NORTH-EAST INDIA, an enterprising destination, is endowed with abundant resources, but they are poorly utilised. The society has rich ethnic diversity, which is marred by violence and terrorism. A large percentage of population lives below the poverty-line, worsened by high levels of corruption. On the back of this scenario, three dedicated Salesian Brothers of Sacred Heart Theological College, Shillong, having a background in Social Work, decided to give their development initiatives an organisational structure. Ruminating carefully, they formed Bosco Reach Out (BRO) in 1983, to ameliorate the condition of the less privileged in the North-East.

From 1983 to 2008, BRO has come a long way, overcoming innumerable barriers through thick and thin, ushering in a period of phenomenal growth and economic upsurge. BRO ab initio has been growing and developing by reflecting on its work and values in solidarity with the global, national and regional development trends, goals and ideals. Displaying unflinching dynamism, efficiency and generosity, the leaders of BRO have made great achievements in their work for the needy. As the social development organisation of the Salesian province of Guwahati, its initial years were spent in the economic reconstruction and community building in the poor tribal belts of North-East India. Rendering yeoman service, this great saviour of suffering humanity in the North-East graciously celebrated its Silver Jubilee in Shillong and at Guwahati, recently. Speaking on the occasion at Sankardev Kalakshetra, Guwahati, on November 7, 2008, former Executive Director of BRO, Fr Davis Aricatt said, “It is said that there can be no development where there is unrest. But, BRO, true to its motto – development through empowerment of people – is empowering the people through information awareness, education, skill development etc., even though there are incidents of violence and terrorism. The primary focus of our work has been the rural people.”

What BRO has achieved in these past 25 years is beyond anyone’s imagination – it’s just incredibly enormous. There is hardly any NGO in the North-East region of India with such networking or following. No wonder, BRO has become a household name today, especially in our region. Through massive mobilisation of people, especially through the formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs), Cluster Level Federation (CLFs), through Income Generating Activities (IGAs), Micro Financing, Sustainable and Community Development Programmes and now, with District Rural Development Authority (DRDA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) concepts, BRO has built up a huge network with individuals and communities to make it truly a people’s organisation.

The new Executive Director of BRO, Fr. Johnson Parackal said,“In the coming years, we want BRO to take new initiatives and directions in the developmental scenario with new and greater challenges and changes, both at the individual and organisational levels, changes which will bring about qualitative and quantitative differences in the way we look at development concepts and the whole gamut of development activities. In keeping with the very name of the organisation, we want to reach out to the still unreached, unorganised and under privileged sectors and the communities of North-East region.”

The mission of BRO is to achieve integrated development through empowerment of people by organising them into Self Help Groups, building their capacities and enabling them to utilize the available resources.

BRO seeks to achieve a number of goals. The dedicated staff of BRO works tenaciously to help in the formation, nurturing and shaping of SHGs into people’s organisations. It enables people to have access to micro-credit through Self Help mechanisms to enhance their economic status. It intends to increase income though improved production and marketing of agricultural products, promotion of farm enterprises etc. It seeks to ensure food security through improved food products. It aims at working towards greater gender equality. It aims at strengthening traditional governing institutions of tribal communities to be able to work for the well-being of their communities. It ensures that communities enjoy better health by solving problems related to malnutrition, malaria, TB, reproductive health, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

Over the years, BRO has undergone many project interventions in its operational territory with some rare, result-oriented and project-based objectives. In the process, the organisation has played an instrumental role in shaping people’s organisations at the grassroots by supporting many people’s movements. So far, BRO has extended its reach in the following areas as a major facilitator of these developmental interventions: Integrated Community Development Programme, Child Development Programme, Sustainable Livelihood Support, Vocational Training for School Drop-outs, Disaster Risk Reduction Programme, Women Empowerment and Community Health Care.

In recent years, BRO has introduced a Rights Based Approach (RBA) in its developmental activities. This has helped the organisation to make a place for itself in the policy level dialogue with the government, so as to influence policy decisions in favour of the marginalised sections. The organisation has strongly dedicated itself to bringing the region at par with the rest of the country by implementing a uniform strategy of planning and growth.

The bid to undertake various developmental activities by the BRO has been mandated by the Salesian province of Guwahati. BRO is deeply committed to carry forward its ambitious project of taking the rural, poor and down- trodden communities of the North-East region of the country to greater heights of glory. By rendering unstinted support to the cause of people’s movements at the grassroots levels, BRO has opened up a new door of possibilities for the economically deprived communities, especially the tribal communities living in isolation from the mainstream economy.

To this end, the Rural Resource and Training Centre (RRTC) at Umran in Meghalaya was opened as an autonomous wing of BRO. It is developing and demonstrating live training on modules like livestock, agriculture, fisheries, vermicomposting, organic farming and other need based programmes related to the welfare of the rural communities. A new Agriculture Training Centre at Joropara, Mendal has also come up for strengthening the agricultural extension services of Garo Hills, Meghalaya and the Goalpara District of Assam. The centre aims at enhancing the socio-economic status of the rural farmers by building up their capacities to produce better quality farm based products through more systematic and broad based agricultural extension programmes. At the dawn of the third millennium, the United Nations adopted eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), namely, eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, universal primary education, gender equality and empowerment of women, reduction of child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, environmental sustainability, and evolving a global partnership for development. BRO’s development concern in the Northeastern region of India is very much similar to the above mentioned MDGs. While striving to bring equality, freedom, development and justice in local communities, BRO is also setting examples within itself through its policies of decentralisation and transparency. BRO has given special emphasis to gender empowerment programmes, especially to those related to women, children and youth. This will give them a greater edge in matters of social development and economic stability, so that they can be more productive and play a meaningful role in the society. Over the years, BRO has intervened in 1909 villages till date, creating 3948 SHGs and generating 41677 SHG members in 28 regions of North-East India as per its statistical report of March 2008. Focusing equally on other areas of development, the organisation has also worked intensively towards creating 87 Cluster Level Federations (CLFs) with 12188 members to its credit. An important premise of BRO is to facilitate the SHG members to take up Income Generating Activities (IGA), which have benefited 5191 individuals and 229 SHGs till date. The organisation has also created 100 successful entrepreneurs from 163 different SHGs. So far, 271 SHGs have availed project funds and 945 SHGs have obtained revolving funds from DRDA to undertake various employment generation ventures. One of Bosco Reach Out’s prestigious projects, the Brisoh Project, has enabled 713 farmers to complete orchard plantation in the Ribhoi district of Meghalaya and Karbi Anglong district in Assam. BRO, in its endeavour to give a boost to its child education programme, has sponsored 1012 children till March 2008. It has also embarked upon a scholarship programme of granting scholarships to 181 students for higher studies in the technical stream. With a staff strength of 253, BRO has become a strong pillar of economic boost and moral support for the people in desolation in North-East India and is determined to carry the good work forward.

Selfless action is a source of strength, for such action is tantamount to the worship of God. In the history of the development of North-East India, BRO has carved a niche for itself by being one of the pioneers in implementing the concepts of SHGs, CLFs etc. The leading members and working staff of its head office at Ulubari, Guwahati worked meticulously, putting dedicated efforts to make the Silver Jubilee celebration a grand success.

Rukmini