Empowerment of Excluded Castes in Punjab and West Bengal (India)
Religious and caste discrimination is one of the leading causes of poverty and social exclusion in India. This has prevented access to basic services, including education, livelihood, health facilities and other government services and schemes for large sections of society.
We support the local churches in India to provide services such as study centres for children from vulnerable backgrounds; life skills education for adolescents (especially girls); women’s economic empowerment through their involvement in self-help groups; awareness raising activities on environmental concerns through tree plantation campaigns, installation of submersible pumps in West Bengal (to improve irrigation and farming practices), and waste reduction drives; and through these activities to empower marginalised communities, enabling them to be organised, resilient, educated and healthy, involved in local governance and capable of accessing government services and schemes.
Our projects in India now have an increased focus on cross-cutting issues including gender equality, disability and social inclusion, to ensure the work is effective in reaching socially disadvantaged groups, preventing unintended harm, exclusion and further marginalisation, and by promoting rights, equitable opportunities and benefits for all community members.
The projects operate in the rural communities and urban slums of West Bengal and in rural communities in Amritsar near the Pakistani border areas.
You can help!
This project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP). Thanks to ANCP, we’re making a huge difference together; lifting families out of poverty and helping people improve their lives.
India
Church of North India – Diocese of Amritsar and Diocese of Durgapur
Poverty Alleviation
News from the field
- Three women leaders we’re celebrating this International Women’s Day
Happy International Women’s Day! The theme this year is a great one: Invest in women: Accelerate progress! Women’s empowerment and education in places where they are excluded or marginalised has long been a pillar of global development, but lesser known are the climate benefits. Women make up a large proportion of the agricultural sector and produce up to 80% of the food in developing countries. When climate disasters hit, women and girls bear a disproportionate burden of the impacts and they’re typically ... - What does it take to lift a village out of poverty?
Imagine living in a rural village of about 250 people. It’s been your home since birth, and each day follows the simple but tough life of subsistence farming. Access to health services, education, and employment opportunities is severely limited, so, like everyone here, you make a living off the land and strive to give your children the opportunities that you didn’t have. But for four to five months of every year, the dry season and erratic rainfall make it impossible to ... - Update from India, UnitingWorld Update 1-2023
“I want to become a basketball champion when I grow up!” said Lakshmi* when asked about her aspirations for future. Like Lakshmi, many adolescent girls living in the Durgapur slum community want to pursue careers that defy gender norms and stereotypes. She attends a study centre that is part of the Community Development Program run by our partner, the Diocese of Durgapur. The study centre provides the girls with a safe space to learn, connect, practice extracurricular activities, and share their ... - Project Update: Empowerment of excluded castes in Punjab and West Bengal, India
Religious and caste discrimination is one of the leading causes of poverty and social exclusion in India. This has prevented access to basic services, including education, health facilities and other government services and schemes for large sections of society. UnitingWorld supports the Church of North India’s Diocese of Durgapur and Diocese of Amritsar, to run study centres for children of vulnerable families. The projects operate in the urban slums and tribal villages of West Bengal and in Amritsar near the Pakistani ... - Making ripples of change for Ranjit
Right on the India-Pakistan border, there’s a village of about 600 people. They’re hard-working and creative but overlooked by government for basic services like clean water and education. Families struggle to provide enough food for themselves, and education and employment opportunities do not come by often. During India’s Delta wave of COVID-19 last year, the lockdowns were crippling for the village. Those who were day labourers lost their jobs. Families despaired that with schools closed, their children would fall behind in their ...