S M Sehgal Foundation is a public, charitable trust registered in India in 1999. MISSION Our mission is to strengthen community-led development initiatives to achieve positive social, economic and environmental change across rural India. VISION We envision every person across rural India empowered to lead a more secure, prosperous, and dignified life. To date, we have reached nearly 250,000 people living in 470 villages in Haryana, Rajasthan and Bihar.

1. ©MickMinard/REEFReports
Empowering Rural Communities
©MickMinard/REEFReports

2. ABOUT US
S M Sehgal Foundation is a public, charitable trust
registered in India in 1999.
MISSION
Our mission is to strengthen community-led
development initiatives to achieve positive social,
economic and environmental change across rural India.
VISION
We envision every person across rural India
empowered to lead a more secure, prosperous, and
dignified life.
To date, we have reached nearly 250,000 people living in 470
villages in Haryana, Rajasthan and Bihar.

3. ©MickMinard/REEFReports
• Strengthen rural governance, enhance self-reliance
• Improve access to water and sanitation
• Empower women farmers, build vibrant communities
• Spread awareness through
community media
• Undertake rural
research and impact
assessment
WHAT WE DO
Create opportunity | Build resilience | Design solutions
MickMinard/REEFReports

4. WHAT WE DO
Five impact areas to build a strong foundation of knowledge, skills
and networks at the grassroots:
Agricultural Development:
emphasis on women farmers
Good Rural
Governance
Community Media
Water Management
Rural
Research:
Baseline
Assessment
Rural Research:
Impact
Assessment

5. Good Governance Now Program (Sushasan Abhi!)
• Spread in 428 villages; 200,000 villagers reached
• 31 trained governance guides.
• 8625 local
leaders trained (equal
participation of men and
women) as
Sushasan Champions
GOOD RURAL GOVERNANCE

6. GOOD RURAL GOVERNANCE
•Built capacities of village level
institutions in 131 villages
•Women collectives (Mahila
Sangathans) comprising 440
members of village level institutions
from 106 villages
•35 Village Health and Sanitation
Committees, facilitated
3,659 latrines
•28 Gram Sabhas (village meetings)
with 54% of women participants
Strengthening Village-level Institutions

7. GOOD RURAL GOVERNANCE
Creating Community Assets
• Improve infrastructure in
government schools
• Provide drinking water by
installing roof water harvesting
systems in government schools
• Improve sanitation facilities in
government schools
• Provide storage water tanks in
villages

8. AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
• Increase crop productivity by training
farmers on improved agricultural
practices
• Promote sustainable farming
practices: soil health and water-
saving irrigation technologies
• Promote best practices in dairy
farming
• Mainstream women farmers; deepen
scientific knowledge of Self Help
Groups
Covered 124 villages and over 12000 crop demonstrations
©MickMinard/REEFReports

9. • Conserve local water supply for
drinking, household and
agricultural purposes
• Apply appropriate technologies to
harness rainwater for aquifer
recharge and surface storage
• Promote sanitation and wastewater
management in schools, homes
and in the community
• Build capacities of local
communities to manage their
water resources through water
literacy sessions
WATER MANAGEMENT
Reached 74 villages; 1,84,000 people

10. • Design projects to suit varied community needs and different
geographical locations
• Implement projects to address
water, agriculture and
governance issues in villages
• Assimilate, synthesize and
disseminate project’s outcomes
and learning
• Research and document
project’s impact
OUR APPROACH

11. Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation | Development and Policy
Research
• Needs assessment,
monitoring and
evaluation of impact for
effective
implementation of
programs
• Collaborative research
• Knowledge-sharing with
multiple stakeholders
including communities
RURAL RESEARCH

12. • Reaching 183 villages in Mewat and
Rajasthan;
• Broadcasting 13 hours daily
• Trained 45 community members to
operate equipment, produce programs
and manage the station as technicians,
producers and facilitators
• Spearheading governance through
radio
• Collaborations with other community
radio stations in different states of India to
spread good governance
COMMUNITY MEDIA
Community Radio Station, Alfaz-e-Mewat FM 107.8

13. FROM THE
PEOPLE OF JAPANNABARD
SOME OF OUR PARTNERS

14. Thank you!
www.smsfoundation.org