Just For Assam

Nironkush Rick Das. London, Fri 30 October 2009.

Fri 30 October 2009 marks a year since the day terrorist atrocities in Assam claimed hundreds of lives in the form of powerful explosives set off at several crowded places. Today also marks the day the JFA formed with a resolve to harness the many and varied talents of its members to contribute towards giving back hope and happiness to the people of Assam. From the start of Assam's known history, hundreds of communities each with their own language or dialect, cuisine and lifestyle had lived side by side in perfect harmony. Cross-community marriages were common. Women took as much of a lead role as men in most walks of life. At the apex of this social harmony lay the key driving principle that people valued peace.

London/Orpington, Thu 11 June 2009.

The inquisitive traveller often encounters a region whose local artisanship may be unknown to the world but matches world standards anyway. A lot of Assam's produce - agricultural or otherwise - falls in this category: awe-inspiring yet undermined or unknown. In a way this is because people there often underestimate themselves. But a far more blameworthy cause is the fact that most of these otherwise skilled artisans have no idea how to market their craft.

But hope is at hand. Biraj Bora, a private stock market trader and trading coach living in the UK, has offered to help. During June 2009, Biraj will be coaching representatives of various NGO's on India's Import-Export policies. These NGO's would be organisations focussing on encouraging local crafts and their representatives would receive free training on how to exploit India's Import-Export policy in order to promote their products.

A Sweeter Taste of Success

Several months on since the terror attacks of October 2008 in Assam, JFA's Project 30^th October is seeing fruition. History speaks of many a charitable attempt at Assam's socio-economic woes nip itself after some initial gusto. But the JFA forged ahead: the donations collected were not in vain and are being used for what they were intended. Read to find out more.

The JFA are now busy providing rehabilitative packages to certain survivors of Assam's October 2008 terror attacks. But how did they get here? What decisions were taken to arrive at the best possible ways to spend donor funds for their first project? Editors Nironkush Rick Das and Muinul Hussain take a closer look.

Orpington/London, Wed 25 Mar 2009.