SAMAGRA’s long term vision centers around a self reliant, development oriented and dynamic society, ensuring human rights to every individual. It has underlined the mission to empower the marginalized and the absolute poor communities through the promotion of socio-economic and human capital adopting good governance, to claim and exercise their rights. To that end, SAMAGRA’s promoters had successfully experimented its holistic development approach in Jhadeba, VDC (where majority of the people consist of Dalits, adibasi-janajatis including other poorest vulnerable people) in Palpa district as far back as in 1985, at the time when the whole concept/practice of NGO was quite new in Nepal. The approach aimed at political and socio-economic empowerment of the target people for their self-reliant all-round development through the formation and empowerment of “Social Families (SFs)” organized amongst the rural communities under the supervision/inspiration of SAMAGRA field level staff, who, with the help of professionals, impart with relevant need- based skills, knowledge and information to the concerned people.
In May 4, 1996, SAMAGRA was registered in Kathmandu District Administration office and affiliated to Social Welfare Council. Now it has “District Social Families” registered in various districts with regular staff and part time volunteers. For SAMAGRA’s program activities and coverages, please go to program page.
SAMAGRA began its empowerment campaign with a focus on livelihood & infrastructure development (by forming and mobilizing IGGs – Income Generation Groups, which were / being upgraded to Social Families later). Since 2002, as the organization’s name “SAMAGRA” (meaning “Holistic” – in all aspects or overall) suggests, we adopted two-pronged strategy: human rights-democracy good governance related awareness coined with socio-economic empowerments (including climate change resilience, disaster preparedness and WASH as integral parts), the conflict transformation and GEDSI (Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion) being the cross-cutting ones.
In order to ensure that the grass-root SFs become self-reliant, they will form (some have already formed) “District Social Family” registered in the respective district as an independent organization with necessary organizational capacity. The district SFs are affiliated to SAMAGRA and institutionalized to adhere to SAMAGRA’s philosophy and methodology of overall empowerment/development. SAMAGRA has also adopted cooperatives movement as one of the components of its campaign. All the SFs in each rural/municipality form and run a cooperative or get affiliated with the existing one which will help them strengthen SF’s concept of cooperation within the community. They will act as a legally registered local financial institution for mobilizing local financial resources and will help SF members meet their enhanced individual financial need.
SAMAGRA’s grass-roots level partners / networks mobilized through Regional offices, district offices and 60 volunteers include:
- 516 Social Families & 911 IGGs (being converted to SFs) with more than 50,000 HHs
- 42 Cooperatives (7 Women cooperatives)
- 6 District Social Families (registered in concerned districts)
- Networking/alliance with other organizations
The diversity / Inclusiveness in the organization has been and will be ensured by making the “General Assembly”, Executive Committee (Board) and Staffs inclusive as per the GEDSI policy.
SAMAGRA’S Partners
SAMAGRA present/past partners include the following:
1. Government of Nepal including rural/municipalities and other various offices/mechanisms like
LGCDP, Poverty Alleviation Fund, Small and Cottage industry office, MEDPA, etc.
2. Danida and Embassy of Denmark (including DandiaHUOGOU and Governance Facility)
3. UK Aid
4. Embassy of Switzerland
5. USAID (including IFES, INFRIN, etc.)
6. CIDA (through CCO)
7. GTZ / GIZ
8. ActionAid
9. Norwegian Embassy (through DanidaHUGOU)
10 Australian Aid (through IFES)