Desai Foundation

Mission Statement

1. Introduction

The Desai Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that strives to empower women and children through community programs that elevate health, livelihood, and menstrual equity in rural India.

Operating in rural areas of 8 states, The Desai Foundation adopts a unique community-centric approach of working collaboratively with local women and grassroots organizations. This ensures that we are not just bridging access to healthcare, providing meaningful livelihoods and menstrual care, but are also helping local women and children to cultivate a sense of dignity. By strengthening their leadership and building sustainable programming, we ensure that everyone can dream beyond their circumstances.

Innovation drives The Desai Foundation’s programming and pushes us to incubate, iterate, pilot, evaluate, and further scale programs across regions for the most effective and powerful impact. Our approach of detailed and rich grassroots data collection via needs assessments, focus groups, surveys etc. enables us to incubate programming that is representative of a community’s current unmet needs, and aspirations.

We then test out the programming in the form of pilot runs, often with the support of multi-sectoral partnerships, following which we rapidly scale the programming based on the results from our impact evaluation procedures. This allows us to pivot and alter the programming based on the feedback we receive before larger scale rollouts.

2. Our Programs

The Desai Foundation currently operates 30+ programs in verticals such as health, livelihood, and menstrual equity. Within each vertical, we conduct diverse impactful programs that address the most pressing needs of rural communities in India, specifically its women and children.

In the health vertical, our programs address entrenched health issues such as:

– Anemia Screening & Awareness
– Cancer Screening
– Blindness/vision impairment
– Primary Health & Hygiene
– Vision on Wheels
– Diabetes Screening
– Health Education Camps
– Gynec Health, and many more

Our health programs don’t just provide check-ups, referrals, and screenings for health issues, but also accurate information and knowledge resources. Furthermore, for children, our programs combine fun and games with proper education on nutrition and hygiene via programs such as Bal Health Mela and Primary Health & Hygiene Education Camps.

In the livelihood vertical, we provide a wide array of vocational and skill development trainings for rural women to assist them in attaining meaningful livelihood, financial independence, and a sense of purpose and dignity:

– Beautician Skill Training
– Sewing Skill Training
– Banking & Saving Education & Awareness
– Entrepreneurship Development Training & Awareness
– Computer Skill Training, and many more

In the menstrual equity vertical, our flagship initiative called the Asani Sanitary Napkin Program is designed to end period poverty and bring menstrual equity in rural Indian communities. Our Asani Sanitary Napkin program is designed by women for women, and trains local women to produce affordable sanitary pads, creating jobs and improving hygiene

Menstrual Health Education programs raise awareness and reduce stigma, while female-led distribution ensures more comfortable access to pads. By empowering women and challenging societal taboos, the foundation promotes both menstrual health and broader social and economic empowerment.

Through Asani’s integrated approach, the program improves the health of the beneficiaries and provides economic opportunities, cultivates dignity, as well as access to education.

Lastly, at the core of our programming is our Heroes for Humanity initiative. Originally a COVID recovery effort, HFH has evolved into a powerful force for change, mobilizing over 500 ‘Heroes’—trained community members who deliver essential services and Desai Foundation programs to remote areas. Addressing critical challenges in health, education, and livelihoods, our Heroes are the backbone of this transformation, driving resilience and progress in their communities.

Climate Resilience

Climate resilience is more than a mission; it’s a promise made daily to thousands of families. Climate change, in the form of floods, droughts, failing harvest, and pollution disproportionately impacts rural women and children. It is these communities that are left the most vulnerable to developing a host of respiratory diseases, pregnancy complications, famine, and resulting gender-based violence.

The Desai Foundation’s Climate resilience programs aim to tackle this reality by incorporating a self-sustaining model. The income generated by trained women will support ongoing training programs and foster the adoption of renewable energy and sustainable transportation, ensuring the longevity and financial stability of this initiative.

Our EV Rickshaw Mechanic Training Program & Solar Skill Training initiatives offer specialized training in solar system setup and maintenance, and skills in the maintenance and repair of electric rickshaws (Tuk-Tuks). Through these programs, women will not only be empowered with skills that align with the evolving demands of the green economy but will also be better prepared to adapt to climate change, earn a sustainable income, and become active participants in sustainable development that benefits their communities.