AID Austin Past Projects

Project : Drought Relief
State : Baran, Rajasthan
Development Focus: Immediate relief in drought affected areas.

About the NGO*: Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samithi is a nationwide non-governmental organization. The Samithi , formed in 1988, initially took up the task of creating an environment for a people's movement for literacy. AID had worked with BGVS for numerous other projects and more recently has interacted with this NGO for the Hundred Block Plan, of which BGVS is an integral part.

Summary: Baran district is one of the worst drought affected districts in Rajasthan this year. BGVS along with PUCL (People's Union of Civil Liberties) and Sankalp, recently undertook a survey there. This survey was conducted in 71 hamlets of 45 villages in Shahbad block. Total households covered were 3699. It was found that the Sahariya tribe, which is mainly dependent on the agri-forest economy, has been severely affected by the lack of rainfall. Eighteen people, including ten children, have died over the past one month. People are turning to wild grass for their daily diet. The government has intensified its relief activities is providing supplemental food for children younger than six years. However, grassroots workers from different social organizations strongly believe that the government measures are not in proportion to the gravity of the situation. There is a lot of work to be done in terms of food-for-work programs and making adequate health care available and thats what this project aims to provide.

Objectives of Project: BGVS plans to carry out the following activities for 10 months, which will end in September of 2003. (1) Gratuitous relief to the most vulnerable, especially children and women (2) Immediate relief to the people living in these areas, in the form of 'FOOD FOR WORK'. (3) Transportation of the sick and invalid to hospitals. (4) Health camps. (5) Leveraging government schemes, which can benefit the communities. (6) Transporting water to villages facing water crisis.

Requested Budget: $50,000. This project is being co-reviewed AID chapters from Atlanta, Milwaukee and College Park.

Status: Austin, along with the above three chapters, approved $10,000 to be released for this project from the common AID-pool. Further, AID-Atlanta has raised $1000 to be used towards this project. AID-Austin is currently trying to raise funds through directed donations for a part of this project.

Project Coordinators: Shailja Pathania and Ravishankar Arunachamlam
Contact Email: shail@mail.utexas.edu

Additional Information
Project Proposal: Short Term Relief Proposal, Long Term Relief Proposal
Presentation Slides: Background Info,
Visit Report:
Correspondence Notes: Detailed Survey undertaken by BGVS, Project Completion Report, Assessment of Nutritional status, Presentation
Relevant Minutes: Nov 09, 2002; Feb 15, 2003; Mar 12, 2003; Mar 22, 2003;

*NGO: Non-governmental Organization