Introduction
Health care will always be a concern for all kinds of people because everyone wishes for good health and a long life. We have seen in our research that healthcare facilities in the rural areas very poor or too less to cater to the densely populated areas. Our agency, ABC, has created a new social program called ‘Choices’ that will have two major divisions:
- The Mental Healthcare and Therapy and Training (MHTT) division. This will involve providing mental and physical healthcare specifically to sexually abused victims in rural areas of less developed countries and;
- Healthcare of the Degenerative division. This division will focus on providing long-term health care facilities to older people also in rural areas of less developed countries.
This proposal will contain an overview of the program itself followed by answering Frequently Asked Questions related to funding and investment for a national organization that will provide us with grants in their respective countries.
Discussion
Mental Healthcare and Therapy and Training of sexually abused victims
All kinds of women, vulnerable or impervious can be victims of sexual abuse. However, in a developed country like the US, there are a number of options these women have to build back their emotional and physical strength. In countries such as these, there are several social programs created for such women.
However, in less developed countries and especially in their rural areas, most acts of sexual abuse go unnoticed. On the other hand, such abuse leaves a mark on the victims for a long period of time and in extreme cases, forever. They feel embarrassed and ashamed in addition to being physically and emotionally damaged. Also, in rural areas these women are looked down upon and restricted to their homes as if they are the criminals. These women have nobody to turn to; not even their families. Instead they are the ones who are blamed and the sin is hidden to the extent of going unnoticed.
Since no one ever finds out about such activities, no one ever helps. ABC however, interviewed a total of fifty poor households out of which only seventeen were open about the atrocities. As a result of this, at ABC, the MTHH division of Choices was initiated. We saw the dire need of these women to be rehabilitated after such atrocities. It would be wise to create a program to bring an end to such activities but in most situations it becomes impossible to stop such crimes especially without any support from the law-enforcing agencies. Therefore, a program to mend and re-generate the strength of these women was created.
The awareness part of the program will take care of informing and teaching these poor and illiterate people about the effects of sexual abuse activities going unnoticed. Since mostly the victims are women, and since women lack proper respect, many of such crimes go unreported. Even if the crimes are reported, the authorities take this as an expected norm and care very less to investigate crime. For this purpose, our program will make everybody see the pain that these victims have to go through. They will be made to realize that if such crimes are not dealt with, they can only grow because it only gives abusers more freedom to do so. They will be shown how their daughters and sisters are maltreated at the hands of others.
The therapy part of the program will have two sides to it; physical therapy and emotional therapy. These victims for the first time in their lives will be heard. They will finally be given a chance to talk about how they feel and about their experiences. Expert psychologists will be hired to treat such clients with therapy at no cost. Physical therapy will take care of mending any wounds that these victims got after being sexually abused. This, however, will be charged at a lower price.
Finally the training part of the program will also look at two sides. First, it will train women how to fight abusers. They will be given basic lesson and tutorials on self-defense. They will be trained to be aware of their surroundings and travel in packs rather than individually. Secondly, these women will be trained for jobs. Jobs in rural areas of LDCs do not require extensive qualification and achievements in any case. But female victims usually become social outcasts as a result of such incidents. For these reason they are not employed to do even basic housework. The training area of our program will make ensure that these women learn how to speak their minds when searching for jobs. It will ensure that they get back on their feet soon after the required numbers of their therapy sessions are over.
Healthcare of the Degenerative
Also in rural areas of poor countries, there is a problem of a significantly low life expectancy age. Older people do not have the facilities or the means to good health care. As people become old, they are faced by numerous degenerative disorders; mental and physical both but mainly the latter. One major problem in the rural areas is that once a grown man or woman can’t work due to a malady, that person is seen as a burden as extra attention and expenses need to be charged. During this time, in poor countries, they are also neglected by their families. As a result they have no one to look after them.
The Healthcare of the Degenerative will ensure that such people are given adequate long-term health care facilities so as to preserve them and eventually pull up life expectancy. Service will include physician services, diagnostic exams, hospice and prescriptions.
Funding Questions Addressed
Now that a clear and precise overview of our program called ‘Choices’ has been given, any questions that may arise in the minds of the funding organization will be answered.
First of all, how many of our other programs have been successful in achieving their goals? A few of our other programs such as Medicare which provides outpatient facilities to patients of a lower-middle income group was very successful and received international acclaim and federal funding. In exception to this, our Mental Healthcare for the Addicted was also well received by parents of teenagers that turn to substance abuse and other society members. This also received funding/grants from an investment back as one of their Corporate Social Responsibility schemes.
Secondly, the budget provided by ABC will be that of the proposed program only and no additional costs are included. The budgeted costs of both the divisions of Choices will be combined together as a single cost budget. The costs include start-up costs such as setting up offices and initial advertising and marketing costs. For the Degenerative facility, doctors will need to be hired and clinics will have to be set up every ten kilometers. These costs add up to approximately $ 85,000 for both the divisions combined together.
A grant organization will want to know about the kind of encouragement as well as sustenance that our prior programs have received. The kind of support that ABC has received from various grant organizations and other collaborated organizations will be shown to this national organization in the form of letters of support from partners that ABC has previously worked with. These will be attached with our application and proposal.
A national grant organization may also need to know about my staffing and the number of people who will be volunteering for this project. They will need to know how many people in total are involved in the project. To answer any such questions, a total of 250 volunteers have been employed for the Degenerative division out of which 40% are females. For the MHTT facility, 80 employees have been hired out which 90% are females. Yet more need to employed. The kinds of volunteers that we will look for are undergraduates or graduates that have an understanding of sociology and psychology. More importantly they would want to know where the program will initially operate from. Families of the sexually abused victims that were interviewed before starting the MHTT division were Indian. Therefore, ABC plans to start both the divisions of Choices in the rural areas of Southern India.
Most importantly, we expect that the grant organization would require knowing the overall benefit that will be derived from this program. The approximate number of people that will be benefited as a result of this program will range from two fifty to five hundred families with an average of six people in each family.
Another question that will arise is whether market research has been carried out. Primary research was carried out for the MHTT division. Fifty families of rape victims were interviewed out of which only seventeen felt at ease talking about it. Other than this, extensive desk or secondary research was carried out for both the divisions. Also, our researchers saw the conditions in the rural areas of Southern India themselves and concluded that help was definitely needed by the poverty affected areas and people of this region.
A tour of the region where the offices and clinics are to be set up will be given to grant management specialists and/or representatives. The organization will interact with the families that reside in those areas and will hence, see for themselves the need for such a program.
An additional question that will arise is of reliability and credibility. This again will be shown by the letters of support along with the resumes of important people involved. The credentials and abilities of the doctors will be shown through their MBBS degrees and letters of recommendations. Other volunteers will also be required to submit in their resumes to give evidence as to how qualified they are with respect to their relevant jobs.
In addition to letters of support from prior collaborations and partners, a list and profiles of current partners in the Choices program will also be handed in. All other collaborated businesses, consultants, attorneys, accountants etc will be identified so that the grant organization knows who their partners are and who all it will be sustaining prior to making an investment in our program.
To address any more questions that the funding organization may have, contact number of the ABC assistance service will be given and will be active at all times. Other information such as a cost and benefit analysis, budgeted cash flow, etc will be attached with the application.
Conclusion
It will be of great significance for both parties to see the costs in comparison with the total benefits derived from this program before arriving at a final decision. For this purpose, a cost-benefit analysis is made. If the national grant organization feels that Choices is feasible, practical and beneficial all at the same time, grants from it will be highly appreciated. If, however, ABC has failed to satisfy the grant organization, it is prepared to provide any number and kind of additional documents required to give the whole picture to this organization.
To conclude, we are giving a beautiful gift to the people of India while preserving its potential human assets too. We strive to include partners in undergoing this fulfilling task so that they can experience the satisfaction at each and every step with us. ABC also guarantees success because if nothing else, it will be able to put smiles on the faces of hundreds of families. We feel sure in saying that this program will be worth it!
References
Barbara Bush Foundation. (2008). National Grant Program- General Information. Web.
Chambers, D. E. (2000). Social Policy and Social Programs. Allyn and Bacon.
Healthy Indiana Plan. (2009). Healthy Indiana Plan. Web.