Institute for Development of Youth, Women and Child
The Institute for Development of Youth, Women and Child (IDYWC) started in 1988 and works in Madhya Pradesh among the most underprivileged of society, namely, the Gonds. The mission of IDYWC is to organize and empower the most disadvantaged of rural society for sustainable and comprehensive development, leading to improved quality of living.
IDYWC's main objectives are:
- To enable the tribal community to become economically self-reliant by developing village level resources,
- To counter exploitation of tribals at various levels through education and awareness building,
- To enable the local community to manage their resources judiciously, effectively and equitably,
- To organize tribals into a sustainable and strong organization which would be a forum to represent the tribals in the region.
IDYWC works through the process of community empowerment and organizing village communities into sangathans, (unions). In the last ten years IDYWC's has achieved some major changes:
- Migration has shown a significant decline,
- The operation of moneylenders has stopped in the villages in which the organization has a presence,
- There is improved awareness/access to health and education,
- There is improved health and education status, especially of women and children,
- Attention is focused on girls/women in education and health,
- A conducive atmosphere is created to enable participation of women in community-level decision making and sensitization of men on issues of gender inequality and participation of men in sharing domestic responsibilities.
The institute's programs have created a phenomenal sense of solidarity amongst the village sangathans. The sangathan has emerged as a forum for collective action of the marginalized and impoverished families, where the struggle for rights is designed and shaped in village after village.
IDYWC concentrates on the three core issues: National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Right to Food, and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.
Last updated on Tuesday, October 20, 2009.
