For those who care for Goa
Aiming at sustainable development of the state, a few active citizens join hands to form Actforgoa, writes Anjuli Bhargava
As societies develop and grow, change is imminent. But how does one ensure that the change is for the better, conscious and inclusive? It was this question that pushed Joanna Pyres and her husband Tamer Salameh to set up Circlewallas — a body that hosts conversations and interactions to “nurture conscious evolution of Goa”.
In 2016, the Circlewallas started their initiative by bringing people together to discuss what affected them most, structuring the discourse in a way where everyone got a chance to speak, confront the problems they were facing, and come up with possible sustainable solutions.
Goa — a state that has been dealing with an influx of tourists and new settlers — was developing new and unique problems every day, ranging from unchecked garbage to maniacal traffic. A visible deterioration in the quality of life of its citizens has been evident for over a decade.
Around 2017, Joanna — who had moved from England to Goa in 2008 — noticed that there was a plethora of bodies working towards sustainable development in Goa, but many were working in silos. Also, there was no common platform to bring them together.
Besides, every time a problem came up in the state — be it garbage, water scarcity or management, traffic issues or degradation of the environment — that needed civil society involvement, it was the same bunch of activists who’d come forward.
Joanna — who works with global consultancy organisations in the development space — was acutely aware of the fact that too often solutions are top-down and do not emerge bottom-up. Communities are not consulted and solutions remain half-baked.
Joanna found her primary concerns echoed with several others in the sustainable development space in Goa. It was finally in 2017-18 that Joanna and Tamer joined hands with a core bunch of people to set up a platform — which they say is meant for helping people who care for Goa — Actforgoa. Among them were Video Volunteers’ Jessica Mayberry and Stalin K who work in community media; Kokum Trust’s Tushita Varma, industrial designer Reboni Saha and architect-cumplanner Dean D’cruz; and independent consultant Jill Ferguson. Social entrepreneur and environmentalist Felly Gomes, the only native member of the group, is an adviser.
The Actforgoa has three immediate aims: learn, connect and promote. It aims at setting up a go-to list of people with authentic information and to promote projects, research and collaborations for sustainable living. Its website, which is a work-in-progress, will also highlight inspiring stories of good work being done every day.
The website, as of now, is playing an active role amid Covid-19 crisis — in which Goa is faring better than most states despite a high influx of tourists and foreigners. For instance, a special icon on Covid-19 allows citizens to directly get involved in the fight against the coronavirus and highlights the work of those who have helped Goa become Covid free (currently there are no active Covid cases in the state). The site tells you how to volunteer, donate and lists helplines and relief kitchens for migrants and marginalised communities. It also lists numbers to be called if you have symptoms, besides contacts of veterinary doctors who can pay house visits if your pet has a problem during the lockdown.
A separate vertical has been added to the platform for Goa’s panchayat system with an aim of improving the effectiveness of the village development committees. Two years ago, some of the platform members had worked with the Forca Goa foundation on a campaign “Attend Your Gram Sabha” to encourage higher attendance at the meetings.
“Improvement in the effectiveness of the village development committees is needed for protecting Goa’s villages,” says Mayberry of Video Volunteers.
Many argue that governance in the state is lackadaisical and patchy. “We’d all love to see more Kerala-type bottom-up activism that pushes the authorities to act,” says Rahul Basu who moved from Mumbai a decade ago.
But perhaps the biggest test for the initiative will be how it manages to pull local Goans to take ownership, so that the effort is not labelled as one by “outsiders”, something that often tends to happen in a state overridden by new settlers and brimming with local resentment. A house divided against itself cannot stand.