Relief India Trusts in Democratic Governance and Its Role in Development

More countries all over the world are working to build democratic governance. The challenge is to develop institutions and process that are more responsive to the needs of ordinary citizens including the poor and promote development. The Relief India Trust NGO has helped strengthen electoral and legislative systems, improve access to justice and public administration and develop a greater capacity to deliver basic services to those in need.

Through its programs, Relief India Trust brings people together in the community, fostering partnerships and sharing ways to promote, participation and accountability at all levels. The aim is to build effective and capable institutions that are accountable and transparent, inclusive and responsive-from elections to participation of women and the poor.

There are programs to help train polling clerks to ensure credibility of the polling process and increase public confidence in the electoral process. This ensures more voter turnout and the people are thus able to institute the change that they want through election of good leaders. Relief India Trust also helps monitor results to ensure transparency and voter education programs that focus on the youth and women.

Relief India Trust Wiki seeks to identify how engagement with informal justice systems can build greater respect for human rights and examine the value of informal justice systems in offering flexible structures and processes to grassroots communities. This is aimed at empowering the poor on the legal front and thus promotes inclusion, expand opportunities and contribute to the development. Access to legal information and the rule of law is also essential for human development and achieving democratic rights. This is promoted majorly with the concern of women, youth, children and vulnerable or marginalized groups.

Government can do a lot more to change lives, increase prosperity and growth and increase a wide range of essential services. This can be achieved by connecting people to each other, with vital information and to the government itself. For a country to realize democracy, the people must be able to voice their opinions to the government. Relief India Trust PAN is working with other stakeholders in ensuring that there are clear channels of communication where the people can express themselves to the government and at the same get feedback and access to information and public records. The trust focuses in freedom and pluralism in information; capacity strengthening,; networking and elevation of the standard of the media at national and local levels; raising awareness on rights to information and strengthening communication mechanisms for vulnerable and marginalized groups.

In view of ensuring all round development and better standards of living for all realms of the community, Relief India Trust has set its operational structures in line with the millennium development goals. These goals are aimed at;

1. Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.
2. Achieving national primary education.
3. Promoting gender equality and empowering women and the girl child.
4. Reduce child mortality rate.
5. Improve mental health.
6. Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability.
8. Developing a national partnership for development.

In achieving this in the community Relief India Trust PAN will have taken the community to greater developmental lengths.