Jaintia hills NGOs plan to pool funds

SHILLONG, March 18: For the first time in the history of the Jaintia Hills, development workers and community-based organisations in the district have set aside their differences and decided to pool their resources to achieve their common goal of development. Over 30 representatives of 20 community-based organisations of the district today attended a meeting in Jowai to work out the modalities for a joint development initiative. The meeting, convened by the Jowai-based Mar Chaphrang Development Society (MCDS), decided to create a network of community-based organisations. "There are hundreds of organisations in the Jaintia Hills, but these have not been able to achieve anything. The district continues to be in bad shape. We have to work together if we want to make a difference," said Terence Sawian, general secretary of MCDS. Sawian said the MCDS would be the main platform for networking of all community-based organisations. "We want an information network that will reach out to the rural areas," he added. "I believe we can surmount the hurdles associated with implementing development schemes in the rural areas by working together," said MCDS president C. Luhuid.