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Why Rural Chhattisgarh?
Although it became a separate state in November 2000, Chhattisgarh
is an ancient cultural region in India, and it is one of the
most culturally and ethnically diverse states in the country.
It has one of the highest percentages of rural population, and
the second highest female to male ratio of any state. Its people
are renown for their simplicity, kindness, hard work, and sincerity.
At the same time, Chhattisgarh is one of the least developed
states of India in terms of education, infrastructure, and economics.
Sahayog then is working to address the needs
of the region's rural poor and also to create opportunities
whereby caring and compassionate individuals from more affluent
families, especially in the West, can have a medium through
which they can help the needy in attaining good education and
proper health care. Sahayog co-founder and
current president, Ramdas Lamb, first visited rural Chhattisgarh
in the 1970s. It soon became the geographic focus of his academic
research at the time. He quickly recognized the lack of educational
opportunities for many rural youth, either because of lack of
schools or because of poverty. He also realized that those most
affected by poverty are from caste groups at the bottom of the
Indian caste system (referred to by the government as “Scheduled
Caste”). He began to help where he could by initially
providing books and clothing to needy students, as well as paying
for tuition and bicycles, etc. As his efforts and the scope
of his work in the region expanded, others began to join with
him, and this led first to the formation of the U.S. based Sahayog
Foundation, and more recently, to its Indian branch,
the Sahayog Foundation of Chhattisgarh. It
is the latter that oversees the work of the Foundation, which
is currently in negotiations for a parcel of land upon which
a health center and school will be built. |
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