Urban Relocation Assistance
From Ni Wiki
Revision as of 15:24, 17 July 2007
Community Partner: BridgeTrust
For the summer of 2006 the International Relations Committee of the Nourish UNC Chapter had designated two projects: one with Help Argentina in Buenos Aires, and another in collaboration with the Bridge Trust in Mumbai. However, due to the unfortunate relocation of a former Nourish member who was to assist Nourish students in the later project, the project was cancelled for logistical concerns. Still, $2,000 was provided to the Bridge as a gesture of our commitment and friendship. The outcome of our investment and an assessment of our partners are provided.
Nourish Funded Project The funds provided were used to benefit approximately 200 women with children in urban Mumbai and neighboring Thane area of Maharashtra, India. The Bridge Trust targeted newly immigrated women in Mumbai slums who left their villages in search of economic opportunities as well as rural at-risk women. Participants were provided with relocation assistance, seeds, fruit trees, fertilizers etc. and an agricultural engineer has been permanently hired to assist the women with cultivating, harvesting, and marketing crops and fruits. The project addresses several major issues: it helps combat urban migration and population displacement, provides a stable nutritional source and income generation, and empowers women by providing them with entrepreneurial skills.
Bridge Trust Bridge Trust is a medium sized Indian NGO which holds similar views to those espoused by Nourish including participatory development and sustainability. They administer projects in both proper Mumbai and surrounding rural areas in the fields of: health, education, entrepreneurship, and infrastructure. The director, JM Mehta is a retired civil engineer who manages the group full-time and also finances it with his considerable wealth. The Bridge operates a main office in Mumbai and two small field units. The main office is small but impressively run with a small (4 individuals) but well trained staff (MBAs, Masters of Social Work, etc) who speak fluent English and are very friendly and accessible. The group has lately received some rather large grants from Bharat Petroleum and other industry leaders and also now assist the World Bank in monitoring several programs.
