RGCT: Alleviating Poverty in Remote Regions Of UP

by Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust

There are many NGO’s working for women empowerment being run in Delhi NCR for the benefit of the rural women that lies below the poverty line, and among the countless that provide the financial aid to the low earning groups, only a handful actually benefit them. This is not because the people are getting less amount of money, but it is because the rural, mostly uneducated people don’t really know how to effectively allocate their resources for the long-term benefit.

RGCT is the most fruitful among the NGO’s that are helping rural women as it offers the long-term solution for the problem of low earning groups, instead of instant aid for their basic needs. RGCT’s approach is centered upon skill development and capacity building of rural women, instead of simple fund collection, and raising infrastructure for them, and solves the problem of unemployment amongst these excluded groups.

A person who is skilled can earn his own living, some would say that it’s not enough for them to nurture their families, and so, RGCT has integrated these women into Self Help Groups (SHGs), which are involved in mass production, giving them better net profit, and by saving most of it to form the working capital, they increase their production to levels where they are able to contribute to the economy of India. This kind of financial inclusion opens new doors for them, like credits and loans for expansion of business and other purposes. Also, this kind of social integration helps them gain confidence and solve their problems with the help of other SHG members, who become friends for the lifetime.

Apart from the financial aspect, healthcare is another major issue that rural population face, eye ailments are the most common out of these, affecting the person of every age, and not everyone is able to pay for good quality eye treatment. To combat this predicament, RGCT has opened its best eye care hospital, known as Indira Gandhi Eye Hospital and research center (IGEHRC) in UP which offers the high-quality treatment at a minimal cost for the rural and urban people alike. Although the target population is from the most excluded groups of the society, but this hospital has opened its arms for the motherly care and welcome to all the people in the country who need affordable eye care services in UP. The branches of this hospital have been opened in Lucknow, Amethi, and Sohna, which together have catered to over 2.1 million patients till now. This hospital offers its services to everyone who needs the treatment without discrimination. Also, special training programmes are carried out for the rural people so that they can work in these hospitals, creating an amicable environment and removing the language barrier for the patients from rural areas, while providing these trained employees a source for good income.

Established by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi to realize the vision of her late husband Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, RGCT has been able to help the rural population of India, giving them the amount of care and assistance that was envisaged by the visionary former Prime Minister of India.