‘NORTH EAST RISING’

 

GUWAHATI, FEBRUARY 15 (MExN): Kunti Bora, from Nagaon formed 22 self help groups, encompassing hundreds of women in 6 districts of Assam. Lalthanzami, from Mizoram is a victim of domestic violence, who has set up a piggery project to help other violence affected women of her region. Prosper Marak, from Meghalaya brought together the youths of Garo Hills to stop illegal coal mining and deforestation. These are a few names in a long list of inspirational people, making efforts to bring positive change in the North East.
To further the cause of such change-makers, Foundation for Social Transformation (FST), will launch the North East Rising Campaign on February 17. A press note from FST informed that this campaign is an effort to re-energize “the spirit of giving” in the region for the development and peace.

FST says that it is an initiative to garner people’s support from the region as well as around the world by crowd-funding financial support for 7 “grass-root change-makers” from the North East. The FST press note cited its Executive Director, Gayatri Buragohain as saying, “Community giving is an age old tradition in the North East where the community has always pitched in with whatever they can to support those in their community who are facing a calamity or hard times. North East Rising Campaign is a novel way to re-energise this custom in an organised manner.”

Under this campaign, FST will choose seven “grass-root change-makers” from the seven NE states and provide them financial support as well as capacity building needed in their work for a period of one year.

FST stated that the North East is a “colourful mosaic of rich natural and human resources, and unique social and cultural practices of a variety of indigenous communities.” However, it lamented that owing to the challenges of being regarded as a frontier region and due to decades of conflict, the region has suffered immense loss of resources and has lagged behind the rest of India in many development indices.

FST expressed confidence that through a little financial support, the work of such “change-makers” can be scaled up by many folds and enable them to emerge as new leaders of the region, “who will be pioneers of peace building too.” Since its inception in 2008, FST has provided grants to 54 partners from the seven NE states.