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Projects
Children & Youth
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Children are said to be the most vulnerable category and living in very risky situations in rural and urban areas of India. Friends in Action regularly encounters such children in need of our care and protection. Our focus is to support in the areas of education, health and nutrition. Currently, over 96 children are part of our support programs at various levels. Most of the children study in government schools due to poverty, only a very few study in private schools.
FIA focuses much of its efforts on vulnerable children who are found without homes or parents often begging, abandoned and alone on the street. They are exploited, abused, injured, sometimes have become drug addicts, and are prone to kidnapping or being employed as a child laborer and are in very risky situations. Frequently we come across situations where a child was previously with their parents but were not taken care of properly. We ensure these children are well cared for and protected. We extend financial support through individual sponsorship programs for children in order to encourage them to continue their studies and pursue a positive future. Each day in the evening, children are given special coaching in their regular subjects and are constantly imparted moral and ethical values, life skills and soft skills. FIA always supports in the best interest of the child.
India has a large number of youngsters that are not well trained and prepared enough to face the reality of the world. We ensure the youth have the skills for both life and work-related scenarios to compete for jobs. Additionally we conduct vocational trainings, career guidance workshops and different awareness programs for the betterment of youth.
Women
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Self-help groups are considered to be the greatest platform for poor people to come together and work to combat poverty which is a life time challenge for the marginalized. It typically comprises a group of micro entrepreneurs having homogeneous social and economic backgrounds. Each group is composed of 10-20 members. Self-help groups are seen as instruments for reaching goals including empowerment of women, developing leadership abilities among the poor, enabling women to be part of decision making, fighting against injustice in society and imparting the attitude of fostering and increasing self-esteem.
The specialty of the Self-help groups that are functioning under “Friends in Action” is that in each group alcoholic and addicts are included within the groups. Additional group members continuously help them to work through their addiction by engaging them with stable work. Currently over 57 Self-Help groups are functioning under FIA. We believe in empowering women which leads to the emancipation of the entire family. In many rural areas savings and credit programs are being run through SHG. To create economically self-reliant individuals we encourage them to start income generation activities by giving them "livelihood trainings" and applying for loans at banks with lower interest rates and also connecting them with other governmental schemes available for the rural poor, all done in close cooperation with the governmental dept. Ultimately this promotes overall community development and thereby the standard of life of the individual increases radically.
Alcoholism & Differently Abled
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Alcoholics and addicts are put to shame by society and are finding it increasingly difficult to come out of their disease because of lack of support from family and society as well. Often the alcoholic is the bread winner of family and the entire family is ruined putting the life of the children at risk. Counseling support is offered to the addicts and their family and some are taken for further treatment. In such situations the family and children are taken care of by the project.
In India differently-abled people are not given equal due at all. Because of social stigmas they suffer a lot and find it difficult to survive with normal people, even when employed with jobs which often may not suit them. Obviously, it is the duty of the government to look after them but due to its negligence and lack of welfare measures there is less catering to their needs. FIA supports handicapped and blind people in all ways possible. It also extends its support to the Blind School which is located at a nearby office.
Elderly People
In the olden days, the very presence of the elderly in the family has been considered the greatest joy, wealth and blessing for the entire family. Unfortunately with the entry of modern society and technological embellishments it has created a self-centeredness within people and this reverence is now lacking. In such a world elderly people are often seen as a burden and "good for nothing" and people began neglecting them, often admitting them into private homes. This is all because of lack of love, patience, and acceptance. In today's reality an endless number of elderly people are treated inhumanely and are often thrown out of the home, found in the streets, suffering without food and left without clothes to wear.
Friends in Action is aware of the pain and suffering endured by the elderly and continues to reach out with love and care and cater to their basic needs such as food, clothing, home and medical assistance. It acknowledges and highly values the presence of our elderly people and holds a place of respect and dignity for them. So far we've assisted over 32 elderly people in restoring their lives.
Community-Health & Total Sanitation (CHLTS)
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FIA frequently organizes different medical camps in the rural communities to sensitize people that “Health is Wealth” and to make sure that basic health reaches the poor and marginalized. Safe sanitation has long been a big challenge for the rural population. In most of the houses in villages there is no latrine facility at all. More than 50% of the Indian population lacks access to an adequate sanitation facility. The majority of them go for open defecation and fail to realize the importance of cleanliness and the seriousness behind it. This is something we hope India's government will soon take more part in.
Friends in Action aims at educating village people about hygiene and health and is involved in constructing latrine facilities in various individual houses. With this the health hazards are minimized. We try to instill cleanliness in the minds of people as well. Building a toilet for one family that leads to an entire family to cease from open defecation ensures sustainability and decreases disease. Though this program involves more cost due to the construction of the toilets, we strongly believe in the moral implication and social change that takes place in the long run. Hence, CLTS approach is to achieve sustained behavior, a change in mainly rural people and remote-villages by a process of "triggering" leading to spontaneous and long-term abandonment of open defecation practices.
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