NEWS
Naturopathy Volunteer Program
Forgotten Communities
In 1989, 15 children died due to a diphtheria outbreak in rural Udaipur, Rajasthan. The community reached out to the health care system but the case fell through the cracks. Jagran Jan Vikas Samiti (JJVS) stepped up. Advocating for the community, bridging the gap between the village and the government, the outbreak was halted.
JJVS is a community-based NGO that works with the rural tribal villages of Rajasthan, India. These communities are forgotten. They lack access to education and health infrastructure. Their resource rights are ignored and their local governments’ invalidated.
Yet they strive on… JJVS works in collaboration with community leaders and the government, embracing a balance between traditional knowledge and modern development, to fight for these forgotten communities.
“In rural areas, traditional systems of medicine are the primary healthcare source for 80% of the world’s population (WHO)”
“55% of Udaipur’s population remains impoverished, unable to meet their daily living needs.”
“When communities’ rights are ignored, they are displaced without recompense.”
“Study reveals that the biggest health-based struggle facing rural women and girls in Udaipur is menstrual hygiene and health.”
“During a drought adults may be forced to eat once every two or three days. Families will resort to taking turns eating.”
“Celebrating the individual faces that make up our community and the incredible work that they do”
Community Grown
Our story began with a handful of grain. In the village of Vali, Rajasthan the oppressive living conditions of indigenous people, inspired community members to each contribute a handful of grain monthly to a communal bank in support of grass roots activism and development. This is how JJVS began.
JJVS was community grown and we remain deeply community integrated. Most of our field workers live and work in the villages where they were born. JJVS empowers community-owned solutions through the training of traditional healers, organic farming practices, support of local governance and much more. Many of JJVS’ greatest accomplishments are a result of community efforts, such as the creation of the Guni Pharmacopeia, one of the most comprehensive catalogues of herbal remedies in existence. We want you to become part of our community, in whatever way works for you.