Meera Bondre

Arbutus Childern's Cultural Centre is a registered public charitable trust, listed in the Directory of `NGOs in Environment' published by the Department of Forests and Environment, Government of India in 1984. We started work with school children with a conviction that Environment Education is the key to an all round personality development. But slowly our activities grew and the scope of our work increased. We now also work with the youth: the graduates, post-graduates, students from professional colleges, management institutes, teacher training institutes as well as social workers, and spread public awareness.

Besides this, we are also engaged in eco-development projects of two small villages on the outskirts of Pune city. Here, we organize self-help programmes for the villagers. Our projects have been helping the farmer communities in solving their own problems of education, irrigation, energy availability (through biogas), training in sustainable agriculture, production of education support material for organic farming, adult education, and micro-saving.

Today, Arbutus also has a Centre for Sustainable Development and a Centre for Performing Arts. I have been able to expand and develop our membership by identifying suitable women for suitable jobs and motivating them to work for the organization voluntarily. I have been able to do the same for UWA Pune, where I started two ongoing activities. I established the Environment Cell in 1989 and served as the first Convener for 6 years. This activity is now a part of our Research and Development Cell. In 1994, I established Chhand Rang, a joint venture of UWAP and Arbutus, which now is an example of a successful partnership between two NGOs. Here, girls and women from lower income groups are taught income generation skills like sewing, knitting, embroidery, toy making, cooking, etc., so that they can start small businesses which they can operate from their houses. With our certificates, they also get jobs, which in turn empower them. This project is similar to the much talked about 5-O project.

While I was the first convener for the above mentioned activities, I have recruited many new members to our Association. As I come across a broad spectrum of different stakeholders in the society, right from children to professionals, from educationists and scientists to farmers, I have been able to recruit members with diverse interests and cultural backgrounds.

I will arrange innovative and useful programmes which will attract new members at the local level and sincerely do the work allotted to me by the Convener at the International Level to strengthen IFUW.

I will announce some e-projects for members and their non-member friends on varied topics of current interests. Thus, we will enrich each other and get new members. I will also enhance networking with like-minded people and institutions and conduct joint projects.

Pune is a very important business centre. Women are taking an active role in their professional careers. Graduate women from other parts of the country are also migrating to Pune. Thus, there is a growing potential for UWA membership. UWA Pune runs a Working Women's Hotel. Similarly, we give scholarships to women for higher education. These women can be potential members.

Many women take up graduate, post-graduate and higher studies. For the membership drive, we have to tap students when they are young. Today's undergraduates are tomorrow's potential members. As already mentioned, we reach them through our scholarships. We also have to organize useful and attractive programmes for them. They are from diverse backgrounds and mentoring them, falls within our objective of education and empowerment through education.

Organizing Round Tables of such students with UWA members on relevant topics is one such good idea, which will increase interaction of existing members with the potential members.

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