To reach the village of Morjada, one has to pass through fields of banyan, coconut and hibiscus trees, which seem to give the area a red coat. But hidden behind this beautiful scenery are villages filled with murky water, poor roads, and no electricity. “Girls from this village suffer a lot. I myself did. Tarini…
How it began at Sarada Ramkrishna (Sishu O Mahila) Sevashram
The Late Tarani Chakraborthy, who was the founder and secretary of Sarada Ramakrishna Sevashram, was once upon a time the only educated woman in her village Morjada in South 24 Paraganas district, Kolkata. She belongs to a Bengali Brahmin family and her father used to work at the village temple. The early 60s was a…
Educating children from poor and slum areas for their entry into formal schools
I was welcomed to IDF by Jyoti Singh, the organisation’s secretary; who also took me pillion on his scooter out of central Agra to Garhi Bhadoria. Located on the outskirts of the city, Garhi Bhadoria is a village where IDF runs a school. This school is one of six that IDF works with keeping in…
Educating girls in the villages of the Thar
When an off road jeep pulled up to pick me up for my visit to GRAVIS, I was instantly excited; as I knew it meant we would be heading right into the desert to see the real issues that GRAVIS is trying to overcome. Two hours later and we were still on the road, heading…
How it began at Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti (GRAVIS)
Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti (GRAVIS) was founded in 1983 by the husband-wife team of Laxmi Chand and Shashi Tyagi. The couple came to Rajasthan from Uttar Pradesh in the late 1970s. They had been activists in many social movements and had even worked under the leadership of prominent activists like Vinobha Bhave (who is considered…