MJVS serves as the ground of planning and action for various means of Youth Development, addressing to not only the Rural Youth but for the Urban Youth as well. It has always been a constant effort of the team at MJVS to make this space even more dynamic and well equipped with information and the plan of action for all sorts of developmental training’s. This includes a number of Camps, Workshops, Field visits as well as personal guidance for the youth. These are designed to be accessible in order to reach out to the maximum people and have proven to be very much effective in terms of bringing better opportunities and ideas of development.

The economy of people in rural areas is intimately connected to the local natural resources – its land, forests, and water resources. With agriculture, predominantly rain-fed, being one of the major occupations in Madhya Pradesh, developing an understanding around sustainable land and natural resource management, and adopting practices that conserve, preserve, and improve the environment seems more vital. For the last 20 years, MJVS is tirelessly working towards building the capacity of the community to manage the local resources in a non-violent manner – one which protects land, water, forests, and animals. Thus, advocating and promoting organic farming, composting, sustainable ways to enrich cultivable lands, plantation and cleanliness drives, water and waste management, solar energy providing training to farmers, creating awareness programs, and more, the organisation is trying to develop a consciousness among the community and mainstream ways that benefit the people and protects the environment.

Villages are often considered to be confining in terms of women leadership and ownership but this belief is constantly being challenged by the unwavering efforts by MJVS and their team of women leaders. Organizing workshops, expert sessions and training’s are a part of this great empowerment which further helps to build a strong foundation for all valorous women in the communities of the village and beyond.

This initiative has some challenges of its own which are appreciably tackled by the dedicated team of trainers and volunteers from the organization and encourages others to be a part of the same. Women are encouraged to form their own self help groups and are guided by experts to establish their own line of work.

Many indigenous communities and denotified tribal communities have been deprived of their rights to possess land and resources for many decades now The Forest Department have exploited such communities by acquiring their lands by force and destroying their food crops. The inhabitants of the forest, the indigenous communities who have lived out of the forests for centuries became deprived and were forced to find livelihood and survival opportunities outside Forest Rights Act was introduced in 2006 an act that ensures entitlement of cultivable land patches and forest resources to tribal communities. But there was lack of awareness among such communities on the Forest Rights Act.

MJVS has been fighting for the struggles of such landless communities for many years through non-violent approaches, padyatras, awareness campaigns and advocacy. Ekta Parishad has had a history of working on land rights struggles through non-violent approaches and MJVS plays a key role in leading these struggles for deprived tribal communities in the Bundelkhand region.

Since its inception, Manav Jeevan Vikas Samiti has strived to work towards the economic empowerment of the village communities Exploitation by the Government in the form of land grabbing and destruction of food crops left the village communities into deep poverty. Even after obtaining their share of land, lack of knowledge on effective land use does not give them enough yield to earn enough to be able to sustain their families. Resultantly, they migrate to other villages and cities and most of them work as labourers. Manav Jeevan Vikas Samiti aims to help such deprived communities to earn enough livelihood to keep their families healthy and happy, MJVS believes that such a change can be brought about by making the communities. self sufficient and help them generate abundant resources for themselves, MJVS has worked at several levels with farmers, women and youth by empowering and training them on various productive skills and innovative technologies

India’s rich culture and heritage along with its diversity is unparalleled. The rural India exhibits this cultural diversity and heritage in its true sense which has been looked at by the entire world Tourism in such rural areas is a way to create employment without compromising with the environment and ecology there. Thus, rural tourism contributes to rural development. It allows the creation of an alternative source of income for the villagers in these rural areas.

MJVS aims to provide such sustainable and non-violent livelihood alternatives to the underprivileged. Releasing how tourism can play an important role in diversifying the rural economy and how its expanding in rural areas can contribute to the sustainability of the population and the socio-economic conditions of these areas, MJVS has been working since 2012 with Tamadi and Gareema India around rural tourism to provide basis for achieving sustainable development in their villages and working towards self-reliance.

Providing emergency relief is one of the key areas of work of MJVS The remote villages in which MJVS works are prone too environmental and natural disasters and relief for people in such areas reaches very late. It all started in the year 2004 when Bundelkhand and Bagelkhand regions were hit with severe floods that had shattered human life in that region. With the help of Delhi-based organisation, Goonj, MJVS provided relief kits including clothes and ration to 20,000 families in the flood hit regions After this, MJVS took up the work of cloth distribution and relief work on a regular basis and started many initiatives like “Kaam ke badle Kapda” (Clothes as remuneration for work), “School to School Program”, emergency relief work as well as distribution of sanitary napkins to women.

During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the team at MJVS made relentless efforts to provide relief kits and livelihood sources to the thousands of migrants who returned back to their villages.

REACH & IMPACT

51762 people have benefited from the Cloth Distribution Initiative of MJVS with Goonj.

14305 Men, 16400 Women, 16220 Children,  4837 Schools,

1050 Families have been provided emergency relief ration kits during the COVID-19 pandemic by the BRLF project of MJVS.

EDUCATION : Many communities that MJVS works with, are based in remote villages that are far from facilities like schools and hospitals The children of the such families, which are tirelessly work to make ends meet each day, are neglected. When MJVS started noticing such issues in some villages. they began to establish schools, appointed local teachers and enrolled the village children in those schools 5 primary schools have been set up in different districts, in which 475 children are seeking education MJVS also conducts training programs on alternative education in which the participants explore various innovative pedagogies to impart fundamental knowledge in the social, political, historical, ecological to children and make them critical thinkers and productive citizens.

HEALTH : MJVS also sends doctors to the villages to check on the health status of the people and provide medical care The organisation’s work on cultivating herbs has also brought many health benefits to the people. MJVS also caters to animal health in these areas. The village people are trained on animal treatment.

ENTITLEMENTS TO OTHER GOVT SCHEMES : MJVS conducts awareness workshops to help the village communities get benefits of many government schemes for farming, horticulture, food security, livelihood, etc. They also work with Anganwadis and School Management Committees and create awareness on child rights. The various govt schemes that have been ensured for the people include Ujjwala Beema Yojna, Kisaan Credit Card, Old Age pension, PM Jan Kalyan Yojna, Rojgaar Guaratee Act, PDS cards, etc.

ERADICATING ALCOHOLISM : MJVS believes that there is no place for intoxicating products in a village of Gandhi’s dream Many awareness campaigns have been organised in which people have been made aware of deaddiction. Such issues are brought up in the gram sabha and an open dialogue with women, government officials, etc are facilitated. Since 2004, MJVS has been organising awareness campaigns on deaddiction every year in the first week of October. Its efforts have eradicated alcoholism completely from one of the villages, Jamuniya, in Badwara block.