Founded 1955 Location India | Type Community service | |
Area served Rural women rehabilitation | ||
Bharatiya Grameen Mahila Sangh or BGMS (National Association of Rural Women India), founded in 1955, is a non-political and non-sectarian national organization with branches all over India, in 14 states and union territories. It is affiliated with the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW), the world's largest organization for rural women, which in turn is a consultative body for UNO, UNESCO, WHO, and ILO.
Contents
- Children
- Stories of BGMS
- Destitute women
- Elderly women
- BGMS projects
- Voice of BGMS
- Youtube
- Branches
- References
The goal of BGMS is the welfare, uplift and empowerment of women, children, the aged and partially impaired. It works with UNODC in running an awareness programme on drug abuse in secondary schools, and is known for creating Mahila Mandals (women self-help groups) across villages in its areas, for women empowerment and education
Children
The children are provided with medical care, dental care, food, clothing, extracurricular activities, and education. In 2009, the Bangalore branch of BGMS started up an English-medium school for the children. The school, known as Shishukunj Vidyalaya, has six to eight teachers as well as a headmistress. The kids are divided into grades 1 through 8. Every week from Monday through Saturday all the students are educated in Math, English, Science, Hindi, Kannada, and more.
Stories of BGMS
Most children at BGMS are sent to the Sangh away from their families because of financial issues, lack of proper education, or family problems. Many of the children previously lived in villages with large families, who did not have enough money to support the entire family. The education available in the villages was not sufficient and parents sent their children to BGMS in order to receive a better education. .
Destitute women
The short stay home for destitute women is for women who have been victimized and traumatized by their husbands, in-laws or any others, and find themselves without any home. In BGMS, they are provided with vocational training and jobs to support themselves.
Elderly women
Elderly women, who have nobody to look after them, can find a home in BGMS. They are provided with food, medicare, and recreational facilities.
BGMS projects
BGMS is working on three projects:
Voice of BGMS
BGMS receives most of its donations from out of India. Many people from the United States, to Germany and London volunteer their time and effort at BGMS.
Volunteers of BGMS have created a Facebook page. The page includes hundreds of pictures, projects and information about BGMS. Information on how to donate to BGMS is also available.
Youtube
Volunteers of BGMS have created video documentaries of their experiences of BGMS.