NGOs, non-government organizations are not new to Indian society. Rather, helping each other and taking care of people around us, is something Indians have been taught since old times. ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ meaning, the guest is God or ‘Grahako Devo Bhavo’ meaning, customer is the king, shows the values Indian society has been taught.

NGO is just a one part of this culture. We have built our society on ‘Service before self’ attitude. NGOs are taking this legacy forward and are helping in uplifting society by providing people the required assistance.

Today we will see a few of the NGOs which are working on national level as well as on local level. The reach of the NGOs is of least importance, as the work they do and its impact on the people and community in which they work, is priceless.

‘Goonj’ is one such organization. This organization is working in 22 states across the nation. It is listed by Forbes as India’s most powerful rural entrepreneur organization. Anshu Gupta, receiver of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award of 2015 is the founder of this NGO.

Goonj has overtaken several milestones in adding value to the community in the past. It recycles and mobilizes reusable items like clothes, books, grains, exports surpluses and much more from urban to rural centers. As per its website, it annually deals with over 3000 tons of material. It has a team of more than 300 volunteers and partners with 250 other organizations. Goonj works on menstrual hygiene awareness, too.

Help Age India, a NGO which was set up in 1978, provides assistance and help to the abandoned, poor and isolated elderly folks in the country. It has been working and assisting the Government of India to form more elder friendly policies. It is providing emotional and material support to the abandoned elderly.

Opening physiotherapy centers, treating cataract operations and providing help lines for the elderly to educate about their rights, are some of the works done by this NGO.

North East Network (NEN), the organization which has been raising women’s rights issues, especially within the developmental and political context of the North East region of India. NEN deals with gender budgetary allocations, strengthening support services for women affected by violence, and security of women in conflict areas and advocacy with the government through workshops, training and publication.

Honey Bee Network, established by IIM-A professor Anil Gupta, works towards identifying the grassroots innovators from across the villages in the country by organizing learning walks named Shodhyatras and then try to document, research and fabricate a commercially viable solution. It operates in four areas of innovation: Educational, Cultural, Technological and Institutional innovations.

These organizations along with many other known and unknown organizations are taking care of the society and letting the society know that they care.