AID Troy/Albany, NY invite you to another edition of Volunteer Voices Oct 18 Sat 5pm

[prahalad r]

AID Troy/Albany, NY invite you to another edition of Volunteer Voices

Featuring Sudha & Dwiji

Where: Room 3602, RPI Union Building, Corner of Sage and 15th Street, Troy, NY 

When: Oct 18, Sat, 5 pm.

RSVP Email: aid...@gmail.com

RSVP Phone: 518-629-5924

This is a free event. Refreshments will be served.

Speaker Topics

SUDHA

Topic 1: Campaigning for Universal Access to Health Care (UAHC) in India

India has one of the most privatized health systems in the world, with government spending on health hovering around a meagre 1% of GDP. Along with this, an increasing emphasis on privatization, lack of standards and weak regulation has resulted in overcrowded, understaffed government hospitals and a mostly irrational and expensive private health sector. Government doctors are considered corrupt, but recent exposes on cut practices (unnecessary referrals for diagnostics, where the doctor is paid a 'fee'), sex determination (leading to female foeticide) etc. have shown how widespread corruption is in the private sector.

In the midst of all this, health rights campaigners are continuing their work to ensure access to marginalized communities; improve policies on free medicines, regulation etc. and to build a broad movement to campaign for the Right to Health. I will provide a background on these issues, share personal anecdotes and discuss the current scenario.

Topic 2: From volunteering to fulltime work on developmental issues – experiences and perspectives

Over the last decade, many Indians who studied professional courses and moved abroad to work in multinationals have returned to India to work on developmental issues in different capacities. These transitions are not new – almost 40 years ago, the Emergency inspired many towards public and social service. I will talk about my experiences in this context and of the possibilities, strengths and limitations of our activism.   

DWIJI

Topic 1: Perspectives on technology for reshaping an economy

The role of technology in shaping societies is apparent. As time progresses, societies evolve and in some aspects look to change course. But in multiple sectors we find that the technological developments do not keep in step with these changes. My work is focused on developing solutions to help move communities towards a more equitable and just future. In this talk I shall try to share my insights and ideas in 3 specific sectors of rural India – dairy, cotton and staple grains. 

Topic 2: Millets – a solution that has been around longer than the problem

Climate change and the continuing decline of rural economies in the developing world, is subjecting rural populations to tremendous hardships and is severely straining urban constructs. The post green revolution agricultural policies that espouse intensive inputs, input subsidies and output price support are proving to be extremely inefficient in mitigating, let alone ameliorating, the situation. In this scenario millets emerge as an inevitable alternative. Millets are highly nutritious grains cultivated mostly as rain-fed crops Given their low water demand, low pest incidence, their nutrient return cycle to the soil, and their climate change hardiness Millets are among the most farmer and farm friendly crops. Millets are making a comeback in the diets of the health conscious populations primarily due to their low GI, high fibre and mineral content and their high satiety index. 

I shall highlight some of the ongoing innovations in millet processing technology that I have been involved in and discuss our efforts towards rebuilding the millet value chain to revitalize rural economies and move towards a more nutritionally secure community.

For more information, please visit:

www.aidindia.org

http://aidindia.union.rpi.edu/

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About AID

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Association for India's Development (AID) is a non-profit

group working towards social change in India, through grassroots

development projects. We work in a wide range of areas including

health, education, women's empowerment, microfinance, and rural

development. For more information visit www.aidindia.org.

AID Inc is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Our tax-id

is 04-3652609. To obtain a copy of the current financial statement

please write to: AID, P.O. Box "F", College Park, MD 20741-3005.