Village Reconstruction Organization

Village Reconstruction Organization
Abbreviation VRO
Established 1969 (1969)
Founder Fr. Michael Windey, SJ
Headquarters Pass Road, Pedakakani
Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India
Coordinates 16°19′49.02″N 80°29′11.28″E / 16.3302833°N 80.4864667°E / 16.3302833; 80.4864667Coordinates: 16°19′49.02″N 80°29′11.28″E / 16.3302833°N 80.4864667°E / 16.3302833; 80.4864667
President
 Sr. Cletus Daisy, JMJ
Director
 Fr. Peter Daniel, SJ
Budget
US $1,019,834.46
spent 2015 [1]
Slogan "In times of crisis
instruments of progress"
Mission Better villages for a better world
Website vro-india.org

Village Reconstruction Organization (VRO), headquartered in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, supports structurally weak, impoverished, and unregistered villages in the coastal regions of Southeast India. Since 1969, VRO has helped rebuild 505 of these village,[2] which are often destroyed by natural catastrophes. VRO also helps villagers through expert advice and funding for the creation of training and health centers, schools, homes for the elderly and children, and programs for the support of women. VRO was founded by Belgian Jesuit Fr. Michael A. Windey and is supported largely by European organizations and donor cities.[3]

History

Michael A. Windey, SJ

The Belgian Jesuit Fr. Michael A. Windey, the founder of VRO, had served at St. Xavier's College, Ranchi, as a professor and as founding director of the Xavier Institute of Social Service.[4][5] A typhoon on the east coast of India in 1969 with floods that submerged Guntur drew him to Andhra Pradesh, ending his career as a professor as he undertook the task of reconstructing villages.[6] Some 15,000 people had lost their lives in this disaster. Together with the local population, he helped to rebuild the village of Rajapeeth with brick houses which would withstand subsequent storms.[7]

The activities of the VRO, which began in the state of Andhra Pradesh, were extended over the years to include the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Orissa.[8][9] Most of its activity continued in the four southeastern states, with seven regions and two clusters, in Andhra Pradesh,[10] Orissa,[11] Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.[12] Dalits and Adivasi are the main peoples served.[11]

VRO was said to be "one of the first groups to pioneer with savings and credit groups," in the wake of the flood in Guntur.[13] In 1987 VRO was among two NGOs in India and eight in all of Asia singled out for a case study by Habitat International.[14][15] In 2015 VRO had projects in 5 states with 320 volunteers.[16]

Windey was reputed to have a Gandhian type approach that "made ordinary people self-reliant and dignified.... (He) never bothered about the religion of the person he helped. ... While selecting villages, he always chose to help the poorest village."[17] He has also been described as "the heir to Mother Teresa's legacy of aid projects."[18] The Times of India described his "rare crusade for better village life."[19] A dialogue conducted with Windey in 2009 conveys much of the spirit and extent of the VRO movement.[20] He died at Heverlee, Belgium, the same year. His fellow Jesuits described his ideology and methodology as "ecumenical, Gandhian, voluntarism, and mobility" and his battle cry as "in times of crisis instruments of progress."[5]

Activities

The VRO assists with the construction of villages as well as facilities within the villages: schools and skills training centers, health clinics,[9] childcare and community centres,[21] and homes for children and homes for the elderly,[22] especially among the dalits.[23] Jesuit novices help with VRO programs such as Bala Mela, construction works in villages, laying of roads, and archeological survey.[24]

Houses deteriorate quickly from the weather and so low-cost building material is used which can stand up to the severe weather conditions;[25] VRO was singled out for its "innovations in low-cost building materials... (from) rice-husk ash cement."[26] VRO also carries on eco-friendly programs[27] and for the preservation of forests. Its approach is "community-based participatory." After consultation with VRO experts, decisions are made by the village council.[28]

Various cities in Germany are involved in giving financial support while most of the labor is supplied by villagers.[21] In 2010 the non-profit association "VRO Deutschland – Village Reconstruction Organization eV" was formed in support of VRO-India.[29] Also, VRO-India was the "mother NGO" for Society For Integrated Rural Development[30] and was the training ground for the future director of the Society for Community Organisation and Peoples Education.[31]

VRO's Annual Report in 2015–2016 showed overseas donations at US $807,090 and local contributions at US $131,910. Foreign aid came largely from Switzerland, with Belgium,[32] Germany,[9] and Austria[33] making up most of the rest.[1]

Awards

Awards bestowed on Fr. Michael Windey, S.J., and on the work of the VRO:

1972: Best NGO and Gandhi Award (Guntur)[34]
1994: International Man of the Year Award (USA)[34]
1998-99, 2001: Nomination for Intern Livelihood Award (Finland)[34]
2000: International Environment Award (Nepal)[34]
2001: Millennium Award for Industrial and Social Peace (XLRI)[34]
2002: Demiurgus Peace International Prize 2002 (Zug, Switzerland)[18]
2004: Vredesprijs Kerk en Leven-2003 (Belgium)[34]
2005: Knight of the Order of the Leopold Award (Belgium)[35]
2006: Servant of the Poor Award (CNRI, New Delhi)[34]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 "Annual Report 2015–2016" (PDF). Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  2. ↑ "Built VRO villages since 1969 in Orissa, Andhra N+S, Wardha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu N+S" (PDF). Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "VRO – Village Reconstruction Organisation – India". vro-india.org. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  4. ↑ Arnault, Sabien. "M. A. Windey – Founder Director". 2013 Village Reconstruction Organization – India. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Welcome to Ranchi Jesuit Society". www.ranjesu.org. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  6. ↑ "Founder – VRO". vro-india.org. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  7. ↑ "Discussion: Village Renewal versus Megacities – Self-Help Project in India" (in German). Detail. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  8. ↑ The Cooperator, Volumes 28-29. Cornell University: National Cooperative Union of India. 1990. p. 11.
  9. 1 2 3 "german youth tourist returns to help village reconstruction in india – ucanews.com". ucanews.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  10. ↑ Thomas, K.V. (2014). Left-Wing Extremism and Human Rights. New Delhi: Sage. p. 206. ISBN 978-81-321-1158-0.
  11. 1 2 Roy, ed., Kanchan (1989). Education and Health Problems in Tribal Development. New Delhi: Concept. p. 105. ISBN 81-7022-236-2.
  12. ↑ "Coverage – VRO". vro-india.org. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  13. ↑ Bandyopadhyay, Tamal (2016). Bandhan: The Making of a Bank. Haryana, India: Random House. ISBN 978-8-184-00498-4.
  14. ↑ "Building Community: A Third World Case Book". MIT. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  15. ↑ Turner, Bertha, ed. (1988). Building Community: A Third World Case Study. Building Community Books. ISBN 1-85416-000-1. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  16. ↑ "Minutes of PDD Hyderabad: Oct 2015". Jesuit Conference of South Asia. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  17. ↑ Fromm, Joseph (2009-09-22). "Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit: "Rest In Peace", Fr. Michael Anthony Windey, S.J.". Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  18. 1 2 "10/12/02 Demiurgus Peace International Gathering, by Susan Witt, 12/24/02". ratical.org. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  19. ↑ Bonser,, Charles F. & Ringeling, Arthur (1994). The Role of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in National Development Strategy in Arab and Middle East Countries: Proceedings, the Arab and Middle East Seminar, Cairo, Egypt, 29-31 March 1993. Indiana University: International Institute of Administrative Sciences. p. 70. ISBN 929056072X. The Times of India article was 29 December 1992, p.16.
  20. ↑ "Interview in 2009" (PDF).
  21. 1 2 "Achievements". Kruger Foundation for Child Aid. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  22. ↑ See "programs." Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  23. ↑ "Das Projekt". www.zum-tod-lachen.at (in German). Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  24. ↑ "Andhra Jesuits, Jesuits in India,". andhrajesuitprovince.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  25. ↑ Maxwell, Robert (1979). Directory of Institutions and Individuals Active in Environmentally-Sound & Appropriate Technologies. UNEP reference series. Oxford: Pergamon. p. 41. ISBN 0-08-025658-9.
  26. ↑ A Compendium of Information on Selected Low-cost Building Materials. United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (1986) p. 93.
  27. ↑ "Village Reconstruction Organization VRO THOZHUPEDU Office – Wiser.Directory". Wiser.Directory. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  28. ↑ K. Jackson, Social, Economic, and Institutional Aspects of Agro-forestry. United Nations University, 1984 – Agroforesterie – Congrès, p. 17.
  29. ↑ Administrator. "Verein". www.vro-dorfbau.de (in German). Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  30. ↑ "::..Social Welfare Association..::". www.sfird.org. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  31. ↑ "Training for Director of SCOPE" (PDF). Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  32. ↑ "BIVRO vzw". Donorinfo. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  33. ↑ kiku-heinz. "150 Jugendliche kochen für sozialen Zweck groß auf" (in German). Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Obit in XISS Bulletin" (PDF). Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  35. ↑ Today, Christian. "‘Village Builder’ Windey honoured with Belgian award". Christian Today. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
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