United we stand; divided we fall. If united we walk on the path toward a progressive future of social sustainability, then we will truly become the futuristic civilization we ever dreamed of. The collective conscience is the universal force that can transform the present to transcend the times and tides of an unpredictable tomorrow and create an environment of peace, unity, progress, and advancement for our present and forthcoming generations.
While marching along, we might lose our way if not guided by an empowering establishment like Human Welfare Foundation (HWF) which in itself is endowing the evolutionary human spirit for humankind’s revolution. The genesis and evolution of HWF are quite fascinating. The ongoing journey of HWF began with a small step but an extensive vision of Prof Siddiquie Hasan.
Immortal Ideas
Prof Hasan was an Indian humanitarian and development practitioner who believed that the ‘individual is mortal while ideas and institutions remain.’ His idea was to create an institution that will bring meaningful change in the lives of the deserving needy. To materialize the idea, HWF was founded with values of compassion, empowerment, justice, and accountability for result-oriented community development work across India.
Established in 2008, Human Welfare Foundation (HWF) has become one of India’s leading nongovernmental organizations dedicated to carrying out humanitarian and development programs to fight poverty. HWF aims to help the poor and those in need to live sustainable, self-reliant lives within safe and caring communities. To attain the goal of inclusive community development comprehensive projects were designed en route the idea of community development through a participatory approach to social change at the grassroots.
Principled Human Spirit
The founders–including Prof. Hasan–of HWF sowed the seed of hope in the community when passivity was high and the inadequate public systems failed to accommodate and cater to the needs of the poor. Their idea was to generate resources from the community and create a pool of skilled professionals to execute ideas into practice.
The foundation started in one room set up in New Delhi with three dedicated professionals. In the following years, the founders of HWF mobilized resources and thousands of volunteers to build one of the largest organized networks of social service and community development based on the model of community participation in India. HWF intervenes in all core developmental areas such as education, health, shelter, orphan care, drinking water and sanitation, community development, hunger relief, vocational training, and livelihood support.
*Community Development
Community development projects are designed in a way that helps most deprived people get their basic needs such as water and housing and so empowers them to move forward. Community Development projects included:
Drinking Water Project: Unsafe water has always been a major cause of human misery and millions of Indians are deprived of access to clean water. Since its inception, the HWF implemented thousands of drinking water projects to ensure access to safe drinking water for lakhs of beneficiaries.
Low-cost Housing: HWF provides financial aid to homeless people living in the least developed villages in various North Indian states. Victims of natural calamities are given priority under the housing aid project.
Community Learning Centre: An initiative to impart remedial education to the out of school children to make them ready for formal education. In addition to education support, nutrient food and medical care are also provided.
Nagrik Vikas Kendra: An initiative that works as a bridging agency between the downtrodden people and the different government departments. It creates awareness among the masses and supports the beneficiaries obtain their rightful entitlements and documents.
*Health Care Projects
Healthcare and adequate nutrition are basic human necessities that everyone should have access to. However, inadequate public healthcare services compel the poor to depend on and spend heavily on private healthcare. High healthcare costs often lead people to delayed treatment, aggravating health problems. To address such concerns, the HWF implements a wide array of healthcare projects encompassing preventive, promotive, curative, and rehabilitative services to the underprivileged section of society.
- Medical Camps and Workshops,
- Mobile Medical Van,
- Vaccination Program,
- Blood Donation camp,
- Medical Aid to Poor Patients.
*Social Welfare
HWF intervenes in the social welfare sector with an aim of ensuring humanitarian services to those in need. “We execute welfare projects in rural areas of the country focusing on the neediest segments of the society,” states the present General Secretary, Mr. Muazzam Naik.
Hunger Relief: Under this project, thousands of dry ration Kits are distributed every year.
*Orphan Care
Mr. Naik informs, “Our Orphan Care Program is designed to address the needs of the orphans and improve their lives in a way that enables them to value their existence and achieve their dreams.”
Under Orphan Care Program, the organization supports the construction and maintenance of orphanages and disburses monthly financial support to orphan children living with their families and relatives.
*Economic Empowerment
HWF addresses the root causes of poverty through long-term solutions which promote sustainable livelihoods. Under Economic Empowerment Project following programmes are executed:
- Vocational Training Centres (VTC) and Skill Development Centres (SDC): to provide short-term job-oriented courses. These courses are designed to make youth, especially from backward communities capable of securing decent jobs in various industries.
- Self-Employment and Livelihood Program: Under the program, the organization provides livelihood support to individuals and groups.
The portfolio of services is quite a diverse one but the main issue addressed at the HWF is Education.
*Education Projects
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that education is a fundamental human right for everyone and the Indian constitution, too, recognizes the fundamental right of free and compulsory education. The HWF also firmly believes that education is integral to human progress and is an essential component of socioeconomic mobility. It believes that ensuring quality education will lead to awareness of healthcare, employment, and means for a dignified living.
To attain these objectives of holistic development, the HWF has architected educational projects in a way that engages all levels of formal schooling of a child from enrolment in primary school to graduation with higher degrees of education. At the implementation level, the following projects are operationalized under education.
Elementary Education-
- Schooling Enrolment Programme
- Community Learning Centre/ One Teacher School
- Support the Establishment of Schools
(Own Institution and Capacity Building of Existing Schools)
The objectives of elementary education programs are to increase the number of school-going children. Mr. Naik adds, “We build and reconstruct schools and educational facilities and ensure to create of a healthy teaching environment.” The Community Learning Centres and one-teacher schools are set up in slums or slum-like places having two-three classrooms with adequate facilities. This project aims to impart basic education to the out of school children to make them ready for formal education.
Secondary Education-
- Support the Establishment of Secondary Schools
(Own Institution and Capacity Building of Existing Schools)
- Scholarship for Needy Students
- Scholarship for Orphan Students
- Award for Academic Excellence
Mr Naik says, “We build/support secondary schools in the most backward districts and rural areas of the country where schools are not available or far from the target region. Under our Capacity Building Projects, ill-equipped existing schools are rehabilitated by providing them with necessary funds to develop their basic minimum infrastructure.” Under this project, HWF builds Classrooms and Laboratory, setup Computer Lab and Library, and support them with Furniture like students’ desk and chair. Besides institutional projects, individuals are supported with scholarships and career guidance.
Higher Education-
- Establishment of Higher Education Institutions
- UG Scholarship
- PG Scholarship
- Special Scholarship
Under the HWF Campus Project, multipurpose campuses have been built in six states. A campus is envisaged to impart inclusive education from schooling to degree level. A campus encompasses residential and day boarding schools, Hostel Facilities for students, ITIs, and Vocational training. Besides campus projects, thousands of undergrad and postgraduate students are supported with scholarships.
Centre for Training and Academic Guidance (CTAG)-
Centre for Training and Academic Guidance (CTAG) is an initiative for expanding and coordinating career awareness activities as part of the education programs of the Human Welfare Foundation for the welfare and strengthening of socio-economically backward communities in India.
- Under its Counselling and Training programs CTAG conducts career counselling sessions for students, career awareness programs for parents, and training programs for teachers and volunteers interested to become career guides at regular intervals.
- Under its Research Guidance Program, it promotes research by motivating students to conduct research activities as well as supports research scholars through their research.
Positive Impact Maximum
The mission of the HWF was to bring measurable change in the lives of the downtrodden. With a maxim that if their work brings a qualitative change in the life of one person it is an achievement, the mission began. True to their conviction the HWF interventions brought remarkable changes in the lives of millions in the last one and half decades. The HWF marked its footprints across India from water-poor deserts to flood-ravaged villages to tribal hinterlands, to remote rural regions to backward urban landscapes.
The hard work of the dedicated workforce at HWF resulted in a satisfactory outcome. In the last one and a half decade, the foundation has brought measurable qualitative impact. Thousands of homeless people found a dignified living under housing schemes, thousands of students could complete their schooling and higher degrees with its scholarship support, thousands of orphans were supported to complete their education, thousands of unemployed could restart their life with livelihood support, lakhs of beneficiaries found access to clean water under water projects, lakhs of patients benefited under health services and millions of people were fed under hunger relief projects. “Overall, it was an enriching experience,” expresses Mr. Naik.
United We Transform – Today and Tomorrow
Revealing his plans, Mr. Naik says, “For the success of our interventions, we forge a partnership with the community.” So far, the reception is overwhelming. The foundation grew with its honest intent, transparency, dedicated workforce, professional execution, receptive community, and above all generous donors.
However, a lot needed to be done. Given the scale of challenges of poverty, the march of change must continue. For this, scaling up operations and interventions is required. “Capacity building of our human resources is done through regular training,” he adds. To modernize HWF work management, advanced automation services are adopted.
To enhance efficiency and be eco-friendly foundation is becoming paperless and adopting online services of HRMS and CRM. “Still, with limited resources at times, we face constraints in expansion. We have future plans to multiply interventions but need constant support from good Samaritans,” concludes Mr. Naik.
For more information, click the below-mentioned weblink and links to HWF social media sites,
- https://www.hwfindia.org/
- https://ctag.in/
- https://www.facebook.com/hwfindia2026/
- https://twitter.com/Hwfindia2026
