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Message from our Managing Trustee
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"The challenge is to make development sustainable, through the active participation of communities - the true agents of change." |
The Process of change in any society is measured by its impact on the lives of people. It is only by creating sustainable changes at the grass root level that a country can achieve the milestones of national development.
Today, the development efforts of the Srinivasan Services Trust have made a difference to the lives of 55,740 families. Life has changes for the better for families who now have food, financial security and easy access to primary health care. All children in SST villages attend school regularly, giving them the necessary education to become economically independent.
There have been far reaching changes in the rural environment too. Over one lakh hectares if degraded forests have been reforested. Successful implementation of watershed development programmes has raised the water table and prevented soil erosion in 5,800 hectares of land. Together with scientific methods of agriculture, it has helped farmers to earn a steady income, all year around.
The challenge is to make this change sustainable through the active participation of communities- the true agents of change. Ours is a relationship of mutual trust, with project priorities fixed through discussion. Each village has created its own Development Fund. Local communities contribute to this fund and utilize it for maintenance of village infrastructure. The people manage these projects and zealously guard the gains of development, often improving upon the original project objectives.
We are grateful to our partners who have made significant contributions to this development effort. Today we serve a population of about a quarter million. In the near future, with more partners joining us and with a larger network, we hope to touch the lives of over a million people.
Venu Srinivasan
Managing Trustee
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