Raising Awareness through Street Plays
The city of Alappuzha in Kerala, South India, is widely known to outsiders for the beautiful backwaters and scenic houseboat tours. For many of those who call this area home, however, life is filled with many challenges to be overcome. Near Alappuzha, the Women’s Initiative Network is partnering with SAFP and the Government of Canada […]
An Inspiration to the Community – Overcoming Disabilities
Irfan Salim is from the Puthenjunnu village in Bathery, Kerala, South India. He is a shy but determined man who was born physically disabled and has no use of either of his legs. To help earn a living for the family, his wife Hafsa cleans houses. They have two children; an elder daughter, Tahseen, who […]
Increasing girls’ access to education in Bhuj, Gujarat
Bhavana Bhugu, Shantha Kanji, and Kajal Rupa are three girls from the Ahir caste in the village of Dhrang in Gujarat. After completing 8th Standard, the three girls dropped out of school. In Dhrang village, no girls have gone on to study beyond 8th Standard and many do not have the chance to study at […]
Accessible Medical Care at Kovanur
The rural poor in India face many obstacles to their development, including the challenge of accessing health care. In addition to the lack of health care facilities, equipment, supplies, and drugs in rural areas, there is also a shortage of medical experts and staff. Many organizations avoid investing in rural health infrastructure because of low […]
Towards Equality
“A woman is now raped in India every 20 minutes…” A statistic from the National Crime Records Bureau of India, which made international news this year with relation to the horrific cases of rape and violence towards women in India. Sources show that rape cases in India have doubled between 1990 and 2008 and that […]
“I alone cannot change the world…” Reflections from St. Edmund Campion Students
Save A Family Plan was delighted to partner with staff and students of St. Edmund Campion CSS as they journeyed to India for their annual mission trip. They shared the following reflection with us on their experience and learning during their travels: On March 1, 2013, our group of students and teachers from St. Edmund […]
Collaborators of Love
In December 2011, SAFP contributor, Michael Botermans, and six youth from the Northwest territories travelled to Kerala and Tamil Nadu with SAFP. The following is a reflection on their experience, as written by Michael. India is as diverse, dynamic and different from the Canadian Arctic as summer is to winter, and vice versa. It was in December 2011, that […]
Protecting the Forest in Raipur, Chhattisgarh
The SPED III Program acts as a plaform for communities to organize themselves, make connections with local leaders and institutions, and address a variety of poverty-related issues. Here is a wonderful story of a community defending the environment from one of our NGO partners, Raipur Diocesan Social Welfare Society, in Chhattisgarh, India. In the village of […]
What does poverty look like?
Try to put faces to the many victims in these recent news stories from India… June 2012: A 32-year-old woman in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu sold her five-month-old twin daughters for a promised Rs 25,000 (CAD$463) and Rs 15,000(CAD$278) respectively. The woman, named Selvi, is a single mother with an eight-year-old daughter. Her husband […]
Understanding Caste in Development
SAFP Canada Staff Cassandra Griffin writes from the field in India. For a foreigner who is an outsider to Indian culture, the concept of caste can be extremely difficult to comprehend. While the effects of this cultural practice may not always be easily apparent, it can be very difficult to reconcile with our own values […]