About Us

Sambhav is a voluntary organization focussed on addressing issues such as women’s empowerment, combating violence against women, promoting education, and improving health. Sambhav is committed to building the capacity of communities, with a particular focus on the Sahariya Tribal Group, and Urban Slum Dwellers.

Sambhav operates through a program-based approach, where each program is overseen by a coordinator and supported by field staff. The organization’s operations are further facilitated at the grassroots level by community-based organizations, including women’s collectives, Self Help Groups (SHGs), adolescent groups, and other like-minded individuals.

Sambhav’s primary area of operation is the Chambal, Malwa and Lucknow Region of Madhya Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh, specifically in the districts of Gwalior, Bhind, Sheopur, Shivpuri, Indore, Dewas, Dhar and Lucknow.

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What Do We Do?

Strategic Approach

Women Empowerment through community based group formation, which includes micro-saving at internal level through Self Help Groups and Financial Inclusion.
Promoting better livelihood and standard of living through livelihood promotion programs, which include capacity building and direct/indirect support.
Contributing to the sector goal of improving health and nutrition through health promotion programs.
Improving access to sanitation, safe drinking water and better hygiene.
Promoting water conservation and sustainable agriculture through watershed development.
Ensuring community entitlement to right to food and related issues through integrated community development interventions.
Working in close convergence with the government machinery to make ground level interventions and introductions sustainable and participatory.
To work with the people and not for them.

Why We Do What We Do?

Sahariyas

Sahariya is one of the most primitive tribe. It resides in Gwalior and surrounding districts. It Population is around 6 lakhs in MP and 2 lakh out side. Few government programs have reached them. They avoid interaction with modern world. It may appear exasperation, but malnutrition, anemia, lower birth rate, Tuberculosis is present in almost all the houses. Alcohol, tobacco, hard work in stone quarries and shortage of food are part of their life style. Sambhav has been struggling for their rights and better health for last two decades. Here are some proposed interventions to fight against the of TB in this society. It will not be easy. Sahariyas are also most exploited and oppressed group of people. Modern world is not their world. The super complication and administrative structure have been alienating them further.

Women

Internationally ‘violence against women’ (VAW) is defined as gender based which is directed against a woman because she is a woman or affects women disproportionately. It is recognized as a violation of women’s human rights and fundamental freedoms. The UN Declaration on the Elimination of VAW (DEVAW) acknowledges VAW as both a cause and consequence of women’s inequality vis-à-vis men, as well as a grave form of discrimination.
Addressing VAW entails tackling the root causes of the problem from the home to the transnational arena. Under international law, States are obligated to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, as well as act with ‘due diligence’ to prevent the violation of women’s rights. Under the due diligence standard, States have a duty to take positive action to prevent and protect women from violence, punish perpetrators of violent acts and compensate victims of violence. Compliance with this standard requires comprehensive, multi-sectorial and sustained approaches to prevent and reduce VAW.

Entitlement

Sambhav is a firm believer in entitlement of constitutional remedies. Although a lot has been done in terms of laying the policies in favour of the poorest of poor, sadly very little has been able to be achieved. Sambhav is working towards elimination of social disparity by ensuring better life to all. In direct reference to the SDGs laid by the United Nations, the organization also draws its focus on eliminating social exclusion in terms of access to education, healthcare , financial safety and safety of women. Through direct program interventions Sambhav works with urban slum dwellers and rural communities especially the Sahariya Primitive Tribal group on mass awareness in terms of constitutionals rights, government schemes, entitlement, outreach. On the other hand the organization directly interfaces within the community as a facilitator to improves access to health , education and women empowerment.

Education

Studies indicate that fee-paying private schooling prevalent in vulnerable areas increased and catered for the need of “low income” families. Children in these household study, however, except for a few, attend government school. What is worse, half of private school-going-children dropped out. The improvement of quality and quantity of education remains an important policy agenda for children in the lower echelons of society.

Late admission is caused both by demand side (migration from rural areas to slums) and by supply side (lack of school capacity for all children, a short period of admission, requirement of birth certificate etc.). School availability at a short distance does not explain why quite a large number of children are still less educated. Economic problems are also one of the main reasons why children do not attend schools.

Who Do We Work With?

The Sahariya Tribe

Women and Adolescents

Urban Slum Dwellers

Service Providers

How we work!

Sambhav in its operations believes in working with the people and not for them. As a result of the same thought process, all the programs are designed and implemented with maximum ownership and participation of the community. The community-based groups and support groups identified from within the community play a critical role in deciding upon the modus-operandi of the program. This is also critical from the sustainability point of view. Once the organization is not able to continue the program in an area, the entire process should not collapse, hence the community needs to be in the center of program implementation.

1. Transparency: Provisions of accessible and timely information to the community and the opening of organizational procedures, structures, and processes to their assessment.

2. Participation: Enabling the community to play an active role in the decision-making process and the activities that affect them.

3. Monitoring and evaluation: Establishing processes through which Sambhav, with involvement from the community, monitors and reviews its progress and results against goals and objectives, feeds learning back into the organization on an ongoing basis, and reports on the results of the process.

4. Complaints and response mechanisms: Mechanisms through which Sambhav enables its beneficiaries to address complaints against its decisions and actions and through which it ensures that these complaints are properly reviewed and acted upon.

Where We Work

Gwalior

Women Empowerment Program
ICICI Bank Linkage Program
Violence Against Women
Grain Bank for Sahariya Community

Pithampur, Dhar

E Community Program- Education, Health and Women Empowerment
Ending Violence Against Children

Shivpuri

Grain Banks for Sahariya Community
Community Radio
Eye Health Program

Lucknow

Promotion of Chikan and Zari based livelihood among marginalized artisans through Training and Production Center.

Indore, Dhar and Dewas

Medical Health Units Providing Door Step Medical Checkup and Referral Services

When Did We Start?

Sambhav came into existence almost three decades (1988) ago. It was visualized by its founders to be an agency for socio-economic and political growth of marginalized communities. Under the guidance of eminent social activists, Sambhav chose to work with the Sahariya community of this region. Besieged by host of exploitative and disempowering situation Sahariyas are living in abject poverty and deprivation. Sambhav became instrumental in their mobilization and collectivization for effecting change.

Starting with few Sahariya hamlets in Ghatigaon Block of Gwalior, the initiative spread to large geographical area covering several hundreds of Sahariya women and communities. Sambhav has been strong believer of participatory community engagements. It has seen itself as a learning organization. Program interventions are centered on women leadership and their empowerment. Community health, education, violence against women, health and women SHGs are some major programs.

History of Work Done

Khoj Community Health Program- Voluntary Health Association of India- Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh
Integrated Rural Development Program, Action Aid- Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh
Community Development Program- Christian Aid, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
Poorest Areas Civil Society Program- VHAI and DFID- Tikamgarh- Chhatarpur, Lalitpur
School Sanitation and Hygiene Education Program, Water Aid, Lalitpur
Damyanti Water and Sanitation Program, Water Aid- Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh
Slum Environment Sanitation Initiative, Water Aid and ADB- Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
CAPART Watershed Development Program, Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh
Reproductive and Child Health Program (Phase 1 and 2) as Mother NGO, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI- Shivpuri, Guna, Tikamgarh
Targeted Intervention on HIV/AIDS, Transport Corporation of India- Gwalior Madhya Pradesh
Back to School, CRY- Gwalior , Madhya Pradesh
Targeted Intervention on HIV/AIDS, Apollo Tyres Foundation, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
Safe City Initiative, Gwalior Municipal Corporation- Gwalior Madhya Pradesh
NABARD SHG Program, NABARD- Gwalior , Madhya Pradesh
Right to Food, Sir Ratan Tata Trust- Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh
Integrated District Program, UNICEF- Shivpuri Madhya Pradesh
BCC Program, UNICEF, Madhya Pradesh
Community Radio, UNICEF, Madhya Pradesh
Trafficking and HIV/AIDA, DFID and Development Alternatives- Shivpuri Madhya Pradesh
Shri Padam Sambhav Eye Hospital, Sight Savers -Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh
Shubh Kal (Phase 1&2), Development Alternatives and Ford Foundation-Shivpuri , Madhya Pradesh
Ravine Reclamation Project- SPWD- Datia, Madhya Pradesh
DANLEP Leprosy Initiative- DANLEP- Gwalior-Chambal, Madhya Pradesh