Sahayog Nirmitee was formed to initiate participatory development processes in rural areas by putting the last person first and focusing on poor and marginalised groups such as women, agricultural labour, children and socially disadvantaged communities.
Its vision is to work for the empowerment and sustainable development of the poor in Latur and Osmanabad districts.
Sahayog Nirmitee has two training centres - one in Latur (Mhalumbra) and another in Osmanabad (Hipparga Tad).

After the Latur earthquake of 1993, Sahayog undertook rescue, relief and rehabilitation work. Since then it has been involved in a number of development activities in the affected region. Sahayog has also concentrated on women's reproductive health (awareness and services), women's economic empowerment through self-help groups, infant mortality and elementary education. Watershed development and agricultural extension are two other areas where Sahayog has provided inputs.

Sahayog is part of two networks - the Marathwada Eco Group which was set up to combat the drought in Marathwada in 1993 and the Child Death Study and Action Groups, a network of NGOs combating infant mortality in Maharashtra.

Sahayog's PACS Programme project will be implemented in 32 villages in Ausa tehsil of Latur and 16 in Tuljapur tehsil of Osmanabad district. These villages are situated around the Sahayog training centres in these districts.

The primary occupation of the people in these areas is agriculture. However, poor soil fertility, marginal land holdings, inadequate irrigation facilities and drought-like conditions make agriculture unviable. In fact, families with land holdings up to 10 acres of land could and often do fall in the below-poverty-line category. Therefore, most people supplement their income through labour. Osmanabad district, in particular, provides employment for over 200,000 migrating sugarcane cutters each year, most of them from the dalit community. Seasonal migration leads to instability and lack of permanence in life. This has led to an increase in the number of school dropouts and child labour.

In the Marathwada region, the social structure is feudal and caste-based. The illiterate or partly-literate women in Marathwada bear the brunt. They suffer poor health due to malnutrition and overwork. Early marriage and multiple pregnancies are the norm. They have no personal space to develop as individuals, and they are completely distanced from any decision-making processes.

Worse, they are victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse in and out of the home, bigamy and desertion. Very few of the government schemes for women reach them. They have no access to information. The only forms of entertainment for women are religious programmes that they can participate in.

These conditions have prompted Sahayog Nirmitee's decision to concentrate on women's development. The proposed project is part of a long-term strategy. It is aimed at enabling women to take the initiative and develop resources among themselves to tackle male dominance and other issues.

The specific objectives are:

• To mobilise and train women in 80 villages
• To promote leadership amongst women
• To provide knowledge to women and members of the panchayat
• To develop pressure groups for collective problem-solving.