We initially worked with Find Your Feet (FYF) supporting SABLA, a very successful project in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh some years ago. We started funding a second project of theirs, working with local NGO Pepus, in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh at the end of 2005 and we're very pleased to have furthered our partnership by supporting this project, Growing a Future.
Find your Feet operates in rural areas in some of the poorest states in Northern India and is currently working on six major programmes that support over 19,500 families to develop lasting solutions to their poverty.
This is an innovative three year grant providing them with the means to build their capacity and that of their partners. Our funding will provide the means to trial and pilot more schemes, and scale up their activity.
Find your Feet's work targets the most vulnerable groups in society who face a daily struggle to provide the most basic necessities. Operating in areas where other sources of support are scarce, they have a track record of developing successful programmes and we are proud to fund them.
They believe that rural communities themselves should drive their development project activities. At the heart of their approach is a commitment to working in partnership with local groups.
We are investing £20,000 a year for three years to support the development of new community-led projects across the North of India - funding pilot projects and getting them off the ground.
Growing a Future aims to identify new partners and then kick-start these new projects. It also hopes to build the capacity of partner organisations, share information and ideas that work and capture learning.
Objectives update : June '07
We are happy to report that the programme has made exciting progress. Being such a unique funding opportunity, we thoug
ht it best to report on this in a bit more depth.
- Identify new partners and projects:
Our funding has supported FYF India in identifying potential new partners working in Uttar Pradesh to tackle the growing problem of HIV/AIDS in the country.
These local organisations are working to raise awareness of the problem of HIV/AIDS, to challenge stigma and increase people's access to prevention, voluntary testing, counselling and care.
- Kick-start new projects:
Pahal is network of three local organisations in Jharkhand that FYF identified as an important new project two years ago. Our funding has enabled them to start working together on a pilot project supporting 4000 adivasi (tribal) women to train in sustainable farming practices. These should improve harvests while conserving the soil and biodiversity.
In addition, the partnership will provide small loans, vocational and financial training to enable women to set up small businesses that build on local knowledge, using local resources in a sustainable way. Businesses that have a local market like pickle-making and crafts will enable families to improve their incomes.
- Build the capacity of partner organisations:
After part-funding a successful pilot with local organisation SABLA, FYF has continued to work with the group on a long-term project ensuring the sustainability of their work after the funding ends.
SABLA will support SHGs to set up a federation of members to eventually take over the running of the activities. They have trained staff on the need, establishment and the good functioning of an effective federation and begun a vegetable growers' association.
- Sharing information:
Building links between their partners in order to share information is a key part of FYF's approach.
Establishing Community Based Organisations (CBOs), which advocate for the communities' rights, and Federations, which will take over the management of project activities is a key aspect of this. They have run training workshops in which partners were able to share their experiences and learning. It proved to be a very useful workshop for all partners and FYF India staff.
FYF India is also involved in the developing forum of e-networking. In 2007 they took part in an e-bulletin that highlighted the challenges faced by handloom weavers from Varanasi. Despite being highly skilled artisans, the silk weavers suffer poverty and exploitation. They are supporting over 1,000 weavers to escape the poverty cycle by providing training and loans and by advocating for weavers' rights.
- Capturing learning
In order to develop and improve their programmes, FYF staff have made field visits to four of projects. Following the visits, they have compiled project specific feedback based on their observations. This will be shared with fellow FYF staff and project staff so that we can work together to address them and learn from such experiences.
FYF was invited to participate in a European Commission (EC) seminar addressing gender in developm
ent projects in New Delhi. It was attended by guests including the EC Gender Network representative, the Electoral Commissioner of India and the renowned activist and lawyer, Mrs Indira Jaisingh.
The seminar included presentations and discussions as well as an exhibition to showcase the variety of EC-funded projects. FYF's presentation was made by two staff members from our partners, Raimotin Markam and Ms Kamla.
The two women highlighted the gender-focused interventions of their projects and shared their key learnings. The presentation was well received and was commended by the conference facilitator for being the only presentation to be made by staff involved in project implementation at a grassroots level.
Joba's Story
Joba from Basduma Village is the treasurer of the local SHG. She borrowed Rs 5,000 (£60) to buy a pig and farming inputs like manure. The manure has increased her crop yields, meaning her family has more to eat and she is now producing a surplus so is earning an income by selling the crops at the local market.
"We hope to buy more animals and breed them so we can sell them at the local market or to other people in our village. The SHG has helped me and my family so much, we now have more to eat and to share with others."
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