Association for India's Development
Kolkata Chapter
Newsletter Vol I Issue II, January 2007

Table of Contents
Volunteers are not paid – not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless

True to this above belief it’s the value that a volunteer adds to an organization like AID-India which makes it what it is today. No matter what the motivation - the act of volunteering has and always will be one of the most treasured resources of mankind. Volunteering gives people a platform to reach out-to get a little bit closer to the ideal world that we all dream and aspire to live in.

No matter what the skills , talent ,or timeline -volunteering is for everyone and it takes as diverse a shape as from doing administrative work to designing a pamphlet to forming local groups and creating awareness to simply showing solidarity and acting as a pillar of strength for others...

In fact it is this diversity infused with creativity and enthusiasm- the motivation to grab a small opportunity and will power to transpire it into reality- that exist and work, creating the driving force that motivates us ceaselessly. In fact it is in respect to the massive contribution made by volunteers all around the world that December 5th has been declared World Volunteers Day. So here goes a warm and heartfelt thanks to all those volunteers around the world who are committed to making a better tomorrow.

We at AID firmly believe that each one of us is gifted with resources such as skills, knowledge, talents and most importantly spare time that we can use to bring about a lasting change - in our own lives and the lives of the millions around us. It is this inspiration that enables students, young adults, executives, professionals, homemakers and anyone who cares, to take time out of their hectic schedules to work in this huge family that we call AID.

So this is not just to thank all those who are a part of our huge and busy family, but it is also an appeal to others who aren’t, to become a part of our expanding team…to contribute to the betterment of the society…Let us all be a part of a volunteer revolution and join hands to make India truly developed.

Sombodhi Ghosh
Editor-In-Chief
AID Kolkata Newsletter

Our recent activities
The last few months have been devoted to a very hectic schedule by the AID Kolkata volunteers. The little baby took its first giant step on 29th of October 2006. With the setting up of the Mathurapur healthcare camp we have set out on our mission on rural healthcare like never before. Since then the camp has been running smoothly and we have managed to move on from healthcare to Community Development and is currently focusing on the educational advancement in Mathurapur.

We have also been doing groundwork on a Solid Waste Management Project on a small scale. If we succeed in this project then we can possibly set up small pilot projects in the rural villages which will not only produce gas for fuel/electricity but also manure for cultivation.

Also AID Kolkata is trying to address the problems of the Farmers of Singur by raising awareness on the unjust practices of the Government. Other than this, AID has also been involved in the setting up of a small library at Dakshin Durgapur Boys Home along with a few other NGOs.

A more detailed outline of our work and achievements has been given in the pages that follow. At AID Kolkata we really believe that there is no dearth of opportunities and it is this idea that has been constantly motivating us to work towards improvement on a whole. So the shortfall of volunteers and the lack of funds notwithstanding, we are still trying to make a difference on our very own. We sincerely hope and promise to keep this up in the days ahead of us.

A house in the village of Koabati

Inauguration of primary healthcare camp in Koabati - Mathurapur

Front view of the camp

29th October 2006 saw the inaugural of a primary healthcare camp in Koabati village in Mathurapur Block 2, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal through the combined effort of AID Kolkata and Samaj Unnayan Kendra of Mathurapur.

The project aims to address two aspects - curative and preventive - of primary health care. The curative aspect consists of providing a primary health check-up by a doctor every week. Patients are charged a nominal amount that includes the costs for consultancy as well as the medicines prescribed. The cost for medicines is sustained by trying to rely more on preventive measures rather than medicinal cures, and by using less-expensive (but equivalent, as certified by our doctors) varieties of drugs from the market. A trained paid female attendant has been hired to assist the doctor and the visiting patients. She will maintain a health database of the visiting patients-follow up with the patients throughout the week and update the database accordingly. The preventive part includes starting various awareness programs among the villagers on a variety of topics like pre- and post- natal care, safe sex, and prevention of common contagious diseases.


Dr Latif, Anjalidi, Satabdi and Kallol (left); Medical assistants Shyamali and Barnali with Dr Latif (right)

29th October was the first day of the health check-up clinic. We reached Mathurapur and arrived at the village of Koabati at around 11:00 am. We found that the villagers assisted by the Samaj Unnayan Kendra members had erected a nice room out of bamboo and mud for the health camp - and that too had been done on very short notice (nearly one week). The logistics- chairs, table, bed, medicines etc had also been arranged by the Samaj Unnayan Kendra staff. They had put in a huge effort to convince the villagers that such a camp would really take place. They had also informed the local panchayat heads, the Block Medical Officer of Health for Mathurapur Block 2, Dr Latif, and others of this entire project and had requested them to be present on the first day.

Shyamali, the attendant there, was also busy organising things at the camp. Our doctor, Dr Anupam Banerjee arrived from Kolkata at the campsite around 11:30am. He quickly coordinated with Shyamali and got everything ready. Shyamali was told of the various terms used in medical prescriptions, and what medicines they referred to. The doctor also suggested two replacements in the list of medicines collected by SUK. Within an hour, the camp was started. In all, 15 patients came on the first day. All of them were from Koabati i.e., where the camp is situated. There was one particular case where a 15-year-old girl came with her mother - she was nearly in her 6th month of pregnancy. But she hadn't attended any of the health checkups at the nearest ICDS center, as that is at one and half-hours' distance from the village. She was found to be anemic, and completely unaware of the process of pregnancy and proper care and diet required in the antenatal period.

Dr Latif, and Anjalidi - a member of the panchayat in charge of education, culture and sports had come to the camp. They discussed various issues regarding health and sanitation awareness. They admitted that they had no idea that a village existed at the spot where Koabati was. Anjalidi said she would try to set up an ICDS centre near the village (since the nearest one was quite far away). Dr Latif shared his experiences in health camps and awareness programmes, and repeatedly stressed upon the importance of preventive awareness for various diseases. He gave the examples of typhoid and other water-bourne diseases, and also of snakebites - something very common in the South 24 Parganas. He informed everyone regarding the details of antenatal care programs and vaccinations and told the villagers present where they were held. On questioning, he made it clear that there was no shortage of preventive material (vaccines, condoms etc) with the state health centre and he urged everyone to take part in the health programs. He also discussed the possibility of organising such programs at the AID-SUK health camp sometime in the near future (he also said that if he had a better idea of what was going on, he would have organised a small awareness programme that very day). There was a 25-year-old girl with physical deformity and stunted growth. At the end of the day, both Anjalidi and Dr Latif assured us of cooperation in all efforts towards the improvement of the area and their concern seemed to be genuine.

We thank all the villagers of Koabati and Abdullah, Soidul, Gautam, Bikash, Pradyot, Kallol and all the Samaj Unnayan Kendra volunteers for putting in such a wonderful effort and making this venture successful. We hope we can sustain this and make it grow.

Satabdi Das
Debamitro Chakraborti

This write-up is based on the visit to the inauguration of the Mathurapur Primary Health Camp by AID Kolkata volunteers Satabdi, Debamitro, Ritesh, Rahul, Vikas and Jaydeep.

For details please see the report on the AID Kolkata site

Volunteer Speak : Debadeep
AID is not just an organisation it's a circle of friends, a family of loving members. Probably that's why I love being an AID-er. Why did I join AID? The answer was unknown to me when I first stepped into this, but I know it now no other work could give me such satisfaction as working with AID does. I enjoy being at AID because working here gives me a wonderful sense of being at home. And the other factor that is important is the knowledge and awareness one acquires here. Whether we are discussing some health related project or some child education proposal, we learn from every moment of it. We learn to grow out of our cozy shells, and step into the stark world of reality that lies before us. Had I not joined AID, I would possibly have stayed ignorant all my life about how miserable life is for some people, about how some villages in India still depend on quack-doctors due to lack of proper medicine, about the severe lack of sanitation in some parts of India and the process does not stop after gathering the knowledge because AID goes out to help the needy as much as it can as much as we can. That, I believe is the most important reason for being an AID volunteer... we, together, can achieve something nobody could have dreamt of doing alone ... working towards the sustainable development of our wonderful motherland.

Updates from Mathurapur

The Mathurapur Health Care camp has been running successfully for around two months now. The initial response has been phenomenal and work is going on smoothly at present. But there happens to be some problems that are affecting every one concerned.

This report highlights mainly what we observed, the feedback we received from the villagers and also some of the projects we are currently trying to develop.

Our plans in Phase I of the project was to set up the healthcare camp to create awareness related to Health and Hygiene and study the healthcare scenario of Mathurapur in order to prepare strategic plans for our future course of action. We are glad that even though we have had some hiccoughs but still our phase I is still a moderately successful story so far. We have so far been able to isolate the main ailments that are prevalent within these rural villages, to hire a female attendant for the medical camp-make arrangements for her training, and also get a pool of doctors who are ready to attend the camp once a week in return of a comparatively low payment. However the path to success is laden with thorns.

The existences of a huge number of drawbacks that we have observed and identified are yet to be addressed in Phase II of our project. The main observations we have made are highlighted below.

Our Observations

Dr Shankar Chakraborty discusses some important issues with our volunteers inside the Healthcare Camp Centre

When we started this healthcare center we actually planned to cater only to very basic health cases. Now we find that miscellaneous patients with all sorts of health issues (which infact fall within the preview of primary healthcare) are coming to the camp.

Hence, the medicines, etc., that we had previously supplied may not suffice and we may have to increase the spectrum of healthcare and make it a little broader and include such projects as Reproductive and Child Health Care, Iodine deficiency, Nutrition Status, Tuberculosis, Malaria, Leprosy and Blindness Control.

Feedback from the villagers

Patients seen waiting outside the camp for their turn


Mathurapur : Future Plans

We are in the process of doing ground work to launch the following projects in Mathurapur.
An Appeal

We have already said over and over again we are in dire need of volunteers who can spare some time and effort/ideas that will help us do more work in a more efficient manner. All the plans we have outlined here are already in the implementation phase and we will be delighted if more people can come forward to help us... We do need lots of funds and many more volunteers to carry these projects through. So please come forward...

Sombodhi Ghosh
Uddalak Pal

To get the full reports please visit the following pages from the AID Kolkata blog:
page 1 and page 2

Library in Dakhin Durgapur

The boys of Dakshin Durgapur Home had reasons to celebrate on 12th November, 2006.For on that day they became the proud owners of a library of their very own. This library was set up mainly by the collaborative effort of CRY, PRAJAAK, AID Kolkata and That's Y (of Cognizant Technology).


Inauguration of the library with kids and volunteers being present (left); The library - it has got around 400 different book titles (right)

Pankaj, Satabdi, Bhavya, Bodhisatta, Sombodhi and Indraneel - AID Kolkata volunteers - were present on this occasion at the home. The library was dedicated to the fond memory of Subhankar, a volunteer of both CRY-Praajak and AID-Columbus. The aim behind this small library is to inculcate the habit of reading among the young kids. It consists of books of all types ranging from stories, general knowledge to academic as well, in both English and Bengali language.

A small inauguration program was held which started with some preliminary speeches by Subhankarda's father , "Dadu" and by some other guests. The kids put up a small programme after that where they sang and recited poetry and seemed pretty enthusiastic about the library. Even the volunteers took part in the programme enthused by their high spirits.

Afterwards a collage made of handprints of the kids and the volunteers with their respective names were taken on a piece of cloth, which would later on be hung in the library room. Separate identity cards were issued for each child. The older children of the home were also given tips by the volunteers on ways of efficiently managing the library.


Hand prints of all the kids and volunteers were taken and made into a collage

After the inauguration of the library children of the home were also given tips by the volunteers by "Dadu" a meeting was held where Prajaak members intimated all volunteers present about their future activities in the year 2007. A common consensus was also reached that the creation of the library mustn't mean an end to the work we have begun-we must all ensure that it runs efficiently and that we should try and increase the number and variety of books that are there.

We do hope that this library proves to be a success story and that the children realize the importance of books in ones life. The successful implementation of this project through the combined effort of all the different organizations have been a huge boost to our confidence. We do hope and pledge to do more work like this in the future.

BhavyaTiwari
Sombodhi Ghosh

AID Kolkata's stance on the peasant movement at Singur

A mass movement is going on in Singur-West Bengal against the proposed construction of a car factory on about 1000-hectare of multi-crop agricultural land. The car factory, though belonging to a very prestigious Indian industrial group, will displace thousands of farmers living there and will also make their livelihood uncertain. We from AID faxed an open letter to the chief minister of West Bengal on this issue.

TO: Shri Buddhadev Bhattacharya
Chief Minister of West Bengal
Writers Bhawan, Kolkata - 700 001
cm@wb.gov.in
Phone 033-22145555, 22145588
FAX: 033-22145480

Subject: Tata Car Factory in Singur Inefficient Compared to European Standards.


Dear Buddhadebda,

We write to express our opposition to the 997 acres of agricultural land being acquired for Tata's car factory at Singur, which does not compare favourably with world standards for land usage. For example, in May 2005, Toyota-Peugeot inaugarated a car factory near Prague that produces 300,000 cars/year and spans an area of 124 ha (306 Acres). The Toyota press release boasted: "It's built-up area of a mere 21 ha is viewed by the automobile industry as a record-breaking low. Modern and compact, this work of architecture requires very low levels of energy consumption to operate technology and run the plant."

If anything a car factory in India should have more efficient land-use than in a European country owing to our population. The Tata's have said they will make 250,000 cars by 2008. Even if the Tata's were planning for 500,000 cars/year, the area needed would be only about 500 acres, using the Toyota's european standards.

However we should be able to do the Tata factory in much smaller area. In a European country there may be so much open space that having a 1:6 ratio between built up and total area, as is the case with the Toyota factory in Czechoslovakia, may be acceptable. But why should India's prime agricultural farmland that feeds a starving nation be so sacrificed? What is going to be the built-up area of the Tata's factory at Singur? How do you justify the 997 acres being acquired as being in public interest?

We request you to address our questions and strongly urge you not to sacrifice agricultural land of Singur for a highly inefficient land-guzzling car factory being planned by Tatas.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ravi Kuchimanchi, Mumbai Phone: 022-25566703
Prof. Om Damani, IIT-Bombay Phone (mobile): 09323003401
Satabdi Das, Software Professional, Kolkata (mobile)
Debamitro Chakraborti, Software Professional, Kolkata 09911362364
Rahul Chauhan, Software Professional, Kolkata
Deepak Dhamija, Student, IIM Calcutta
Prof. Rukmini Dey, Harishchandra Research Institute, Allahabad
Prof. Rajesh Gopakumar, Harishchandra Research Institute, Allahabad
Chandrika Ramanujam Chennai
Aravinda Pillalamarri, Mumbai
Nirveek Bhattacharya, Student, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA.

Correspondence Address:
AID-India Kolkata Chapter: 82B/1 Ground Floor, Ibrahimpur Road, Jadavpur Kolkata 32.
AID-India Mumbai Chapter: C-7 Banganga Coop, Govandi Stn Rd, Deonar, Mumbai 400088.
AID-India Chennai Office: New No. 34, Rathnam Street, Gopalapuram, Chennai - 600 086
Association for India's Development website: www.aidindia.org

 To know more on this issue please visit the following links :

http://kolkata.aidindia.org/issues/Singur/medha_patkar_121206.html
http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2006statements/847/
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/singur-on-the-edge-police-open-fire/27542-3.html
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/its-do-or-die-for-singur-farmers/27442-3.html
http://www.panap.net/48.0.html?&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=299&tx_ttnews[backPid]=173&cHash=3211be7e09
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1050828

Some videos:

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/27542/5-injured-patkar-held-singur-tense.html
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3052261023426138538
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4839387219402337875

Struggle of Mehdiganj people against the malpractices of the Cola companies

Mehdiganj is a village in Uttar Pradesh, around 20 Km from the holy city of Varanasi. The communities in this village and in the surrounding areas have been fighting against the unjust practices of the local Coca Cola plant.

The ground water level in the area has gone down due to the excessive mining of water by the local Coca Cola plant.

The chemical waste let out by the plant into the nearby farms resulted large scale destruction of crops and soil has been damaged as well.

The plant has also occupied the local panchayat land and has been found guilty of tax theft.

To know more about their struggle please visit http://www.mehdiganj.org

Volunteer Speak : Debamitro
AID Kolkata has given a new meaning to my frequent visits to the city. My association with AID, as an AID Delhi volunteer, goes back a few months before AID Kolkata was born, since that's where I live. But I never have felt as close to AID Delhi as I have felt with AID Kolkata. Probably because my heart lies in Kolkata. Probably also because of the youthful vibrancy of the AID Kolkata team. They have taken several positive strides in the first six months of their existence. They have ushered in new hopes for social development in West Bengal in the hearts of countless Bengalis scattered all around the world. What they lack in age and experience they make up twice over in enthusiasm and dedication. I am glad to have been able to help them in whatever small way possible so far. I hope AID Kolkata keeps up the pace it has set for itself and go on to become one of the most active AID chapters.

An Appeal on Behalf of AID Kolkata

Appeal for clothes and blankets

We would like to appeal to anyone who is interested to supply us with clothes and winter garments for the people of Mathurapur. If anyone would like to contribute then they are most welcome to do so. Please note that used garments in good wearable conditions will be acceptable and thankfully accepted.

Also we would like to provide blankets and other forms of winter garments for the people of Mathurapur.

Please contact us at aid DOT kolkata AT gmail DOT com
Or please visit : http://kolkata.aidindia.org

Appeal For Funds

If you would like to support any of the projects we are running then please sent in your donations with open hands. We require a lot of funds to sustain the projects and have high ambitions regarding them. So please be kind enough and contribute with open hands. On details of contributions please refer to the Donate section of this newsletter.

Get Involved

If you want to become a part of our dynamic family then there are various ways by which you can do so.

Become a volunteer

Every voluntary action has an importance that cannot be under-estimated. You can begin by adding a link to the AID website ( www.aidindia.org ) in the signature section of your email so that when you send mails to your friends some of them may visit our site. If you host a blog or a web-site you can link the AID site from it. These two simple actions have the potential of introducing new people to AID who may one day even give up their careers to work full time in Indian villages. Such things have happened in AID and this is the power of a single voluntary act on your part.

If you are in one of the cities where AID or AID India has a chapter, you can call the volunteers there and attend one of the meetings or Community Service Hours. You will meet others who believe that visiting villages in a trip to India and spending time organizing a fund-raiser for supporting a school or a health centre in a village is a fun thing to do. You will find some seriously studying current issues in India such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. You can see videos where using their right to information, villagers have exposed corruption in works such as laying of local roads. You will find that one of the famous social workers or activists from India is visiting a nearby AID chapter and your chapter volunteers are driving down together to hear her speak. By attending AID meetings, you will find there are others interested in India's villages and you have made hearty friends with whom you can do something for India's underprivileged and oppressed that you always have wanted to.

If you are in a city where there is no AID chapter you can start one by asking your friends at school, work or home, if they'd also be interested. Once a few of you begin to think seriously about having regular meetings and about raising funds to support projects in Indian villages you should send an email to people already in AID that you know and to info AT aidindia DOT org stating your commitment.

(source - AID India site)

Spread the news

You can get involved and committed to our cause just by letting your friends and family know about AID and the work that we do. Help us spread the news and create awareness.

You can refer your friends to AID-Kolkata at
http://kolkata.aidindia.org/tell_a_friend

Donate

You can donate in two ways, by pledging A-Meal-A-Month, or by making a one-time donation to AID Kolkata.
Update regarding our website

There are so many issues that affect one and all, however indirectly. Apart from our projects, spreading awareness has always been on our agenda. To this end a separate Issues section has been added to our website http://kolkata.aidindia.org/issues. Please do visit and give us your feedback and you are also welcome to share open resources on the issues we focus on.

List of donors

Thanking you all for your support.
People who have pledged A-Meal-a-Month One Time Donations
AID Kolkata contact information
Website : http://kolkata.aidindia.org
Feedback : aid.kolkata@gmail.com

Newsletter team :
Chief Editor : Sombodhi Ghosh
Designer : Debadeep Sen