Vikalp Sansthan

Location: Jodphur Setting: Urban Established: 2004 Staff: Office: 17 Field: 50

Subject Areas

Community Development: Community Empowerment; Community Mobilization/Organization
Human Rights: Advocacy; Poverty, Equality and Social Justice
Education and Youth Development: Social Leadership; Vocational and Life Skills Training; Skill Building; Guidance and Counseling; Leadership Training
Women's Empowerment: Advocacy and Rights; Violence Against Women; Capacity Building

Organization Objectives

Vikalp Sansthan’s mission is to spread awareness and inspire understanding of the problems related to gender based violence, to make individuals aware of their rights as human beings, and to empower young women and men to actively participate in development and social change. Vikalp works in 12 districts of Western and southern Rajasthan, focusing on this region due to its strong social problems including but not limited to a rigid caste system, illiteracy, female infanticide, violence against women, forced child marriage, and dowry. Their long-term vision is to create a violence free society based on equality, peace, and justice.

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Samaj Evam Paryavaran Vikas Sansthan (SEPVS)

Location: Jodphur Setting: Urban and Rural Established: 1996 Staff: 3

Subject Areas

Community Development: Capacity building, Community empowerment, Community mobilization/organization
Environment: Natural resource management, Organic/sustainable agriculture
Education and Youth Development: social, moral and cognitive development,
Human Rights: Advocacy, Poverty, equality and social justice

Organization Objectives

SEPVS is a development-based non-profit organization located in Jodhpur City, Rajasthan that operates in over 73 villages throughout western Rajasthan and the Thar Desert. Through capacity building workshops and trainings, SEPVS works to address the issues of child and dalit rights, women empowerment, health, education, climate change, agriculture, and water resource management, and collaborates with local communities to develop sustainable solutions to these problems. The mission of SEPVS is to empower the marginalized sections of society, particularly low-income people, through awareness-raising, education, and leadership development. In order to achieve its mission, SEPVS pursues the following objectives:

  • To advocate for marginalized communities through promoting education
  • To empower women through livelihood trainings and capacity building
  • To advocate for children and prevent child labor in rural areas through informal education programs
  • To organize multi-sectoral development activities for marginalized communities to bridge the socioeconomic gap between the in India.
Program Information
1. Child Education

Child Labor and lack of access to education are arguably the biggest problems in the Jodhpur district. SEPVS has partnered with CRY India for last 15 years to address this problem.

  • Children’s Rights Program: SEPVS create awareness among communities on quality education. Since the start of the project, SEPVS has reached over 10,000 children to provide access to education and have linked child laborers to mainstream education.
  • Supported over 100 government schools through community partnerships.
  • SEPVS also conducts health outreach programs, health camps, and campaigns to raise awareness on children’s health issues in rural areas.
2. Women’s Empowerment

SEPVS has formed 125 women’s groups and conduct capacity building programs to educate them about their rights. They also encourage women to fight against social injustice in society. This program is being run at block level as a pilot project.

3. Environment

SEPVS is planning to start a new project in the areas of Appropriate Technology, Water Security, Rainwater Harvesting Systems, Conservation, Environmental Planning, Environmental Education, Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security, and Drought Relief through community empowerment. SEPVS is planning to conduct baseline research and a need assessment in Doriya and surrounding villages to inform the design of projects that approach climate change holistically.

Opportunities
  • Assist in the baseline research and needs assessments in Doriya and write reports based on that research.
  • Based on the results of the needs assessment, help SEPVS in project planning, design and implementation.
Requirements
  • Interest in the environment, community development and/or education.
  • Strong writing/documentation and communication skills
  • Ability to adapt to work in rural villages, even in the hot summer months
  • Strong research skills
  • An understanding of issues faced in drought-prone areas of India
Program Supervisor (All Programs)

Interns will be supervised by Simatharam Pathik, the Founder Trustee of SEPVS.
Note: Responsibilities offered to each participant will be proportionate to their level of experience. Participants who are new to development work may predominantly support and assist current project agendas, while those with much applicable experience may be able to assume greater responsibility. Research projects are strongly encouraged by this organization to support each program’s objective because minimal resources are currently allocated for research.

Working Conditions

Interns will be based in the small SEPVS office in Jodhpur but will frequently go to the main office in Doriya in Balesar Thasll village,100 kms away from Jodhpur to do fieldwork. There is the opportunity for the intern to stay at the SEPVS guesthouse in the village a few days a week to support their work if desired. The new Jodhpur office is very small and without many resources, therefore, it is strongly encouraged for participants to bring a computer with them. Also, few staff members speak English, so a working knowledge of Hindi will be useful in both the office and the field.

Organizational Background

Samaj Evam Paryavarn Vikas Sansthan (The Institute for Social and Environmental Development) came into existence in 1996, when it was registered under the Rajasthan Society Act of 1958. For 15 years, SEPVS has addressed the most salient issues facing the underprivileged in western Rajasthan, including child labor, women's and Dalit rights, education, health, and water resource management. SEPVS aims to build leadership and life-skills in impoverished, Dalit communities, and in women and children, by organizing and sponsoring workshops, meetings, trainings, and seminars. Through these strategies, SEPVS hopes to empower and strengthen communities to fight for their own rights and voice their own concerns and opinions. SEPVS is also active in many networks that function to spread the message of SEPVS's work and facilitate partnerships with other like-minded organizations.

SEPVS website About SEPVS Clients

SEPVS works in Western Rajasthan with marginalized communities members such as women, children and lower-caste community members.

Rupayan Sansthan

Location: Paota, Jodphur Setting: Urban Established: 1960 Staff: 7

Subject Areas

Community Development: Cultural Retention, Capacity Building, Media and Communications, Planning and Infrastructure Building

Organization Objectives

Rupayan Sansthan was established with the simple idea of collecting folk tales and folk songs to bring out the richness of the Rajasthani language, which is the mother tongue of more than 40 million people of Rajasthan. Since its inception, Rupayan has expanded its scope from merely research and archiving, to educating Rajasthanis on traditional livelihoods and cultures and working with traditional performing arts communities on development issues.

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Yuva Prayas

Location: Osiyan, Jodhpur District, India Setting: Rural Established: 2001 Staff: 7

Organization Objectives

Since 2001, YUVA Prayas has worked to empower communities especially women and children to access to basic facilities and to promote a sense of independence and self-worth. Yuva prayas goals are to:

  • Identify and organize women from rural migrants areas into groups for academic and practical education, vocational training programs, and group confidence-building activities
  • To provide quality educational opportunities to rural children
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Jyoti Vikas Shikshan Sansthan (JVSS)

Location: Jodphur Setting: Urban Established: 2007 Staff: 7

Subject Areas

Health: HIV/AIDS, Infectious Diseases

Organization Objectives

JVSS, a sister organization to Gram Vikas Seva Sansthan (GVSS), aims to empower the marginalized and disadvantaged so that they can improve their life.

  • Promote reproductive health and target HIV/AIDS transmission among marginalized sections of society
  • Provide basic healthcare in rural and urban areas and promote community health by awareness-raising and community health programs targeting women, children, and addressing common health scourges like malaria and TB
  • Provide education and prevent child labor in rural areas through informal education programs
  • Empower women and promote economic independence through Self-Help Groups and vocational training
  • Address domestic conflict and abuse through family counseling and gender sensitization programs
  • Reduce sex-based feticide and gender selection practices through awareness-raising programs and village-based rallies
  • Protect and rehabilitate women and girls suffering from economic distress and exploitation through the provision of shelter and counseling
  • Promote sustainable agriculture practices and provide food security in rural areas through trainings and technical support
  • Encourage inclusion of all sectors of society in village planning and participation through the establishment of Village Development Committees, Village Old People's Associations, and women's Self-Help Groups, and Dalit village-level committees
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Jai Bhim Vikas Shikshan Sansthan (JBVSS)

Location: Jodphur Setting: Urban Established: 1993 Staff: 10

Subject Areas

Community Development: Capacity building; Community empowerment; Community mobilization/organization
Environment/Appropriate Technology: Natural resource management; Water, Organic/sustainable agriculture
Human Rights: Advocacy; Poverty, equality and social justice
Organization Objectives

Jai Bhim Vikas Shikshan Sansthan was organized in order to create awareness and to organize minority populations in India, especially Dalits and women, so that they can improve their living standards by asserting control over all the processes affecting their lives. The organization is operating with the aim of empowering minority communities-- especially women and children, strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions (rural government structures), strengthening the ability of Dalit community leaders to act on behalf of their community, generating livelihood options for the underserviced and protecting the rights of the people assured by the constitution of India.

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Gram Vikas Seva Sansthan (GVSS)

Location: Jodphur Setting: Urban Established: 1997 Staff: 7

Subject Areas

Youth & Education: Skill Building, Guidance and Counseling, Leadership Training
Health: Social Development, Food Security Awareness, Nutrition, Personal Hygiene
Women's Empowerment: Skill Enhancement, Building Cooperatives, Women’s Entrepreneurship, Awareness and Training Programs, Capacity Building, Education, Reproductive Health Care and Rights, Career Counseling.

Organization Objectives

JGram Vikas Seva Sansthan (GVSS) was founded in 1997 with the vision of "constructing an exploitation-free society" in India. The organization's mission is to acieve “Social, Economic and Political Empowerment of poor, Dalits (“untouchables”), Children, Women and other Marginalized community through Awareness and leadership development.” In order to achieve its mission, GVSS pursues the following objectives:

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Chandelao Vikas Sansthan

Location: Chandelao Village, Jodphur Setting: Rural Established: 2007 Staff: 2

Subject Areas

Community Development:Capacity Building, Community mobilization/organization, Planning and Infrastructure Building, Cultural Retention, Tourism
Environment/Appropriate Technology: Organic/sustainable agriculture, renewable energy
Women's Empowerment: Building cooperatives, Women’s entrepreneurship, Capacity building

Organization Objectives

Chandelao Vikas Sansthan seeks to empower the women and in Chandelao village, Rajasthan and create a sustainable source of income by promoting and maintaining knowledge about local arts and crafts.

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Aide et Action (AEA)

Location: Jodphur Setting: Urban Established: 2009 Staff: Office: 3 Field: 47

Subject Areas

Health: HIV/AIDS, Infectious Diseases

Organization Objectives

AEA is an international organization that confronts urgent issues in development by working in 21 countries to lift barriers that obstruct full access to quality education. Their approach is of accompanying and reinforcing the capacity of local actors and stakeholders. Thereby, AEA accompanies local actors and organization partners in planning, developing, and evaluating their own projects. Through this, AEA guarantees the relevance and sustainability of its projects by encouraging the autonomy of communities and respecting local cultures. AEA works in 9 major areas.

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Aastha Credit Co-Operative Society Limited

Location: Jodphur Setting: Urban Established: 2009 Staff: 3

Subject Areas

Microenterprise/Microfinance: Community banking, Microcredit, Social entrepreneurship
Community Development: Community empowerment, Community mobilization/organization, Capacity building
Organization Objectives

The mission of Aastha Credit Co-Operative Society Limited is to eradicate poverty by building a secured and transparent microfinance institution for providing financial assistance to the underprivileged; especially senior citizens, women, handicapped, and those who are living below the poverty line. The board has adopted a co-operative approach thereby involving every member in the mission with the spirit of mutual cooperation and mutual confidence. The credit society has instituted a working culture, which revolves around efficiency, transparency, professionalism, teamwork and flexibility.

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