and proud of our association with ANANDI and extend our hearty congratulations to them on this recognition. See: Good Women of Gujarat http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/heroes/gujarat_women.html *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* 3) Fifth annual AID conference in Pittsburgh This annual event during the Memorial Day weekend in May was attended by more than 10 people from the AID-Bay Area chapter and more than 200 volunteers from across the US. The conference which included keynote and guest talks by grassroots activists and social entrepreuners, screening of documentaries on various social and environmental issues, cultural programs, sessions on organizational aspects of AID, analysis of projects like the HBP and exploration of topics such as Holistic Living, Gender Issues,and Pluralism. For more information about the conference, please look at the May issue of 'This Month in AID' in http://www.aidindia.org/hq/publications/tmia.htm *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* APPEAL FOR SUPPORT ------------------ Recently, our chapter has been receiving excellent proposals from different groups in India, but we do not have sufficient funds to support them. Your continued monetary support is critical to help us support these groups. Even a small amount will go a long way if enough people contribute. Please mail your contributions to AID P.O. BOX 4801 Mountain View CA 94040 - 0801 If you would like to participate in the "Dollar Ten a Month" campaign targeting new donors, please contact Mathirajan Manoharan (mathirajanm@y...) *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* THANK YOU --------- We sincerely thank all our donors, well-wishers & supporters and welcome them to come and discover the joy in volunteering. *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----* *----*