Village Welfare Society (VWS) has been working with the underprivileged and the marginalised in West Bengal since our inception in 1982. Our aim has always been to identify those in need and provide them with the wherewithal to break free from the cycles that they were condemned to. In doing this, we not only mobilise the scattered resources in the economy: be that Governmental, Corporate, or individual, but also help spread socio-economic prosperity and empowerment at the grassroots, to areas that are often outside the ambit of traditional developmental interventions.

The Annual Report is more than a report card of our performance. It is also a pledge that we make to ourselves as we look at the year that was, even as we look forward to the future.

Our Vision:
To touch and transform lives.

Our Mission:
To foster social, economic, and cultural development through healthy and sustainable means among those who need our healing touch the most – especially the underprivileged and marginalized women.   

Core Values

• Sustainability and Environment inclusivity
• Innovation and excellence
• Gender Equality
• Integrity, Ethicality and Transparency

Objectives

Village Welfare Society works in close cooperation with a number of Governmental departments, Corporate Houses, Non-Governmental Organisations, and other like-minded people. We are grateful to them for their continued support and encouragement.

• To provide necessary educational kit to the distressed children who face multiple financial and social challenges to continue their education.
• Right to Education is one of the basic rights of children but many children do not get access to education due to the inability of their families and society at large. VWS is trying to initiate them into the process by providing them with a nominal education kit which will then be followed up with efforts to bring them on board by mainstreaming them into the formal education sector in the near future as part of a long-term objective.

Strategic Approach

Participatory: Ensure active participation of all the stakeholders
Inclusion: Focus on mainstreaming the socio-economically disadvantaged communities towards better life and livelihood
Sustainability: Focus on capacity building of the community people to plan and act in an environment-friendly way

Focus Areas

• Gender equality and women empowerment
• Skill development and employability
• Child rights and protection
• Child Education
• Environment protection and regeneration
• Water sanitation and hygiene promotion
• Sustainable agriculture and food security
• Eldercare
• Mainstreaming of the ultra-poor women and through them their families

Infrastructure

• Village Welfare Society has created a three-storied building at Pancharul, Howrah where the Registered Office is situated. The building includes furnished and equipped office rooms, a training cum production centre, accommodation for the trainees with the capacity of 30 participants, along with other logistical facilities. The Model School building is also in the same compound.
• The Head Office is situated at “VILLAGE TOWER” in Ariadaha, Kolkata. It is a five-storied building with well-equipped office rooms, training halls, accommodation of 40 participants with modern facilities, manned by trained and experienced staff.
• Newly constructed building named “ANANDAM”, with a floor area of almost 6000 square feet for expanding the facilities of the old-age home, adjacent to the existing building at Howrah.
• VWS also has a well-equipped project office at Gurap in Dhaniakhali, Hooghly.

Human Resources:

On the VWS payroll there are seven qualified members with an average of 25 years of experience of working in the development sector who work as policymakers.

The policymakers are supported by a group of 15 dynamic and qualified professionals comprising nine men and six women with experience and skillsets covering both rural and urban development.

Timeline:

Future Initiatives:

Addressing the needs of the challenged communities in a sustainable and inclusive manner is our goal. We shall continue to tread on this path. Towards this end, we realise the need to seek out key players with diverse viewpoints on identified issues, to forge partnerships with government departments, non–government entities and corporate bodies for the continuation of the running programmes and those that are being initiated.

Issues like poverty alleviation, elderly care, water accessibility, sanitation, hygiene promotion, women empowerment, livelihood creation, and skill enhancement will be strategically addressed as a continuation of past activities. The integrated programme for older persons (extended Old Age Home and Mobile Medicare Unit) and child education initiatives will be accorded increased attention.

The current year will also witness our role as an incubator of skill development that will offer specialised modules on Retail Sales; Medical Sales Representative; caregiver to the elderly; Computer Hardware, and peripherals repair. Such training will be available for both educated males and females and will be aimed at enabling them to earn their livelihood. The need for such empowerment at the bottom of the pyramid for the overall growth and development of the economy cannot be overemphasised.

Additionally, different issue-based awareness, and action programmes – on consumer awareness; mother and child health; cancer prevention; benefits of herbal medicinal plants; awareness of HIV and AIDS; saving water and soil; environment awareness and regeneration; saving girl child etc will also be continued as usual.

Secretary’s Message:

Dear Friends,

The period under review was one of the most difficult ones faced by the organization since its inception and I want to start by thanking everyone who stood by us in our hour of need and helped us to overcome what looked like insurmountable odds. That I am here writing this report to you, is largely due to many individuals who braved the circumstances for the sake of the greater good. Thank You.

Covid Capers

We faced the Covid pandemic and the lockdown that had followed with fortitude. Keeping the Old Age Home running, when the very act of securing daily provisions was a challenge was a Herculean Task, and the fact that we were able to do it, all the while keeping the dreaded disease at bay, was commendable. I would like to congratulate all – the doctors, caregivers, and inmates for their grit and resilience that helped us overcome these difficult times without a single mishap.

Our work in the Government Clinics was also conducted without any compromise whatsoever, despite the often-impossible obstacles that were faced and we hope to scale up operations as we go forward.

Operations at the school were suspended following directives from the concerned authorities and I am happy that we have been able to resume classes. The silence that had descended on the campus has since been broken by the happy din created by the children and it is my pleasure to note that the teachers, parents, and the children are working together to make up for the lost time.

Because of physical restrictions, we could not operate as many skills developmental programs as we would have liked to, but the number of such events that were conducted was praiseworthy. Empowering the youth, especially those from the vulnerable sections of society, by providing them with requisite skills, has been a core area of focus for VWS and we pledge to put more stress on this in the years to come.

Financial difficulties

Financially, this was one of the most trying periods for us as on the one hand, input costs soared unchecked while many of our donors were unable to extend the support that they wished to. Many projects that would have created revenue streams in their wake were also stalled for reasons beyond our control. Now that the pandemic is finally over, we are working overtime to revive them to ensure that we continue to move ahead with the speed that we had achieved earlier.

New Initiatives

To keep the inmates of the Old Age Home gainfully employed and to ensure their overall well-being, a project wherein incense sticks and various home cleaning products are manufactured has been initiated. The project has received a very encouraging response from the participating members who have taken the vow to turn it into a great success.

Village Welfare Society is also working on different such initiatives, which it is hoped, will help make the operations self-sustaining in the future.

Special Thanks

Our special gratitude to the members of Lions Club, Kolkata Regency, the trustees of Thandulal Manorma Devi Foundation, and Mr Sunil Shah, FCA.

An Appeal

We are living in an era of spiralling costs and the requirement of resources even to maintain operations is increasing by the day. While we are taking several steps to rationalize our spending and earn as much as possible through different commercial activities, we continue to be dependent on the generosity of our donors. It is my sincere appeal to all concerned to support our endeavor in these trying times.

Thank You.
With Best Regards,
Mr. Ajit Maity
Secretary, Village Welfare Society

Ongoing Programmes and Activities

Integrated Programme for Older Persons:

VWS has been working with aged women since the year 1993 through its Integrated Programme for Older Persons (IPOP).

This old age home is located at Pancharul, Udaynarayanpur, Howrah partly sponsored by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India under the scheme of Integrated Programme of Older Persons (IPOP) and is partly owned by the VWS.

The Home accommodates 50 destitute, neglected, and helpless women. Widows from different districts are given shelter and support free of cost. The focus is on creating a homely environment where the women can create bonds with each other even as they are all provided with all the basic amenities including regular health checkups, and recreational facilities. Not only are the ladies provided with their material requirements, but are also kept in good spirits through regular yoga classes, spiritual discourses and exposure to art and crafts.

Skill Development and Employability Enhancer

One of the key focus areas of the Village Welfare Society (VWS) is to provide skill-based training to needy beneficiaries. Under this initiative, candidates get the opportunity to acquire skill-based training to become beauty advisors and get gainfully employed in the burgeoning beauty and wellness sector.

Mostly women from the minority community are provided these opportunities to acquire the requisite skills and the certificates which act as passports to a new world of opportunities.

Youth unemployability is a crucial problem for society and due to a lack of technical or professional expertise, they miss out on opportunities to access technical openings. These skill development programmes are an important way of empowering the youth and VWS is in the process of further augmenting this initiative by adding entrepreneurship development modules to the existing programmes with a view towards further enhancing them.

Education:

Education is also a key focus area for VWS. It is our firm belief that every child should be provided with basic, elementary education, especially those who are forced into child labour due to poverty and accessibility issues. Village Welfare Society has initiated a schooling effort at the primary level in Howrah district. This pre-primary and primary education is every child’s need for their proper cognitive and numeracy development. This is also the foundation on which their future growth and development is built, denying which immediately pushes them into disadvantage in life.  Consequently, VWS believes that we should teach individual children and be respectful of and account for their individual uniqueness of age, gender, culture, and socio-economic background. All children should get the opportunity to learn in an accessible and inclusive environment to enhance their natural developmental process. VWS is committed to creating an opportunity where distressed children can get admission at the primary level with an optimum admission fee. The organisation also celebrates CRC week as part of this activity.

Rogi Sahayata Kendra:

This initiative is being implemented at the premises of Satyabala ID Hospital at Ghusuri, Howrah and is run by the Village Welfare Society (VWS) with support from the District Health and Family Welfare Samity (DHFWS). This is another important initiative of the organisation in its work with the marginalised and socio-economically challenged population. RogiSahayata Kendra’s objective is to provide diverse information and requisite services to patients and family members, especially to those hailing from economically challenged sectors. In the year 2022-2023 VWS supported around 1534 indoor patients, 1002 emergency patients and around 5102 outdoor patients.

Other Activities Conducted During the Year:

Name of the Programme: Children Day
Place of Implementation: Rajabagan Slum Area (Near Tantipara Bus Stop)

Objective:

• To provide necessary educational kit to the distressed children who face multiple financial and social challenges to continue their education.
• Right to Education is one of the basic rights of children but many children do not get access to education due to the inability of their families and the society at large.   VWS is trying to initiate them into the process by providing them with a nominal education kit which will then be followed up with efforts to bring them on board by mainstreaming them into formal education sector in the near future as the part of a long-term objective.

Expected Outcome:

• This opportunity will create a future perspective to work directly with these needy children for a better future and awareness regarding their basic child rights through the child rights orientation sessions provided by us.
• Instead of implementing it as a singular effort, VWS sought to turn it into a collaborative effort with like-minded organisations and individuals in the hope that the umbrella will work together in near future to eradicate and eliminate pressing social problems, especially with Right to Education.
• The effort will focus on sensitizing children regarding child rights as well as regarding the mainstreaming them into formal education.
• Sincere thanks to the collaborators:
• Pahchan Foundation
• Apollo Vridth care
• One Step for Humanity
• Lions Club of Calcutta North Femina

Education Kit Bag Content:

• Pencil Box with kits (Pen, Pencil, Eraser, Sharpener)
• Small Exercise Book
• School Bag
• Hand Sanitizer
• Face Mask
• Dry Food Packets

Number of Beneficiaries Covered:

Though initially 250 distressed children were targeted, due to the collaborative approach we could reach out to 300 children in the area. We are planning to reunite all the positive-minded individuals and organisations who had participated in the programme to take similar initiatives in the future.

An Appeal

Dear Friend,

It has been more than four decades since we started our journey to extend a hand of compassion to those who need it the most. The journey has been a long and arduous one, and if we have come so far, it is because of your generous support and good wishes.

We rely on the generosity of individuals, corporate entities, and organisations to create the resource base that is needed to continue the various projects that we undertake. All the work that we have done, or are doing, is well documented, properly audited and backed by the necessary sanctions from the relevant authorities. Our supporters therefore are privy to all the applicable tax breaks.

Our requirement for the current year will be to the tune of INR 7.5 crores and it is my ardent appeal to all of you to kindly support our activities with your generosity. Please note that following the pandemic, when many ongoing projects were challenged due to ensuing restrictions, it is imperative that we spread the healing balm on the most marginalised sections of our society to address the problems that have only been exacerbated forcing us to upscale our efforts.

Allow me to reiterate that no contribution – be that financial or volunteering – is small for us. It is drops that make the ocean. Please feel free to contact us should you wish to collaborate with us in this crusade to spread hope.

Thank You in advance for your support.

Mr. Ajit Kumar Maity
Secretary
Village Welfare Society

Acknowledgement

We gratefully acknowledge the support extended to us during the year by the following:

• Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India
• Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India
• West Bengal State Medicinal Plant Board, Government of West Bengal
• West Bengal Society for Skill Development (PBSSD)
• Department of Health and Family Welfare, West Bengal
• Concerned Central Ministry
• Concerned Departments, Government of West Bengal
• Rice Research Centre, Chinsurah, Hooghly
• Village financial Services Limited
• Concerned Local Bodies and Panchayats
• LIONS Club, Kolkata Regency
• ThandulalManorma Devi Foundation
• Mr. Sunil Shah, FCA
• Apollo Vridh care