Community taxi service

I came across a refreshing  initiative by a community in Koraput district of Orissa.  

Their village used to be connected  with the main town, which is 20 kilometers away, only twice a day by public transport. There are several days, when the bus will not turn up. So, with the help of a loan from the bank, some unemployed youth, with the support of the local Member of the Legislative Assembly, bought two second hand jeeps, which now transport people at fixed times of the day, often six times in a day. This now gives access  for children to travel to school, people to take their farm produce to the market, and people to hospital when they fall sick. 

I was told the story of a woman in child birth who needed to be transported to a hospital in this jeep. The baby was born before she arrived at the hospital .The first aid care, the driver received as part of orientation to this community taxi service, helped him to be a midwife at that time (the jeep was not overcrowded during that trip). 

The youth who run this taxi service have paid back the loan and now consider enlarging the service. The maintenance of the taxi service is done by two of them, who have in the mean time got trained as mechanics.

Amidst all the gloom we encounter due to the poor state of affairs in rural India, I have collections of several stories of determination and enthusiasm of people, who use their resource for their well being. 

When we look to others to help us, it can be a indefinite wait. When we collaborate with others, it generates a self propelling momentum.  

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)