Why is World Vision's partnership with Ratlam coming to a close?

World Vision partners with communities like Ratlam in India for an average of 15 years before phasing out support and transitioning to a new community to offer them the same opportunity for transformation. Ratlam has undergone huge change since World Vision first began working there in 1994. Once struggling to meet its most basic needs, today the Ratlam community is ready to take ownership of their future development, marking the end of a rewarding journey with World Vision.

Issues faced: Water, economic development, education, health

How has Ratlam been transformed?

Thanks to the support of 3950 compassionate New Zealanders, the lives of 36,700 people from 50 villages have been transformed in Ratlam over the past 17 years. Below are some of the exciting milestones that this support of World Vision has helped the Ratlam community to achieve.

Water and Economic Development

Before: Situated in India's central drought belt, many villagers struggled to grow any crops. Farmers often migrated in the dry season in search of work.

After: Dams built by World Vision are helping families to irrigate their land, grow diverse crops and provide nutritious food for their children all year round.

Farmers are now trained in modern farming and irrigation techniques, helping them to grow a second crop each year and increase their household incomes. As a result, seasonal migration has declined by up to 80 per cent.

More than 240 locally-run savings groups have been set up to help villagers, many of them women, save for personal needs or to start small businesses.

Education

Before: Education standards and attendance at school were very poor. Ninety-two per cent of children didn't go on to secondary school.

After: School dropout rates have fallen significantly, from 39 percent to three percent in primary schools, and from 92 per cent to 19 per cent in secondary schools.

School enrolment numbers have risen sharply from 60 per cent to 97 per cent in primary schools, and from 8 per cent to 81 per cent in secondary schools.

Improvements in the education system have been so successful that the Balwadi educational centres set up by World Vision have now been adopted by schools throughout the district.

Health

Before: Health was a major area of concern, especially for women and children. Most were unaware of how to protect themselves from diseases such as HIV and AIDS, and child immunisation rates were very low.

After: Over 10,000 people participated in programmes to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Sixty per cent of children below 18 now know how HIV is transmitted.

Health volunteers have monitored and cared for 1110 pregnant women and counseled 2247 women on the best feeding practices for newborn babies. Eighty-five per cent of children aged between 12 and 23 months are now immunised, up by 55 per cent.

All content copyright © 2011 World Vision (NZ). Registered charitable entity.
Charities Act 2005 registration #CC25984
See our registration details on the Charities Commission website