Sustainable Livelihood
The S-ILF livelihood program aims at initiating, strengthening and scaling up livelihood activities through financial, technical and capacity-building support to ensure the quality of life of people living in the leprosy colonies. It follows a demand-driven approach based on the need assessment followed by livelihood project proposal development covering SWOT analysis and cost-benefit analysis.
Community Mobilization
Community mobilization is done to create awareness among the community members on relevant issues like health, hygiene, education, alternative livelihood opportunities, gender equality, self-help, government schemes among others, etc. thereby broadening their outlook and improving well-being.
Capacity Building through training and network building
S-ILF facilitates beneficiaries to take informed decisions. The support continues at all stages of project development, ranging from awareness generation & mobilization, business orientation workshops, feasibility study, and market survey to capacity building and establishing market linkages.
Capacity building of the beneficiaries through general Entrepreneurship Development Program training workshops, periodic product-specific training, and exposures in various underlined domains are conducted. Also, capacity building in basic business operation Training workshops, account book-keeping, and inventory management are conducted so that the business is appropriately managed and profitable.
S-ILF has always endeavoured to build networks and partnerships with diverse technical and financial agencies. The organizations like State Rural and Urban Livelihood Promotion Society, APAL, RSETI, NABARD, DIC, local NGOs, etc. have been partnered with for providing value add to the ongoing livelihood projects.
Colony Development Fund (CDF)
For the holistic development of the colony, S-ILF facilitates project beneficiaries to return a portion of the grant money from the business profits into a colony bank account named Colony Development Fund. The money collected is used for various colony-level needs such as infrastructure, education, new livelihood opportunities, etc. Colony members are trained and sensitized about the mechanism of colony development fund, CDF enables sustainability and a sense of ownership.
Empowerment through Self Help Groups (SHGs)
Women Self Help Groups are formed and strengthened through empowerment on issues related to health, hygiene & environment, governance, and gender, in addition, to support in managing SHG operations.
Program Monitoring & Supervision
Regular monitoring is essential for livelihood projects to ensure smooth implementation for achieving the set objectives. Regular monitoring is done at various levels adopting different forms and periodicity depending upon the field reports and feedback. Monitoring of the project continues as long as all activities are accomplished and show progress towards achievement.
Awards
S-ILF recognizes the hard work and commitment demonstrated by the beneficiaries in successfully running livelihood enterprises, which have enabled them to make a transition from begging to dignified livelihood. Rising to Dignity (RtD) awards are given as a token of recognition to such beneficiaries.
Support
S-ILF has received support for running livelihood projects from one of the most respected and responsible corporate groups of India- Bajaj Auto Ltd, for Maharashtra and Tata Steel Foundation for Jharkhand.