Verala Development Society

VDS initially worked to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants of the villages in the Sangli district which suffered from chronic drought. They soon came to feel that an improvement in agricultural production in rain-fed areas, provision of basic infrastructure, and educational facilities, were the most pressing needs of the people.

Therefore, with the primary objective of community development, VDS has facilitated multiple initiatives to ensure all aspects of its beneficiaries’ lives are impacted. Accordingly the programmes VDS has conceived, and run, fall in the categories of:

• Women and Child Rights Campaign (WCRC):  This programme continued to be funded by USA based organization named Gophilanthropic. It was implemented by 6 paid activists and 250 village-based volunteers. They helped around 595 women and children secure their entitlements under various government schemes. VDS received cooperation from the district administration and the print media.
• Education and Migrant Children School Project: The NGO continued to run teaching centres at brick yards for migrant children. The teaching centres will yield results if the same group of children continue with schooling when they return to their villages and then come back in the following season to the teaching centres at the brick yards. In FY13, VDS had mentioned the plan to appoint personnel to conduct assessments of the children at their village schools to gauge if they have benefitted from the efforts made at the brick yard teaching centres. However it is not clear from the FY14 Annual Report if this appointment took place. Water scarcity in rain-fed areas in 2015 is likely to make it very difficult for children to continue their education in their native villages. VDS proposes to appoint personnel to safeguard the educational interests of the children at their native villages.