A short message from Appu

International Citizen Service is a great achievement for community development. That’s why we work in a village called Uyyumballi and see what is the development need. We saw that in the village water is a problem and that some villagers defecate in the fields as they do not have a toilet. 

The group came to Uyyamballi and did a timeline about the history of the village.  Then we drew a Venn Diagram and social map of the village. In the Venn Diagram we saw what the villagers need and what facilities were provided by the government and what other NGOs were doing there.

In Uyyamballi we have constructed 12 eco-sanitation toilets to avoid the open defecation and the owners can use the fertiliser for growing crops. After the toilet construction we painted the toilets and wrote educational messages on the walls.

You might have guessed but it wasn't 5:28 AM or 2009 for that matter...

After the last construction we conducted an opening ceremony.  Simon and Fiona joined in the function.  Some MYKAPs members and a Japanese lady named Saki also joined the function.

ICS is a good experience to learn about backward villages and it is an opportunity to work with foreign people. Thanks to Raleigh for giving us the opportunity to work with the British people; I have learnt good English speaking with the UK Venturers.


I should mention that Appu's use of the word 'backward' is not intended to be derogatory but is the way people often refer to rural village