RURAL INDIA AND SOCIAL HEALTH IMPROVEMENT

PROJECT

RI SH I
PROVIDING SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR HEALTH CARE,EDUCATION, INFRASTRUCTURE

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

As a Project RISHI marketing co-director, it has been an amazing experience to work alongside such a talented group of peers. From organizing our latest fundraisers to raising awareness on campus about our various projects, it is always humbling to see such enthusiasm from our local Berkeley community. Over the past few months, we have worked on developing a regular newsletter to provide our donors with updated information about our projects and all of our different committees. Most recently, we have held campus fundraisers to secure funds for our upcoming India trip in summer. Some of the projects that we are interested in pursuing include an SMS campaign, improving water quantity project, increasing awareness about health, and improving educational outputs for school children. We are currently working on looking for speakers for our annual symposium. As some of you may have heard, last year's Social Entrepreneurship Symposium featured Sal Khan of Khan Academy, along with a wonderful panel of professors and speakers from amazing organizations, such as Room to Read. Currently, we are in the process of selecting another outstanding panel of speakers for our symposium. We hope to see you in April at our annual symposium. Most of all, we want to thank you all for your continued support and hope that you can help us give back to a very well-deserving group of individuals in our global community! - Sonya Aggarwal

THE PROJECT RISHI SMS TEAM

In the UC Berkeley Chapter of Project RISHI, the topic of SMS and technological connectivity within the village are by far the newest and most rapidly evolving areas of development. We have considered many options thus far. After conducing the economic survey in Vadamanappakkam this summer, it became evident that cell phones were an untapped resource within the village. In the beginning, our focus was to tackle as many issues as possible with this resource. However, over time and with great consideration, we have decided to focus on technological innovations related to health education and water. We are currently in contact with various NGOS to hopefully initiate a sustainable NGO-mediated health project in the village in the coming future. We also decided to address the issue of scarce water supplies and are now drafting solutions to addressing the issue of water quantity and quality in our village. We have collectively begun to work on a plan for a centralized water system, in tandem with rainwater harvesting, that will hopefully be implemented during this years summer trip to India. We are looking forward to these promising ventures. - Rupali Sood

Project RISHI
THE WATER PROJECT
Over the past several years, it has been made clear through extensive research, inquiry and conversation that water quality and quantity are central issues that must be addressed in order to better the livelihood of those living in Vadamanappakkam. Therefore, the Berkeley chapter has decided to work in conjunction with the UCLA chapter of Project RISHI in order to help improve the water situation in the village. Currently, there are three storage tanks collectively providing 120,000 liters of water for the 3,000 people who reside in the village. Each tank serves approximately one-third of the village over a two-day span, but it fails to provide sufficient storage and allocation of water, especially during summer months. Therefore, it is our aim, in addition to UCLAs, to address the inadequate water quality and supply within Vadamanappakkam. reuse. Other alternative solutions include the installment of a UV water treatment system, which uses UV radiation to sterilize and disinfect water. However, rainwater harvesting seems to be a more viable solution since it is less expensive than the UV treatment system, and, more importantly, addresses issues of both quality and quantity. We hope to conclude our reWe are looking into rainwa- search shortly and implement ter harvesting as a possible a new water system within solution to address the wa- the next two years, thereby fostering a better quality of ter problem seeing as this life for all persons in the would effectively take advantage of Indias monsoon Vadamanappakkam. rains by accumulating and storing the rainwater for - Crystal Ghosh

CONTACT INFO

Project RISHI is a 501-3 (c) not-for-profit organization. Please include your donation amount in cash or in a check directly to Project RISHI in the envelopes included or at the front desk in the lobby. All donations will be used to fund our projects. For more information, please email us at projectrishical@gmail.co m and visit us at: www.facebook.com/ projectrishi

Be the change you want to see in this world.

- Mahatma Gandhi

HEALTH EDUCATION AND THE PROJECT RISHI CLINIC

The UC Berkeley chapter of Project RISHI is currently focused on two main goals regarding Health Education. First, to determine the most effective ways to provide information for the community about healthy practices and lifestyles, and to improve the quality of the clinic that was built in the village in 2005. The health education project has made pamphlets and posters for the clinic that cover a wide range of informational topics for patients. We are continually improving these materials and making new resources based on input we have received from villagers and doctors from the Project RISHI clinic. This year, we are working on topics ranging from Anemia and Nutrition for Kids, to Night Blindness and Occupational Health. We are also interested in working with NGOs and using their resources to improve the quality of health resources that we provide to the clinic in Vadamanappakkam. The Clinic Project, the newest of our undertakings, focuses on improving the clinic by recruiting more reliable doctors, medical students, and/or nurses from local cities like Chennai to work in Vadamanappakkam. We are also looking into doctors and medical students in the U.S. who may be interested in working abroad in India. The most sustainable plan of action would be to form some sort of ongoing program with these medical centers, such as the Preventative Medicine rotation, and provide a nonmonetary incentive so that a continued flow of doctors or nurses could work in the village in shifts. It is our hope that the Health Education program and the Clinic Project will not only improve the lives of the residents of Vadamanappakkam, but also act as a framework for future programs in other villages as well. - Preethi Venkat