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Oona was a mountain breeze that blew through the Himalayas for nine years. During this period she
conceptualised and founded the structure for development initiatives in rural Kumaon. The form took the
name of Aarohi. Although Oona left her physical body in 1996, her inspiration has continued to be a
guiding light for us.
The beginnings..
The word 'Aarohi' means ascendance or growth; the growth of thought, creativity and harmony. Aarohi was
established in the year 1992 "with a view to create opportunities for rural communities in the hills to lead
a more self-dependent existence wherein they are able to reduce poverty and live in harmony with their
environment."
The area and the people..
The area of Aarohi's operation is a temperate and a sub-tropical mountain zone lying in the altitudinal
range of 1000-2000 metres above mean sea level. The majority of people supplement their income from
subsistence farming with wage labour.
The area suffers from a rapid depletion of forest cover threatening natural resources and resulting in
acute seasonal scarcity of water. Low awareness on sanitation measures, poor health due to ignorance
and superstition, few non-agricultural income options and low standard of education are some of the other
problems. The maximum impact is on women and children who are overworked and undernourished.
The reach.
The focus has been 91 villages in the mountains of Nainital and Almora districts in Uttaranchal, which have
benefited approximately 44,000 people to date. Many issues of poverty have been addressed through
activities related to Forest Management, Health Care, Livelihoods, Drinking Water and Sanitation,
Women's Development and Education. Aarohi has a current membership of 188, staff strength of 30, and
approximately 20,200 program beneficiaries.
Core activities..
The core activities of Aarohi have been designed after close consultation with the community and are at
the heart of the development needs of the area.
Assisting village communities in upgrading their common lands through various activities of plantation,
protection and regeneration of forests has been a major area of focus under the programme of natural
resource management. Inputs provided by Aarohi towards scientific forest management have enabled
village communities to build their community funds through equitable distribution of forest produce. The
money thus generated is utilised for common village needs such as purchase of community assets and
repair of temples.
The community health program has systematically addressed essential health issues affecting the lives of
women and children through the training of Traditional Birth Attendants, women and school children.
These community health services have a strong back-up of a rural hospital, which is equipped with basic
facilities of an X-ray machine, a laboratory and provides 24-hour emergency service. An average of 2000
patients are treated every year in the health centre. In addition Aarohi reaches out to remote villages
through mobile camps. Approximately 400 people benefit through these camps every year. Specialist
health camps including dental camps are also held at the hospital.
To cope with acute water scarcity problems, Aarohi, in collaboration with the State Government
implemented the 'Swajal' program bringing water to many a rural household, saving hours of precious
time of women and children.
The program provided technical and financial assistance to village communities for a range of options
such as rainwater harvesting tanks, upgrading of traditional spring sources, construction of hand pumps
and pipelines.
Over a thousand toilets have been constructed which has radically improved the sanitary situation in these
villages.
Small scale rural economic enterprises that are in harmony with the environment and provide
supplementary income to the farmers of the area include the Apricot and the Herb growers initiatives. The
popularity of these natural products such as apricot oil and scrub and culinary herbs such as rosemary,
thyme, parsley etc., have given these small enterprises the boost to be more profitable and reach out to
hundreds of small farmers in remote villages of the Himalayas.
The Grameen Himalayan Haat, an annual event started by Aarohi is held in the month of October after
the harvest season. The Haat is a delightful meeting ground for farmers, artisans and talented rural
performers. It provides a platform to show-case talent and entrepreneurship development.
The Aarohi Bal Sansar, a small primary school consists of 65 children from 4 villages. The school is an
effort to impart meaningful education to the children and make them an intellectually, emotionally and
spiritually positive presence in society. It uses the medium of play, song and art to make the process of
education vibrant and interactive. The program also reaches out to 15 government schools in the region
supplementing environmental, cultural and sports inputs. The Ilya scholarship provided by Aarohi enables
talented children to pursue their interests as well as broaden their horizons by travelling to different parts
of the country.
A much needed sports ground has been made in the region and the process of creating a new learning
space for the children has begun. This will soon become a centre for excellence for some of the most
marginalized children in the country.
The Oona Mahila Bachat Yojana (micro-credit groups) has become a popular forum for rural women. By
saving small amounts of Rs. 10-20/- per person every month, over 900 women in 44 villages have
managed to save Rs. 5.5 lakhs. In the absence of access to rural credit facilities this program has
enabled women to take loans for a wide range of activities from health emergencies and house repair to
buying milch animals and children's education. This has given dignity and independence to rural women.
To conclude..
Many unresolved dilemmas and problems still exist; however, we hope that by being aware of these and
by literally having one's feet on the ground, the process of development that has been initiated will be
stable, constructive and enduring.
Join hands..
We welcome doctors, teachers, managers, musicians, theatre persons, IT personnel or anybody with a
desire to share his or her skills for the people of the mountains to volunteer with us. Aarohi encourages
creative ideas and provides an opportunity to experience a different way of living and working.
Volunteer at our fairs and exhibitions.
Contribute to the construction of the Primary School complex and Rural Hospital.
Every effort counts and every concern makes a difference!
All contributions give the benefit of Income Tax Exemption under section 80 G of the IT Act.
2 Projects already completed, those running and the future:
Aarohi interventions have aimed at dealing with issues relevant to the needs of people of the area and
have not been based on a project mode of functioning. It has hence addressed issues of poverty have
been addressed through activities related to Forest Management, Health Care, Livelihoods, Drinking
Water and Sanitation, Women's Development and Education.
However, due to a project based mode of funding received, some of the programs have had intermittent
intervention.
Some of the immediate future plans are to complete the construction of an Operation Theatre and ward in
Satoli and coordinate with many other NGOs in the mountains to reach out to a much larger population.
Also, complete the construction of the primary school and continue the intervention in education with 20
government schools.
Those interested can email us at aarohi2000@vsnl.net
