Scientific and technical empowerment of villagers has helped Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy (NVA) come closer to the Gandhian ideal of developing rural India, M.S. Swaminathan, founder chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, observed at the 11th convocation ceremony of the Academy here on Monday.
With 74 NVA fellows from nine States graduating this year, Prof. Swaminathan said India’s poor ranking in the World Hunger Index could also be addressed if the information fellows could spread the message of importance of bio-fortified food to fight malnutrition in their respective villages.
The MSSRF had recently set up a garden displaying genetically bio-fortified plants, which he urged the fellows to take ideas from.
Nancy J. Anabel, who heads the IEC team at MSSRF, said that the Academy plans to train at least one million fellows, to ensure that one man or woman from each of India’s over 6,00,000 villages was represented.
Trained in computer skills and equipped to function as channels of valuable information pertaining to health, sanitation, social welfare and entrepreneurship, the rural information fellows passing out of the Academy have addressed many developmental challenges in their respective villages.
Bridging the divide
The Academy’s primary goal has been to bridge the knowledge and information divide between urban and rural India using ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies).
“Becoming a part of the Academy in 2005 brought me out of the confines of home and exposed my abilities to the outside world,” Kasthuri, an NVA fellow said, adding that learning to use the computer was empowering as she could now teach it to other women.
Sharing her experience of representing India at the WSIS summit in Geneva a few years ago, she said the experience gave her a lot of confidence and men in her village looked up to her for leadership now.
Pinki Devi from Ranchi, Jharkhand, said that after being trained at the Academy, she was working among 700 women in 17 villages resolving medical issues at the same time also teaching them things such as vermicomposting that they could use in their daily lives.
Mallika, another fellow from Pudukottai, shared her experience of encouraging village panchayats in her district to adopt better sanitation practices, build new toilets and stop open defecation. She also shared her experience of encouraging schoolchildren to maintain personal hygiene as a means to avoiding illnesses.
Bruce Albert, former president of the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S., lauded the fellows and said that in his interactions, he had learnt much and taken back lessons home. “The activities of the Academy improved my understanding of the role science can play in international development.”
