Gramya Manthan is a nine day rural immersion journey with 40 passionate changeagents to remote villages in Kanpur Dehat, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is an annual program of Youth Alliance, currently in its fourth year of running. This year the program will be from June 13 – 21, 2015.
The program aims at developing a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us by practising shift in our perspective, that is by practising empathy. This is nurtured by bridging the rural-urban divide and creating a space to observe, understand and learn the diverse realities of India. The idea is also to bring ourselves in sync with the complex actualities of rural life, thus allowing ourselves a platform where we at least begin to think on pertinent issues and try to break away from our preconceived notions which thrive on populist knowledge. The program has been enriched by interactions with Mr. Anshu Gupta (Founder, Goonj); Mr. R. Elango ( Kuthambakkam Village); Mr. Ravi Gulati (Founder, Manzil); Mr. Ram NK (Founder, Rang De).
Impact of Gramya Manthan
In last three year we have witnessed a shift in the mind-set of people we are working with. For Example in village Ganga Deen Nevada, when in 2012 we were in the process of setting up the livelihood center Swaraj, it was hard for us to find women who can travel outside their village to Delhi for training so as to come back and start working in the village but now nearly all of them have been to our center and have shown willingness to work. A shift in perspective was observed in participants post-Gramya Manthan. Our alumnus Aananth found it eye-opening to see villages with hardly any electricity supply. For many of us such simple observations meant realization of our privileges. In the past three years, we have received 80 participants from 20 States. Of these 6 went to study development, 22 are working in development space part time or full time and 11 initiated enterprises.
PFA the concept note on Gramya Manthan. Please share this with relevant people and at right places! To read more about the program, click here.
Apply to be part of 2015 cohort – http://youthallianceofindia.org/gramya-manthan-2015/apply/
Next Deadline – 26th April
Final Deadline – 10th May
Here’s your chance to join a community of doers, of change-makers! Hope you make the choice.