Country Profile

CRWRC has been working in India since 1965. Today, there are no CRWRC staff living in India. Instead, CRWRC’s Bangladesh staff members consult with partners in India and travel there frequently. Through this partnership, CRWRC helps community members participate in health, literacy, and income generation programs. For a complete list of partners and programs, see below.

Fast Facts

Population: 1,129,866,154 (July 2007 est.)
Area Comparative: slightly more than 1/3 the size of the US
Literacy Rate: 61%
Life Expectancy: 68.59 years
Population below the poverty line: 25%
Gross Domestic Product per Capita: $3,800 (2006 est.)
Religions: Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)
Language: English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit (Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language)

(From the World Factbook. Click here for more information on India.)

CRWRC Partners in India

CRWRC has three partners in India:

Adoni Area Rural Development Initiatives Program (AARDIP)
Adoni is a region in South India that has little rainfall each year and, as a result, is very poor. AARDIP is aimed at the Adoni people who are among the lowest in India’s caste system. Last year, AARDIP worked with 4,660 low-caste people helping them helping them gain literacy skills, improve their health, and helping women increase their incomes.

Eficor
Eficor is partner of CRWRC that works in close connection with the Munda Tribe of Sambalpur, Orissa in the eastern part of the country. Last year, 2,052 community members participated in programs with the following emphases:

a) Community Development:
16 village development councils met regularly and focused on eradicating poverty in their communities. CRWRC and Eficor are helping these development councils identify the greatest needs of their communities, and develop solutions for those problems.

b) Health:
CRWRC and Eficor help communities examine their health needs and develop appropriate solutions. This includes various programs such as vaccination camps, general health education lessons, and a clinic for pregnant moms.

c) Income Generation:
CRWRC and Eficor focus their income-generation programs in India specifically on the female population. Last year, 345 women sought training in the following areas: revolving loans, financial management, bookkeeping, and financial audits.

d) Literacy:
CRWRC and Eficor help promote adult literacy by hosting 10 literacy classes across the region. Last year, 195 community members attended these weekly classes and improved their reading and writing skills.

CRWRC and Eficor are also working in Rmeshwarpur and Dihimondalghat in the Howrah District. These are low-income, low-caste communities who speak Bengali. Through CRWRC, Eficor is training community leaders, health workers, and day care providers in this district so that they can carry out community programs. As a result, people are drinking safe water, children are being enrolled in primary schools, and adults are increasing their incomes.

New Projects (as of October 2007)

Child Survival Program (USAid funded):  This program is similar to the program in Bangladesh.  The focus of the work here will be to improve maternal child health among the 900,000 inhabitants of Sahibganj District.

Shalom Project:  This project is lodated in Mizoram and works in the area of HIV/Aids to provide education and care for those affected.

North East India Commission on Relief and Development (Neicord)

CRWRC is helping NEICORD carry out programs in urban Shillong and rural Patarkmah.  These programs include:

a) Health:
In the Neicord health programs, communities receive services such as polio vaccination, and family planning clinics. As a result, community members have improved their health and are also becoming more willing to talk about certain taboo issues such as AIDS. Recently, a long-awaited weighing machine arrived. Women in the area have been happy to have their children weighed so that their growth and health can be monitored. They now feel empowered to act if their child isn’t growing appropriately.

b) Income Generation:
This program is similar to that of Eficor as participants are encouraged to start savings groups and are trained in revolving loans, skills training, financial management training, book keeping training, and financial audits. In the past year, around 200 men and 200 women participated in this training.

To read more about CRWRC partnerships in India, please search the CRWRC story archives.

CRWRC Staff in India

While there are no CRWRC staff living in India, the Bangladesh/India country team members work with our partner organizations there and travel frequently. 

Click here for a newsletter about Tom Post's recent visit.

Kohima Daring

Kohima Daring has been working for CRWRC in Bangladesh and India for over twelve years. Kohima has an M.A. in Sociology and General History from Jahanaghir University. She is currently also pursuing more education in International Development. Kohima works as a consultant to CRWRC partner staff in India and Bangladesh. Kohima specializes in community and organizational capacity development, literacy, and non formal education. 

EMAIL: kohima@agni.com

Nancy TenBroek

Nancy TenBroek has been working for CRWRC in Bangladesh and India for over twelve years. Prior to this, Nancy worked in Kenya, East Africa. Nancy has an M.A. in International Development: Health Promotion from the University of London, England. Nancy works as a consultant to CRWRC partner staff in India and Bangladesh. Nancy specializes in community and organizational capacity development and health promotion. 

EMAIL: nwrc@agni.com