Introduction
So, life is all about giving and sharing, and those who understand this generally end up having an NGO However, the world is a mix of both good and bad. Some are actually doing great work and that’s where we happen to provide them with our platform for bringing truly inspirational stories which begin from one person and now have a community-level impact.
Today, we have one such story that is all about this only.
AROH Foundation, which is a certified national-level NGO. The organization has been operationally active since late 2001. For over two decades, AROH has been working on various unique and sustainable initiatives towards Skill Development, Livelihood Generation, Access to basics like – Education, Health, Water, and Sanitation, and vast Holistic Rural Development Projects in over 18 states of India in creating a change which reflects positive impact towards the marginalized sections of the society.
Various projects by AROH like Jal Shakti, Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyaan, Samagra Grameen Vikas Karyakram, Project addressing all 17 SDGs projects, Padho aur Badho have been appreciated and awarded by many national and international platforms including the United Nations Global Compact of India.
Let’s know more about the founder, her story
So, we spoke with Dr Neelam Gupta, a veteran social activist. She is the President and CEO of AROH and is well recognized in the development sector. For the pSo, last 20 years, She has been working towards the cause of socio-economic upliftment, committed to the improvement of the lives of vulnerable and excluded communities.
Understand better about her project Shakti below:
Question: Can you share the real-life story of any one woman, whose life you have changed through your project Shakti?
To start with, I am also one of them. Shakti has been inspiring and life-changing for all of us. Project Shakti has been very impactful for all of us, not just for the beneficiaries, but for our staff and including me as well. Being a female, I myself have been called upon many times for being ambitious. Subjected to those verbal gibes was harassment, even by close ones. And further on, ignoring it was a mistake. While in the process of awareness, awakening and empowering many fellow females, I feel I am reborn each time in the process. I invoke all females to raise voices against verbal, mental and psychological harassment too.
So, that’s me, but, If I have to narrate a story of one of my beneficiaries, I’d like to talk about Lakshmi whose story is very much close to my heart.
36 years old Lakshmi married 2010 her husband Lalit and shifted to Sangam Vihar slums in Delhi in the same year. A few years later only Lalit had an extramarital affair which shattered Lakhmi’s life inside out. In 2020, the nationwide lockdown because of Corona made her life even more miserable. Sitting idle at home, and not able to get his daily dose of alcohol, Lalit started beating Lakshmi & children.
When our staff, who were working as corona warriors in the community noticed the deteriorating condition of Lakshmi, the team acted promptly. They intervened and gave her enough confidence and start speaking about her turmoil. She needed help but didn’t want any official complaint to be raised. And so, several counselling sessions were given to her and Lalit too. Neighbours were called out for keeping an eye on and giving support, and helpline numbers from AROH were shared. Later Lakshmi registered a case of domestic violence against her husband also. She was able to access a solicitor via legal aid. She was supported to have an option for income generation. Lalit could no longer come near Lakshmi and was made to bear their monthly maintenance too. It took us a while to reinstate old Lakshmi in her, but she bounced back.
Things started getting better for her. I speak to her often. She is now a happy and chirpy soul, taking care of her kids as well. When she speaks, I feel she is speaking for my years of silence too. Not just Lakshmi, but hundreds of other girls & women, who have been destined to live a life of distress, are being transformed into ones with vivid futures through AROH’s Shakti.
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Are there any challenges that you/NGO faced from the society while working towards the journey of empowering women?
“Will you agree? I feel it’s women themselves!”
The long-embedded and prevalent patriarchy and male dominance have now made women very comfortable, complacent, and non-debating their distressful situation. She is generally not complaining. We kind of have agreed to switch jobs after marriages, or even quit it after a child’s birth. It’s ok with us to eat last in a joint family or stay at home during dark hours. It’s ok if the male members show dominance over us on the verge of showing security concerns. Even the other ladies of the house often become non-supportive.
So, we have felt that the hardest part was to make the women realize that she was subjected to various forms of violence, discrimination, or ignorance and that she needs to come out and speak about it.
But I also agree that the scenario is changing. Today, a woman knows about her rights and how the law can protect her. We can say that woman is getting aware, awakened, and aggressive towards themselves, like never before. This is crucial, as we cannot dream of becoming a trillion-dollar economy leaving behind half of our human capital.
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Do you have support from the government side, in this?
Mostly Yes. The synergies all around are changing. Everyone now understands that it’s not only about giving their due rights to the women, but also sharing the burden with them Without both the male and female counterparts, participating equally in all walks, development, prosperity, and peace is not possible.
So yes, the government is supportive here. The people, policymakers and other social organizations are coming together to create a conducive environment for females to be BORN, LIVE and PROSPER.
There could be some times where we feel some friction too, but with constant dialogues, liaison and understanding, we try to fill all gaps and be on the same page to keep the boat sailing.
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What are your ways to empower women?
AROH aims to improve the socio-economic status of marginalized and vulnerable women through its pioneering initiative project ‘Shakti’ with sustainable solutions. AROH has directly impacted the lives of more than 4.5 Lakh underprivileged and marginalized women while over 10 Lakh vulnerable women have been benefited indirectly in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, etc. through multi-sectoral initiatives undertaken by the Foundation under the umbrella of Project Shakti.
Under the overarching goal of poverty alleviation and uplifting their standard of living, Project Shakti works on multiple interventions and a holistic approach to serve the women in need and deliver sustainable outcomes. Through its various community-based programmes, the Foundation has been able to adopt a lifecycle approach wherein girls and women of all ages and groups stand a chance to gain from the interventions being rolled out in their area. Starting from education of the girl child from pre-schooling to high school education, vocational training and skilling for economic growth, providing access to water and sanitation, improving literacy levels of women, raising their awareness against social ills like child marriage, dowry, alcoholism, oppression, and improving their confidence and self-esteem through programmes of life skills, financial inclusion, etc. have brought a meaningful transformation in the lives of poor women.
Our mission is to facilitate and execute a program for the underprivileged with special attention to women and children. We synergize these efforts, to achieve our mission, by working in partnership with other development sectors which have the right perspective in the area of human development.
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Do you think, you can empower men, as well?
Not CAN, but We HAVE to!
There is no other option. It will take years, but we need to empower our men psychologically, physically, and mentally about the equal stature of females in society. And this shall start right when he is born or starts going to school. To begin with a training on survival skills of cooking, domestic chores should be mandatory for young boys in school along with girls. Later training on participation and contribution to women empowerment, feminism, and gender equality should be sought.
You know, this shall be beneficial for them only. Once women made ought to share all sorts of burdens, our men shall be relaxed too. They won’t be alone to take the stress of running houses, bills and taxes. They shall have time for pursuing hobbies, and have easy lives and that’s going to enhance their well-being too.
If at all it can happen, it shall be a win-win situation for all.
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What are the suggestions for a better society?
Awareness is the key! Towards your rights, laws, duties, various information, welfare schemes, etc.
And that is what AROH does extensively at the grassroots. Every mission and initiative is backed by extensive awareness and mobilization. If a person has the right information, he shall automatically become an obedient civilian. He/she shall never suppress, overpower, or deny anyone’s rights. And that’s particularly what we need to do for a better society. Just live and let live.
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What are your future plans?
Benefit as many people as possible. In every corner of India, or even the World! AROH wants to go global with its mission of creating an equitable society with equal opportunity and no discrimination. Project Shakti is one of other several projects.
Prior to COVID only, AROH was hailed for its technology drives working, we shall want to enhance our USP as well. Make our staff skilled for post-COVID scenarios and innovate sustainable solutions to various pressing challenges of society.
The Focus areas
Out top focus areas in coming years are Women’s Empowerment, Water, Health, Nutrition, and SMART Education and we shall be launching a few very unique initiatives in these domains.
I am also personally attending to women’s welfare goals through Project Shakti. If nothing else, I tend to increase their awareness levels towards various violence, and discrimination and have a voice against them.
Me being a Global Goodwill Ambassador, try to take forward the message and mission to every platform I go. The idea is to ignite the fire of thoughts within every woman possible.
So, the plan is to be AROH- a ray of hope for maximum people in need.
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Did you face any setbacks, while working for these women?
Oh yes, much often. But we don’t work for rewards, results or appreciation. The only mantra for AROH while working is ‘Keep Trying’. Although AROH works on neutralizing the situation at the first stand, in a grim situation, the rescue of the women becomes important. Mostly women who after several rounds of counselling come up to stand up for their rights tend to withdraw from their stand. In those cases, the team has to change the entire strategy of her rescue and rehabilitation. Many stakeholders like police personnel, lawyers, women’s cells, etc are involved and have to be managed later on.
Similarly, women return to their abuser, without informing the team, which becomes a liability for their security. There are cases of attempts to suicide, that backfire on the team after reconciliation with the family.
Conclusion
This has been meaningful talking with Dr Neelam Gupta. She is the lady behind this courageous army for society. The founder President and CEO, of AROH Foundation She is also the Global Goodwill Ambassador, Chairperson of DMA’s CSR & Sustainability Committee, and Member of UN Global Compact India Network’s CSR Committee. The world becomes a blessing when you see these people working towards a greater cause and that is “Humanity”.
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