People for Progress in India

: In October 1978, a small group of people joined hands to create an organization that would dedicate itself to assisting the less fortunate in India. They began with a simple premise - that the assistance they would provide must extend beyond conventional charity. Now, more than twenty years later, Seattle-based People for Progress in India looks back on a generation of service, and looks ahead to more years of the same. [Seattle-area readers of India Together are encouraged to join us, and to help keep our tradition of excellence going.] Take a look at annual reports and the minutes from PPI’s monthly meetings to know more about current projects. PPI’s Year 2003 Annual Fundraising dinner Saturday, March 15, 2003. From its inception, PPI has been guided by the following goals.

• to fund programs that make people self-reliant and self-sustaining.
• to maximize benifits of money sent by working directly with local voluntary organizations.
• to actively solicit ideas for new projects.

Children have been a particular focus of PPI’s initiatives over the years. In the 22 years since its incorporation, PPI has sponsored, supported and funded 57 projects all across India, distributing over $260,000 to various projects during that time. From only $1,800 collected in the first year, with which the group supported only one project, PPI has grown to an average annual collection of $25,000 and now supports 8 to 10 projects across the nation at the same time. The projects cover a wide range of socio-economic issues: from education, health care and environment preservation to vocational training, small scale industries and co-operatives. Most of PPI’s projects are in rural areas. Typically, a project lasts 2-3 years with a funding of $2,000 -3,000 per year. Many of the projects become self sustaining after our initial help. PPI projects are located in different corners of India - Bihar, New Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Starting with PPI, India Together will attempt to provide web-space to organizations working with communities and charities in India, so that (a) the exchange of information between members of the groups is made easier, and (b) the achievements and knowledge of such groups receive the recognition and dissemination they clearly deserve. In further issues of India Together, and in PPI’s subsite, specific past and ongoing projects undertaken by the organization will be profiled in detail. In this introductory issue, we present a summary of four projects from the past. Take a look at minutes from PPI’s monthly meetings to know more about current projects.

• Stone Quarry Worker Rehabilitation, Rajasthan: Gramin Vigyan Vikas Samiti (GVVS), Jodhpur, Rajasthan sought PPI’s support for a unique scheme to assist bonded quarry workers gain freedom from lifelong debts to quarry owners. The workers were given loans on easy terms to purchase their tools so that they could mine their own quarries. The project also led to pressure on the government to implement and enforce safety regulations. Officials and workers were educated on matters concerning workers’ rights and health issues.
• Literacy as a Movement of the People (LAMP), Andhra Pradesh: The Bhagavatula Charitable Trust (BCT) of Visakhapatnam, approached adult literacy in rural Andhra Pradesh by taking schools on wheels. They called their pilot project LAMP, for Literacy as a Movement of the People. Through individual donations and a fund-raising event, PPI funded the training of volunteers who would bicycle from village to village to teach basic reading and writing skills. PPI split the cost of producing a series of illustrated books in large-print Telegu for neo-literates. Using familiar stories, mythology and folklore, the books also give information about health, nutrition, and other matters of common concern.
• Forests, Pastures and Waste Lands Reclaimed in the Deccan: Samaj Parivartana Samudaya (SPS) of Dharwad, Karnataka, has been working for several years on environmental improvement. PPI funded several of their projects. The first project reclaimed degraded land on a hillside near Hirebasur by planting economically productive plants and organizing the villagers to care for the land. Its success seeded similar reclamation efforts in other villages in the area. Two other projects continued the efforts of SPS to educate and organize villagers to utilize land more productively and to make use of available government resources in developing the land. PPI assisted in these efforts and also funded a motivator’s salary.
• Solid Waste Management Program, Dehra Dun, U.P.: Former PPI member Ram Prasad returned to India in 1994, vowing to make himself useful to his homeland. He perceived that one of the problems of Dehra Dun (Uttar Pradesh) was a lack of a civic sense even in the more affluent parts of the city. With start-up money from PPI, he initiated a private garbage collection and recycling service called Pramukh, employing many unskilled workers to collect, sort and process garbage. After some initial resistance, the project is now gaining in popularity. Prasad hopes that the idea will permeate to other neighborhoods and provide more employment, and a better environment.

Almost a generation has passed since the inception of PPI. With the assistance of supporters, PPI has been enabled to make a difference in the lives of many underprivileged in India. The organization now seeks new ideas, new members, and redoubled enthusiasm to make a transition to the 21st century. Pran Wahi Pran Wahi prepared this profile of PPI when he was chairperson of the organization, in 1998.