If cynics had their way, the current century would be prematurely labelled The Disaster Century. After all, with economic meltdowns and catastrophic wars on terrorism, it’s easy to say that the law of the jungle will prevail and that from now on it’ll be every man for himself. However, you know this is nonsense and that moral cataclysm is still a long way off when you reflect that there are still people and organisations working for the betterment of us all.
Two such organisations are The Keystone Foundation in the Nilgiris and the She Hope Society in Kashmir. Both of these are two of the finalists in World Challenge 08, a global competition sponsored by BBC World News, Newsweek and Shell, that champions and reward projects and businesses which really make a difference at the grassroots level.
The Keystone Foundation works with the tribal communities, which subsist on forest produce like honey, in the Nilgiris and helps them market their products. The project acquaints them with the mores of the modern capitalist market. Keystone’s Mathew John says, “We’ve even given them receipts so they know how much they give us. And this year, we’ve distributed part of the profits with them.” The Foundation markets and distributes the tribal products via their shops located in the region. Besides honey, they sell coffee, spices and beeswax. The foundation hopes that the recognition by the World Challenge will bring greater benefits for tribals in terms of respect for their lifestyle. “Collecting honey is not an easy job. It requires a great deal of skill,” says John.
In a different but equally laudable attempt, the She Hope Society, based in Kashmir, is engaged in uplifting disabled and disadvantaged children. Manager-physiotherapist, Sami Wani says, “The children used to live in unhygienic surroundings and were completely neglected. Some of them had not left their homes for many years because of their disabilities.” The support for the society was overwhelming. The parents and caregivers came forward, along with the police and the army, with the moral and material support that the society needed in the beginning. “The New Zealand-based organisation MEND was a big help to us,” says Wani, “They bore a major portion of the expenses and made it possible for us to put our case before the World Challenge committee.” The society hopes that the publicity from the competition will make more people aware about the noble work that they are doing and that the requisite donations flow in.
BBC World News began broadcasting six 30-minute programmes profiling each of the 12 finalists on October 1. The episode featuring the Keystone Foundation was aired on October 11, 12 and 13 and the episode featuring the She Hope Society will air on November 8, 9 and 10. Public voting opened at the World Challenge website on October 1 and will continue till November 21. The winning organisation, to be announced December 20, stands to win USD 20,000 from Shell, whereas two runners-up will receive USD 10,000 each.
URL: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/grassroots-heroes/375562/