Exceptional Rural Development Organizations

So, how does techno-philanthropy work, exactly, in this initiative? As I mentioned in the earlier blog, it has three steps:

• I plan to work with similarly minded friends and mentors to identify and raise awareness about the organizations that are providing exceptional humanitarian services in different areas. In this effort, I will welcome suggestions from the readers to recommend other similar organizations they are impressed with as well.

• Next, I will approach these organizations to establish a direct conversation with them to identify what type of help they need.

• Finally, I will appreciate any funds that I can raise through my online companion GoFundMe page, and direct the funds through money transfers or any other available means to the organizations that the individuals want to support. The contributions could be any size, even as little as $5; there is no lower or upper limit. The point is to make the fundraising as widely accessible as possible for broadest appeal.

As a start I am highlighting four exceptional organizations serving the tribal and underserved rural areas toward health, education, environmental conservation and skills development. Since I have the most information on the organizations in the Indian subcontinent, this is where I begin. I am profiling them in alphabetical order. I also took a snapshot of their locations on Google maps to give the reader an idea of their spread in India.

One common theme driving these and several other Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) is their inspiration derived from the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda, who not only translated Hindu philosophy for its broadest application across multiple religions, but created a missionary organization named after his spiritual 'guru' Swami Ramakrishna. Called 'Ramakrishna Mission', this organization still thrives to this day, and is founded on the principle of 'service to humans is service to God.

Jnana Prabodhini

Jnana Prabodhini is a rural development organization in central India, founded on the belief that economic and social empowerment is possible by basing it on spiritual and religious principles but utilizing the technology and tools of today. The term 'Jnana Probodhini' in Sanskrit literally means 'awakener of actual knowledge'. Its founding principle is described as 'motivating intelligence toward social change'. It therefore carries out a number of human development activities, ranging from education and health to women empowerment. In educational arena, it operates multiple schools in rural areas of the state of Maharashtra and brings complete student development experience to the remotest parts of the rural regions. Local charitable trusts fund their activities and volunteers as well as supplies. In addition, the organization also operates hospitals in rural areas to provide access to quality healthcare to the tribal population and the indigent. Further, it operates women empowerment programs that educate young women about health, self employment and help with skills development. In the environmental preservation field, this organization supports and leads activities on water conservation as well as renewable energy to bring electricity to remote parts of the tribal regions. The organization was founded in 1962 and has won several national and regional awards for exceptional humanitarian work. I have approached their organizers for an interview and for any information they can share with me for this blog and will write about it at a future date.

Narmadalaya

Narmadalaya, literally means 'Temple for Narmada', with Narmada being the key river in central and Western India. The primary focus of this organization, founded by a renowned teacher and social worker, is education of the underserved and indigent tribal population. It is highly focused on educating elementary school age children (K-5) and runs schools in 8 villages. Narmadalaya was founded in 2010 and continues to win awards and accolades for its activities in environmental stewardship coupled with vocational education to make their students self-supporting and environmentally conscious.

Tagore Society for Rural Development

Tagore Society for Rural Development (or TSRD in short) is carries out a number of activities in a number of locations in Eastern India, namely, in the states of West Bengal and Jharkhand. Its primary focus is on the empowerment, education, economic development and health care of tribal women, considered to be the most underserved societal class. It has been in existence since 1969 and has won several awards for outstanding public and humanitarian service. One of the key regions it covers is the Sundarbans, which are the home of the Bengal Tiger. They are also home to 4.5 million of India's poorest and most vulnerable population, subsisting on about 50 cents/day of income, surviving on one meal a day. The TCRD provides health, environmental conservation, vocational education, cottage industry and irrigation services to about 400,000 people in this region alone. In another part of the West Bengal state, the Hingalgunj project focuses on soil rejuvenation and salinity prevention to provide sources for potable water for the rural regions. Elsewhere, TCRD volunteer activities are focused on rural education.

Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra

Literally, Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (VGKK in short) means Vivekananda foundation for the benefit of tribals. It operates at multiple locations across four states in India (Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Arunachal Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands). Its founder, Dr. Sudarshan, has contributed in several public and NGO leadership roles toward improving governance, education, organizing and fundraising for initiatives addressing unmet needs and actively engaging in welfare programs for tribal upliftment. The main areas of focus for VGKK are health, vocational education, environmental conservation and raising public awareness on the issues concerning tribal population, which is about 8.2% of the total population of India (about 100 Million).