Empowerment Programs
Women Empowerment Program (WEP); Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) and Child Development Program (CDP).
To be empowered in the view of VRF means, to gain knowledge; build strengths and skills such that ‘one gets to choose’, take informed decisions, with courage and healthy self esteem.
The overarching objectives of our WEP and YEP is to enable our beneficiary women and youth to transform and take charge of their lives; and CDP is to enable a happy childhood experience.
Our empowerment programs are pragmatically designed towards this objective. The program premise is, to make aware of the need of one’s holistic wellbeing; built on the areas of financial, intrapersonal, interpersonal, social, emotional and physical wellbeing.
Program salience
In addition to the residential curriculum,
- We arrange field visits and learning opportunities to our beneficiaries to understand the current ways of the world in areas related to study, work and business.
- We arrange workshops by small business owners for WEP and YEP group to gain exposure regarding various entrepreneurial options.
- We conduct career design and career counselling sessions for youth during their critical- transition academic years
- We conduct Annual Learning Retreats (ALRs), which are annual programs designed to continually engage with youth and children up to twenty one years of age (after they graduate from their respective empowerment programs)
Women and Youth Leadership Program (WYPL)
The program is designed to prepare our graduates of empowerment program to take up leadership roles and responsibilities at VRF.
We have observed that because our in-house groomed leaders share close identities with the newly enrolled beneficiary families, they are able to communicate and connect with natural empathy and enhanced understanding.
WYLP prepares our chosen and aspiring beneficiaries to,
- Build knowledge on the administrative fundamentals of NGO
- Learn about VRF’s structure vis-à-vis organization and programs
- Liaise with beneficiaries and governmental/official representatives
- Organise and help conduct our programs/workshops
- Enable VRF’s outreach or create SHGs (Self Help Groups) in their specific geographic locations
Currently, we have 6 leaders in the making. 4 are graduates of WEP and 2 of YEP.
Celebrations & Tribute
Memorial Awards
We have instituted 60+ Memorial awards till date
Memorial Awards (MA) program is constituted since 2014. It is a way by which,
- The soldier killed-in-action is immortalized for his courage and selfless act towards his country
- The young students are informed and inspired by the way of our soldiers’ lives to give their best wherever and whatever they choose to do
- The war widow feels resourceful and enhances her intrapersonal identity by way of ‘giving’ instead of otherwise bearing the onus of ‘receiving’
Gift a Birthday
Gift a Birthday (GAB) understandably is one of the fondly remembered program of VRF. The program entails gifting a small token of love and remembrance to our beneficiaries on their special day- their birthday, to convey that we care for them.
Till date we celebrate close to 250 birthdays and continue to add more…
Salute to Heroes
Salute to Heroes (STH) is one of the earliest programs of VRF. STH is conducted intermittently and is a creative-arts based platform by the way through which VRF,
- Connects civilians to our cause and help raise awareness of our work
- Takes opportunity to provide voice and platform for the beneficiary families to be known and be understood
- Raise support, financial and in-kind
The first STH was performed in the year 2007 by a play ‘The Silent Front’, to express the solidarity with our war widows and their families. The program fostered inclusiveness for these families within the larger society. In 2009, we produced a cultural event showcasing memorable performances by twelve renowned dancers and a fusion music ensemble with fifteen percussionists. This program has since then has been one of our profound ways to intertwine art with the goals of our cause. In 2017, VRF’s ten years of work was commemorated with dance recital by Subhashini under the able guidance of her guru Dr. Vaijayanthimala Bali, who is also a legendary actor. The same year, we released Forever Forty, a book on the life of Col. Vasanth Venugopal.
