AID News for Oct 18 1999

[aid...@aidindia.org]

October 18th 1999

October 18th 1999

October 18th 1999

Good Afternoon AID Volunteers

AID News

Today's headlines

1) Live From India
2) A letter from Dr. M.P.Parameswaran

1) Live from India: Proceedings of the AID-India conference, Chennai, 1999

by Ravi &/or Aravinda, a...@vsnl.com

yes folks, AID has published a book

Live From India: Proceedings of the AID-India conference, Chennai, 1999

Cost Rs. 50 in India, South Asia
US $1.50 Africa, Latin America
US $5 US, UK, Europe, Australia

order from Ravi(Boston), ra...@cdsp.neu.edu

Contents

Introduction

What is India's Development? Aravinda Pillalamarri
Scope of Development Ravi Kuchimanchi

Experience Talks

Susila Kambhampati - Community based program for handicapped
persons.
Ramaswamy Iyer - Water Resource Planning: Large Dams and
Development
Ramanujam - Education and Non Formal Education: What can we
learn?
Hemavathi - Discovering the "Hard Spots" in Science Pedagogy
Kalpana Karunakaran - What a Rupee Saved Can Earn
Franco - Economics of Credit Co-operatives
Sunder Raman - Development and Equity: Tamil Nadu Science
Forum
Kamal Lodhaya - Jantar Mantar, a children's science magazine
Discussion after video screening
Kumar Shubhamurthy - Approaches to Swaraj. Samastipur, Bihar
Sanjay Sangvai - Narmada Bachao Andolan
D. Gabriele - National Alliance of People's Movements
Madhusudan Das - Abhijaan (Orissa)
Parameswara Rao - Only a Genius can Keep India Poor
S.P. Udayakumar - Koodankulam Nuclear Reactor: Cause for Alarm
Suresh Bhagavatula - Rural Marketing and Enterprise

AID Volunteers

Introduction to Association for India's Development - Shrinaath Chidambaram

Ask not what America can do for you, Ask what you can do for India -
Sudhakar Adivikolanu, Deeptha Thattai, Ravi Ramachandran & Kiran Kumar
Vissa

AID-Mumbai
AID-Bangalore
AID-Chennai
AID-India & the AID Plan
Personal Development

2) A letter from Dr. M.P.Parameswaran

Dear friends from AID/ASHA,

Greetings to you. I enjoyed the several hours that I spent with you. Your
enthusiasm and commitment has rejuvenated me. It is two months since
reached India. So much pending work was there, into which I was sucked. If
we don't maintain regular correspondence whatever discussion we had would
become futile. This I know. I hope that the August Pan-American gathering
at Madison(?) went well.

We had discussed some useful activities you can undertake, being situated
as you are. For refreshing, let me put it down in writing.

Education Study Group

Many of you are interested in education that a group (need not be
physically at one place) of say 10-12 persons seriously study the American
education-Federal and State components. How Nakonal standards are set and
tested? How stsate curriculam and text books are decided? Sample curriculum
from K through 12 from a few states. Major educational issues that are
being debated. Contending educational theories - to begin with concentrade
on school education- what books we should have in India...etc.etc. Some of
you should become real educational experts - as your ``second profession''.
Handyman's Tools Group

A group may concentrate on the tools and skills of several trades which are
useful even in our country side- carpenter, mason, plumber, electrician,
painter, bismith, locksmith, welder etc.etc. Make a list and catalogue of
personal tools used by each of them and also of institutional tools which
can be carried with them. Later we can purchase a few sets of each of these
tools and also learn how to use them effectively. Whenever any of you are
coming to India she or he can carry one set. in fact KSSP's Integrated
Rural Technology Centre wants one set of each of all such tools so that we
can use them for training.

Intermediate Technology

We may not get easily tomorrows technology, but for the present we will be
happy even to get yesterdays technology which can be downsized
considerably-technoligies in agricultural processing, food processing,
soap-paste- etc. cosmeticproducts,- medicine...This is to help women in
Indian villages and small towns to set up micro enterprises, making use of
the surplus they generate in their micro savings and micro credit
efforts-other wise their micro savings will be mopped up by the national
sharks.

People to People Trade

You may find among the concerned Indians some who may go for a profession
of Trade. Scount for such person, encourage them to set up a People to
people trading systems - details I do not know. The group has to think it
out. Bulk of the products of the micro enterprises are for local
consumption, but a small percentage say 5 to 10% can be exported
profitably. The items I have in mind are:

1) Food items-jams, pickles, dried varieties etc etc- there may be a few
hundred of them.

2)High value art products: Wood carvings, tapestry, wall decoration
etc.etc. Here we can organise such artisans and collect their creations.
Once such a group is formed in USA I shall organize the artists and
artisans here in India.

If remember correctly these are the four ideas I have discussed with you.
There could be more. The KSSP had some time ago, set up an Education
Commission with Dr.Ashok Mitra as its Chairperson. To carry forward the
work we have set up an Educational Research Centre at Trivandrum. The
Ministry of Human Resource Development had two years ago accepted our
proposal to set up such a Centre- but apparently they have gone back.
Thatis why we set up by our own. It requires books. But as it is, it
requires finance also. There are four persons full time, a few more will
have to be recruited. Currently our expense is about Rs. one lakhper month.
KSSP cannot sustain it for long. We are looking for other sources of
funding. Well, nothing more at present.

With best wishes, M.P. Parameswaran

(One way in which we can help is to get to know different shops in USA
which might be interested in ordering such items and selling it. We could
possibly maintain some kind of directory. -ed)

Signing off

Arvind R

Just Another Quote

I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only
thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.
- Aldous Leonard Huxley, British writer (1894-1963)

(Contributed by Pushpa(Chennai))

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