Reaching out to earthquake ravaged Nepal

April 25th 2015 will be remembered vividly in Nepal for a long time to come. This was the day, one year ago, when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake jolted Nepal violently leaving nearly 9000 people killed and forcing more than a million out of their homes. Towns and historic monuments turned to mere rubble in a matter of seconds and the entire nation was devastated. 
Pragya has been working in the Nepal Himalayan region for 
nearly a decade. We have been addressing sustainable 
development of the mountain districts through our 
programmes on education & skill building, WASH, livelihoods 
and advocacy. The existing on ground presence helped us to promptly respond to the emergency and undertake rapid relief operations based on essential understanding of 
accessibility and procurement channels. 

Pragya Team in Kathmandu procured and transported relief material 
to the affected areas and ensured its prompt and effective 
distribution, at times amidst continuing aftershocks and incessant rains, to reach out to those in need. 
Here is a brief summary of our relief activities in Nepal:
Outreach: 5 districts; 7146 people 
Relief materials provided: 
5,789 kilograms of food grains; 1,266 hygiene items; 2,117 packs of baby food, glucose, ORS; 22 blankets, tarpaulins, ground sheets; 800 packs of ready to eat food; 5 consignments of medicines; and 1,332 Galvanized Iron Sheets for temporary shelter. 

From the onset of the relief operations, Pragya team had been involved in carrying out area specific need assessments for formulation of effective rehabilitation strategies. Once the activities for immediate relief provision were over, we have been focusing on rehabilitation activities in remote and impoverished settlements affected by the earthquake. 
These include work on WASH, healthcare and livelihoods related interventions focused on the long term rehabilitation needs of the people. There is still a long way to go but we are confident that ongoing efforts as well as the resilience of the people will ensure that the scars of this disaster fade away. 

Any support towards this effort would go a long way in aiding the earthquake survivors in rebuilding their lives.

Pragya to participate in the first ever World Humanitarian Summit at Istanbul, Turkey

Pragya has been invited to participate in the World Humanitarian Summit to be held at Istanbul, as well as to showcase its innovation on Disaster Management at the Innovation Marketplace at the event.

The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit is a global call to action by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The Secretary-General has called for a global response to address the suffering of millions of women, men and children affected by humanitarian crisis. The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit is an opportunity to confront these global challenges head-on and generate greater global leadership and political will to end conflict, alleviate suffering and reduce risk. The Summit will take place on 23-24 May 2016 at the Istanbul Congress Center (ICC) and the Lutfi Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Center (LKCC) in Istanbul, Turkey.

The main Summit programme will include High-Level Leaders' Roundtables on priority action areas outlined in the Secretary-General’s Report; Special Sessions on specific thematic areas; and a Summit Announcement Plenary for Member States and other stakeholders to announce action commitments. A number of side events will be available to different stakeholders to organize briefings, seminars, workshops and panel discussions, in parallel to the World Humanitarian Summit main proceedings. 

The World Humanitarian Summit Exhibition Fair, held in the ICC, is dedicated to showcasing the work, products, and programmes of governments, organizations, agencies, companies, and other institutions in support of humanitarian action. The Innovation Marketplace will showcase the practical applications of innovations, new or improved products, tools, services and processes that contribute to effective humanitarian action. Special emphasis will be placed on small-scale innovations with high-impact from under-represented communities. 

For more information on the Summit:
https://consultations.worldhumanitariansummit.org/

For more information on Pragya:
http://www.pragya.org

Pragya's Sashaktikaran Kendra to empower the tribal hinterlands of Rajasthan

Pragya, an NGO based in Gurgaon (Haryana), is implementing a 3-year project aimed at empowering the tribal communities in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam. The project aims to reach out to the rural population in 10 districts (2 districts in each state) and extend to these improved accesses to relevant services and provisions.

In Rajasthan, Pragya is working towards empowering the tribal communities in the districts of Dungarpur and Udaipur. As part of its efforts, an Information Center (IC) called Pragya Sashaktikaran Kendra would be set up in each of the two districts. The very first Pragya Sashaktikaran Kendra will be formally launched in Dungarpur. It would play a vital multi-faceted role in the empowerment of the tribal communities in the area. It would conduct trainings and awareness sessions and function as an information hub on legislations & schemes initiated by Union/State governments pertaining to health, nutrition, livelihoods, with a particular focus on STs and women. It would also operate a Helpline to address queries of community members on these issues and provide referral services by routing aid seekers towards relevant professionals like health service providers, technical experts, social workers, lawyers, CBOs. Center staff will also maintain a ‘development observatory’ on infrastructural lacunae, gaps in services, with special focus on health & nutrition and gender issues, in order to communicate community needs to concerned authorities. Pragya envisages that the activities of the Center would bring about reduced drudgery, violence and marginalization faced by the women as well as improved dietary intake and nutrition levels and health care for all members of tribal communities in the area; concurrently, there would be improved skill levels and diversified livelihood options for these communities.

Pragya was set up with a concern for last-mile communities neglected and marginalized in the development process. They have been carrying out programs in the areas of education, health, conservation and livelihoods for the benefit of vulnerable communities for over 20 years and have addressed the development needs of communities in the most remote and least developed regions in the country through their work.

The first Pragya Sashaktikaran Kendra will be formally launched in Dungarpur, Rajasthan in the month of April 2016.