Greetings from Margaret Campbell and Jan Janik:
For the next year, my husband, Jan, and I will be living and working in Koraput, India, sharing our skills in technology and communications to help the Orissa Hill Tribes regain rights to land and livelihood they lost as a result of government development projects.
We are raising funds to help VSO send us and other volunteers overseas to share their skills. Jan and I are contributing our time and expertise. VSO recruits and selects professionals, pays for training in international development, covers the costs of medical insurance and transportation, and provides a small stipend. It costs VSO $30,000 to send a volunteer for the first year. Jan and I have set a fundraising goal of $4,000.
Jan will be working as a technical resource for Pragati (which means “progress) and I as a communications advisor for the Society for the Promotion of Rural Education and Development (SPREAD). Both organizations:
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Create grain banks for food security
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Develop thrifts that insulate tribal members from needing to use "money lending shacks"
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Organize watchdog groups that monitor government projects and provid community input
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Raise awareness about land rights and government benefits
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Build schools
You can read much more about our work and travels at my blog at and thank you, in advance, for supporting this important work.