SURE begins in 1990 as a voluntary initiative by a
small team striving for meaningful change in a
remote and backward region. Today it is an
organization with more than hundred staff and many
community volunteers and works in two largest
districts of the country. More than two decades of
striving for improvement in quality of life of
vulnerable and marginal communities, in a harsh
and difficult terrain, surely speaks of a tenacity and
commitment to positive and meaningful social
change. It is the journey of motivated people from
Barmer city and villages, men and women, who are
working together as well as with like - minded civil
society and professionals to facilitate rural
communities towards meaningful social change.
SURE recognizes that its main strength lies in
relationship with communities with whom it has
been working. Increased levels of confidence and
motivation of vulnerable and marginal communities
speak of the positive impact SURE has made in their lives. The last two decades of work with different
programmes of SURE has contributed to changes in
the attitudes of these communities about themselves
and others. No longer are they prepared to languish
away their lives in subjugation and humiliation.
These communities recognize SURE as their partner
for representing their voices in an unjust world. It
would not be inappropriate to say that SURE has
contributed to this positive change for imparting
dignity and democratic processes of governance
among communities.
Programmes of SURE have been harbingers of hope
for marginal communities surviving in a context of
insular life with restricted opportunities,
discriminatory and exploitative existence.
Successful interventions in service delivery of basic
services like health, education, drinking water, in
these interior regions has contributed to shaping
attitudes of govt. service providers for cost effective
and pro poor development. In a context of recurrent droughts, SURE’s contribution in fostering a people
centric drought relief and preparedness measures is
well recognized.
The experience of SURE bears ample testimony to
the fact that advocacy for access to timely and quality
services in a harsh terrain with a scattered
population does require participating in service
delivery processes at village and household level.
Effective and lasting interventions by SURE has
demonstrated that a balance of these two
programme approaches -service delivery and
advocacy- works well in a context of fragile ecology,
entrenched destitution and fast growing interests of
the emerging market economy.