Our Work
Since PHIA Foundation calls the 21st century Indian poverty a scandal, the organization vows to eliminate it paving the way for a society where the people of all walks of life have access to justice and dignity. Local partners are spreading across the country to help proliferate development and humanitarian initiatives which will, in the long run, stem the root of poverty. A strong bond and understanding with many grassroot level organizations is of no less help to reach the poorest and most disadvantaged communities. Special thrust on women, young ones and disadvantaged groups.
PHIA Foundation is committed to:
- Helping more and more children get school education
- Helping women and girls get access to healthcare
- Supporting the poor people to get access to resources and eke out means of livelihood
- Providing both short term and long-term assistance to the calamity-hit people
- Supporting work to make people less vulnerable to disasters in future
- Empowering communities to get access to their rights by supporting them and advocating with them and on their behalf
Changing Environment
India, the largest ever democratic country on the planet is an emerging global power in terms of its size, diversity with over a billion population. The country takes pride of its different cultures, languages, ethnicities and politics. But the bitter realty denies equal rights and opportunities to all because of simmering undercurrents of caste, ethnicity, patriarchy and feudalism. The so called economic prosperity confines to the upper middle class people and the poor people are remaining marginalized. The country now can no longer talk of any opportunity to weed out poverty who survive on less than Rs 200 per day. Abject penury won’t die down for nearly 300 million people in India so long as exclusion and discrimination are allowed to remain.
PHIA Foundation keeps fighting for the poor and excluded people by promoting inclusive growth, social justice and dignity for all. Poverty does not confine to the country’s economic health only. The poverty which emerged from discrimination, precisely, affect a huge chunk of the population. Social norms, beliefs and attitudes around caste, ethnicity, class, religion and gender here matter in the poverty of huge magnitude where women and children have to bear the burnt with no fault of their own. A slew of measures to do away with the odd and redundant factors by both public and private sectors seem to have paying dividends. But all worries bubble up for the poor people as soon as they try to grab their rights. Herein emerges the grim picture of backlash, human rights violations not to speak of the increasing atrocities.
Millions of people in the independent country are still far away from quality education, potable water and basic sanitation, affordable healthcare and housing. There is no dearth of laws, struggles, initiatives and what not. But the entire country has miles to go to achieve a huge success in these fields dominated by inhuman practice. The urban and semi urban areas have been bearing the brunt of a steep rise in the migration from the rural India, which is no less responsible for exploitation in all forms. Lack of social identity, security and entitlements for excluded migrant communities are an added challenge to address poverty.
Natural calamities unleash no less reign of death and devastation in the country claiming a huge toll at regular intervals. A huge part of the country in the coastline is prone to cyclones, heavy rains, floods and tsunami while draught, landslide and earthquake frequently hit many parts in the northern India. A number of initiatives including the Right to Information, Swachh Bharat, the Right to Education have failed to percolate any benefit for the people in real sense of the term. The real challenge still remains. Keeping the needs of the poor and disadvantaged lots in mind, PHIA strongly advocates bridging the widening gap between policies and implementation on the ground. That’s why, it has struck deal with the government, private sector, civil society and community groups to help the people bail out of the existing problems.
Key Focus Areas
Our key focus areas are pivotal in helping and enabling the poor and marginalised communities to overcome the challenges to their existence – poverty, exclusion, inequality, deprivation and vulnerabilities.
- Promote equality and inclusion
- Access to essential and basic services like education, health, skill building and, water and sanitation
- Access to Rights and Entitlements from governments programmes meant for them
- Building thriving and resilient livelihoods to address the effects of climate change
- Disaster Risk Reduction / Humanitarian Response
We recognise that the most marginalised and vulnerable groups like the Dalits and Adivasis and especially the women, children and young people among them are most likely to suffer from multiple disadvantages and discrimination-free access to resources, knowledge and power are critical to improving their lives. Therefore, our work has a special focus on providing emergency response aid and strengthening livelihoods of these vulnerable groups in order to enable them to effectively improve their living conditions. Our commitment to structural changes and on-the-ground interventions requires close engagement with our stakeholders – communities, grassroots organisations, the government and the private sector – to help us identify and address the root causes of poverty, challenge discrimination and bring about sustainable change.
Themes
Reducing Inequality
Focus on equality, inclusion, empowerment and strong leadership of marginalised people, especially women in transparent and responsive governance and policy-formation.
Humanitarian & Climate Change
Reducing the impact and fallout of disasters with rapid response in the form of aid in emergency situations. There is an urgent need to save the lives and livelihoods of disadvantaged people in disaster-prone areas.
Sustainable Livelihood
Helping people in rural India secure sustainable and resilient means of livelihood with sufficient income.
ESSENTIAL SERVICES
Supporting poor and marginalised communities with a special focus on children, young people and women to help them get access to education, healthcare, water, sanitation and other essential services.
Our Ultimate Goal
PHIA Foundation was established with a crucial set of overarching goals in mind. These goals define our direction and methodology in everything we do.