Ashoka : Innovators for the Public is a global non-profit organization committed to building the profession of social entrepreneurship. Founded in 1981, Ashoka has pioneered the “social venture capital” approach in international development. Ashoka invests in exceptional individuals and their ideas to help them achieve large-scale social impact.
Social entrepreneurs are practical visionaries whose drive and creativity have the potential to bring about large-scale social change. These exceptional individuals who can be found in all cultures, pioneer innovative solutions to social problems. They cannot rest with local demonstrations of their ideas and are committed to changing patterns in their field.
Ashoka identifies leading social entrepreneurs when they are in the early take-off stage and invests in their ideas two ways :
Financial – by providing them with a living stipend for three years that allows them to focus fulltime on their ideas.
Association and Professional Development – by electing leading social entrepreneurs into Ashoka’s Global Fellowship, This is the first and the only worldwide network of leading social entrepreneurs that fosters collaborations between Fellows nationally and internationally. Ashoka also provides valuable contacts and information to Fellows to spread their innovations and build long-term sustainability.
Over 1200 Ashoka Fellows are currently working in 44 countries in diverse fields such as education, health, gender rights, environment, human rights etc. to bring about advances in areas of social concern.
Ashoka India
Ashoka was launched in India in 1981. In 1982, we elected the first group of Ashoka Fellows.
Since, then Ashoka India has grown into a rich fellowship of 217 fellows who are working in diverse fields.
Ashoka India’s Venture and Global fellowship programs have been made richer by the ownership and guidance of Fellows. India has been the launch pad for two global initiatives of Ashoka.
Ashoka launched Changemakers – the first magazine devoted to the field of social entrepreneurship – from India. The environmental Innovations Initiative, a global program that involves Ashoka Fellows around the world working in diverse areas of environmental protection was flagged off from India in 1999.
In 2000, the Citizen Base Initiative was launched in India. This program focuses on the growth and sustainability of ideas implemented by social entrepreneurs. Ashoka is building a partnership with MCKinsey & Company where McKinsey consultants provide pro bono strategy and organizational consulting to Fellows and offer training in communication and fundraising.
Social entrepreneurship in India has only made the movement stronger. As innovative ideas and leading social entrepreneurs succeed, they encourage many more to build approaches to social change.
Ashoka takes its name after the India ruler who unified India in the 3rd century B.C. Remorseful over causing much bloodshed during the Kalinga war, he renowned violence and dedicated his life to the peaceful establishment of social welfare and economic development. Ashoka is remembered as one of the world’s earliest social innovators. In Sanskrit, Ashoka means the “active absence of sorrow”, the cornerstone of the work of Ashoka : Innovators for the Public and its Fellows.
Association and Global Fellowship Services
“The Global Fellowship of Ashoka is much more than networking. It is about robust communication, systems for building linkages and a team of professionals that facilitates critical thinking among fellows on concepts and principles. The Global Fellowship opens pathways for us to build upon ideas at a broader level.
-Asoka Fellow, Jeroo Billimoria
Ashoka recognizes that financial investment is not enough for successful launch of its. Fellows and their powerful ideas. Ashoka leverages its investment by making available a range of value-added services like a professional association, Ashoka enhances the effectiveness of its members by providing contacts and information, as well as faster collaboration among Fellows through Fellowship network. Providing these opportunities is key to the success of the Ashoka Fellowship. The service includes:
Local Fellowship Meeting
In areas of each country where a cluster of Fellows exists, the Fellows meet periodically to share ideas, discuss common challenges, and develop practical collaboration.
Fellowship Support services
Ashoka Fellowship support services primarily respond to Fellow request for information, informs them of important development in their fields, and provide contacts and travel supports. It also systematically links Fellows to one another and others in the field.
Ashoka India also publishes Billboard, a quarterly newsletter that is disseminated to all fellows, nominators and Olivers with whom Ashoka wishes to communicate with. The Billboard helps fellows communicate with one another on their activities and programs, or their requests. Typically each Bilboard profiles the works of 7-10 fellows.
Local Challenge Funds and Global Collaboration Grants
These flexible, competitive matching funds support proposals made by groups of Fellows within a country, region or across continents to address common needs, challenges or opportunities.
Fellow Exchange Grant
Ashoka assists fellows with travel grants for international and local travel opportunities to meet with, partner and collaborate with other fellows, within the country and outside, as the case may be.
Internet Incentive Fund / Listserv
Ashoka provides a small, competitive matching fund to enable Fellows who are not on- line to purchase hardware, receive training and/or subscribe to an internet service. Once they are connected, all Fellows have the opportunities to participate in on Ashoka Fellow Listserv.
The Innovative Learning Initiative (ILI)
Ashoka’s Innovative Learning Initiative (ILI) is focused on tipping the thinking about the role of young people in society so that youths themselves become actors in social change for the betterment of their own lives. This will dramatically improve the quality of children’s lives by increasing their skills, learning, leadership and engagement in the community. ILI will do this by harnessing Fellows innovations and efforts to give young people the tools, encouragement and inspiration to create a social movement of young changemakers.
The Environmental Innovations Initiative (Ell)
Ashoka’s Environmental Innovations Initiative (Ell) gathers the insights from the Fellowship and the work of other environmentally focused social entrepreneurs. Once collected, the Ell puts these insights in the hands of those who can use this knowledge to improve how people impact the environment and the environment impacts us.
The Center for Social Entrepreneurship (CSE)
This provides pro bono strategy and organization consulting to Fellows and offers training in communication, fundraising and other areas.
The Citizen Base Initiative (CBI)
The Citizen Base Initiative aims to change the way the Citizen Sector thinks about resource mobilization from reliance on a small group of international funders to a diversified base of local support. This initiative challenges the civil society sector through competition, awards and workshops.
Bridges to Universities and Society (BUS)
A program which takes social entrepreneurship to universities and colleges across the country.
Changemakers
In 1993, Ashoka created the first magazine dedicated to the profession of social entrepreneurship. Currently www. changemakers. net is a monthly online publication that profiles leading social entrepreneurs and innovative solutions to the problems they face.
Ashoka’s Search and Selection Process
Ashoka has developed an explicit criteria for distinguishing leading social entrepreneurs : individuals who possess a new idea that has the potential to effect systemic social change at least at the national, if not regional, level. These criteria are –
Step I: Nomination
Applications are welcome from anyone, but Ashoka’s Nominators play a critical role both in identifying candidates and in screening out many more. Ashoka’s nominators comprise opinion leaders in various fields with the experience and eye to spot the caliber of people we support. Nominations can be sent to the appropriate regional offices of Ashoka India. Candidates can also directly apply to Ashoka for a Fellowship.
Step 2 : Site Visits
The Ashoka Regional Representative reviews each candidate’s application, and then conducts independent reference and background checks, site visits, and interviews. The Representative drafts a profile of the candidate highlighting the candidate’s new idea, the problem it is addressing, its implementation strategy, and the candidate’s personal background.
Step 3 : Second Opinion Review
Once the Representative has made his or her recommendation supporting a candidate, that candidate goes through on intensive second opinion review by a senior Ashoka professional who has never seen the case before and comes from outside the country. This review includes on (typically) four to seven hour) interview with the candidate that explores his or her life history and the idea quite afresh. The second opinion review helps the international staff calibrate its work from country to country, and helps train the Representative.
Step 4 : Selection Panel
The Panel, made up of social entrepreneurs, is responsible for ensuring that those elected are likely to become truly first rate, at least national-scale, social entrepreneurs. In making these decisions, the Panel defines the emerging field of social entrepreneurship. The Panel is guided in its deliberations by these cardinal principles:
Step 5 : Board Approval
The final stage is approval by Ashoka’s international Board of Directors to ensure worldwide standards and consistency.
Ashoka’s Offices
Ashoka India
https://www.ashoka.org/en-in
Ashoka India
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +918042745777 / +918025350730
Office Address:
Ashoka India
54, 1st Cross Road
1st Stage, Domlur
Bengaluru 560071
Karnataka
India
Address: | M – 76, Madhusudan Nagar, Bhlibneshwar 751001, Orissa |
Phone: | 0674-2410924/2405769 |
Contact Person: | Mr. Albert Joseph |
Email: | [email protected] |
Website: | www.andheri-hilfe.org (German) |
Mission: | Development in an organic process. It should go beyond projects. |
Brief History: | Working since 1966 in last 36 years. Handling at present 360 Projects in India. AH has 3 offices in India – Bhubneshwar, Trichy and Mangalore. |
Issues Undertaken: | All developmental issues / topics – where people are involved. |
Geographical Coverage: | Entire India |
Eligibility Criteria: | VOs / NGOs having FCRA, Good Credibility and People’s Involvement. |
About Us
The Andheri-Hilfe Bonn (Germany) is a free, independent organization of development co-operation. It developed from a private initiative for distressed children in Andheri with Bombay and works since 1967 as non-profit association.
By this time we contribute more than 450 projects and program in India and Bangladesh for the social and economic development of the poorest subpopulations. The emphasis of our promotion lies in the ranges of social work, education and health service as well as agricultural and village development (more to it you find under projects ). We render ‘help to the self-help’, in order to develop no new dependence or maintain old.
Our work is supported by approx 25,000 private donors, groups and companies and public means from the budget of the Federal Ministry for economic co-operation and development ( BMZ) and the commission of the European union.
Principles of our work
• We want to reach the poorest social community, without consideration for race, color, caste or religion.
• We focus on causes for poverty instead of symptoms, to eliminate it and to make sustainable solutions at grass root level.
• The projects promoted by us are to contribute to strengthen human rights and to fight any form from discrimination to.
• The stabilization of the self-help forces, the personal responsibility and the self-determination of the target group are important to us – they must participate at planning and execution of the project intensively.
• We exclusively co-operate with native (local) agencies responsible for the project: Nobody differently knows the situation, the culture, humans locally as well as it.
• We make sure that the surrounding field is included into the project planning: If networks develop, people themselves can make attempt for their rights.
• We examine whether the project measures pollution free and lasting, i.e. the bases of life of also future generations retain and strengthen.
• We respect the cultural values of the target groups and promote them to retain them the valuable traditions and ways of life.
• We attach importance on intensive, partnership dialogue with the agencies responsible for the project. It concerns mutual learning.
• We want to give only temporally limited starting in each case: We support the target group to plan from the outset the continuation of the project from own forces.
• The native (local) agencies responsible for the project must be ready and able to submit regularly project reports and accounts as well as to accept – also unangekuendigte -attendance of our coworkers.
History
The sixties: It concerns naked surviving of the home children in the pc. Catherine’s Home into Andheri of Bombay.
The seventies : Precipitous rise of the activities: Promotion of further children’s homes in India. Start of the action “blind healing Bangladesh”. Building of the Andheri assistance center in Bonn.
The eighties: Intensive entrance into village programs, woman Mrs., obstruction rehablitation in India. Increased activities for the blind ones in Bangladesh.
The nineties: Projects and programs are locally planned ever more intensively and converted with the population. Native coworkers transfer the company and co-ordination of the programs in close co-operation with the Bonn center. The first years in the new millenium: Increasing globalization with all its effects on the poorest ones means new challenges. Change of generations in the Andheri assistance secures future.
2001
The youngest TV film shows on the basis examples of a project “development is female”: Women are the most energetic carriers of the development. The founders of the Andheri assistance, Rosi Gollmann, hands the association presidency, which she held 34 years through honorary, to the woman employee of many years to the Andheri assistance over e. V., Elvira Greiner. It remains for their life’s work as well as the friends and partners here and in the projects connected as a honorary chairman and by its further proven cooperation.
2003
In January millionste eye operation under the program of the Andheri assistance takes place in Bangladesh. “Millionaerin” is blind for many years the fourteen-year old Hasna, to see lucky now. The well-known journalist and TV moderator the German public impresses Franz alto with its current documentary film “from the luck to see”. Many new friends and donor support the work of the Andheri assistance.
Programs/ Issues
Child promotion
Professional (Vocational) training
Woman Development/Empowerment
Village development
Blind assistance
Rehabilitation of obstructions and leprosy patient
Some Examples
Child project partnership
The promotion of children (of slum, street, child labor, out of school children, girl child etc.) stands for the Andheri assistance in the first place, because they suffer from hunger and emergency, from illiteracy and in former times gainful employment at most. Beyond that it concerns also to open to them apart from a child-fair development future chances and make possible for them a human being-worthy life.
If poverty is in the family the reason for the fact that parents had to away-send their children, then parents of the project are supported and possibilities are looked for, which up-improve the income of the family on a long-term basis.
Important is also to sensitize and organize parents and actively into the work merge. Parents of the children in the project united in so-called groups of self-helps and to support the school and the center energetically. Different advanced training are offered in addition to them, in order to prevent that they work their children again send. Besides parents in so-called savings clubs organize themselves, so that they can put from their income somewhat yielding interest back. Thus their economic situation is improved and it is not longer forced, their children in emergency situations works to send.
As preventive measure in the surrounding villages and Slums so-called youth clubs are organized. There the topic kinderarbeit will become treated and parents over the important meaning of education cleared up.
Vocational/Livelihood/Professional Training project partnership
One of the largest problems of India and Bangladesh is country-wide high unemployment and under employment. The experience shows that more investments alone in basic formation are not sufficient to bring humans in work. The education and professional training is necessary. There are approximately 62,500 training places for vocational education in Bangladesh. In contrast to this are available over eleven million places for general education. The mobile training centres carry teeth out and successfully prepare the apprentices for the working life. From where does success come?
Woman Development project partnership
Women to promote, is us a particularly important request. Women belong often to the group of the poorest ones to arms. Concretely: Women are suppressed and exploited. They have no (away to) Bildungschancen, must more work than men, received however clearly smaller wages, are badly nourished.
Village development
We will use your regular allowances for a project in the Kalahandi district of the Indian Federal State Orissa. This district belongs to the poorest and unterentwickeltsten regions of India. In particular the natives (Adivasis), who are members low box and the group that box lots (Dalits) here in more economically, more social and legal regard disadvantages. They require urgently the assistance, that can become in some cases the survival assistance.
The Andheri assistance Bonn promotes landless families in the Kalahandi district by means of its partner of many years Jagruti became impoverished and in the context of a project for integrated village development. A goal of the project is it to contribute to the improvement of the socio-economic situation of the poorer and poorest subpopulations.
Thus a movement, in which the Adivasis regains its self value feeling, develops itself in which it among themselves encourages to fight for its surviving in the homeland. These humans do not need our alms, it need also not the luxury of the large cities, it would like in its villages their lifestyle to survive accordingly. With joy we support these communities, which threaten to go down otherwise regarding the “modem” world. Here it applies to secure for families their future – and the irreplaceable culture of these natives to retain.
Project partnership blind healing
Since the start of the action blind healing Bangladesh in the year 1974 over 7000 Eye Camps (mobile eye treatment camps) were accomplished. Nearly thirteen million eye patient could there and in the hospitals examined and, if necessary, are operated.
On 2 January 2003 the einmillionste eye operation took place, which the 14-jaehrigen Hasna their eyesight on an eye returned. Few months later a further successful operation at the second eye of Hasna took place.
To large success above all six so genannnte basis eye hospitals with a capacity up to 40 beds and the large eye hospital in the port Chittagong with 110 beds contributed. The hospital in Chittagong has the call to be one the best in south Asia. Here also the opticians of the basis hospitals are trained further and. The hospitals are led of our partner of the “Bangladesh national Society for the blind” (BNSB).
Leprosy project partnership
Despite all scientific progress leprosy is still a scourge of mankind. Since it always concerns to the Andheri assistance in all work on the project the poorest ones, around to the edge the pushing, the leprosy patients represent one of our special target groups. Several settlements could already into the independence will dismiss; but many wait still.
Contact
Andheri Hilfe, Bonn e.V.
Mackestrasse. 53
53119 Bonn, Germany
Phone: 0049(228) 67 15 86
Fax: 0049(228) 68 04 24
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.andheri-hilfe.org (Website is in German. You have to get it translated.)
Mission
The American India Foundation (AIF) is dedicated to accelerating social and economic change in India.
Vision
To contribute to building an India where all people can gain access to education, health care, and employment oppurtunities and where all Indians can realize their foil potential.
To build a trusted bridge between the dreams and aspirations of individuals who care about India and their realization.
To provide a secure channel for philanthropic funding in the United States and its effective investment in the best Indian non-governmental organizations that have innovative and scalable projects.
To build a professional organization that is secular, transparent, credible and accountable for all its activities.
Contact Person in India
Mr. Shankar Venkateswaran, Executive Director
Mr. Alay Barah – Livelihood Program & Relief and Rehabilitation
Ms Smita, Director – Education Program
Ms Namrata Asthana, Program Coordinator – Service Corps Fellowship Program
Mr. N. Sundera Krishnan, Digital Equalizer Program
Geographical Area of Operation
Entire Country (At the moment, Jan 2005) the programs supports are in Gujarat, A.P., M.P., Karnataka, Hariyana, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, W.Bengal, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Orissa.
Target Group
Poor and Marginalised people with the focus on women, disabled, Dalits, Tribals and other weaker section. It may be both in rural areas as well as in Urban areas.
Grants
Education
Our Strategy : Achieving universal elementary education is the main focus of AlF’s education grant-making. AIF believes that elementary education is the government’s responsibility and to that end, our grants support innovations that demonstrate methods of educating children who are not receiving a quality education from the existing system. AIF seeks to engage the government to adopt these models into the mainstream education system so that parallel education structures are avoided.
AIF focuses its grants on two specific areas that will have a great impact on increasing the number of children who receive a quality elementary education. These areas are :
1. Increasing the retention of children in school through raising the quality of education by:
Improving leaning achievement to bring students to grade-level knowledge
Improving physical facilities
Reducing teacher shortages
Improving outdated teaching processes
2. Increasing access to education of children who have never been to school or who have dropped out of school by:
Creating additional educational venues and altenative educational facilities.
mplementing curricula and teaching methods that are sensitive to the needs of first generation learners.
The target – group are generally Girls, Dalit, Migrant Children, Sex-worker’s children, Dop-out and never school gone children and HIV positive children. It may be also Disabled Children and such children who have been generally neglected.
Livelihood
Our Strategy : AIF livelihood grants focus on giving poor people greater access to resources and on providing them with alterative opportunities to sustain themselves. AIF believes that building livelihood is about increasing income as well as assets; and Alf places women at the center of its efforts.
To achieve these aims, AlF’s livelihood strategy has three parts :
1. Improving natural resource management by :
Increasing water-harvesting and storage.
Protecting forests through greater community ownership.
Increasing agricultural productivity through better technology and crop diversification, thereby protecting the environment.
2. Increasing access to capital through micro-finance by :
Providing collateral-free micro-credit for a diverse range of livelihood options.
Providing additional inputs such as insurance, health care and training in entrepreneurship that result in increased incomes and better overall development.
3. Improving livelihood of the urban poor by:
Providing skills training.
Creating organized support systems for workers in the informal sector.
The livelihood program should be an integrated approach of skill training, business development plan, placement and proper marketting network.
Relief and Rehabilitation
AIF supports for the relief adn rehabilitation of profile affected due to some disaster. It has given supports to victims of Gujarat Earthquake for the projects such as :
Entrepreneurship training for children.
Watershed management in drought prone areas.
Educating children of migrant workers in salt producing areas.
Provision of micro-credit to women.
Relief and Rehabilitation program is also generally focused mainly on ‘Livelihood and ‘Education’ for the victims.
Digital Equalizer (DE)
The DE program trains and equips teachers and students to utilize digital technology in their existing educational curricula. AIF establishes DE centers in clusters of 10 underserved schools in a given area for a period of three years.
Each DE center has five to ten multi-media computers, access to uninterrupted power supply, high-speed Internet connectivity, and educational software. Teachers in the school receive training on utilizing Computer Aided Learning (CAL) to supplement text books and to open up new worlds for their students.
Through the DE initiative, AIF has trained over 1,500 teachers, who have in turn enabled 35,000 students who had previously not had access to computers and the Internet to become digitally proficient.
Some of the other noteworthy accomplishments of teachers and students participating in the DE program include:
Created school websites at 80 percent of schools with DE centers.
Developed over 500 multimedia lessons in eight different languages.
Initiated over 80 tele-collaborative projects connecting students within India and across the world.
Alf supports each DE center for three years and after that time assists in making them self-sustaining through engaging local corporate and government institutions. The state governments of Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are investing in DE centers along with AIF. And many DE centers are now being supported by business in local communities, who see the value in enabling children to access the world of digital technology.
Service Corps Fellowship
The goals of the program are to cultivate passionate and skilled American leaders with deep exposure in India’s development and to provide Indian NGOs the services of skilled Americans Selection to the Fellowship is highly competitive. Since its inception, the Fellowship has sponsored 71 Americans to work with over 30 Indian NGOs. Through their experience, the Fellows get direct exposure to the pressing development challenges of India, and they respond to these needs by implementing projects on a range of issues, including public health, human rights, micro-finance, education, women’s empowerment and the environment.
Selected accomplishments of the 2003-04 class of Fellows include :
A status report on the elimination of child labour in Kamataka.
A marketing strategy for the horticulture products of a women’s cooperative in Himachal Pradesh.
A survey on the strigma faced by people living with HIV/AIDS in Delhi.
An art therapy curriculum for street children in Chattisgarh.
How / When to Apply
NGO/VO may apply any time in the year. But it is suggested to first submitt a concept paper which should have basic information about the organisation and in brief about the project with budget.
When the concept note is approved then generally the field is visited and detailed proposal is invited.
AIF New York Office
American India Foundation, C/o Mckinsey & Company, 55 East 52nd Street, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10022.
Tel : 001-888-AIF-51ND, Tel : 001-888-243-4463, Tel : 001-212-891-4654, Fax:001-212-891-4717
AIF California Office
American India Foundation, 647 Calaveras Boulevard, Milpitas, CA 95035. Tel : 001-408-934-1600,
Fax : 001-408-934-1612
AIF India Office
American India Foundation, 15/11 Ground Floor, Sarva Priya Vihar, New Delhi 110016.
Phone/Fax; 91-11-51 82 88 01 www.aif.org email : name of the person with dot in between e.g. [email protected]
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a private, non-denominational, development agency, established by Aga Khan in Switzerland in 1967. The Foundation seeks sustainable solutions to long-term problems of poverty through an integrated, community based, participatory approach that reinforces civil society and respects local culture. The Foundation’s activities are guided by the conviction that self-help brings dignity and self-respect, which in turn helps realise human potential. Branch offices are located in Bangladesh, Canada, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Pakistan, Portugal, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
AKF, although formally a funding agency, involves itself actively in the planning and execution of its projects. Grants are made to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that share the Foundation’s goals. In some cases, where there is no appropriate partner, the Foundation may help to create a new NGO or may manage projects directly. Currently the Foundation funds over one hundred projects in thirteen countries. It has built a reputation for effective grant management within a clearly defined thematic strategy and geographic focus. The Foundation’s programmes are funded with the generous assistance of more than sixty national and international development agencies and of many thousands of individuals and corporate donors.
In India, AKF works essentially in three thematic areas. Health, Education, and Rural Development. The fourth thematic area aimed at building capacities of local non-governmental and non-profit organisations called NGO Enhancement’ is a new area that the Foundation is venturing into. The Foundation’s implementing partner for rural development is the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India) based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. AKF is at present working in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, A.P., M.P. and Delhi.
HEALTH
The Foundation’s health programme seeks to achieve sustainable improvements in the health status of vulnerable groups, especially women of childbearing age and children under five, with a focus on:
Strengthening health systems by ensuring better utilisation of existing public sector facilities and constructing quality health care and diagnostic centres.
Developing integrated health systems that incorporate reproductive, child survival and environmental health interventions and enable provision of preventive, promotive and curative care.
Participatory approaches that build local capacity, enterprise and foster local ownership and management of programmes.
Cost-recovery merchanisms such as user fees and health insurance that ensure financial sustainability.
Disseminating lessons learned to encourage mainstreaing initiatives and where warranted, changes in health policy.
EDUCATION
The Aga Khan Foundation’s education programme seeks to promote the holistic development of children during early childhood and school years, by enhancing the quality of stimulation and learning experiences accessible to children from poor families.
The Programme for Enrichment of School Level Education (PESLE) was developed to build on lessons that were learnt from small-scale innovations of AKF’s education partners in India and to make a visible impact on the quality of shcool education in the larger government system, with a particular focus on marginalised and disadvantaged groups. The school improvement programme’ is being implemented over a period of seven and one-half years from 1999 to 2006, supporting NGO innovation in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
The programme includes provisions for direct interventions by implementing NGOs as well as cross cuting activities of information, documentation, research, and policy advocacy. It works through a three-pronged strategy. NGO partners are first expected to demonstrate and consoli-date their approaches and outputs for providing quality education in a critical mass of schools. At the second stage, NGOs scale up their level of intervention and empirically validate successful strategies by replicating tried strategies, and assessing the comparative advantages of different approaches. At the final stage, NGO partners enable the larger system of education to adopt successful approaches through informed policy advocacy supported by building capacities of key functionaries in the system.
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
The Aga Khan Foundation’s rural development work in India is committed to the reduction of rural poverty and focuses on creating self-sufficiency through peoples participation in the efficient and effective use and productive management of natural resources. The rural development programme focuses on the following:
Supporting interventions that promote rural livelihoods and demonstrate community based natural resource management approaches through effective and accountable community institutions allowing rural communities to make informed decisions.
Contributing to the creation of an enabling environment for rural livelihoods through the improvement of national and state-level practices and policies.
The rural development portfolio was initiated with the establishment of the AKF rural support model, established in India as the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India). The beneficiaries of the Foundation’s programme in rural development in India are primarily small and marginal farmer families (74%), women and landless (26%). Most of these families reside in remote villages of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Tribals constitute 56% and minorities are 20% of the total population.
Aga Khan Development Network
The Aga Khan Foundation is a member of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) a group of agencies working to improve living conditions and opportunities in specific regions of the developing world. Their common goal is to build institutions and programmes that can respond to the challenges of social, economic and cultural change and to help the poor achieve a level of self-reliance sufficient to plan their own livelihoods. AKDN agencies have a sizeable presence in India, where their mandates span the social development arena and a joint stock banking company, the Development Credit Bank. Areas of social development interventions include education, health, rural development, water and sanitation and culture.
The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), with its affiliates, Tourism Promotion Services, Industrial Promotion Services and Financial Services, seeks to strengthen the role of the private sector in developing countries by supporting private sector initiatives in the development process. The Fund and the Foundation also encourage government policies that foster what His Highness the Aga Khan first called an “enabling environment” of favourable legislative and fiscal structures and to promote indigenous philanthropy.
School improvement initiatives undertaken by Aga Khan Education service, India (AKES.I) cater to approximately 37,000 beneficiaries across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra pradesh. Apart from managing eight schools, 32 day care centers, 14 Rural Primary Education Centres and one hostel; activities also include educational research and career guidance. AKES,1 is also a core constituent of the Foundation’s education programme.
Aga Khan Health Service, India including the 118 bed multi-specially, acute-care Prince Aly Khan Hospital in Mumbai (among the first hospitals in Maharashtra to be ISO 9002 certified), drive the health initiatives of AKDN in India. A total of 20 health centres, two diagnostic centres and a pathology laboratory are serving communities to provide and improve access to quality health care.
Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, India is a actively involved with communities in Gujarat where it works to improve the built environment, particularly housing design and construction, village planning, natural hazard mitigation, environmental sanitation, and water supply. These goals are achieved through the provision of material and technical assistance and construction management services in both rural and urban areas.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) co-ordinates the Network’s cultural activities. Its programmes include The Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Historic Cities Programme, the Education and Culture Programme and the Aga Khan Humanities Programme. In the first ever endeavour of its kind in India, AKTC is collaborating with the Archaeological Survey of India to’revitalise’ the historic gardens of Humayun’s Tomb in New Delhi. The USD 650,000 project has. among other things, restored pathways, planted saplings favoured by the Mughals, introduced a rain water harvesting system and improved access to the monument for visitors. In addition, water is expected to flow once again in the elaborate network of narrow water channels surrounding the monument in 2003.
Focus humanitarian Assistance or FOCUS is an affiliate of the AKDN. It is an international emergency response agency that complements the provision of relief and support services during and following natural and man-made crises, primarily in Asia and Africa. An India office was established in 2002, following the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat.
International Scholarship Programme
The Aga Khan Foundation provides a limited number of scholarships each year for postgraduate studies to outstanding students from developing countries who have no other means of financing their studies. Scholarships are awarded on a 50% grant : 50% loan basis through a competitive application process once a year in June. The Foundation gives priority to requests for Master’s level courses but is also willing to consider applications for PhD programmes, when doctoral degrees are necessary for the career objectives of the student. Requests will also be considered for travel and study awards for PhD students doing their research in Third World countries on topics judged to be of interest to the Aga Khan Development Network. Applications for short-term courses are not considered; neither are applications from students who have already started their course of study.
Financial Assistance. The Foundation assists students with tuition fees and living expenses only. The cost of travel is not included in AKF scholarships. Applicants are requested to make every effort to obtain funding from other sources as well, so that the amount requested from the Foundation can be reduced to a minimum. Preference is given to those who have been able to secure some funding from alternative sources.
Loan Conditions. Half of the scholarship amount is considered as a loan, which must be reimbursed with an annual service charge of 5%. A guarantor is required to co-sign the loan agreement. The payback period is five years, starting six months after the study period funded by the Aga Khan Foundation.
Application Procedures. The application procedures of AKF’s International Scholarship Programme are decentralised. Students may obtain application forms as a January 1st each year from AKF offices or Aga Khan Education Services / Boards in their countries of current residence. Completed applications should be returned to the agency from which the form was obtained, or to the address typed on the front of the form. They should not be sent to Geneva. All applications must be submitted on forms obtained from an AKF or AKES/B office (not photocopied). The deadline for submission of applications is March 31.
Applicants should be prepared to be interviewed by local Scholarship Committees about their financial situation, their academic performance, extra-curricular achievements and career plans. Interview reports are sent with the applications to Geneva for the final selection.
The annual Scholarship Selection Meeting takes place in late June and the Aga Khan Foundation notifies all students of the outcome of their application in the first week of July.
For more details Contact :
Aga Khan Foundation
1-3 Avenue de la Paix, 1202 Geneva, Postal Address: P.O. Box 23 69, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: (41.22) 909.72.00 Fascimile: (41.22) 909.72.91, Website : www.akdn.org
Contacts in India
AGA KHAN FOUNDATION
(An agency of the Aga Khan Development Network)
Sarojini House, 6, Bhagwan Dass Road, New Delhi 110001
Tel : 011-47399700, Fax: 23 78 2174, Email : [email protected]
Website : www.akdn.org/India
Aga Khan Health Service, India
24 Aliyabad Fifth floor. Aga Hall, Nesbit Road, Mazagaon, Mumbai 400 010
Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, India
405A/407 Jolly Bhawan No. 1, 10 New Marine Lines, Mumbai – 400 020
Aga Khan Education Service, India
C/O Diamond Jubilee High School for Boys, Aga Hall, Nesbit Road, Mazagaon, Mumbai 400 010
Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India)
9th & 10th Floor, Corporate House, Near Dinesh Hall, Ashram Road, Ahmedabad – 380009, Gujrat
In 1972, we began our modest efforts to reach out to the poor and marginalized communities. Today after three decade, we have the privilege of working with nearly 5 million poor and marginalized people-namely the dalit and tribal people, other sections of the rural and urban poor, women, children, and minorities and with more than 300 civil society organizations. Within them, those in vulnerable situations such as people living with chronic hunger, migrant and bonded workers, children out of education, urban homeless people, trafficked persons, persons with diability, refugees and displaced people and survivors of natural and human made disasters. Also with poeple who are socially stigmatised, such as sex workers, persons living with HIV and
AIDS and manual scavengers. Our resolve has been to facilitate their empowerment so that they are able to assert for their rights, entitlements and dignity.
We have made sustained efforts to come closer to the poor and marginalised women and men, girls and boys through establishing 14 Regional Offices (RO) and 10 field offices to reach the people in 22 States of India.
Steps in our Journey
The period 1972-92 has graduated from focus on child needs to integrated rural development through a transition of multi-sectoral approach. During this period, the shift has been from investing primarily on education of children as a means for ahcieving a better world to locating poverty in family and community. In this approach, poverty was understood only in economic terms, and our initiatives were in clearly defined geographical areas. Our Approach to Rural Development (ARD) evolved at the international workshop (1989) largely influenced this understanding.
The growth of the organization and the rapidly changing external environment during the early 1990’s necessitated the formulation of our first five-year strategic planning (CSP-I: 1993-97). This has provided the mandate to work in the empowerment mode, making best use of the resources that we had access to. It clearly defined priority areas of work in the country (pockets of poverty and groups of poor people) as well as articulated the need for policy influencing through collaborative alliances, along with micro-level action.
After a critical review of CSP-I, we drew up the next strategy paper (CSP-II : 1998-2002), which acknowledged the need to work on the rights mode with policy inlfuencing and advocacy strongly supplementing micro-level action. The understanding was that eradication of poverty was only possible through empowering the poor and facilitating processes that assist them to achieve their rights and entitlements. This was later revisited after the global process of Taking Stock – F of 25 years of work followed by formulation of Fighting Poverty Together (Action Aid’s global strategy paper), which provided a comprehensive framework for poverty eradication through te rights mode of development.
Meanwhile, we went through a process of collective internal reflection in May 1999 at Kodaikanal and again at Hyderabad in March 2000. There was an affirmation of main streaming the rights based approach into our work and the need for strengthening gender equity. Subsequently, the Updated CSP-II entitled Taking Sides’ was adopted.
Vision, Mission & Values of Action Aid India
Vision:
A world without poverty in which every person can exercise her/his right to a life of dignity.
Mission:
To work with poor and marginalised people to eradicate poverty by overcoming the injustice and inequity that cause it.
Values:
Mutual Respect, recognising the innate dignity and worth of all people and value of divesity.
Equity and Justice, requiring us to work to ensure that everyone – irrespective of sex, age, race, colour, class and religion – has equal opportunity for expressing and utilising their potential.
Honesty and Transparency, requiring us to be accountable for the effectiveness of AAI’s actions and open in AAI’s judgments and communications with others.
Solidarity with poor and marginalised people, so that AAI’s only bias will be a commitment to the interests of the poor and powerless.
Courage of conviction, requiring us to be creative and radical, without fear of failure, in pursuit of the highest possible impact on the causes of poverty.
Humility, recognising that we are a part of a bigger alliance against poverty and requiring AAI’s presentation and behaviours to be modest.
Groups we work with:
In AAI’s we recognise the differing needs and capacities of social groups that are more vulnerable to poverty, which has strategic implications for our policy influencing actions and program interventions. Within the social group, we recognize women, children and persons with disability as cross cutting issues due to multiple ways that they have been denied their rights and justice. We acknowledge that our own understanding on these themes needs up-gradation. We are committed to incremental actions towards comprehensive approach for realizing their rights.
Social Groups:
• Dalit People • Tribal People • Other backward Classes (OBC)
• Minorities • Urban Poor • Informal Sector Labour
Apart from these six social groups, we would work with certain social groups that are emerging in numbers and requiring special attention. Some of them are:
• Persons living with HTV and AIDS • Sexual Minorities
• Sex Workers • People affected by disasters
Eligibility criteria to be a partner:
We will seek partnerships with those who are willing to listen to the voice of poor and marginalized women, men, girls and boys and to support their struggles for justice and a better life. We seek organisations which are willing to challenge and resist those who systematically deny and violate their rights.
AAI will seek out credible, committed institutions and individuals. The range of partners would include NGOs, CBOs, movements, individuals, activists, networks etc. AAI’s special focus would be on building people’s institutions. In AAI’s partnerships, leadership of the marginalized (dalits, women, minorities, disabled and tribals) will be encouraged.
AAI recognises for entering into such partnerships, it would be important for AAI itself to develop a reputation for genuine solidarity with oppressed people, integrity, transparency and humility. Even as we are partnering such groups and individuals who are seeking to assist in the restoration the rights of the poor and marginalised women, men, girls and boys, we would critically engage with the ones who deny and violate such rights. This critical engagement could be with the state and its agencies, corporate sector and other civil society institutions. This decision to engage in cooperation or resistance will be in-formed by AAI’s analysis of denial of rights, power relations, and strategic needs.
Statutory Requirements:
Partner should be a Registered Society and also be registered under FCRA For More Details Please Contact : Action Aid India, Regional Offices or the website or Mr. Babu Mathew, Country Director
Action Aid India
C-88, South Extension-11, New Delhi – 110 049
Telefax: 51640571 – 76,
website : www.actionaidindia.org
Email : [email protected]
Regional Offices:
Action Aid International
Post Net Suite # 248, Private Bag X31,
Saxonwold 2132, Johannesburg, South Africa
Tel : +27 (0) 11 880 0008, Fax: +27 (0) 11 880 808
Action Aid India Country Office
Prof. Babu Mathew (Country Director)
C – 88 N.D.S.E. – II, New Delhi – 1 100049
Tel: (11) 251640571-76. Fax: (11) 251641891
Babu’s Mob.: 9810606988
Bangalore Regional Office
Ms. Christy Abraham (Regional Manager)
139, Richmond Road, P.B. No. 5406
Bangalore -560 025,
Tel : (080) 25586682,25595942 (RM direct No.)
Christy’s Mob.: 9845538873
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Bhopal Regional Office
Ms. Malini Subramaniam (Regional Manager)
E – 3/4-B, I st floor, Arcia Colony, Bhopal – 462016
Telefax: (0755) 5290208 /2425324,2466920
Malini’s Mob: 9826392456
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Mumbai Regional Office
Ms. Kamini Kapadia (Regional Manager)
6th Floor C.V.O.D Jain High School
84, Samuel Street, Pallagalli, Dongri
Near Masjid, Mumbai – 400 009
Tel : (022) 23435072 / 23436070
Fax : (022) 234360765Kamini’s Mob. : 9820016252
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Guwahati Regional Office
Mr. Prasanna Kumar Pincha (Reg. Manager)
Flat 2B, Mandavi Apartment, Ambari
(In front of Ravindra Bhavan) G.N.B. Road,
Guwahati -781 001, Tel: (0361) 2638871 / 72,
Mob.: 94351-48697
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Jaipur Regional Office
Ms. Vijaylakshmi (officiating Reg. Manager)
B – 20 Khandela House, Shiv Marg, Bani Park, Jaipur
302016, Tel: (0141) 2207502 / 2207683
Fax:(0141)2207683
Vijaylakshmi Mob: 9414074893
Email: [email protected]
Lucknow Regional Office
Mr. Hanumant Rawat (Regional Manager)
1/21 Vivek Khand, Gornti Nagar
Lucknow-226010, Tel: (0522)2939431/631/731
Fax: (0522) 2939431/631731
Hanumant’s Mobile: 9415005339
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Bhubaneshwar
Ms. Supriya Akerkar (Regional Manager)
331 /A Shabid Nagar, Bhubaneshwar – 751007
Orissa, Telefax: (0674) 2544503/2544224
Supriya’s Mob.: 9437045008
Chhattisgarh
Mr. Biraj Patnaik (Regional Manager)
First Floor HIG-28, Sector -1, Shankar Nagar
Raipur – 429077, Chhattisgarh
Tel : 0771-5011596,5022140,2445031
(RM Direct No.) Biraj’s Mob. 9826308235
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Chennai Regional Office
Mr. Saroj Dash (Regional Manager)
23 West Park Road, Near Post Office Shenoy Nagar
Chennai – 600 030
Tel: (044) 26191620/1621, Fax: (044)26191620/162
Saroj’s Mob: 94440-01620
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Kolkata Regional Office
Ms. Anchita Ghatak (Regional Manager)
Flat No. 3 A, Shankar Vihar
33, Lake Temple Road, Kolkata – 700 029
Tel : (033) 24657017-18/7022, Fax: 24657022
Anchita’s Mob: 9830326101
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Gujarat Regional Office
Mr. Amar Jyoti Nayak (Regional Manager) IOA,
Chandra Colony, B/h IDBI Bank
(Opp. E-infochips). Cargo Motors Lane, C.G. Road,
Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat – 380 006
Tel: (079) 26463792 / 26447691, Fax: (079) 26447691
Amar’s Mob: 9825318676
Email: [email protected]
Andhra Pradesh Regional Office
Mr. Umi Daniel (Regional Manager)
E – 9, Vikrampuri Colony, Kharkhana,
Behind Food World, Secunderabad – 500 026
Andhra Pradesh Field Office
Shanmukha, D.No. 4-52-4 C (LIG -114)
Lawsons Bay Colony, Visakhapatnam – 530 017
Tel : 0891 – 5510633, Raghu’s Mob : 98492 98904
Shivpuri Field Office
Action Aid India Field Office
86, Raghvendra Nagar, Near Gum Nanak Public School,
Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh,
Telefax: 07492-508868
Adipur Field Office
Mohneet Villa, Plot No. 291, Ward 3/A,
Adipur Dist – Kutch, Gujarat – 370 205
Tel: 02836-264944/263809
Fax: 02836-262703
Godhra Field Office
Plot No.1, haideri Society
Nr. Sessions Court, Civil Lines, Godhra
Gujarat-389 001
Tel: 02672-249619, Fax: 02672-249678
Bahadur’s Mob: 9426559815
Malkangiri Field Office
Durga Gudi, Sahi, Nr. Jagannath Temple
Malkangiri – 764045, Orissa, Tel: 06861 – 230455
Dholpur Field Office
382, Gayatri Sadan, Housing Board Colony, Bati Road,
Dholpur, Tel : 05642 – 224712
Andhra Pradesh
Tel: (040) 55445410, Telefax: (040) 27844991
Umi’s Mob: 9440407779
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Patna Regional Office
Mr. Pushpondra Singh (Regional Manager)
A/3, Vivekanand Park (Lane A)
South East Patliputra Colony, Patna – 800 013
Bihar, Tel : (0612) 2272928,
Telefax: (0612)2262027 / 2272928
Pushpenders Mob: 9431015838
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Field Offices
Vizag Field Office
MIG -12, House No. 4-66-1/5, Lawson’s bay Colony,
Vishakhapatnam 530017, Tel: 0891-2793162, 2729755
Farmer Field Office
AJ 12, Mahavir Nagar, Banner – 344001
Tel: 02982-226513
Srinagar Field Office
H/12, Cooperative Colony, Srinagar-190014
Jammu and Kashmir, Tel : 0194-2437286/2481641
Bolangir Field Office
Adarshpada, Nr. Rajendra College
Bolangir-767002, Orissa, Tel : 06652-250082
Erasama Field Office
Sneha Abhiyan, Erasama, Jagatsinghpur Dist Orissa,
Tel: 06722-2246289
Dehradun Field Office
253/172 (Old No. 68/1) Chander Nagai,
Dehrachm248001, Tel: (0135)2520113
Debabrata’s, Mob: 9412992252
Koraput Field Office
Jharana Nivas, Pujaripur, Koraput – 764020
Tel: 06852-252451
Jagat Singhpur Field Office
Plot No. 4051/4759, At Post – Kherusa,
Jagatsinghpur 754103, Orissa
Tel: 06724-221257.Fax:06724-221279