Of Empowerment
ABOUT US
Sahbhagi Shikshan Kendra (SSK) established in 1990, is committed to fulfilling the needs of institutional support and systematic program management for civil society organizations working at the grassroots level in India. It aims to empower people and upgrade the capacities of organizations involved in social change by providing them access to skill, Knowledge and information. This idea took root from a vision to see these grassroots organizations work more effectively for the society based on equity and justice. A collective
approach was emphasized to promote effective humanitarian work that puts people at the centre of all development. For this reason in its early years, SSK focused intensively on capacity building and training program of CSOs and other stakeholders. SSK’s inherent quality of innovation through introspection and analysis led to a strategic diversification of its operations in the late 90s. The organization began engaging directly at the grassroots level on various social development themes, aiming to gain practical experiences and enhancing its knowledge and understanding.
Sahbhagi Shikshan Kendra has received accreditation from Charities Aid Foundation for its organizational effectiveness and transparency. Additionally it holds ISO 2015 certification and has been awarded the platinum certificate for Transparency and Accountability by GuideStar India.
EMERGENCE
Sahbhagi Shikshan Kendra (SSK), a Center for Participatory Learning, was established in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), in 1990.
SSK emerged in response to the development scenario prevailing then in the Hindi speaking belt viz, North India, especially Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Voluntary sector had its roots from the movements of a total revolution that had spread from Bihar in the late 1970s to other parts of the country in a bid to overthrow the existing social order and usher in a new society. However, there was no blueprint of the means to the end, and was a time-bound project without any sense of sustenance and development. The paradigm of "Development" was totally missing and there was an extreme dearth of awareness, knowledge, and capacity to effectively manage projects/programs, manage resources, establish linkages, etc. In other words, management of the organization was lacking which hampered the growth of a new social order and proved to be a hindrance for development. Responding to the need for strengthening the capacities of social organizations, communities, and PRIs working at the grassroots, SSK emerged as a support Organization, focusing its activities in India.
VISION
SSK strives for a society which is based on equity and justice that sustains itself through democracy and self-governance.
MISSION
The mission of SSK is to build and strengthen the capacity of communities, civil society organizations and local governance through an approach where people are placed at the centre of all development initiatives.
OUR
APPROACH
SSK believes in the participatory philosophy of development. The participation of the community in self-governance is the key to institution building, accountability and sustainability. We believe in handing the power back to the community.​
OUR PRINCIPLES
Participatory Approach
Gender Equality & Social Inclusion
Innovation & Adaptability
Transparency & Accountability
Integrity
Knowledge Promotion
Policies
THEMATIC EXPERTISE
Women Empowerment
SSK contains a component of gender mainstreaming and inclusion in all its projects. Our strategy always includes a focus on the capacity building of women and adolescent girls so that they can raise their voices and actively take part in gender-sensitive development and decision-making processes.
Disaster Management
Floods resilience & management has been an important theme on which SSK has worked intensively. The thematic focus is to fill gaps in knowledge and resources for better coordination and implementation of disaster management and relief work by various government and non-government institutions. It also aims to create the capacity for local governments to plan against complex emergency situations and disasters.
Local Democracy & Self-governance
SSK promotes local initiatives for strengthening local self-governance. Its main objective is to empower Panchayats through training and capacity building and developing, collecting, and disseminating resource materials on the issues of rural and urban self-governance. SSK has also been working intensively on promoting effective GPDP (Gram Panchayat Development Plan) process for many years.
Holistic Rural Development
SSK has recently started working on projects designed to improve the condition of people residing in rural areas. These projects focus on various aspects of development, such as empowerment (social, educational, and financial), health, and infrastructure. The objective is to work on all dimensions of development and develop model villages for continuous learning and future replication of best practices.
Skill-building & Vocational training
SSK has independently developed a vocational training centre named Sahbhagi Vocational Training Centre. The idea behind this center is to enhance the employability skills of youth who come from marginalized sections of society, in order to and provide them with alternative livelihood opportunities. More specifically, SVTC targets adolescent girls, school dropouts, and women from marginalized sections by designing special vocational and employability skill enhancement courses.
Migration
One of SSK's most important thematic
intervention areas have been Migration (Rural to Urban temporary Migration). Through this intervention, SSK strives to promote and ensure safe migration by following a holistic approach in order to address multidimensional issues associated with this widespread phenomenon. The intervention framework includes a strategy where SSK works at both the source (origin of migrants) and the destination (working place of migrants).
