The Hundred Block Plan Program (HBP) of AID attempts to scale up holistic development in health, education, and community empowerment over large areas. In Bihar, the primary objective of HBP is to engage the rural masses particularly women, in door-to-door counseling on malnutrition and formation of self-help groups for women and children. In our continued success in these areas, we are further enthused by the empowering impact this program has had on the personal lives of HBP program workers. Rekha Devi, a block level coordinator for the HBP program in Shankarpur, in Northern Bihar, has provided tremendous leadership in health counseling over the last four years. Recently, she became a reporter for Aangan ke Paar, a BBC World Service Trust-produced weekly radio program broadcast from twenty-two All India Radio stations and BBC Hindi service. Her social justice background is of great help in her reportage, focusing on women's issues and HIV/AIDS. The program, which went on the air in October 2006, has twelve reporters from the hinterlands of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkand. As they break radio silence with raw voices and stories from their regions, they are a source of inspiration to a new generation of village activists in rural India.

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Geetu Ambwani, Pittsburgh