Community solutions to big city problems...

By averting their eyes from the decay and holding their noses, the movers and shakers in Indian cities have mastered the trick of ignoring how half the city lives, pouring all their resources into the other half. But the Brihan Mumbai Mahnagar Palika its councilors and administrative staff have changed this dramatically this month.

No real change can occur when only one part of the city wants change. Mutual benefit is what creates change. This is the first rule of negotiation. If communities of the poor can demonstrate fresh, workable solutions to problems everyone wants solved, and in which everyone benefits, the city will go along. We call these "Win-Win Solutions."

Poor communities can not only participate, but can create "Win-Win" solutions. This means communities not only make demands on the city, but on themselves too. This month we saw the hand extended by the SPARC Mahila Milan and NSDF to counselors and administrative staff of BMC being taken up and a new collaborative spirit in making this massive task of constructing 320 toilets.

There has been a great deal of concern until last month about whether the councilors would accept and support the payments that communities have to make for the start off of the maintenance. We have some stories of changes that helped. We have other stories about work progress this month. Still others about working with prabhat samiittees, ward offices and how communities are taking up challenges of managing this process now and in the future.

Finally we have many announcements of targets and report of progress ward wise on various wards. For more information contact Mr Achrekar DMC in charge. This report is also on the SPARC website:www.sparcindia.org

Announcement for SDI delegation in new York

Finally its time to pack bags and spend a week in New York.
Shack dwellers International (SDI) a network of national NGOs and community federations working on issues of urban Habitat, equity and poverty in cities will send a delegation of 20 people to spend a week in New York between 3rd and 8th June. More than anything this is a adventure exploring who all of us who are local activists can work to bring local voices and issues in global foras like the Istanbul +5 review in the UN .

We will be staying at the SHELBURNE MURRAY HILL HOTEL
303 LEXINGTON AVENUE (CORNER OF 37TH Street)
212 689 5200

Our present engagements are:
1. 1st: June: celine and sheela speak at the Groots workshop in the UN building 2.00-5pm
2. 1st to 4th: We put up a exhibit of a life size model of a house and community toilet in the UN Lobby and this will be inaugurated on 5th June,
3. 5th June we have a day long workshop between SDI and US based groups. in Conference room 5 between 10 am to 3 pm.
4. On the 5th between 11am and 12, a delegation from SDI will make a presentation in Room No 2. to a forum of researchers.
5. ON the 6th at 6 pm we make a presentation on sanitation in the Thematic program of the UNCHS.
6. 6 June, 1:15 – 2:45 PM SDI delegation will speak at the UNV formal the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium,
7. On the 7th at the Church center opposite the UN building in Room 777, SDI will host a dialogue on partnerships that work in addressing issues of urban habitat.

Please get in touch with us.... keep a message at the hotel and we will call you back. look for more information about this on the www.sparcindia.org

For Further Details Contact Us at: admin@citywatchnews.net