NGO: Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals

NGO: Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals

Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) was established in 2001, by a group of agriculture and management professionals for capacity building of small and marginal farmers’ agricultural practices that would enhance their livelihoods and income. This would lead to a better quality of life for rural communities. However, with limited access to employment opportunities in rural areas, large scale migration of labor to urban informal sector with inadequate social safety nets and poor living conditions in slums, is a rapidly growing problem. ISAP conducts vocational skill training in below poverty line areas. Rural youth from poor households are trained in various trades to enable them to earn livelihood.

IDRF partner since: 2015

  • Focus Area: Education
  • Location: Odisha
  • Project Title: Skill Training and Job Placement of Unemployed Urban Youth in the State of Odisha
  • Details:  ISAP has conducted eight batches of vocational skills training. Youth from poor households are trained in various trades for a period of 45 days in classroom settings and 15 days of on-the-job training. The skill development trainings were imparted in the four domain: Information Technology Enables Services, Bed Side Patient Assistance, Hospitality and Sales and Marketing. An elaborate mobilization process was conducted around the economically backward areas in Odisha in order to identify youth for classroom and practical training through a screening process. Training content was prepared by ISAP subject matter experts. Classroom sessions included presentations and lectures along with live workshops and multi-media presentations. During the on-the-job- training phase, emphasis was laid on hands-on-experience, industry visits, short term apprenticeships, etc. Career counselling was provided to students on the completion of the training program in order to guide and direct their career paths. Training completion certificates were provided to students, and their profiles were shared with the relevant industry people who could be prospective employers.

  IDRF-ISAP Skill Development Program
  Batches 1 to 8 (2015-2016)

BATCH
LOCATION
DOMAINS
STUDENTS ENROLLED
STUDENTS TRAINED
STUDENTS PLACED
1Jaipur (Odisha)Information Technology Enables Services (ITES)303024
2Kandhamal (Odisha)BSPA  (Bed Side Patient Assistant)303025
3BhubaneswarHospitality606046
4Jaipur (Odisha)Information Technology Enables Services (ITES)252519
5Khurda (Odisha)Hospitality & Information Technology Enables Services (ITES)505040
6Baripada (Odisha)Security Guard & Information Technology Enables Services (ITES)505050
7Kandhamal (Odisha)Hospitality & Information Technology Enables Services (ITES)282821
8 Baripada (Odisha)Security Guard & Information Technology Enables Services (ITES)303020
 Total303303245
 

Students in the Lecture Hall

Students in the Computer-lab

Distribution of Completion Certificates

Please click on the link to learn more about the various programs of Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP).

http://www.isapindia.org/index.php?

NGO: Gwalior Hospital and Education Charitable Trust

NGO: Gwalior Hospital and Education Charitable Trust

Gwalior Hospital and Education Charitable Trust (GHECT) runs a project named “Help Children of India”. Snehalaya – the “home with love” is a multi-disciplinary campus with community living that promotes environmental, economic and cultural sustainability for vulnerable marginalized and underprivileged people. Snehalaya spreads across 25 acres near Gwalior City, Madhya Pradesh.

IDRF partner since: 2015

  • Focus Area: Education
  • Location: Madhya Pradesh
  • Project Title: Corpus Fund for Snehalaya and Education of Poor Girls from Villages
  • Details:  GHECT is responsible for executing the majority of development projects including Snehalaya campus where a special-needs school, a girls’ school and from which rural medical programs are run. The Snehalaya School for predominantly girls, was started in 2011 with about 70 students that were mostly drop-outs from nearby villages. Snehalaya aims at empowering the women by educating girls and helping them break out of the cycle of oppression and stand on their own feet. These women can help their families by being productive members and also be able to educate their children. The school had started with classes from Kindergarten to 6th and gradually added 7th, 8th and 9th classes. The number of students attending the school has also increased to about 300, and has a capacity to accommodate 500 students. The school is planning to expand yet again by adding classes up to 12th.

    The school is also planning to pay all girls Rs. 10 per day of attendance in school. This will act as an incentive for parents to send their daughters to complete their studies. The money will be deposited in the bank account of the girl and she will be able to get a lump sum amount for her use on the completion of her schooling. The school provides free education, transportation, books and uniforms, etc. to all the students. As the number of students attending the school is increasing, the school is in need for more school buses to help more rural students get to the school. IDRF provides funds for running this school. IDRF provides funds for the maintenance and running of Snehalaya School.

Please click on the link to learn more about Snehalaya School.

https://www.helpchildrenofindia.org/what-we-do/snehalaya-school/

NGO: HOPE

NGO: HOPE

Background: HOPE is a social service organization working in Odisha to empower local communities by providing a variety of services including supporting women’s microcredit and training programs, adult education, community/local advocacy, and disaster relief programs.

IDRF partner since: 2005

  • Focus Area: Disaster Rehab/Misc
  • Location: Ganjam District, Odisha
  • Project Title: Emergency Health Intervention
  • Details:  In the aftermath of the devastating Phailin Cyclone, HOPE has set up a mobile health unit to provide medical services – Doctors, pharmacists, nurses & medical supplies – to victims of the cyclone and floods. The project also supported ten health camps in the most affected villages.

NGO: Transparency International India

NGO: Transparency International India

Transparency International India (TII) is a non-political and non-governmental -anti-corruption organization of India. This pan-India organization has extensive expertise in understanding of corruption issues experienced by common man in the country. The organization’s main aim is to reduce corruption, bribery and abuse of power, and, promote good governance and rule of law. TII works in the interest of the country with Union and State governments, civil organizations, media, academia and common people. They raise awareness about corruption and give voice to the victims and witnesses of corruption.

IDRF partner since: 2004

  • Focus Area:  Good Governance
  • Location: Bihar, Jharkhand
  • Project Title: Pahal: ‘Shasan Sudhar Ki Ore’ (Moving Towards Good Governance)
  • Details:  Transparency International India (TII) started Project Pahal in Bihar with the financial support of IDRF. This project promotes grassroots intervention for improving governance in rural areas of the state. Pahal team is working closely with the partner-NGO and activist in four districts of Bihar namely: Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Madhubani, and Supaul in 54 revenue villages.

There are two main cause of widespread corruption in the country: first, is the lack of awareness among citizen about their rights and entitlements, and, second is the lack of courage to fight back against corruption and injustice. Project Pahal is addressing both these causes of corruption and is making efforts to reach out to both: the victims and socially disadvantaged communities that are vulnerable to corruption. It acts as a platform for voicing the concerns of citizens and finding solutions for grievances through amicable measures.

TII uses various methods for creating awareness and spreading the helpline number as part of their outreach efforts. Stickers and posters have been placed at public places like: schools, banks and courts, etc. Leaflets with information on Pahal and its functions were distributed. Calendars for the year 2014 were designed and printed with Helpline Number and IDRF logo were also distributed among various people. The outreach material was designed in both Hindi and English languages.

As a result of their 2008 study, TII has taken local action by organizing trainings, community meetings, and engagement workshops on RTS (Right to Service), RTI (Right to Information), and Social Audits. The Pahal program in Bihar, sponsored by IDRF, has benefitted more than 3,500 men and women who are refusing to pay bribes.

The recent one-year project (2017– 2018) ‘Pahal’ for promoting Good Governance and Fighting Corruption through Multi-level Intervention is aimed at raising awareness of the poor, marginalized and illiterate people about their legal rights and entitlements in four districts in each of the states. The project also disseminates knowledge about tools of good governance like Right to Information (RTI), Social Audit, regular Gram Sabhas, Citizen Charter and e-governance, etc. to common people especially focusing on Below Poverty Line families (BPL), tribal women and youth.

Further, this project is also promoting positive interaction, participation and partnership between citizens and government officials to improve service delivery and good governance. The citizens are being provided an effective support system by way of a grievances redressal mechanism for combating corruption in their everyday lives and free legal/administrative advice for reporting mal-governance.

A baseline survey has been conducted as a starting point for monitoring changes in attributes over the duration of the project. Training workshops are being held for youth volunteers to train them about various citizen rights, entitlements, welfare schemes and tools of good governance. The project team and volunteers visit the intervention areas to understand issues emerging at grassroots’ level.

Thus this project is serving two-fold purpose of creating awareness about rights and entitlements of rural citizens and also providing support with helpline in case the rights are infringed. The program has already started benefitting thousands of rural poor who are not only refusing to pay bribes but also ensuring that corrupt government officials are held accountable for their crimes!

 

RTI Training Program

Youth Training Program

Outreach literature distributed by Transparency International India

Please click on the link to learn more about Transparency International India’s various programs and activities.
http://www.transparencyindia.org/

NGO: Janaagraha Center for Citizenship & Democracy

NGO: Janaagraha Center for Citizenship & Democracy

Janaagraha was co-founded by Swati and Ramesh Ramanathan in 2001, who returned back to India from the United States with a dream to improve urban living. This organization focuses on pan-India campaigns encouraging Indians to implement social changes in their local urban communities by enabling citizen participation in public governance. Janaagraha’s web-based and physical campaigns target youths and everyday people to make necessary changes, rather than accept many institutional realities, like corruption. Today, Janaagraha has grown into one of the leading institutions for systematic urban change in India.

IDRF partner since: 2012

  • Focus Area: Good Governance
  • Location: Urban India
  • Project Title: I Paid A Bribe, I Change My City, Bala Janaagraha, imatter and Community Policing
  • Details:  Janaagraha works to improve quality of life in India’s cities and towns through urban good governance and citizen empowerment. The have been striving to find permanent, scalable solutions to urban challenges through a structured roadmap of action, that they call their “City-System Framework”. IDRF started their association with Janaagraha by launching two campaigns: I Paid A Bribe and I Change My City

I Paid A Bribe: became a very popular pan-India campaign that encouraged Indians to engage in a dialogue regarding their everyday and institutional experiences with corruption in India. Janaagraha’s I Paid A Bribe campaign is largely web-based and focuses on educating the public on ways to move beyond corruption as a form of interaction, commerce, etc. This campaign became so popular that, NGOs and government agencies from at least 17 countries had contacted Janaagraha to ask about obtaining the source code and setting up a site of their own.

I Change My City: is another web-based governance campaign that gives locals an opportunity to file grievances regarding institutional failures that have impacted their daily lives. This campaign provides advocacy and training resources to empower several local communities and has led to greater governmental transparency on both the local and national levels.

IDRF is continuing its mission of good-governance with Janaagraha to improve quality of life in urban centers through citizen empowerment. The success of this mission requires a multilevel approach that brings together school children, corporate employees and heads of urban local bodies by launching the following campaigns under civil learning and civil participation:

Bala Janaagraha: is a civic learning program that aims to transform today’s children into informed, responsible and active citizens that focus on addressing local civic issues. The program covered over 40,000 eighth grade students across 527 schools in 25 cities of India.

Imatter: is an innovative civic learning intervention for corporate employees. It intends to increase citizen participation in local governance through civic awareness. This program has reached 114 employees from 9 corporates and has received widespread support and recognition.

Community policing: a civil participation campaign, was launched in 2013 by the Bengaluru City Police in partnership with Janaagraha to enhance neighborhood safety and security perceptions through police-public partnership. This program has reached 236,882 citizens through various platforms of citizen interfacing with the police, like awareness programs and activity campaigns.

Janagraaha has been approached by NITI Aayog,* the think tank of the Government of India to seek their help and support in drafting the ‘15 year Urban Vision Document’, that will be accompanied by a ‘7 year Strategy’ and a ‘3 year Action Plan’.  I Change My City – the world’s largest online hyper local civic change platform was approached by the Swachh Bharat Mission, Ministry of Urban Development to launch “Swachhata Solutions” a 4th Generation Complaint Redressal mobile platform, to fulfil the key Swacch Bharat Mission objectives of a Clean India. The MOU with the Mission mandated Janaagraha to develop, host and maintain Swachhata Apps in 4,041Cities and Towns across India.   Swachhata App was launched in August, 2016 and in a span of 10 months able to have on board 1,405 cities, with one million plus registered users, and, more than 6 million complaints.

Student Participants of Bala Janaagraha

Co-founder Swati Ramanathan at the Community Policing Campaign Launch

Swachhata App

New Swachhata App Helped a Citizen Get Rid of a Garbage Dump in His Area in Just a Few Hours

*NITI Aayog (National Institute for Transforming India) Government of India. http://niti.gov.in/

Please click on the links to learn more about Janaagraha’s various campaigns launched in pan-India.

http://www.janaagraha.org/about-us/, http://www.ipaidabribe.com/#gsc.tab=0, www.ichangemycity.com ,
http://swachh.city/

NGO: World Teacher Trust (WTT)

NGO: World Teacher Trust (WTT)

The World Teacher Trust (WTT), is an organization inspired by the life and teachings of Dr. Ekkirala Krishnamacharya and founded in 1971. WTT collaborates with social and cultural organization to promote education, alleviate human suffering, and improve the general welfare of the disadvantaged. It also promotes ancient Indian culture and upholds traditional values relating to human society. The groups associated with WTT comprise members from all walks of life and are spread all over the planet. The various groups function with the main idea of goodwill in the different fields of life.

IDRF partner since: 2010

  • Focus Area: Health
  • Location: Andhra Pradesh
  • Project Title: Free Homoeopathic Dispensariesof Science Laboratories and Classrooms
  • Details:  The WTT has taken up free homoeopathic and medical services as a means for healing the sick. The main homeopathic dispensary of the WTT is in Vishakhapatnam and it offers free services to nearly 10,000 patients per month and more than 100,000 patients are served free of cost per year. IDRF has partnered with the WTT to provide homeopathic medicine and medical care to the rural poor of Andhra Pradesh. It has also supported WTT by sending funds to provide food and clothes for the poor and needy people. Additionally, conferences and trainings are being held across the state to promote homeopathy and social work. All doctors and medical assistants working at the clinics are volunteers.

Free medical care provided to poor and needy people

Homoeopathic Dispensary in Vishakhapatnam

Please click on the link to learn more about the Homoeopathic and Medical services provided in India by World Teacher Trust.
http://www.worldteachertrust.org/en/web/service/healing/homoeo_services_in_india

NGO: Vivekananda Kendra

NGO: Vivekananda Kendra

Vivekananda Kendra is a pan-India organization working for the overall advancement of marginalized communities.

IDRF partner since: 2000

  • Focus Area: Health
  • Location: Arunachal Pradesh and Assam
  • Project Title: Fighting malnutrition among women and children in tribal villages of Arunachal Pradesh, Mobile Clinic and OPD Path-lab
  • Details:  Fighting malnutrition among women and children in tribal villages Lazu and Khimiyong circles in Tirap and Changlang Districts of Arunachal Pradesh In the remote hilly villages, about 73% children are malnourished and about 55% women are anemic as a result of multiple pregnancies. With IDRF’s support and guidance, Vivekananda Kendra has started a project wherein, 200 children and 50 women from 12 villages with severe symptoms are being identified in the first phase. During the free medical camps people are being made aware of this new program and children are selected for intervention. These malnourished children will then be provided nutritious meals through Balwadis and women will be given dietary supplements by health workers

    Anemia and Hemoglobin testing for adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women will also be started soon. Regular health awareness camps will be conducted to monitor the changes and special care given to pregnant and lactating women. The families will be encouraged to grow more grains, vegetables and fruits for consumption at home in order to improve their health. This project will require us to raise $15,000 per year in order to fight malnutrition among children and women in remote tribal villages..

 

Mobile Clinic, OPD Path-lab

IDRF has been supporting mobile medical clinics over the past two decades, in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. The latest medical van was inaugurated in July 2014, in order to continue serving the medical needs of over 50,000 marginalized people from 35-40 of the most remote villages across Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. The van is used for free medical care for these villages, as well as conducting free medical camps several times a year. With the new van, the medical team is trying to reach out to even more remote villages, along the Indo-Myanmar borders of Arunachal Pradesh.

Within one year of getting the new van,  the team was able to achieve tremendous success in conducting the following activities: 62 Medical camps benefitting 6,400 people; 69 basic health camps by health workers benefitting 1200 people; health workers’ orientation and training programs for 15 workers; 22 School Outreach Programs; village visits, malaria tests, administering deworming medicines to children and medicines for various ailments distribution by health workers; health awareness meetings benefitting more than 5,500 people; eye camps to detect cataract and glaucoma for 241 people and operating 13 patients so far, and dental camps to treat 103 patients.

Since then the mobile medical van has been regularly able to visit more remotely situated villages and offer medical services to the poor and impoverished villagers. These achievements have been highly commendable because of the tough geographical conditions of this area. Due to heavy landslides some of the roads are closed for several months and the health workers have to visit the villages on foot to provide basic medicines to the patients.

The medical needs of this region have been so dire, that IDRF established a new program called Rural Area Medical Aid (RAMA), whereby, medical doctors in the United States, donate $1,000/year to cover the annual operating costs of the van.  IDRF is also working with them to make the program sustainable by charging nominal fees for medical services provided. Two members of IDRF’s RAMA group have also served in a free surgical camp organized at Tinsukia in Assam. These doctors made use of the IDRF van to serve the patients in the area, but faced acute scarcity of diagnostic equipment and instruments. The experience of these doctors has inspired IDRF to raise $ 55,000 to support a fixed location OPD-path lab with modern medical equipment, in Tinsukia.

Medical Camps organized by Vivekananda Kendra in Arunachal Pradesh

IDRF funded Mobile Medical Clinic

Donor and Volunteer Testimonial:

Dr. Arti Gehani, is a member of IDRF’s RAMA group and has served in a free surgical camp jointly sponsored by Vivekananda Kendra and other organizations in Arunachal Pradesh. According to Arti, “As physicians, it was joyful to share our skills, but it was also very difficult and frustrating due to lack of medical equipment. Despite the challenges, the experience was wonderful but heartbreaking at the same time. The people were humble and kind and very grateful for our services. I believe that I gained much more from this experience than the patients did”.

Please click on the web link given below to get more information on Vivekananda Kendra.
http://www.vivekanandakendra.org/

NGO: Sri Ram Grameen Kshetra Vikas Samiti

NGO: Sri Ram Grameen Kshetra Vikas Samiti

Sri Ram Grameen Kshetra Vikas Samiti provides a hospital with low-cost but- quality medical access for the population of villages around Nagauri, Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh.

IDRF partner since: 2008

  • Focus Area: Health
  • Location: Uttar Pradesh
  • Project Title: Smt Laxmi Todi Hospital (Nagauri Hospital)
  • Details:  The hospital is currently operating with the medical staff in the following fields: allopathy, Ayurveda, homeopathy, eye care and pharmacy. The number of patients coming daily is about 50 on an average. Monthly eye-camps are being organized for the past several years. The cataract patients are examined and taken by buses to Meerut city for eye-operations done free of cost. This Hospital provides post-operative care to these patients on a regular basis. This program has been successful and effective in controlling the blindness in the rural population of the area.

    Despite its success, there are many challenges that are making it difficult for the hospital to treat many more patients than they are able to do so. Lack of roads, transportation facilities, unawareness among the rural people, are to name a few.

    IDRF is helping in not only the running of the hospital, but also in the construction of road, that will allow villagers from nearby communities to gain direct access to the quality medical-personnel and facilities available at this hospital. Additionally, IDRF funds were used to maintain various facilities, construction of staff residences and a separate wing for women patients in the hospital.

Mrs. Saraswati Jain attending to a leprosy patient

NGO: Sree Kasturibai Mahila Samajam

NGO: Sree Kasturibai Mahila Samajam

Background:

A social service organization founded by the renowned scholar Swamini Lalitananda, Sree Kasturibai Mahila Samajam provides disabled, elderly, and disadvantaged people with a variety of services.

IDRF Partner Since: 2005

Focus Area: Health

Location: Andhra Pradesh

Project: Charla Susila Old Age Home

Details:

The home serves the elderly, many of whom were living in abject poverty, abandoned or abused by their families, and people who suffer from serious physical or mental illness. IDRF and Sree Katuribai Mahila Samajam provide these individuals with a comfortable living and medical care in a home-like environment.

Mrs. Saraswati Jain attending to a leprosy patient

NGO: Shyamprasad Institute for Social Service (SISS)

NGO: Shyamprasad Institute for Social Service (SISS)

Shyamprasad Institute for Social Service (SISS), is a non-profit voluntary social service and research institute established in 1999. SISS has been devising and successfully implementing programs for encouraging rural population to develop independent thinking and mutual cooperation. The organization is also committed to the holistic development of tribal villages, with a specific focus on eco-friendly development and healthcare

IDRF partner since: 2013

  • Focus Area:  Health
  • Location: Telangana
  • Project Title: Arogya Dhara
  • Details:  Private-Public partnerships remain the secret of successful development-bringing a host of skills as well as financial, technical and operative know-how for efficient and effective implementation and sustained operation. IDRF’s exemplary partnership with SISS implemented the Arogya Dhara project from April 2013 – March 2016. On the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, SISS had started ‘Arogya Dhara Initiative’ in 2013, to promote sanitation, health and livelihood activities in the tribal areas of Adilabad district, Telangana. Their work targeted improvements in health and environmental aspects of the entire village.

    Arogya Dhara was started in 162 villages and 50,000 people from 10,000 families have taken part and benefitted from this initiative. IDRF acted as a catalyst by meeting the critical requirement of 7.5% funding. The ultimate beneficiaries contributed 8.6% through labor (Shramdan), the partner-NGO raised 2.9% locally and the remaining 81% was financed by the central and state governments.

Village Committees were constituted in every village, and development activities were carried out through them. Some of these activities are as follows:

  • People have been encouraged to construct toilets, soak pits and motivated to adhere to maintain clean surroundings (3,205 soak pits have been completed in 25 villages).
  • Horticulture and backyard plantation has been propagated in 4,500 households.
  • Health awareness programs for women and young girls have been organized in villages and schools.
  • Eye checkup camps have also been conducted in villages and various schools.
  • Vocational training camps for unemployed youth have been organized.
  • Homeopathic medicines have been distributed to 9,500 households to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

SISS also works closely with local government bodies through co-financing and capacity building, to ensure that governments will continue this work long after SISS has left. This ensures a major multiplier effect, and sustainability of this project into the long-term.

Villagers digging soak pits

Toilets in Mutnuru village

Please click to know more about Shyamprasad Institute for Social Service’s various programs.