Abt Bapu and villages..

"India lives in villages"
The dream of self-sufficient villages with modern amenities and educational facilities is slowing becoming a reality in India.There are many organisational and infrastructural problems but they are getting solved analytically and effectively.Our president,Abdul Kalam also urges the youth to help out as much as they possibly could,to plan and execute programs designed to improve the infrastructure of villages.Many NGOs are involved in some way or the other and if all forces unite and are ably aided by the Government,India as a developed country will no longer be a dream.
For first-hand info about working in villages,visit this site
I request people who frequent this site to provide more information about developmental programs being undertaken in villages and also discuss how further they can be improvised.

Lessons..

Here is the account of D,I personally knoe from Canberra,who left a lucrative job here as financial analyst and has flown back to her roots..to give..and to learn..
I urge anyone who reads to take this as an inspiration to do something..for our people..
"Our day begins at 6am with a thought for the day session then we have clean up, breakfast, and flood relief in the Tekra (slum). As you may or may not have heard, Ahmedabad has been flooded, not seriously but there are slums near the Gandhi Ashram that have been submerged due to the rising waters of the Sabarmati, we usually go into the slums and do food distribution, give the kids a bath, play with them, give them a medical checkup and finally talk to their familes about additional assistance, this goes for about four hours, after that we're back to our hostel in Sughad for discussions on development, simple living, service. A chai break then three hours of language, dinner and more discussions till 11pm. its been wonderful and I'm with a bunch of amazing people, although I do miss you all. I havent had any coffee for nearly a week, they only drink tea here, nor have i had five minutes to think to myself and reflect on all our activities. Today we had an Amazing RAce competition where we were split up into groups of three and asked to follow instructions to certain checkpoints, this began at 7am and finished only an hour ago at 2:30, was really hard but really fun at the same time. Other interesting activities over the week have been taking kids affected by Hindu/muslim riots to a fun park, the catch was that it was 1 of us with five kids each and none of us could speak the language. Funnily enough, at the end of it, the kids as well as ourselves were in tears when saying goodbye! Soon our task is to take some mentally handicapped and blind children to the zoo, most of these activities have been unsupervised and our limits have been tested, and surpassed well beyond our comfort zones. all the days are blurring, I cant remember what day it is and I cant believe Ive only been here a week. there's a lot coming up, and the next three weeks will really push me to strive beyond my limits. There was a really low point this week when I thought I couldnt handle all this but that has passed and I'm back to doing what i have to do. The place we're staying in is BEAUTIFUL, its surrounded by trees and a river and its near a village called Sughad. On Independence day we got to go to the Sughad village school for a flag-raising and slogan-shouting session with the kids, was so much fun! One thing I've definitely come to realise is that Im changing as a person, slowly, but surely. we had a Hunger Day the other day where the group was split up into the Rich, Middle Class and poor. I was part of the Poor group and for the rest of the day had to fetch my water from a long distance for everything from washing dishes to flushing the toilet! at meal times the poor group had to sit on the floor and were only fed a quarter of what the rich were fed, was such a huge lesson to me and since then I've started conserving water and stopped over-eating. I've also decided to go without a cell phone for the next three weeks until my project starts and the travel makes it compulsory. Im responsible for the Teach for India project that aims to give young people a chance to connect with students from villages for 1-2 years, I'll be shuttling between Bagar in Rajasthan and Ahmedabad for the next year or so. My first responsibility has been to speak to people from IIT Mumbai in Oct to inform them of the Indian education system and to encourage them to become valuable contributors to society, am nervous but very excited at the same time! "

Keep up your good work,D..and may many others follow your path..

Towards..and forwards..

In his independence day address to the nation,Our President has reiterated the importance of education and has suggested to both houses of the parliament a set of implementable initiatives and development programmes.As a focal point,he outlines seven principles in life any Indian wishing to better himself and thus,his country should follow as a personal regimen.
The Seven Point Oath for Young India-
1. I realise, I have to set a goal in my life. To achieve the goal, I will acquire the knowledge, I will work hard and when the problem occurs, I have to defeat the problem and succeed.
2. As a youth of my nation, I will work and work with courage to achieve success in all my tasks and enjoy the success of others.
3. I shall always keep myself, my home, my surroundings, neighbourhood and environment clean and tidy.
4. I realise righteousness in the heart leads to beauty in the character, beauty in the character brings harmony in the home, harmony in the home leads to order in the nation and order in the nation leads to peace in the world.
5. I will lead an honest life free from all corruption and will set an example for others to adopt a righteous way of life.
6. I will light the lamp of knowledge in the nation and ensure that it remains lit forever.
7. I realise, whatever work I do if I do the best, I am contributing towards realising the Mission of Developed India before 2020.
For the full speech,see here

Promoting education

Hi all..this post is about two non-profit organisations aimed at the rural society as such for the process of educating,promoting literacy and financing of rural small-scale ventures,especially those of women.
A group of individuals have been put together undert the auspices of Harvard University in a small project to work with communities in almost all the states of the country in microfinance and education. 'Yuva' promises to be a widely-reaching, effective and sustainable mode of social service that seeks to reach each and every member of the Indian community to encourage them to serve their country.The emphasis is on helping solve financial,educational and economical problems in villages with the focus being on developing such awareness amongst the rural women.
Another good effort that promises education to all by channelling literates into providing classes for the three R's is Abhiindia..Please do visit their website and help out..monetary is just a part of it..www.abhiindia.org
On the occasion of our 59th Independence Day,let's take a vow anew..sparing a few minutes of time to think what can be done productively and effectively to help our struggling nation stand up tall amidst all the countries in the world and lead as an example..spiritually,economically..as a model society..And let's put those thoughts forward so that someone along the way might just take it up and implement them..U never know:)

Note this

Two special features of the 2006 elections -
1.In the whole of Tamilnadu State Assembly elections history,this is the first time that out of the 2,586 candidates,160 are women.
2.According to Rule 49(o)of the legality of election procedures,if we do not want to cast our vote in favour of any cnadidate,we can state so quite clearly by either signing or giving our thumbprint in Form 17 A.The officer in charge of the booth has to write down that'I do not wish to vote for anybody'and get your signature or thumbprint near this statement.
Through this procedure,the practice of casting 'benami' votes can be abolished,the right number of voters decided and decisions on winners will be precise,resulting in healthy politics.

To have a basic understanding of the political situation in Tamil Nadu,the voters should have a clear and precise overview of the existing parties and their election promises.Choosing the best candidate is possible only through estimation of values by alternative selections.Exercising your mandate should be clear,well-defined process and thus,can you make your votes count.Not only that,you would also debate and talk about your research and choices to anybody who might atleast give a passing ear.Urging others to participate in the voting process is the first step towards building a strong government,the ultimate way of democracy.
Vote and pull others along with you..
Spend some time reading up party manifestos and backgrounds of candidates.Choose your vote as carefully as you would make a family decision.
This link can help you.
Do let us know abt more..

INITIATIVE

ON THIS DAY,THE 23rd OF MARCH,1931
22 YR OLD BHAGAT SINGH,ALONG WITH RAJGURU AND SUKHDEV
WERE HANGED FOR TREASON AND ACTS OF CRIME
AGAINST THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT
IN LAHORE JAIL..
WHAT DID HE AND COUNTLESS OTHERS LIKE HIM,STAND TO GAIN FROM THEIR MARTYRDOM?
DON'T WE OWE THEM SOMETHING?
CAN'T WE DO THE LEAST BIT BY BETTERING OURSELVES AND BEING AWARE?
DO YOUR BIT..
TAKE THE FIRST STEP..