From The CEO’s Desk

The foundation's approach has been built on the invaluable lessons learned from the decades of community work carried out by Bansidhar & Ila Panda since the 1960s; and IMFA’s project management approach which is time-bound and results-oriented. Some cornerstone principles are:

Collaboration/Collective Effort - No single organization can bring scalable change. Partnerships with governments, corporations, international bodies will be necessary to drive better design, enhanced interventions, and superior results.

Community Ownership - To drive long-term sustainability of any program – it is necessary to embed community ownership within projects. Even the smallest investment from program participants – in terms of financial resources, ideas, and engagement – has a huge impact on the long-term sustainability and success of the program.

Holistic Transformation – Global development literature shows and learnings from India confirm that the development interventions have to be holistic to be sustainable. Education without health or health without water is not possible, thus in our areas of operation we implement holistic interventions to drive long-term change.

Women-Centered Programs & Mindset Change - Empowered women have a multiplier and intergenerational impact on their families and the community. Once women receive basic education and livelihood skills which enable them to demonstrate income generation capabilities, they alter the mindset of everyone in their eco-system, catalyzing choices in favor of equality, education, health, and self-reliance. Across all our verticals, thus, we have a special focus on enabling and empowering women.

We are here to build long -term partnerships, learn and share our experiences, and relentlessly execute programs. Our approach is a transparent and an accountable one. We believe that, if we continue to follow this approach we will succeed in sustainably transforming individual lives – having a cascading impact on communities in Odisha.