Urmul Setu Sansthan

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URMUL Setu Sansthan is a development NGO that for more than 10 years has worked towards social and economic upliftment of the rural poor in the harsh and inhospitable Thar Desert region of Western Rajasthan. Setu is the result of a decentralisation process that took place in 1993-1994 within the ‘URMUL Rural Health Research & Development Trust’ when its four branches were registered as separate legal entities. Thus, Setu inherited the vision, mission, organisational structure, programmes, processes, values and culture of the URMUL Trust.

The activities of Setu have so far concentrated on primary education, health care, group organisation, agriculture and animal husbandry, income-generation, water and sanitation, capacity building of local governments as well as advocacy. The education programme has focused on increasing community awareness and responsibility for children’s education, with special attention to girl children and adolescent girls. The health care programme has focused on child and maternal health with a view to develop local resources by strengthening the capabilities of dais (local midwifes) or trained village health worker. Pharmacies have been set up too in many villages and immunisation facilities established. Further, Setu has established a number of Sangathans (Organisations) as participatory platforms for people, especially women, with a common interest to come together and engage in collective action to improve their living conditions in a consciously orchestrated effort. Setu works in 110 villages and hamlets (which are distributed in three tehsils) in Lunkaransar block of Bikaner district.