5) Description of housing product/service offering: INDCARE Trust, since its inception in 1989 has been working towards the empowerment of poor, underprivileged and deprived segments of the society using rights based approach.

Access to Housing Loan INDCARE advocated with various financial institutions and availed Rs 40 Lakh as a loan from Rashtriya Mahila Kosh, Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD). It has been the first time that Government has channelized resources to an NGO for the same issue. Over 100 households who belong to the relocated area of National Capital Territory, Delhi has availed the loan under the scheme. With this security of a roof on their heads, now families can look forward to having a secured future for their families and children.

Micro Finance and Micro Entrepreneurship: INDCARE’s experience with Micro Finance is more than 16 years old and fairly intensive. This concept has been used as an effective instrument to alleviate problems related to poverty and unemployment. Our mission has been on building an effective system of sustainable Self Help Groups which are accessible to poor women with a view to empower them through promotion of Income Generation activities. Sustainable efforts have been incorporated through local initiatives, self confidence, self reliance and co-operation for strengthening and expansion of existing SHGs.

6) Description of innovation: For the woman who is in the slums the threat of being evicted anytime is hanging like a sword. She is at the threat and facing the brunt of the same at that time. She faces the trauma of eviction. For the same INDCARE has started the preparedness of the community for the alternate relocation plans with the land owning agencies. The women of Mahila Chetna will be the aware women who know as to what is going to happen. The checklist of the do’s and dont’s will be provided to them after consultation with the community.

Shingari’s New Home (Low cost housing technology for poor women) She was relocated to Hastasal in west Delhi 2 years ago. Her colony has 4000 households in 5 blocks. When she came to this area, there were no roads, no toilets, no transport, no dispensary, no schools and electricity. INDCARE has provided her with a loan of Rs.35,000/- for the construction of her house along with the cost effective technology. Her husband being a mason was also trained on low cost housing technology for the construction of the house. Through this effort, the local community people started replicating the model. INDCARE has been assisting the urban poor for building more houses through community participation.

7) Benefits to clients: Mahila Chetna which in itself is a strong association of poor and marginalised women from the community, having rights based approach, is working for procurement of their basic facilities and amenities. Indcare has provided them with the ammunition of the knowledge, the self-esteem and the will through the medium of various trainings, exposure visits and capacity building programmes.

Today, members of Mahila Chetna, themselves plan their activities with regard to problems prevailing in their communities and execute it on their own. Social organisers are there in the community working with the members of Mahila Chetna for support and guidance. The members of mahila chetna are now paying visits to different government departments, conducting meetings with their elected area representatives and laisoning with various other departments. They get mobilised for taking action against any unjust or malpractices being carried out in their area. For this they stand together and raise their voice to uncorrupt the delivery system in their area. They have fought for rationing, electricity, water, roads, sanitation and schooling for their children. Their strength has now started providing fruits for their efforts made by them. Mahila Chetna is a forum of underprivileged women from slums, which addresses various issues like economic, social and habitat related problems. The ultimate objective is empowerment of women through formation of thrift and credit groups.

• ‘Mahila Chetna Forum’ has filed written submissions at National Human Rights Commission and Delhi High Court for equitable use of land, access to land and land resources for housing.

8) Key operational partnerships: INDCARE – NDPL Project There are currently about 1400 Non-regularised unauthorized colonies and a population of about 3 million living as squatters (in “jhuggi jhopries”); there is a like mismatch between planned and actual land use. While ineffective planning compelled the growing population of those who were excluded from lawful access to electricity to steal it. NDPL comes across a number of challenges specifically surrounding the theft of electricity and related safety issues. This is especially so in the lower strata of society / resettled areas (slums) where direct theft & safety hazards are interwoven with basic social values and are inherent of the socio-economic structure of these areas. In slum areas particularly, the key concern today is the safety of the consumer. Several incidents of theft through hooking have resulted in electrocution. With these problems, NDPL decided to educate consumers on power consumption and safety measures, so they can avail of electricity in a more meaningful, safe and economic manner. To realize this initiative of NDPL, INDCARE came forward to shoulder the responsibility in the partnership at the grass-root as well as at the advocacy level to ensure the maximum understanding of the consumers with regard to their safety and usage of electricity in an optimum manner.

INDCARE – Rashtriya Mahila Khosh, Government of India INDCARE directed sustained efforts towards motivating and encouraging women to organize and strengthen thei

9) Financial model: Support for urban poor housewives Kusum, a woman of 34 years in age residing in Hastsal area (a JJ slum cluster in west part of Delhi where Indcare is working for the last 5 years), had always been very aspiring in her life. She always wanted to get into something of her own, which would not only provide her with economic self-reliance but also fill her life with immense confidence. Being a member of “Mahila Chetna” would pay her in this way, she could only dream about this. The first loan she had borrowed from Indcare was an amount of Rs. 5,000/- in 2003. With this amount she had started a small stationery shop at her own residence at Hastsal. The next loan she applied for which she received was that of Rs.10,000/-. Since then her shop has been progressing.

          • Costs as percentage of income: 15

          • Financing: Indcare has been working in the field of urban empowerment for more than 17 years under several initiatives based on poverty education and social empowerment .during the course of time such initiatives were applauded and financially supported by various funding agencies. Under the urban housing rights, action aid India has been the leading agency that has extended its shoulder to support Indcare for the urban housing and land rights. Rashtriya Mahila Kosh has been one of the leading Government funding agency that has for the first time supported self help groups to avail housing loans through Indcare. This programme on micro-enterprise has been converged with the right based approach of Indcare. The people’s involvement has been drastically increasing under the banner of Mahila Chetna.

10) Effectiveness

          • Project outcomes: The beneficiaries belong to the poor and marginalized section of the society who were facing extreme conditions of weather and poor sanitation problems. Moreover, lack of proper housing conditions had an adverse impact on the health and education of their children. They had to compromise with the security and dignity of women due lack of infrastructure in their houses. Interventions Made • Interventions by Mahila Chetna in respective line departments for more access to housing rights policies. • Mahila chetna played an active role in awareness on their campaign against the MCD and DDA authorities. • Discussion on the master plan and tried to access Master Plan of 2001 to know that the area is under the deconstruction policy of the government.

          • Number of clients in past year: There are 10625 households from different communities have been recieveing benefits out of indcare’s initiative. All of them belong to low income group, however, due to the intervention of the Indcare, their living standard is raising gradually y

          • Percentage of clients that are poor or marginalized: 100

          • Potential demand: This outcome again is an eye opener for other people residing in different communities. More and more people, now approaching to the different units of the Indcare’s initiative for raising their living standards. Various loan schemes of RMK which disseminates laons on very minute interest through Indcare, have created possibility for the people to erect their own infrastructure. Also through SHGs people are availing loan benefits on simple interest.

11) Scaling up strategy

          • Stage of the initiative: Scaling Up stage.

          • Expansion plan: Capacity building of Mahila Chetna on shelter/housing rights Housing and shelter rights share the vision of a place to live with dignity. Mahila Chetna will work towards fuller realization of human dignity by respecting and promoting human rights to adequate housing. The approaches for capacity building could be carried on in form of shelter training programs/ workshops beneficial for gathering information on land rights on various issues like security of tenure, affordability, habitability and cultural appropriateness. During the process , Mahila Manch would also facilitate possible strategies and solutions and gain skills and knowledge necessary to provide comprehensive housing advice/ homelessness, gender land rights, discrimination land rights, discrimination of access to shelter by disabled, etc. During the workshops women will be given an insight on the prevailing schemes on land

12) Origin of the initiative: The process of development remains lopsided and incomplete if women are not involved in it. Mahila Chetna, which means bringing self-awareness in the women for their own development was started in 1994. Mahila Chetna, a core community organization, is a forum of slum women, involved in organizing women for addressing their rights and advocate for urban livelihood promoted by INDCARE.

Contact Information:
Reeva  Sood
Executive director
INDCARE TRUST
(NGO)
Plot no. F-66, Green Avenue, ColonelBhatia Marg, Vikas Puri, Hastasal, New Delhi
India
Tel: 011-25563131
Email: indcaretrust@yahoo.com
Website: www.indcare.org