The Collabor

ators

7

H

owever, there is one factor that brings all

the above together into a coherent whole; that

propels the impact of interventions sky-high,

blazing a trail across the firmament. is factor

is the committed leadership of the NGOs.

Take the eminent Dr. Mathew Verghese,

nominated by Bill Gates as one of the ive

Heroes in the field of Orthopaedics, ounder

and Trustee of CRE India, who has trained

thousands of doctors in the non-invasive

treatment of clubfoot, or the redoubtable

Dr. Vandana Shiva, recognized as one of

the world’s foremost environmentalists,

and her NGO Navdanya who have handed

the conservation of biodiversity back

into the hands of women from tribal and

marginalized communities – the original

sources of traditional knowledge. en

there’s Jagadananda, the force behind the

Centre for Youth and Social Development

that has trained generations of community

development professionals in the remotest

parts of Odisha, or N.S. Hema, a polio-afflicted

powerhouse, founder of the Association

of People with Disabilities, who pioneered

community-based rehabilitation decades

before the WHO CBR Matrix was defined.

Whether it is any of the above inspirational

personalities, or Dr Dhir Jhingran who has

introduced innovative learning methodologies

for children in their own languages into

government schools through the Language

and Learning oundation – this

passionate set of leaders,

some highly qualified,

others with years of

experience in the sector,

learning from both the

successes and failures under their belts, are

the force behind the transformation their

organizations have wrought in India – and

they truly define e ih Estate.

What does it take for two doctors to give

up their lucrative jobs and start an NGO for

equitable and inclusive primary healthcare

in the tribal hinterlands of India like Dr

Prasanta Tripathy and Dr Nirmala Nair did

when they started Ekjut? Or Ahindra Nath

Ray, Dr Bera and now Amitava Ray who

started community projects in the far flung

areas of the Sunderbans and rural West

Bengal through Lokamata Rani Rashmoni

Mission? What makes a medical professional

like Dr Vandana Gopikumar of e Banyan

create quality care and treatment for the

most deprived in society, those at the cusp

of mental illness and poverty? What does it

take to start a PRADAN like Deep Joshi and

Vijay Mahajan did with a belief that a cadre

of professionals working at the grassroots and

the formation of self-help groups can turn

around the lives of the poor dramatically?

And then to help the government set up

sector-changing programmes like the

National Rural Livelihood Mission?

e answer is clear. It is a pure, selfless

commitment of the highest order, suffused

with the ethical principles that are the true

foundation of progress and development.

e HCL Grant celebrates this cadre of

professionals who have blazed an uncommon

trail and dedicated their lives and resources

to realizing a dream of an India that is

ready to embrace the future, peopled by

communities who are active catalysts of their

own bright tomorrows.