IN KENYA - THE ORGANIC REVOLUTION

An excellent report by Jill Richardson in Alternet, "How the US Sold Africa to Multinationals Like Monsanto, Cargill, DuPont, PepsiCo and Others," illustrates this fact with examples from Kenya:

The stunted, diseased corn one sees [in Kenya] was planted from the "best" store-bought seed and ample chemical fertilizer was applied. ... 

But the corn growing on the demonstration farm of Samuel Nderitu's NGO, Grow Bio-intensive Agricultural Center of Kenya (G-BIACK), is healthy and thriving. So are G-BIACK's other vegetable crops and fruit trees. Why will he harvest a successful crop when his next-door neighbor will not? 

G-BIACK is an organic farming training center, and the crops there were grown with manure and compost instead of chemical fertilizer. G-BIACK also saves seeds instead of purchasing seeds from the store. The farmers in this region, near the city of Thika, farm tiny plots -- as small as one-fifth of an acre and averaging one acre. Many use chemical fertilizer, but since it is expensive, they often fail to use enough. "Here, in Kenya, if you plant anything without chemical fertilizer, if you don't know anything about organic farming, it can't grow," says Nderitu. But, as G-BIACK proves, those who do know how to farm organically achieve great success. G-BIACK was named the NGO of the Year in 2010 by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and the Government of Kenya. And its next-door neighbor with the failed crop is now attending its trainings to learn organic farming.

About 15 km outside of Thika, a farmer named James is also thrilled he switched to organic farming. Farming only one-fifth of an acre, he used to require two $60 bags of fertilizer to plant his crops. Now, he uses manure from his pigs and he is happy with the results. Like most Kenyan farmers, James grows corn, beans, pumpkins, kale, and other crops for family consumption. For income, he can sell a pregnant sow for $240 or a month-old piglet for $20. Before, he would spend much of that money on fertilizer, but now he can use it for other things. He proudly demonstrates how to use his new well, which his increased income allowed him to afford. Next, he plans to buy a water pump so he doesn't have to pull the water out of the well one bucket at a time.

Organic farming in Kenya is not about hugging a tree. It's a simple financial matter. Those who rely on purchased inputs must use their scarce income to buy them. In Thika, where the population is concentrated and land sizes are tiny, many women supplement their farming income with prostitution. The area's AIDS rate is sky-high, although it has come down from the 37 percent high it reached a decade ago. Poverty breeds AIDS by pushing women into prostitution, but AIDS also breeds poverty, as children are orphaned when their parents die. Some are raised by grandparents, others live in child-headed households. By allowing farmers to keep their money instead of spending it on costly inputs, organic farming gives hope of breaking this cycle. How many fewer women will need to enter prostitution if they can instead make ends meet by farming?

Whereas chemical farming is input-intensive, organic farming requires knowledge. A farmer relying on fertilizer and purchased seeds needs money and the entire supply chain required to manufacture the inputs and distribute them to a nearby agro-dealer. But knowledge is free. Robert Mwangi learned how to farm organically from G-BIACK and soon saw his income increase. With five acres, he was never destitute, but now he has enough money to help family members out when they are in need. Mwangi's neighbors have seen his success and he is helping them adopt organic methods too. At the same time, he conducts experiments on his land to see which methods or crops give him the best results. As each farmer in the community conducts an experiment or two on their land each season, they can share their results with one another and all will benefit.

An internationally celebrated farming technique called the push-pull method has also helped Kenyan farmers increase yields -- by a factor of 3.5. The yield increase is due to elimination of an insect pest, the stem borer, and a parasitic weed, striga, as well as an increase in soil fertility. The farmer pulls the stem borer away from the corn by planting a cattle feed crop called napier grass nearby. Napier grass is more attractive to egg-laying stem borer moths than corn, but few of the larvae that hatch on it survive.

A second cattle forage crop, desmodium, is planted between rows of corn. Desmodium, a legume, fixes nitrogen in the soil. It also releases chemicals into the soil causing striga seeds to "suicidally germinate." It releases yet more chemicals into the air that repel stem borer moths and attract parasitic wasps that prey on stem borers. All of the crops used in the system are native, so no corporation profits, only the farmers themselves.

Elsewhere in Kenya, not far from the home of Barack Obama's paternal grandmother, American Amy Lint and her Kenyan husband Malaki Obado champion native Kenyan crops that are perfectly adapted to the region's long dry periods. To an untrained eye, the area looks desolate and devoid of food, but the locals know better. Walking through their rural village, the point out leafy greens, fruits and crops used for building materials, medicine and rope, all growing wild. These aren't a replacement for cultivated staples like corn, cassava or sorghum, but they provide micronutrients in local diets and improve local food security. With so much natural abundance, one must wonder why the Gates Foundation has sunk so many millions of dollars into creating staple crops with the full range of required nutrients genetically engineered into them.

THE AMAZING ANGEL WITH THE HEART OF GOLD: Architect-Designer Mr. PREM NATH

Angels are visibly invisible !

I truly feel blessed that Sai Baba made me to meet this amazing angel with the heart of the gold when I was the Editor of CW INTERIORS magazine in Bombay in 2008. His great humility and his commitment to his profession speak all for one of India's famous senior architects-designers Mr. Prem Nath. I still remember as if it was yesterday... I mailed him for an interview and the next day, Mr. Prem Nath very promptly and kindly called me over phone and gave me an appointment. Rarely any man who is as busy and as senior as he is, will even bother to call on a journalist first thing in the morning... I am saying this because I have experienced enough during my stint as a journalist. As destined we met and his work is as amazing as his struggle in life. He was kind enough to share with me how life has taken him from the streets of poverty as a child to the world of fame and success. All because he never gave up and worked hard, and is working hard even now. 

I wonder at times, how destiny shapes us all. I wish to share Mr. Prem Nath's early struggle as a child because this is certainly one of the most amazing inspirational ones... let us all go back in time when India and Pakistan was divided in 1947 for the selfish gains of the politicians as millions innocent were massacred for no fault of theirs... he lost his father and his widowed mother with her two tiny sons had to flee Pakistan to land in Delhi. With nothing in possession, life was hard... "my mother used to work in a construction site as a labour and we used to work at a small tea stall," revealed the architect! I still remember, when he said this... I had to hold my tears in my eyes. From the early life of being a child labour, the struggle of the family saw each one working hard to excel in life. All the while, the two little sons used to attend evening school and kept studying hard. "My mother did a lot for us and she taught us to work hard... we owe everything to her," reminisces Mr. Prem Nath.

When the brothers grew up a little, God gifted them with the hands of an artist... so they used to paint street walls, posters to earn a living while never giving up their studies.  Their love for art, calligraphy saw them grow gradually to a better living. Life, still was tough because all of them had to work to pursue education. Young Prem Nath was a bright student and one among the toppers at his college days in Delhi... He recalls, “I was living 30 kms away from College and many a times, didn’t had money to travel in bus. I used to cycle to and fro. It was tiresome because after college I used to work near my house in an engineer’s office as a blue print artist... and it was for the very first time the engineer told me about architecture since I had a good hand. I never knew such a thing existed. Even though I was scoring top marks in college, I thought the B Sc degree won’t take me anywhere professionally. So I opted for Architecture course. Studies and work were going simultaneously.”

One thing led to another. His work was speaking for him as he was a shy person then. He was to join the famous American architect Joseph Allen Stein (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Allen_Stein)  as his personal architect assistant in Delhi but destiny had something else in store for this young man. Architecture Course brought young Prem Nath to Bombay from Delhi. He preferred to move to Bombay and even before finishing his architecture course, he became a Senior Architect in one of the leading architectural firms in Bombay, where he started first working as a junior architect. After completing his course, he was to leave for Delhi but destiny once again held him back. Two major projects were offered to him on his own to design and handle everything... he started to work from his home and the strong belief and support of his first two clients never let the young Prem Nath to leave Bombay... needless to say, his amazing work spread its wings to soar higher and higher!

Today, Mr. Prem Nath is a well-known architect-designer in India and his amazing skill has designed many projects all over India and even abroad. The man who rose from the streets of Delhi today designs the best of the best buildings and interiors... his humbleness however remains on the grounds even today after all the fame and success he has achieved with his hard work. “I have seen ‘poverty’ from my early life... how my mother struggled as a construction labour... the least I can do to is to support people or organization who are helping the needy and the  poor. I am happy that you left everything to help the poor and I am proud of you,” he tells me with a smile and gave me his blessings.

Mr. Prem Nath happens to be one of the 10 Beautiful Angels of the First year (June 2010 to May 2011) and he told me then that whenever I need anything, I should approach him without hesitation. With his great contribution once again, the man with the heart of the gold has strengthen the movement. I am truly grateful to you Sir for everything... Sai Baba bless you and your family always and forever!!!

GROWING RESISTANCE TO GMOs...

1. Europe has 169 regions, 123 provinces and 4,713 municipalities that have declared themselves GMO-free.

2. In six EU countries, GMO-free zones cover almost the entire country: Poland, Greece, France, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.

3. Germany has 190 municipalities with a ban

4. Switzerland has a moratorium in effect until 2013

5. Ireland has declared itself a GMO-free zone.

6. Nearly all Australian states have adopted moratoria against GMOs

7. Thailand has banned GMO field trials and does not allow commercial plantings

8. Five states in India have banned GM cultivation

9. Some local Japanese governments have banned or restricted GM crops

10. Five provinces in the Philippines are GMO-Free zones

11. Venezuela has declared itself GMO-free

12. GMO-free initiatives in the U.S. include five counties in California that have moratoriums in place

13. Alaska in 2006 adopted a state law requiring labels on GM fish

14. Many states in the US have introduced bills to label GM seeds, foods, etc. Most are pending in committee.

SUICIDE RATE IS HIGHER AMONG FARMERS THAN OTHER OCCUPATION IN THE UNITED STATES, INDIA, JAPAN, UK AND AUSTRALIA

COURTESY: http://www.minyanville.com

 

Is the Risk of Suicide Higher for Farmers?

By Justin Rohrlich and Alex Brokaw May 10, 2012 12:45 pm

It's family farmers who are left exposed when the economy turns cloudy. The same 'frontier mentality' that has kept them hanging on for so long often holds them back from seeking help.

Stephen Diggle is bullish on farming.

The Singapore-based investor’s Vulpes Agricultural Land Investment Company, which currently owns corn farms in Illinois, and livestock and produce operations in Uruguay and New Zealand, announced plans to raise up to $150 million to expand operations into Africa and Eastern Europe.

“Yield-producing safe assets are intrinsically more interesting,” Diggle said in a recent interview.

Since 1935, the number of those yield-producing safe assets in the United States has gone from almost seven million to about two million.  And, with fewer than 25% of all American farms earning gross revenues above $50,000, it’s family farmers -- not the Tysons (TSN) and Smithfields (SFD) of the world -- who are left exposed when the economy turns cloudy.

"The only thing I will regret is leaving the children and you. This farming has brought me a lot of memories, some happy, but most of all grief. The grief has finally won out -- the low prices, bills piling up, just everything. The kids deserve better and so do you. I just don't know how to do it. This is all I know and it's just not good enough anymore. I'm just so tired of fighting this game, because it is a losing battle. Everything is gone, wore out or shot, just like me.”

That’s what an Iowa farmer wrote to his wife before he killed himself in 1999. Currently the US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack was the Governor of Iowa at the time. He shared the letter -- and a note from the farmer’s widow, whose identity was kept private -- at that year’s National Governors’ Meeting.

"I am convinced from evidence in our house that my husband listened to the grain markets on Monday at noon, as he usually did, heard them go lower again, and then committed suicide,” she explained.

Roger Hannan sits on the board of directors of the National Association for Rural Mental Health and provides mental health crisis outreach and intervention to farm and rural families in Illinois. He tells Minyanville that farmers today are “facing some of the same uncertainties as other business owners” in the US, but are not disproportionately at risk.

“I don’t see any major difference with the incidence of mental health crises on farms versus their town dwelling neighbors, maybe a little less,” Hannan says.

Dr. Eileen L. Fisher, PhD, Associate Director at the University of Iowa’s Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, has a different perspective.

She tells Minyanville, “Suicide rates for farmers in general are higher than the general population.”

Indeed, a 2004 Norwegian Study of 17,295 adults found that male agricultural workers “had the highest level of depression of all occupational groups.” According to data compiled by R.J. Fetsch, professor of human development and family studies at the Colorado State University Extension, suicide has historically been “the most frequent external cause of death on farms and ranches.” And statistics show the suicide rate is higher among farmers than other occupations in the United States, as well as India, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

But why?

"The Agrarian Imperative," a 2010 Paper by Michael R. Rosmann, PhD and published in the Journal of Agromedicine, “proposes a construct, the agrarian imperative, as an explanation for why people engage in agriculture.” Rosmann, a clinical psychologist and family farmer who is the Executive Director of AgriWellness, a non-profit organization that provides behavioral health services to “populations affected by rural crisis in agricultural communities,” suggests that “domesticating animals and cultivating land to produce food, fiber, and shelter allowed humans to proliferate.”

“In other words,” continues Rosmann, “agriculture yielded survival advantages for the human species. Genetic and anthropological evidence is accruing which suggests that acquiring territories of land to produce these necessities has an inherited basis which is encoded into our genetic material.”

However, while farming may be in our collective DNA, Dr. Rosmann’s research concludes that the “inability to farm successfully…is also associated with an increased probability of suicide.”

“The same traits that motivate farmers to be successful are associated with depression and suicide if their farming objectives aren't met,” Rosmann says.

Unfortunately, the higher prices many farmers have gotten for their output over the past couple of years have also increased input costs (higher beef prices offset by higher feed prices, for example), making “farming objectives” extremely difficult to meet.

One subset of the farming industry has suffered considerable hardship in the past few years -- dairy farming. Being a dairyman was recently ranked as the second-worst job in America on Career cast's 2012 “Worst Jobs List.”

"Physical labor, declining job opportunities, a poor work environment and high stress are all pervasive attributes," the description read.

Michael Marsh, CEO of Western United Dairymen in Modesto, California, confirms to Minyanville that “our farmers are under a great deal of stress.”

“Everyone’s chasing corn ethanol dollars now,” Marsh says. “Fall, 2008, there was a tremendous uptick in feed costs that raced right past the revenues farmers were generating and took away any profit margin they had. Then, around Christmas, we had the first producer in the state commit suicide down in the Hanford area.”

While Marsh believes the “rough economy will continue for the next couple of months,” he forecasts “some price relief going into the summer.”

“Our competitors in Australia and New Zealand dry their herds in winter,” Marsh explains. “As that milk supply goes off market, and as long as demand is there, I’m guessing our milk price will stay consistent going into the fall.”

That consistent price? Fourteen dollars per hundredweight, or 12 gallons. The problem is, it costs $18 to produce $14 worth of milk. Add to that a tight credit environment, and it becomes clearer why California has lost roughly 20% of its dairy farms since 2008.

“RaboBank is working with folks, American AgCredit, and a few others,” Marsh says. “Bank of America (BAC) is still involved in the processing side, though they’ve pulled out of the farming side. A lot of financial institutions are just really trying to avoid dairy in their portfolios.”

Some farmers have lived through this before. Others have chosen not to.

The higher incidence of suicide on farms is often tied to severe economic distress. After the 2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and BSE, or mad cow, the suicide rate among British livestock producers went up by as much as 1,000%. As dairy prices cratered in 2008, calls to the Sowing the Seeds of Hope suicide help line, serving farmers in seven Midwestern states,  jumped by 20%. Fourteen Colorado farmers and ranchers killed themselves, twice the number reported five years earlier. One shot himself dead following his banker’s warning to make his payments or risk “being cut off.”

Being “cut off” in a literal sense is troublesome for those living in isolated rural areas. Dr. Steven R. Kirkhorn, MD, MPH, Medical Director of the National Farm Medicine Center in Marshfield, Wisconsin, tells Minyanville that farm suicide “is an issue of concern, but one we are lacking data to adequately address the problem.”

“Depression in the farm community is under-reported, partially due to cultural issues of self-reliance and just as importantly, lack of access to behavioral health specialists,” Kirkhorn says. “This is an issue that is not addressed satisfactorily by any Agricultural Health or Safety Center that I am aware of and the assessment and care is scattered throughout the rural area. Many of those who need help don’t have insurance that will cover behavioral health services and if they do, the waiting times may be months to be seen.”

Beyond a dearth of accessible care, the cultural issues Kirkhorn mentions are significant.

Western United’s Michael Marsh believes the “frontier mentality” to which many modern farmers still subscribe is a key component.

“It’s that mindset of, ‘Me against the elements and we’re gonna be survivors'," he says. "Let’s say your farm operation started in your family in 1880s and stayed in [the] family all these years. It comes to 2010 and you’re the generation that loses the family legacy. Your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents built it, and here you have the business and all these beautiful animals and barns and milking parlors and employees and then, one day, it’s gone. It’s pretty easy to see how depressing that might be.”

It’s a theory shared by Michael Rosmann, who, in a 2003 conference presentation to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, noted:

“To farmers, ‘the land is everything.’ Ownership of a family farm is the triumphant result of the struggles of multiple generations. Losing the family farm is the ultimate loss -- bringing shame to the generation that has let down their forbearers and dashing the hopes for successors.”

Of course, farmers also have ready access to guns and other lethal means; chillingly, Australia’s National Centre for Farmer Health asserts, “Sometimes what looks like a ‘farm accident’ is actually a suicide.”

Further, some maintain the pesticides farmers use are causing behavioral issues leading to suicides down the line.

From the December, 2008 edition of Environmental Health Perspectives, a peer-reviewed journal from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences:

“A study of farmers finds that those with the highest number of lifetime exposure days to agricultural pesticides were 50% more likely to be diagnosed with clinical depression than those with the fewest application days and were 80% more likely if they had applied a class of insecticide called organophosphates.”

Organophosphates, which are contained in many common agricultural insecticides like Dursban from Dow AgroScience (DOW) and Aztec from American Vanguard (AVD), are also fingered as substances that can lead to depression -- and ultimately, suicide -- by AgriWellness’ Michael Rosmann and Dr. Lorann Stallones, MPH, PhD, an epidemiologist at Colorado State University.

They write:

“Many healthcare practitioners, even those in agricultural areas, are not aware that organophosphate and carbamate insecticide poisoning can lead to depression. There are established links between acute poisoning from organophosphate compounds and increased risk of suicide.

“Acute exposures to organophosphates and carbamates produce headache, nausea, muscle twitching, diarrhea, excessive salivation and sweating, difficulty breathing and severe exposures can lead to pulmonary edema, seizures and death.”

Amazingly, it is even suggested that treating depression resulting from pesticide poisoning with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (i.e. Prozac (LLY), Zoloft (PFE), Paxil (GSK), Celexa (FPI), and Luvox (JAZZ)) may actually increase the risk of suicide.

Ultimately, though the suicide rate among farmers is demonstrably higher in most parts of the world, some accounts can paint an inaccurate picture of an “epidemic,” rather than a steady, elevated state that must be addressed. Ron Herring, a professor of government at Cornell University, interviewed Indian farmers in 2006 after 200,000 suicides in 10 years.

He called "the media construction baseless," and told the Cornell Chronicle, “Farmers were insulted and incredulous: If farmers committed suicide every time they fell into debt, they said, there would be no farmers.”

What does the future hold for the hard-working men and women who put food on our plates? The USDA Economic Research Service has food prices up across the board, year-over-year. Milk, on the other hand, is expected to stay below the 2011 price. Still, John Frey, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence, has a decidedly optimistic forecast.

“2012 will be a historic year,” he tells Minyanville. “We are going to produce 200 billion pounds of milk for the first time ever.”

Frey points out that it took the dairy industry -- which trades milk by weight, not volume -- 62 years to go from 100 billion pounds to 150 billion, but only 20 years to reach 200 billion from 150 billion.

“The average person might wonder, ‘Where does all of this milk go?’” he says. “Well, can you say Greek yogurt? Can you say new varieties of low fat fluid milk? And don’t forget, Americans have an insatiable appetite for cheese.”

2010 and 2011 were good years for milk and Frey admits to a bit of excess supply currently in the market.

“So, here we are in 2012 and we do have a slight imbalance of supply and demand,” he says. “Margins are certainly forecast to be significantly lower, perhaps by as much as one-third, and it’s going to be a year of pulling back in our industry.”

With that said, Frey is certain all will be okay. He rightfully describes the dairy business as “an incredible business with incredible people” and says he is “nothing short of amazed at how our industry came through in 2009.”

“Though, of course,” he adds, “we certainly hope that it doesn’t result in any similar tragedies like we saw then.”

GOVT SHOULD HIRE KORKU TRIBAL FARMERS TO SAFEGUARD ROTTING FOOD GRAINS

If the Uneducated Korku Tribal Farmers of Melghat can safeguard their food grains effectively in self-built SILOS in a simple manner (who are so poor)...

WHY THE HELL the Government with all the billions of dollars cannot build SILOS to safeguard Nation's Food Grains effectively...

SIMPLE SOLUTION: Instead of all the educated IAS in the Planning Commission and the Agriculture Ministry, and the brainless POLITICIANS, the GOVT should hire the Korku Tribal Farmers to safeguard the Nation's billions of dollars of Rotten Food Grains and wastage

The Korku Tribal Farmers will surely do an effective job and safeguard all the wastage because they know and understand what it takes to waste even little food grains...

WE WILL WAIT FOR THE WORLD TO COME FORWARD...

As you build dreams to build a new world
O' Little Angel, I will put in all my efforts

To see you achieve your dream one day
I will put in my BEST of BEST efforts

Even if I have to BEG from the World
I will not hesitate one bit O' Sweet Angel

We will wait for the World to come forward...
We will wait for the World to come forward...
We will wait for the World to come forward...

 --- Johnny D ---

THE REAL PATHETIC PICTURE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH OF INDIA...

Korku Tribal Villagers / Farmers in Melghat, Amravati dig wells with bare hands and basic tools even in this 21st Century...

IRRIGATION PROJECTS in the State of Maharastra under the Congress Rule since the past 37 Years (Bawanthadi Irrigation Project) and 24 Years (Gosikhurd Irrigation Project) have seen the PROJECTS' COST escalating to a whopping 3000 to 4000 % but they still remain INCOMPLETE after all these decades...

The Farmers have been deprived of Water for Irrigation while all the water is being diverted to the Heavy Industries and Thermal Power Projects... SEZ & Thermal Power Projects start operation in three to four years but IRRIGATION PROJECTS... ??? 

WHY ? WHY ? WHY ?

0.1 % Rise in Irrigated Crop Area in Maharastra in the last 10 Years -- 2001 to 2010

While the PROJECT COST of various IRRIGATION PROJECTS escalated to the tune of 3000 % to 4000 % and are still INCOMPLETE after 24 and 37 Years under CONGRESS RULE in the State

"It is true that the Economic Survey has pointed out that there has been a mere 0.1 per cent rise in irrigated crop area in Maharastra in 10 years." Prithviraj Chavan, CM of Maharastra in Indian Express dtd: 5th May 2012.

According to the latest Economic Survey of Maharastra, the gross irrigated area to gross cropped area was 17.8 % in 2000 - 2001 and rose by a mere 0.1 % to reach 17.9 % in 2009 - 2010.

The National Average is 45.3 %.

FIRST BEAUTIFUL ANGEL ARRIVES FROM A DISTANT LAND

"Angels are visibly invisible."

I am yet to thank the TEN BEAUTIFUL ANGELS of the Second Year (June 2011 to May 2012) when Sai Baba sends me from a far distant land (USA) the FIRST BEAUTIFUL ANGEL of the Third Year, starting June 2012 to May 2013!

We have barely known each other for less than a month and her angelic ways has touched the "Journey of Destiny" in a blessed way! Words will surely not be enough to write about this beautiful angel. Her words of encouragement and the will to help and support with whatever possible ways... have amazed me! And when I told her about the blog post to take her permission to write about her, she was quick to request me... 'Johnny, whatever little I can do for the poor children and needy, I am doing because it gives me a sense of giving to see few souls smiling. Please don't mention my name because I would prefer to do it anonymously. It somehow weakens my efforts.'

I respect her wish and request and here I am writing about my First Beautiful Angel... we met through a common friend on Facebook... exchanged greetings and soon started interacting... she is keen to send Baby Clothes for village children and she told me she has three boxes of various things for children and women... yes, while she is making her arrangements, I know it takes a lot of money to ship it from other countries to the small town city of Wardha in Maharastra and I told her... hold on to the boxes for a while... on 30th April, while we were chatting online, she said, 'Johnny I want to send you some money and I will send it on the 3rd of May... I can send little and it will be a gift to a friend... so you are free to make good use of it as you like it.'

And today morning she told me she had wired me the money and asked me to collect it... WOW! I have run out of words to thank this wonderful kind sweet angelic soul... truly SPEECHLESS! In her sweet words - "I feel privileged to help you and those you serve, Johnny. We will get together some clothing, etc., for them. Bless you sweetheart." She responded to the post for Baby Clothes on 30th April and within three days, she became the First Beautiful Angel of the "Journey of Destiny" !

Ever since I started the "Journey of Destiny" so many angels have flown from nowhere to support and help ... I really feel blessed to have known so many angels and am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart to each one of them... they fly from distant land and places, without having met me in person... being connected online through Facebook... totally strangers who feel compassion about my country's villagers. I will not hesitate to even beg my own countrymen for the villagers and their children with whatever it takes... Not many have their conscience at the right place... but my efforts will not stop and I shall try my best to create awareness worldwide and make few people awake from their deep slumber.

She says, 'Watching others' suffering, I have always believed, is as hard as undergoing the suffering. And accepting the fact that people don't want to look at unpleasant things....  I am going to try to stir up Americans to help also, Johnny. And Indians, too. I envy you, strange as that may sound. You are getting a college degree in life. Bless you sweetheart!'

On the 1st of May, after my First Beautiful Angel, I am grateful to two more Beautiful Angels Ankit Tulsyan and Palak Jha from the Second Year said they would like to continue with their support and help this year too... that makes THREE BEAUTIFUL ANGELS... now the search for SEVEN BEAUTIFUL ANGELS continue...

The 'Journey of Destiny' continues...

BABY CLOTHES IN GOOD CONDITION REQUIRED FOR VILLAGE CHILDREN

 

 

A SINCERE REQUEST TO ONE & ALL:

 

BABY CLOTHES: 0 to 6 years, for village girls & boys required...

If any of your family members' cute lovely children (0 to 6 years) have outgrown their clothes and if they are still in good condition, please do send it to me...

They will be in good use for the poor children in villages...

Grateful to one & all for your kind support & help! Sai Baba bless you all forever!!!

Johnny D

C/o Swapnil Barai

House No: 200; Opp: Lohit Complex

Dhantoli Chowk; WARDHA: 442001

Maharastra; INDIA

JAI JAWAN, JAI KISAAN !!

This was the slogan that was coined by the most honorable Prime Minister of India Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri...

Jawan = Soldiers and Kisaan = Farmers are the two most important pillars for any nation. While soldiers guard the nation from external aggression to protect the nation, the farmers grow food to feed the nation. Any nation would be a dead nation without the two... and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri gave utmost importance to both the communities.

Ironical and sad to say, since his departure (he was poisoned during his visit to Russia) none of the Prime Ministers has really bothered to take good care of the two communities.

During my recent visit, I had the chance to meet two extraordinary gentlemen, who belonged to the farmers' families... one is perhaps the oldest freedom fighter alive today in India as he recently completed 98 years in Dharour village, district Ludhiana of Punjab. I was fortunate to spend few days at his home, interact with him and get his blessings. Meet Shri Sarwan Singh Grewal, the freedom fighter from Punjab. I wonder how many of us would be as agile as he is at 99 running years and how many of us would have such a sharp memory even at his age... he remembers each and every date from his childhood and recalls each incident and happening with great detail... even though while serving the Burma Military Police during the Second World War, he was hit by a bullet and sustained multiple injury allover his body, he lost an eye with bullet wounds... every morning he reads newspapers without fail and told us that one of his comrade lost the battle to life recently...

 99 years young Shri Sarwan Singh Grewal with son Ranjit Singh...

All my respect and words will not suffice to tell the story of this brave soldier, son of a farmer. Shri Sarwan Singh Grewal was born on the 1st of March 1914. He studied in Sahnewal village school till VIII th grade and in 1932 joined the Burma Military Police and served for 14 years 90 days, when his battalion was captured by the Japanese and they were PoW for two long months in Rangoon in 1943 during the Second World War. He along with many of Indian soldiers were helped by his own nephew Capt. Ajmer Singh to get released from the Japanese jail in Rangoon and later sent to Singapore unit. After a while Shri Sarwan Singh Grewal along with two soldiers and two officers returned back to Burma and was given the duty to administer accomodation and ration for soldiers.

He remembers the emergence of 4 brigades of Subhas Chandra Bose's INA in Singapore in 1943,... he recalls the name of the four brigades (Subhas / Gandhi / Nehru & Rani Jhansi Brigades) with great precision. Later, Bahadur brigade was also formed... he recalls the disastrous day of 1945 when America dropped two Atom Bombs in Japan... Japan gave away their conquest of the world and there was ceasefire... INA too laid their arms in the same year... Indian soldiers fighting under the British Regime gathered at the Central Jail Rangoon in Burma and in 1945 few of them were sent to India. One among the many, Shri Sarwan Singh Grewal was sent to Momiyon City in Andaman & Nicobar island and were asked to maintain secrecy. He smiles to recall that here they were given a good bungalow for accommodation and the food was very good.

 Shri Sarwan Singh Grewal with son Ranjit Singh...

While they were at Momiyon, they were told by officials that their individual records were sent to India and once it arrives, they will be discharged from service. The long battle surely had taken a toll on every individual fighting to protect the nation... he finally wrote a letter home after many-many years that he was very much alive. Finally in 1946, all the soldiers got their salary and were sent to India... it certainly was an overwhelming moment to meet family members after so many years being away from home. His sweet smile reflects how he cherishes that particular moment even today at 99 years young...

He is thankful to the Burmese Government & the State of Punjab because they still provide Pension for his invaluable service to the nation even now... but the Nation’s Government have been callous to stop the Pension when he returned from Canada after a five-year (2002 – 2007) stay with his NRI son... they have pursued the case but the Central Government Pension have stopped since 2002...

At 99, he wakes up early and have his breakfast at 7 am. After the breakfast, he walks for a while at home only with his stick for his company. His agility is worth mentioning because very rarely he takes support of his son... at 10 am, he eats his lunch and during the day time, he keeps drinking fruit juice or tea or cool drinks... after his lunch he spends near about an hour to read newspapers... a die-hard habit indeed. At 7 pm, after his dinner... he walks for a while and then retire to bed. Oh yes, he always has his wrist watch on to note his food timings shouldn’t be delayed by any chance. He remembers everyone who arrives at home and he also tells family members visiting from USA that so many days are left for them to return back.

I am have been blessed by this wonderful soul and when I went for the second time, he said to me with a smile, “So you love Punjab a lot to have returned back again, good.” It was the sweetest moment of all to be loved so much by him...

The other extraordinary gentleman is my friend Satpal Singh’s elder brother Jagtar Singh’s father-in-law Masterji... well, everyone calls him Masterji with great respect because he was a teacher in the village. However, after retirement, he took to farming and his farms is taken personal care by this 86-year-young gentleman... at such an age he gives the young a tough time to match his energy level and high spirits. Every morning, he gets up early and heads to his farm... works there till 9 or 10 am and then comes back for breakfast... after having had his siesta, he is back again at his farm to work. It was indeed great lucky moments to have had the chance to hear various fascinating stories about their lives...

86 years young Masterji at extreme right in a lively debate...

I salute these two and many others who even at this age show how we youngsters should work with passion... from the bottom of my heart!

Jai Jawan, Jai Kisaan!!!

GOSIKHURD IRRIGATION PROJECT INCOMPLETE EVEN AFTER 24 YEARS

Gosikhurd IRRIGATION Project in Vidarbha: PROJECT INCOMPLETE even after 24 years...

1988: PM Rajiv Gandhi inaugurated with a project cost of Rs. 372 Crore...

2008: Project Cost escalates to whopping Rs. 7,778 Crore...

2012: Project yet to receive nearly Rs. 2,000 Crore from the Central Government... and needs more for the project...

2012: Project Cost escalates to whopping 4000 % from Rs. 372 Crore to Rs. 13,600 Crore

BUDGET allocation by FM Pranab Mukherjee for Irrigation Project in Vidarbha... just Rs. 300 Crores... the CRUEL JOKE is on the Farmers' Community :(

LUCKY TO BE BORN UNLUCKY...

I must confess I have been very lucky to be born unlucky!

UNLUCKY because I never got any love from my own family...

LUCKY because I got multifold unconditional love from many of my good friends’ families, strangers who became part of destiny from all over the world and villagers from different States of India...

Satpal Singh's 87-year-old loving Mother...

I am very-very grateful and thankful to my Sai Baba for blessing me in such a way!

I also wish to thank from the bottom of my heart, all of the above mentioned special people who gave me unconditional love all through my growing up years....

However, whenever I look at true loving bonding of any of my friends' families... I wonder, why I was deprived of my parents' love??? I have no clue and perhaps I will leave this world without ever knowing the reasons, as to why they didn't loved me, even when I loved them with all my heart...  it surely saddens my heart but now I know it is all part of the 'Journey of Destiny" and growing up.

Friends & the loving Mother...

The last two years have been really a trying times of my life and a great period of learning many important lessons of life, as each day I had to overcome my anxieties, patience, worries, obstacles, trauma, depression, and pain... on February 26th, 2012 I took the much-needed break to be with my friend's families in Punjab... you all must have known that instead, I had a nervous breakdown and I returned almost immediately after the wedding... it took me a month to overcome my breakdown and I realized I have not spend a good time with my dear friend Satpal Singh (who lives in New York now) because at his niece's wedding... we all were busy at the celebration.

Quenching my thirst at a farm...

On 29th March when I woke up from my siesta, I had a very strong urge to be with my friend... I called him and he said, "Most welcome." Good friends are the best gift life can give and the understanding we both share is indeed a boon! On 31st, I left for Ludhiana once again and I felt such a great relief to be with him and his in-laws... everyone was happy to see me again and the unconditional love they all showered on me... TOTALLY BLISSFUL PRICELESS!

My friend & My Parjaiji...

I met some of the most extraordinary Indians among his families and I feel truly blessed to get their love and blessings during my stay with them... UNCONDITIONAL LOVE was everywhere I went... as I connected with total strangers and was welcomed with open arms in their homes and hearts... all the while visiting various villages and meeting villagers, who were more enlightened than us, living in cities.

Ranjit Singh Grewal & his 99-year-young father...

 

Satpal’s wife (my Parjaiji = sister-in-law) Rajinder Singh Garcha’s loving family consisting of her loving mother and mother’s sisters, younger sister Baby, Baby’s husband Ranjit Singh Grewal, his amazing 99-year-young freedom fighter father (I will be writing an exclusive blog post because he is exceptional even at this age – fully agile, sharp memory to tell you each date and everything about his life and full of love and high spirits), his sweet daughter Mandeep and her husband, ever smiling son Lali... and Satpal’s 87-year-old loving mother, brother Jagtar Singh and his family and in-laws... and many villagers that I was lucky to interact with... I wish to thank everyone for all their love. Parjaiji was truly so-so loving (I was meeting her for the very first time)... Satpal’s mother was so-so kind, loving and active that at the age of 87, every morning she loved to make tea for us... and felt happy to see us sons enjoying her tea... even at this age, she is so active in keeping her home neat and tidy that it would put a young city woman to shame... with no offence at all.

Parjaiji's Loving Mother & younger sister...

While I was visiting villages in various districts of Punjab, I was always keeping a keen eye to grasp the reasons of Punjab farmers’ healthy prospects in farming... I also managed to convince a farmer to start kitchen garden, which he did and was happy to show me during my second visit... I also captured Jaggery-Making and understood the procedures from villagers...

At a Jaggery making unit at a village in Hoshiarpur District...

My Birthday on the Fools’ Day (1^st April) was memorable as I was with my friend Satpal and his family... the evening was very special as he treated all the family members at a nice restaurant... it was the closeness of togetherness that mattered full of love... Memorable indeed! Grateful Satpal for everything you have showered on my destiny... I am glad you are part of my destiny!!! Sai Baba bless you and everyone in your families always and forever!!!

Life, O’ Life!!! How beautiful you are and Sai Baba thank you so much for everything!!! From Punjab, I was invited by my Fifth Beautiful Angel Palak Jha at Tundla to spend few days with them... This time, I felt very relaxed and the much-needed-break was a boon in many regards... I am glad that I made the trip... more about Tundla trip in my next post...

IRRIGATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN VIDARBHA WILL NEVER BE COMPLETE, Courtesy: The GOVERNMENT

CALLOUSNESS @ Finance Minister's Best!

277 Incomplete Projects in Vidarbha Region require Rs. 29,413 Crore

Pranab Mukherjee allocates: Proposal to allocate Rs 300 crore to Vidarbha Intensified Irrigation Development Programme under RKVY was made (as stated in the BUDGET) - Please mind it, it is just PROPOSED so it will be lesser than 300 Crores, just 1.2 % of the ACTUAL AMOUNT NEEDED to construct the Irrigation Infrastructure... 

Even the best of the world's Economist or Mathematician or magician can ever deny the meagre allocation of funds for the most essential and mandatory source for the farmers' community is sheer CALLOUSNESS in Capital Letters...

My heart really bleeds to see how can an economist be so senseless in allocating just a little over 1 % of funds to construct 277 Irrigation Projects in the Vidarbha region? How in the world will the farmers' community grow more food grains when their water for irrigation, fertile land are snatched away from them? And this will never be the Front Page HEADLINE of any NEWSPAPERS of the Nation or the World... no columnist will ever write about this in any main stream media... no News Channel will ever cover or ask Pranab Mukherjee, PM, Sonia or Rahul Gandhi as to how Irrigation projects will ever be build for the sake of the farmers' community with just 1 % funds by the Nation?

Only when the Supreme Court, Lokayukta, High Court or else the Governor admonish the ruling government under the most corrupt Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh about various irregularities of various scams... only then a probe is ordered or action taken (actually not taken at all, they are only on papers)...

When I started the series WHAT THE FARMERS NEED? - in February 2011, the first point I discussed was IRRIGATION INFRASTRUCTURE without which the farmers' community are totally at the mercy of the Rain Goddess... yes, Bhartiya Kisaan Bhagwan Barose! Even a class fifth student will tell you that Irrigation Infrastructure is the most mandatory for the agriculture nation (70 % of the population depends on Agriculture related industries... but ever since 1947, the nation has been incapable (because of corruption) to build a fool-proof Irrigation Infrastructure for the farmers' community to grow crops year after year.

BUDGET 2012-13:

* Proposal to allocate Rs 300 crore to Vidarbha Intensified Irrigation Development Programme under RKVY was made

•    Outlay for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) increased to `9,217 crore in 2012-13


•    The Union Budget 2012-13 proposed structural changes in Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) to maximise flow of benefit from investments in irrigation projects.

•    Allocation for AIBP in 2012-13 stepped up by 13 per cent to Rs 14242 crore."""

One can imagine the heights of callousness of the nation's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee callous attitude for Irrigation Infrastructure of the Nation!!! As per THE HITAVADA dtd: 28th March 2012, the Governor of Maharastra K Sankaranarayanan has slammed the State Government over the HUGE "Balance Cost" of Irrigation Infrastructure Projects. As per April 1, 2011, the balance cost of irrigation projects in the State of Maharastra is Rs. 75,366 Crore / Billion....

Only one state's Balance Cost is Rs. 75,366 Crore... imagine the scale of 28 States and 7 Union Territories' TOTAL BALANCE COST of the Nation??? And what does the FM allocates in the Budget 2012-13???

This project in Vidarbha Region is still incomplete after 29 years... the Project Cost has been escalated to the tune of 2000 %... and yet... yes, there is no sign of water for irrigation....

As per the reported figures, 277 Projects in Vidarbha Region requires Rs. 29,413 Crore as on April 1,2011. In all, 183 projects in Marathawada region requires Rs. 13,580 Crore and 287 projects in the Rest of Maharastra requires Rs. 32,373 Crore. As on paper (only in paper not on real grounds) there are 747 ongoing projects which requires a total of Rs. 75,366 Crore...

The well-known and often written about Gosikhurd Irrigation Project has still not been completed and year after year the project cost is escalated since the last 30 Years... yes, three decades of Maharastra must have seen more than 10 Chief Ministers come and go... and not a single one has really bothered about the Irrigation Projects... whereas, as many as 87 Thermal Power Projects have been sanctioned by various CMs to help the MNCs and Corporate World... Drinking Water in town city of Wardha is at the mercy of Municipal Corporation to provide drinking water alternate day for just 1 hour and at times one hour after three days' gap... and during summer many times just twice a week... villagers have to walk miles to fetch water for the family in hot sun...in remote villages of Maharastra and other states.

While the PM and his Planning Commission is projecting the Nation's Economic Growth in the world... one look at the picture below will reveal the truth of Indian State's Pathetic Condition of the Tribal Villagers, who are digging wells with bare hands with simple tools (Fawda aur Gaintee)... in the Melghat Region of Amravati district (the district which is home to the "who cares about the villagers" attitude President of the Nation)

The Tribal Villagers of Melghat are still digging wells with bare hands....

Vidarbha Region and the Rest of Indian States will never see completion of Irrigation Projects in  another 1000 years because of the corrupt callous government... in spite of the nation claiming in the world about Rapid Economic Growth... I really admire Libyan leader Gaddafi who built GREAT OMAR MUKHTAR MAN-MADE RIVER (GMMR) - World's Eighth Wonder, which irrigates the whole of Libyan farms and also provide drinking water to the whole Libya... Gaddafi may be a tyrant for the world but what he visioned for his nation is OUTSTANDING and the GMMR will not dry up for the next 50 years... and it is this precious thing why the US invaded Libya to kill him....

NEED HELP FROM THE WORLD...

NEED HELP ! NEED HELP ! NEED HELP ! NEED HELP ! NEED HELP ! NEED HELP !

How many of my friends from all over the world are willing to come forward to help the farmers of the nation under "support 4 suicide farmers families" ?

The Latest Development in helping the Farmers of the Nation:

How many of you would be willing to invest a small part of your salaries to create a farmer owned for profit model that becomes a key player in the market and reaps benefit to share a large chunk of it with the farmers? Your investment is not an investment that offers you RoI as in any company, but it would be equated with the social impact you are going to create. Those interested to know more please write to Swapnil Barai at --- azadswapnil@gmail.com ---

Swapnil Barai & Tejal Rajyagor are the two dedicated TRUSTEES of "support 4 suicide farmers families, wardha" Regd No: E - 350

NEED HELP FROM THE WORLD...

NEED HELP ! NEED HELP ! NEED HELP ! NEED HELP ! NEED HELP ! NEED HELP !

How many of my friends from all over the world are willing to come forward to help the farmers of the nation under "support 4 suicide farmers families" ?

The Latest Development in helping the Farmers of the Nation:

How many of you would be willing to invest a small part of your salaries to create a farmer owned for profit model that becomes a key player in the market and reaps benefit to share a large chunk of it with the farmers? Your investment is not an investment that offers you RoI as in any company, but it would be equated with the social impact you are going to create. Those interested to know more please write to Swapnil Barai at --- azadswapnil@gmail.com ---

Swapnil Barai & Tejal Rajyagor are the two dedicated TRUSTEES of "support 4 suicide farmers families, wardha" Regd No: E - 350