Grassroots Work

• Founded GROOTS INTL. along with five other women at Nairobi ((today a worldwide movement spanning several continents and over 6 million grassroots women). (1985)
  
  
• Designed WWF grassroots mobilization training materials in the 1980’s for women workers (with low literacy) which led to its training for over 4,00,000 such women members.
  
  
• Implemented a 17-country 100 NGO representative Grassroots Leadership Training of grassroots women in Bangalore, India (1991).   Headed the Secretariat of GROOTS, South Asia.
  
  
• Initiated an Independent Commission for People’s Rights and Development to safeguard the interests of the poor, women and indigenous groups during the economic reform process.  Start up grant provided by UNDP in 1997.  Now has reached over 900 small NGOs in mainly civil strife areas in Central India; as well as in Karnataka reaching 40,000 stakeholders; 70 MPs have participated in its advocacy activities including the current President of India, Interior Minister The Finance Minister was also met with on gender budgeting with the first group of NGOs leaders (2005); farmers’ suicides and trafficked victims were given a public hearing at the Planning Commission due to her efforts. (2004).  She has been instrumental in interfacing citizens with policy makers (MPs) through her innovative Citizens’ Interface round tables where citizens get an opportunity to interface MPs/MLAs on key development issues of their specific region. (including on gender issues).   Several govt. officials, including Chairperson, State women’s commission, also participated.
  
• Innovated a new program strategy of ‘involving young men along with women’s self help groups’  to combat local level gender based violence.  Reaching more than 30,000 stakeholders, this is a growing movement of re-socialized youth who are the vanguard of the women’s right movement in their area.  She has demonstrated at  the micro level a grassroots approach to this project in the  past two years with  instruments such as Gender Equity Scale, Harvard Case Study Methodology covering 200 youth forums of 2000 young men and over 100 self-help groups of 1000 women. She considers it a path breaking moment that future male citizens are being sensitized to women rights. It is indeed her vision that ‘Women’s equity is not confined to women’s agenda but as a community, national and international agenda.’  (2004).