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Our approach
Changing Hearts and Minds
As a Buddhist inspired charity we try to look beyond the economic and political factors that cause poverty and suffering, and address the prejudice and ignorance that often underlie it. We believe that lasting change will only be achieved by a transformation of the hearts and minds of the 'haves' as well as the 'have nots'.
Our work with marginalized communities focuses on helping people to develop the skills and confidence to take their rightful place in society.
Beneficiary-led projects
Karuna tries to develop partnerships with projects that are initiated and run by members of the beneficiary community. For example, most of our projects for India’s Dalit (ex-'untouchable') community are run by Bahujan Hitay/TBMSG, a network of Dalit-run organisations based in Maharashtra.
Using the expertise we have developed within 'low caste' communities, Karuna now helps other marginalized and previously neglected groups such as refugees, tribal people and street children. We work in fifteen Indian states, as well as Bangladesh, Nepal and Tibet, supporting self-help projects that are building dignity and challenging discrimination.
Karuna’s Four Fold Model
We have developed a progressive Four Fold Model as our framework for individual and social change:
- Needs
Meeting the marginalized community’s immediate needs. For example, we fund village schools, educational hostels, that allow children from deprived backgrounds to continue their education, and slum kindergartens. - Capacity
We help marginalized communities to build the awareness and professional capacities that they need to help themselves and become effective agents of change. An example is the network of Dalit-run social work organisations Bahujan Hitay (“For the Welfare of the Many”) that we have been helping to develop for 25 years. - Advocacy
Once the community and its organisations have developed, Karuna helps them to effectively lobby for legal rights. They can become pro-poor champions in influencing government policies and demanding the services that matter. For example, Savita Jadhav is bringing together different low caste communities to lobby the government for their constitutional rights to decent education and healthcare. - Compassion in Action
Lasting social change cannot come without a transformation of the hearts and minds of the ‘haves’ as well as the ‘have nots’. So alongside efforts to foster the dignity and self-confidence of oppressed peoples, Karuna works to encourage understanding and empathy in the West and among high caste communities in South Asia. For example we fund workshops based on Non Violent Communication that explore the pain of caste discrimination for ‘uppers’ as well as ‘lowers’. The vision is the creation of a world in which compassion in action is a reality for all.
