The Recipients

We have identified certain initiatives and grassroots allies of Association for India's Development (AID) as the current beneficiaries. They tick off all the boxes: Genuineness {Our team, esp. Pulkit and Sejal, have volunteered extensively with AID}, Efficacy {corroborated by their initiatives summed up below} and Neediness {The more the funds obtained, the more the slum kids catered to / the rural blocks empowered / the efficient technology disseminated / the trees planted}. The following is a brief sketch of the four key areas (of AID's impact) we've picked:

1. Education (Individual support and Systemic change)

Mainstreaming disadvantaged kids

AID not only engages in educational awareness and enrollments of slum kids to schools (private and govt), it also ensures parallel tutoring & mentoring through a blend of paid teachers & volunteers. They have also intervened in 2 govt schools (each in Noida & Delhi), starting with a library program aimed at bolstering reading skills.

2. Rural Outreach: Attacking the Root Cause

'Give each hand work, and the full payment for the work': A scene from Araria, Bihar 

However ardently you work to cure urban slums, it's best to prevent their very creation: Arrest the rural-to-urban migration. That's where the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) - which legally mandates 100 days of local work per year for each unemployed villager - has been a rare boon. But, there's enormous room for making its implementation farther-reaching and less corrupt. Thus, AID supports several dedicated full-timers who tirelessly mobilize people to register for job cards, hold social audits to enforce accountability, and even do political advocacy. Jan Jagaran Shakti Sangathan, led by a couple known to us, is a splendid Bihar-based instance of this.

3. Salvaging the Environment (and the Human Lives Hinging on it)

Left: Pulkit et al grounding a tree-guard. Right: One of AID's wood-efficient stoves in action

Although AID's foremost emphasis is on being the change individually, it is also keen on other means to conserve the climate. Apart from methodical tree plantations (opting for taller saplings to boost the odds of survival, ensuring protection/nurturing), they disseminate sustainable technology: A) Solar lamps in NCR slums & hilly areas of Munsiyari; B) biomass-efficient stoves in a large slum of Noida to promote greener and healthier cooking (LPG is advocated as the first-choice cooking fuel, but it's beyond the financial reach of many). There's also an ongoing micro-lending venture, helping cycle rickshaw pullers own their rickshaws, which they otherwise rent at 30-40 Rs per day, per rickshaw.

4. Rescuing and Empowering the Marginalized

A displaced tribal getting medical attention

The crossfire between the Maoists and the state has rendered 3 lakh tribals homeless. A large chunk of them fled to Khammam and Warangal districts of AP, living in self-made makeshift settlements, devoid of any basic civic amenities and livelihood options. Agricultural and Social Development Society (ASDS) has been working with increasing many settlements for the past 5 years. Their work began with the supply of basic survival support (food, medicine, clothing): The tribals used to run at the sight of any outsider at first! But, it has now grown to the extent of compelling the govt to extend schemes like mid may meals and the NREGA to many of these densely forested areas. One of their most crucial accomplishments is the curbing of the (then) wide-spread malnutrition, esp. in children. However, there are still numerous settlements to be reached out to, and several unresolved problems in the rest. Our teammate Suresh frequently visits ASDS.

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