Karnataka is a Southern Indian State of over 53 million people. In recent years vast changes have taken place in this region. Economic and social programmes of road building, agricultural improvement, education and health projects have made enormous differences to many parts of the state. However despite the inroads made into improving the economic, educational and health infrastructure of Karnataka such development has not been even and there remain many communities who have yet to significantly benefit from such changes.

Gulbarga is a district in the north of Karnataka, set in a drought prone area of the Deccan Plateau. It is clearly acknowledged on Government web-sites that this is an area that has not enjoyed the levels of progress made in many other districts.

Physical environment, health, education, economic opportunity and social infrastructure are inextricably inter-linked, each having an impact on the others, creating circumstances which can spiral downwards, trapping individuals and communities in an environment of chronic poverty, or upwards, enabling individuals and communities to prosper.

The community capacity building programmes of Jaruthi Trust and Birds Heal are working to enable rural people to free themselves from this level of chronic poverty and towards developing the structures that will allow them to prosper.

 For further information about the activities undertaken by the projects and the contexts in which they are working click on the pictures below or return to the expanded menu.