Association for India’s Development (AID) warmly invites you to Milan - a donor appreciation and fundraising dinner event on September 18th at 5pm at the Beech Street Center in Belmont, MA. AID takes this opportunity to connect with friends and supporters, old and new, who believe in building a just and equitable society -  a society where even the most marginalized communities in India can live with dignity.

This is a special year for everyone associated with AID as it celebrates its 25th anniversary. From an organization formed by a handful of enthusiastic graduate students in Maryland in 1991, AID now has more than 35 chapters across the U.S., and continues to grow. In the past 25 years, we, as AID volunteers, have understood from our partners in West Bengal what it means to reclaim lands lost to a cyclone and scale organic farming practices from 25 farmers to 10,000 farmers. We have learnt what a few doctors can do to change the face of community based healthcare in rural Chhattisgarh. Stories from our partners in Gujarat have opened our eyes to the disparity in education, especially amongst girls, and the need to create a level playing field for Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, and other marginalized sections of society. In times of natural disasters, we have not only responded swiftly and efficiently for immediate relief but also continued engagement to find long-term rehabilitation solutions. In this 25th year, it is with this learning and experience, that we dream of our role in building a just and sustainable future, shoulder to shoulder with the marginalized people of India. And for that, we are counting on support from the communities in the Boston area. Through this event, we hope to raise about $100,000. This will allow us to maintain our engagement with our existing partners and make significant efforts in scaling impact.

We are very happy that our long term partner Revathi will give the keynote address this year. Revathi is a school teacher turned organic farmer who has done pioneering work in organic farming and in reclaiming agricultural lands destroyed by natural disasters. Her work has touched more than 1,100,000 farmers, helped reclaim land and livelihood in 22 disaster situations, including the one in West Bengal mentioned above. Her work has been recognized by the governments of India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and has drawn attention from ex-Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam and former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Her primary work involves changing the philosophy of farming in many parts of India, by training farming communities to switch from industrial to eco-friendly sustainable farming. AID has partnered with her on multiple occasions in the last decade including the recent support to work with farmers affected by the floods in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu in late 2015 to restore over 3000 acres of land (so far) and get the region back on its feet. We invite you to hear from her inspiring stories of resilience.

For more information about AID Boston Milan 2016, and to RSVP, please visit: http://www.aidevents.org. This fundraising event is open to all with RSVP.

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