RURAL RESOURCE AND TRAINING CENTRE, UMRAN, MEGHALAYA

Rural Resource & Training Centre, Umran, Meghalaya

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A visit to the North East by a man of cloth like me, would necessarily entail interactions with Christian, usually Catholic institutions. After each such visit, I become enamoured and mesmerised by the kind of work accomplished by the Salesians of Don Bosco in this region. They have made the region grow, and they too have grown in numbers and spread along with that. Presently, they have 4 provinces - Shillong, Guwahati, Dimapur and Kolkota - in this region. Today, from Siloam, where our 3 day workshop on Church of India (and Asia) in preparation for COP30 is held, we were blessed with an exposure visit, led by 3 eminent bishops to another centre of excellence by the Salesians. We had Archbishop John of Guwahati leading the trek around the sprawling rural development centre on the Shillong - Guwahati route, about 2 kilometres to the east.

A vision for sustainable rural development by Salesians of North East, earlier a centre under Don Bosco Outreach, now independently under the Shillong province. 350 acres of land with models and provisions for training in Dairy, Piggery, Horticulture, Organic farming, Pisciculture, Apiary, vermi composting, food processing etc. About 120 ponds, 150 beehives (annual production 2 tonnes) and staff 65 - Green gospel of Bread for the Hungry. Hats off to the visionary Salesians, especially, late Fr Mathachan. Present directors: Fr Keni Pagma and Anugrah. And as would befit our calling and training, ending with reflective sharing of our gleanings for the day guided by a junior Tissian Rev. Fr. Joseph Gonsalves. The reflections are energising - bringing bread to the hungry (livelihood training) by being co-creators, improved vegetation and introduction of new income generating fruit trees indicating the institutional growth, the great water resources and their management, experiment of land use by people who are permitted to produce on the land, importance of proper land management etc.

Some websites show the name St. Joseph's for the centre, even their calendar shows that; but generally, it is known in the secular name of RRTC. Apparently, even the government taps their resources for training government staff and others. I also read a blog by a young enthusiast who was privileged to explore this region thanks to the RYLA camp held at RRTC way back in 2012.

The institution is now more than 30 years old, as vouched by two of our senior participants who have been there more than 25 years ago. Received as a marshy swamp, it has been converted into a model of agroforestry, with the waters collected into the ponds spotted all over the campus. There is a check dam to retain water and release as required.

Viksit Professional Social Work - India 2050

2050 - By then, our (what used to be) young profession would hopefully be a well-established and accepted profession in Viksit Bharat. I would say that one of the indicators of being developed (viksit) would be that the society concerned would require the services of helping professionals, especially, of Social Workers (SW to be read as Social Worker) in plenty, as the highly individualistic members of the so-called developed societies, which are the aspirational model for the rest of the world, would be very dependent on such services, as they become increasingly alienated from other selves and the common home, in the process of progress and development.  

I consider it my good fortune to learn at the school of SW considered the first and no.1 institute in the country, Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS).  It was also my good fortune to have worked at a school of SW, which was the first in our state (Keralam) and in the past few years rated no. 2 in the country (deservedly so, I trust) and to lead the school for some time.  When I started off as a SW Educator, we had just 4 Schools of SW (SSW) in our small state of about 40000 sq km and almost 40 mln population. Now, it has more than 100 SSW (in India, it is now over 1000 SSW).  In the past 3 decades, the presence of social work professionals in schools (especially private), hospitals, the welfare sector, etc., has increased manifold.  The moot question is whether the increased presence of Social Workers is making a difference on the well-being scenario.

By 2050, the barest of my desires is that the Social Work profession will be a legally recognized profession with its own professional body setting norms for its functioning (without making it overly bureaucratic) for enhancing well-being and the common good, in tune with the age-old aspirational prayer of this land loka samasta sukhino bhavantu! Very often in our professional discussions, our concerns, naturally, appear to be the protection and welfare of the professionals (who, generally, are underpaid in this country), and rightly so! But our discussions are very rarely on the profession's overall commitment to the well-being of the society; often it remains assumed or taken for granted, and rarely articulated.  While I am appreciative of the efforts of self-articulation as a profession by NASW, I find 'well-being' and 'common good' conspicuous in its core values by their absence. 

Intergenerational Solidarity: In this connection, Indian Social Work should develop methods that promote family well-being, helping make the family space enabling, empowering and emancipating, rather than affirming or negating the blame on family as an institution of exploitation and subjugation. In this very important area, the profession has to devise means to tap the religio-spiritual resources that are already available in our communities. The NASW code of ethics list among the core values 'importance of human relationships', which I consider is best established and promoted in a family. (Interestingly, I came across this logo, most likely of NASW Zimbabwe, which is indicative of this thrust.)

I would rather have the profession renamed suitably linked to (sustainable) development and management, with no stigma attached to its managerial dimension while not diluting the justice dimension. 

I would envisage the social work profession developing a focus area oriented to democratic leadership and development, with core competencies in policy research and development, conflict management and resolution skills and negotiation skills. Such a background should serve them to enter mainstream politics with a professional background of development and leadership and guide the nation and its people as visionary and inclusive leaders. This should happen while the profession as such keeping its distance from any particular political party affiliation, while making an effort to carry political parties along. 

I would love to see social work presence increasingly in the primary sector of the economy, especially working with primary producers and ensuring them decent earnings and living, as part of the state system through local governance and agricultural department. Because, I believe, a professional social worker in the various offices related to local governance and primary sector production will be able to ensure and enhance the well-being of all concerned. 

I would like to see social workers as part of the primary and higher education system, where such professionals will guide the institutions and their members in social orientation, education in civic sense, sustainability and social outreach. 

I would like to see the Social Workers of the country united under the banner of one professional organisation, with its units spread over all the states, and the profession collectively contributing to the good health and well-being of all, and with a strong research unit to continuously inform national policies in that direction. As the Social Work profession has one of the robust established models in the United States of America, it is natural that it has one of the strongest united professional bodies - NASW.  (I had felt great pride in meeting with Indian Social workers with established careers in the United States, and some of them leading multi-disciplinary teams in medical and mental health settings.) I hope that India will soon have such a unified pan-India professional body, which also takes into account the regional diversities and aspirations. 

Prashant Palakkappillil CMI