"Part 1
This is the first of the three-part blog that chronicles Rise Against Hunger India’s programmatic journey in the past ten years and its vision towards achieving sustainable food and nutrition security in last mile “hotspots.”
Early Stage Program Efforts (2015-19)
Right from its inception in 2014, Rise Against Hunger India has stayed focused on organizing hunger relief and food assistance activities in urban areas for various groups and for the people facing food crisis during natural disasters. Most of the food assistance was generated in the form of wholesome meals (dry uncooked khichdi mix along with micronutrients and minerals) packaged primarily by volunteers from different walks of life and from any age.
Rural Interventions and Pilots
Alongside the volunteer-driven meal packaging and food assistance program, many other pilot initiatives were undertaken in rural pockets during 2016-19 some notable ones being: mobile medical van project in Andhra Pradesh & Bihar, goat rearing project for 300 tribal women in Dhar District in Madhya Pradesh, drought mitigation & water recharging project in Western Odisha, seed preservation & agricultural rejuvenation project in Odisha; nutrition improvement project for young children in Puri District, Odisha; livelihood and income generation project (SAMBAL) for women farmers/producers in Odisha and Jharkhand.
Emergency Relief Work
While these interventions and projects were being implemented in different locations, Rise Against Hunger India continued to scale up its disaster relief and emergency response. Between 2015 and 2019, the organization was able to respond to all major disasters within the country including floods, cyclones and landslide incidents in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, Manipur, Karnataka, Bihar and many other locations.
COVID-19 Situation and Change in Program Strategy & Approach
When COVID-19 hit India in early 2020, Rise Against Hunger India had to revise its approach to organize food for people as meal-packaging through volunteer engagement was no longer a possibility. Food became the topmost item for many, especially the daily wage earners, laborers, slum dwellers. This was a test of the resilience capacity within the organization as well as a challenge to stay focused on the mission. Thanks to a network of field partners and with generous funding support from some corporate partners, Rise Against Hunger India stepped up its food relief work. With network of NGO partners spread across 93 districts in 19 States, Rise Against Hunger India reached nearly a million people providing them with 7 million meals and other emergency assistance.
Strategic Shifts (Post 2020) - In part 2
COVID-19 situation was a turning point in the journey of the organization. It was also a moment of reckoning to become resilient and find new ways to drive the organization’s mission. The key learning was that the organization would need to broaden and widen its scope of programs to effectively address hunger and its manifestations. This process of internal churning and reflection resulted in Rise Against Hunger India developing its long-term programmatic vision and strategy to address hunger and food insecurity.
The first part gives a broad outline of the programmatic journey of Rise Against Hunger India. The second part will give a detailed outline of the rural immersion process. The third and concluding part will provide our vision and strategy on the hunger-free village charter and the implementation methodology.
