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Issue No. 11
Sep 2003
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Reporting on the
work to Bridge the Gap between Auroville and the
Villages
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A hope to go on...
AVAG’s ‘Compassion Fund’ helps the aged,
widowed, handicapped, homeless and poor people who are individually
identified by village groups. Hundreds of such needy people
have been given loans and grants to help them reconstruct
their lives, over the past few years. Here is the story
of one of them.
Veerammal, a 67-year-old widow, has had
a tough life after the sudden death of her husband. After
she had recovered from the shock, she realized that she
had two teenaged sons and a little daughter, totally dependent
on her. She sold all her jewelry and invested the money
in a grocery shop, which helped her family to survive and
to educate her children for many years. Her two sons grew
up to be capable young men. She got them married to suitable
girls of respectable families. Now all she wished was to
retire as her sons would take care of the shop and their
wives would maintain the household.
However, none of these happened. The sons along with their
wives moved to the city in search of a better livelihood.
Veerammal was now left alone to tackle the toughest job
in the life of all Indian parents; ‘the marriage of
the daughter’. She dearly loved her daughter and wanted
to get her married into a decent family. She found the right
match for her but the dowry his family demanded went far
beyond the amount she had diligently collected over the
years.
Veerammal, however, finalized the date of the wedding, promising
that all that has been asked for (jewelry, cash, gold, clothes,
television etc.) will be delivered to the groom’s
house before the cut-off date. She had to sell her shop,
the last support of her life, in order to meet the expectations
of the groom’s family.
Ten years after the marriage of her daughter, AVAG found
Veerammal struggling to survive. She had sacrificed everything
for the sake of her children and expected nothing in return.
Her ‘never give up’ spirit had faded away with
time. She had surrendered herself to hunger, loneliness
and sorrow when one day, unexpectedly, Compassion knocked
at her door and gave her a hope.
Today, Veerammal lives in a small hut with a broken roof
that allows sun, rain and all that falls from the sky to
enter her home where she motionlessly sits, all through
the day, gazing out at the passers by. Beside her, small
packets of rice, lintels and fresh vegetables await to be
picked up. The reassuring smile on her face says it all.
‘She is back into the business’.
The Doorway to ‘Unending Education’
(Auroville’s ‘Last School’
opens itself to the village kids)
Village youngsters, who had almost lost all hopes of a
bright future, are delighted. Auroville’s Last School,
known for its special care towards the individual growth
of every student, has offered a free ‘Integral Education
Course’ for the village youth. The only qualification
required for joining this course is a good comprehension
of English as most of the teachers there are outsiders who
do not speak the local language, Tamil. A number of young
boys and girls have responded to this offer.
AVAG, which is responsible for finding the right candidates,
has started S.E.C. (Spoken English Classes) for the benefit
of the students who are in the waiting list. They are all
very excited to go to ‘Last School’ because
they know it is the doorway to the ‘unending education’
of Auroville. This is perhaps the only place in the world
where they can, not only learn, but live languages, cultures,
arts and music of various countries. In October, the first
batch of four students from S.E.C. has joined ‘Last
School’ and is reported to be doing rather well.
Eveline, a friend of Auroville from Sweden, Jonas, a social
worker from Germany and Mary-Ellen of AVAG are the main
teachers at S.E.C. Through games, stories and songs, they
are trying hard to get these young boys and girls into speaking
and understanding English.
Vocation Building
(AVAG to start a ‘Vocational Training
Centre’ soon)
A Vocational Training Centre is soon to be completed adjacent
to the AVAG office. This centre will provide training in
Computers (software and hardware), Electricals and Electronics
to the youth of the neighboring villages, in exchange of
a minimal fee.
Tamil people are known for their sharp mind, all over the
world. Many of the great scientists and mathematicians,
that India has produced, come from the state of Tamil Nadu.
It is a pity that in spite of this inherent intelligence
of its people, this region is severely affected by unemployment
and poverty.
AVAG believes that the main reason for this plight is
a lack of proper educational opportunity in this area. As
a matter of fact, there is only one engineering college
in the entire Auroville bioregion. Only a few students can
afford to go there, as it is a private college that costs
a sumptuous amount. Others try their luck in the universities
at Pondicherry and Chennai but often meet disappointment,
as competition is tough over there.
A survey conducted by AVAG, last year, showed that the
majority of high school boys are interested in the technical
fields, not only because they promise a lucrative career
but also because they are challenging to their mind.
It is hoped that this centre will fulfill the aspirations
of many brilliant village students who do not have other
opportunities for further education. Many youngsters of
the region are looking forward to the completion of the
centre, which is scheduled to start by January next year.
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