MISHAB IRIKKUR portrays the idea behind Vision 2016, records its achievements during the last one decade and avers that after the successful completion of Vision 2016, its team continues their journey into the new phase called “Vision 2026”.
Vision 2016, a ten years project started in 2006 by a team inspired by the word of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) – “the best of people are those that bring most benefit to the rest of mankind” – to enable a very large section of people who have historically gone far backward in the social, economical, educational and political sectors of India in leading a life of unwavering indignity, completed its term and now enters into its next step.
Vision 2016 projects were able to influence qualitatively the social condition of our country, especially in many areas of north Indian states. The secret of success of Vision projects is the collective efforts and hard work of its powerful leaders, dedicated staff, committed volunteers and philanthropic benefactors and sponsors.
The aim of Vision is the construction of the society where equality, peace, justice and prosperity will be available for all. Nearly one-third of Indian citizens have no basic facilities to survive. Vision has taken up a difficult task which ensures that the poor and deprived sections of the society get the basic necessities like food, shelter, education and healthcare and move towards a life free from ignorance, misery and exploitation. Vision projects are trying at a very large level to reduce the difficulties in the life of victims of natural disasters, riots and denial of justice.
Vision undertakes more than 200 social service projects in the country to help the poor. About 1 crore people are the direct beneficiaries of the Vision’s various projects. After the successful completion of 10 years, Vision enters a new phase called “Vision 2026” with the planning of various projects for the next 10 years.
Vision projects have been implementing through different NGOs like Human Welfare Foundation (HWF), Human Welfare Trust (HWT), Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), Society for Bright Future (SBF), Medical Service Society (MSS) and Sahulat.
EDUCATION PROJECTS
Community development and the bright future of the country depend upon education. The role of education in increasing the abilities and acquiring skills of the citizens and make them goal-oriented is not deniable. In today’s information based society, education is the key to a whole world of opportunities. It not only frees people from poverty but also empowers them and lays the foundation for reconstruction of the society.
It is a matter of great concern that every third illiterate person in the world is an Indian. At least one million children were denied the right to education in India. Low allocation in annual budget, lack of infrastructure in schools in rural areas, high dropout rates, etc., are the basic problems which pull back the education sector of our country. Basic facilities such as classrooms, desks, benches, safe drinking water, toilet, etc. are not available in most of the schools in rural areas. The Human Welfare Foundation implements larger projects for the educational progress of poor children in these places. Foundation’s projects are helpful in freeing those children and their parents from the trap of crippling poverty. The education projects have been initiated according to the requirements of each area.
8418 poor and needy students are studying in schools constructed by the Human Welfare Foundation. Among the schools, four schools in the name of ‘The Scholar School’ are supervised directly by the Foundation. Foundation also runs slum schools and vocational schools where 3211 poor students are studying. ‘School Capacity Building’ project has been implemented in 36 low performing schools in 11 states. 14, 400 students are beneficiaries of this project.
5176 Under Graduation (UG), Post Graduation (PG) talented students from 12 states got educational aid from the UG PG scholarship project of the Foundation. 40,000 students participated in the National Minority Talent Search Examination (NMTSE) started in 2012 and higher education career guidance workshops conducted for the selected 1500 students among them. 11,115 talented students were honoured by the Foundation through ‘Award for Academic Excellence’ project implemented in 10 states. 33,518 school kits containing notebooks, bags, necessary stationary items, uniform, etc. have been distributed in 14 states. Around 750 students are residing in the six hostels run in Rajasthan, Assam and West Bengal. 1,17,888 students already got benefit from the various education projects of Human Welfare Foundation.
HEALTH CARE
Even easily preventable and treatable diseases are still causing death and long term suffering to millions across India. Many people can’t get even the most basic lifesaving medical supplies. There are a number of rural areas in our country where too many children are not being vaccinated. A large number of children in India die every day due to malnutrition. Responding to this need, Human Welfare Trust provides basic health and nutrition services for the people in dire need.
Over 1,00000 patients get the benefit from Alshifa Multi Speciality Hospital, New Delhi established by Human Welfare Trust. Poor and deserving patients are getting treated at Alshifa at subsidy rate. The Trust is running seven medical centres in six states. Almost 2,19,000 patients already got full benefit at these medical centres. 12,000 poor patients got benefit from the four medical diagnostic centres in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
3,61,400 poor people got free medical advice and medicines for common ailments in 1807 medical camps conducted in 14 states. Ten Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) are working in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. More than 50,000 patients are taking benefits of these units every year. Millions of people got the benefit from the various health care services of Human Welfare Trust.
INTEREST-FREE MICRO FINANCE
India is one of the top 10 wealthiest countries in the world. India’s GDP ranks third in the world. However, around 300 million people or about 80 million households are living below the poverty line. There are many people who get trapped in poverty because they don’t have the resources to develop their skills and find decent jobs and earn their way out of poverty. If these people get livelihood opportunities, they will prove their skills. By the way, they can increase their income and make them feel better. It can make them self-sufficient to sustain themselves and expect substantial increases in standards of living.
Interest-free finance especially in micro credit can provide an effective way to reduce poverty. Sahulat Micro Finance implements various projects to help the poor families for the purpose of their economic uplift and sustainability. Sahulat gives training in different occupation sectors. It works with Khidmat Mutual Aided Credit Cooperative Society in Telangana, Sangamam Co-operative Credit Society in Kerala, Tamilnadu and Pondicherry, Al-Khair Co-operative Credit Society Ltd in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Delhi. 16,397 people already got benefit from these credit cooperative societies. Sahulat gives interest-free credit to small and marginal farmers, small traders, rickshaw pullers, domestic workers, unemployed youths, etc. It is also providing financial assistance for setting up of small businesses for small scale traders and starting small sewing-related businesses for widows.
Forum for Group Discussion on Economic Issues (FGDEI) has been formed by Sahulat Microfinance Society in association with Radiance Viewsweekly to deliberate upon issues relating to Islamic economics, finance and banking. It organised 16 extension lectures by scholars of national and international repute during these years. “Sahulat: a journal of Interest Free Micro Finance” is a biannual Journal published by Sahulat Micro Finance Society to promote research for conceptual refinement and to popularise the idea of interest free micro financing.
EMERGENCY RELIEF AND REHABILITATION ACTIVITIES
Millions of people’s life can change forever in an instant. Communal violence and natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, cyclones, etc. may trigger the death and the displacement of millions of people. In these emergencies, Society for Bright Future (SBF) provides leadership to make available essential services and rescue operations. SBF specialises in the field of emergency relief and rehabilitation and has quickly responded to all natural calamities and man-made disasters in the last 10 years. The emergency and relief programme of SBF specialises in providing assistance for victims of natural and man-made disasters. It provides survival items like food, water, clothing, shelter, education and medical care. The rehabilitation programme focuses on enabling the affected population to resume more or less normal (pre-disaster) patterns of life. SBF helps them in reconstructing of residential and commercial properties and gives employment assistance.
SBF has prepared a volunteer team in advance to be better prepared to respond immediately and effectively to adversity in emergency situations. It has been conducting a number of training workshops in different states of the country to make common people aware of rescue activities.
PROTECTION OF CIVIL RIGHTS
Many human rights violations are happening in our country. Arrogance of security forces, severe police abuse of detainees, arbitrary arrest, lengthy pre-trial detention, extra-judicial killings, religious or caste-based discrimination, death in custody, disappearance, rape, etc. are some of the human right violations here. Two-thirds of prison inmates in India are under trials. Many of them were lodged in various jails in India in fabricated cases. Many people are in jails just because they cannot afford a few hundred rupees for bail. These poor people are vulnerable to all kinds of exploitations. Legal assistance for poor people is the immediate task of the society.
Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) is a civil rights’ group comprising advocates, social activists and grassroots paralegal social workers dedicated to using the legal system to protect and advance civil and human rights in India to defend the rights of the underprivileged sections of the society and to provide legal aid assistance, protection and rehabilitation for the survivors of religious intolerance and all sorts of discrimination and oppression.
APCR is committed to the protection of society from violation of human rights, illegal detentions, custodial deaths, fake encounters, false cases at the behest of political exigencies, unprovoked firing on demonstrators, criminal negligence of officials and public servants at the time of natural and manmade calamities and consumer frauds by local manufacturers and service providers and Multinational Companies, etc.
APCR conducts training workshops on criminal law and human rights issues. It focuses on filing petitions in trial courts and the Supreme Court to investigate into cases of human rights violations, undertaking the cases of public interests with a view to bring about a comprehensive change in criminal justice system, addressing issues of prisoners’ rights, keeping a watch over law making process to make positive intervention, involving in awareness of general masses and initiating campaigns on various issues.
APCR pays significant attention to give legal aid in the courts for the victims who are falsely implicated in terror related cases. Over 1000 Muslim youths arrested on charges of terror plots have been declared as innocents and released from jails with the help of APCR. Over 13,389 people were given legal aid and guidance. APCR also conducted district and state-level legal workshops at regular interval to train people on human rights issues. It intervened in 119 human rights cases. APCR prepared fact finding report on 24 communal riots. For creatively engaging in the legal system, it watches the legislative and judicial process closely and follows them. 78 public programmes, 13 awareness campaigns and 41 seminars were conducted to make the common man aware of legal issues. 1500 senior citizens got pensions with the intervention of APCR.
ORPHAN CARE
There are lakhs of orphaned children who have lost one or both parents due to the death or have been abandoned by their parents. They are often left in the care of elderly relatives who do not have the ability to support them and often consequently receive no education and are driven into work at a very early age. Human Welfare Foundation has developed very successful orphan care projects in helping the needy and poor orphaned children. The main objectives of Foundation’s orphan care projects are to ensure the fulfilment of essential needs and educational and healthcare needs of the orphaned children. Human Welfare Foundation places orphaned children in the care of their own families who will nurture the children to fulfil their potential and support development by giving them extra confidence and motivation they need to fulfil their dreams. Foundation has assisted close to 8000 orphaned children already in our country. The orphaned children have been adopted irrespective of their caste, religion, etc. Foundation’s local partners keep an eye on the progress of these children and make sure that they are getting the best possible care. Foundation runs three orphan shelter homes in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Goa.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Human Welfare Foundation has implemented a large number of projects aiming at community development and empowerment. Model village project, safe drinking water project, food kit project, mass marriage project, housing project, winter relief project, etc. are being run by the Foundation. To date, Foundation has installed over 1837 hand pumps and tube wells in 496 locations under safe drinking water project. Over 1,01035 families benefited from this project. 8,98,905 families in 276 districts benefited from Human Welfare Foundation’s Food kit project. 1,20,715 families in 204 districts of 13 states benefited from Winter Relief Project.
Over 5000 couples benefited from mass marriage project implemented in Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. 1753 low budget houses have been constructed in Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh for orphans, widows, the disabled, destitute and the victims of natural disasters and riots. Foundation has adopted 10 villages as model villages in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam and Jharkhand. 30,000 villagers are getting benefit of this project.
The poor stay hungry day and night, the needy who cannot afford a set of clothes, the patients who don’t get adequate treatment, the parents too indigent to pay for the legal fights for their unjustly incarcerated children, and millions of kids, denied a chance for education so far – all these look up to Vision projects with hope. The generosity and kindness of donors has allowed the Vision team to help millions of people across India, and especially in North India. At this juncture, after the successful completion of Vision 2016, its team continues their journey into the new phase called “Vision 2026”. Let’s pray that Vision projects may bring a positive change to the lives of millions of people trapped in poverty, illiteracy and denial of justice.