by admin | May 25, 2021 | Entrepreneurship, News, Social Entrepreneur

A midwife conducting basic tests on a pregnant woman
By Mohammed Shafeeq,
Hyderabad : The scenic beauty of Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh is in stark contrast to the lives of indigenous tribes people inhabiting the region. Living in virtual destitution, these tribals — like their counterparts scattered in remote locations across the rest of India — lack access to basic amenities like safe drinking water, healthcare and education. Till a few years ago, some of these habitations were not even covered in the national census and nobody knew they even existed.
But efforts of a leading NGO over the last seven years have yielded results in 181 habitations around Araku. This is testified by the fact that no maternal deaths have been reported here over the last two years — a giant step forward for a place where maternal mortality was double the national average.
Before emerging as a tourist destination about a decade ago, Araku, 100 km from the port city of Visakhapatnam, was an area that was the redoubt of Maoist extremists. Politicians and officials used to stay away from this forested area in the Eastern Ghats.
The population in scattered and inaccessible hamlets was suffering from malnutrition, leading to high maternal mortality and neonatal mortality rates. Some traditional practices of the tribals and deliveries at home were also contributing to this situation.
When the NGO Piramal Swasthya, the health vertical of Piramal Foundation, launched the Asara Tribal Health Programme in 2011, maternal mortality in this tribal area was over 400 per 100,000 live births as against the then national average of around 200.
No maternal deaths have been reported over the last two years while the percentage of institutional deliveries has risen from 18 per cent to 68 per cent. The neonatal mortality rate too has come down from 37 to 10 per 100,000 live births, say the officials of Piramal Swasthya.
The agents behind this change are Auxillary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) like P. Padma who toil selflessly to help the pregnant women in these remote hamlets. The 27-year-old has been working with the NGO for six years and has attended about 3,000 women. She has seen the transformation.
“The situation in the tribal hamlets was pathetic as women were reluctant to come to hospitals for delivery. A major reason for this was the superstition among tribals. Piramal Swasthya has removed the superstitions and motivated the women,” Padma told IANS.
Padma travels 12-13 km in a four-wheeler and, when the road ends, she goes on a bike driven by a “pilot”, covering another 11 km. When this narrow path also ends, she hikes across mountains and valleys for another 12-13 km to the last habitation of Araku.
This is what she does every day, explains Vishal Phanse, Chief Executive Officer, Piramal Swasthya.
Once in the habitation, the ANM identifies every pregnant woman, conducts basic tests, provides counselling on healthy practices and fixes an appointment for consultation with a specialist at the telemedicine centre. The next day, a four-wheeler is sent to pick up all pregnant women registered and get them to the telemedicine centre, where an expert gynaecologist sitting in Hyderabad provides the consultation through teleconferencing. Free medication, along with nutrition supplements, is also provided to the expectant mother and she is then dropped back to her habitation.
“If a woman can’t walk we arrange ‘palki’ (a kind of palanquin) to bring her till the four-wheeler to take her to the telemedicine centre,” Padma said. Last month, a woman delivered a baby on the palki in Colliguda village. She helped the woman and later safely transported her and the newborn to the hospital.
ANMs support the women and children through their pregnancy, child birth and neonatal period while keeping the government machinery in the loop.
Piramal Swasthya overcame all odds to achieve its goal of ending preventable deaths in 181 habitations, serving 49,000 pregnant women.
Adding some more interventions like training traditional birth attendants and health education of adolescent girls, it is now expanding the programme across 11 “mandals” or blocks comprising 1,179 habitations in the tribal belt of Visakhapatnam district to reach 2.5 lakh population.
It is currently running six telemedicine centres and plans to add five more. The NGO will also be opening two more community nutrition hubs in addition to existing one, where women are educated about a healthy and nutritious diet and trained in the use of traditional and locally available food items.
Based on the learning in Visakhapatnam, the NGO wants to create something which can be replicated in the entire tribal belt of India. More than 10 percent of India’s population is tribal and among them maternal mortality is two-and-a-half times the national average.
“If what works in Araku, works in Visakhapatnam, then we can replicate it in the entire tribal belt of the country,” said Phanse.
Niti Aayog, India’s policy think-tank, is looking at this model with key interest as to how they can scale it up.
“In fact, a lot of people including the United Nations, governments in states and at the Centre are looking at it. We had a lot of visitors trying to understand how we managed to do this. We ourselves are learning every day. Technology is a great enabler if you have to scale it up at the national level.”
Phanse believes that 80 percent of what worked in Araku can be replicated in tribal areas across the country and 20 percent could be local customisation that they have to work on.
What worked for Piramal Swasthya in Araku? “We have doctors, public health professionals and experts with the youngest aged 26 and the oldest 78. That’s the kind of expertise we have with actual feet on the ground. Our actuality to work with them, for them, staying with them and understanding them is what I think has worked best for us,” said Phanse.
“If you want make anything sustainable in healthcare you have to create health seeking behaviour in the community. We were successful because we changed the community,” he added.
Phanse feels that the community engagement and participation in the programme is key to its success.
For Piramal, winning the trust of the local community was the key challenge. As Araku was an extremist stronghold, gaining the trust of locals took time.
Most of the 38 people that work for the organisation are from the local community who are wedded to the cause. Forging the local partnership by using the services of dedicated individuals who can speak the language of the community ensured smooth implementation.
With 4,000 employees in just its health vertical, Piramal Swasthya is prehaps the largest NGO in India, implementing 29 healthcare projects in 16 states.
India ranks 131 among 188 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) 2016 released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). India was placed behind countries like Gabon (109), Egypt (111), Indonesia (113), South Africa (119) and Iraq (121), among others. The government is working towards improving this rating by creating competition between states to perform better on key social indicators like infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate and life expectancy.
(The weekly feature series is part of a positive-journalism project of IANS and the Frank Islam Foundation. Mohammed Shafeeq can be contacted at m.shafeeq@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Entrepreneurship, News, Politics, Social Entrepreneur, Success Stories
By M. Burhanuddin Qasmi,
Hojai : Markazul Ma’arif, the premier Assam based NGO, is awarded with ‘Dakshata Gold Award’ today for being the best training centre in the state by Government of Assam. This feat was achieved by the popular NGO which is an Ajmal CSR unit for its brilliant performance in imparting skill development training in collaboration with Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission Society (ASRLMS).
Markazul Ma’arif which was established in 1982 by Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, CEO Ajmal CSR and Dhubri MP, is regarded as the best training centre in implementing DDU-GKY projects among total 55 centres in Assam. Markaz has initiated imparting skill training and placement programmes to school and college dropouts, unemployed youths in 2015 only. By remaining strict with the project guidelines and following the rules set by the governments the organisation has so far imparted trainings to 888 youths, males and females. Based on the trainings they acquired at Markaz, most of them are now successfully working in various parts of India and abroad.
The premier northeast NGO is appreciated by Govt. of Assam as well as Govt. of India for its quality and timely completion of projects granted to it. Chief Minister of Assam Mr. Sarbanada Sonowal presented Gold Medal to Markazul Ma’arif at an august gathering held today at Maniram Dewan Trade Centre, Guwahati. Mr. SH Choudhury, working president, received the Award and offered gratitude to both State and Central Governments on behalf of the organisation and his team members. General Secretary KR Laskar, Dy Manager Jamaluddin and Project Manager Sahazan Ali were flanked with Mr Choudhury while receiving the Award in Guwahati.
In addition to bagging the Gold Medal and Best Certificate Award by Markazul Ma’arif, it’s trainee Ms. Anita Saikia of Howraghat from tribal district Karbi Anglong of Assam, who is presently working in Kolkata as BPO Executive following successful completion of training from Markazul Ma’arif was also selected for the Best Learner Award. She also got falicitated by the chief minister at the same venue today before hundreds of guests from all over the state of Assam.
Ajmal CSR CEO, AIUDF president and Dhubri MP Maulana Badruddin Ajmal and the Joint CEO, Barpeta MP Mr. Sirajuddin Ajmal congratulated team Markazul Ma’arif on this outstanding performance in skill training. They observed that this recognition will surely motivate our dedicated team to work with more zeal and enthusiasm. ‘We are thankful to Allah that He enabled us to work for the betterment of humanity and also humble to our CSR group which work as a single team’ said Mr. Sirajuddin Ajmal.
Govt. sponsored skill training program is one among various other partly aided or fully unaided projects run by Markazul Ma’arif (NGO) across India. The organisation mainly works for education, social and economic development of marginalised groups, relief and rehabilitation during emergency, health care and orphans’ care as its focused fields. It runs 37 English medium schools, 6 orphanages besides so many other successful projects in North East and mainland India.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews

Siddhartha Kaul
By Somrita Ghosh,
New Delhi : Children are the worst victims of conflicts, natural or man-made disasters and other social upheavals as they are often rendered abandoned and homeless. Securing a future for children without families is only possible when the government extends support to NGOs dealing in such issues, says SOS Children’s Villages International head Siddhartha Kaul.
“There has been a lack of political will in bringing change towards the status of children and women which at times becomes a little frustrating. No NGO can provide the best care solely. Help from any government is very much necessary,” Kaul told IANS in an interview.
Kaul was initially elected as the president in June 2012 and re-elected for a second four-year term in June 2016. His association with the child care NGO started around 40 years ago when he was appointed Director of the SOS village in Madras, now Chennai.
“We want to partner with anyone who wants to partner us. The approach has to be long-term and for that, support from the central authorities is very important; else it will be difficult to fix the issues. The solutions have to come from the states and not from private houses,” he further added.
According to SOS, migration is the major reason for leaving children homeless. In the recent past, there has been mass migration across Europe and, closer home, the crisis caused by some 600,000 Rohingyas fleeing to Bangladesh to escape persecution in their native Myanmar.
Talking about offering sustainable solutions to such situations, Kaul said SOS alone could not do so.
“The problems are big; the world is far worse than imagined. We can only present a model of how to take care of a situation. We need to create such conditions in their home countries so that no one has to leave their land,” he noted.
Currently, SOS Children’s Villages International comprises 118 national SOS Children’s Villages associations globally. Its General Assembly, which convenes every four years, is its highest decision-making body.
Talking about major challenges that SOS faces, Kaul stated that improper utilisation of resources has always remained a major area of concern.
“There are countries where there are resources, but they remain unused, whereas there are countries where there are no resources and the demand is huge; the challenge comes in there, like in African countries,” he noted.
According to the UN, globally, there are more than 220 million children living without parental care and need alternative care like foster homes and orphanages, among others.
In India, SOS villages are home to around 17,000 children across 22 states. Apart from financial instability where parents often leave their children at shelter homes, Kaul also pointed that in India, children born out of wedlock is another major reason for children having to live in shelter homes.
“It is very much a social stigma in India. Unmarried woman being pregnant is not accepted in our society. In such cases, the child is left to be brought up in a shelter home. The society’s approach towards women and children needs to be changed,” Kaul contended.
Can a shelter home offer the same atmosphere as that of a proper home?
“An SOS village is the best alternative to a family. We are focused on giving the young souls the value of love and respect and make sure they are brought up in a good environment. Each and every child under our care is being provided with education and employment, leading to sustainable development.”
Asked about his future plans globally, Kaul said reaching out to poorer countries is the prime focus.
“Our target is to continuously grow even if it is minimal. We have plans to invest in poor countries. We want to give sufficient amount of assistance so that the children don’t have to seek refuge in other countries,” he explained.
(Somrita Ghosh can be contacted at somrita.g@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : NGOs working among the Muslims in India are filling the space left vacant by the state but they remain isolated despite the dream of a new India by 2022 held out by the Narendra Modi government, former Vice President Hamid Ansari said on Tuesday.
“Many NGOs mentioned in the book operate in spaces left vacant by the state and remain isolated despite the dream of a new India by 2022 being promised,” Ansari said in his keynote address as he released the book “Working with Muslims: Beyond Burqa and triple talaq” authored by Farah Naqvi in collaboration with NGO Sadbhavna Trust.
“They often working on small budgets and are playing the role of a functioning state by providing development opportunities focused on health, education and employment,” he said.
Ansari observed that Muslims in India, apart from poverty and deprivation, specifically suffer from identity-based discrimination and sporadic violence.
“India’s Muslim citizens constitute 14.2 per cent of the population, number around 189 million, are geographically dispersed, are not homogeneous, do have castes or caste-like structure among them, and are afflicted like many others in the rest of the citizen body by deprivation and under-development. In addition, they specifically suffer from identity-based discrimination and sporadic violence,” he said.
He pointed out that until the Sachar Committee Report came out in 2006, it was “insufficiently recognised” that many amongst Muslims also suffer from “multiple development deficits” and therefore required empowerment through “focused affirmative action to enable them to join others and take their place at the commencement-point from which aSabka sath, sabka vikas’ becomes meaningful”.
Quoting from the book, he said that there was an urgent need to provide Muslims with developmental opportunities by “embracing the problem, politically, socially and economically”.
“Big segments of the Muslim community are basically poor and powerless, and do not have access to amenities and opportunities. The state and its citizens therefore need to see this development gap and not build sectarian walls around progress,” he said citing the book.
The release was followed by a conversation between noted journalist Siddharth Varadrajan, activist and columnist Harsh Mander, activist Madhavi Kuckreja and researcher Hilal Ahmed.
Giving an introduction of the book, Naqvi said that the book is about the issues which the mainstream politics should be about – but unfortunately is not – that is, health, education, livelihood etc.
She said that the “voluntary sector”, or NGOs could not be a substitute for the state, but still it is crucial.
Noting the activists need to challenge both the politics of communalisation and the Muslim community’s conservatism, she added that the NGOs could not work with just 2019 Lok Sabha elections as the focus but with a broader horizon and long-term goals.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Human rights NGO Amnesty International India on Thursday launched an interactive data website for keeping a track of and documenting hate crimes across the country.
“The first step to ensuring justice and ending impunity for hate crimes — where people are targeted because of their membership of a particular group — is to highlight their occurrence,” said Aakar Patel, Executive Director, Amnesty International India.
In 2017, an alarming number of alleged hate crimes — including assault, rape and murder — were reported against people from marginalized groups, especially Dalits and Muslims, the Amnesty International said as it launched the website named ‘Halt the Hate’.
“Our website aims to draw attention to some of these crimes by tracking and documenting them. Dalits have been attacked for merely sporting moustaches, and Muslims lynched for transporting cattle. Dalit women have been branded as witches, and raped and killed,” Patel said.
‘Halt the Hate’ documents alleged hate crimes against Dalits, Adivasis, members of racial or religious minority groups, transgender persons, and other marginalised people which are reported in mainstream English and Hindi media.
It documents 141 incidents of alleged hate crimes against Dalits and 44 against Muslims in 2017, including 69 incidents of killings where at least 146 people were killed. 35 incidents were found where women from these groups or transgender persons faced sexual violence.
The website documents alleged hate crimes from September 2015, when Mohammad Akhlaq was killed in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly possessing beef.
Cow-related violence and so-called ‘honour killings’ were among the common instances of the hate crimes.
Uttar Pradesh was the state with the most such incidents in 2016 and 2017. In 2016, 237 alleged hate crimes were recorded. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat recorded the most incidents.
Patel said that the extent of hate crime in India is unknown because the law – barring some exceptions – does not recognize hate crimes as specific offences.
“The data on our website is just a snapshot of alleged hate crimes in India. Many incidents are not reported in the media. While criminal investigations have been initiated in some cases, too many have gone unpunished,” he said.
He said police needed to take steps to “unmask any potentially discriminatory motive” in a crime, and political leaders must be “more vocal” in denouncing such violence.
—IANS