Holistic Approaches for Sustained Growth

By Digital Empowerment Foundation

Published on: March 17, 2023

The pace at which changes take place currently cannot be compared with the earlier times in history. On one hand, society is getting more sophisticated, while on the other, polarization is on the rise. Therefore, sustained growth is possible only if there is a holistic approach to accommodate fast changing factors and diverse set of impact measures. Within this backdrop, ‘holistic approaches’ have been at the core of many design strategies across different fields. But the Digital Empowerment Foundation has been successfully practicing this for over two decades. Each program is designed to consider all kinds of possible stakeholders and introduced in a manner that has the potential to adapt according to the changing times and regional needs. This has paved the way for DEF’s programs to have created impact on a large scale along with connecting the requirements and resources in an inclusive way. 

This month’s newsletter brings to you the stories that are connected with such initiatives. From Rakesh’s second chance at serving his community to Mehbub Ali’s strife to find a respectful way of livelihood, the stories reflect the dearth of opportunities that can be created for those actively looking to lead a better life. Discussions around menstrual hygiene, using social media for better causes and Digital Green Prakriya’s efforts to reduce e-waste have exposed the rural communities to the depths of the digital world rather than just getting the taste of it which is highly valued and taken care of at DEF. Moreover, the stories of women empowerment like Tabassum Malik and Anjali Namdev’s never cease to provide positive and encouraging feedback to continue working on thoughtful designs and effective implementation strategies. Barabanki team’s relentless efforts to connect the community with the outside world in a better way justifies the organization’s bottom up approach as the teams are enabled to drive their communities towards a better future independently.