Community

SAATH works with the people living in poverty. In the urban context SAATH works with people from the slum communities and also works with artisans and poor communities in the rural setting of Gujarat.

People living in slums are a migrant population, who are not living on land owned by them, or are liable to pay taxes and therefore are precariously placed populations. They live in the constant worry of being evicted or moved without notice, because of their legal status. Such conditions mean that they are not eligible for basic infrastructure such as lighting, water, garbage collection and other services. Living on the fringe of urban society, this population make up for a large part of the service providers such as maids, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, cleaners and many of them are employed in the services of the municipal corporation. In rural areas, the poor face issues of lack of facilities, alternate livelihood, changing environments and many other issues.

SAATH’s programmes aim at improving the quality of life of the people in these communities by empowering them and building their capacities. All of SAATH’s work whether it is post-earthquake, in the area of livelihoods, education, health, physical infrastructure, or slum development has a holistic, integrated approach.

The community is an active entity in all programmes, they are facilitators and are a part of the programme or project from the stage of designing the programme as well.