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H.E.L.P.
About Us:
Established in 1995, HELP is a registered Canadian charity
whose mission concerns the relief of poverty, distress
and suffering.
HELP seeks the relief of poverty,
suffering and injustice of those groups that have been
marginalized by the process of modernization, by finding
appropriate ways to work with these groups in their
struggle to find the space for their spiritual, socio-cultural,
political and economic existence.
HELP seeks to contribute to the process
of povery alleviation by working in cooperation with
organized groups of the poor and local voluntary agencies
who are encouraging the poor to take collective action
to:
i. facilitate local initiatives that
address their primary concerns (food, water, shelter
and health);
ii. gain control over necessary productive
resources (land, water and forests);
iii. hold governments accountable
for their role in distributing societies' resources
and ensuring compliance with international human rights,
including social and cultural rights and conventions;
iv. confront local exploitation based
on gender, class, caste and ethnicity;
v. facilitate the development of people's
organizations and a people's movement for social justice.
HELP has partnerships with Kondh Tribals
and Dalits in rural Orissa, India on initiatives such
as food production and land reclamation, and adult literacy
and organization building. This partnership was initiated
in 1997 and currently involves 97 villages, touching
13,000 individuals.
Key Features of HELP's approach
to poverty alleviation:
1. Long term support:
Social change and poverty alleviation are long term
processes that require long term support. HELP's support,
in any given area, is provided with the understanding
that we are there to stay and work with the partnered
people for as long as they feel our support is needed.
2. Partnerships:
HELP is engaged in a partnership with the village people
because the people define their priorities and develop
and execute their plan of action, while also contributing
(in materials, labour and financing) towards project
requirements. Furthermore, partnership implies relying
primarily on "people's knowledge" (such as
Kondh agro-forestry knowledge), as opposed to building
dependence on "outside/expert" knowledge.
3. Self-reliance and social-structural
change: HELP recognizes the importance of promoting
the self-reliance of our partners communities but with
the understanding that such self-reliance only becomes
possible when unjust and exploitative social structural
arrangements (such as social domination through gender,
caste, class, ethnicity and urban-rural prejudices)
are addressed in the interests of the exploited, the
impoverished and the marginalized. Self-reliance does
not mean getting the poor to "pay their own way
out" of misery from their meagre resources, while
the social-structural basis for their impoverished existence
remain unchallenged and intact.
4. Women and social change:
HELP recognizes the multiple-barriers of discrimination
faced by women (gender, caste, ethnicity, class) and
the importance of actively working with women to address
gender discrimination and poverty.
5. Voluntarism and member
commitment: HELP's members and executive contribute
up to a third of our total budget, while also covering
the administrative and fundraising costs of the organization.
HELP is managed and operated strictly by unpaid volunteers.
This ensures that all donations collected are used strictly
for the purpose of facilitating project iniatives in
our partner communities.
6. People-to-people approach:
HELP's approach is strictly a people-to-people
approach, as our citizens/supporters directly connect
with the very citizens we wish to partner with in other
parts of the globe (as opposed to connecting with government
agencies and other international agencies with local
counterparts) through direct and tangible action. This
process relies on and helps to build civil society in
both countries.
For more information about our programs,
contact us at:
www.helpcanada.org
Contact Information:
HELP,
55, 52304 RR 233, Fountain Creek Estates
Sherwood Park, AB T8B 1C9
Phone: (780)449-1481
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