2021 has begun with an emotion of hope and positivity. The new budget has given a direction to the nation, and social workers who recently got recognition with the Padma awards have given us optimism for the sparks of change. 2021 also marks Sewa International entering the 24th year of existence. From our humble beginnings with supporting relief activities across India with our grassroots partner(s) who are almost always the first boots on the ground to slowly but surely transitioning to a more development-oriented organization focussing on burning issues of livelihoods, health services and climate change, we have come a long way to our current form as a social impact-driven organization. Continuing our journey, January was a happening month. From learning the knitting of Kandali to running health camps, from winning awards internationally to training young girls in self-defence, we enjoyed and are humbled by every bit of service and support that we have rendered to the community. Sharing those moments of joy with you, bounded with texts and images. Hope you enjoy the joy of sewa with us. Regards, Nishant Aggarwal Chief Executive Officer, Sewa International

January Celebrations

The new year began with the celebration of the National Youth Day, with Baal Panchayat children creating drawings on their imagination of their villages, soon followed by the celebrations of the National Girl Child day on 24th January where we discussed the issues of female foeticide, trafficking etc with adolescent girls as part of Sewa Uttarakhand project. For more information, check out our social media posts.

Innovations in Knitting

This month was full of new experiments for around 390 SHGs in Rudraprayag and Chamoli District. A discussion session was organized for the Sewa Mahila Jyoti Team on "Design using Kandali (Nettle) for Woolen Apparels", which was addressed by Mr K D Sharma, CEO of Descatuk- Dev Ethical Sustainable Crafts and Textiles, Dehradun.

To minimize the Covid-19 effect in the life of migrants in mountains, our team in Uttarakhand is organizing free community training on knitting. In the month of January, basic knitting training was given to 23 participants. It was organized at the Pogtha Pokhari cluster, which indirectly benefited 13 migrant families from the same village. Further, if any of the participants want to get deeper knowledge in knitting then he/she are encouraged at our Knitting Center.

Serving the unserved: Medical Care

Swasthya Sewa Arogyam is benefitting the community in Uttrakhand and Rajasthan. On one end, free dental and eye checkups benefitted around 122 patients from the Sewa Aarogyam initiative organized in collaboration with Vivekananda Eye Hospital in Uttarakhand, on other end, First Aid Kits were distributed among ASHA and Anganwadi members for timely availability of primary medical help at the village level itself.

With the support of Oracle, Arogyam’s Camps in the villages of Rudraprayag and Chamoli are conducting regular health check-ups and creating awareness about menstrual health for adolescent girls, information on Covid-19 vaccination and taking forward our nutrition mission via camps in the identified 24 service points more than 200 villages of Rudraprayag and Chamoli.

Continuing our efforts in providing last-mile healthcare services, our Mobile Medical Unit(MMU) in Pathredi Industrial Area, Alwar (Rajasthan) this month we reached out to a total of 1762 new patients which included 1024 were females and 738 were males coming for the medical consultation, free medicines, follow-up check-ups, and referrals.

Partners, who make us proud!

Sewa International takes pride to congratulate Dr Dhananjay Diwakar Sagdeo, Chief Medical Officer(CMO) of Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission, one of our partner organizations on receiving the prestigious Padmashri Award, one of the highest civilian Awards in Bharat.  Under his supervision, SVMM has been implementing numerous health projects, specially curing debilitating Sickle Cell Anemia among the tribal community in the Wayanad District of Kerala state since 1992. 

Self Defence Training & Menstrual Awareness: We organized a 3-day self-defence training program in Lucknow and multiple menstrual hygiene awareness camps at various locations across Karnataka covering over 477 beneficiaries.

School Kit Distribution: Sewa International distributed 950 school kits across various schools in Karnataka as the schools reopened. With the economy still running low, we hope that the School Kits keep the spirits of the children and their families high.

Winter Care Campaign: Phase IV

Under our winter care campaign, Sewa distributed slippers to the little barefoot providing care and love near Kirti Nagar area, New Delhi.

 Evolving to the new needs: PMKK gets an update

Sewa International social media handles hosted the live events on launching of PMKVY3.0 on its various centres. Sewa International PM Kaushal Kendra. Students attended the live event in the presence of eminent personalities.

Handicraft Exhibition: Kutch

Sewa Kala Srushti Private Limited has participated in a four-day handicraft demonstration organized by the District Industrial Cooperative Federation of Kutch from 17 to 20 January. In the exhibition, we demonstrate the beautiful artwork done by the traditional artisans and showed how they are making their livelihood out of the traditional arts and hence contributing to Vocal for Local Initiative of government. 

Covid-19 Rehab - Towards AtmaNirbhar Bharat

We are executing different programs in the field of health and sustainable livelihood, with the support of Oracle in different locations of Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Tripura. Beneficiaries of these programs are from lower (middle) class families and people who have lost their jobs due to the ongoing pandemic. 

Spread across the Bengaluru and Chikmagalur districts of Karnataka, Sewa training centers under these programs are providing Basic Computer Skills and English training classes. We are also providing placement to the trainees in collaboration with our recruiting partner Vaahan. 79 women are being trained in basic and advance tailoring concepts across different locations in Karnataka.

As part of AtmaNirbhar Bharat mission, an Arecanut Leaf Plate Making unit is under construction in Kanchanpur area of Tripura. This initiative is expected to enable the local communities to gain meaningful employment while contributing to a sustainable lifestyle in the nation.

More initiatives under these projects include Sewa Krishi Sansadhan Kendra, Seed Bank, Supply chain management of organic farm produces, Development of Model Village Enterprises and Sewa Yuva Udhyami Kendra and e-health centres.

More initiatives under the programs supported by Oracle, include Sewa Krishi Sansadhan Kendra, Seed Bank, Development of Model Village Enterprises, Sewa Yuva Udhyami Kendra and novel e-health centres to take care of the livelihood and healthcare needs to the villagers in Uttarakhand.

Global 'Sewa' Updates

Sewa International’s Boston Chapter organized its Annual Fundraiser "Nrityameva Jayate dance competition"  via Facebook Live and YouTube. With more than 100 performances by over 200 participants from 25 dance schools, the 2020 program was able to raise over $20,000 to benefit communities via Sewa’s “Feeding the Hungry” and COVID relief programs. 

Sewa International was honoured in recognition of its services to the community on Pravasi Bharatiya Divas at the Consulate General of India, New York.

We wish to thank our volunteers, donors, and everyone involved for being a part of the sewa family and supporting us in our journey.