Work Philosophy Operational Area Chitrakoot Banda Lalitpur Allahabad Satna Board of Management Human Resource Donors and Supporters

Operational Area

Sarvodaya Sewa Ashram works in Bundelkhand area. Covered with hills and forests, Bundelkhand is a huge landmass in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The rivers criss crossing this area have huge land water, but the life seems to be helpless and sick. Leading life here is not easy. Seeing the mountains of difficulties, humans often break and somehow they pull along their lives. Great inequalities prevail here for the lack of guidance and alternatives.

Agriculture, labour and service are three main activities on which life of the area's residents depends.

Agriculture

Nearly 70 per cent of agricultural land of Bundelkhand is occupied by big farmers, who account for 20 per cent population of the area. Agriculture is not the priority for these people and they have many more alternatives before them. Because of availability of these alternatives these people are quite rich.

The other 80 per cent population has just 30 per cent of agricultural land. They depend entirely on agriculture for their livelihood. And as a result are plagued with several problems like:

• Availability of very small tracts
• Uneven land
• Very low yield, often seeds are not returned

Labour

As in other parts of the country, minimum wages prescribed by the government are declared in Bundelkhand too, but only on papers. Practical aspect of wages is very critical - while in the government sector one can get 50 per cent of the prescribed wages, in private sector it is very low.

The society decides on wages according to its economic structure. Both the parties are in agreement to this. The labour class has very few alternatives and at the same time understands economic status of the economic status of the employer. These conditions have given birth to the 'bondage' system too.

Service

Very few services are available in Bundelkhand.

The above mentioned circumstances virtually 'kill' humans. They have only God to look to for their problems, which are a plenty:

• Malnutrition
• Lack of potable water
• Incurable tuberculosis
• Migration from homes and villages
• Return to native places with incurable diseases
• Illiteracy among women
• Large families
• Neglect of education and health of children because of uncontrolled number of children
• Lack of culture and manners among the children
• Suicides by destitute families
• Economic, physical and mental disability of middle class families
• Broken childhood because of hunger
• Lack of understanding
• Unequal distribution system
• Exploitation of natural resources

It is in this backdrop SSA works in Chitrakoot, Banda, Lalitpur, Allahabad and Satna districts. While the former four are in Uttar Pradesh, Satna district is in Madhya Pradesh. Technically Allahabad district is not a part of Bundelkhand, but western parts of the district on the right side of Yamuna river have great resemblance with Bundelkhand and hence SSA works here too.