In India, EFICOR empowers the vulnerable to navigate bureaucracy, securing vital rights like banking and sanitation for a life of dignity.
Across the world, barriers such as poverty, inequality, bureaucracy and lack of education prevent people from accessing the rights and opportunities they deserve – holding them back from living with the dignity God intends for their lives.
When Raj undertook EFICOR’s social work training, a light switched on for him:
“This training changed my thinking. What the community actually needs… we must understand and then deliver.”
After graduating, Raj took his learnings and began listening closely as he journeyed with people suffering from leprosy. He soon realised that many weren’t receiving a disability pension. After speaking with them further, he realised they were unable to obtain a bank account because they couldn’t sign their names – or even provide a fingerprint – the minimum requirement for identity verification. Raj negotiated with bank officials, advocating for an alternative solution. They quickly agreed to accept toe prints as valid identification.
Since this very practical response, 18,000 people affected by leprosy now have access to bank accounts and the entitlements that should have been delivered a long time ago.
In India, many people are entitled to government schemes and pensions that could lift them out of poverty or at least make their life a little easier. Tearfund’s local partner in India, EFICOR, has worked for decades to ensure people know how to access these benefits and feel empowered to navigate what can be a complex and out-of-reach system.
In the Musahar community, one of India’s most marginalised groups, accessing entitlements has long been an issue. Husband and wife, Ramesh and Sunnana, members of the Musahar community, had no idea they were entitled to financial support through the government’s Toilet Sanitation Scheme; local officials never informed their community.
With no toilet inside their home, every time Ramesh’s wife or children went outside to go to the toilet, he feared for their safety. The journey often meant wading through floodwaters, facing the threat of dangerous animals, and risking harassment. It was a daily struggle that both Ramesh and his wife, Sunnana were determined to overcome.
They worked hard to save the money to build a toilet in their house, often migrating to other states to find work. Then one day Sunnana attended an EFICOR Village Development Committee meeting which ran in her community. There, she learned for the first time about the scheme and the support they had been denied. Soon after this discovery Sunnana participated in a health awareness program on sanitation also organised by EFICOR. A staff member guided her through the application process. Unable to read, Sunnana was helped to understand the forms and then empowered to apply for the scheme, giving her the confidence to handle similar applications in the future.
The family soon received the financial support they were entitled to, easing some of their financial burden, but it is the knowledge and confidence Sunnana gained through EFICOR that will help her family long term. She now knows how to explore and apply for these entitlements herself, ensuring that in the future her family will receive what they deserve.
Related projects have received support from the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).
