The Association for India's Development, Inc. (AID) is a secular

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

organization based in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

which promotes "sustainable, equitable and just development". AID has won several

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

s for its work, including the 'Global Impact Award' by the prominent newspaper 'The

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...

Activities

AID supports

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

organizations in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, interconnected spheres such as educations, livelihoods, natural resources including land, water and energy, agriculture, health,

women's empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.Kabeer, Naila ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals ...

. AID focuses on a rights-based approach and is in solidarity with prominent people's movements and social workers of India. AID promotes

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

ji's ideas of "being the change that you wish to see in the world" inspiring people to support fair trades, organic products, question injustices and decreases their

ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

footprints. AID works towards Ambedkar's vision of equality for all enshrined in India's

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

Organization in the United States

AID consists of a decentralized network of chapters which raise and utilize funds independently. There were 36 chapters in 2010 with a total volunteer strength of around 1000. The major activities of the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

chapters are raising funds, reviewing and supporting projects in India and informing and mobilizing their communities about important social and developmental issues in India. There were about 100 projects actively supported by AID chapters in 2010.

Jeevansaathis

The Jeevansaathi program began in 1998 to enable and encourage AID volunteers to engage in full-time social works. AID Jeevansaathis make a commitment to work on development issues, being part of AID's network and opening up new directions for AID to explore. Only AID volunteers are eligible to become Jeevansathis. Currently AID has seven Jeevansaathis.

References

External links

AID web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Association For India's Development Non-profit organizations based in Maryland South Asian American organizations Foreign charities operating in India 1991 establishments in the United States