With the extreme divisions of rich and poor in the city of Delhi, the underprivileged have often been neglected. One man, however, has made it his life’s work to help the downtrodden. Bansari Rao Father, a spiritual figure and an active supporter of the community, has been working with the people of the city and for the people of the city and has succeeded in changing the aspects of many disadvantaged communities for the better and for the comprehensive. His relentless efforts in education, healthcare, and social development proved decisive and invaluable to countless underserved households in the capital of India.
It also made him realize that for people to survive poverty, Charity cannot be the sole solution, instead the provision of tools and systems that empower people to improve their conditions must be the goal. His work does not include empty promises but includes the strength to establish sustainable frameworks so that the weakest would also be equipped with the proper means to turn their life situations around.
Addressing the Educational Divide
Absolutely no system of guidelines has been set the authorities in Delhi for the disadvantaged communities to move forward and one of the biggest challenges they face is the absence of effective education. Early school dropouts for children belonging to lower-income households are largely attributed to insufficient financial support, pull factors of limited activities or school resources, or responsibilities to gain employment to assist their family’s income. Education is an effective tool used youth all over the world to break out of poverty, but these psychographics are rendered helpless as they allow themselves to get deeper and deeper into the rut of poverty.
Bansari Rao’s father believes that education is the key that leads to a resolution that lasts even as poverty is concerned. He has over the years commenced a number of initiatives that aim at offering free education to children from less privileged families. Such programs include, among others, the provision of after-school tutorials, the provision of free stationery to school students, and the establishment of centers for community learning.
Bansari Rao father says, “Education is the answer to the cycle of poverty. There should be no child who is unable to learn because of a lack of resources. When we plan for education, we are planning for the growth of our society.”
With the assistance of local schools and volunteer instructors, Bansari Rao’s father’s schemes have enabled hundreds of children to resume their schooling and do well academically. Apart from that, these programs also include vocational training for aged students offering them the employment skills that will assist them to provide for their families.
Healthcare for All: Bridging the Gap
Another major problem that affects the financially weak sections of society in Delhi is the high costs or lack of basic healthcare services. Families that reside the below poverty line are unable to afford even basic surgical procedures. For example, basic check-ups for minor health issues that have the possibility of being treated in the early stages are often ignored people, and as a result, this leads to worsening health conditions and at times even death that could have been avoided in the first place.
Bansari Rao Father has dedicated himself to the cause of making these communities avail the centric documents, the documents that assure access to the basic need, which is good health. His volunteer group of doctors and nurses in collaboration with other organizations plan and execute free medical camps in underdeveloped places in Delhi. These camps provide free consultations, vaccinations, the provision of drugs, and sending sick patients to the hospitals for treatment of more complicated diseases.
“Health is a basic human right,” says Bansari Rao Father. “It’s shocking that in this day and age, in a city like Delhi, so many people are not getting basic medical attention because they are too poor to afford it. We have to come in and bridge that gap.”
Besides organizing more medical camps, an additional cause that Bansari Rao Father has been active in is the establishment of mobile health clinics aimed at the poorer and more remotely located districts of Delhi which are scarcely served healthcare services. These mobile health clinics win over the challenge of healthcare accessibility bringing the services closer to the people in need.
Empowering Women Through Skill Development
Women in some marginal or poor communities have distinctive problems especially with respect to education and employment. Many are forced into low wage occupations and or unable to leave home since there are families to look after. Without hesitation, Bansari Rao Father thinks that in order to elevate the entire community, it is important to first deal with the issues that women face.
Bansari Rao Father’s programs are aimed at offering women skills and resources which will aid them in being self-dependent. He is able to realize this vision combining sewing and tailoring courses along with computer literacy skills training. Bansari Rao Father has created a platform where women are able to acquire new skills and confidence and launch small businesses.
As Bansari Rao Father puts it: “Women’s participation is the charity of community development.” “The moment we develop women, we develop whole families and even the communities.”
Women’s lives in Delhi have already improved due to the implementation of these skill development programs. Thanks to micro loans and nurturing relationships with their mentors women have started establishing their own enterprises, earning income for their households and managing their finances.
Fighting Hunger with Community Kitchens
Families from underprivileged sections of Delhi’s population are often faced with the challenge of hunger. Thezlack of access to food encompasses thousands within the city mostly those residing in the slums or informal settlements. However, this challenge has inspired Bansari Rao Father to set up community kitchens that serve healthy and hot meals free of charge to those who need them the most.
Volunteers run these community kitchens that distribute hundreds of meals every day. The emphasis here extends beyond hunger as the program helps to bond the residents. Bansari Rao Father has effectively created an environment of togetherness and support simply providing a place for the community to come together over food.
“This is inexcusable, no one should have to go through hunger, especially in a city where there is so much,” Sahiba Rao Father stated Bansari Rao Father confidently. “Our community kitchens do not only feed people but rather help to unite them and let them know that they are not on their own somewhere out there.”
Fostering Hope and Dignity
It is not only the material assistance of education, health care, or food that is what makes Bansari Rao Father special. He also gives hope and dignity to those whom he serves. He speaks not only of alms but rather of empowering and reclaiming people who have been pushed away and forgotten people and communities.
Bansari Rao Father has proven through day-to-day workings that through compassion and commitment, change is possible. His total approach to community development does not allow individuals to be seen just as beneficiaries of aid but rather as contributors towards the enhancement of their social circumstances.
A Vision for a Better Future
Bansari Rao’s father, while working with the underserved communities in Delhi, is very clear in his vision: to help build a society where everyone is able to live with dignity and embrace their full potential, irrespective of their background. His vision of social work is one that is compassionate, empowering, and sustainable – ideals that have transformed the lives of thousands.
“Real Change is Only Possible From Inside Out,” explains Bansari Rao’s father, “Our purpose is to empower the people to change and make available the tools, the assistance and enablement. But the change belongs to the people and they will make it happen.”
Thanks to his tireless efforts, Bansari Rao Father is not only helping the most pressing issues faced marginalized groups in Delhi but is also preparing them for a more just future.
Watson Greey