Socio economic transformation at the grassroots is our focus: Dr Neelam Gupta

The role of an NGO is significant; it helps in socio-economic development by engaging with people and communities at the grassroots and ensuring their participation in the process of development. AROH Foundation is a leading national NGO committed towards empowerment and upliftment of the poor and underprivileged to fulfil its vision of a world where people live in dignity and security and there are equal opportunities for all.

Established in the year 2001, the foundation has marked its presence in over 1200 remotest villages and slums across 18 states. It has been successfully implementing social welfare projects on education, skill development and livelihood, women empowerment, health, sanitation and rural development, etc. Owing to its innovative approach and pioneering initiatives. AROH has become a preferred NGO impact partner for several corporate wherein it provides integrated development solutions to key CSR projects in our country.

"AROH is engaged in numerous development initiatives across different states of India. Some of its prominent projects are Padho Aur Badho, Rise, Holistic Rural Development Program, School Sanitation Programme, Garima, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushal Yojna, Sampoorna, etc.," said Dr Neelam Gupta President & CEO AROH Foundation, who started the organisation to fulfil her childhood dream of giving back to the society.

Speaking about the flagship programme Padho and Badho, she shares that the initiative addresses the issues related to learning outcomes and gender inequality in education. For this, AROH has developed an innovative and child-oriented model of learning with dedicated teachers. Special emphasis is given on the extra-curricular activities along with value education. For this, AROH has developed a strong network with government and private schools. The programme is being successfully implemented in the slums of Delhi.

Elucidating about the Holistic Rural Development Project running in Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh, she said 54 villages of the three states are benefitted by this. The program aims to strengthen rural infrastructure and economy. The initiative is designed to raise the living standard of the villagers through the provision of basic amenities like education, sanitation, water, healthcare along with skill development and livelihood opportunities to the poorest of the poor.

"Working hand in hand with the Government's initiative of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the Foundation has been able to build toilets for more than 10,000 households in the states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, and Uttar Pradesh. Child-friendly toilets, water supply, and hand washing facilities have been provided in more than 500 government schools in these states," said Dr Gupta on the sanitation programme run by the NGO. The sanitation and wash programme aims at promoting behavioural change among children through hygiene education.

"The foundation, through its multi-sectoral programmes, has skilled and empowered more than 25,000 women, served to improve learning outcomes of 50,000 children and trained 50,000 farmers to earn a better living. Overall, the foundation has trained and placed more than 50,000 rural youth in gainful employment in various domains. Nearly 1500 SHGs and 520 rural enterprises have been set up by the foundation. Women-centric programmes such as GARIMA, UDAAN have created a positive impact in the lives of women and their families. AROH is taking steps to further strengthen the government's role in shaping society. It has successfully applied flagship programs of the government like Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) since 2009 and implementing Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojna (DDU-GKY) since 2014. Under this scheme, more than 20,000 youth have been trained and placed into jobs," she added.

The foundation has impacted the lives of more than five lakh people through the provision of water and sanitation facilities in villages where people had no access to water and women were travelling miles to fetch water. In hilly regions of Meghalaya, water access has transformed the lives of hundreds of women who were busy fetching water for more than 6-7 hour in a day. In water strapped regions of stats like Chhattisgarh, the foundation has helped by rejuvenating ponds, making farm ponds, reviving group wells and installing solar water pumps to provide clean water to poor village communities.

"AROH has brought meaningful changes and transformation in lives of poor people and communities. We have a great amount of work to do in social development. Disparities and inequalities between people, including gender inequality, are the biggest challenges which hamper our growth and development. AROH is determined to improve lives by providing equal opportunities to all sections of society. We hope to empower millions of people in the near future so that they can harness their true potential and become active participants of the national economy and progress," added Dr Gupta.

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