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BEYOND LIMELIGHT

Success stories of NGOs and individuals devoted to the
cause of development !

UNDAUNTED BY DISABILITY

Madhuri Kapoor is a computer programmer with a difference. She has put cerebral palsy behind her to design web sites for commercial organisations and as an artist has several solo painting exhibitions to her credit. The wheel-chair borne lady uses a head pointer to design home pages or draw with equal ease, and like her paintings, a web site created by her for corporate group INFAR (India) has brought her acclaim.

Madhuri had earlier worked with Shaw Wallace in the computer division. However the job did not last for long with SWC closing down later. The girl, who has worked on packages like Windows 3.1, Freelance Graphics, Windows 98 cannot coordinate limb movements, has speech problems and is attended by a female aide who tends to all her physical needs.

Nonetheless, she has held several painting exhibitions, like many other noted painters and aspires to be an achiever of sorts in the long run.

"I am a member of Tollygunje Club, Calcutta Junior Chamber and Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture," says Madhuri, who cannot speak properly, Kapoor had her initial training in Spastics Society of India in 1974 where she started showing her proficiency in painting from a very tender age, thanks to encouragement by mother Saroj Kapoor.

Her craft improved under the active guidance of a painting teacher who helped her wield the brush with a head pointer and dabble with colours. The result - solo exhibitions at the Chitrakoot Art Gallery, Academy of Fine Arts and several others.

As Madhuri excels on the web, she is eagerly aiming for a trip abroad, which can work wonders to her career. "A trip abroad, structured to have interaction with individuals/families, coupled with community living, will provide varied and wide exposure towards her rehabilitation in life," notes Kapoor.

Despite, Madhuri getting the President's award for painting a few years ago and being adjudged 'one of the eight outstanding Calcuttans' and 'among the ten outstanding Indians' by the All India Junior Chambers, besides getting the 'Bharat Nirman Award' this year, very little follow-up action was really taken to truly settle the talented girl.

There have been occasional news reports, reviews on Madhuri's career but what hurts is after a few days of publicity, no attempt is made to truly help her in realising her dreams like travelling to USA, UK in the pursuit of her career despite assertions given by many quarters.

The Cerebral Palsy Institute official suggests corporate patronage could also help people like Madhuri Kapoor get established. The media and all others concerned should ensure that after a few days' attention Madhuri's struggle just does not become another struggle but is followed with concerted sustained campaigns to help her.

Source: Observer

RESTORING THE PAST

Of the nearly 39,000 tanks that recharge the groundwater in Tamil Nadu, more than 20,000 of them are small minor irrigation tanks. The level of water in these tanks is dependent on the vagaries of the weather. Most of the farmers of the area are entirely dependent on this system for raising food crops, with 90 per cent of the tanks belonging to the small or marginal category.

The tanks are owned by the village panchayats but traditionally managed by the local villagers. During the British rule, the government took over these tanks and levied a charge on the villagers. Naturally, the people expected the government to maintain the tanks. But this did not happen and, instead, resulted in their neglect.

Nothing happened until 1982, when C R Shanmugam, a civil engineer who had retired as dean of the College of Agricultural Engineering, joined the Centre for Water Resources at Anna University, Chennai. He is credited with launching the first tank renovation project at Padianallur village near Red Hills.

Shanmugam worked with Anna University until 1989 after which he joined PRADAN (Professional Association for Development Action) - a non-governmental organisation based in Delhi. At the time, the organisation was motivating the villagers to revive the age-old system of farmers managing the tanks themselves. PRADAN initiated the work in Madurai and later extended it to Ramanathapuram, Theni, Villuppuram and Trivellore in Tamil Nadu and to Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. The programme was funded by the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDA).

Shanmugam started organising the farmers into water-users associations. He worked with the people, identified their needs and the snags in the previous system, and sought their views on how the system could be improved.

With nearly 20,000 tanks to undergo renovation at a cost of Rs 2-3 lakh per tank, the funds needed worked out to around Rs 5-6 crore. The villagers contributed about 25 per cent of the project cost. PRADAN insisted that the people must have a share in every aspect of the work. This was despite the government's willingness to fund the entire project.

Subsequently, DHAN (Development of Humane Action), an offshoot of PRADHAN, took over the project. DHAN has, so far, formed 175 water-users associations, benefitting about 7,000 to 8,000 small or marginal farmers. It also provides funds for community wells - at a cost of Rs 2 lakh - which supplement tank water and provide conjunctive use of surface and groundwater.

Today, the programme is fast expanding into a movement. The success of the programme has been over-whelming as the people do not leave any task unfinished. They realise that their contributions will ensure their right to own and manage the system. This will also guarantee that the distribution of water from the tanks will be equitable, timely and productive.

Shanmugam plans to cover all the districts gradually "since quality cannot be sacrificed for the sake of speed". He intends to provide more training programmes not only for the farmers, but also leadership training for association and federation office-bearers.

Source: Down to Earth