Who are we?
Development in Action (DiA) is a development non-governmental organisation (NGO) run by young people for young people. Its main objective is to promote global citizenship by improving the understanding of development issues and encouraging greater engagement in them amongst young people in the UK.
DiA sprang from a gap year scheme in which student volunteers taught English in village schools in Western Madhya Pradesh, India. The organiser was retiring, but the local communities in India and the participating volunteers all felt it would be a pity for this valuable experience to stop. In February 1992, while still in India, the volunteers and enthusiastic locals began to plan a new scheme to continue the link. Sitting by the open fire after an evening meal in one of the villages, one of the locals came up with the name ‘Development in Action'.
We have since grown, through the work of volunteers in the UK, to become a registered charity that not only continues to send students to India, but also raises funds for projects responding to the needs of young people in the local communities. We believe that ‘development', whether in Europe or India, is about ‘empowerment' - building people's capacities - and has to originate from the people themselves. We are constantly learning and re-evaluating what we do in the light of this.
Objectives of Development in Action
DiA was founded in 1992 and registered as a charity in 1994 to promote awareness of development issues to young people in the UK, providing hands-on development opportunities for volunteers in India while forwarding the development of young people in India. DiA won the national prize of Youth Clubs UK for "International Awareness", and received an award from Lord Westminster at St. James' Palace, November 1995.
Aims of Volunteer Programme
The Volunteer programme aims to provide a structured approach to development education for young people by means of pre-placement training, orientation in India, self assessment and monitoring, a Newsletter in which to express views and publish research, systematic debriefings and opportunities to get involved with the running of the organisation throughout. In India, volunteers are given the opportunity to broaden their education by working with a variety of Indian organisations. Activities include administrative and office work, child-care, teaching, work with women's groups, work on environmental projects, working with elderly and disabled people and more.
The Volunteer Programme seeks to encourage more young people to travel and spend constructive time learning and working in a development environment, and equally it responds to the growing demand for development work-experience for those interested in eventually taking up further studies or a career in development work. As a voluntary organisation, DiA fundamentally believes that tying development awareness to work-experience is an innovative way to bridge north-south divides and invest in our common future. A volunteer who has spent time working in a developing country can have an impressive impact on his or her home environment for years to come.
In practical terms, the recruitment and promotion of the Volunteer Programme in itself raises the profile of development issues, encompassing a wide cross-section of society, sharing the knowledge and experiences that volunteers gain through talks in schools and workplaces, open days and recruitment days where participatory methods including role plays, games, group discussions and displays are used.
The Volunteer programme aims to provide a structured approach to development education for young people by means of pre-placement training, orientation in India, self assessment and monitoring, a Newsletter in which to express views and publish research, systematic debriefings and opportunities to get involved with the running of the organisation throughout. In India, volunteers are given the opportunity to broaden their education by working with a variety of Indian organisations. Activities include administrative and assistance work, child-care, teaching, nursing, work in hospitals, health centres, children's homes and more.
Youth As A Target In Development Education
Young people as a social group have at least one common characteristic: they will begin and continue to make decisions and choices, on a daily basis, that will impact on their environment locally and globally. Some young people will have more choice than others and it is important that these choices are made in an informed way. As a 'youth-for-youth' organisation, DiA believes that investing in the process of encouraging engagement in global issues is vital to ensure a sustainable future for both the UK and other countries.
As a "youth for youth" NGO, DiA believes that this target group requires substantial investment in order to capitalise on existing initiatives sustaining them from generation to generation.