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AVAG Newsletter # 2

T hank yo u, AVAG ! Summertime in South India; as temperatures are rising and rising, the speed of life slows down. Still there are many things happening. Re ad ho w we cro ss the bo rders o f caste and gender, break the silence abo ut menstruatio n, help members to get fair lo ans and celebrated wo men's day!

Ge t t ing in t o uch wit h t he unkno wn Peo ple make new friends, wo men call each o ther mo ther and daughter o r step into the po nd to pluck lo tus flo wers fo r their special guests... And all this happens between two castes that no rmaly avo id any co ntact in Tamil so ciety! Again and again, I am amazed ho w much lo ve
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In the exchange meetings we get the chance to meet so many new peo ple. A perso n that has never been in to uch with lo w castes calls a wo men she met in the exchange meeting her "new daughter". Peo ple make new friends that they o nly get to

new friends that they o nly get to kno w thro ugh the exchange. When we no rmaly meet this peo ple in the AVAG o ffice, all we might kno w is their name and their village. No w we kno w each o ther as human beeings. We kno w their feelings and lifesto rys, we share o ur pro blems and laugh to gether, this makes me really happy! Aruljo thi fro m Vanurpuddupakam

o ur members sho w, o nce they get the chance to bridge the gaps o f caste and gender. learn mo re abo ut AVAG's exchange pro grams ... Ne xt st e ps t o bre ak t he sile nce After o ur survey in Tamil villages co nfirmed that menstruatio n is still co nsidered a tabo o -issue we are taking initiatives to break the silence abo ut this natural part o f being a wo man. In seminars, wo men get the chance to talk abo ut fears and pro blems when "blo o d is co ming" (mo st o f them have no clue, where it is actually co ming fro m) and get the chance to learn fro m each o ther abo ut their hygiene management, herbal remedies fo r pain and many mo re. check o ut ho w Tamil wo men deal with their perio d... Giving he lp t hro ugh m icro cre dit s Mo st o f o ur members do n't have a lo t o f financial back-up. So what to do when yo ur daughter is sick o r when yo ur ro o f is leaking in mo nso o n time? Lo cal mo ney lenders are still quite co mmo n. Ho wever, they want abo ut 25% interest every 3 mo nths. This makes mo re than 9 0 % per year! Luckily, there is ano ther way. AVAG designed a unique micro -finance pro gram to meet the needs o f o ur members and pro vide fair lo ans. At the mo ment, 40 0 0 members take advantage o f o ur pro gram and we ho pe to pro vide them with even better lo ans by increasing o ur co rpus fund o nce we have the mo ney fo r it. Do yo u kno w ho w o ur unique pro gram wo rks?...

R.I.P. Bhavana

Our fo unding member Bhavana Dee left us o n 11.May 20 11. We are so thankful fo r all the inspiratio n she gave us and will keep her visio ns alive in o ur wo rk. Still we will miss her a lo t!

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Wo m e n aro un t he wo rld - it 's t im e t o ce le brat e ! Many AVAG clubs o rganised great festivals to celebrate internatio nal wo men's day in different villages. In AVAG o ffice, 220 wo men fro m 4 villages jo ined us fo r fun-games, spo rts, fo o d and discussio ns. In Unity, regardless o f caste and o rigin, we celebrated o ur strength and beauty. Check o ut mo re o f o ur latest news...

In t he e nd, we wo uld like t o t hank all o ur do no rs and vo lunt e e rs who make o ur wo rk in the villages po ssible! Furt he r he lp is m o re t han we lco m e . Just co ntact us fo r so me vo lunteer activities - here o r in yo ur ho me co untry o r give us financial suppo rt. Find o ut ho w yo u can help us...

Tel: +91 (0413) 267- 8871 general inquieries: villageactiongroup@gmail.com contact office staff: avagoffice@auroville.org.in

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If yo u no lo ng e r wis h to re c e ive the s e e mails , p le as e re p ly to this me s s ag e with " Uns ub s c rib e " in the s ub je c t line o r s imp ly c lic k o n the fo llo wing link: Uns ub s c rib e

Auro ville Villag e Ac tio n Trus t Irumb ai Main Ro ad Irumb ai, Tamil Nad u 6 0 5111 IN Re ad the Ve rtic alRe s p o ns e marke ting p o lic y.

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