Welcome to the winter issue of the Development in Action magazine. The New Year is always an exciting time as we begin to recruit volunteers for the summer. Despite the problems plaguing the financial world, we are confident that 2009 will see more groups of worthy volunteers travelling to India with DiA to expand their horizons, and those of others, in both countries. More than ever, it is important for us to think carefully about how our actions affect others, and how conflict and inequality can be avoided through co-operation, education and communication.

In this issue of the Development in Action magazine Sam Watson discusses the new type of thinking that development education fosters. Far from squaring the circle, she fully admits she is rather doing the opposite but certainly succeeds in making us think. Fortunately this is exactly what development education should do!

Putting this thinking into practice, we also get an insight into two organisations working for social stability in disadvantaged communities in different areas of central India.

Sarah Gettings and Tom Salisbury, recent volunteers at ‘Action for Social Advancement’ in Bhopal, explain the diverse work of the organisation. They give an enlightening insight into the city of Bhopal, the communities in which ASA works, and the history of this highly successful NGO.

From near Pune, Maharashtra, Teresa Dowding describes her first few months at Deep Griha Society’s City of Child project, a relatively new charity that is home to children from the deprived slum areas of Pune itself. She explains how the organisation works, and her photographs and descriptions paint a vivid picture of life there.

Tom Wilmot