Association of India's Development (AID)
Compassion wherever there is suffering,
Conviction that the compassion is strong enough to eliminate suffering,
Courage to make this conviction a reality,
This is AID!
Vision:
Problems of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and corruption reinforce one another. Our inability to tackle these problems, take the initiative, is very much a part of this web of problems.
Solutions to these problems must be interconnected, just like the problems themselves. AID believes that community participation and organization is essential for comprehensive and holistic development..
Mission:
We aim at developing the capacity in communities to seek their own, local solutions to problems that exist. Rather than only thinking of "solving problems" where the problems are implicitly someone elses and the solution something to be found, we also think in terms of practicing the solutions, here and now.
Our Roots:
AID started out among highly educated people as a reaction against people's tendency to "just talk about helping India" but do nothing about it. An organisation was needed to identify potential projects, collect donations from well-meaning individuals and find collaborators in India with whose partnership these projects could be taken up. AID does this though direct involvement with grass-roots movements, NGOs.
AID Bloomington is the local AID chapter at Bloomington, IN and a registered student organization at Indiana University. It was started by students in 2002 and has over 15 active members. It is active in reviewing and funding projects, and in activism for the Bhopal Gas victims.
What we do?
- Review and support projects development projects by raising funds through volunteering and donations
- Provide moral support for victims of social injustices through activism
- Foster discussion on social challenges by documentaries and talks
- Promote cultural awareness by organizing concerts and potlucks
