Open Access Research Article
Intervention Of NGOS Through Development Of Tribal Community
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Intervention Of NGOS Through Development Of Tribal Community
Authored
By - Dr. Prakruthi A R[1]
ABSTRACT
These
societies did not follow the rules of any other subclasses or caste, like other
religions. And they had their own set of customs and rituals. These tribes were
spread all across the country. Most of the tribes lived in forest Hills, desert
and far-fetched places. These tribes or groups of people move from one place to
another and search for livelihood or other reasons. These tribes were mostly
involved in primary activities related to agriculture or animal husbandry. Some
of them are also hunter-gatherers. But these tribes are suffers from lot of
problems like extreme level of poverty, lack of education, problem of health
and nutrition, displacement and rehabilitation, erosion of identity etc.
Non-Governmental Organizations are try to controlling these problems and
providing protection and played a vital role for their development. and also
NGOs are done many works for social welfare. The present paper deals with role
and significance of NGO for Tribal
Development to ensure social welfare and uphold of his right to life and
livelihood.
Key Words: Tribal Development, Social
Welfare, NGO’s, Categories of NGO’s
INTRODUCTION
Indian
history has witnessed various changes in society. Most of it encompasses the
caste system followed religiously in our society. Apart from the social
structure in the cities, there were other societies that flourished on the
sidelines known as tribal societies. These societies did not follow the rules
of any other subclasses or caste, like other religions. And they had their own
set of customs and rituals. These tribes were spread all across the country.
Most of the tribes lived in forest Hills, desert and far-fetched places. These
tribes or groups of people move from one place to another and search for
livelihood or other reasons. These tribes were mostly involved in primary
activities related to agriculture or animal husbandry. Some of them are also hunter-gatherers.
But these tribes are suffers from lot of problems like extreme level of
poverty, lack of education, problem of health and nutrition, displacement and
rehabilitation, erosion of identity etc. Non-Governmental Organizations are try
to controlling these problems and providing protection and played a vital role
for their development. and also NGOs are done many works for social welfare.
Meaning
of NGO :-
A non-governmental organization (NGO)
or non-governmental organisation (is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. [2]They are typically non-profit entities, and many
of them are active in the social sciences; they can also include clubs and associations that
provide services to their members and others.
NGO stands for non-governmental organization. While there
is no universally agreed-upon definition of an NGO, typically it is a voluntary
group or institution with a social mission, which operates independently from
the government. NGOs or similar organizations exist in all parts of the world.
What is considered an NGO in one country may not qualify as an NGO in another,
as legal definitions, permitted activities, monitoring, and oversight differ
from country to country. The term can encompass many types of organizations.
Although
these terms are not necessarily interchangeable, an organization similar to an
NGO may be called non-profit, charity, non-profit organization (NPO), civil
society organization (CSO), citizen sector organization (CSO), social benefit
organization (SBO), an advocacy organization, voluntary organization,
grassroots support organization (GSO), and non-state actor (NSA). You may also
hear the terms independent sector, volunteer sector, and civil society during
discussions about NGOs. It is a group or entrepreneurship of
activists in society. They are voluntary individuals who are social persons
working for a charitable cause.
A
variety of activities are carried out by NGOs, including environmental, social,
advocacy, and human rights work. In addition to promoting social or political
change on a broad scale, they can also work on a very local level. The role of
NGOs is crucial in developing society, improving communities, and promoting
citizen participation.
Some Major Functions and Roles of NGOs in India are
:-
1) Utilising funds raised through donations, NGOs in India work
for a wide range of causes. Some such causes include:
4) Social Injustice
5) Environment Conservation
6) Human Rights
7) Care for elderly people
8) Women Empowerment
9) Wildlife Conservation
10) Animal Rights
11) Sanitation and Hygiene
12) Humanitarian Relief
13) Health and Nutrition
14) Literacy and Education
15) Refugee Crisis
16) Disease Control and others
NGOs are composed of experts with years of
experience in executing social welfare activities. Before rolling out a
project, detailed analysis of the situation is done and possible solutions are
contemplated. Collaboration with civic agencies and other government agencies
(at district, state and even national level at times) is done to carry out the
work. NGOs not only go on the ground to address these issues, they also
undertake massive campaigning activities to generate awareness on these issues.
In today’s time, NGOs are efficiently leveraging the power of social media to
disseminate information about their work and reach more and more people.
The Importance of NGOs in India :-
India has made rapid progress in the socio-economic
sphere in the last seven decades. Millions have been brought out of poverty,
life expectancy has shot up, literacy rate has almost tripled and people have
better access to healthcare services. However, given the vastness of India,
both in terms of demography and area, and its socio-cultural diversity,
millions are still bereft of a decent life. Even today, numerous people
struggle to get basics such as health, shelter, education and nutritious food.
The benefits of India’s economic progress have not been uniform in nature.
There is rampant economic inequality. This is where NGOs’ role comes into the
picture. Their job is to plug the gaps left by the government by improving the
lives of the most marginalised communities. In India, NGOs undertake a variety
of activities, most of which are aimed at improving the socio-economic status
of communities with limited means. From providing direct benefit (like
distributing nutrition feed to malnourished children) to enabling and
empowering people (like making a community realise the importance of sending
their children to school),the primary role of NGOs in India has a far-reaching
impact in helping underprivileged and deprived people march
ahead in life. The tribal people also treated as a deprived people so that NGOs
are also done so many works for the development of those people.
Significance Of Non-Governmental Organizations
For Triba Development:
Tribal welfare has been one of the government’s top
priorities since Independence. But there are thousands of young tribals who
lack access to primary education, health, nutrition and better opportunities in
life. Still, despite decades of efforts to uplift them economically and improve
educational levels, a lot needs to be done across large swathes of tribal
regions across the country. Tribals form around 100 million of India’s
population or over 8% of the total population.
Non-profits have played an important role in
bridging the gaps in tribal welfare in education, health, nutrition, safety
etc. The role of NGOs in the
welfare of the tribal communities of India is very significant. They supplement
the efforts of the government. They address the needs and the aspirations of
the people. They are innovative and flexible. They operate with little
investments but ensure greater participation of the community. They recruit
local youth and train them to achieve the objectives of the organization. They
build confidence in the people. Vannucci (1989) opines
“the existence of powerful NGOs creates a double security system whereby
governments may express their needs and requirements”. The knowledge and
commitment of NGOs help in making the implementation process more transparent
and accountable. The same is explored in the context of Chenchus, a
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
states of India. There are many NGOs working for
the well-being of Chenchus. They create awareness about persistent problems and
act as agents of change. Red Cross Society, Department for International
Development (DFID), Sakthi, Conservation of Nature Through Rural Awakening
(CONARE), Centre for People’s Forestry (CPF), Nice Foundation, Nandi
Foundation, Nallamalai Foundation, Andhra Pradesh Right to Eyesight Society
(APRESS), L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Andhra Pradesh Child Right Society
(APCRS), Child Care Organization, Vanavasi Kalyani Parishad, Pragati Rural
Education and Development Organization, Sangha Mitra Seva Samithi and Seva
Bharati, CONARE, and Centre for Human Resource Development (CHRD) are few
organizations doing significant work for the development of Chenchus. Few of
these NGOs are working independently and others are engaged in collaborative
work with another NGO or government organization. The work of the NGOs for the
development of Chenchu community is discussed under the following components:
educational development, health care, livelihood enhancement, vocational
training and women empowerment, agricultural development, economic development,
development and religious promotion, environmental protection, awareness
programs on rights and privileges, and legal support.
CONCEPT
OF SOCIAL WELFARE
According to Ronald C. Federico:
“Social welfare is defined as a society’s governmental and non-governmental
efforts to help its members function more effectively as individuals and as
participants in organized social structure”. Social
Welfare can be defined as the group of assistance programs designed to ensure the
wellbeing of a nation’s citizens. In other words, it is a system that aims to
provide quality care to society participants. A social welfare system
provides assistance to individuals and families in need. The types and amount
of welfare available
to individuals and families vary depending on the country, state, or region. In
the U.S., the federal government provides grants to each state through the
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. [3]
Social welfare means a social service system relating to
the prevention, remedy, development and promotion of social stability to
satisfy the fundamental needs of people to enable them to have good quality of
life and self-dependency thoroughly, appropriately, fairly and in accordance
with standards in terms of education, health and sanitation, accommodation,
occupation and income, recreation, judicial process and general social services
by taking into account of human dignity, people’s entitlement to rights and
participation in social welfare provision at all levels.
THE
ROLE OF NGOs IN TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA
NGO
initiatives aimed at development have a long history in India. The individual
efforts of social workers are expressed in micro-terms but it deals with
conditions that are caused by large macro-structures. There are number of NGOs
working for the tribal development in India. Therese archer has studied 7 major
NGOs from the research area engaged in the tribal development. These NGOs
tackle development related issues and their ideological orientation differs
widely. There are some NGOs who’s nature is agitational and there are some who
are engaged in both construction and agitational work. In the present study, the aims & objectives, project area,
target group, views of NGOs on problems of tribal communities, their
suggestions have been studied. The work of NGO has been evaluated on the basis
of nature of work, their priorities, financial conditions of NGOs, staff
position, their views on self-sufficiency, need for continuity of work. In
order to have openness, their membership patterns, confidentiality of their
accounts etc. are discussed. Their views on tribal liberation and need to work
all NGOs under one banner also have been sought. Finally the problems of
NGOs have been discussed at length. This paper thus evaluates the role of NGOs
working with tribal communities, their strengths and weaknesses, future thrust,
The growing disillusionment and the resultant discontent among the masses gave
birth to a number of NGOs in 1960s in India. These grassroots movements are
concerned with the plight of the exploited sections of society. They are
part of the democratic struggle at various levels. The role of NGOs is neither
antagonistic nor complementary with the existing sectors. It is a role at once
more limited and more radical, taking up issues that the political parties are
unwilling to take up, coping with a large diversity of situation that
governments and parties are unable to cope, encompassing issues that arise from not merely local and national but also
international forces at work. The individual efforts are expressed in micro
terms but it deals with conditions that are caused by large macro-structures.
The NGOs are thus a part of a large movement for global transformations in
which non-State actors on the one hand and non-territorial crystallisations on
the other are emerging and playing new role. All activities of NGOs are
aimed at social, economic, political & educational Development
of oppressed people in the area.
The activities stated by the respondent NGOs are
listed below:
1. Comprehensive village development
2. Activities
related with education:
·
Balwadi,
supplementary classes for school-going children,
·
school at the brick kilns, education to
katkari women,
·
hostel
for children, motivate children to go to school.
3. Activities related with Women’s development :
·
Formation of
Women’s groups, Saving group of women,
·
training of self-employment,
·
Women’s
Co-operative Society,
·
Income generation for women,
·
Women’s
employment, etc
4. Youth
development activities:- Formation of
Youth groups.
5. Health
activities:
·
Primary health
care,
·
health education,
·
health project of
family planning,
We look at five NGOs that have been working for
tribal welfare across the country:-
‘Mrida’ in Sanskrit stands for both ‘joy’ and
‘soil’. And Mrida Education and Welfare Society has been trying to do just that
with its grassroots-led development programmes. It works among tribal
communities of Mahakoshal region comprising some of the most backward districts
of Madhya Pradesh.
The organisation started with a school for the
children from tribal communities, deprived of knowledge and aspirations. Mrida
has been trying to build and scale impactful education, nutrition, and
livelihood practices for school-going children in tribal.
NWTWS has been working in tribal welfare in the
Nilgiris region in Tamil Nadu since 1978. It was originally designed to address
health issues in the region, but there were so many other problems facing the
communities that it expanded its welfare programmes.
The NWTWS, besides providing medical care through
its dispensary, organises health camps, takes socio-economic measures for the
upliftment of tribals and runs a residential school and hostel for tribal
children.
While it helps boost the self-esteem and confidence
of tribal children, it emphasises preserving tribal culture and heritage.
Through its innovative Livelihood Enhancement Programme, NWTWS has distributed
cows and goats to leprosy survivors to generate income and improve their
quality of life.
Many of its programmes are supported by generous
donors from across the world, and its 17-acre tea, coffee and pepper plantation
in the same region.
Started in Odisha as a residential school, Kalinga
Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) provides quality education to the tribal
children to help them overcome poverty and injustice. And in the last 30 years,
the organisation has grown by transforming the education landscape in the
tribal areas of the state. With student strength crossing 25,000, KISS is one
of the world’s largest residential education institutions for tribal children.
It serves over 10,000 meals daily. KISS has persistently strived to become a
preferred center of learning for the poor indigenous sections of the society.
It focuses on formal education while providing sustainable livelihood and scope
for holistic development.
Its mission is to empower 2 million indigenous
children through quality education.
Parivaar has been working in tribal welfare in West
Bengal and Madhya Pradesh for close to two decades. Concentrating primarily on
children aged 4 to 14 in tribal districts facing deprivation and
malnourishment, it has over 240 ‘Sri Ramakrishna Vivekananda Seva Kutirs’ with
over 25,000 children getting nutritious meals, education, and life skills in
Madhya Pradesh.
It has long experience in West Bengal and continues
to work in various regions of the state.
Parivaar wants to scale and set up 500 Seva Kutirs
in Madhya Pradesh by December 2023, serving at least 50,000 children in some of
the country’s most backward districts.
The Samiti first started imparting education to 17
tribal children in Rajasthan, and today it provides education from primary to
post-graduate level. In the last four decades, it has benefited over 30,000
tribal families. More than 18,000 children have completed their education from
centres and institutions run by RBKS.
Its fields include development, livelihood
enhancement, poverty eradication, rural development, skill enhancement,
agriculture, and livestock management. RBKS works closely with the tribal
communities in various parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat,Madhya Pradesh, and others
through its healthcare and empowerment programmes. They have also forayed into
Haryana and Chhattisgarh.
SIGNIFICANCE
OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION FOR SOCIAL WELFARE
A
non-government organization is a foundation that works with a motive to
accomplish societal goals and objectives. Here, people and communities
voluntarily work at national or international level. It happens that the
strategies and work process may be different but they all work for common
goals. There are some of the best NGO in India working to help
society and unprivileged people. Countries like India face different issue due
to which a society gets affected. As a result, these issues may hinder the
growth and development of a country. It is seen that non-government
organizations have partnerships with public or private organizations.
These
organizations are run through donations but at an initial level, they did
voluntary basis. NGO’s are diversified in various ranges of activities. The
purpose of NGO’s may be different where some may have charitable status or
others may register for tax exemption. But the basic goal or objective of an NGO
is to help unprivileged people in society. An NGO benefits a country to remove
crime and make people lives better. These communities not only help people but
also the government of a country. They cover the wide range of acts like
healthcare, education, finances and many more. The partnership between
government and NGO remains helpful for citizens. In order to get the better
understanding about NGO, its functioning is necessary to know.
There are some functions of the non-government
organization are explained underneath:
·
Resolve social issues:
Non-government organizations play an indispensable role in the welfare of
society. Different social issues are being solved by the NGO’s in India. There
are some major issues like:-
o Illiteracy,
o poverty,
o child
labour,
o casteism
and many more.
The teams of these organizations raise voice against the mentioned
issues. They run different campaigns to spread knowledge and awareness among
people.
·
Motivates citizens: This
is another role played by an NGO towards social welfare and development. There
are various social issues faced by society such as education, girl child,
hunger and many more. However, some of the best NGO in India take positive
initiative towards the aforesaid issues. They form teams and run campaigns. It
helps people to aware towards what is right or wrong. For instance, it is seen
that children less than 14 years aren’t allowed to work as its called child
labour. The research has shown, 3.9% of the total children population in India
are working in factories, shops etc. In order to help these children, NGO’s
have taken a step.
·
Identification of problem and take
corrective measures: The motive of non-government organizations
is to uplift social welfare and development. Generally, NGO’s find out the
issue and problems by evaluating crimes or by communicating with public
organizations. Later on, they prepare a plan accordingly and take the required
actions. It results in sorting out the social issues in an effective manner. It
needs the best NGO in India to sort the social issues.
Riddhi
Siddhi Welfare and Charitable Trust is a renowned NGO which is
consistently working towards social welfare. They focused towards helping poor
and needy people. There are different programs have been conducted by them to
help and develop society.
Suggestions to improve the working of the NGOs for
Tribal Communities :-
v Capacity Building:
o
Capacity building
and training can assist in the acquisition of critical new skills.
o
NGO workers can
then be more easily trained and the appropriate skills can be developed
within the organization to meet difficulties.
o
Donors will have
more faith in the initiative if they have access to qualified experts.
v Information, Communication and Technology:
o
All NGOs should be
using a minimum of Internet, email, a basic website and relevant social
media platforms.it will help the timely updating.
Conclusion
NGO provides a mechanism that
could possibly work where the government has failed. As a result, it supports grass roots
initiatives as well as recognizing and responding to the realities of the local people. Since NGOs are actual non-profit organizations,
various projects can be achieved
without having to use the government’s money. This is because there are many private donors who support the NGOs. The
role of NGOs’ in providing primary education for all has been based on a
neo-liberal agenda for development. Although the goal of achieving primary
education has not been achieved, NGOs roles have improved the situation. From
the above study we can say that Non-governmental organisations are doing a good
job towards development of tribal people and also for social welfare.
[2] Church, Jim (26
August 2021). "Library Guides: Non
Governmental Organizations (NGOs): Introduction". guides.lib.berkeley.edu. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26
August 2021.
Article Information
Intervention Of NGOS Through Development Of Tribal Community
Authors: Dr. Prakruthi A R
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2023/04/04
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Access Open Access
- License CC 4.0
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