Background

“Commitments” was established as a public Charitable Trust in 1984 by eminent civil servants like Sri S R Shankaran and Mr. T Gopal Rao. It is a support organization to serve the rural poor and the disadvantaged persons. From its inception, the organisation has taken up several activities related to education and extended support to the marginalised communities through scholarships and fellowships to the students till the year 1994. In the year 1994 Mr. B. N. Yugandhar, a well known civil servant joined Commitments as the Managing Trustee and initiated the field level activities. It took about 6 years to understand the ground realities and to initiate the work in the areas of empowering the marginalised communities and supporting Persons with disabilities (PwDs).

Facilitation of Community Level Institutions

Commitments has and continues to believe strongly in the complete participation/ownership of the community level Institutions in order to resolve the issues/problems that arise in their own communities. It has thus facilitated the formation of Dalit sanghams/committees at the village, mandal and district levels creating platforms for the marginalised. It has also motivated and facilitated the formation of PwD SHGs, Mandal level federations (MVS) and Zilla Vikalangula Sangham (ZVS) over a period of time. Another important area of work included bridging the early childhood Education Centres (Anganwadi centres) with Government Primary Schools to address issues like dropout rate and quality education with a focus on community participation through strengthening School Management Committees (SMCs).

Inclusive Education

The Inclusive Education Program is yet another important activity which is being initiated in select Government schools and taken up at mandal level over a period of time. The Inclusive Education program is mainly focussed on children with disabilities. For this purpose, Commitments identified and trained a cadre of activists and placed them in the selected Government schools.

Dalit Empowerment

Over the last 18 years, Commitments as an organisation has taken up several activities related to Dalit empowerment, PwD empowerment, Inclusive Education Support to continue the studies of the marginalised, Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR), livelihood promotion, health care, Assessment Treatment and Rehabilitation(ATR) services, action research, mobilising funds/activities from the Government departments/agencies and up-scaling the activities.

Facilitating Convergence

Commitments has evolved a unique approach to work with Government Departments, Research Institutions/agencies, Rehabilitation agencies, corporate hospitals, CBR professionals, CBOs, NGOs, individuals to promote and strengthen the activities of the organisation and to take forward its agenda . This approach has given scope to the organisation to expand its activities in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states and also in reaching out to other states like Chattisgarh and Jharkhand. The strategy adopted by the organisation is to strengthen the community efforts in a participatory approach, which is the backbone to the programs/activities. Commitments has also been facilitating the convergence among various departments/agencies, civil society, universities and others to create an enabling environment to the marginalised communities.

Who Supports Us

Commitments Trust received its first financial support from Mr. Yugandhar, the then Managing Trustee, to initiate the field level activities. Over a period of time, several donors, individuals and Government departments/agencies like Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) and others have come forward to take up and upscale Commitments’ PwD strategy at the state level. Funding agencies like Action Aid, Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI), Lilliane Foundation, Aide et Action, Save the Children Fund (SCF), Tata Education Trust (TET), SERP, National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), UNCRPD, Rural Development Trust (RDT), Shantha Memorial Rehabilitation Centre (SMRC), Chimata Leelavathi Family Foundation supported the organisation and continue to do so with financial resources and have contributed prodigiously in the development of the organisation. In the recent years corporate houses like Aurobindo Pharma Foundation have come forward and supporting the children with disabilities in Hyderabad city. Several individuals also supported Commitments to take its agenda(s) forward not only in terms of finances but also by participating directly in the activities and developing strategies as well as including themselves in service delivery.

Disaster Relief

Commitments is also active in supporting the rural communities at the time of distress; it had taken up several activities as part of the flood relief services in Mahabubnagar district in a major way for 2 years and mobilized/raised crores of rupees for the flood affected communities, for their relief and developmental activities. It has also supported various livelihood activities for the victims of the floods and was able to mobilize support from the Government, donors and other agencies towards this.

Suport to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)

At present Commitments Trust has been supporting over 15000 PwDs in the rural areas of Mahabubnagar, Gadwal and Vikarabad districts and also in the Urban areas of Ranga Reddy, Medchal and Hyderabad district in Telangana District. Commitments Trust is also supporting CwDs and PwDs in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh through Neighborhood centres.

“Commitments” has tax-exempt status in India, entitling the donations made to it to qualify for exemption Under Section 12A, 80G of Income Tax Act, 1961. Similarly ‘Commitments’ possesses registration granted by Govt. of India, Ministry of Home Affairs under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 to receive donations and contributions from Foreign Donors and Agencies.

Support our mission

Help us in our mission in creation of enabling environments for the marginalised communities

Extend Help