|
Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.
- Arundhati Roy
|
What is development?
What do we mean when we speak about ‘development’ in India? There are a number of definitions of ‘development’. Perhaps the most useful is the simplest one. Development is about providing opportunities to people from disadvantaged sections of society, with the aim of reducing poverty and improving standard of living. It enables people to bring about a long-term and sustainable improvement in their quality of life.
Development areas AFP works in
AFP is currently working to support charities active in four areas: health, education, income generation and disabilities. This section of the website provides background information about each these sectors in India. It also contains information about some of the charities which we are hoping to find donors for.
Millennium Development Goals
In September 2000 leaders from 189 nations, including India, attended the United Nations Millennium Summit. They agreed upon eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which aim to reduce global poverty, improve the lives of the poor and increase the pace of development in a sustainable way. For each goal one or more targets have been set, most of which are meant to be reached by 2015. The goals are:
In its Tenth Five Year Plan , India’s Planning Commission outlined the country’s human development goals and targets for the next five to ten years. Most of these are related to and indeed more ambitious then the Millennium Development Goals.
A new partnership
The Millennium Summit was largely about forming partnerships between developed and developing countries in fighting global poverty. Within this context, AFP’s work is about building a partnership between the British Asian Diaspora and grassroots charities in South Asia.
Progress and Problems
India is making progress in several of the areas which the MDGs cover. It seems to be on course to meeting the target of halving poverty by 2015. However, the absolute number of people living below the poverty line is still stands at a massive 260 million people.
In addition, large regional and urban/rural disparities continue to undermine progress towards achievement of the goals. Child mortality, especially among girls, remains high in rural areas. Effective provision of health and education services for India’s rural poor continues to be unacceptably low.
Grassroots development is integral
What do we mean by ‘grassroots development?’ The charities which most people are familiar with are large, international charities which have a strong fundraising presence in the UK. In contrast, grassroots charities are organisations which have been set-up and are run by people within the country (and often community) that they are serving.
They have a huge ability to bring about social change because of their affinity with the communities that they are empowering. However, as they are organised on a local level, they often find it difficult to attract international financial support for their activities.
Since 1947, there has been a burgeoning of grassroots charities in India. Their work includes providing vital services to poor people, improving human rights and ensuring public funds are well spent. They have an integral role to play in India’s progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal targets.
