Malika is now the head of the Village Forest Council in the village of Sarmoli. She is also a founding member of Maati, a women’s collective in Munsiari.

Malika advocates subsistence farming as a way of life, and views the welfare of local people as being jeopardized by the intrusion of market forces into Munsiari. She thinks that one such intrusion is the government’s plans to construct eight dams on the nearby Gori river. When tunnels are dug in the mountains to divert water for the construction of these dams, it destabilizes the mountain slopes leading to increasing landslides and loss of forest.

We at AID are deeply saddened by the tragic events in Mumbai; our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected. We strongly condemn the brutal terrorist attacks and the ideologies that promote such actions. We join millions of citizens in demanding effective and accountable government action, which will ensure security without resorting to draconian measures. We also resolve that we will not allow these incidents to be exploited to worsen the communal divisions in the society. While we fortify our walls and work to bring the perpetrators to justice, we also need to find ways to break barriers, remain united and build a vibrant peace in the region.

Since 1993, Tribal Health Initiative (THI) has shown what it takes to achieve this level of health. Working in the adivasi, rural, Sittilingi valley (Dharmapuri District, Tamil Nadu), THI has brought infant mortality down from 150 in the 1990s to 32 in 2007; maternal mortality is now non-existent.

In urban and rural India alike, a variety of food restrictions are taken up voluntarily for religious reasons. Some people fast, eat only one rice meal, or avoid meat on certain days of the week. Others fast or restrict their food for specific reasons. Yet others give up something they like when a loved one passes away.
The Face of the Vidarbha Crisis

Indebted and distressed, Anil Shende committed suicide two years ago, leaving behind his wife, Vandana, and two young children. As a single mother trying to raise her children on the rain-fed farmlands of central India, Vandana prefers to earn a daily wage for her labor rather than incur further debts to cultivate her husband’s land. 

AID Seattle decided to go green in the second year of its existence. At two events – an awareness-generating quiz competition called Chakraview in August 2008, and a concert by Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia in September 2008 – we served refreshments using compostable tableware (spoons, forks, plates, boxes, cups), and recycled napkins.