Support Small Farmers in India

Dear Friend,

Greetings from Seva Mandir. We hope you and your loved ones are well.

It has been 55 years since Seva Mandir has been running its interventions under various thematic areas. Through GlobalGiving we at Seva Mandir always feel excited to share about our work, the stories of our village communities and the milestones we reach. In the last year, Seva Mandir has been able to:

• Reached over 3,500 out of school rural and tribal children coming from marginalized communities by running Shiksha Kendra’s and education camps to cover the learning gaps and mainstreaming them in schools.
• With an overall outreach of 1 lakh children, we provide lifesaving treatment, nutrition and childcare treatment to combat malnutrition in remote villages which lack government facilities.
• Over 30,000 women coming from severe vulnerabilities participated in Seva Mandir’s Women’s Self-help groups and availed credit and saving facility, further strengthening their social status and livelihood. While 92 women who have faced abuse and distress have been provided shelter home and rehabilitation facility.
• Currently 967 village development institutions created by Seva Mandir are running, with a participation of 85,000 members, working together to solve socio-political barriers to harness the growth of their villages through participatory approach.
• 3.6 lakh sapling have been planted covering 1,400 hectares, while reaching 15,000 small farmer households, as our effort in preserving the common lands, promoting sustainable agriculture and income generation.

All of this and so much more we aim to achieve, only with the encouragement and backing we receive from donors like you.

Today, we are delighted to share, our participation in GlobalGiving’s July Bonus Day 2023 Campaign, where your donations will be matched by GlobalGiving.  The campaign will begin on July 12, 2023, at 09:00:00 EDT and will end when matching funds run out, or on July 12, 2023, at 23:59:00 EDT, whichever comes first.

• Donations of $100 - $499 USD will be matched at 15%
• Donations of $500 - $749 USD will be matched at 30%
• Donations of $750 - $1,000 USD will be matched at 50% 

Therefore, every donation will have deeper impact and will enable us to maximize our reach. We do hope that you will once again extend your generous support and enable us to move one more step ahead towards our vision.

Best Regards, 

Links:

• Seva Mandir Website
• Seva Mandir's Facebook Page

2023 has been declared the International Year of Millets by the United Nations. To continue efforts in reviving farming, Seva Mandir facilitated a women Self-Help Group to work with specific focus on millets, which has been one of the oldest cultivated food grains, traditionally grown and consumed by tribal communities and small farmers.

Seva Mandir launched an initiative in Panarwa cluster, of Phalasia tehsil, to revive millet cultivation within villages with an aim to create a long-term impact on farmers’ livelihoods and nutrition, as well as enhance the ecosystem. Women farmers were mobilized to produce traditional millet food and sell it at events in cities. The women worked on millet cultivation, sold packaged millet products (sweets, cakes, pudding) at events, served millet lunches and conducted awareness campaigns about nutritional value of millets. The response was promising! With a positive reaction to these lunches, the women have now been experimenting with more millet recipes to share.

They are also training Balwadi Sanchalika’s (child day care centre staff) to make millet meals, with the aim of incorporating millet recipes into Balwadis. Introducing nutrient-dense millet meals in Balwadis are now further helping to combat malnutrition in children.

These efforts have not only helped increase the women's pride in millets, but also provided a financial incentive for them to keep cultivating. Moving forward, Seva Mandir is exploring the possibility of creating a social enterprise with these women farmers.

We thank you for your continuous support for our farmer community. Your support and trust in our work and their hard work is integral. 

Thanks and best regards,

Links:

• Seva Mandir Website
• Seva Mandir's Facebook Page
• Friends of Seva Mandir Chapter U.S