Institute for Development of Women & Children

The empowerment of women and children is crucial for the overall development of society. It leads to improved health and education outcomes, promotes equity and gender equality, and helps achieve the goals of sustainable communities.

With this rationale, Swadhar began its operations in Mumbai in 1983 to work for the women in distress, to enable them to overcome their challenges, and be empowered.

Prof. Meenakshi Apte (then Professor at Department for Family and Child Welfare, in Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and pursuing doctoral research) along with Mrinal Gore (a noted activist / veteran socialist leader) founded Swadhar in Mumbai in the year 1983. Prof. Apte was joined by Mrs. Sulabha Joshi in Mumbai, and Mrs. Suchitra Date in Pune, and the three of them laid the foundation stone of our work in Pune in 1995, after 12 successful years in Mumbai. While we increased the scope of our work over the years, our core belief remains the same - empowering women leads to a developed society.

Vision:

We envision a society where women and children are no longer in distress and have their rightful place.

Mission:

Our mission is to empower women and children in distress by providing them with resources and support to overcome challenges, build self-sufficiency, and achieve their full potential in a safe and inclusive environment to lead a dignified life.

On the 18th of January, 1985, following a voluntary work experience in Nicaragua, Cesvi was established. In the founders’ minds development must be reached through involvement of the beneficiaries and the deployment of their organisations. Under the ideals of social justice and respect of human rights, Cesvi pursues the wellbeing of vulnerable populations in condition of poverty or struck by war, natural calamities and environmental disasters. This is achieved, at an international level too, through works of humanitarian aid, in the context of both emergency and development, in support of the weakest categories – children, women, elderly and social outcasts -, supporting them in meeting their aims with the objective of promoting self-sufficiency in a sustainable future.

From 1985 to the present time, Cesvi has helped millions of people in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, working with hundreds of local associations and dealing with epochal challenges such as the Balkan conflicts, famine in North Korea, the AIDS pandemic in Africa, the Tsunami tragedy, the earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal and many other crises and situations of poverty. Currently, Cesvi operates worldwide to support the most vulnerable populations in promoting human rights and achieving their ambitions, for sustainable development. It also believes that the recognition of human rights contributes to the wellbeing of everyone on the planet, a shared home to be safeguarded.

Vision

Cesvi believes that the recognition of human rights contributes to the wellbeing of everyone on the planet, a shared home to be safeguarded.

Excavate is a Nottingham based community theatre company that has been working in and with communities since 2000, exploring their culture, heritage, tensions and hopes, to produce a rich body of work. Originally known for their site specific, large cast, and often visually spectacular shows the last ten years has seen them create a wider range of work, embracing film, text and audio, often in partnership with academic institutions. Recent research projects have included mentoring the creation of a community play in a basti in Pune, developing a touring theatre piece exploring issues around mental health in Pune and Kerala, India, and investigating cross cultural understandings of end-of-life care in Leicester. With around 25 years of experience in community theatre Excavate has developed a rich and nuanced practice, working with thousands of people, of all ages, to uncover and explore personal and collective stories. Over the years we have built up partnerships with many other companies and practitioners, both in the UK and internationally (being regular contributors to the International Community Arts Festival in Rotterdam) and are always ready to learn from those who spend their working lives using creative means to help people reveal and explore their experiences.

The Artistic Director of the company, Andy Barrett, teaches Applied Performance at De Montfort University, Leicester, and has recently completed a PhD on the writing of community play texts.

Quote from Excavate members: As a community theatre maker I constantly witness the power and importance, both individually and socially, of people sharing their stories. All of my work is driven by a belief in the potential of social change, and of the need for this to be driven by a real understanding of the lives of those we live amongst; of the differences and similarities between their experiences and ours. This project is absolutely rooted in this understanding.