Migrant contributions

From the New York Times article on the work and views of Dilip Ratha:
"There are about 200 million migrants worldwide, supporting as many if not more people at home. That suggests that remittances may reach almost a tenth of the world’s population.

India ($27 billion), China ($26 billion) and Mexico ($25 billion) are the leading beneficiaries. But in relative terms, small countries gain the most, with some increasing their national incomes by more than 20 percent. Egypt gets more from remittances than it does from the Suez Canal.

Most of the money is spent on consumption — food, clothing or a birthday bash — which leads some economists to discount its impact on development. But Mr. Ratha argues migrants would invest more if they had better options. And he regards higher consumption among the poor as a very good thing.

“It’s not just about economics,” he said. “Having someone who’s doing well abroad brings confidence to the family. They can hold their heads high.
....
In subsequent work, Mr. Ratha has argued that the importance of the money exceeds its sheer size. Unlike foreign aid, it cannot be skimmed by potentates. Unlike investors who flee crises, migrants increase their giving during hard times. The money is directed to the needy. And Mr. Ratha contends it is well-monitored, too, by intimates on the sending end. “It comes with a lot of goodwill, advice, knowledge and punishment if necessary — keeping in mind the welfare of the recipient,” he said. ”

I too noticed and heard similar things from many families in coastal Andhra but do not know the quantitative estimates or in which years this was most significant. In this area, many students in the public schools are from poor families. I know one NGO group ( breadsocietyindia) which gives scholarships to poor students of merit without considerations of caste or creed. After struggling for several years, the organization took off from funds given by NRIs from USA. After some experimentation they chose a simple criterion to determine poor students; essentially those going to public schools.
In curious ways, foreign migrants also contributed to more girls going to school. In one school, there is a large enrollment of muslim girls from a nearby village. Apparently many of the local muslim men working in the gulf countries are now insisting on brides who have some minimal education.
Here is an inspiring story of Prakasam Tata's 60 year struggle against filaria in his native Vizianagaram. Excerpts:

"In the 1940s, as a little boy living in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, I wondered why my aunt had legs like those of an elephant ...
With the seed that was laid in me in rural West Bengal, and the follow-up education and training in the USA under my mentors, eminent Profs. H. Heukelekian and Norman Dondero, of Rutgers University in New Jersey that earned me a doctoral degree in 1966, my dream continued with much more clarity.
....
These annual pilgrimages to visit my mother gave me many opportunities to witness the progressive deterioration of the condition of Pedda Cheruvu. As I had plenty of time at my disposal during these visits I met with anybody and organizations such as Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, local colleges etc., whosoever was willing to listen and invited me to talk about how one could go about remediating the pollution of Pedda Cheruvu. While we enjoyed the snacking sessions at the end of each of such meetings, what pained me most were the discouraging comments and unsolicited suggestions by some that I should not waste either my time or money. The assumption of these well-wishing but chronic pessimists was that it would be next to impossible to move the district and municipal administration to do anything with regard to purifying the water in Pedda Cheruvu, because of the lackadaisical attitude and corrupt mentality of the bureaucracy.
...
It was in February 2003, when the United States Asia Environmental Partnership (USAEP) invited me to participate in a workshop on Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems conducted in the four major cities of India. It was during this sojourn that I took the opportunity to meet the very dynamic and mission oriented District Collector of Vizianagaram, Dr. Rajat Kumar.
....
Although the monsoon of 2003 heavily impacted the construction of the pond system, Dr. Rajat Kumar kept the pressure on the contractors to complete its construction at somewhat less than the estimated cost of Rs. two crores. The previously laid out designs would have costed roughly three times this cost. The treatment system was commissioned on April 15/16, 2004. "
P.S. The last link does not seem to be working now but the article is available here here and a few other places by googling 'Dreaming in Color- Dr. Prakasam Tata'.
Some views of the 'pedda cheruvu" on youtube http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=yXhyOm2A7Jc