| Global Links Initiative and Thare Machi Education are delighted to announce that they are working in partnership with the Lady Doak College in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India to deliver basic healthcare, hygiene and environmental education to women, children and grass roots community organisations in Tamil Nadu.
Both GLI and TME are using technology as a means of effecting positive social change around the world. GLI encourages 'people to people' links using web-based information technology as an enabler and facilitator for learning and the exchange and sharing of practical knowledge and experience focusing on what really works in tackling poverty worldwide. GLI now has a network of over 640 GLI Networkers - with over 190 from Tamil Nadu. Most of these are people working at the grass roots in their communities and many are dealing with health, hygiene and environmental education issues on a daily basis. TME has developed a simple series of self-administered and interactive DVD or CD lessons delivered on small, rechargeable portable DVD players for rural locations where there is no electricity or on computer. We thought the time was right to bring the GLI Network and the TME lessons together. GLI is extremely fortunate to have been so warmly welcomed in India and especially in Tamil Nadu. On our first visit, we were privileged to be introduced by the Deputy Principal, Prof. Kala Christopher, to the Lady Doak College. Established in 1948 it was the first Women's College in Madurai and the brainchild of Ms. Katie Wilcox, an American missionary with a vision and fervour for 'women's empowerment through higher education aiming at a wholesome transformation'. We were given a tour of the College by the Principal, Dr Nirmala Jeyaraj, in November last year and were so impressed by the college facilities together with the obvious commitment of the staff and students to helping women and communities improve the quality of their lives. On our return to Madurai in March this year we asked whether we might visit the College again, this time to present the TME story and to find out whether the College might be interested in translating some of the TME lessons into Tamil. We knew that there was a demand for these lessons, both in English and in the local Tamil language, from the two seminars we held - in Chennai and in Madurai - where we were inundated with requests for more information about TME and the lessons. We are delighted that the Lady Doak College has agreed to become a special GLI and TME partner to translate the TME lessons into Tamil and to become the distribution body for disseminating the Tamil lessons and the portable DVD players in Tamil Nadu. The College has taken this task on with great enthusiasm as it fits so well with their Service study programme and we are extremely grateful to the Principal, Dr Nirmala Jeyaraj, for her personal support and that of her faculty heads. The College is translating the following English lessons into Tamil: Once they are translated they will have to be recorded in Tamil, too, so it will be a little while before they are available. The following are also available in English: Discs - either CD or DVD - are available from Thare Machi Education or can be purchased for GBP 9.99 directly from Eurotalk at www.learnaboutonline.co.uk . For further information about the partners please visit the website links at the top of the page. Contacts:
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