Mission Education is a national level programme of BKR(Boda karuna Ram)welfare society, an NGO for education that is committed to providing basic education and healthcare to underprivileged children. BKR(Boda karuna Ram)welfare society, an NGO for poor child education believes that whether you are addressing healthcare, poverty, population control, unemployment or human rights, there's no better place to start than in the corridors of education. Education is both the means as well as the end to a better life; means, because it empowers an individual to earn his/her livelihood and the end because it increases one's awareness on a range of issues – from healthcare to appropriate social behaviour to understanding one's rights, and in the process evolve as a better citizen.BKR(Boda karuna Ram)welfare society educational initiatives include Pre-school [3-6 yrs], Non-Formal Education [6-14 yrs non-school going], Remedial Education [6-14 yrs school going] and Bridge Course [14-18 yrs drop-outs]. It is an education NGOM which works for education for underprivileged children who are under difficult circumstances, such as child labour, children of poorest of the parents, children inflicted and affected with HIV/AIDS, street and runaway children, children with rare disabilities, disaster struck children and slum children. Special emphasis is given on girls' education and women's education so that they and their families get empowered. Since its inception in 2002, more than 232,000 underprivileged children have directly benefitted from the Mission Education programme
"He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything" – Arabic proverbIndia has made rapid strides in the health sector since independence. However, various eye-opening data from NFHS clearly indicate that access to healthcare still remains a challenge. While the health statistics of rural India continue to be poor, the health status and access to health for the poor in urban slum dwellers has surfaced to be equally deplorable and have less than 4% of government primary healthcare facilities. Urban slum dwellers suffer from adverse health conditions owing to mainly two reasons –first the lack of education and thus lack of awareness; and second the unwillingness to lose a day’s wage in order to reach the nearest medical facility. Healthcare for the underprivileged, which is a desperate need, thus remains unaddressed. The need of the hour is thus a two-pronged approach – first to bring quality healthcare services to the doorsteps of the needy and second to promote healthcare awareness and contemporary healthcare-seeking behaviour among the underprivileged. In such a scenario a mobile healthcare services delivery system is the most practical mechanism. And in subscription to this view, Smile Foundation has initiated the Smile on Wheels programme. This is a unique mobile hospital programme that seeks to address problems of mobility, accessibility and availability of primary healthcare with a special focus on children and women, in urban slums and remote rural areas. The Smile Foundation on Wheels programme has so far provided free healthcare services to more than 15,41,000 children and families.
Various studies, as well as our experience, have shown that when we work towards women's empowerment, the whole society benefits. But unfortunately in India, far from empowering women, most are denied even their basic rights like health, education of girls for women empowerment, employment and a respectable status in society. According to a recent UNDP Human Development Report, India has a dangerously imbalanced sex ratio, the chief reason being rampant female infanticide and sex-selective abortions. Swabhiman, meaning self-respect in English, was initiated in 2005 to address these challenges through a simple yet effective approach. The programme is specifically aimed at the realization of both individual and collective self-esteem and inner strength for marginalised and socially excluded women and adolescent girls through innovative community practices. A tailor-made strategy called the '4 S Model' has been developed under Swabhiman, the women empowerment programme. The ‘4 S Model’ is an acronym for four novel approaches, namely Seeking Healthcare as a Behaviour, Support for Education, Supporters through Male Involvement, and Sustaining the Change in Communities. The programme identifies adolescent girls and women from the community and develops them into Change Agents, who in turn actively contribute to the community mobilization process. So far, Swabhiman through women's education empowerment programs and health programmes has successfully made a difference in the lives of over 560,000 women and girl children.