ABOUT US

Sreema Mahila Samity (SMS) completed its 51 years’ eventful journey. This journey was not strewn with flowers. Many difficulties, many hurdles it had to get over. It is still continuing its journey with full of energy and strength to fulfill its vision and mission, its commitment to work for the poor and marginalized keeping focus on women and children. SMS thinks through its various activities it can find the light of social change.

In pursuit of its mission SMS has intervened in the areas of income generation health, education, strengthening SHG, special support to women and children in distress, disaster risk reduction on the part of community and PRI, family counseling etc. Through these activities SMS endeavors to aware people particularly women about their rights and raise their voices and articulate their demand.

Women's mobility, migration and movement, has traditionally seen a societal resistance and patriarchal, moralistic response, often conflated with notions of trafficking and sex work that are extremely judgmental and often flawed.

Realizing its significance in the project area, SMS has worked intensely to challenge popular paradigms and praxis on women's mobility, while promoting a holistic understanding and intervention strategy. The focus is on breaking away from the rescue-rehabilitation-repatriation model and framing the discourse within a right framework where women's voices are heard and their leadership endorsed.

SMS concurs with the belief that every woman has the right to move freely and safely for better livelihood opportunities, without facing stigma, violence and exploitation. In this context, SMS supports interventions by women's groups in the region on the issue of right to mobility which are framed within a rights based perspective and which enable the growth of women's decision-making and leadership.

SMS starting the journey of Community Development & Women Empowerment in 1972 from Baranberia, a remote village of Nadia district, West Bengal, it has now reached to the districts of Murshidabad, Birbhum, Malda and North 24Parganas.

OBJECTIVE

Realizing the need for community empowerment, especially women empowerment, the objectives of SMS for implementing different projects are to :

• Develop solidarity among the marginalized community members.

• Impart training and develop human resources.

• Create health, education and human rights awareness and develop opportunities which would fulfill the community members’ basic needs.

• Lead and facilitate projects for the alleviation of poverty.

• Assist underprivileged and underserved women in becoming financially independent.

• Take initiative for protection and care of the children.

• Create awareness and sensitize local community members for participating in initiatives to preserve and protect natural resources.

Educate local community members in realizing the harmful impact of believing in superstitions and age-old customs those demean women or any other community member. To mobilize them in shunning religious blindness and social injustices.

Involve community in Disaster Risk Reduction activities

OPERATIONAL AREA

More than two thousand villages, 41 Blocks in the districts of Nadia, North 24 Parganas, Birbhum,Murshidabad and Malda.

OUR SUPPORTERS

• CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL (USA).
• SAHAY (KOLKATA).
• CARITAS (INDIA).
• MINISTRY OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE (GOI/WB).
• MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT (GOI).
• P & RDD, GOVT. OF W.B..
• STATE BANK OF INDIA.
• UNITED BANK OF INDIA
• NABARD.
• BHARATIYA MAHILA BANK.
• IRMGARD KRANZMAIER – MISSIO (GERMANY).
• MR. WILL HARIS (USA).
• MR. SANJAY PAUL AND SHIPRA PAUL (KOLKATA).
• KABITA MITRA.
• NADIA ZILLA PARISAD.
• PRI MEMBERS AND COMMUNITY PEOPLE OF FIVE DISTRICTS.