CITTA

A few weeks ago in New York, we had the pleasure of meeting Michael Daube the force behind CITTA, an inspiring organization which has some amazing projects including schools, hospitals and women’s centres being built in areas of India and Nepal. A one man band so to speak, with a tremendous following and support from fellow humanitarians, this organization is one to watch.

Over lunch in midtown NYC, we swapped stories of how difficult it is to work in India, but also how amazing and unforgettable the experiences are and the incredible results which bring so many opportunities to people who have ordinarily none and why we keep going back.

We discovered that if our work in India was likened to the recipe of a curry, it would go something like this:

….. a base of hurdles, obstacles and irrationality, plus a copious amount of festive holidays. Sprinkle heavily with patience, perseverance and belief, fold in some “India time” and then bake for around 10 years. The slightest unseen movement can cause it to collapse while cooking….. so remember to keep an eye on it. Then Voila!

Here is Micheal’s intro from his website:

Our world faces political, economic, social, and environmental concerns unique to the 21st century. The divide between the rich and the poor is ever widening. Parents watch helpless, as their children die of starvation. Children watch their parents die of treatable diseases. The tragic combination of a lack of education, poverty and a shifting global climate elicits desperate measures.

Inflation threatens to undermine even basic food sources for families struggling to survive. We no longer see this on the television; we are now aware this desperation has the potential to reach our doorsteps. For people without access to medical care, a slight fever that has the potential to take their child’s life can and does eclipse anything and everything. We all share the same world and we all share in these events either through our action, indifference or judgment.

Citta, derived from the Sanskrit word for “mind” but more importantly, the mind associated with the “heart,” encourages the ability of everyone, through action, to make a positive difference and to know the joy that lightens one’s heart as well as the many hearts around the world. Once the daily fear with which people live is shed, they are more able to focus on opportunities, which offer hope for their futures. Once the necessity of proper medical care is fulfilled, people are able to think about tomorrow as well as their children’s futures and not just the immediacy of their situation.

Citta has developed a holistic and adaptable method we refer to as the HEED model (Health, Education and Economic Development). We connect with communities in some of the poorest and most remote areas of the world, taking into account the lack of access to proper healthcare and educational opportunities as well as weak or nonexistent economic development that can lead a community into a never-ending downward spiral. Citta works to remedy the specific needs of a community, to produce an environment of equanimity and stability and one that provides opportunities and a sense of initiative and pride in its inhabitants.

Join us in these efforts and see updates that will make you an active part in creating a stable world for all of us to share!

Thank you,

Michael Daube
Founder and Executive Director, Citta

Here are their projects:

INDIA / Juanga, Orissa

Hospital

Citta’s most established project was opened in 1996 in Juanga, Orissa, one of the most rural and poorest states in India. The state has little infrastructure and the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the country. This coastal area of Orissa is prone to cyclones before and after monsoon season (June-September). During monsoon rains, the area of the hospital is isolated from urban areas in the state due to poor roads that become impassible.

The Vivekananda Public School

The Vivekananda Public School is situated in Orissa, one of the poorest states of India. Only 10% of the local population has received any formal education.

The majority of students come from families relying on subsistence farming and fall well below the poverty line established by the Indian government. In 1999, a devastating cyclone destroyed what few government schools existed. In August, 2001, with the collaboration of the Michael A. Daube Charitable Trust, the Vivekananda Public School was registered with the educational board in the state of Orissa and opened with 140 students and has grown to serve over 300 students.

Women’s Center

Orissa has the highest rate of infant and maternal mortality in India. This center built next to the hospital in Juanga, offers institutional delivery, pre- and postnatal healthcare, and education to pregnant woman in the area. The center will provide educational seminars for mothers on nutrition and hygiene for the improvement of family welfare and will develop a mobile team that will outreach seminars in neighboring villages.

INDIA / Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

Girls’ School

The availability of an educational support system for young girls and women specifically designed to encourage intellectual inquiry and provide opportunity is relatively inaccessible in India. Although the Indian Constitution has stated a goal of providing free education up to the age of 14, literacy rates are still very low. Recent figures state that average literacy rates in India are at a total of 64.8%, with men at 75.3% and women at 53.7%. In Rajasthan, however, the figures illustrate the condition for women more critically. The ‘Land of Kings’ has one of the lowest literacy rates for women in all of India, with men at 75.7% and women at 43.9% for a total of 60.4% overall (Source: Census of India, 2001).

NEPAL / Kathmandu

Women’s Center

Originally in Ghaikur, the women’s center has now shifted to Kathmandu due to the Maoist conflict. The training center was developed to house the offices for work being done in Nepal. It creates a facility in the capital city where the women from the rural areas can come to learn many different handicraft techniques.It teaches them skills that they can use to provide for their families while keeping their cultural traditions alive.

NEPAL / Gaikhur, Gorkha

Clinic

After The Women’s Center was built in Gaikhur, Gorkha District, it quickly became apparent that health care was also an equally pressing issue for this poverty stricken and remote area. The only health facility available to this and nearby communities was located an eight hour walk away through long winding mountains trails. The center now provides medicines in a small pharmacy on the second floor, but so much more is needed.

Orphanage

After the women’s center was moved to Kathmandu, the building was converted into an orphanage to house children displaced by the Maoist conflict, which continues to undermine family life in much of rural Nepal. Two local women who were unable to follow the women’s center to Kathmandu have taken responsibility for the care of the children and a local teacher has been hired to tutor them.

NEPAL / Humla

Dr. Christopher Barley Hospital

Humla lies beneath the Himalayas in the northwestern region of Nepal in one of the most remote and unspoiled areas of the country. It is also the poorest area of Nepal and lacks modern facilities for transportation, health, sanitation, and education. Most children must work in the fields and few attend school.

MEXICO / Chiapas

Clinic

The Benito-Juarez Clinic was opened in 1999 in the Lacandon Rainforest of Chiapas. This clinic serves 5,000 people from 12 communities made up of four ethnic groups: Tzetzal, Chol, Tojolabal, and Tzotzil. Spanish is spoken to bridge the language differences, although it is not their native tongue. Basic services such as roads, schools, and health services are rare or non-existent. The clinic is a regional project run by elected officials from local communities. It consists of three buildings; a surgical unit, a dormitory for patients, and a pharmacy/consultation room.

School

The school house in the central village of Benito-Juarez has been left empty for some years. Attracting teachers to this remote area has been difficult. One young man in the village has already been given the responsibility of educating the youth in the area. Other trained teachers are available, and with our help these people can receive the education they need to survive and communicate with the outside world.

	INDIA / Juanga, Orissa
	Hospital Citta’s most established project was opened in 1996 in Juanga, Orissa, one of the most rural and poorest states in India. The state has little infrastructure and the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the country. This coastal area of Orissa is prone to cyclones before and after monsoon season (June-September). During monsoon rains, the area of the hospital is isolated from urban areas in the state due to poor roads that become impassible.
	The Vivekananda Public School The Vivekananda Public School is situated in Orissa, one of the poorest states of India. Only 10% of the local population has received any formal education. The majority of students come from families relying on subsistence farming and fall well below the poverty line established by the Indian government. In 1999, a devastating cyclone destroyed what few government schools existed. In August, 2001, with the collaboration of the Michael A. Daube Charitable Trust, the Vivekananda Public School was registered with the educational board in the state of Orissa and opened with 140 students and has grown to serve over 300 students.
	Women’s Center Orissa has the highest rate of infant and maternal mortality in India. This center built next to the hospital in Juanga, offers institutional delivery, pre- and postnatal healthcare, and education to pregnant woman in the area. The center will provide educational seminars for mothers on nutrition and hygiene for the improvement of family welfare and will develop a mobile team that will outreach seminars in neighboring villages.
	INDIA / Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
	Girls’ School The availability of an educational support system for young girls and women specifically designed to encourage intellectual inquiry and provide opportunity is relatively inaccessible in India. Although the Indian Constitution has stated a goal of providing free education up to the age of 14, literacy rates are still very low. Recent figures state that average literacy rates in India are at a total of 64.8%, with men at 75.3% and women at 53.7%. In Rajasthan, however, the figures illustrate the condition for women more critically. The ‘Land of Kings’ has one of the lowest literacy rates for women in all of India, with men at 75.7% and women at 43.9% for a total of 60.4% overall (Source: Census of India, 2001).
	NEPAL / Kathmandu
	Women’s Center Originally in Ghaikur, the women’s center has now shifted to Kathmandu due to the Maoist conflict. The training center was developed to house the offices for work being done in Nepal. It creates a facility in the capital city where the women from the rural areas can come to learn many different handicraft techniques.It teaches them skills that they can use to provide for their families while keeping their cultural traditions alive.
	NEPAL / Gaikhur, Gorkha
	Clinic After The Women’s Center was built in Gaikhur, Gorkha District, it quickly became apparent that health care was also an equally pressing issue for this poverty stricken and remote area. The only health facility available to this and nearby communities was located an eight hour walk away through long winding mountains trails. The center now provides medicines in a small pharmacy on the second floor, but so much more is needed.
	Orphanage After the women’s center was moved to Kathmandu, the building was converted into an orphanage to house children displaced by the Maoist conflict, which continues to undermine family life in much of rural Nepal. Two local women who were unable to follow the women’s center to Kathmandu have taken responsibility for the care of the children and a local teacher has been hired to tutor them.
	NEPAL / Humla
	Dr. Christopher Barley Hospital Humla lies beneath the Himalayas in the northwestern region of Nepal in one of the most remote and unspoiled areas of the country. It is also the poorest area of Nepal and lacks modern facilities for transportation, health, sanitation, and education. Most children must work in the fields and few attend school.
	MEXICO / Chiapas
	Clinic The Benito-Juarez Clinic was opened in 1999 in the Lacandon Rainforest of Chiapas. This clinic serves 5,000 people from 12 communities made up of four ethnic groups: Tzetzal, Chol, Tojolabal, and Tzotzil. Spanish is spoken to bridge the language differences, although it is not their native tongue. Basic services such as roads, schools, and health services are rare or non-existent. The clinic is a regional project run by elected officials from local communities. It consists of three buildings; a surgical unit, a dormitory for patients, and a pharmacy/consultation room.
	School The school house in the central village of Benito-Juarez has been left empty for some years. Attracting teachers to this remote area has been difficult. One young man in the village has already been given the responsibility of educating the youth in the area. Other trained teachers are available, and with our help these people can receive the education they need to survive and communicate with the outside world.

Hearts

CITTA