Uma Nivas Project, India
The Purulia District is one of poorest and most neglected areas of West Bengal, India. Conditions are especially severe for women as social, economic and gender discrimination is still rampant. The cycle of inequality begins at a very young age, as only a few girls finish primary school. Without adequate education, women rarely break the pattern of poverty, disease and early death.
The Uma Nivas Project strives to empower women and girls by providing them with alternatives. The following list indicates the extensive educational opportunities provided by the project:
- Three homes for orphaned girls and young women
- Three primary schools
- Four all girl hostels, allowing girls from remote areas to board while attending school
- An all girl high school
- Two homeopathic clinics
- A music college for girls
“In the villages surrounding Uma Nivas, 98% of women are illiterate, only 15% of children go to school, and about 33% of the children are severely malnourished. Leprosy, tuberculosis, and malaria are widespread.”
Uma Nivas Staffperson
