This effort has been AID-India's very first intervention in villages at the field level, all by itself, where there are no other NGOs or movements involved.  The work began in 1999-2000 when we met with Suryanarayana and Varalaxmi in Vishakapatnam district where Surya was working.  After 1-2 years of weekend visits and setting up women's groups, Surya, Varalaxmi, and their children moved to their native village Tholapi in Srikakulam District.   From 2001 AID supported AID-India and as villagers got more involved, we have come a long way together….

We are now working in 25 villages in Ponduru and Santakavita mandalams of Srikakulam district (numbered 9 & 10 respectively in the adjoining map). The expansion from the initial 2-3 villages to the current 25 villages has happened in a natural way with people hearing about our activities and inviting us to their villages.  We generally ask them what they themselves can do - in terms of giving space for a library, mobilizing their village on a problem etc.  Through such village volunteerism we identify some people over years, to whom we then extend an honorarium, provided they work in at least 3-5 other villages as inter-village workers.  Our clear policy that people working within their own village are volunteers without payments, has helped in encouraging volunteerism as well as building a fulltime work-force at the over-all level.

Dist. info: www.aponline.gov.in/Quick%20links/apfactfile/info%20on%20districts/srikakulam.html

(In the neighbourhood:  AID solidarity to Madduvalasa Reservoir rehabilitation struggle (Vangara Mandalam -  2),  AID-Boston supported legal aid centre was in Rajam Mandal (4), APVVU's current struggle mobilizing tribals is in Hiramandalam (16), AID Rural Technology Resource centre is located just 7 Kms above Pathapatnam mandal (25) in Orissa and is 1.5 hours by road from Ponduru Mandalam (9). The Madduvalasa reservoir waters come in canals from Vangara Mandalam (2) where we are in solidarity, to reach Santakavitha mandal (9)where programs described in this report are active.  Our electricity work is expanding to Vangara Mandal as well.

The ideology:

We have a grassroots approach using little funds and a bottom-up way of doing things - so we started with women saving money and using their own savings for giving loans to other women, children run children's libraries where older children volunteer to run village libraries, low-cost vermi-compost pits, planting of saplings, electricity connections by fighting corruption and giving loans that have 100% repayment to secure metres etc.  We have now also initiated decision making in village meetings for local problems that villagers themselves identify, discuss and decide on.  In 2005 we are moving towards an issue-based approach of working where we are not satisfied with a few successful projects but want to take on issues such as water, electricity and hunger in a more focused manner.