A I D

What is AID?

AID-India is the Association for India's Development, a volunteer organization. I work closely with the boston chapter - AID-Boston on a number of developmental projects and programs.

Recent Work:

Socio-Economic Development: A Grassroots Perspective
A seminar-series we are hosting at MIT in January '2000

As part of its desire to better understand development-related issues and initiate a dialogue within the student community, AID-Boston is hosting a series of pilot seminars at MIT this year. The three seminars on development were approved as part of MIT's Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January. The first session was concieved as a participative discussion to understand the diverse notions of 'development', critical areas for change and the agents for intervention. This set the stage for the following sessions on 'holistic' approaches to development and the challenges of socio-political change (illustrated by relevant case studies). The focus of the seminars is on grass-roots organizations and people's movements.

As we learn from our experience, we hope to continue running these seminars at MIT each year and also extend them to other schools in the area. The website serves as a source of info. on the seminar series and a repository for on-going discussions and reference material on 'development'. Please contact us to contribute related articles or links.

Children's Mela organized at the Shishu Bharati, Burlington High School (Nov. 21, 1999)

Appeal for Cyclone Victims in Orissa, India (Oct '99)
Flyers posted at newsgroups & newspapers: text - doc - ps
AID's website on the Orissa Cyclone

Collaboration with Schlumberger on the SEED program for internet connectivity in rural communities.
Pilot project at KGST (July '99) - My notes on SEED and the SEED application (doc)

AID Presentation at Kresge, MIT during L. Subramaniam & Pt. V. M. Bhatt Classical Music Concert (May 23, 1999)
Images from two rural and urban AID projects in India

Project Visit to Balwadis in Goregaon, Mumbai - Keshav Gore Smarak Trust (Jan '99)
Project Review for AID-Blacksburg

The folks at AID-Boston are dedicated students and professionals. Having spent a year with them, they're like family to me. Working with AID gives me a chance to think about real-world problems with complex socio-economic issues that have no easy technological solutions (unlike my work at MIT). But overall it has been quite a fullfilling experience for me personally. Contact me or check out the AID website if you'd like to find out how you can participate.

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