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Aple Ghar
Poor Rural School Children as Agents of Change
FERRY
Economic Rehabilitation
of Rural Youth
MARAG
A Path Towards a
Better Life
Pragati Abhiyan
Agricultural Diversification
in Dry-Land Areas
Rashtra Seva Dal
Empowerment of
Dalit Women
Seva Mandir
A More Socially Just Society
Swanirvar
Abatement of Arsenic
in Drinking Water
Tamil Nadu
Help to Tsunami-Affected Children
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Fostering Self-Help Aid
in India
What is CIVA?
Canada India Village Aid, or CIVA, is an independent non-profit charitable society based in Vancouver, BC. CIVA has operated since 1981 raising funds to support projects benefitting the peoples of rural India.
Our mandate is to foster self-help and self-reliance through sustainable development and women's empowerment. In order to do this CIVA collaborates with agencies and organizations working in rural India in various fields of development, education, health care, and environmental concern.
India is Still a Very Poor Country!
India is the toast of the world these days. Once derided as a slothful giant, its dynamic growth performance over the last two decades is the envy of the world. India is at the forefront of the software development. Tata Motors, an Indian auto firm, has bought Jaguar – that symbol of luxury car market. Indian steel companies are buying European steel giants. According to the Globe and Mail, four out of the ten richest people in the world are Indians.
This is hardly a picture of a poor country. Does it make sense to raise funds for projects based in India?
The answer is an unequivocal ‘yes’ because India is also one of the poorest countries in the world.
- Over 78% of its population lives on under $2 a day (at the purchasing power parity).
- A quarter of the world’s poor live in India. They are mostly small and marginal farmers and rural laborers.
- A very small part of the rising incomes trickles down to them. They have little access to education, health care or even drinking water.
- Often their poverty also renders them powerless to attract government resources.
There is greater need for efforts by NGOs to help the poor in India than ever before.
How does CIVA operate?
Canada India Village Aid fulfills its mandate by providing funds and offering support to Indian organizations working at the grassroots level. We take the view that our role is not to provide top-down direction but rather to stand back and allow the people who are directly affected come to us and tell us what they need.
Every year we receive a number of exciting projects both from our longstanding Indian partner organizations and from Indian NGOs new to us. We take on the difficult task of reading through project proposals and deciding which to support.
The more funds we raise, the more projects we can support. As CIVA has no paid staff every dollar donated goes directly to India to help foster self-help and self-reliance among some of the world's poorest people.
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