About IDEA

The Institute for Development, Education & Action (IDEA) is a secular, non-government development organisation launched co-operatively by the representatives of community organisers and leaders of people’s organisations in 1986, in an aim to steer the region’s evolution towards new prosperity. In this effort, IDEA also aims to establish partnerships with community groups to affect uplift in the overall socio-economic condition of the rural and urban poor. The organisation operates in the rural and urban areas of East Midnapore, Howrah and Kolkata districts of West Bengal and Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kanyakumari district. of Tamil Nadu in India. The IDEA was registered on 25th Aug. 1987 at Calcutta under the W.B. Societies Registration Act of 1961 with Registration No.: S/56113 of 1987-88. IDEA is also registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), which allows the organisation to receive foreign funding. The FCRA No: 147000167 dated 4th Aug. 2003.

IDEA believes in the intrinsic dignity of the human soul and strives to ensure that each person, no matter how poor, lives a life of simple dignity and self-dependence. Thus, every activity of the organisation is inevitably linked to the mitigation of human suffering and pain. The projects implemented by IDEA are designed to be platforms on which a variety of sustainable development initiatives can be founded. Through the programmes IDEA attempts to work in a spirit of enabling the communities to build upon their skills, initiative, resources and entitlements rather than delivering services or solutions to them. The organisation seeks an identity of enablers rather than givers. The basic elements of its approach to grassroots work includes developing peoples’ stakes, identifying, reorienting and maturing functional leaders in the community, fostering and strengthening community level organisations, helping the community to learn effective dealing with government and other resource institutions and simplifying and demystifying technology. In the spirit of being catalytic and incremental, IDEA collaborates widely with other actors in development.

A new confidence has begun to take root ever since field operations commenced way back in 1985. People who have been accustomed to promises from every quarter with little results are now seeing ways to make real differences in their own lives through their own efforts. Nearly 20,000 families, both rural and urban, in the Howrah and Kolkata districts, urban poor communities in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai have found a new ray of hope in their march towards the future through undying zest of IDEA staffs and associates. Over the years there has been substantial progress particularly in the spheres of community health, education, rural sanitation, housing, community development through vocational training, community organising, networking, micro-credit programme, awareness generation though different socio-economic and cultural aspects, etc.

The GoI has declared Shyampur Block II as fully sanitised through the Total Sanitation Campaign implemented by IDEA covering 36,000 families approximately with the support from UNICEF.

The Community Organising Programme dates back to the late 1970s, which was implemented by CISRS all over the country. Almost 30 years ago, two CBOs viz. PROUD and POWER were formed in Dharavi and Wadala, Mumbai and to fight against the local problems particularly eviction. Since 2002, IDEA is supporting this initiative in the target areas mentioned. However, in recent years, the character of the issues has changed and there is a need for new imagination and creativity in order to strategise the issues into action. Towards this end, the organization has been emphasizing on environmental and scientific awareness generation, on the one hand, and cultural activism in promoting community bondage and harmony, on the other.

IDEA is also implementing the Slum Rehabilitation Programme in New Delhi for the evicted families since 2007.

IDEA assists the Tsunami affected families in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu and provides housing to Dalit homeless, boat and fishing net to fishermen through self help groups of fisherman.

IDEA is actively involved in Slum Rehabilitation Programme (on site Development) in Dharavi, Mumbai (60,000 residential, 20,000 commercial units) through its Partner Organization PROUD.

We believe that we have been able to present a brief idea of our organization. Should you have further queries, please feel free to ask so.

We, at IDEA, sincerely look forward to your support and cooperation through this potential partnership and community solidarity through social, economic and cultural partnerships.

Bandita Mallick

Director cum Secretary

Flat - 703B Block – A

Shree Appartment

138 G.T.Road (South)

Howrah - 711102

West Bengal, INDIA

E-mail – rabial.idea@gmail.com

Web site : www.indianidea.org


Thursday, March 5, 2009

Rabial Mallick presents at IRD Office, Washinton DC

Community Development Expert Rabial Mallick presents at IRD


Washington, DC — February 6, 2009 — Today, Rabial Mallick of the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society (CISRS) and Director of IDEA, delivered his presentation “Organizing People for Power: Community Organizing Program in India” to IRD staff, based on his experiences with community development in India.

“Our greatest success was giving people self encouragement and self respect," said Mallick. "So they don’t feel guilty about the conditions they are forced to live with." Mallick discussed the principles and goals behind the CISRS-Community Organizing Training program, which began in 1979 in Dharavi, Mumbai, India. After a successful initial workshop, CISRS facilitated programs for over 200 community organizers across the country.

Since then, community organizers have been involved in promoting “People’s Organizations” such as PROUD (People’s Responsible Organization of United Dharavi). The primary goal of these organizations is to fight against the "sub-human conditions of life," enable communities to gain control over their environment and communicate "the spirit of caring."

IRD asked Mr. Mallick to share his experiences as part of an ongoing knowledge sharing initiative on successful community-based development.

IRD has worked to promote strong community participation, as well as the long-term sustainability of its interventions, since its beginnings in 1998. IRD seeks to empower informed citizens to participate in the democratic process in areas ranging from HIV/AIDS awareness to education and road building to business development. These programs are implemented in vastly different contexts — Afghanistan, Indonesia, and post-Katrina Mississippi — each with its own unique set of challenges.
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