PRASAD works with local communities around the world to help them become self-reliant. Our initiatives encourage organized community participation in identifying local problems and finding sustainable solutions to them.

Since 2001, PRASAD Chikitsa has been implementing meaningful and effective Community Development Programs in India’s Tansa Valley, working with the people to assess their needs and create sustainable projects that improve the quality of their lives.

Initiatives focus on two core areas:

• Self-Help Groups
• Education

These programs are slowly, but surely, bringing about a social transformation in the region. They are helping the people of Tansa increase their income, learn new skills, protect their water sources and develop greater self-confidence.

Self-Help Groups (SHGs)

There is strength in numbers. Efforts of individuals are rarely as effective as those of a group of people who are committed to common goals. As part of its Community Development Programs, PRASAD Chikitsa helps people in the Tansa Valley form Self Help Groups.

SHGs, each with 10-20 members, are small enough to be self-managed and large enough to make a difference. Most SHGs have been formed by women or are farmers’ co-operatives. At a basic level, SHGs are a micro-bank; they help members during emergencies and they invest in members' income-generating activities. At another level, they give members an organized forum to improve the quality of their own lives as well as the lives of those around them.

More than 100 SHGs are already active in the Tansa Valley. These SHGs are helping their members tackle the innumerable problems they face, including indebtedness, alcoholism and illiteracy. SHGs have been particularly effective in empowering the women of Tansa and helping villagers deal with local authorities.

Most villagers live a hand-to-mouth existence, so when jobs are scarce in the off-season or in financial emergencies, they borrow from local money lenders at exorbitant rates. The result is a lifelong debt trap.

When a group of people form SHGs, they agree to contribute a nominal sum of money every month to a common pool. PRASAD volunteers assist them to set up systems and processes, to manage the group and maintain discipline, and even with tasks such as opening a bank account.

During emergencies, members can borrow money from the pool at nominal interest rates and repay it over a period of time. Some SHGs in the Tansa Valley have accumulated substantial amounts, and their members even borrow to set-up businesses and other income-generating activities.

SHGs are involved in a range of projects, including making papad (a kind of savory flat bread), bee-keeping, village cleanup, HIV/AIDS awareness, improving the condition of roads and schools, and more.

SHGs also have been instrumental in enabling more active participation for members in local government (Gram Sabha) and ensuring that government projects are implemented properly.

PRASAD also helps farmers set up their own SHGs. PRASAD conducts training sessions and educational tours for these SHGs and educates members on a range of issues, including how to increase crop output, conserve water and year-round farming.

When PRASAD Chikitsa started the SHG's in 2001, there were only 11 groups. Today, there are as many as 106, with 1,425 members among them. The success of these SHGs is inspiring more and more people in Tansa to form their own groups. (To read the inspiring story of how one women’s self-help group has taken the initiative in shaping their future, click here.)

Education

PRASAD Chikitsa is opening new doors of opportunity for the young people of the Tansa Valley through a variety of education programs.

In 1991, a scholarship program was initiated to help deserving students realize their dreams.

The scholarships are normally provided for vocational training to students who have passed their 10th or 12th standard board examinations. In 2006, 63 students received scholarships to pursue courses in fields such as information technology, nursing, engineering, homeopathy and horticulture. Since the program began, 418 students have been awarded scholarships.

Besides scholarships, PRASAD Chikitsa also presents awards to students. Awards encourage and motivate students who have done well at school to do better. More than 2,500 students have received awards since this program began, and in 2007, 403 students in 43 schools were given awards. (To learn more and see photos from the 2007 awards program, click here)

PRASAD also distributes materials such as textbooks, notebooks, pens, pencils, and other supplies to children of under-privileged families. In 2007, PRASAD distributed such materials to 904 students in nine schools.

Many of the students are often unaware of the various educational opportunities available to them. PRASAD regularly conducts guidance camps and training programs to help students make more informed choices. Ten guidance camps and four training programs have been held so far in different schools.

Besides education, PRASAD helps young people find vocations that are rooted in their culture. The Kalakendra Arts & Crafts Program was started in 1998 to preserve the cultural heritage of the Tansa region. It provides the youth an opportunity for self-expression and a means of employment. Hundreds of young people have taken classes in indigenous arts and crafts taught by local artists and PRASAD Chikitsa staff.

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