Activity Reports

Urgent Relief and livelihood support to Affected Families Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the national lockdown, employment, livelihoods and income of large sections of the people have got severely impacted across the country. With more than 80 percent of India’s workforce employed in the informal sector, the lockdown has hit them the hardest. Of the sections most affected are the unskilled labour engaged in informal sector activities in the urban and peri-urban areas, such as artisans, daily wage laborers, unorganized construction sector workers, migrant labour, small vendors, internally displaced people, women headed households, physically challenged small producers,… Read more

The Government declared nationwide lockdown to tackle coronavirus epidemic in March. This affected people of all strata. The daily wagers were hit hardest as they neither got work nor any relief from anywhere due to lockdown.  In these trying times, Akhil Bharatiya Samaj Sewa Sansthan, International Justice Mission and Jai Bhim Vikas Shikshan Sansthan joined hands to provide relief to daily wagers by distributing ration kits to bonded and migrant labourers in Banda, Chitrakoot, Kaushambi districts of Uttar Pradesh and Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. These efforts have been summarised in a report which can be downloaded here. Read more

This document presents the findings of a study conducted in June 2018 in 28 villages of Manikpur block of Chitrakoot district, Uttar Pradesh, to ascertain the following: The study was conducted as part of a project being undertaken in the 28 villages by Akhil Bhartiya Samaj Sewa Sansthan (ABSSS), Chitrakoot, with support from ChildFund India (CFI), New Delhi. The 28 villages, like the rest of Manikpur block, fall under a region known as Patha, which is a rocky upland with poor soil and severely degraded forests. The major part of the population comprises people of the Kol adivasi group, which… Read more

The study was conducted as part of a project being undertaken in the 28 villages by Akhil Bhartiya Samaj Sewa Sansthan (ABSSS), Chitrakoot, with support from ChildFund India (CFI), New Delhi. The 28 villages, like the rest of Manikpur block, fall under a region known as Patha, which is a rocky upland with poor soil and severely degraded forests. The major part of the population comprises people of the Kol adivasi group, which is designated as a scheduled caste in UP. Victims of exploitation for generations, the Kols are a highly marginalised and poor people with low educational and health… Read more

People become vulnerable when they either lose their rights or don’t have them at all. In both cases it is vulnerability which remains the common force which renders them powerless and voiceless. Children of India have always remained voiceless and largely without rights with unspoken and uncounted miseries which not only curbed their right to live a normal and healthy life but has in many cases violated their basic rights of citizenship- right to life- survival, development, protection & participation. In this context it is very important to look at the issues that keep people especially living in the rural… Read more

Bundelkhand is a cultural and agro-ecological region which includes several districts of southern Uttar Pradesh and northern Madhya Pradesh. The name is derived from the Bundela Kings who reigned here and the region has a rich historical legacy. The Hindu God Rama is said to have spent a part of his exile here. Medieval rulers built world-renowned monuments like the temples in Khajuraho which attract millions of tourists every year. The legendary freedom fighter Rani Laxmibai also hailed from this area. Today this largely agrarian region is facing enormous problems of crushing poverty and lawlessness. According to the Sarma Committee… Read more

Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), Mumbai, has embarked on a Bundelkhand Initiative to address poverty and inequity in the region through multi-sectoral civil society projects based on a clear strategy. The ABSSS Project, entitled Bundelkhand Rural Poverty Alleviation Program (BRPAP), was implemented from March 2011 to August 2014 in 40 villages of Tikamgarh block of Tikamgarh district, MP1. Of the 40 villages, 20 villages were selected for intensive intervention, while the remaining 20 were extension villages. This report provides over of the project activities carried out. Download Report Read more

Farmer indebtedness is one of the major problems in rural India. Caused by multiple factors, it has spiraling impacts: indebtedness aggravates poverty; depresses living status; diminishes chances of making investments for improving returns from agricultural land and other assets; and encourages distress sale of assets and resort to migration. In extreme cases, it leads to farmers’ suicide and loss of emotional and financial supports for families that are already under severe stress. The Expert Group on Rural Agricultural Indebtedness constituted by the Government of India noted in its 2007 report (also known as Radhakrishna Report)1 that farmer indebtedness is “a… Read more

Even in India, where quality of school-education, particularly in rural primary schools, is low, school-education is expected to make a substantial contribution to the development of a child’s potential. At the least, school-education can give a child socialization experiences she/ he is not likely to get otherwise: she/ he can learn to deal with the world outside the home, she/ he can learn to interact with children and adults other than family-members, she/ he can learn social skills, and develop self-confidence. If minimal learning levels are attained, the child will be able to write, speak, read and do simple arithmetical… Read more

Chitrakoot in UP Bundelkhand is one of the most backward districts of the state and the country. According to the Planning Atlas, Uttar Pradesh, 2006, which ranked districts of the state on 36 indicators of economic and human development, Chitrakoot falls in the “very low development” category, along with Banda. Even other districts of UP Bundelkhand have a higher development level. While migration can lead to a substantial increase in family incomes, the migrants from Chitrakoot, and Bundelkhand at large, are at a disadvantage as they generally do not possess education or skills to secure high-wage work in cities. Mostly, they… Read more