Navnirman Trust (Jagrutha Mahila Sanghatan)

District

Raichur

States

Karnataka

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes continue to have the lowest rates of literacy in the nation; this is also the case in the Raichur district. Since Dalits' access to high-quality education was restricted to people in general and they were either denied primary school altogether or were unable to access possibilities for education because of socioeconomic and cultural factors, they faced hardship. In vulnerable populations, one observes the occurrence of child marriages, child labour, bonded labour, etc. JMS has prioritised giving kids access to education by pushing them to attend school, organising inspirational workshops and tutoring sessions, and collaborating with the Ministry of Labor's National Child Labour Project (NCLP) to educate, mainstream, and rehabilitate child labourers. One such project is the Chilipili Child Labourers' Special School.

States

Karnataka

The community's worst enemy has been excessive debt and restricted access to financial resources. On the one hand, their lack of resources pushes them to use credit, while on the other, their reputation as unworthy of credit prevents them from accessing official financial institutions like banks. Due to their heightened sense of vulnerability, Dalit groups and women have historically been forced to give up their possessions (cows, utensils, lands, etc.) or incur debt from unofficial moneylenders. Through weekly savings, the women in 45 villages have banded together to form local financial self-help groups. They have been able to regain confidence in themselves because to the loans and livelihood programmes offered by the local banks and the SC-ST Development Corporation (Karnataka government).