The COVID -19 pandemic affected social, economic, institutional and governance settings in an immeasurable way. In India, it has put a spotlight on economic inequalities and fragile social safety net which forced the vulnerable communities in rural parts, daily wage earners, vendors, shopkeepers etc. to bear the economic brunt of the crises. Reverse migration of…
Breaking the mould of the stigma associated with menstruation has always been challenging especially in rural areas. According to the National Family Health Survey, 62% of women in rural areas use cloth, old rags, muds or leaves for menstrual protection. This situation exists not only due to lack of awareness on menstrual hygiene but also…
The Covid-19 pandemic brought a change in the way world has worked. Almost every country had to put a strict lockdown at least in the initial phase of the crisis, bringing a complete shutdown of normal services and life all around with people being forced to stay inside.
The Internet Saathi team is committed to provide relief resources and opportunities to all its beneficiaries amid the ongoing pandemic. With the belief that war against Covid-19 can be only won with awareness, empathy and coordination among communities, collective engagement becomes paramount. Nutan Kumari, an Internet Saathi and DEF’s Covid-19 Relief Warrior from Bhagwanpur, Bihar,…
By Osama Manzar Founder Director Digital Empowerment Foundation In the digital age, where copious amounts of free information are available in public domain, the menace of misinformation, propaganda and personal attacks is bound to exist. It is certainly not new in the world of social media. In the last few months, however, social media has…
Mohini, a resident of Saidanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is a housewife. Due to her husband’s busy schedule she was unable to get regular checkups during her pregnancy. Pooja Devi, one of the DEF’s Soochnapreneurs, with her smartphone and internet met her and the first thing she did was to link her to the maternity benefit program…
Conducting workshops and creating awareness on menstruation has always been challenging especially in rural areas. This situation exists not only due to the lack of information on menstrual hygiene but also of the stigma associated with it. This time, the solution proposed by DEF’s Smartpur initiative was to build the capacity of 50 trainers on…
By Sarah Farooqui Mitigating ways to reduce the digital divide is imperative to ensure that the full potential of digital technologies is exploited by all. Case 1: August 20th, At least 27% students do not have access to smartphones, laptops for online classes: NCERT survey. Approximately 27 per cent of the students mentioned the non-availability…
The Martalli Grama Panchayat in Kollegal, Karnataka had been facing connectivity issues. They were also unable to finish any documentation work regarding MNREGA, thereby bringing a halt to the lives of many workers under the scheme. They reached out to our Smartpur team in Kollegal – Palanimedu Spoke Center- for internet services and assistance. Our…
The Research and Advocacy department of Digital Empowerment Foundation produced a report on ‘Improving Livelihoods of Rural Weavers through Digital Training’ based on training provided by DEF and Commonwealth of Learning to 2000 weavers and artisans across 8 states – Andhra Pradesh (Prakasam), Karnataka (Chamrajanagar), Madhya Pradesh (Ashok Nagar), Odisha (Bargarh, Cuttack), Rajasthan (Barmer), Tamil…
