95% of India’s schools fail to meet the standard of infrastructure set by the Right to Education Act. This is the story of two community correspondents attempting to fix the system. In 2010 a boat carrying seventeen children capsized, resulting in the death of two girls. For those children, the...
In 2005 the government of India set up ambitious plans to bring electricity to about 1,25,000 villages through the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme. In the ten years since, the crores of rupees spent to bring basic infrastructure to rural areas has had an impact. However 44.7% rural household in...
Power to the People In 2005 the Government of India launched a nation-wide scheme to ensure rural electricity infrastructure and electrification of all households with special provisions and subsidies for underprivileged households. In this interview, Arti Bai details how a little camera coupled with a lot of determination has successfully...
19th March 2015 | Padmakesarpur village, Odisha | Nitu Chakhia As a tribal woman, Nitu Chakhia has spent far too many years of her life struggling for survival in the urban jungle of Bhubaneswar. Several years of working with her people has convinced her that communities coming together ensures change....
19th March | Bhalukhol village, Sambalpur district, Odisha | Mamata Patra Bhalukhol is a modest little Munda village of roughly 30 families. In this interview, Mamata Patra describes the daunting distances she traveled & diffident women she encountered as she claimed a community’s right to have easy access to potable...
18th March 2015 | Bhimatangi village, Khurdha district, Odisha | Nitu Chakia For many communities in India, access to water is riddled with challenges big and small. They jump over hurdles ranging from bad planning to human-made complications such as depleting water tables. In Bhimtangi village, Odisha the community tap...
On 29th July 2011, Magdalene, a 15-year-old girl from Mailpidi village, was walking back home after school. On her way, she was arrested by the police. “Stop pretending to be a student” the police told her as they went through her school bag and roughed her up. Her crime? Bank robbery;...
February 18th, Salgadih Village, Khunti District, Jharkhand The National Old Age Pension Scheme provides financial security to over 19.2 million people over the age of 60 in India. For many, the small yet vital sum comes after jumping through many loopholes in the system. Community Correspondent Amita Tuti found one...
