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 […]
Grassroots Action leads to Change in SPED III
SAFP Canada Staff Cassandra Griffin writes from the field in India. The road that led to the village had never been paved. It was narrow and rocky, and as our driver navigated it with both skill and courage, we were tossed and shaken around in the jeep. We had already driven many hours like this […]
Christmas in Haryana
SAFP Canada Staff Cassandra Griffin writes from the field in India. I woke up to a white Christmas this year, but not the kind I am used to in Canada. Out my window, thick white fog hung over the paddy fields and mustard flowers that make up the landscape of Haryana in North India. It […]
Crime Against Children in India
India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) publishes detailed crime statistics in an annual report called Crime in India. Published since 1953, the guide serves as a comprehensive reference source for the country’s policy-makers, law enforcement agencies, and citizen stakeholders. Criminal activity is a negative aspect of life for citizens of any country. Unfortunately, for those […]
India Reflections
In February 2011, SAFP Canada Board member, Patrick Mahon, and his son Thomas (who was 18 at the time) travelled with SAFP throughout Kerala and Tamil Nadu. This reflection was written by Thomas Mahon in October, 2011. I remember first arriving in India. It was around 3 in the morning and even at that time […]
India’s Scheduled Tribes
Indigenous people are among the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in India, facing disproportionately high levels of poverty, illiteracy, and poor health. These communities, referred to by the government as “Scheduled Tribes”, make up more than 8% of the country’s 1.2 billion inhabitants. Many have little contact with the outside world and continue to survive […]
Overcoming Obstacles to Education – Little Stars School
Although education in India is considered to be a right for all, schooling is still out of reach for many children from poor families throughout the country. This is the case for many children living in the slums in the city of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, which is found in the north of India. Poor families […]
Sharing in Success – Microfinance in Gujarat
Sony Ben lives in Nadapa village near Bhuj in the state of Gujarat. She was abandoned by her husband and left to care for three children with her meagre income. Sony Ben has a wonderful talent for creating elaborate designs with needlework, which is a local form of traditional art in some rural parts of […]