In cities across India, thousands live in slums or on the streets, and in rural areas, a lack of critical infrastructure and education holds communities back from improving their situation. More than two thirds of adults cannot read and write, whilst almost 1 in 2 children in India do not attend secondary school.
In a country where around a fifth of the population rely on agriculture to earn a living, the risk of flooding and climate-related disasters is an ever-present threat. Almost half of children are underweight and with a lack of nutrients, children’s ability to concentrate in class or even attend school is severely affected. Violence against women and girls is also an area of primary concern with social attitudes and a lack of female socio-economic empowerment trapping women and girls in abusive relationships and a lifetime of poverty.
For many people in India life can be particularly challenging:
- More than 1 in 10 children across India work (UNICEF, 2013)
- 48% of children suffer from stunting (UNICEF, 2013)
- 3 out of every 5 people do not have access to adequate sanitation facilities (WHO/UNICEF, 2015)
- 25% of the world’s undernourished population live in India (UN World Food Programme, 2017)
Islamic Relief in India
Islamic Relief has been working in India since 1994 and provided emergency relief following several emergencies including the 1999 Orissa cyclone, the Gujarat earthquake in 2001, and the devastating tsunami of 2004.
Islamic Relief is also working in the slums to provide long-term solutions to people stuck in a cycle of poverty. We support vocational training programmes in the slums to provide key skills to people in order to increase their chances of gaining employment and earning a good enough a living to support their families. We also implement an education programme in Uttar Pradesh to give individuals the best chance at a brighter future.
