A review of Sankalp’s Fundraising efforts in 2016-17:

 

                Sankalp has had enormous support throughout the year from our generous patrons and our enthusiastic volunteers. Through Football Volunteering, Daawat and various initiatives, Sankalp raised $17,800 towards the shortlisted projects for 2016-17 ! Sankalp decides which projects to fund based on voting results from all Sankalp members. This year Sankalp will be able to fund 5 projects: CDS, SOVA, Sehgal Foundation, READS and Aasra Trust. These projects have requested a total of  $16,312.  The balance will be carried forward for next year’s projects.

 

Prospective Projects:

Below were the Prospective Projects for the year 2016-17!

 

Making Mud Matter (Aarti)

Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh

                Aarti is an NGO based in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, that was established in 1992. Their main focus is on educating and improving the lives of underprivileged children and women. Their past projects include a Computer skills mobile lab that trained 1500 children in remote areas and Mana Bidda (‘My Child’ in Telugu), a 3-year European Union funded project against discrimination and female infanticide. Aarti is also the nodal agency for CHILDLINE, a 24/7 hotline for children in distress, in Kadapa. The project they are proposing to fund through Sankalp is “Making Mud Matter”. The project aims to train girls in Aarti Home to become trainers in the art of terracotta jewelry-making, and enable them to impart skills to other women, making it a sustainable project. The budget is around Rs 300,000 (~$4,500), and includes training costs, infrastructure like the kiln, an office to house the project as well as raw materials for the initial period.

Street Smart (Aasraa Trust)

Dehradun, Uttarakhand

                AASRA is a registered educational trust based in Azad Colony, Dehradun. It was founded in 2009 with the aim of educating and rehabilitating street and slum children near the ISBT area of Dehradun.

                Most of the children in the area are laborers, rag pickers and beggars, whose families are Below Poverty Line. Their day-to-day struggle for survival makes education unattainable. The ‘Street Smart’ program was launched to help these children transcend into a better way of life. Through this program, the organization expects to introduce basic education to children, no matter what their starting point is. The ultimate outcome is to bring them to a level where they can get introduced to formal education.

                The proposed project aims at education and nutrition of 20 children at the “Street Smart at ISBT” center for a year. The project is expected to raise INR 4,00,000 ($5990).

Menstrual Hygiene Awareness (CDS)

Angul District, Odisha

                Center for Development Services, was started in the year 1998 and is based in Odisha. Some of their focus areas include upliftment of women, children and other socially backward groups. They have previously worked with Sankalp on projects to strengthen food security of the poor farmers by enhancing the production & productivity of land through an improved irrigation system, rehabilitation of Scheduled Tribe community members, and socio-economic development of the population below poverty line.

                The proposed project is to set up a Menstrual Hygiene Management program for Rural Women and Adolescent Girls, in Kukudang, Angul district,Odisha; They plan to facilitate this through series of educational programmes and construction of a self sufficient sanitary pad manufacturing facility.

                In the long term, this project hopes to create a sustainable Menstrual Hygiene program and awareness initiative. The total cost of the project is 9000 USD which includes the awareness programs and the manufacturing. Sankalp will be covering the Awareness program which totals to 4100 USD.

Lynti Khasi Program (FST)

Umsawwar Village, Meghalaya

                FST – Foundation for social transformation is based in Shillong, Meghalaya and works for the development of the 8 North-Eastern states of India.  Their proposed project Lynti Khasi aims to provide elementary education to kids of age group 7 – 12 years from the shepherd community in Umsawwar village of Meghalaya. The livelihood of majority of the population in Umsawwar is cattle herding and other kind of livestock rearing. The children in the family are usually sent to look after the cattle in the day time. Due to the conflict with the school working hours (9 AM – 3 PM), a large number of kids usually drop out. Lynti Khasi school solves this problem by operating a special school for the shepherd children. The program also focuses on building a children’s council called ‘Ka Dorbar Jong Ki Khynnah Umsawwar’ where children are encouraged to participate in the village council meets and play a decisive role in influencing the elders in the community. The foundation’s long term objectives are to ensure that all children attend the school and attain quality education. It also aims to improve the participation of Khasi women in the village Dorbar (council). The project is looking at raising INR 4,91,000/- for 1 year (USD 7328).

Women in Farming (PIUS)

Ogi Village, Angul District, Odisha

                Peoples Integration & Union for Society, a community development organisation was founded in 1995. is based in Mahidharpur, Angul, Odisha and focuses on development of rural areas mainly in Angul district. Their previous work include programs generating awareness about water and sanitation in villages, artisan development, STDs awareness and income generation activities with the help of self help groups.

                The proposed project will cover 40 households (farmers with small and marginal landholdings) which belong to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category in the Ogi village in Chhendipada block of Angul district, Odisha. The main goal of this project is to train women farmers in the village on how to practice organic farming and promote cultivation of cereals and millets. It also aims at providing land development support for organic farming and planting solar powered pump sets.

                The long term objective of this project is to develop women-led agriculture and to increase the annual income of the households of Ogi village. The total cost for implementing this project is Rs. 3,78,000 (approx. $5700) of which Sankalp’s contribution shall be Rs. 2,18,000 (approx $3300).

 

Vegetable Gardens in Rural Schools (SOVA)

Dhenkanal District, Odisha

                SOVA, The Social Organisation for Voluntary Action, is based in the state of Orissa. Their primary objective is to facilitate the welfare of its rural population. Their past projects have been largely focused on improving the health of rural women and children and enhancing the quality of life for members of the local tribal communities.

                Their major undertaking in the past has been the provision of fortified rice to over 835 schools, to combat Iron deficiency anemia in students. This was done in association with the World Food Program and the Government of Orissa, covering over 62000 students in the state.

                Now, SOVA plans on establishing organic vegetable gardens in 84 schools, to provide vegetables, like Brinjal, Plantain, and Okra for use in the Mid-day meals. They will train school teachers, and provide the necessary resources for them to start, and manage, an approximately 800 sq ft. vegetable garden for the school.

*This addition of fresh vegetables in the diet will serve as a valuable source of nutrition in the diets of the children.

                The proposed budget is $3150 which covers the cost of transportation for the volunteers who will train the teachers, and the cost of seeds, organic fertilizer and organic pesticides to start that garden.

Crusaders for Sanitation (Sehgal Foundation)

Satputiaka Village, Nuh District, Haryana

                Sehgal Foundation, was founded in 1999 by world renowned geneticist, Dr. S. M. Sehgal. The foundation has been involved in implementing social development projects across India through infrastructure improvement as well as effecting change through social awareness. Their proposed project for hygiene awareness for school-girls and women, is based in Satputiaka village in Nuh district, Haryana.

                Haryana has one of the lowest gender ratios for women across India. Satputiaka village with a population of 1200 people, has scarce hygienic sanitation facilities. The lack of functioning toilets coupled with poor awareness for the agriculturally employed population has resulted in limited social development.

                The proposed construction of sanitation facilities shall include 4 toilets, 8 urinals, 2 wash basins, 2 soak pits, a soak well and a thousand litre water storage tank. The proper use of the infrastructure shall be taught to the students through weekly awareness visits. The teachers shall be provided learning materials to ensure that the community at large is better informed about hygienic practices. With the help of this two-pronged approach, the Sehgal Foundation aims to effect social change, particularly for the women and girls of the village who have suffered greatly from a lack of awareness about hygiene. The project is looking to raise INR 2,33,712 (USD 3500) which shall be matched by an equal donation from the Sehgal family.

Soft-skills Workshop for Students (Prem Ashram)

Karwar, Karnataka

                Prem Ashram Charitable Trust, is based in the state of Karnataka. Their primary objective is to create and support programs that will lead to sustainable changes aimed at upliftment of lives of economically and socially disadvantaged youth, women, senior citizens and disabled citizens irrespective of religion, caste, gender, color and creed.

                In the past, Prem Ashram has provided scholarship to about 100 underprivileged students. They have built hostels for underprivileged girls and boys and continue to pay for the operating costs of the same. Prem Ashram also distributes stationery, uniforms and other school supplies and supports school kitchens providing breakfast for the school children.

                At present, Prem Ashram plans to conduct workshops on soft skills for college students. These workshops would include written and oral communication skills, resume building, providing career path assistance, team building activities, and presentations on encouraging entrepreneurship. They plan to reach out to 1600 college students with this project.

                Prem Ashram has worked on a pilot project for this workshop before with about 300 college students and found it to be successful.

                The proposed budget is $5200 which covers the cost of entire cost of conducting the workshops for 1600 college students.

Vocational Training for Homeless Women (VIRD)

Angul District, Odisha

                VIRD, or Voluntary Institute of Rural Development was established in 1987, and is based in the state of Orissa. They conduct socio-economic programs for SC/ST and BPL (below poverty line) members of society. Some of their past projects have addressed issues like community education of children, health and sanitation and promotion of women empowerment, to name a few.

                One such project was the opening of ‘swadhar homes’, to house women and girls who were victims of trafficking, domestic violence or homelessness. They realised however, that the women staying in these faced a range of issues such as a lack of skills and money, and suffered psychological problems that stemmed from this.

                Their current project proposes to give these women vocational training, which will help them generate income. Women will be taught to make paper cups in the Swadhar homes. The target audience of this project is 36 residents of the swadhar homes.

                There is currently a high demand for paper cups and plates, and the manufacturing of paper cups is expected to generate an annual income of Rs.10000 for each of the residents.

                VIRD is looking to raise $5800 (Rs. 3,78,000/-) which would include the cost of construction of the shed in which the paper cup and plate manufacturing would take place, machinery, raw materials, capacity building training and furniture and fixtures.

R.E.A.D.S

Rajabazar Locality, Kolkata, West Bengal

                Rajabazar Education and Awareness Development Society (READS) operates in the Rajabazar area of Kolkata to bring awareness for education and training among the poor sections of the society which have suffered from neglect. Sankalp had funded their “Education and support service program” last year.  

                This year’s project aims to provide educational guidance and provide study materials to poor children (6-14 years) living in the slums. This also involves vocational training for mothers/adolescent girls in order for them to be able to provide for their families, and move away from the cycle of poverty and illiteracy. READS volunteers shall train these young women on how to make readymade garments, which shall help them find employment in local clothes factories in the area.

                The completion of these objectives shall go a long way towards development of poor sections of the society, particularly the women and young girls who shall be given a new way of life. The project is looking to raise (Rs. 1,70,000) $ 2550 for a training period of 6 months for both women and children.

Voting Results:

Every year, prospective projects will be presented to the patrons at Daawat and they are asked to rank the projects from 1,2 and so on. Hence, the projects with the lowest sum are the ones that are highest preferred and the ones with the highest sum are lowest preferred ones.

 

Projects to be funded 2016-17 | Fund amounts for projects based on voting results: