Bengaluru: We all agree that the underprivileged need help on so many levels to actually sustain themselves in today’s world. NGOs try, of course, but can, for want of resources and support, only work with one aspect of these people’s lives to make a meaningful change.
In Bengaluru, Parinaam, a local NGO, has been working toward toward bringing about a wholesome change in the lives of the urban and semi-urban below poverty-line women by touching on various aspects of their lives.
“Financial support alone cannot help the poor and that poverty manifests itself in various forms,” said says Mallika Ghosh, Parinaam’s executive director who quit a high-paying job so she could work full time with the NGO. “It was with that vision that my mother, Elaine Ghosh, founded the organization.”
“We provide services in the areas of healthcare, education, livelihood and community development initiatives. Our programs in livelihood, education including financial literacy,” Mallika explained.
In this way, Parinaam provides the much-needed ‘social’ support to poor women, especially those living in the slums. The team concentrates on not just social intervention, health care and education for kids but also on financial literacy, which has helped some 4,00,000 urban poor women “Of these 400,000, we have helped around one lakh women open a bank account, which in itself was a huge step for them. Financial literacy is the step to financial inclusion,” she said.
“The poor woman living in a slum is no different than those of us more fortunate. She has the same problems - children who need discipline and a good education. “
Her team has also reached out to 1600 families who belong to the class of the urban ultra-poor. They need decent housing and like so many others, have come to the city hoping to find a better life.
“At the moment, though, they all live in these undeclared communities and we given them an identity by helping them get proper id, Aadhar and also a labour card,” Mallika said.
Parinaam has partnered with UIDAI to help them facilitate the Aadhar process. “Now many have also got a PAN card, which is great.” Although it still has its headquarters here in Bengaluru, Parinaam has spread its roots to 20 states across the country. “We have regional offices/coordinators in Pune, New Delhi and Kolkata,” she adds.
Also, the NGO runs health camps in which the kids are regularly de-wormed and their families educated on the importance of vaccinations and hygiene. The NGO has some 100 community workers, most of whom work on the field to run the financial literacy program.
“About twenty of us work in regional head offices while the rest are field workers. Another key program run by the NGO is the academic adoption program wherein we reach out to people to help fund the education of children for 12 years in English medium schools.
“The program began at the end of 2010 with 17 children,” said Malilka. Five years later in 2016, nearly 400 children now study in good English-medium schools across Bengaluru. Mallika added, “Our goal is to have a 1000 kids in school by 2019.”
