MSP Individual Report 1

Meet 1: It was the first time that we were going to meet Ms. Mittal Patel, the award winning
Social Worker whose efforts gave life to millions of tribal nomad families. As we entered the
building, we saw her sitting on an ordinary chair with a pillow to support an aching back
working her way through a horde of documents. Its the housing project that weve taken up
for the nomads, she says. With limited English speaking capabilities, the famous journalist
stunned us with her humility and warmth. Talking to her regarding our MSP program, she
acknowledged her meeting with Prof. Bindi Mehta and gave us detailed explanation of
everything that she needed from us. Small projects such as documentation, organising
material, handling their digital presence seemed to be the need of the hour. And finally with
the gentlest of smiles, she bids us adieu with a plateful of food for thought.
Meet 2: The second time we went, we met up with Mr._______, the person whom were to
coordinate with from now on. Going through the history of the tribal nomad families, their
accomplishments and achievements, their dance forms and talents and their current state of
health, sir took us through a vivid explanation of a very important part of our culture and the
injustice that they have been facing through the ages. After all the reformations and
advancements, even in the 21st century, our country has not been able to accept and provide
for the inventors of trade in our country. Had it not been for the nomad tribes, there would
have been no exchange of goods amongst villages! They were the ones to bring fame to
Pashmina shawls and Kutchi kalakari! And they are the ones the society degrades and
harasses. Living in conditions that are difficult to imagine, the plight of these nomads has
been long unseen. The NGO, VSSM i.e. Vicharta Samuday Samarthan Manch aims to bring
about a change in the way the nomads are treated and give them homes to stay in and a legal
identity. He then proceeded to mention the schooling facilities that the NGO provides and
their need to document the student details and their performance in digital format for easy
report generation and record keeping. He also wished for us to help the organisation translate
some of their pamphlets, stories and general collected information from Gujarati to English.
We have decided to take up these projects and help the NGO in every way we can while we
are into the course.