Sebastian Indian Social Projects

Sebastian Indian Social Projects (S.I.S.P.) is a non-profit organization working in the coastal region of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of India's s Read moreouth-western state of Kerala. S.I.S.P. was founded by two Belgians, Paul Van Gelder and Werner Fynaerts in 1996.  S.I.S.P. strives to accelerate social and economic change in the rural context by collaborating with local community members to build a better society where all people have easy access to education, health care, and employment opportunities. S.I.S.P. has an explicit commitment to remain disassociated from any religious activity and to work, both for and all sides of the poorest among all communities. The staff members and beneficiaries of S.I.S.P. belong to all the different communities in the area.  Over the years SISP-Centre is able to achieve small but significant steps to realize its mission: “to work with and to improve the lives of the poorest, the small, and the underprivileged.” Since 1996 around hundreds of children and youth rejoined education through our free second-chance education , many became part of the regular education system or continued to higher education with SISP’ scholarships. Motivational tools have been implemented, maintained, continued, improved and new ones implemented to approach the youngsters, we not only focus on their academic skills but also on their creativity, their life skills, their physical skills, their overall health, and the welfare of their families.  Hundreds of families, living Below Poverty Line, suffering from poverty, often their situation is worsened because of terminal or chronic diseases, economic and physical challenges, have been guided and supported by our projects in affected areas. We do not limit it to only financial support but also help in providing access to clean and drinkable water, to educate, help elderly, handicapped and widows to avail social benefits like pension, handicap allowances, etc. We provide wound care at home for palliative, less mobile patients. Still driven by our commitment to empowering girls and women, we continued to work with our micro-credit unions for women, awareness campaigns and training. In our social employment projects we still give and create employment to the ones most in need, single mothers, and youngsters in difficulties.