One of the major objectives of the foundation has been the empowerment of women and
children as a means to raise the standard of living of the family and secure the future. Hence we have encouraged
women to form Women's groups, Small Savings Groups, trained them in Income Generation activities
and Micro Credit activities.
Balwadis : Most villages do have at least one balwadi but either due to issues of distance,
caste and parental negligence are often underutilised. Recognizing that the early formative years are important
we have set up balwadis in 11 foundation's villages and provided toys and teaching aids for the children. The
balwadis besides being a center for learning at nursery level are also providing nutritional supplementary diets
to the children. The teachers of these balwadis are exposed to innovative teaching techniques by trained personnel
who conduct training sessions on behalf of the foundation.
a. Women's Group : The purpose of a women's group is multifarious- it provides access to us to talk
with women about other projects and issues such as health, nutrition, sanitation etc. A women's group is formed
in a village covering all segments of society and they are trained in techniques, suitable to their requirements.
At present the women are trained in sewing and production of Natural Fiber articles. We have conducted women's
rights awareness programmes and legal laws for redressal of women's grievances.
b. Small Savings Group : With the commencement of income generation activities women in the adopted villages have
started their regular savings. They have formed two Self Help Groups (SHG) which have been in existence from the
past 8 months and one of the groups is covered under the SGSY ( Suvarna-Jayanti Gram Swa-Rojgar Yojana ) scheme of the
government and other SHG scheme.
c. Income Generation Activities : As a means to enhance women's earning power which has a direct relationship to their status
and position within their household and raises their standard of living we have been training women in various income
generation activities such as pappad making, aggarbatti,potato wafers, natural fiber articles, snack center, poultry,
Laundry and card making. This has helped them earn additional income from sale of these articles.
Gharda Foundation, 6B Gharda House, 48 Hill Road, Next to Elco Market, Bandra (W), Mumbai 400 050, Maharashtra, INDIA.Tel: +91 22 66265600 Fax : +91 22 26404224