"Brain Circulation" The buzz word for Diaspora volunteering

Last Friday (22/02/2013) I attended the Diaspora Volunteering Alliance annual conference on behalf of Basti Ram. The day was a chance to discuss the challenges of international development and the role of international aid agencies in supporting diaspora communities. Some of the key speakers were: 

• The Commonwealth Foundation
• DFID
• BLF
• Comic Relief
• London Met University 

There was an inspiring start; with a few selected diaspora organisations sharing their experiences and successes of diaspora volunteering. Speakers from Hirda UK, ZDDN, Wheat, AFFORD and Word Trust. 

The main focus was the benefits that diaspora organisations can bring towards international development and the many aspects of development. For example, the importance of investing in small and medium enterprises (SME's), that development doesn't just mean a traditional view of a "North-South transaction"(Vijay Krishnarayn, Director of the Commonwealth Foundation) and the impact of remittances on development. For example, the Kenyan Central bank estimated that by the end of 2012 over $100 million was sent in remittances! This is a staggering amount and doesn't just stop at Kenya this can be found across the world due to diaspora communities sending money back home. 

So what were the common areas of discussion? The day looked at how diaspora organisations are:

• Advocates for development; providing better quality aid and more. 
• Interlocutors in development; by advising the best ways to spend the money and ending the traditional view of a north-south transaction. 
• Agents of commerce; using business as an agent of development. 
• Cultural Influences; diaspora communities sharing ideas and knowledge of gender equality and healthcare. 

The buzz word of the day was "Brain Circulation" with many agreeing the role of diaspora organisations was circulating knowledge and skills around the world. 

Some other interesting issues that came up was:

• Resources; the importance of a space to discuss, for more research around the diaspora's role to play in development. 
• For aid to be given out similar to a loan; with targets to reach etc... 
• Capacity building for diaspora organisations. 
• The advantage diaspora organisations can have in politically difficult countries. 

We really enjoyed the day and thank you DVA for holding the conference! 

If you would like to know more about the work we do or how you could get involved please visit www.bastiram.org or email info@bastiram.org

Thanks for reading!

Rachel =)

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Basti Ram go green

Another weekend, another fair for Basti Ram, this time it was the London Green Fair in Regents Park. 


The Saturday was lovely and sunny, and though we had to battle over the wind (occasionally running off across the park after a piece of paper that had made a bid for escape) we were inundated with inquiries from potential volunteers and even sold some Rajasthani handicrafts. In keeping with the green fair theme - we were selling bags and notebooks which are made out of old bits of sari material.


The Sunday was not so pleasant, it was raining all day, luckily we'd bought along some chai which warmed us up considerably. Thank you to everyone who braved the wet weather to come and chat to us on Sunday.


The highlight of the whole weekend has to be speaking to the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan via live video link as part of the Indian televisions channel NDTV's Greenathon. We had everyone in the volunteer apartment watching live - very exciting indeed! You can watch the clip of our interview here. 


We hope that some of the lovely people we met at the fair will come and volunteer in the communities in India.


Thanks,

Tabitha


Ps Please forgive me the bad photos, I forgot my camera so had to rely on my phone...

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A May Fair

It was a blustery, but sunny, day in Hackney last Sunday. Perfect weather for a May fair. 

Amid the stalls selling bric-a-brac and pot plants at the well street common may fair the Basti Ram team had a stall offering an array of Indian themed goods for sale. The home made samosas went down very well especially when accompanied with some hot chai...

Thank you so much to everyone who come and sampled some of our Indian food, we raised £70, not bad for our first fair. This money will go towards supporting our projects working with underprivileged rural communities in Rajasthan.

Tabitha 

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Chai time

Who doesn't love chai...?The sweet spiced tea is the perfect pick-me-up and for many the drink is central to life in India. People can't start their day without a cup and the chai wallah is kept busy delivering piping hot tea to people as they work; in the evenings their is always a large crowd around the chai stool with people discussing the events of the day. 

Here at Basti Ram we think that holding your own chai party is the perfect way to bring a bit of the vibrancy of India to your own home while also raising money for a fantastic cause; a mobile school which bring teachers and educational resources to isolated rural villages around Udaipur. 

I recently held a party in my living room and the ginger chai and cinnamon and cardomon chai went down a treat....

 

 

We have designed a pack, including tasty chai recipes and decoration ideas (like the newspaper teapot and teacup chains in the photo above),  so it couldn't be easier for you to hold your own event. Email tabitha.bastiram@gmail.com to request a copy.

Thanks,

Tabitha

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