A few years ago, Joe Madiath told us he felt he had to turn down funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation when the grant officer insisted that the villagers should pay the full cost of what they were getting (fortunately, the foundation subsequently changed its view on this question). He argued that villagers simply cannot afford 190 rupees per month, even though it is true that the health benefits are potentially worth far more—Gram Vikas only asks villagers to pay enough money into a village fund to be able to keep the system in good repair and be able to add new households as the
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