Creating Impact

About the Issue

Marginality is an experience that affects a lot of people throughout the world. People who are marginalized have lesser control over their lives, and the resources available to them. This results in making them feel helpless. A vicious circle is set up whereby there is a lack of positivity and supportive relationships amongst these groups which results in further isolation. This has a tremendous impact on the development of human beings, as well as on society at large.

Following groups can be broadly classified under marginalized communities in our country:

• ● Women
• ● People with Disabilities
• ● Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
• ● Elderly or Aged People
• ● Children
• ● Sexual Minorities

Marginalization deprives a large majority of people across the globe from participating in the developmental process. It is a critical problem, and there are many reasons that cause marginalization. This complex and serious issue needs to be addressed at the policy level. But it is seldom that the issues faced by these marginalized communities are brought to the notice of the policymakers or offered any just redressal.

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” - Mahatma Gandhi

At ICWO, we swear by these words uttered by the Father of our nation. We believe that the end-goal of developing these marginalized communities should begin at micro-levels of the society. Our efforts to help the marginalized communities always involved involving and engaging the local communities to spread the awareness locally and to establish a deep-rooted system of inclusion and positivity for the deprived and marginalized groups.

To understand more about the issues and problems faced by these marginalized community, ICWO has prepared statistics on the situations of the marginalized communities of India.

We know and understand that the communities have a long way to go until they experience a total inclusion and equal status in society, but we also believe that our efforts are bringing in the necessary ripples to ride the new wave of change.

If you wish to know more about the situation and contribute to our cause, kindly reach out to us at (institute’s email ID)

Statistics of Marginalized Community in India

Statistics on HIV/AIDS Prevalence in India

• ● As per the India HIV Estimation 2017 report, National adult (15–49 years) HIV prevalence in India is estimated at 0.22% (0.16% – 0.30%) in 2017. In 2017, adult HIV prevalence is estimated at 0.25%(0.18-0.34) among males and at 0.19% (0.14-0.25) among Females.
• ● Among the States/UTs, in 2017, Mizoram has shown the highest estimated adult HIV prevalence of 2.04%(1.57-2.56), followed by Manipur (1.43%, 1.17-1.75), Nagaland (1.15%, 0.92-1.41), Telangana (0.70%, 0.50-0.95) and Andhra Pradesh (0.63%, 0.47-0.85). Besides these States, Karnataka (0.47%, 0.37-0.63), Goa (0.42%, 0.21-0.79), Maharashtra (0.33%, 0.25-0.45) and Delhi (0.30%, 0.18-0.47) have shown estimated adult HIV prevalence greater than the national prevalence (0.22%), while Tamil Nadu (0.22%, 0.14-0.31) had a point prevalence like the national average. All other States/UTs have levels of adult HIV prevalence below 0.22%.
• ● India is estimated to have had 22.67(10.92-40.60) thousand HIV positive women who gave birth in 2017. State-wise Prevention to Mother to child transmission (PMTCT) need were highest in Maharashtra (2.41 thousand) followed by Uttar Pradesh (2.29 thousand), Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal, Gujrat and Tamilnadu while least was Sikkim.
• ● Since 2005, when the number of AIDS-related deaths (ARD) started to show a declining trend, the annual number of AIDS-related deaths has declined by almost 71%. In 2017 an estimated 69.11 (29.94 –140.84) thousand people died of AIDS-related causes nationally. AIDS-related deaths have dropped in all of India’s States/UT with the exception of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttarakhand.

Statistics for Child Education in India:

• ● There are 472 million children in India under the age of 18 years. This constitutes 39% of the total population in the country (Census 2011)
• ● Out of every 100 children, only 32 children finish their school education age-appropriately (District Information System for Education (DISE) 2014-15)
• ● Only 2% of the schools offer complete school education from Class 1 to Class 12 (District Information System for Education (DISE) 2014-15)

Statistics for Elderly Homeless in India:

• ● According to a 2016 report by the ministry for statistics and programme implementation, India has 103.9 million elderly, people above age 60, about 8.5 per cent of the population.
• ● The elderly population has grown at about 3.5 per cent per year, double the rate for the population as a whole; a 2014 report by the non-profit HelpAge India.
• ● While the overall population of India will have grown by about 40 per cent between 2006 and 2050, the report adds, the elderly population will have grown by 270 per cent.
• ● The statistics ministry report shows that the old-age dependency ratio, a measure of the pressure on the economically productive section of the population, rose from 10.9 per cent in 1961 to 14.2 per cent in 2011.
• ● A 2016 survey by the Agewell Foundation with 15,000 rural and urban respondents showed 65 per cent reported themselves as either financially dependent or facing a financial crisis. Nearly 80 per cent of those in financial trouble said it was due to medical costs.

ICWO Approach

Indian Community Welfare Organization swears by our vision to improve the quality of life of the several marginalized groups in India and has been working towards it since 1994.

Over the years of our service, we have realized that the marginalized communities have a long way to go until they experience a total inclusion and equal status in society, but we also believe that our efforts are bringing in the necessary ripples to ride the new wave of change.

We have streamlined an elaborate road-map to enhance our approach to improving the lives of the marginalized communities of the nation.

The “Holistic Approach” to Equality:

At ICWO we want the marginalized community to always experience this:

“ Never above us, Never below us, but Always beside us!”

We aim to achieve this goal through the following steps:

• ● Identify the Problems: Any community facing any violation of rights should be heard by us and forwarded ahead to the necessary authorities. We identify these violations and work with the communities to demand accountability from the government and permanent solutions and/or mitigate the impact of these deep-rooted problems on the communities.
• ● Mobilise Local Communities: Through interactions, workshops and training with communities, we make them aware of their due entitlements from the government to bring about a better living for themselves and their communities.
• ● Create Awareness: We sensitise people on issues that affect the minority’s rights violations through various mediums of communication. We also form or participate in networks and alliances to lobby for community-friendly policies.
• ● Generate Public Support: We source funds and resources from individuals like you and through institutional partnerships. We encourage people from all walks of life to contribute to creating an environment in which communities enjoy their basic rights.
• ● Support Change: We support the change by giving momentum to the activities undertaken by the marginalized communities for better inclusion and equal treatment.

Nature of Support

ICWO’s role as a catalyst has determined our strategies at every juncture – from the fundraising methods we apply to the nature of our relationship with the Communities we partner.

Our interventions are designed to include:

• ● Direct action approach
• ● Community mobilisation linking community rights and local pre-dominant issues
• ● Meticulous planning, monitoring and evaluation both, financial and plan-oriented

The most effective long-term solution to the multiple causes of poverty, deprivation, exploitation and abuse that constrain the rights of India’s marginalized community. In recent years, we have spearheaded a concerted, statewide grassroots campaign in partnership with local communities that aims to establish:

• ● Authentic data on the situation
• ● Workable models to achieve long-term success
• ● Nation-wide support from all segments of society for the policy changes
• ● Grassroots community mobilisation aimed at ensuring long-term success