Our Trusted NGO Partners
We partner with non-governmental, indigenous, volunteer organizations that work with some of the most neglected people in the world.
Our overseas partners are, or have been:
SUCHI
(Social Unit for Community Health and Improvement) is located in Andhra Pradesh (near Chittoor) about 200 kilometres west of Chennai (Madras) in India.
Paul Vijayakumar, Director,
#26 Balaji Nagar Katpadi, Vellore
Tamil Nadu, India
SGUS
(“Sarvik Gram Unnayan Sangha” or “Organization for Peace and Rural Re-construction”) is located in a remote area of Purba Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal about 200 kilometres southwest of Kolkata (Calcutta) in India.
Founded in 1986 to promote the Ghandian principles of village self-rule and non-discrimination, this NGO has gained considerable experience working with the more isolated and least fortunate villages in West Bengal. SGUS’s initial project was to set up a village drop-in centre staffed by local volunteers. Building local capacity through orientation and vocational training, SGUS went on to develop wider links with various state, national and international organizations. Receiving its FCRA registration (#147040116) in 1988, it commenced fundraising in Germany, the U.K., the U.S.A. and Canada.
Among the identified objectives of SGUS is a focus on development programs for women’s empowerment. Recognizing in its own literature that women in the rural areas are “tortured mentally, economically and socially,” SGUS seeks to raise women’s awareness through village group meetings, training camps, exposure tours and annual conferences. In addition, it has helped organize women’s committees at the village level to remedy social ills such as dowry and alcoholism. For the purpose of skill development SGUS has provided vocational training in mat making, tailoring, wool knitting, etc. to more than 200 unemployed women. To circumvent usurious interest rates, SGUS has established micro-credit arrangements with more than 250 women to provide start-up capital for small business ventures. SGUS administers many micro-finance groups in Mednapore District.
Mr. Biswajit Ghoroi, Secretary
Boalia P.O., Baraibarh
Purba Mednapore District
West Bengal, India
Email: biswajitghoroi@yahoo.com
Website: www.sgus.ind.in/home.html
RUCHC
(Rural Community Health Centre) in Nabarangpur District, Orissa;
and
WBGPF,
(West Bengal Gandhian Peace Foundation), just west of Kolkata (Calcutta)
P.O. Nabarangpur District
Orissa, India
WORD
(Water for Overall Rural development)
David Blackham, Secretary
42 Logos St Ramasamypalya, Maruthisavanager
P.O. Kamanahalli Main Rd
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Mussoorie Gamin Vikas Samit (MGVS – Mussoorie Village Development Committee) is an NGO working with the village hill people near Mussoorie in the Himalayan foothills of India. MGVS began as an outreach ministry of the Christian Retreat and Study Centre, Rajpur, Dehra Dun.
Surender Singh, Coordinator
Mussoorie Gramin Vikas Samiti
House No. 79
Jabbarkhet, Tehri Road
Mussoorie – 248179 Uttarakhand, INDIA
HAVE Committee
From its inception in 1982 as a charitable organization, the HAVE Committee has provided assistance to impoverished villagers in rural India, primarily by drilling bore wells and installing hand pumps to make potable household water easily available. Our mandate was inspired by Gerard (Gerry) Feltham, who undertook to visit and monitor the well sites at his own expense. With his knowledge of rural India, Ishwar Lal, an Indian-born Canadian, later teamed up with Gerry to share all aspects of HAVE activities, including on-site monitoring and evaluation. Through the example of these two founding members, the HAVE committee has continued to operate entirely on a voluntary basis, keeping administration costs to a minimum. Registered as a non-profit corporation in 2004, HAVE has no religious or political affiliations.
Partner Selection
Over the span of two decades HAVE’s mandate was broadened to include other aspects of development work. Because some of its members were involved with Habitat of Humanity work in Nicaragua, HAVE participated in a pipeline project there. We also helped in Gambia, not only by digging 11 wells, but also by funding and organizing a primary reading program. HAVE’s involvement in Gambia ended in 1998. Now its activities are concentrated in India, where we have secured reliable, knowledgeable, result-based and management-oriented partners. Supported by matching grants from CIDA, HAVE to date has installed over 650 wells to provide potable, household water for villagers. In addition, our organization has participated in the establishment of rural community-based health and development programs, vocational and educational work, community leadership training for women, as well as forums concerning sustainable development. For the foreseeable future we intend to continue providing this type of aid, assisted by CIDA and by our capable partners in India.
HAVE chose to focus first and foremost on potable water projects and this is the prime mandate of the organization. Much of this work is focused at the grassroots level in Haliburton and the adjoining counties. In many of its functions including its pamphlets, speaking engagements and broadcast interviews, HAVE emphasizes its traditional mandate.
In order to maintain credibility with the grassroots, with our partners, and with our co-funders, it is important to stress transparency and accountability in the monitoring and evaluation phase of each project. To this end we have several members who regularly visit our projects in India and report first-hand on their status.
