As our jeep drove past the bustling towns between Hyderabad and Mahboobnagar we often encountered cowherds driving herds of skeletal cows to the city - signs of poverty in drought prone Telengana. Yet, suddenly, in the midst of that semi-arid landscape, we came upon an oasis of green - Kaakanoor village.

What we were seeing was the result of a successful watershed scheme implemented by a local NGO, Vasavya Society for Rural Development (VASORD). Under a central government scheme Kaakanoor was one of 11,000 villages in India to receive the benefit of a watershed program. The program bore fruit after VASORD's involvement over the last four years, and it has brought prosperity to the village of 2000 people by making agriculture sustainable once more.

VASORD has worked closely with the people of Kaakanoor by introducing them to non-conventional energy resources, such as biogas, as well as an afforestation program. In the course of implementing these schemes successfully VASORD has gained the trust of the villagers and has demonstrated its commitment to convert Kaakanoor into a model village in the area. Their new mission is to improve the conditions in the local government school. This school provides education in classes I to VII under the AP State syllabus to about 300 children.

The seven different classes are accommodated in four rooms and two verandahs. Only two of the classrooms have been equipped with benches and desks by VASORD; in the others children squat on the floor. In one classroom the concrete wall serves as a crude blackboard. While the government has sanctioned 6 teachers' posts, VASORD estimates that 12 teachers are actually needed. The Village Education Committee (VEC), set up by the Gram Panchayat, has raised Rs. 20,000 from the villagers towards the creation of classes VIII to X. This would ensure that children do not discontinue their studies because of having to walk 5km to the nearest high school.

The residents of Kaakanoor have demonstrated their keen interest in educating their children. With the guidance of VASORD they have been able to take steps in this direction. The VEC has set itself the task of bettering the school by constructing suitable classrooms, providing teaching aids, library and sports facilities and providing suitable training for the teachers. ASHA-Boston has decided to participate in this model program by making an initial investment of $2500 towards the construction of new classrooms. We hope that by the fortifying the existing government infrastructure we will be able to maximize the impact of every dollar donated. We will be monitoring their progress over the next few months. If you are interested in knowing further about VASORD’s activities or in contributing towards this project, please contact Nandini Dendukuri at nandini@hcp.med.harvard.edu