Success attends where Truth Reigns - M. K. Gandhi
<<Organisation Name>> was started in the year <year> with the mission of helping the rural people to overcome their oppression and help improve their life standards by providing them quality health care services, employment opportunities, educational and allied service. The institution has grown into a big banyan tree where all the activities are oriented towards the upliftment of the rural poor.

The Vision
Our vision is to help overcome the poverty among the rural people. Their quality of life and their average life span should be increased with par with the city dwellers in the country. All the rural people should lead a happy, peaceful and meaningful life which will positively influence both the rural people and the nation at large.

The Mission

• To provide a vocational training for strengthening the rural based industries. So the rural people will earn their livelihood in decent manner. This is very essential to protect their physical, mental and the psychological well-being without being affected by the stress
• To provide the quality housing with all the necessary amenities to the rural population who are below the poverty level.
• To help set up the necessary infra structure like the schools, primary health centre, community wells, street lights, motorable roads etc. This will ensure the improvement of their life standard. To make them feel that they are part of the same society where they were born and brought up from
• To ensure the social security for the downtrodden community by supporting orphans, widows, mentally retarded peoples and Senior citizens.
• To work for the change of attitude of the government machinery, the general population and other stake holders towards the rural population

The Story of the <<Organisation Name>>
"The structural violence is marked by the increased rates of death and disability suffered by those who occupy the bottom rungs of society, as contrasted with the relatively lower death rates experienced by those who are above them."
- James Gilligan

Structured inequities produce suffering and death as often as direct violence does, though the damage is slower, more subtle, more common, and more difficult to repair. Globally, poverty is correlated with infant mortality, infectious diseases, and shortened life spans. Whenever people are denied access to society´s resources, we can understand that the physical and psychological violence exists within that society. It is estimated that till now from 1900, nearly one hundred million deaths occurred due to direct wars and violence. But more than 1000 million deaths have come from such factors as hunger, malnutrition, lack of knowledge and medical-care, discrimination, exploitation, etc. What the saddest commentary on the contemporary society is this!

<<Organisation Name>> was the result of the dream of a dynamic group. The dynamic group was organised by the head master of the local school. The head master is a man of principles. He wanted to see the change in the rural setup. He was the locally grown up person. He had a dream to eradicate the poverty, illiteracy and the condition of depravation. So with the help of the village youth group, he set up the organisation.

The institution was started with the primary motive of helping the rural poor for their growth and development in the fields of health, education, economic development and social welfare. It was this vision which manifested into the various institutions. Every time a difficult situation arose within the local community, it was addressed through an initiative. This initiative was then strengthened and institutionalised.

The magnitude of the problem is enormous. Now thanks to the globalisation, the rural population is bearing the brunt of the financial instability. So in the year <year> the <<Organisation Name>> was started in a small way in the head master´s residence.

Now the institution is running the micro credit bank, help support the additional teachers in the local village school, provide training in the rural based vocations. It also runs the tailoring units, rural industries like Jam & Jelly making, Herbal powder making, Pickles making, oil extracting unit.

The institution has won many prestigious awards including <xyz>, <yzx> and <zyx> awards.

We feel proud that the institution has been instrumental in bringing up the smile on the face of the worried rural folks. Due to the advocacy campaigns, the government machinery is viewing the conditions of the rural population with sympathy and kindness. This attitudinal change of the society towards the deprived lot is paramount in our achievements. We are happy that we are able to affect the lives of the downtrodden in a positive manner.

Our Team
At the background of <<Organisation Name>> there are eminent personalities. Our organisation structure consists of Governing board, Trustees, Staff, Volunteers and well -wishers.

Governing Board
The chairperson
The chairperson <name> who is the head of the institution is a man of commitment. He is a retired head master. As we mentioned in the About Us page the head master was the person who was instrumental in bringing about the positive change by setting up the organisation. His vision is to see that all the downtrodden poor rural people should have access to quality lifestyle, health care along with nutritious food and decent shelter.

Trustees

1.
• <Name>, is a chartered accountant. He looks after our accounts. He is a man of wisdom. He deals with the government and the donor agencies.
2.
• <Name>, is the General Medical Practitioner. He visits the villages once in a month and does the check up of the village children and the poor rural labours. He takes care of the general medical needs of the other residents of the village too.

Staff

1.
• <Name>, is one of the co-ordinators in the institution. She is one of the sincere and hard working staff. She helps the village children in all their activities. She is of a jovial nature and enthusiastic about her job.
2.
• <Name>, is our vocational training instructor. He is really a committed person. He has been very punctual in his duties. He never disgruntled about any thing. Sometimes during the emergency situations he used to help without thinking about his own welfare

Volunteers

1.
• <Name> is an enthusiastic volunteer who helps the institution in more ways than one. He / She helps in our fund-rising initiatives. He / She regularly visits our operational area and help organise the monthly meetings with the different segments like the farmers, women and the youth.
2.
• <Name> is also one of our energetic volunteers. He / She teaches new handicrafts to our residents. They are busy learning from him / her and are really happy about his work
.

Our Activities
Our activities are divided into following segments.
Housing

Building the concrete houses to replace the thatched mud houses to help the rural poor people to live in quality houses

The houses are built using the partnership formulae. 25% of the money is provided by the institution, 50% of the money is provided by the government and the remaining 25% is provided by the householders in the form of physical labour.

Basic Needs Basic infra structure like the roads, potable water, schools, primary health centres were lacking in the operational area where we work. Due to our consistent follow up work with the government and other private donor agencies, we are able to provide the following structures in the area where we work.

• <xyz> (number) tube wells and <xyz> (number) open wells were dug for the drinking water and the irrigation facility. <xyz> (number) over head tanks were also constructed to provide the running drinking water through taps to all the households in our operation area.
• <xyz> (number) kms length of the inner village roads were laid with the help of the government agency.
• Common Toilets for women and children: The institution has been instrumental in constructing <xyz> (number) common toilets for women and children. Now the women folks are using the toilets. Before they were facing a lot of difficulty for the absence of toilets in their homes.
• Street Lamps: Energy efficient CFL lamps are used in the street lights. Some of the street lamps are powered by the solar panels. These initiative was made possible with the help of our donor agency <xyz>

Education:

• xyz> (number) school buildings for the children of the local community were built with our intervention. Earlier the children used to go the schools which were 5 kms away. So the problem of drop-outs from the schools especially for the girl children was an enormous problem. With our initiative, now the children are completing their high school level education without much difficulty
• Mid day meals to the school children are jointly managed by the Parents and the teachers of the schools. So the food provided for the children are highly nutritious and beneficial for their physical and the mental development.
• Teachers Support: In the village schools the chronic problem is the lack of teachers to handle the different classes. So the general practice is to have combined classes. The quality of the school children was poor. Even the 5th grade student does not understand the basic mathematical calculations and the alphabets in a language. Now the institution with the help of generous donors has employed <xyz> (number) teachers. Now the teachers handle the classes separately.
• Library: Initially there was no library in the village. The organisation has helped in bringing in the new library building in our operational area. Now we have <xyz> (number) books and the magazines in the library. The rural people are using the library with enthusiasm.

Health:
The operational area where we work in had no medical facilities like the Primary health centre, hospitals near by. After our intervention the government has built the primary health centre. Now the doctor comes once in a week.
The Nurses come and visit the houses that have the pregnant women and the old aged people. They are provided with the necessary medical care.
The institution has also tied up with the private neighbourhood hospitals. The students of the medical college are visiting the villages and providing the health care services to the needy rural people.
Every 6 months we are conducting the medical camps in association with the private donor agencies and the private hospitals.

Women Empowerment
The most notable thing about our organisation is that the whole philosophy of the development revolves around the women´s emancipation. From cradle to graveyard, the problems of the women are addressed in effective way. Forming of the women´s self help groups, training them on entrepreneurship, inducting women folk in all the village industries in a major way are some of the activities that the institution has been involved in.

It can be rightly said that the tilt towards the women´s upliftment or the so called positive discrimination is notable visible through out all the activities of this organisation. One can find that the women - young and old alike go about their work confidently. But there are no complaints from any quarters. The chief providers of nourishment to the entire family, i.e., the women folks´ needs are effectively catered to.

The founders´ wishes about the organisation have been reflecting in the way of its functioning evidently. Now the organisation has helped to form and train <xyz> (number) Women Self Help Groups (SHGs). Each SHG has something worthwhile income generation activity to do. Help is being provided to market their wares too. So purchasing power of the families to which the women belong has been increasing steadily.

Village Industries
Encouraging the village industries is an effort to make the village self-sufficient. These industries would provide them with the wherewithal to make their own basic needs for a comfortable life. The units manufacture and process a variety of food, clothing and other requirements for the village markets. Today, our Village Industries´ products are the household name in the nearby towns and the cities.

Our institution is one of the pioneers in developing village industrial units in villages. It has over the years created village industries, set-up many industries, has facilitated research and development on specific village products, and continuously trained village entrepreneurs for setting up village units. It has inspired many similar initiatives across the state.

Under the Village Industries initiative we have set up the following industries.

• Siddha and Ayurveda Medicine Manufacturing Unit
• Soap Making Unit
• Honey Processing Unit
• Processed Food Manufacturing Unit
• Paper Bag Manufacturing Unit
• Shoes Manufacturing Unit
• Nature Dye Manufacturing Unit

Advocacy: - The institution is one of the leading advocacy groups fighting for the rights of rural people in the country. It has consistently lobbied with the government for more resources for education and health for the children of the rural folks and stronger legislation for providing social security to the rural population. It has carried out major studies on issues including farmers´ suicide, the debt trap and deprivation.

Educating the general public: - To educate the general public about the rural people´s rights and the issues involved, the institution regularly conducts programmes like the road shows, media campaign, exhibitions on the themes of the rural people´s rights at the busy railway stations and the bus stops

Success Stories
1. <name> was made an orphan at the young age of 6 for both her parents became victims illicit liquor. Both her parents were died after consuming the illicit liquor without their knowledge. There was no one to take care of her. She was loitering around in the streets.

We found her out and offered our help. Her life has been changed for better hence. The years he spent with us became the fruitful years for her. She completed the schooling. Later she joined the diploma institute and completed the diploma course in Computer Science. Now she is employed in the <name> software company as the assistant engineer. She very well could have been a destitute and vagabond. But due to our intervention her life changed for better. Now she is always cheerful and has positive outlook. She has been helping in organise things in our home.

2. <name>, aged 30, had been married for 11 years without having any children. She was suffering from the cervical cancer. She was too poor to afford the quality medical care provided by the private medical hospitals. Her condition was worsening.

Added to this, her husband was alcoholic and clinically depressed, and would often get into serious fights with the neighbours. Yet, Ms. <name> would do her best to manage the situation, selling vegetables to earn a living.

Our institution was able to start helping her. She and her husband were brought to our family counselling sessions. We referred her husband to a mental health counsellor for treatment.

With our help of the generous donors, she was given the quality medical care which she needed badly for her condition was progressing from bad to worse. Now after the effective intervention by the private medical care, she has been able to recover from her disease.

Capacity building
Added to this, we convinced to join a self-help group and learn a new trade, and she used our income generation training programmes to learn about tailoring, dressmaking, and the manufacture and marketing of nutrient powder. We also taught her about looking after her own health.
A happy ending
Today she is a much more confidant and capable woman, and lives a peaceful life with her husband.