The PRASAD Project
PRASAD: Philanthropic Relief, Altruistic Service And Development
Mission: The PRASAD Project works in partnership with people to benefit children and communities in need, regardless of race or belief. PRASAD implements innovative solutions that respond to local conditions and cultures. Vision: PRASAD envisions healthy communities, prospering in harmony with the natural environment, where people are inspired to improve the quality of their own and others’ lives. The PRASAD Project is a global charitable organization, committed to uplifting the lives of economically disadvantaged women, children, and families. Our programs in India, Mexico, and New York State impact thousands of people annually. At PRASAD, we are fully invested in the people and communities we serve and wholly committed to their well-being and empowerment. Working hand-in-hand with families and individuals, together we develop sustainable solutions to the daily challenges they face. PRASAD takes a holistic approach and works in harmony with the environment. Our programming is wide-ranging because these most vulnerable people face numerous hardships – malnutrition, lack of access to clean water, and economic and educational opportunities, to name a few - and addressing one need at a time is not enough. Currently, we offer programs that include general and specialized medical and dental care, water security and sanitation, agriculture and environment, education, and women’s empowerment. Offered together, these programs empower/strengthen individuals and families and create sustainable communities. PRASAD has received numerous awards, including top ratings by charity rating agencies, Charity Navigator and Guidestar; recognition from the New York State Senate; and we are in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Website: www.prasad.org
Global Activities
PRASAD supports programs in India, the U.S., and Mexico. India – PRASAD Chikitsa is based in Ganeshpuri, India, in the rural Tansa Valley. PRASAD Chikitsa touches thousands of people every year through its healthcare programs and sustainable community development initiatives. The United States –PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program provides dental services and dental health education to children in Sullivan County and some areas of Ulster County in New York State. México – PRASAD de México provides free eye surgeries to children and adults to remove cataracts and correct strabismus (crossed eyes). Overview of the Programs
PRASAD Chikitsa
Tansa Valley, Maharashtra, India
Even before PRASAD Chikitsa was incorporated in 1994, the organization had launched mobile medical services, eye camps, a tuberculosis clinic, and the Milk Project – pioneering initiatives that have grown into full-fledged programs serving 250,000 people in 370 villages in the Tansa Valley, India. Currently, we offer programs that include general and specialized medical and dental care, water security and sanitation, agriculture and environment, education, women’s empowerment, and nutrition. Offered together, these programs empower and strengthen individuals and families and create sustainable communities. PRASAD Chikitsa Programs
Community Health and Medical Services
Mobile Hospital
General and Specialized Outpatient Department
Tuberculosis Clinic
HIV/AIDS Outpatient Department
Eye Care (Eye Clinic and Cataract Surgery)
Reproductive & Child Health Program
Water Security and Sanitation
Sanitation
Clean water (Water filtration)
Access to water
Agriculture and Environment & Economic Development
Farming (Floriculture, Fruit Orchards & Rice Cultivation)
Kitchen Gardens (Market & Home Vegetables)
Tree Planting
Seed banks (Heritage Seeds)
Women’s Empowerment
Self-help groups (microloans, entrepreneurship, training)
Education and Preservation Indigenous Arts & Crafts
Warli art training
Healthcare: each year, the General and specialized medical services receive approximately 30,000 visits at the healthcare center in Ganeshpuri. Using a mobile hospital, PRASAD Chikitsa has been organizing general health camps in the villages. Also, the maternal/infant camps for mothers of children aged infant to 6-years are identified to have severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). We are also providing vitamins and nutritional supplements. Community Development: This program promotes income-generating activities like floriculture for farmers and exploring new business opportunities for the 260 Self-Help Groups (SHGs), which at a membership of 3,000 strong, have already achieved total savings of approximately $500,000! COVID Response in India
Our COVID-19 response has 3 main elements:
• Healthcare
• Food security
• Community development and health care programs to ensure food security, support recovery, and achieve sustainability
PRASAD Chikitsa kept its medical center open, offering free services, and collaborated with members of our Women’s Self-Help Groups to make and distribute 1,300 masks throughout the villages in the Tansa Valley. PRASAD Chikitsa used its extensive network of trusted women in the region to help us understand the needs of remote tribal villages. Our team put together and distributed 3,586 packages to 2,250 tribal families struggling from the pandemic’s economic and lack of food. This year, we have also served more than 17,000 hot meals to homeless and unemployed workers. Most farmers in the Tansa Valley only cultivate rice paddy, but this doesn’t provide adequate nutrition and enough income to make a difference. PRASAD Chikitsa is working toward long-term sustainable solutions. Tree Planting: Since 2019, PRASAD has distributed 16,500 saplings! Our goal for next year is to plant 20,000 trees. Kitchen Gardens: Since 2005, PRASAD Chikitsa has helped 10,300 Adivasi tribal families cultivate small organic gardens big enough to help diversify their diets with nutritious vegetables and provide a surplus to sell at the market, generating income and increasing family food security. In the next 12 months, we will help 400 more families start kitchen gardens. Floriculture: markets and temples have reopened, and the demand for floral offerings is on the rise. Adivasi farmers can earn $700 – $800 a year growing jasmine, marigolds, and golden Champa and selling both loose blossoms and head garlands. Since 2019, PRASAD Chikitsa has distributed 11,000 jasmine saplings. PRASAD’s goal for 2021 is to distribute 15,000 jasmine saplings. Water: since 2014, PRASAD Chikitsa provided 880 in-home water filters. Next year’s goal: 500 water filters. Sanitation: To date, PRASAD Chikitsa has partnered with villagers to build 719 toilets. Next year’s goal is 150 toilets. PRASAD de México
Since 1996, PRASAD de México’s volunteer team has performed free eye surgeries on more than 34,000 adults and children with cataracts and strabismus (crossed-eyes). People attend PRASAD eye camps literally living in darkness. With treatment and their vision restored, they have a real chance to live fulfilling lives. PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program
Sullivan & Ulster Counties, New York State, U.S. Since 1998, the PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program has worked to improve the oral health of low-income children in Sullivan and Ulster Counties in New York State. Constraints such as lack of transportation and/or inability to take time off of work keep many families from accessing dental care for their children. This is why our mobile clinic makes services available to students right at their schools. PRASAD also provides in-class dental health education, teaching children good habits that will help them have healthy teeth for a lifetime. Since its inception, PRASAD CDHP has provided over 88,000 Toothbrushes, received 29,000 dental visits, and performed more than 92,000 dental procedures.
