AID is a volunteer movement committed to promoting sustainable, equitable and just development. It comprises of a sincere, dedicated and dynamic set of volunteers, Jeevansaathis & Saathis with a broad range of interests, talent and experience. It is the amalgamation of these qualities that has sustained our group, as we learn and work together for a common cause.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action–
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

I volunteer for AID to help realize this dream.

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AID: Four years back, in 2004, when I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and surfed online about "Indian Associations" to a new place and found Association for India's Development (AID) ...being curious to know what exactly happens there, I attended the CSH on Saturday 5 Pm at Engineering Department of Univ. of Cincinnati. The first meeting, they discussed about anti-coke campaign, i felt something internally.. yet eager to know more, attended the second one....yes, my interests are getting to know more and to see what’s next...next weekend the discussion was on "Projects"...the real grassroots development projects...now I felt the buzz inside.. "Yes I found my association to get involved for long time"....Since then, I am at AID....then moved to Harvard University at Boston, MA and get involved at AID–Boston since 2006 ....and then moved again after finishing the school with my first job to LA (2007)....now, the first thing I search anywhere I move is to find out where is our "AID" family...I found them there again! now I find them allover and everywhere man :) ...just kidding J.. I say “AID, I can't live without you now”!

Why at AID: Now the serious part - I find that being at AID, I have constantly something to learn. Also, I can translate my dreams and imagination into action in the form of Projects, Activism or Service, in other words AID’s 3 basic philosophies, Sangharsh, Seva & Nirman following Gandhiji’s basic philosophies on sustainable development. The projects are thru and thru sustainable in nature whereas social activisms (Bhopal issues, Binayak Sen’s Freedom to Anti-coke issues) are in depth grass rooted in nature and at the same time Seva, the Services (i.e. at Tsunami, Earthquake or till date Bihar flood) goes all along with the basic mission of my philosophies in life. I found that only AID accomplishes deepest grass-root development works that I wanted to share & experience.

What brought me to AID: At this point, I would rather say “What keeps me holding at AID” as other questions are complementary to each other and already answered above…..now….

I always wanted to live a part of my life in rural villages of India, since I moved to USA- the desire was growing in to a phenomenal level and every moment I felt the attraction to go back to my home land. Reviewing the projects literally takes me to those places where I always wanted to visit - The rural India, The farming lands in cultivation of seasonal crops, The villages with mud houses, The native people playing radio for “Bhasa”, People in Rajasthan harvesting rain waters, The tribal communities making handicrafts…oh man, I am virtually there at every moment! my imaginations are now boundless and my dreams get fulfilled at every moment whenever I see any new projects…I can now travel 5 places at same day in my imaginations and virtually I am living there at every moment! I just say, thank you AID for making my life fulfilled.

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I have known about AID for 10 years, but I really got to KNOW AID in the past one and half years, that is since I started volunteering in 2007. This past one and half years has been overwhelming and eye opening. The India that I knew while growing up is so different from the India that I came to know through AID. AID gave me an insight into what is “reality” when all that the mainstream media talks about is “India shining”. I was shocked to find out that…

· there are still women in Rajasthan being victims of witch hunt.

· people are still fighting to get clean drinking water that we take it for granted

The more I got to know about the issues, the stronger my determination grew to give back to India in whatever little way I can.

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Although joining AID was an accident and a coincidence, but I feel privileged now. Three years ago I was looking for a room, nowhere to go, my first week in USA. I had put an advertisement online on www.ncdesis.com. Mahesh was also looking for a roommate. In the next few days Mahesh asked me whether I would join for a meeting in Duke University. I did not even bother to ask why we were going! There were few bunch of people in the conference room, including Naga. After a an hour of discussions I came to know that we were discussing about a project funding for a sustainable health care project in TamilNadu. I thought that a bunch of people are really working for people like me in India. I decided to join this bunch and try to make a difference. I started helping them in cricket and other events. After three years of involvement in AID I have learned enough and feel privileged to work with AID. I joined the Run for India event and ran the Marine Corps Marathon few days ago, successfully raising $100/per each mile ran for 26.2miles. I got to go for a run now. Catch you all later…

 

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Neha Nimmagadda – volunteer since 2007

My name is Neha Nimmagadda and I am a junior at Harvard-Westlake High School which is located in Los Angeles. I joined the LA Chapter of AID in August 2007 after attending a fundraiser (a dance concert) for the chapter. During the fundraiser, volunteers of the LA chapter talked about the mission of AID and the specific projects that AID-LA was funding. I was instantly interested in the organization and all that it stands for. I signed up for AID-LA that day and became their youngest member. During the past year I have learned so much about key issues in India and around the world. I was able to get involved in discussions about various projects and help publish the AID-LA newsletter. My experience has affected me so greatly that I decided to start a Teen Chapter for AID-LA to get other teens in the area involved in the effort. The Teen Chapter strives to bring awareness to teens in the community and members will volunteer locally to spread awareness about AID-LA, plan fundraisers, and learn about projects that AID-LA is funding. The Teen Chapter was officially introduced at the Indian Ocean Fundraiser in October 2008 and is on its way to gaining members and hopefully making a difference in the world.

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Vijay Seshadri – volunteer since 2005

It was early 2005 when I attended a music concert in Cherry Hill, New Jersey where AID volunteers were tabling. In fact, while the music concert was going on I was talking to the two volunteers about volunteering, projects, site visit etc. I was drawn immediately to the issues that AID was working on ranging from education, women's empowerment, basic human rights such as water, Bhopal tragedy, Narmada bachao andolan. I signed up and enquired where they have their CSH meetings.

There is nothing greater then seeing a child able to read with a smile on the face. You can bring the smile this year by donating fistful of dollars to the Eurekachild project and do your part for India. More information at http://www.eurekachild.org/

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Arun Gopalan – volunteer since 2003

My first tryst with AID was at a fundraising event that the Boulder chapter organized in 2003. Have always been interested in giving something back to the community and my earlier attempts before joining AID primarily was visiting orphanages, offering words of support and spending some time with the children, collecting clothes etc for them.

Being part of AID, has given me a lot of opportunities to meet social workers from India and hear their dynamic voices from the grassroots. These experiences have helped shape my perspectives about development and also life in general (in some ways).

The hours spent doing AID-related work is mentally relaxing and emotionally fulfilling and spending time with such like-minded people on issues close to my heart is absolutely invaluable and priceless

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Renuka Wariyar – volunteer since 2008

For a long time I wanted to do something for the less fortunate among us. But anytime I take up something, I wonder how one person is going to make a difference anyways! AID, working on interconnected issues, seemed the right way to make a difference. What makes AID unique is an experienced team of volunteers, its collaboration with grassroots partners, and its way of supporting solutions that are sustainable in the long run. In AID I know my ONE contribution makes a difference - because there are so many of us who will make it a bigger ONE.

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Kiran Vissa – volunteer since 1995

It is hard to believe that almost thirteen years have passed since my first introduction to AID. I was hooked immediately to the energy, optimism, creativity, and can-do attitude of the members of the AID organization.

Through AID, I have been involved in work that I am passionate about and which gives me a larger purpose in life. In AID, I found new role models – people who offer themselves wholeheartedly to a cause. The most satisfying work in AID for me is mobilizing members, building a culture of speaking out and taking tough stands on controversial issues.

Another aspect of AID which has seeped into many of us is that of personal responsibility - examining our own personal lives and lifestyles and bringing them in line with our goals of social justice and sustainable society. As individuals and as small AID communities, we started being more conscious. This is one of the most important influences of AID in my life – though I fall short in so many ways, I am glad there's a voice inside me constantly reminding me to do better.
Click here for more on Kiran's experience.

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Prachi Vora – volunteer since 2008

My interests in international health, human rights, and sustainable development motivated me to volunteer for the Seattle chapter of the Association for India's Development (AID). To me, AID is an ideal venue for promoting meaningful causes at the grassroots level. I admire the organization's philosophy that advocates integrated solutions to complex issues. I view the projects it supports as powerful tools that address the consequences of poverty at the core by relying on the strengths of community-based efforts. I am honored to further the causes of this unique movement.

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Arpita Biswas – volunteer since 2007

Living in India, it is almost impossible not to get affected by the poverty and the vast differences in living standards between different sections of the society. While I consider myself to be privileged enough to seek education in USA, I have always looked for an opportunity to give back something to my country. The will was always there but the channel was missing. Association for India's Development (AID) provided that link. Being in Clemson enabled me to interact with the Clemson chapter volunteers and understand more about AID's activities. AID is an organization which has always made an effort to contribute wherever there is a need. Knowing that my small contribution to AID helps support someone's livelihood or provides education to a slum kid provides me with an immense amount of personal satisfaction. I truly enjoy the fun of organizing events as well.

I have only been a part of AID for over a year now but the bond that I have made in this short time is not going to break loose ever. You have to be an AIDer to understand what it is to be one and I am proud to be one of them!

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For me volunteering is a part of life. Giving back is a means of showing gratitude to others and a beautiful reminder of the fact that we can’t succeed alone.

After graduating from school I started work and that’s when I started looking for ways to volunteer. Apart from just shelling down money, I wanted to do something for humanity and my country. I started with K-12 program at work to contribute to the Boise community and I was looking for something to do for India. And as obvious as it gets the Indian Association in our town was my first step to associate with social “Indianness”. I met with the organizers at that year’s Diwali show in town. What I learnt was that they were not an Indian association but Association for India’s Development –AID. And so began my rendezvous with AID. And here I am 2 years later doing another Diwali fund-raiser leading the effort for AID Boise. We make a great team!!

With AID my horizons have expanded significantly. It has brought a new perspective to life and rooted the idea of ‘supporting what is right’ and ‘standing up for injustice’. It has given hope, that everyone makes a difference and that each one counts. I’ve grown to truly believe that we, as individuals, can make a difference and that we are not alone in this quest for and ’ideal world’. It is very motivating to know that there are 1000s of others who are crusading for the same cause and striving for shaping a more sustainable world.

In AID, volunteering has a broader meaning. It not a chore you do for a ‘feel good’ effect; it is a life you lead in the true sense of being a responsible citizen of this world. The ‘seva’ aspect of our philosophy brings a new meaning to your life and thought process.

The people are great to work with. And there is so much to do, whatever suits your liking. The ‘interconnected problems need integrated solutions’ philosophy makes it all the more worthwhile to work for a cause. A lot of times a specific cause gets bottle-necked due to some other issue. But in AID we have the freedom to tackle that as well, as part of this philosophy. For me this really makes a lot of sense and I think it motivates people to work for a cause, knowing that bottlenecks can be addressed though they may not be in the realm of the main cause they are working for.

The best part about AID – there is action, not just talk; there is passion and not just a cozy feel-good factor.

For me this has been an enriching experience. It has been a great journey so far and I look forward to making a difference and gaining a lot more experiences with AID.

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My story is fairly typical of any AID-er. I joined Ohio State University for my graduate studies in Fall 2005. Almost a week after landing here, I asked one of my roommates, where he had been in the evening. He told me that he had gone to a meeting by a group called AID, and that they do some development projects. I asked him to take me along next week, and I committed myself to AID on my first CSH.

Within a month, AID Columbus Executive Committee elections were coming, and I decided to throw myself in to the ring. I was elected Treasurer from a triangular contest. Within a month, I also decided to review a project that our chapter is still supporting.

As senior volunteers graduated or moved away, I took some more responsibility in the chapter affairs and was elected the President of the chapter. Meanwhile, some interesting things happened along the way. In 2006, I went to India on vacation. I had volunteered to do a site visit for Baton Rouge chapter, which involved meeting (now Saathi) Nity Jayaraman. The meeting set me thinking in a totally different direction. Though I was unable to do the site visit (my train tickets t Ernakulam didn't get confirmed!), the meeting changed the course of my life. Towards the end of my MS in Mechanical Engineering (working on fracture mechanics and beam vibrations), I started thinking on environmental issues and how I could make an impact. I knew that I needed to have the right background, so I applied and got admitted to the PhD program in Environmental Science, working on water quality issues and policy. Around the same time, I also met a new AID-er who was to become my wife. To sum it up, it has been a terrific experience volunteering with AID.

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About 8 years ago, on one day, when I first got casually involved with a very new group called AID Boise ; I did not have any idea that this would bring so much change to my life. This group was probably just a couple of months old, but had done some good work already, especially raising funds for the victims of tragic Indian Earthquake of 2001. I started attending fortnightly meetings. It was fun being with friends at the chapter. We would discuss many things, about conducting new events, new ways to reach the community and projects. I remember one Saturday morning; we all were trying to deliver the year-end newsletters to the community in the mail before the post office closing time. We were printing newsletters, writing the addresses, preparing the envelopes...all at the same time. Over the years, volunteers moved to other locations and now new volunteers fill the room. That hasn't changed the enthusiasm that was present earlier. Whenever there is new event preparations going on there is still the same excitement, or when a new project under review, same feelings of concern and desire to do good. Over the years I have realized it's that this same desire, same ambition has kept the group coming together to achieve something for our motherland. These elements bind us together as a family, an AID family.

AID volunteering: Passion, learning and joys
It's not just about passion. It's also the joy of working together to achieve common goals. At our Boise chapter, every fundraising event has brought so much enthusiasm and excitement amongst volunteers, much like one experiencing in the family function. We focused our events to raise the funds for the particular cause and we made efforts to bring awareness about the issues and our solutions. The concept has immediate appreciation and thus a great impact. With such efforts we were able to bring much aspired change like health clinic to 40 villages for the first time, hope in the lives of the survivors of sex-trafficking as we supported the rehabilitation center and HIV clinic, some children returning to school from the child labor, laying foundation for self sustaining village by encouraging and supporting the organic farming practices, and much more…
On the web exists a network of AID volunteers… beyond the local chapters and around the world. We share thoughts on the forums, groups and emails. There is so much sharing of thoughts and knowledge that has continuously kept me motivated. There are agreements and there are debates too. Such debates pushed us to fathom deep to identify the root causes. Ideas differ, but aim remains same. This common understanding allows us to think more rationally, ego becomes unimportant and thus brings more focus on solving the problem.

The power to "change!"
Most of us find ourselves in discussions with friends on not having enough improvements in the lives of the poor in India . Most such discussions are fruitless. Some ruminate over thoughts and feel powerless to do anything about it.
At AID, the project reviews trains us to various problem areas like health, education, empowerment, and environment. While allowing us to understand each issue in depth, it helped us to learn how these problems are interconnected with each other and how important it is to have balanced approach to ensure the sustainable solution.
Working with a partner NGO, when I see the project implementation under way, the site visit and report showing the positive signs about how it has improved lives, the thought of powerlessness has all but evaporated. Involve with AID, and you will also feel the power to change.

Deep Impact:
Gandhiji has gifted to our humankind the principles of truth, non violence and fighting to bring justice. Being with AID has motivated me to make sincere efforts to follow these principles. It helped to understand that "Real enrichment to life comes via owning fewer things." There is nothing that has influenced my life more than AID. There was a time of being very ambitious about achieving success…for myself…educationally or in the career. I still posses ambitions. I still strive for success. In fact, I strive for more, because now success has much more meaning.
Finally it's not about just about AID, it's about people! It's about the woman who is denied respect, it's about the farmer who is denied justice, or it's about a child who is denied of the little dreams. At AID we share the dream, and make efforts to give respect back to the mother, justice to the farmer and the little dreams to the little ones!

Let's share the dreams and let's work together to bring those dreams to life!

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My first introduction to AID was as a donor since 1995. In September 1996 before my trip to India I decided to visit an AID project and so I called Sudhakar and got details of an AID project and visited it during my trip. After I returned back from India I booked a slot in the CSH at College Park and presented my visit report. That was the first CSH I attended. After that meeting, on Ravi's suggestion I even wrote an article for the newsletter. Impressed by the people I met during that meeting, I have pretty soon become a regular AID volunteer. As a volunteer at AID I had the pleasure of working with some incredible individuals and was always impressed with their passion and commitment. I started as a project coordinator and slowly became the chapter overall projects coordinator and subsequently started helping the central projects team with the incoming project proposals, distribution, project database training, etc.

Since October 2004, I started working on the state registrations and other form-filing, which was being handled primarily by Kiran Vissa. Since 2005, I have taken the primary responsibility of preparing the forms to keep our registrations up-to-date in more than 30 states, apart from ensuring our incorporation status in Maryland, while helping the central treasury team.

Some of the most rewarding experiences for me at AID were the interactions I had with people working in India. I was fortunate enough to find time to visit different projects during my yearly visits to India and that helped me to appreciate the complexities and challenges faced by poor and marginalized people in India. These experiences convinced me the need for organizations like AID. Therefore, it is very heartening to see AID USA and AID India grow into several active chapters in last 10 years. It is very exciting to be part of AID during this process.

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One of my friends from college years had put this question in me - "What did you give back to your country?". Yes it sounds similar to John F Kennedy's speech. But hearing it directly from someone close to me really felt like a thunder bolt. Till then, providing a yearly donation meant a world to me. After this question was posed, I was in constant search of something that could satisfy this quest for the right way to do something for my country. Of course, there was an initial procrastination period, later followed by a nomadic period - neither of them letting me understand or reach what I wanted.

It took me a "Swades" movie in Boise Idaho, to precisely understand what AID was all about, what I had wanted and how they all came together. Initially I was involved very passively, selling the tickets for AID events and socializing the same. Later, in 2008 I plunged into it with the yearning to do more.

Involvement with AID has really shattered a lot of misconceptions that I had about rural India. I realized that it is not always poverty but certainly Bureaucracy that really hinders the development. It is not just money, but "Sangarsh" that awakens sleeping minds. When I review projects of AID, I see shocking statistics and stories about life of people. At the same time, it gives me a great optimism to notice that there are many likeminded souls/volunteers working directly and indirectly, but tirelessly.

To anyone who is interested in doing something for the country, I would say with my experience - The right time for you to be a volunteer is NOW. In this short journey, I have resolved that I may slow down, but I will not stop. I will do what I can, be it small, be it is just ONE - ONE for India!

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From my college days, I had thought of doing something for the underprivileged, but never got the right direction and opportunity. I used to think that contributing to a good cause at personal level is enough. After my short stints of volunteering in Mysore and Pune at personal level, I came across AID Delhi/AID Gurgaon Chapter in Feb 2006 through internet which started my journey with AID.

When I joined AID Gurgaon, we used to visit an NGO called Mobile Creches during the weekends. Mobile Creches works for the children of construction site workers and we used to teach the children there along with providing them stationeries from time to time. Meanwhile being in touch with volunteers from AID Delhi gave me more exposure about AID and also the urge to do something more than just a casual visit on weekends. The scope of involvement for us was somewhat limited in Mobile Creches and we wanted to do more as a group especially to expand the range of activities we could do.

In January 2007, I initiated an education project called Unnati in a slum area in Gurgaon. The slum area consisted of 50-60 families of migrant laborers on a barren piece of land with patch-like shelters. The children there had no access to education and no NGOs used to visit there. It was during initial days of Unnati, that I came to a tryst with poverty in its closest form, with people living in abysmal conditions, with no electricity, no water or sanitation facilities, just relying on their meager earnings as daily wage earners and even struggling for basic needs. It seemed that the fate of their children was sort of pre-determined to become next generation of migrant labourers and proper education was a pipe dream for these children.

We started with open air classrooms in that slum area on weekends, and we gradually moved to an improvised school for the children there with a rented room and a full time teacher in the span of 3-4 months. In the mean time, we also gathered children from 3-4 nearby other slum areas comprising of mainly construction workers. Currently Unnati caters to more than 50 children who otherwise had no access to education. However, from the first basti where we started, the children stopped coming to the school eventually, giving me a sharp lesson that the need of food for the poor families come much before the need of education for their children, as the children there needed to provide a helping hand in feeding their families.

It was during working with Unnati that I got to see many of the problems closely ranging from poverty, illiteracy, livelihood generation, child labor, lack of health care, which made me realize that the problems grappling the lower strata are much more deep rooted, and requires active intervention from the citizens and the Government. Having spent most of my time during volunteering with the children of migrant population has left a deep desire in me to do something worthwhile for them in the long run.

In AID Gurgaon, I was involved as the coordinator for about a year managing the site visits, interacting with new volunteers, raising funds, helping with the publicity part, arranging logistics etc, and I never thought I would get such an opportunity of active involvement as a volunteer. After about more than a year involvement with AID in India, I moved to US and joined AID Buffalo Chapter in Aug 2007. Coming across AID US gave me an entirely different perspective from the work I was involved in AID Gurgaon. Only after coming to US, I got to know better about AID as an organization, especially at the Sangharsh front as I had earlier been more involved with the Nirmaan part in India. It enabled me to know the length and breadth of problems AID was involved in, ranging from Narmada Bachao Andolan to fighting for rights of Bhopal Tragedy Victims to raising awareness about the rising number of Farmer Suicides in India to fighting corruption through Right to Information(RTI) Act. Moreover, interacting with other AID volunteers in US has added much more to my learning about various social issues as how they are interconnected and how to find the sustainable solutions for them. The passion of volunteers to work for AID day and night acts as a constant source of inspiration to me. It is the wide spectrum of people one comes across within AID who are working together for an equitable society which differentiates it from other non-profit organizations.

The best part of AID is that it gives you a platform to volunteer and yet provides the necessary freedom to contribute in the way one wants to. After being a part of AID, I realized that volunteering is much more than trying to solve problems in the society just on our own. It also requires involving other people in the process. At AID, it is really heartening to see so many young people involved in one way or another, joining hands together to bring the desired change in the society. Being involved in volunteer visits, spreading awareness among people, discussing on relevant issues, raising funds for supporting causes, helping other NGOs, involving more and more people, these are just few of the ways in which one gets to work with AID. And the learning is tremendous especially in dealing with real-life problems and working out solutions for them. It gives me the feeling of being a responsible citizen of my country and doing something for it, and not just cribbing about the system around us. AID has reinforced my belief that every individual has the capacity to bring the change in society. All one needs is a vision to foresee that change and the passion to work upon it.

Even you can be a part of the CHANGE by being part of AID.
Everyone counts, and every ONE counts.
"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. " ~~ Helen Keller

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I was looking to join an Indian organization on campus and just happened to find a flyer of AID. I didn’t know anything about AID, so I went online and read more about it and found out about all the wonderful projects being undertaken. This intrigued me and I emailed the chapter and found out about the time and location of the CSH and just showed up. I was lucky enough to join just before the conference which Buffalo hosted and got to learn a lot of things about AID and how AID works and meet a lot of long term volunteers and hear their experiences. I am currently the treasurer of the chapter.

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In life every person comes to a point where they start questioning their existence on the face of earth. Well, I almost came to that curve and it scared the sanity out of me.

I packed my bags and ran into an asylum filled with a bunch of TRUTH SEEKERS. I am screaming my lungs out, so is everybody else. My voice is lost in the midst of all the so called TRUTH SEEKERS like me. I scream again but, no one hears me. But this time, something different happened. I was comfortable with my screaming. It was no more a struggle. Well, nobody heard me but, I heard myself. With determination I summoned all the energy I could and roared like a lion. I roared so loud that I lost myself in the roar and felt like a lion. The only voice I could hear is mine. I am happy, tears of joy rolled down my face. Suddenly, I start feeling cold, and my hands search for my blanket. What a dream I gasped!

Well, thankfully in reality I do not have to roar to get my voice heard at AID. Every single voice counts. AID is ONE giant magnet which attracts people with passion to do something good for the poor and needy. Even though the volunteers are at the mercy of growing stress and deadlines within their daily life, they still come together and join hands to make ONE big difference.

Energy when scattered is of not much use but, when focused on ONE goal brings in powerful results and AID helps pool in the energy into ONE single goal. For me it’s a matter of pride to be ONE among the passionate people who appreciate the gift of giving.

I joined AID a couple of months ago. It took 30 years for me to actually start doing something for my country. Why is it so?

Just listening to our national anthem itself sends in shots of energy into my veins. For a moment everything else ceases and a passion to serve the country rouses within. Energy enough to light up the entire village fills in. But, what happens after the song fades out? Everything is gone. I am just an ordinary person who lives her life, turning a deaf year to all the suffering around the world. What could keep me motivated to do something for the poor and needy? The answer is AID. People stumble when they walk alone and that’s why there is a comfort in joining hands and walking together. AID is my new AIDE.

AID has actually gifted our family with this very emotional gift, which I really wanted to share.

Myself and my 2 kids set out on a mission to hand deliver 60 appeal letters in our neighborhood (one of the efforts to raise funds for AID)

Esha Kusuma, my 4 year old daughter was way too excited to take up the task on her own. She happily hand delivered 50 appeal letters and said " MOM I AM TIRED AND MY HANDS ARE FEELING COLD" Immediately I told her that we could go back home and I could do the rest all by myself. She instantly told me that she is tired but, her delivering the letters would make the receiver happy. So, she did not wanted to go back home (At this point she has no clue what these appeal letters meant). As soon as we came home I told her that whoever reads the letter would send some dollars to the kids who do not have anything to eat. Her immediate question was what happened to their mom and dad?

I had to say that they do not have mom and dad.

She immediately questioned: Did the mean witch put them in high tower far far away.

I said yes

She said : OOOOOHHHH

From then on whenever we buy food at the restaurant she says IS THIS FOR THE KIDS WHO DO NOT HAVE MOM AND DAD? She started relating every possible incident to the kids who are not blessed enough to take things for granted.

I cannot thank AID enough for helping a 4 year old understand the value of giving.

In my ONE entire life if I could make a difference in ONE single life, I have lived a ONE successful life and that is my ONE motto.

ONE BETTER LIFE, ONE BETTER FUTURE, ONE STEP AT A TIME.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF ONE.

GO AID

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I was introduced to AID around 1998 when I heard about the chapter in MN through a friend. Atlanta did not have a chapter then, and I anyway was a volunteer with CRY, so was content reading the forwards that my AIDer friend would always send me about the issues AID was working on then. A few people got together to start an AID chapter in Atlanta in 2001, and since CRY was also going through an organizational change at the time, I started spending more time with AID. I got to coordinate the very first project that AID Atlanta took up. AID has changed my way of life, and way of thinking. After looking at different groups, it is with AID that I feel a perfect fit with respect to ideas and vision. I have been with the Austin chapter for the past two years, and find that the AID family is the same no matter where you go. I am originally from Madras and am professionally a teacher & a life-long student.

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I have been a volunteer for more than a year now, I am co-ordinating a project on math education in Tamil Nadu, called Kanakkil Kondattam. I am a second year PhD student at UT Austin and am originally from Mumbai.

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I have been an AID volunteer for about 2 years now, I am co-ordinating a project-LSS sumemr camp and saathiship of Taraji in Rajasthan. Have enjoyed being a part of AID , being exposed to things which were earlier "Newspaper headlines" only, and for having the opportunity to make a difference. I am a software engineer by profession.

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Soon after joining AID out of curiosity, I got roped into Run For India for the Austin full marathon. It has been one of the best things that happened to me, as that commitment became a commitment towards AID and its cause for inclusive sustainable development. Having been forced to introspect during the more painful periods of marathon training, I am definitely better and clearer today.

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I joined AID 6 months ago. Soon after I got an opportunity to visit a site in the remote corner of Uttaranchal where the community was involved with working on issues of women empowerment and land rights. Through AID I get an opportunity to learn about what is being done and what needs to be done.

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AID is remarkable among other similar organizations because of its holistic approach to problem-solving. While many other organizations may choose to work in a specific area like education, child welfare etc, AID's partners intervene in all these interconnected spheres. AID is also one of the few organizations that goes beyond just doing charitable work, and is actively involved in campaigns and activism.

My friend Madhu used to go to AID meetings when we first came to the U.S as graduate students. She told the rest of us about AID, and it seemed interesting and useful at that time, to be giving something back to our country. Once I started attending the CSHs, I was amazed at the intensity and passion of the volunteers and was exposed to so many different issues that I hadnt even thought about before. After several months of attending meetings, I co-ordinated a project with a friend about treating Kala Azar disease in Bihar. That project ultimately did not get funded, but later I co-ordinated other projects like RVC in Assam and Utthan in Gujarat. I am the co-ordinator for Utthan project in Gujarat.

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I found out about AID through my husband Bhasker. Having had a privileged life, I had been looking for opportunities to give back to society. When Bhasker shared his experiences with AID and AID's vision, I realized that volunteering with AID would be a good way to do this. In the 7 months that I've been with AID-Chicago, I've learnt so much about development in India, how diverse problems are but yet how interconnected they are. We've also greatly benefited from talks and informal discussions with AID Jeevan Saathi Ravi Kuchimanchi and AID Saathi C. Srinivasan, whose work I find very inspiring. I hope that by volunteering with AID, I am able to do my bit for India. I try my level best to attend meetings and promote AID to people I meet. The AID-Chicago team is constantly looking to increase our volunteer base and increase the chapter's visibility and its contribution to projects.

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