South Orissa Voluntary Action

SOVA conducts critical healthcare activities in its districts, addressing issues like malaria, diarrhoea, and malnutrition. It creates awareness, trains community and service providers, and promotes adolescent and reproductive health. SOVA uniquely uses tribal voices to dispel myths and promote healthier practices. It collaborates to improve community health systems through health camps and immunization awareness. Its goal extends beyond healthcare access to changing attitudes for a healthier lifestyle.

Additionally, SOVA works on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in collaboration with district administration, tribal forums, and communities in multiple villages. It focuses on Particularly Primitive Tribal Groups, implementing school and community-led WASH programmes, with a strong emphasis on capacity building and raising awareness about proper sanitation practices. This initiative receives support from the District Education Department.

SOVA's education initiatives in Koraput aim to address challenges such as high school dropout rates, early marriage, and language disparities among tribal children. It employs an MTB multi-lingual education approach to bridge the language gap, creating effective teaching and learning materials in tribal languages and Odia. Additionally, it implements a Writing and Reading Improvement Plan (WRIP) to enhance students' writing and reading skills in Odia, encouraging school retention. SOVA also runs a reading enrichment programme, where faster learners help peers who are falling behind. Its Activity-based Learning (ABL) model focuses on children aged 3 to 6, strengthening Anganwadi Centers and involving mothers in their children's learning. Furthermore, SOVA promotes inclusive education for visually impaired children, offering skill development training and Braille kits, while working on community rehabilitation programmes for people with disabilities in the region.

SOVA in Koraput tackles poverty through sustainable agriculture, resource conservation, and access to social security schemes. Its community-driven approach involves village development committees, emphasizing indigenous resource utilization. SOVA secures forest and land rights, enhances resource management, and empowers youth through skill-building for employability and entrepreneurship. Climate change adaptation measures, entrepreneurship development, and promoting organic gardens are key strategies. It addresses the limited land holdings and geographical challenges by promoting good agricultural practices to improve crop quality and yields, facilitating economic development among local farming households.

SOVA strengthens grassroots governance, empowering communities to manage resources and advocate for Government schemes. It encourages community participation, including women, in self-governing bodies and provides a Community Monitoring Information System (CMIS) for effective engagement. SOVA supports forest rights advocacy and sustainable land management, operates a community radio station, offers grievance redressal through SAMADHAN, and monitors entitlements with the "Community Watch" project. These initiatives enhance local governance, transparency, and children's rights while promoting sustainable development in the region.

SOVA's sponsorship programme aims to provide opportunities for the most underprivileged children, including orphans, those from single-parent families, and differently-abled children, to access education and essential resources for a better future. The programme focuses on offering quality education, ensuring basic needs, and protecting their fundamental rights. Through this programme, individuals can sponsor these disadvantaged children, providing them with immediate medical care, a secure home, access to clean water, nutritious meals, and a quality education, ultimately promoting a life of dignity and opportunity.

SOVA empowers children and other community members to advocate for their right to education and fight against child labor and corporal punishment. By organising children and providing them the information they need, their collective voice becomes a powerful change agent in their communities. Children are at the center of its development efforts. Key activities include:
Awareness and Capacity Building
Sensitization at Higher Levels
Child Clubs.
Child Protection and Participation: SOVA integrates child protection and participation within its work, ensuring adherence to child rights principles, including child participation, non-discrimination, and the best interests of children.