Documentary on Dr Prakash Amtes work to uplift Madia tribals For 35 years,Dr Prakash Amte and his family have worked to provide a better life for the backward Madia tribes in Hemalkasa,Gadchiroli district,by providing medical care,education and teaching the hunter-gatherer tribe to farm. He also set up the Amtes Animal Ark for animal offspring that were orphaned when the tribals hunted their parents for food. My film highlights the orphanages efforts, says Dr Mayuri Panse,about her documentary Children of the Forest,which will be screened at Grubshup Coffee Shop on Law College Road today. Jointly organised by Black Swan,a community-based travel company and Grubshup,the event,Food With A View,aims at campaigning for a cause through such screenings. The aim of this particular screening is to introduce the younger generation to Dr Amtes work. The money raised will be used by the animal orphanage to nurture more orphaned animals, Dr Panse says. The Madia tribals,who survive by hunting and food gathering,barely manage to get one meal a day. The social reform for them was started by Dr Amte. He provided them with medical and health facilities and later,to promote development,a resident school was established for the children, said Dr Panse. The Madia tribe used to kill animals for food. Dr Amte began taking in orphaned animal babies. The tribals used to hunt down entire packs of animals. Dr Amte urged them not to kill the baby animals, she said.
