Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy for Rural Prosperity (NVA) , an important arm of Mission 2007, selected Ms Razia and Mr Arshad Hussain , field workers of the Sehgal Foundation, to be Fellows of this initiative. Fellows are women and men, selected by a peer review process, who have demonstrated leadership qualities, good communication skills and commitment to development. They will be further trained in modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to become even more effective role models in their communities and become Master Trainers spearheading the Knowledge Revolution through rural India .

Razia and Arshad were among the 141 grassroots workers selected from 700 nominations received from different NGOs across the country. This Fellowship was awarded by the Honorable President , Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam at the "Second Convention of the National Alliance and the First Convocation of the Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy " - in recognition for social commitment of the individual towards public good. The three day convention was in the form of a participatory appraisal meeting, where perspectives of the Fellows on various issues around Mission 2007 and ICT, were sought. The proceedings of the convention were presented in the plenary meeting of Mission 2007 held on July 13, 2005.

Razia, Arshad and the Sehgal Foundation as a whole are delighted to have been recognized. Both of them belong to the Mewat district of Haryana , inhibited predominantly by Meo-muslims and having some of the poorest socio-economic indices of the country.

In a milieu, where female literacy is about 20% and falls to 5 % in some villages, Razia continued her education and proceeded to fulfill her desire to serve the community. Each year her family tried to stop her studies, but as she won prizes, they were proud and relented for another year, amid taunts from the strict community. She topped her college and got the "Best Woman Award, 1998" by Mewat Development Agency. Now, Razia has a Masters degree in sociology and is the Block Coordinator with the Sehgal Foundation. She is a community mobilizer par excellence and has been instrumental in the Meo-women stepping out of their homes to seek medical attention, training and participate in community work . She has also consistently achieved success in inspiring the male youth towards community work.

So far Razia has found the old fashioned ICT tool of: pictures on charts to be quite effective. However she cautions that the key to its successful use is to pose open questions around it to initiate participatory dialog.

Arshad is a ten-standard passed Meo-muslim who has been dedicatedly working for the development of his native place. He is a great believer of 'team work'. He has been involved full-time in social work since five years. Arshad's dream has been "to see all Mewat villages transformed into model villages" . His forte is community mobilization where he stresses the sustainability aspect of projects and the key role of men in empowering their women folk. Arshad is a " Village Champion " of the Sehgal Foundation and is responsible for the grassroots implementation of the "Integrated, Sustainable Village Development" model. Arshad's work includes making sure that rain water is harvested and conserved, all the adolescent girls and male youth go through the family life education curriculum, there is an increase in the villagers' income, knowledge on preventive health is disseminated and effective curative health linkages are made.

Arshad feels that a combination of ICT tools must be used like wall paintings, village newsletters, and charts, but the most important part is to have face to face focused group discussions.

For further information please contact:

The Sehgal Foundation
Dr. (Ms) Ellora Mubashir;
289, Sector 17A,
Gurgaon, Haryana-122001, India