 Where does your money go? How are daily lives different? Does our Rural Women's Livelihood Development Programme create dependence or independence?
These are tough questions that deserve honest answers. We did a review, complete with interviews and statistics, and the results were positive. In the words of Basanti (a member of a Self Help Group that cultivates crabs): 'Earlier we were very idle; now we are active. Now we have the savings to live. We are free from the four walls of the house.'
Read more in our Impact Assessment
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Indian government's spending priorities.
If the Indian government spent less on its space programs, etc. and more on addressing the shocking poverty of its 300 million villagers living below the official poverty-line, there would be less need for UK government aid. We applaud DFID's determination to 'walk the last mile' (as Andrew Mitchell put it back in March) in helping these rural people in three of India's most needy states, and sticking to UK's aid commitment to India up to the previously announced end-date of 2015. Jeevika, with its Indian NGO partner Jeevan Rekha in Orissa, is mid-way through a DFID-funded project to train and empower hundreds of rural women bee-keepers working in Self Help Groups to build viable livelihoods through a honey production & marketing network. 'Aid' like this can and should lead on to sustainable 'trade', and we whole-heartedly support the new Secretary of State’s forward thinking on increasing private sector participation in anti-poverty programmes.
October 31st 2012 - Vince Cable supports Jeevika's work in India
VIDEO NOW ONLINE! Business Secretary and Twickenham MP Vince Cable was guest speaker on October 31 at a Jeevika and UK-India Business Council (UKIBC) corporate reception titled 'Aid Vs Trade'. Read more here.
September 30th - Walk for Water 2012 - The weather held up for Jeevika's 6th annual sponsored walk for Water, starting at the cafe on the edge of Bushy Park, up to the farthest corner of the Park then down through Hampton Court to a delicious Indian tea at the Glass House on Barge Walk: this year's intrepid walkers nmanaged to raise nearly £2,000 through their sponsorships - including some who carried 5-litre water containers in empathy with village women in India.
September 6th - Cleve at The Lensbury - By kind invitation of The Lensbury in Teddington, at the club's beautiful riverside Pavilion, Cleve West, twice winner of 'Best in Show' at the Chelsea Flower Show, shared his designs and wisdom on 'Water-wise Gardens' with an appreciateive audience: Jeevika's Director Andrew Redpath thanked Cleve on behalf of Jeevika and pointed to the importance of 'kitchen gardens', composting techniques and dealing with conditions of drought and flood in rural India where Jeevika's projects are based.
March 2nd 2012 - Mark Hoda is awarded Vodafone World of Difference placement
Long-time supporter Mark Hoda has officially started a two-month placement with Jeevika, funded by Vodafone as a part of their World of Difference programme. Read about his inspiring first week on his blog.
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