Our Work in India

Our Work in India

East India is the poorest region in this large and populous country. Freedom from Hunger's work is focused in east India, where we are bringing self-help services to the poorest communities in the poorest states.

We work in the states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal (where we have our office in Kolkata). As in other countries, we develop programs that meet the special needs of the rural poor. While most people think of urban poverty when they think of poverty in India, rural areas are home to the majority of poor people and their plight is considerably more desperate than that of the urban poor.

Our office in Kolkata is known locally as Reach India. Reach delivers the best self-help services available, even those created by other organizations, through a network of low-cost training centers. Through this network, we strengthen the ability of indigenous Indian organizations to meet the needs of rural self-help groups of women on a sustainable basis. Through Reach, local organizations learn to offer proven, high-impact self-help solutions (such as savings accounts, credit to launch home-based businesses, health insurance, health education, etc.) and even distribute health protection products such as insecticide-treated mosquito nets, water purification tablets and ORS. Learn more about Reach.

Learning Conversations, one of Freedom from Hunger's innovative approaches to group-based education, is another example of a self-help service distributed through Reach. Learning Conversations are facilitated discussions that introduce topics of vital interest to women and follow a simple process of exploring each topic through a story, discovering practical solutions together and creating group-action plans to address problems. Example topics include HIV/AIDS, malaria, planning for annual floods, and how to save money and avoid debt. A key feature of Learning Conversations is the development of collective courage so that women are empowered to lead problem-solving action in their communities.

One of our most important Learning Conversations series focuses on HIV/AIDS. Funded by GlaxoSmithKline's Positive Action, the development of this series guides women in a process of discovery about the causes of HIV/AIDS, how to prevent and manage the disease, how to help oneself and others when HIV tests turn out to be positive, and what action is needed at each stage. As with other Learning Conversations, this series also helps women create a community response to preventing infection and removing the stigma associated with the disease. You can see a two-minute video, produced by GlaxoSmithKline about how Learning Conversations are bringing lifesaving information to women in rural India. Watch the video.

India is also home to our pioneering program to give teenage girls real options for their futures. Freedom from Hunger strives to empower girls to make health, education and financial changes today that will have lasting impact and give them real options for their futures. Funded through a grant from Nike, this special program gives young women the opportunity and discipline to save money, education to build their life skills, and social support something critically important if they are to stand up for their rights and make their own choices. Learn more about how we're empowering young women in India.