What is good governance? How well can a person or a community access help or push for a needed change? How often are they heard? Village Square shines a light on the people and schemes making the biggest impact or providing the most unique solutions.
Governance
How to ensure better well-being of India’s elderly
On this International Elders’ Day, success of an intervention offering social bonding, and health cards providing the elderly easy access to health care, point the way for effective elder care
How village organizations effect change in rural India
Coming together as a collective helps women shed their inhibitions and realize their potential by working towards personal growth and amplify their voices in confronting disparities
Woman panchayat chief on course to transform village
From efficient COVID-19 preparedness and relief measures to advocating girls’ education and converting a dumping ground into a park, Kanku Ben Amritlal offers hope in rural development
How interactive audio helped migrants during lockdown
An existing interactive voice response system was refashioned, enabling migrant workers in destination cities get messages regarding their circumstances across, subsequently facilitating their return
Adivasi communities restore common wells during lockdown
When repeated requests for better access to drinking water failed, members of a women’s collective convinced returned migrant youth to restructure community wells during lockdown
Lack of livelihood pushes returned migrants back to cities
Lakhs of rural Rajasthan migrants returned easily during lockdown since they worked in neighboring Gujarat. However, with no local employment avenues, the urban exodus would start again
Of cockroaches and digital health records
While digital health policy and proposed digitization of health records look good on paper, for it to be effective, basic rural health care services should function
Bank sakhis help villagers get lockdown financial relief
In villages that lack banking facilities, banking correspondents carry out related work as banks’ representatives. They have been instrumental in beneficiaries receiving their lockdown welfare support
Specialized agency rescues children, facilitates legal adoption
In a government – civil society partnership, approved agency rescues abandoned and illegally adopted children, and takes cares of them till their legal adoption comes through