Veerni was founded in 1993 to empower women and girls in the remote rural areas around Jodhpur by providing healthcare and education. The project has been funded by the Global Foundation for Humanity since its inception. The Rajdadiji Badan Kanwar Medical Trust, a locally based trust, administers the project. The Global Foundation for Humanity is deeply appreciative of the committed support of the Trust in overseeing the running of the project.
Veerni's mission is to empower the women and girls of rural Rajasthan so they can lead healthy and productive lives free of poverty, coercion and disease. To this end Veerni focuses on women, girls, families and communities in the desert areas around Jodhpur with medical, educational, nutrition and community development programs to bring about change in their communities.
To accomplish its mission, Veerni has implemented the following goals:
- To provide reproductive healthcare and health education to women and girls
- To offer nutrition education and treatment of malnutrition
- To provide girls' education opportunities
- To set up product development and income generation schemes
- To develop rural communities
The Veerni team consists of a medical, social and nutrition team. Every day the medical and social teams visit 2 of the 12 Veerni villages. The mobile clinic provides healthcare, health education and community work programs.
The nutrition team is involved in on-going research regarding the extent of malnutrition and is committed to eradicate it through nutritional supplements. Nutrition education is a vital part of this program.
The girls' boarding school is a new initiative, started in 2005. It grew out of the challenge Veerni faced in getting the village girls to attend local schools and education centers. Household chores, traditions and the belief that girls will be married off at young age and serve the in-laws keep parents from sending their daughters to school. The boarding school allows these girls uninterrupted education.