Longitude

Waylaid by a quick bout with the infamous Delhi Belly, we are now a day behind schedule…actually, we had a contingency plan for just such an occasion.  I was planning to fly back south to catch my flight home, but Ravi canceled that and then booked two train tickets for us, so that we can WORK up until the last minute I leave.  What a thoughtful guy!  Ravi arranged a couple doses of medicine to speed my recovery so we could get back to work, I thought, but actually because he cares so much for everyone around him. I have never met another human being so completely sympathetic to others’ plight.  This is why, I truly believe, so many Longitude volunteers remain involved long after their work camps have concluded.

Ravi is a great man, and it all began in Machilipatnam.  A coastal city on the Bay of Bengal, Machilipatnam is home to the family of Ravi Kumar.  His father was a preacher, and had many children, with most of his sons becoming preachers too, with Ravi and one brother joining the social sector.  One brother passed away young, and his two sisters became teachers and married preachers.

So, the stage was set for Ravi to utilize the compassion he learned growing up for the benefit of others.
From a family of so many who dedicated their lives to serving others, it is no wonder Ravi became the humanitarian he is today. He began working with his father and a local organization which documented the villages surrounding Machilipatnam in order to see that they received the benefits they were entitled to. Most of these villagers were Dalit (or Untouchables) and were systematically denied their rights and access to all resources due to their low position in the caste system, discrimination which has been constitutionally outlawed but which still pervades all institutions of Indian life. In 1977, when Ravi was only 12, a terrible cyclone ravished his home town. Then again in 1990 another cyclone struck, and this time Ravi was prepared and motivated to help.  He undertook direct relief work by himself, to provide assistance when others could not or would not.

This planted the seed for the organization and network of volunteers Ravi would later establish: ARV, or the Association of Relief Volunteers.  ARV is a connection of 281 local and like-minded Indian volunteers who support the efforts to improve the lives of the Dalit, with a specific focus on widows, women and young girls in the poorest of the poor communities.

So, here I am today in the ARV headquarters in Machilipatnam.  When I was putting together Longitude’s first international volunteer expedition to India, Ravi and I decided to do our work camp here.  However, he learned that the conditions in a village further south were much worse than those in his home town.  So, rather than stay where he was comfortable, rather than help those in his home town just because it was his home town, he relocated our work camp to Kothasatram-Indiranagar (KI) Village.

This fateful decision brought us to where we are today.  The construction of homes in KI is nearly complete; we have initiated a food program, providing eggs and milk every day to 80 KI children; we have provided health care, check-ups, medicine to all 250+ KI villagers and emergency treatment for many in the village who may not have otherwise survived; and based on these successes we have expanded our building project into another village, Gummallapadu (GP); added an education program for the GP children, and recently received recognition from the local government for the work we have done in the form of a land grant for 24 more homes in GP, bringing the total to 84 homes.

All of this has been possible because of two main reasons. Foremost is Ravi’s commitment, drive, compassion and love. He is truly and inspiration. Secondly, our volunteers and the network of donors they have linked between family and friends have given us the material resources to make Ravi’s vision to empower the Dalit a reality.

It has taken Ravi and ARV many years to get to this point, as well for Longitude. Ravi’s vision is monumental, but until now we have only been able to work on a few aspects of it at a time. With continually growing support we have been able to solidify and refine Ravi’s vision and now present it as “Uncaste India.”

The Uncaste India Campaign has three main tennents: Survival, Empowerment and Equality.
All of the projects we have undertaken so far fall under Survival: building shelter and providing food as well as health care.  With our addition of an education program in the GP Village we have made the natural progression to Empowerment.  Ravi even foresees being able to phase out the food program in the KI Village and move onto an education program there as well.  The Equality stage is the most ambitious but wholly attainable.  It will require a rights-based advocacy approach in India and other countries who can bring pressure to bear on India to reform.

We could continue to provide food and medicine and build houses here and there, all equally necessary and important activities, but that would just be addressing the symptoms. All three tennants of the Uncaste India Campaign when implemented simultaneously will do more than secure the survival of a few hundred families, it will ensure the equality of hundreds of millions of Dalit for every generation to come.

Ravi and I are meeting with many ARV volunteers later today, and plan to reveal the unified plan for the Uncaste India Campaign. I will let you know how that goes…

For now I am going to walk around the ARV office some more. I just noticed a room full of hundreds of pictures on the wall from every past volunteer work camp. ARV is so proud of the work our volunteers have accomplished and so grateful for all our efforts towards Uncasting India.

I am too!

Many thanks for all your support, and once again…
Wandanamuru!

Rick Mickelson

Longitude Director of International Volunteering