While I was having a discussion with Sangram Patole, his father came there and joined us. I began a conversation with him. He started asking me questions like, “Where have you come from? Where do you stay?” I answered all his questions, and with a gentle smile on his face, he said to me, “When I was your age, I used to be very shy to talk with people.”

That opened the door for a deeper conversation, and we continued talking. When I asked him about his dream, without wasting even a…

Since I began discussing the topic of masculinity with men, I have been gaining new experiences. Today too, I had such an experience, which I felt like sharing with you.

Sangram is originally from Nandwal village. He says that whatever he has achieved today, the credit goes to his father. When asked about his experiences, he shared that ever since school, he had dreamt of becoming a police officer. Since there were no proper facilities in the village, he went to…

When I went into a small lane to conduct a SALT activity, I noticed a man sitting outside his house on a chair. I approached him and asked, “Brother, do you have a little time? I would like to talk with you.” Without a moment’s hesitation, he invited me inside. We sat down, and what followed was a very meaningful conversation.

I often conduct SALT conversations, but today’s experience was different so different that I felt I must write it down. Through this encounter, I truly understood…

Hello, I’m Shahrukh. Nandwal village is known as the “Second Pandharpur". There is an ancient temple here that is a central place of devotion for the villagers. Every year, in the month of July, the festival of Ashadhi Ekadashi is celebrated with great enthusiasm. On this day, lakhs of devotees visit the temple. Every household in the village hosts guests, and the entire family gets busy in welcoming and serving them.

During this…

After the ARC project started, our team began implementing SALT activities in villages from March onwards. Currently, we are working in the villages of Nandwal and Hirwade Khalasa. This month, due to Ramadan, field visits were slightly hindered. The organization and Ritu Nanda from GFC advised us to take care, which gave us some relief, and we continued our work.…

GFC launched a new ARC project, under which we selected a few villages and planned to conduct qualitative interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) with specific individuals. My responsibility was to take notes.

In the beginning, I regularly took notes. However, after the third or fourth interview, I noticed a positive change in myself. I was not just listening; I was deeply understanding the emotions expressed by the person in…

A few months ago, SALT-related work had started in Vashi village. After discussions with Ritu Nanda, a decision was made to halt the SALT activities there. However, today, when Shahrukh and Jayashree visited with the children, we discussed their plans for future work. The children came together for a group discussion and drafted a plan for activities to be implemented in January 2025, based on the dreams they envision for Vashi village. They specifically brainstormed ideas on how various…

In Kolkata, six different organizations were invited to come together for a Cohort meeting. Arrangements for everyone’s stay were made in a natural, beautiful, and captivating place, which filled everyone with joy. I was very eager to meet everyone and learn about the strengths they brought. Human emotions are important, but people often don’t wait for others to express their feelings, as no one understands their inner emotions. In this meeting, everyone openly and trustingly shared their…

I met some children from Nandwal village today. They were in the ninth grade. I was supposed to conduct a SALT activity with them. Initially, I introduced myself to them. The children were not significantly younger than me. To ensure there were no difficulties in our discussion, I told them not to address me as "Sir" but to call me "Dada" instead. They agreed to this with a smile.

I asked both of them to recall good things in their…

For the past few years, Avani Organization has been working on SALT in Nandwal village. We used the CLCP (Community Life Competence Process) in this work. Initially, we conducted SALT with people from various age groups. Then we carried out Dream Building with them. During this work, there were suicides in the village. At that time, the people who had participated in SALT in the village suggested finding a solution. Subsequently, after discussions between Avani Foundation and the village…

Some events are remembered forever in our life. A similar incident was experienced by SALT.

Visited a family to take SALT as usual. At that time there was a woman and her two children (boy and girl) in that house. At first we discussed a little. He gave information about his started business. In this he gave information…

I could not go to Vashi village for some days because of the research work in Nandwal village.…

Discussions have been going on in villages using SALT for the past couple of years. In this there are discussions with Gram Panchayat, Anganwadi workers, children, women, elderly people. After taking SALT in some families…

Knowledge Fair was organized by Rural Aid organization. For this, various organizations working in the context of SALT were called.

We were very happy. To go to a new place, to meet new people, to learn new things, to draw strength from people.

We first traveled by plane and reached Jaigaon. Discussed with Rural Aid Team. A friendship…

SALT Activity is conducted in Vashi village through the Avani organization.

A SALT family from Vashi village contacted me over the phone and asked me to take SALT in a family. There were some problems in that family regarding their children. I went to their house. There were 2 small rooms of 10 × 10. 1 elderly grandmother and a family of 4 lived in that house.

I started discussing with them and got to know them.

After a…

Gram Panchayat is the local government in villages of India.Gram Panchayat Election which could not be held in Vashi village in 2021 was finally held in Nov 2023.

I met the Sarpanch (head) of the panchayat and had a SALT conversation with him. My colleague at Avani connected me with him. SALT creates a beautiful relationship in which everyone benefits. The…

Avani Smile Team has been conducting SALT and CLCP in Washi village, district Kolhapur, India.

I had SALT conversations with Anganwadi Sevika. Then I observed that the number of students in Anganwadi was less. State education department issued a notification regarding shutting down schools with less than 20 students. This raised apprehension among Anganwadi workers…

Diwali or Deepawali is the festival of light. This festival is known as the symbol of victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. This festival is considered to be a festival of prosperity, happiness and gratitude. In this festival, the children of Vashi village decided to show their village dream in a different way. The children's exams were over and the children got a 10-day Diwali holiday. The children wanted to do something…

Met with Anganwadi Sevika while working in connection with SALT in Vashi. Anganwadi sevika explained their problem that the number of children in Anganwadi is decreasing and parents are admitting their children to English medium schools. At that time Anganwadi sevika find the solution is that they should communicate with parents through SALT. It is one of impact of SALT. Anganwadi sevika realize the strength of SALT.…