ORGANISATION PROFILE

Mission
‘Commitments’ was established as a public Charitable Trust in 1984. It is a support organization to serve the rural poor and the disadvantaged persons.

Major objectives of ‘Commitments’ are:
• Extend economic and social services to strengthen and enhance the livelihoods of rural poor.
• Build capabilities among rural poor.
• Improve access to services, facilities and entitlements or rural poor.
• Facilitate building of participatory, self-managed institutions among rural poor and the disabled as vehicles of their self-reliance, socio-economic progress and self-respect.
• Serve as a resource centre for training, research and study upon the socio-economic conditions of rural poor.
• Initiate programmes and projects for sustainable development of rural poor and the disabled and facilitate convergence of services and facilities intended for their benefit.
• Provide a platform fo advocacy upon issues and the concerns of rural poor.

VISION:

‘Commitments’ shares the Vision of similar public organizations that the poor and the disadvantage communities are enthusiastic to overcome the social, economic, cultural and psychological barriers through their own efforts and self-managed institutions. They are capable of attaining higher productivity with improved skills, better asses base and capabilities to utilize the resources to full potential and gain access to services . Similarly, the Mission of ‘Commitments’ is to enable the poor and disadvantaged communities to perceive possibilities for change and bring about desired change by exercising informed choices through collective action.

‘Commitments’ have tax-exempt status in India, entitling the donations made to it to qualify for exemption Under Section 80 G of Income Tax Act, 1961. Similarly ‘Commitments’ possesses registration granted by Govt. of India, Ministry of Home Affairs under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 to receive donations and contributions from Foreign Donors and Agencies.

Brief note: introduction

Commitments is a Public Trust is working for the development of Persons with disabilities in fie most backward mandals of Mahabubnagar district that is196 Grama panchayaths of 8 project Mandals i.e. Kosgi, Doulthabad, Bomraspet, Balanagar, Maddur, Ghattu, Dharoor and Maldhakal mandals with 5821 persons with disabilities. The Commitments Trust formed self-help groups with 3452 members of persons with disabilities in these eight mandals.
The Commitments is concentrating mainly on the over all development of persons with disabilities and most vulnerable groups through Community Based Rehabilitation process. In this area disability population is more and more than other districts of Andhra Pradesh. Before the Commitments project intervention the persons with disabilities are depending on their guardians, parents and members of the family. Some of them are begging in the villages and nearby towns. Few members have been doing the free services to the landlords and village heads. Now the project organized them into self-help groups, providing regular capacity building and providing technical support to them most of the trainings organized for them with the help of line departments and women self help groups that are headed by Mandal Mahila Samakyas in these mandals. Regular follow up is doing by the social workers of commitments. After providing the capacity building they themselves trust of their following activities. Then, the members slowly started the savings in the self-help groups, after they got the financial support from commercial banks and other sources of funds to do the income generations activities for sustainability of their life. For this Mandal Mahila Samkyas have given the support to theses groups to getting the loans from above sad sources. With this amount they started the income generation activities like petty businesses, vegetable gardens, vegetable vending, laundry shops, tea stalls, barber shops, electrical& electronic shops, flour mills, livestock and agricultural allied activities.
These self-help groups formed as a federation in mandal level that is called as mandal vikalangual sangham. In the same way these mandal level sangams formed as a federation that is called as Zilla Vikalangula Sangham , it is registered under societies registration Act (Mahabubnagar Zilla Velugu Vikalangula Sangham), usually the members is calling BISA Committee. These federations are lobbying the government and Non-government organizations for the medical, social, educational and economic development of the persons with disabilities. Till now they got the tricycles, crutches, hearing aids, calipers, IAY houses, Barrier free toilets etc. And also these federations identified the needy persons for the surgical corrections, Eye operations etc. through the Kamaineni Hospitals, L.V.Prasad Eye Institute, NIHH, NIMH, SWEEKAR-UPKAR etc. And the Mandal Vikalangula Sanghams started the neighborhood centers for the children with disabilities and non-disabled children. The commitments is building strong alliances with the established Community Based Organizations and line departments for creating disabled friendly environment in everywhere.

The Commitments organizations is creating awareness on rights among the PWDs, and also sensitizing the Panchayatraj institutions and line departments for the implementation of PWD Act 1995 successfully. The Commitments is developing the activists and para professionals to provide services and educate the parents and guardians of Persons with disabilities in CBR process.
The Commitments is identifying the persons with severe disabilities, destitute and among the members of the SHGs with PWDs. While conducting assessment with communities and federations, with that report or suggestions became base for the commitments to built the linkages. Commitments has been educating the rights of persons with disabilities and sensitizing them to get their right in positive way for the overall development of persons with disabilities. Now the Commitments are net working with other Community Based Organizations to disseminate the ‘Commitments Concept’. Continuously organizing the training programmes to the resource persons, Social workers of NGOs and CBOs, it developed as a resource centre for the ‘overall development of persons with disabilities’.

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This post was submitted by L.Krishna Murthy.