August 2017 THE ART OF LIVING INTERNATIONAL CENTER, BANGALORE

2 Sudarshan Kriya helps youngster top

AIIMS entrancep 3 The Art of Living Launches its First

Fellowship Programp 4 ‘Per drop more

crop' farming in Maharashtra

p

SEVA TIMESTHE ART OF LIVING

One of the first issues that the volunteers addressed was that of open defecation. Women who kept their head covered in modesty were forced to defecate in the open due to lack of toilets. Now 103 toilets have been constructed; 24 toilets were constructed under Kent RO’s scheme of WASH for India and the rest were constructed with the help of Art of Living and GoI. Village is now ODF.

n No FIR has been lodged in the last 2 years

n Toilet and Kent water filter in every home

Seva Times l Ahmednagar (Maharashtra)

Trayambakpur is a small village in Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra with a population of 1700 people, mostly farmers and tribals. Until two years ago, it was like any other village in India. Open defecation was a common practice, women faced health and hygiene issues, lack of clean drinking water led to frequent outbreaks of jaundice and other intestinal disorders, and encroachment was the most common cause of discord in the village. Thanks to the efforts of the Art of Living trainer Dr. Sandip Kolse and a strong team of Yuvacharyas within a short span of two years this village can now be categorized as an ideal village.

Trayambakpur: Another Ideal Village in the Making103 Toilets Constructed Education Goes Digital

The classrooms of the District Primary School have been digitalized ensuring that the children remain interested in their studies and do not drop out. The teachers of this school have also been trained to adopt methods that make learning easy. One of the teachers, Narod Sir, has also been honored with the Best Teacher Award. The once dull and bare playground now wears a warm, green look with trees and ornamental plants planted by the volunteers.

Tanta Mukti Samiti Settles Internal DisputesTo settle disputes, the volunteers have formed a Tanta Mukti Samiti. Through this forum disputes arising in the village, mostly due to encroachment, are settled within the village itself through mutual understanding saving money that would have been spent in courts. This has been so effective that not a single FIR has been lodged pertaining to this village in the last two years.

Existing Canal Deepened and Widened by Volunteers The main source of water to the village is a well situated 4 km away. Dirty water from the gutter that ran close by seeped into the well polluting its waters. Volunteers have repaired the well. In association with the Jal Jagriti Abhiyan volunteers also worked to deepen and widen the 2.5 km long canal; this has provided water for agriculture.

Continued on page 2

When Gurudev started the ashram in Bangalore, there were only thatched

huts to be seen in the surrounding areas with people living well below the poverty line. Despite economic growth unemployment was increasing at an alarming rate, especially among the rural youth. Although the Government of India had launched many schemes to address the issues that plague rural India, most schemes remained unimplemented due to a lack of awareness. Gurudev gathered about 500 youth from the neighboring villages and invited people from the small scale industries and Government sectors to present their projects before these young people. The Government could not provide jobs to everybody but there was nothing to stop these youngsters from becoming entrepreneurs. Nearly 200 projects were placed before the youth who refuted each and every one of them and came up with reasons on why none of these would work. Gurudev finally asked them, “Look, what is it that you want to do?” They said they wanted a job in the police department or as a bus driver or conductor! How many such jobs could the Government provide? That is when the YLTP was born. Gurudev came up with this idea to groom the youth in rural areas to bring out the leadership qualities in them, to motivate them to take up projects, and become instruments of change. Today the Yuvacharyas are a work force to reckon with. The cheerful and zestful youngsters are the ones who are responsible for the success of the river rejuvenation projects and 5H program. Hundreds of ponds and 27 rivers which previously existed only on the maps have been revived with the help of these YLTP trained youth. Recently Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devender Fadnavis remarked that 70%of the water projects in Maharashtra had been contributed to or attended to by The Art of Living volunteers.

The Birth of YLTP

Grooming Youth to Transform Rural India

Seva Times l Silicon Valley (USA)

In an effort to improve the socioeconomic conditions of the people in rural India, non-resident Indians living in the US have adopted 500 villages. A formal announcement to this effect was made on July 1, 2017, at the “Big Ideas for Better India” conference organized by the Overseas Volunteer for Better India (OVBI) in Silicon Valley. The villages selected for adoption are those that have the highest rate of farmer suicide and rank high in unemployment rates.Addressing a gathering of over 1000 influential US based NRIs, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar spoke at length about the Youth Leadership Training Program of The Art of Living and how it has been successful in creating youth leaders who have taken on the responsibility of developing their villages. He narrated the incident of how one youth made his whole village open defecation free in a matter of just 30 days leaving the World Bank awestruck. He also narrated how The Art of Living volunteers had cleaned up a lake in Solapur in a record time of just a few weeks and at 2% of the cost that was estimated by the authorities. Gurudev lauded the efforts of Datta Patil and Baldev Thakor who shared the dais with him saying when influential people like them from the US interact with the village youth, they get motivated and inspired. “With all your participation we can really make a big, big difference,” he said. Gurudev offered suggestions of the many projects the NRIs could take up - like making villages open defecation free and creating ideal villages.

NRIs Adopt 500 Villages in IndiaGeoscientists, agricultural experts and entrepreneurs

to help double the income of farmers by 2022Poverty not the sole cause of farmer suicide

To address the glooming issue of farmer suicide in India, Gurudev invited all those present to visit India and take padyatra to a few villages as this would instill the much needed self-confidence in the farmers. Thousands of farmers commit suicide every year in India and innumerable more live in distress, burdened by crushing debts. Although poverty is a big issue it is not the only cause of farmer suicide. “We have endured in India much worse times during the colonial era. There have been droughts for years, plagues, but nobody committed suicide in those days. At least not on the record, but why is it so much today? The fact is it is not only poverty, it is lack of confidence, lack of faith, lack of trust that someone is going to help us. There is no dearth of love and compassion in the world. All that you need is some food and shelter and that will be provided. If you are sick there are people who

will come to help you when you need it. This faith in the goodness of society, when that is lost I feel that is when people want to end their life,” said Gurudev. He said we need to come together as individuals, as the general public, as NGOs, and work towards instilling self-confidence in the farmers as this is not something that the Government can do. The participation of NRIs would help a great deal and with their support the youth leaders could walk day and night through different villages, talking to the farmers who are in dire need, instill self-confidence in them, and strengthen the village community by conducting satsangs. Concluding his talk Gurudev said, “The four pillars of democracy, the Government, media, faith based organizations, and NGOs, business, and industry, these four pillars when they are together, work together, we can transform society.”

The farmers have lost self-confidence – we need to instill that self-confidence and faith, faith that things will be alright, faith that they can brave the challenges. - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with Datta Patil on his right and Baldev Thakor on his left

Formal announcement made at the “Big Ideas for Better India Conference” in Silicon Valley

Gurudev invites NRIs to take padyatras in villages to instill self-confidence in farmers

Dr. Sandip Kolse supervising the construction of toilets

2 SEVA TIMES THE ART OF LIVING INTERNATIONAL CENTER, BANGALOREAugust 2017

Training in Natural Farming: Most inhabitants of the village depend on agriculture for their livelihood and they have been trained in natural farming techniques. Nearly 25% of the agricultural land is now being cultivated naturally. The farmers are growing crops that provide their daily needs as well as commercial crops.

Clean Drinking Water for All: To provide the villagers with pure drinking water, Kent RO has installed 165 water purifiers in the village homes. The filter kits are being changed once in every three months.

Satsangs Instead of Blaring Music and Drunken Brawls: A trend has now been set in the village where instead of the usual band, baaja, and baraat, which more often than not led to bitter fights, satsangs are being organized to celebrate weddings. There is no alcohol shop in this village.

Kudos to the Art of Living Family: “The transformation of this village was achieved within a very short period of time. It is a matter of great pride that this has taken place during my tenure” says block development officer, Ishadin Shelkande. Kumar Ji Ingle, Sable Saheb, Vittal Aasne, Narayan Kadu, Yuvacharya Sandeep Anuse, and Sajan Nevase have been instrumental in transforming this village. The volunteers must be commended for the excellent work they are doing in Trayambakpur.

A Home for the Homeless by The

Art of Living Family in MolelaSeva Times l Molela (Rajasthan)

The 5H program of The Art of Living aims at ensuring that every rural area/village has Homes for the homeless, Health care, Hygiene, Human Values and Harmony in diversity. Set up in 1997, 5H catalyzes social transformation that aims to eradicate poverty, misery, disease and ensure peace and harmony in rural and tribal areas worldwide.

Yuvacharyas, teachers, and volunteers of The Art of Living in Molela have been working on several projects under the 5H program for the last 7-8 years. On June 30, 2017, they gifted a beautiful eco-friendly home “Sri Sri Ashraya” to Narayan Prajapat, a needy person of Molela village, for whom owning his own home would have remained a dream if not for the efforts of the Art of Living family. This house which took about a year to be completed was constructed with the help of the village community, both monetarily and in terms of service. The house was handed over after performing the traditional rituals and feeding young girl children which is considered very auspicious. The function was attended by a large number of people, both local villagers and others from the surrounding villages. Present on the occasion were The Art of Living faculty Dr. Paresh Dwivedi, Praveen Sanadya, Shirish Sanadya, Ramesh Malani, and Lalit Paliwal. Sri. Ashok Jain inaugurated the function.

Seva Times l Surat (Gujarat)

On June 18, 2017, Dhanashree Mehta, a 9-year-old student of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Vidya Mandir in Surat, Gujarat, set a new record as the youngest girl to scale the formidable 18,510 feet Mt. Elbrus in Russia. Braving violent storms, strong winds, and frigid temperature of -20 degree C, this young child carried on determined to reach the top. She was accompanied by her brother, Janam Mehta aged 13 years, also a student of SSRVM, and her parents Dr. Sarita Mehta and father Jignesh Mehta. The children had been training for the task for the last six months. They took up this expedition to promote

underprivileged girls as part of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme. The children started their work out diligently every morning at 4:30 a.m. As per the regulations of the Indian Mountaineering Association, the children had to clear rigorous physical and mental tests before being permitted to undertake the expedition, which they cleared with flying colours surprising even the doctors who tested them. The family attributes it all to the regular practice of yoga, meditation and breathing techniques they learnt from school. “Even we never really pondered upon this. But now we can clearly see the difference a stress-free learning environment and good schooling can make,” remarked Dr. Sarita.

Sudarshan Kriya Helps Youngster Top

AIIMS EntranceSeva Times l Surat (Gujarat)

Nishita Purohit made the headlines in all the leading dailies on June 5, 2017, when the AIIMS Medical Entrance results were announced and she topped the list. This brilliant 18-year-old girl from Surat who not only scored 91.4% in Class XII CBSE examination but is also a national level basketball player attributes her success to the regular practice of Sudarshan Kriya and meditation.

When asked what it takes to top one of the toughest entrance exams of the country, Nishita replies “No matter how brainy one is, your performance on the day matters the most. Walking into the examination hall without stress, anxiety and worry for the future is the key.” Adding, “It is not about the hours one puts in. A lot of my friends would tell me that I put in fewer hours than them and still manage to perform well. It is about enjoying what you do and being able to concentrate,” she says adding that the Art of Living’s Sudarshan Kriya and meditation, with which she begins her day, helped her in getting more output in lesser time.

Reiterating the Art of Living philosophy of ‘living in the present moment ’ Nishita offers some quick tips to the future aspirants, “Enjoy your studies. Irrespective of what the future holds, enjoy the process. Do yoga, meditate and make Sudarshan Kriya a part of your life. Stay calm, confident and stay happy.”

Two Stories of Success

9-year-old Student of SSRVM Climbs Europe’s Highest Peak

Dhanashree Mehta sets a new record by scaling the 18,510 feet Mount Elbrus in Russia

Nishita Purohit

Contd. from Page 1

Feeding the Hungry on GurupurnimaSurat l SevaWarriors from Gujarat celebrated this Gurupurnima by spreading the message of sharing and caring. 70 volunteers distributed food packets to 2000+ slum dwellers in Surat. This noble gesture satiated many stomachs and hearts. India tops the global hunger list with 194 million undernourished people. Seeing the hands of the hungry desperately reaching out for food reminded the volunteers of the value of every morsel and they send out a plea to all to never waste food and to share as much as we can. It is rightly said, "The simplest way to please God is to feed the hungry, satiate the thirsty and clothe the naked."

Free Medical Camp in a Remote Village, ValvaVadodara l Valva is a small village in Waghodia Taluk, Vadodara, inhabited by nearly 500 people who live well below the poverty line. Most of them work as laborers in the fields or sell milk from their cows for their livelihood. They have to travel

at least 12 kms to get any sort of medical aid. On July 16, 2017, Art of Living teachers Parth Joshi, Laddo Bhaiyya, and Varsha Tadvi, organized a free medical camp in this village. Dr. Jai Vadher and and Dr. Sushma Rathod conducted medical checkups and offered treatment to more than 65 people. The Art of Living team also distributed free medicines. This came as a blessing to the villagers who were unable to seek medical advice and undergo treatment due to lack of facilities and financial constraints.

BCS for 750 Children in Latur DistrictLatur l A five day Bal Chetna Shibir was conducted in Nagjhari, Jevali, Jakadi, Raiwadi, and Bhuyisamudraga villages that are situated on the banks of the river Manjara in Latur District. There were over 750 participants. This workshop builds social awareness, increases concentration in the children, and helps them perform better in their studies. 3000 notebooks were distributed among the participants. The children were educated on

tree plantation, conservation of river water, and making their village open defecation free during the program.

YLTP to Be Conducted in 108 Villages in ChattisgarhRaipur l A free YLTP was conducted by The Art of Living trainer Ajay Singh in Kondagaon in Chattisgarh. There were 30 participants. Ex-minister, Women and Child Development, Lata Usendi, herself a Yuvacharya having done YLTP in 2002 has pledged to organize YLTP in 108 villages over the next 18 months and create at least 5 youth leaders from each village. She was present on the final day of the 8-day workshop that was conducted from 4th to 12th July, 2017, to mark the occasion of Gurupuja. Also present at the closing ceremony was the zilla collector Sameer Vaishnoi. Participants of the program took out a cleanliness campaign in the village as part of their course.

News in Brief

The big smile on this child's face as she received the food packets gladdened the heart of the volunteers

Villagers in a remote village in Vadodara District, Gujarat, undergoing a free medical checkup

Children learn to take care of their environment among other things in the free five-day Bal Chetana Camps

3 SEVA TIMES THE ART OF LIVING INTERNATIONAL CENTER, BANGALOREAugust 2017

Seva Times l Satara (Maharashtra)

Rural women spend a large proportion of their time cooking indoors, using traditional stoves crafted from clay or stone that produce a lot of smoke and lead to indoor air pollution in the poorly ventilated village homes. Cooking over an open fire is equivalent to burning 400 cigarettes an hour and is a great health hazard. Little children and aged people often sit close by inhaling the smoke and along with the women develop respiratory problems. When The Art of Living first started the smokeless chulah project almost ten years back, according to WHO estimates, nearly 400,000 children under the age of five died due to indoor air pollution every year.

To address this issue, The Art of Living in partnership with Envirofit, manufacturers of smokeless chulahs, started distributing smokeless chulahs

to families in Satara district; 37,000 families have received such stoves in the last 10 years. On 16 July, 2017, The Art of Living and Envirofit organized a cooking competition “Maan Sugaran” at Dahiwadi, Tal Maan, in Satara District. Women from families who had received the smokeless chulahs were invited to participate. Nearly 700 women attended the program and 50 women took part in the cooking

competition, cooking delicious food items on the modern smokeless stoves. Three best cooks received solar units as a prize and five women received consolation prizes.The participants were extremely happy. They said this is the first time that any organization had given a thought to the health issue of women in their area. They were full of gratitude to The Art of Living for taking this initiative.

Cooking Competition in Satara Using Smokeless Chulahs

Seva Times l Surat (Gujarat)

As the southwest monsoon wreaks havoc in Gujarat, several hectares of farmland lie submerged, damaging life and property and leaving thousands of people stranded. Around 1200 Art of Living volunteers are working day and night to bring relief to the affected. While some of the volunteers are engaged in preparing food kits (with each kit containing enough supplies to feed a family of four for 10 days) others are engaged in assembling relief material like medical kits, clothes, footwear, tarpaulin type plastic sheets, and blankets. Still other volunteers are going to the flood hit areas and distributing the food and relief material and working for the reestablishment of the affected people. 127,000 food packets and truckloads of supplies worth over one crore rupees have been distributed by the volunteers so far.

The areas covered include Banaskantha, Dholka taluka in Ahmedabad, slums in Ahmedabad city, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Patan, and Unjha. Art of Living volunteers have set up a control center in Thara

Taluka, which is one of the worst hit areas in Banaskantha. The Art of Living Surat team of 500+ volunteers were praised for their dedicated service by MLA Harsh Sanghvi who

tweeted on July 29, 2017, “I had met a number of @ArtofLiving Surat volunteers today in Banaskantha. They are working tirelessly in flood affected area. Thanks.”

Selfless Service in Flood Hit Gujarat and Assam

Art of Living volunteers have been working in the worst hit areas of Gujarat since 24th July. They have distributed 1.27 lakh food packets, 15,000 ration kits, and 10,000 blankets

Aid to Flood Victims in North Lakhimpur

Lakhimpur (Assam) l Torrential rains and the sudden release of the water of NEEPCO Dam caused a devastating flood in mid-July nearly washing out many areas of North Lakhimpur District of Assam. Hundreds of people have been left homeless and the entire crop has been damaged. Art of Living volunteers in Assam came forward to serve the flood affected people. SSRDP Trustee, Col(retd) M.Medhi along with other trustee members immediately sent relief materials to North Lakhimpur district. Purabi Deka and Jahnabi Dutta, the District Coordinators of North Lakhimpur quickly identified the affected areas and organized relief camps by forming a team with the local Art of Living members. The team has so far reached out to nearly 400 affected families in Hatilung, Kahuadoloni, Gokhaipam, Majgaon, and Dambukial villages and distributed food items, drinking water, and clothes.

Volunteers distributing essential items to those hit by the floods

Over fifty women participants exhibited their culinary skills at a cooking competition organized by The Art of Living and Envirofit in Satara

11 Thousand Lakshmi Taru Saplings PlantedPune (Maharashtra) l The Government of Maharashtra launched a massive tree plantation drive from 1st to 7th July, 2017, in a bid to increase the green cover across the State. Forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has pledged to plant 400 million trees in Maharashtra this year. Art of Living teachers Prabhakar Jagtap and Suresh Palaskar have joined the campaign. With the help of volunteers they have planted 11,000 Lakshmi Taru saplings, 6000 in Shindewadi and another 5000 in 10 surrounding villages including Wade Bolhai, Alandi Mhatobachi, and Mirawadi. To create awareness among villagers with regard to their environment, Yuvacharya Ganesh Kshirsagar traveled from village to village conducting Nav Chetna camps, which resulted in more and more people joining the campaign.

Master Trainers in several states conducted Yoga Prashikshan workshops to train yoga instructors in the rural areas. The States which were active in the last month were Assam, Manipur, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand. Hiramati Sinhaji conducted a Yoga Prashikshan class in Silchar, Assam, which was attended by 52 people. Anita ji also conducted a course for 10 participants.

In Rayachoti , Andhra Pradesh, Sunilji conducted a Yoga Prashikshan for 22 participants.

In West Bengal, Amit Chatterjee conducted a Yoga Chetana Shibir for 22 people and Utpal Goruiji conducted a Yoga Chetana Shibir with 74 participants. Prawinji of Jharkhand organized Yoga Prashikshan for 104 participants in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Participants in all the aforementioned courses received their Yoga Manual and certificates.

Isha Sharma l Bangalore

The Art of Living Foundation launched its first fellowship program. The Fellowship serves as a platform for the world’s most driven and talented youth to undertake challenging social development projects and find solutions to the most pressing issues revolving around water, public policy and education in rural India.

The year-long fellowship program trains the selected candidates to become social impact leaders and change-makers of the nation. After a rigorous selection process and an acceptance rate of 3%, 10 fellows have been selected for the 2017 batch. Applicants included alumni from prestigious institutions and companies from India, Egypt, France, Singapore, Australia and The United States.

The fellows form a diverse cohort of different backgrounds. The 2017 fellowship cohort consists of IIT graduates, Ph.Ds, working professionals, and grass root activists. Starting 16th of July, 2017, the fellows will undergo an

intensive month-long boot camp which will apprise them of the social development sector in India and equip them with skills needed on the field. During the induction boot camp, fellows will also interact with various MPs, bureaucrats, think tanks, academicians, and grassroots leaders to get an insight into the challenges confronting rural India.

The Art of Living Launches its First Fellowship Program

Selected Art of Living Fellows with the Fellowship Team all-smiles on their first day of the Social Induction Bootcamp

The Art of Living Fellowship has a component of working with community leaders who have been working in the community for long and have established strong connect with all stakeholders - government, private players and the community itself. The Fellows will be a bridge between community leaders and other stakeholders.”

Rohan Jain, Program Manager, Fellowship

This Fellowship not only empowers you to make a meaningful and positive change in society but also supports you with the necessary skills, insights and much-needed mentorship to become a social impact leader."

Isha Sharma, Program Manager, Fellowship

We want to create leaders and social entrepreneurs.”Amit Saxena, Program Manager, Fellowship

Art of Living has worked to revive 27 rivers across central and southern India. Under the 1 year fellowship I not only wish to learn the technicalities of water conservation methods but also know how Art of Living makes river rejuvenation efforts sustainable with local community involvement.

Suprita Kanwat, selected fellow, from IIT Bombay

Youth Leadership Training Program (YLTP) and Dharma Sthamba Yojana (DSY) are service initiatives of Vyakti Vikas Kendra, India [The Art of Living], a registered charitable Trust, head quartered in Bangalore with its registered office at No. 19, 39th A Cross, 11th Main, IV T Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore - 560041

- Ph: 080-67433600 | www.artofliving.org | Email: yltp@artofliving.org -

SEVA TIMES

Inspired by Gurudev

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Editorial teamRam Asheesh

Thoheja Gurukar

To access earlier editions of Seva Times log in to

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If you are working on any project or YLTP activities, please contact us on 8067433616, 9620169697. E mail: editor.sevatimes@vvki.org

4 SEVA TIMES THE ART OF LIVING INTERNATIONAL CENTER, BANGALOREAugust 2017

Seva Times l Latur (Maharashtra)

Mr. Mahadev Gomare is the project leader of The Art of Living’s River Rejuvenation Project in Latur and also recipient of the President’s award for exemplary work in Organic Farming. A practicing farmer for the past 10 years, Mahadev has been chosen by the Indian government to spread the knowledge of natural farming around the nation.

“There has been an erroneous concept that the more water you give to plants, the greater the crop yield. We have to change that,” he said emphatically. Through a combination of organic farming techniques, land use management, and water-use optimization methodologies, Mr. Gomare and his team help farmers double their crop yield using less than half the resources. “There are 3 crore microorganisms per square inch of soil. But

farmers over-water the plants, diluting the microorganisms in it and prevent the roots underneath the soil from breathing, hence killing the plants and lowering production”, notes Mr. Gomare. Through drip irrigation, farmers are able to use water wisely, save water, spend less and obtain more crop.

“Earlier I did not know how much to water the plant for its optimal growth or how much distance to leave between seeds and that way wasted so much money and resources. I used to plant black gram seedlings at a gap of 3 inches but now I have increased it to 3 feet. I not only saved 90 seedlings during the process but was also able to get more yield and save my money. I do not have to take debts anymore” said a local farmer of the Latur district. Likewise, farmers are able to replenish bore wells, save water and get profits on crops through dry-land horticulture.

'Per Drop More Crop' Farming in MaharashtraMore water does not ensure better crops, this is an erroneous concept

Trees In The Backyard For Food and Financial SecurityThe team is also teaching farmers how to be more independent and self- resilient. “Farmers farm but often, not for themselves. According to a survey, 95% percent of the farmers buy their own household fruits and vegetables from outside. As a result, we now are supporting farmers to grow their own fruit trees according to the season so that the farmers have an additional income as well as a dependable source of food in their own backyard. Likewise, to create financial security for farmers and have a buffer against farmer suicides, the Water Projects team has started a pension plan for farmers where they urge farmers to buy a sandalwood tree for a few thousand rupees which, over a decade, will be worth 1.5 lakhs rupees. In this way, the project will help farmers have an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient future.

Seva Times l Chennai (Tamil Nadu)

Women in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu struggle to make ends meet. About a fourth of the male population migrate to cities in search of jobs and the families are left behind, waiting in desperation for the menfolk to send them some money which they do send at sporadic intervals. The remaining 75% of the men have little or no motivation to work due to the paltry salaries and most of them in frustration take to alcohol leaving the women wringing their hands in helplessness.

In order to empower these women, The Art of Living Water Projects team started out by conducting the Rural Happiness Program, a self-empowerment and personal development program. Through these programs the women were motivated to become self-reliant and were equipped with social skills and tools to become financially independent.

Today, the women from Kammavaanpettai village in Tamil Nadu have taken up the mantle of leading the River Rejuvenation Project to restore Naghanadi river in their village. The project has given the women a newfound sense of confidence and dignity. Under

the MNREGA scheme, the women are able to earn an independent livelihood and support themselves and their families.

Shanthi from Salamanthanam says, “After we’ve brought this project to our village, not only do we have sufficient water, but we’re also earning well through the 100 days scheme (MGNREGA). Our people and our farmers are very happy.”

Amsaveni says, “Now I do not have to ask my husband and wait for him to give me money to buy basic goods for the household, myself or my children. I can buy them on my own.” The women also feel a renewed sense of empowerment and inspiration to explore their capabilities. “We were asked to dig wells up to a depth of 20 feet. We didn’t believe we could do it. But once we began, there was no stopping us till the job was done!,” beams Anandi, a local village woman in Kammavaanpettai working for the river rejuvenation projects.Likewise, in Kannamangalam, another village in Tamil Nadu the primary labor force is the women folk and they are

involved in the construction of cement rings, the primary components of recharge wells. Being involved in the projects gives women a sense of accomplishment, worth and motivation to be further involved in community initiatives.

Balaram, a panchayat leader from Salamanthanam shares, “Our wells which have been dry for over 15

years, now have seen increasing water levels, thanks to committed female workforce dedicate to this project” he adds. “I believe that if the Art of Living’s River Rejuvenation project is undertaken in every village in Tamil Nadu, we can eliminate the problem of water scarcity in its entirety,” he adds with conviction.

Working for the river rejuvenation project has transformed the underprivileged wives, mothers and sisters of Nagara into self-dependent women. Having found their own footing they can now move forward confidently to ignite the flame of inspiration in the hearts of other rural women, both in the region and throughout India.

Tamil Nadu: Women Becoming Symbols of Strength in River Rejuvenation Projects

A System Administrator with a Passion for Tree Plantation

Seva Times l Pune (Maharashtra)

Amit Pamnani, a dynamic young entrepreneur, is living life to the fullest. A system administrator by day for Fulcrum Worldwide Pune, he is a project manager for tree plantation in his free time. Global warming had

always been a subject close to his heart and he was well aware that planting trees would help solve the climate change. After doing the Art of Living Happiness Program in 2010, Amit felt a surge of energy and enthusiasm like he had never felt before. A sense of ownership and belongingness was rekindled within him. Furthermore, he now had the support of the Art of Living family who shared his passion to

conserve the environment. Along with other volunteers of The Art of Living he initiated a tree plantation project and Sri Sri Vasundhara was born. Under this banner they have reached out and planted trees in 12 rural schools so far. Students of a class are given the responsibility to tend to the trees they have planted. This inculcates a sense of ownership and responsibility towards the trees. Fruit bearing trees are chosen so children can see trees bear the fruit as a result of their care which is a rich and fulfilling experience. After their success in the rural areas, Amit and his team are now working on expanding their reach to the urban areas as well and seek your support in creating a cleaner and greener world.

Mahadev Gomare proudly showing off the pumpkin grown organically

in his Babhulgaon farm.