Together We Empower: Rekinding Hope In Rural India

Book Code: 1111008614122

Marly Cornell

ABOUT THE BOOK

Together We Empower offers a close look at a unique NCO that has been working in partnership with communities in rural India since 1999. The history of Sehgal Foundation illustrates a path of rich progress along with some missteps that resulted in valuable learning. This record reveals the rationale and the hearts behind the organization's entrepreneurial approach to rural development-an undertaking that is deeply rooted in a team culture, collaborative relationships, and an unwavering commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of the rural poor.

“... a roadmap for development workers and organizations engaged in initiatives to bring about sustained long-term social change in partnership with communities, and required reading for students of rural development.”

-Deep Shikha, Ph.D, Department of Economics
St. Catherine University, Minnesota

“Together We Empower is essentially a how-to on sustainable development.”

-M. L. Kansal, PhD, Water Resources Development & Managent
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee

“Educating and mobilizing citizens to invoke democratic processes to access justice is what the rule of law demands and what Sehgal Foundation is doing in India's rural villages . Together We Empower is the story of how and why rural governance has been transformed for the better wherever Sehgal Foundation partnerships work.”

-N. R. Madhwa Menon, LLD, IBA chair of Continuing Legal Education
National Law School of India University

“A well-documented and well-written publication illustrating the rich contributions made by S M Sehgal Foundation to transform the lives of the poor.”

-D. R. Prasada Raju, PhD, FNAE, advisor and head, retd, Department of
Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi

“A unique story of rural development. NCOs like Sehgal Foundation are catalysts for community members to make their own decisions. . . a model worth emulating.”

-Ajallu Niumai, PhD, Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion
and Inclusive Policy, University of Hyderabad, India

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marly Cornell is an American artist, writer, and social justice advocate. She has a BFA from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia and an MA from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. For thirty years, she worked in the corporate nonprofit sector in healthcare, mental health law, behavioral services, and physician recruitment. She is the author of award-winning books: Seeds for Change: The Lives and Work of Suri and Edda Sehgal (Sehgal Foundation, 2014) and The Able Life of Cody Jane: Still Celebrating (LightaLight Publications, 2011). She lives with her husband Ernie Feil in Minneapolis, Minnesota. www.marlycornell.com

CONTENTS

Foreword by M. S. Swaminathan .........................ix
Introduction ..........................................................xi
1. An Inspired Vision ..............................................1
2. Underpromise and Overdeliver ..........................17
3. Building Trust ....................................................29
4. Staying Focused ................................................41
5. Seeing Is Believing .............................................58
6. A Rude Awakening ............................................74
7. The Magic Bullet ................................................90
8. New Heroes Emerge .........................................108
9. Critical Learning ................................................121
10. Good Rural Governance ..................................159
11. Grassroots Engagement ....................................179
12. Looking Back and Looking Ahead ...................200

An Invitation from Sehgal Foundation CEO Jane Schukoske.......... 218

Appendices ............................................................................220
More About the Sehgal Foundation Team ...............................221
Achievement Examples Over the Years ...................................229
Sehgal Foundation Partnerships ...............................................240
Membership Affiliations ...........................................................247
Awards and Recognitions ........................................................248
Glossary .................................................................................253
Acknowledgments ..................................................................262
About the Author ....................................................................264
Index ......................................................................................265