Remarkable people! 

Unlike many others, Aradhana Nanda’s childhood memories are

not of playing with toys, or friends, but of seeing her mother

teaching young women to read and write, and trying to

persuade them to start saving money. Her mother was a great

source of inspiration for her.

So, when Aradhana saw an Oxfam ad in ‘79/80, inviting volunteers to opt for a  six-month assignment in Kalahandi district, she jumped at the opportunity to carry on with the work her mother was doing.

Going as a single woman to remote Kalahandi was tough. Staying alone in villages, with non-existent living facilities, was even tougher. But, encouraged by parents, she stayed on at Kalahandi, and made it her home.

She set up a social-service organization, FARR (Friends & Associates for Rural                                                         Reconstruction), in 1983/84, and decided that serving the poor tribals of                                                                        Kalahandi would be her primary mission.

By creating ‘grain banks’ and ‘self-help groups’, her team’s efforts have ensured food security in almost 400 villages, and completely done away with money-lenders.

Over 4000 young child labourers - previously engaged in selling fire-wood, grazing cattle, or helping in the fields – were brought into schools set up by FARR in partnership with the government.

These literacy efforts became the foundation on which future community leaders were trained. Today, almost 200 young men and women are active in local Panchayati Raj institutions.

Among other things, they are driving change and awareness in health-related matters, in their communities. Particular focus is on HIV/AIDS awareness for migrant labour, and reduction of infant mortality & mothers’ mortality rates by ensuring safe deliveries in hospitals.

I asked Aradhana what her future plans were. Without hesitating, she articulated her current obsession: to educate village communities regarding the tremendous self-governance rights granted to them under the Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI). This, she believes, will pave the way to salvation, because it gives villagers the power and the funds to improve their future, rather than wait for an insensitive, corrupt administration to deliver.

Remarkable people !

Property dealer M.K Mehra is indeed a remarkable man. I spent a morning recently watching the transformation that Mehra’s efforts have achieved. Few years ago, the state-run school at Gwalpahadi( a small village just off the Gurgaon-Faridabad road) was a run-down, 4-room structure with a few, de-motivated teachers.

What I saw last week was a transformed place. A neat, 15-room school with full quorum of teachers; an operational computer lab, and other amenities. Mehra & the teachers have also got the government to deliver. The government’s mid-day meal scheme is on, and so is a distance education program delivered via broadband.

But is this enough? The kids I spoke to come from a clutch of villages nearby, and their families are typically illiterate, unemployed, and deprived.

To get truly uplifted, the same community needs not just one nice school, but also adult education, jobs, primary healthcare, and other basic stuff.