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SOCIETY FOR WELFARE, ANIMATION AND DEVELOPMENT (SWAD)

Society for Welfare, Animation and Development (SWAD) is a humanitarian, non-governmental and civil society organization registered under Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 on August 19, 1993 at Rayagada, Odisha, India. SWAD works for the holistic development of socially, economically and educationally vulnerable communities with a special focus on livelihoods, education, health, community organization, agro-entrepreneurship and natural resource management, justice, peacebuilding, basic rights and entitlements. Since its inception, SWAD provides institutional care for the orphans, aged, leprosy affected persons, prisoners, physically challenged, and through relief and rehabilitation in times of disasters irrespective of their caste, creed, colour and ethnic affiliation.

SWAD seeks to ‘walk with the poor together towards Peace and Development’ in the eight Southern Districts viz. (1) Ganjam, (2) Gajapati, (3) Rayagada, (4) Koraput, (5) Malkangiri, (6) Nabarangpur, (7) Nuapada and (8) Kalahandi in Odisha. In and through the participation of the communities, SWAD envisages to promote their health, livelihood and dignity. It values mutual social responsibility in giving rise to a peaceful, harmonious and prosperous Odisha as its activities focus on democracy, good governance, entitlement, livelihood, relief to the people in different calamities and dignity of the indigenous and marginalized people. These attempts are intended to serve the interests of every individual in the society, particularly the poor, women, children and the disadvantaged vulnerable community.

‘SWAD’ AS AN N.G.O.

Berhampur Social Service Society: While implementing these programs, SWAD stresses upon an environment in which vulnerable groups, particularly women, children, dalits and tribals are able to access livelihood which ensures a fair standard of living and give them greater independent control over their lives. The aspiration of SWAD is always to have a society in which dominant interests are not perpetuated at the expense of the poor and powerless. This may be an ambitious vision but through the diverse energies of the people it could be forged into a reality. Above all, SWAD has brought out significant changes in the lives of the vulnerable people like forest dwellers, tribals, unorganized labourers, marine fishermen, families affected due to flood / drought / cyclone/epidemic/HIV-AIDS to enable them to overcome problems in areas like Health, Community organization, Awareness, Education, Entitlement, Rights, Participatory watershed management, Natural Resources Management, Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution, Micro Finance and Entrepreneurship programs. and so on.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES:

A. Promotion of the Rights, Dignity and Culture of the Target Community

  • Sensitization on the Human Rights and Entitlements of the Dalits, Tribals and other vulnerable communities
  • Conscientization on the social responsibilities towards the society at large
  • Mainstreaming the cultural identity and tradition of the Marginalized Communities, especially that of Dalits, Tribals and Vulnerable Populations
  • Promoting and facilitating the enjoyment of the constitutional rights of the target communities

B. Promotion of the all round development of the Children and the Youth

  • Ensuring the Rights of the Children (Ensuring Survival, Development, Protection and Participation)
  • Facilitating an environment for their growth and development
  • Strengthening the Institutions that facilitate the intellectual, spiritual and social development of the children and the Youth
  • Building the skills and talents of the Children and the Youth to be successful human beings
  • Facilitating Children and Youth with special need to integrate into the mainstream
  • Mainstreaming out of school children through Bridge Courses and motivational centres
  • Identifying brilliant students and capacitating them for leadership and professional services

C. Promotion of Peaceful and Harmonious Societies with Development

  • Creating trust, communal harmony for a peaceful coexistence, establishment of village institutions to integrate traditional and modern peacebuilding methods and principles
  • Alliance and network building with the state and civil societies, government institutions, organisations for peace and faith traditions for promoting peace and non-violence
  • Peacebuilding from individual to households to community to institution and district authority level
  • Involvement of CBOs for Peace and Development covering all sections of the village such as children, youth, women and other institutions
  • Action Reflection Learning and Dissemination  
  • Capacity development of different stakeholders to build a local pool of human resource in the core strategy of peacebuilding
  • Collective efforts through SHGs, Youth clubs and Children Association for peace promotion
  • Preparation of Conflict Sensitive Development Planning and implementation
  • Ensuring Do No Ham mainstreaming in all developmental initiatives of SWAD

GENESIS OF SWAD

Society for Welfare, Animation and Development (SWAD) is the social wing of the Catholic Diocese of Berhampur for Justice, Peace and Development. Inspired by the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ, the Christian Community in South Odisha has reached out in social concern to the poor and the destitute of the area for more than two hundred years.

Since the inception of Christian presence in the area, concern for the plight of the poor has been an integral part of the Church’s Mission. The work of the Missionaries of Saint Francis de Sales (MSFS) during the Great Orissa Famine of 1866 is a remarkable chapter of the Church’s commitment to the poor in Odisha. The Missionaries started printing press and wrote grammar books to promote vernacular language and literacy. They established orphanages, schools and hostels to spread the light of knowledge in the interior tracts of South Odisha. Some of the schools started in the area trace back to as early as 1850s.

As Social Development evolved, a science and more professionalism was required in the year 1993, the Diocese of Berhampur registered the SOCIETY FOR WELFARE, ANIMATION AND DEVELOPMENT (SWAD) under the provision of SRA 1860 bearing the registration number 19433/47 having its offices at Berhampur, Rayagada and Birikote. It was also a conscious attempt to shift from a Charity Model of social work to a more secular, all inclusive and professional model that this field demanded. Ever since SWAD has been making attempts to manifest the social concern of the Catholic Church in the eight districts of South Orissa through education, health care, community organization, agro entrepreneurship, natural resource management, peacebuilding and conflict transformation, care for the orphans, aged, lepers, prisoners, physically challenged and through relief and rehabilitation in times of disasters.

Today nearly 1200 dedicated social workers, teachers and nurses are present in more than 585 villages of South Odisha (Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Rayagada, Gajapati and Ganjam) educating 20,000 children in 24 schools, more than 4000 Dalit and Tribal Children of interior villages where there are no schools are given hostel facilities to study, more than 69,000 sick people in 19 health centers are treated annually, caring for 150 lepers in 3 leprosaria, 80 physically challenged, 300 senior citizens in 5 centers and animating and organizing numerous people’s organizations.