Snehalaya has been working in rural India for over three decades to bring rescue, rights and rehabilitation to those adversely affected by the commercial sex industry, poverty and droughts. We started rescuing trafficked and forced women and children from red light areas in 1989 and have been fighting HIV/AIDS, reducing 2nd generation prostitution by 100% and ensuring there are no minors working in the sex industry in our district ever since.
We support around 20,000 beneficiaries a year through 22 rehabilitation, health and AIDS prevention, education and awareness-raising projects. We shelter 250 children of sex workers, minors rescued from sex work and those orphaned by or living with HIV. We provide a safe and supportive family setting, with our own school and HIV hospital. We also work in slum areas, run an organic farm for people living with HIV and provide rescue and adoption to abandoned babies.
Our short and long-term homes for women rescued from trafficking and forced prostitution also provide free counselling, legal aid, health treatment, vocational training and alternatives to sex work. Our outreach work includes education projects in slums, sexual health clinics for sex workers, computer and vocational training and Childline services. In recent years we have been expanding our vocational training opportunities to give our beneficiaries the skills and experience that will give them more life choices once they leave our shelter. We have also recently introduced agricultural projects to help prevent farmer suicides and rural to urban migration that leaves women and children vulnerable to opportunists. To gather support for our work and the issues affecting our society we promote social work through twice yearly youth camps and our own community radio station.
Partnering with communities and localities wherever possible, we aim to provide them with sustainable growth and livelihood options that will enable them to become self-sufficient and to take their place within society. They have a large stake in the success of our projects, which are based in the areas where they can most successfully build their own capacities. Our innovation is to work with our beneficiaries to raise their self-esteem and respect until they feel confident and empowered to be reintegrated back into society.
There are three possible projects that a student can select:
1. Impact Analysis: We have over 20 projects addressing some of the fundamental social issues affecting Indian society. Although we have been delivering services for over three decades we struggle to demonstrate the impact to funders and other stakeholders. Support in analysing, measuring and demonstrating our impact will help to identify gaps and help us to build on our existing frameworks and promote what we do to past, current and future funders.
2. Strategic Plan Review and Recommendations: We have a five year strategic plan but I believe a review of this by you would again help to identify gaps and help us develop a clearer action plan and deliverables.
3. Fundraising Advising: Our fundraising team is skilled and mature and also manages our marketing and communications but could benefit from guidance on our current proposals and fundraising streams and approaches to create a reliable pipeline of funding.
Reviews and evaluations and recommendation of:
Project impact (1) or
Strategic plan (2) or
Fundraising strategy (3)
