Minutes of the meeting held on Saturday, September 11 2004.
(Minutes by Amrish.)

In attendance were:

Aneesh, Shankar, Anirban, Manoj, Hansa , Sumathi,
Dipali , Uday, Priyanka, Ananya, Amrish and Shashank

The speaker at the meeting was Shri Anil Singh, the
founder and leader of NEED (an NGO in India).  For his
work in the social sector,  Anil was named a life-time
Ashoka Fellow a few years ago.

Anil's talk was in two parts.  First he described his
childhood, his work at IIM Ahmedabad and his career at
IDBI.  Thereafter, he narrated why he gave up his
regular job in order to make a difference in the lives
of rural Indians.

At IIMA, Anil conducted research and came into contact
with people who influenced him and have been a source
of strength to him during difficult times.  While at
IDBI, he was sent to Gaya, Bihar.  He went beyond the
call of his duties to improve the lot of the blanket
weavers in the area by coming up with innovations that
reduced the hold of the middlemen over their lives. 
This enraged some Bihar politicians who saw him as a
threat to their interests and he was forced to go back
to Mumbai.  His subsequent posting was at Lucknow.  As
an IDBI representative,  he was empowered to identify
and fund projects.

After a few years, he came to the conclusion that
money was effectively being wasted with little, if
any, benefit going to the intended recipients.  He
felt that with his knowledge of the rural sector, he
would be much more effective if he were not encumbered
by the government bureaucracy.  Therefore, he quit 
his secure job and founded NEED which is much more
than a micro-credit granting organization.  Working in
3 districts (Badaun, Bara Banki and Sitapur) of
eastern UP, NEED has established self-help groups
(SHGs) in hundreds of villages.  Emphasis is on gender
equality, health care, employment generation and
education.

Anil kept the audience spellbound by his vivid
description of his grassroots level work.

After the talk, a dinner was hosted by the Chapter at
a local restaurant to honor Anil and also Manoj
Prabhakaran (of Princeton Chapter) who is moving to
UCLA.

Regards.

Amrish