Organization Profile
It all began in 1976 when Jacob Dharmaraj and Daisy moved into the tribal belt of Koraput in Orissa to respond to the poverty oppression and ill health of the Konds and Kuvi who have lived there over the centuries. In 1983 they then initiated the NGO called PREPARE, India Rural Reconstruction and Disaster response service which has evolved into a national, secular,
non profit development organization.
Our focus
people and the focal regions are the tribals in the hills of Orissa, fisherfolk
in the coastal belts of Andhra and the Dalits living in the river / lake beds
in Tamilnadu.
The priorities of PREPARE are mother and child
welfare, education, health, livelihood and employment generation for the
marginalized people. Towards the priorities, we initiate and participate with
the village community in development action aimed at bringing change in favour of destitutes and
orphans as well as groups suffering social, gender, generation, class and
oppression and support and strengthen village community organizations emerging
out of such actions.
We engage ourselves also in institutional care for
children, mothers and aged and foster solidarity and partnership among
voluntary agencies to strengthen voluntarism and democratic values in the
Indian Society.
Our Disaster Preparedness programmes include Emergency rescue, evacuation, emergency medical care and relief camp organization, rehabilitation and contingency plan development. PREPARE has a well trained team and works also through voluntary organizations, and Government departments. PREPARE is recognized by UNDRO (UN) in this regard.
Primary Health Care is one of our major activity where in we have trained 360 village level Dais who are supplemented by cluster level clinics and a referral hospital. Self reliance for better health by trained traditional birth attendants (Dais) in preventive, promotive and simple curative care including indigenous systems of medicine, nutrition rehabilitation, RTI and HIV / AIDS is a boon to our target villages.
PREPARE is also involved in initiating organization
of people such as SHGs in 260 villages. Education, literacy, leadership
training, micro credit, housing, processing and marketing of goods, besides
agriculture, forestry and water based activities are carried out through
village level organizations to reinforce family and community reconstruction
and promote socio economic justice to the poor especially women and children.
PREPARE worked in three states with field offices in Nellore, Pandillapalli and Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh, Mukundpur, Rayagada, Ganjam in Orissa, Sriperambudur and S.V.Chathiram in Tamilnadu with central office at Chennai. We supported a network of 11 NGO partners working in the coastal villages of Andhra and Tamilnadu
PREPARE‘s mission statement pledges to work towards enabling:
· indigenous
people to assert their rights to their identity, livelihood, to participate in
decision making for their development.
· local
communities to strengthen their participation in democratic processes at local
and national political levels
· local
people to negotiate with local Government and to protect their natural
resources
· women to
struggle for equality and justice
· communities
to safeguard their environment and natural resources to achieve sustainable
livelihood
HIV AIDS intervention
Our work on HIV AIDS started more
than15 years ago when we partnered with Ford Foundation in Tamilnadu and
DFID on health education among truckers on the highway between Tada and Vijayawada in Andhra
Pradesh. For the past en years or so we have focused on the truckers, sex
workers and the villages on the NH 5 , supported by Andhra Pradesh AIDS control
society. From Surareddypalem ,
Mederamatla and Chilakaluripet as bases our teams continued to reinforce
messages on HIV AIDS and STD. Referral services to Guntur and Ongole government hospitals for
diagnosis, and treatment continued. Prakasam is now considered to have the
highest prevalence in Andhra Pradesh and we continue care and support from our
office in Pandilapalli as well. We continue to provide care and support along
with TEST foundation in the local
villages and towns.
Community based care of the
people with disability
PREPARE’s intervention with the
physically and mentally challenged began about 15 years ago at Sriperambadur in
Tamilnadu .From this beginning it has now spread to Srikakaulam in Andhra
Pradesh.
It aims to prevent new
disability,, early diagnosis and treatment of existing disability, and
establish sustainable self-reliant and holistic rehabilitative services for the
disabled within their own community using their own resources & skills.
This would ensure equal opportunity and full participation of the disabled and the
community
During this year we have served
more than150 children with disability in Sriperambadur Taluk Tamilnadu
Chandrakumar a Physiotherapists, has taken charge at the
field leveling Sriperambadur program. Dr Daisy looks after this program and the
field based care has maintained in quality. The network of PWD meet once a quarter to discuss their
programs. Many children continue their
education and are employed in the local
industries.
While the incidence of polio has
markedly declined we see a steady number
of cerebral palsy and mentally retarded children every year. There are many
more children with disability in the neighbouring villages and there is a need
for expansion of our work there.
