Feb 10 - 14: Mumbai : Pratibimb to support livelihood issues of NGOs across country!

Rangoonwala Foundation is a registered trust having development programs in the areas of health, livelihood, education, disability, and community services. Our development work in India is two fold: (1) funding support to NGOs, (2) reaching out to marginalized communities through direct interventions. We are supporting 18 NGOs across the country and have several direct programs, including our Community Center in the heart of the Jogeshwari slums.

The Rangoonwala Foundation (India) Trust is organizing its annual event, Pratibimb, at Bajaj Bhavan, Nariman Point, 14 – 16 February 2007. Our partner NGOs from across India will participate. Pratibimb showcases the income generating work of marginalized people and helps participating NGOs to build marketing and network support for their livelihood initiatives.

The key to the success of income generating activities of Voluntary Organisations is effective marketing. The exhibition-cum-sale attempts to give this impetus to participating organizations as well as an opportunity to the producers for a direct interface with customers.With no middlemen between them, customers benefit by purchasing directly from the producers. Producers benefit from direct customer response; helping them to innovate and modify products for the future.

This is a small effort towards sensitizing civil society to issues concerning the socially and economically marginalized amongst us. The participating Rangoonwala Foundation partner organizations are:

• SEWA Ahmedabad – livelihood  restoration work with women
• Dastkar Andhra, Secundrabad - working with handloom weavers in Andhra Pradesh
• Janvikas, Halol / Kalol - livelihood restoration work with women
• Helen Keller Institute for the Deaf and the Deafblind, Mumbai - vocational training and income generating activities for the physically challenged
• Aured, Mumbai - working with the hearing impaired
• Sruti, New Delhi - income generating activities for street youth
• The Banyan, Chennai - rehabilitation work with mentally challenged women
• Nirmala Niketan Institute, Chirag project, Mumbai -  worked with HIV/AIDS  affected women
• Mahila Sewa Trust, Sewa Childcare project, Ahmedabad - running childcare centers for self employed women affected by ethnic conflict in Ahmedabad
• The Yoga Institute, Mumbai - working on yoga training and research
• Rangoonwala Community Centre, Mumbai - capacity building and health related work with women and children of slum communities.

 This year we have added a feature to Pratibimb: 13 February 2007 has been earmarked as an exchange, interaction forum between our participating organizations and Mumbai based NGOs, CBOs and educational institutions. We are happy to convey that this has received a very good response. On February 14, 15, 16, 2007 the event is open to the public at large.

It would be great support, if you can put up this message in your daily digest. We would be delighted to provide you with further information. Please get in touch with Abhishek Bharadwaj (mobile # 9324496877) or Nisreen Ebrahim (mobile # 9820302854) for further coordination. Thank you,

Warm Regards,

Abhishek Bharadwaj (Program Officer) with Nisreen Ebrahim (Managing Trustee)

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RANGOONWALA FOUNDATION--INDIA
85 Atlanta, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021
Tel: +91-22-66612553/63,  Fax: +91-22-66321978
Email: rfindia@vsnl.net, nisreen@rangoonwala.org,