*Gita, a victim of domestic violence, was in tears when she approached Nav Srishti’s help desk. She shared her concerns with the team who then assured her that her concerns would be looked into and taken care of. This is how social protection desks at Nav Srishti work. People approach these help desks with many concerns, ranging from personal to welfare schemes-related difficulties, and the team provides them with the required assistance.
Nav Srishti, a partner organization of the #COVIDActionCollab (CAC), is a Delhi-based NGO that works for the holistic development of women, children, and adolescent girls through vocational training, and education and by preventing violence and abuse against them. Established by social activist Reena Banerjee in 1994, Nav Srishti has empowered over a lakh woman since its inception.
Apart from creating livelihood opportunities for women and imparting training in vocational courses, Nav Srishti focuses on facilitating social protection for vulnerable communities. In their Neb Sarai office, they conduct social protection camps where the members can approach the team members with their concerns.
“Partnering with CAC has helped us take our vision a step further. The social protection camps that we organize with the support of CAC are beneficial for the community members in many ways. Through these camps, Nav Srishti creates awareness of several government schemes meant for the individuals belonging to vulnerable communities”, said Reena Banerjee, the Founder and Secretary of Nav Srishti.
Through these help desks, Nav Srishti has provided assistance to vulnerable individuals by availing old-age pension, widow pension, benefits under the Ladli scheme, schemes related to COVID-19, and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMYY), etc. They also help the community members in applying for several identity documents such as Voters’ ID, Aadhaar cards, ration cards, E-shram cards, labor cards, etc.
Through this partnership vaccination camps have also been held for these communities. The team also provides legal support and legal counseling to the victims of domestic violence via these help desks.
“Now, there is a single window through which our beneficiaries can avail of different kinds of services through the medium of these help desks and this has helped us to reach more people. Various banks have also approached us for collaboration as a result of this. We also conduct training programmes for youth so that they are prepared to face the job market and last year, we saw many companies approaching us to conduct job fairs at our office,” added Banerjee.
*Name has been changed to protect the victim’s identity.
