G.John

THREAD, Siddharthvillage, Odisha
G.John began his career in social sector as Chief community Officer for fishermen and agricultural workers in Kottar social service society, Kanyakumari ,TamilNadu. .
Passion for rural developmental work ignited by Dr.John staley , the first Field Director of Oxfam , India who founded SEARCH, and his internship experience in International Youth Centre-
VYC[New Delhi ] and experience with IGSSS/Misereor , West Germany as Field Officer for Orissa state led him to create THREAD[Team for Human Resource Education and Action for Development] .
As the Founder President and Executive Director of THREAD he led the Organisation to great heights wherein it emerged as a major training centre for south Asia which practised and advocated people-oriented sustainable development especially for socially excluded communities like adivasi, dalit , women and others besides conducting high ending self growth training for UNICEF staff and partners and other educational institutions and Non Government Organisations in South Asia
G.John’s interest in training as an instrument of change dates back to the mid seventies. His participation in one year special course on development( 1976-77) Human relation training techniques for the development field by Dr. John Staley under the auspices of a newly registered body called SEARCH, in Bangalore marked a turning point in his action plans for future. Equally important was his work experience, after completing the course: first, among the fisherfolks in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu for about two years then as a field Officer of IGSSS/ counter part of Misereor for four years when he came into contact with NGOs of Orissa, MadhyaPradesh and Rajasthan, under diverse auspices like church, Gandhian etc with diverse approaches and types of services. This four year experience helped him to appreciate the reality of diversity and its richness, and he was convinced that innovative training was badly needed to make development efforts effective. And so his interest in training continued. He underwent series of special training related to human relation and communication.
Training intervention of THREAD in tribal pockets of Orissa led to the formation of ONS [Orissa Nari Samaj]-a state level federation of more than 250,000 tribal people [belonging to 65 tribes and other dalit groups in 55 blocks]. Conflict resolution skills facilitated among them prevented the spread of conflict during the Kondhamal conflict.
The amalgamation of courses he did with Tavistock Institute of Psychology [UK] and Human Capacities Corporation[USA], Three years internship course- process work/Lab sessions– ISISD Indian Society for individual and social development, New Delhi founded by Prof. Pulin Garg, IIM, Ahmedabad, and his inner exploration emerged as ‘Avishkar’-a training module for Inner and Organisation Transformation. Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Orissa [especially ICDS and Mahila Samakia] benefited from this training module .
IRCOD [Institute for Responding to Conflict and Development] and AIRCOD [Asian Institute for Responding to Conflict and Development] were the result of his endeavour to address the inter-community conflict emerging in north-eastern states of India and in other SAARC countries. He was trained in Conflict Resolution at Sally Oak colleges, UK.
At present, most of the NGOs and donor agencies in Orissa and elsewhere have the staff trained by thread either in short term or in long term courses. Some of the trainers who are trained by the founder of thread are freelancers now for NGOs in Orissa and even for other states.
Eco village Design course [EDE] course John attended in Seiben Linden and Zegg Berlin provided the foundation for initiating more than three thousand indigenous people’s eco village through ONS.John is now guiding the organisation in this direction.
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Team for Human Resource Education and Action for Development (THREAD) is an Experiential Learning and Training Centre which uses self-exploratory experiential praxis as the approach and methodology for the evolution of individuals, to bring about conflict resolution, and drive sustainable and peaceful social development based on Justice and Equity.
THREAD works with and for the Orissa Nari Samaj (ONS), a federation of 54 block level organizations with over 250,000 tribal women members from 12 districts of Orissa to actually realise its values of empowerment and well-being of extremely marginalised indigenous peoples.
Reach
 THREAD functions from four scenic training and community spaces, Siddharth Villages, that model its values close to the marginalised indigenous and rural communities with which it works – in Jatni in south-east Orissa, Kakrigumma in southern Orissa, Sambalpur in western Orissa and Bola in north-eastern Orissa.
 THREAD has provided training services and facilities to hundreds of individuals and communities in conflict and need, and support services to community-based organisations, NGOs, governments, and multilateral organisations over its twenty-year history.
 ‘Sanghas’, collectives of tribal women in 3,855 tribal villages, choose representatives to cluster-level committees for village clusters, which in turn create ‘Samajas’ at the block level. 54 such samajas are federated to form the unique state-level, tribal women’s organisation, and the movement, namely, the Orissa Nari Samaj (ONS).
 The ONS has a vast reach over 14 districts, where its representatives are rooted in their communities. Assisted by the unique training and support services provided by THREAD, and their own intimate knowledge and deep analysis of local problems and opportunities, they work as powerful agents of transformation in their own communities.
Vision
THREAD envisions a society based on the values of happiness, equity, justice, peace, self-reliance and sustainability, in which:
 The individual discovers the self and evolves;
 The community cares, and shares its all with all;
 Nature is nurtured
And all three live in harmonious and symbiotic relationships.
Mission
To bring about social transformation by facilitating a value-based people’s movement by generating genuine love, concern and care within the individual, and extending these to the community and to nature, by protecting human rights and the environment, through careful use of nature’s wealth.
Philosophy
THREAD welcomes individuals, organisations and communities to embrace positive techniques to strengthen inter-personal relationships and the social fabric of society. It believes that ‘Change is possible and it starts with each individual, here and now’ – and such positive change journeys outward, making a difference in the wider world.