>From fear and ignorance to courage and hope is what would sum up the journey >of this lady Mrs. Agatha Coutino from Anjuna Rakhonn Manch. Despite all odds >at home with a disabled son to care for, Agatha has bravely faced police >harassment in the beginning. Agatha and a handful of women have stood up to >fight for justice in what the world would term as a most dangerous Anjuna. >Launching the Anjuna Rakhonn Manch without a clue on what is activism, Agatha >and her team have rocked the Gram Sabha meetings and created waves by >highlighting illegalities in the village. Ignoring threats and intimidation >from the local politicians, Agatha has been an inspiration and motiviational >force for other women to rise and defend their village from the corrupt and >criminals. Recently, the ARM took an innovative step in creating awareness on >Goa's problems by taking 5 bus loads of villagers to INOX for the konkani >movie 'O Maria'. Agatha is actively involved in other village initiatives and >also manages her own business. WE CONGRATULATE AGATHA ON RECEIVING THE GRAMEEN MAHILA MANCH AWARD OF PEACEFUL SOCIETY FOR HER INSPIRING WORK AS A WOMAN ACTIVIST. WE WISH HER ALL STRENGTH AND GOOD HEALTH. The award was presented by Santa Cruz MLA Victoria Fernandes in the presence of Mrs. Asha Sanvordekar and GMM Convenor Mrs. Bharati Bandodkar at the 9th State Level Women's Conference held to celeberate Women's Day at the Peaceful Society campus, madkai. Over 300 women from various villages of Goa participated in this conference. -Soter
