Courage For MY Business Plan

On Day 6, we also went to the Family Planning Association (FPA) which was invariably referred to as "Fulfilling People’s Aspirations" as well. We learned from the president that they have 42 centers in the 17 states of India! They started in 1952 and have since been an advocacy and access family planning shop to assist women and young girls get necessary sexual and reproductive health care. They use a “five A” framework-Access, Adolescents, Abortion, (HIV)/AIDS, and Advocacy-to make sure that they reach their organizational objectives. They even have a clinic on wheels service that they use to educate and give away medical technologies for hard to reach women that can't come to their clinic. 

The president said that the Indian Constitution provides a lot of things that support the equity of women but it doesn’t translate well in reality as a lot of men AND women perpetuate archaic gender bias. I loved that this organization prioritizes and incorporates gender equity as their guiding tool. It shows how their mission is interwoven and is beyond lip service. He said even in their hiring process, they dismantle the notion of hierarchies by asking at the end of each day “what is one thing that happened well today and what could I have done differently.” This simple question is brilliant because it immediately shifts away from the blaming game among staff relations and everyone is on the same level of accountability. I don’t know how far this carries but in terms of establishing an equal culture, I say they are on to something! 

I asked quite candidly how this organization is sustainable given the conservative Indian politics of sexuality and taboos on abortion. The president said plainly that their mission is to serve women in need of their healthcare and not to talk to the media or incite controversy. He said that protecting and respecting women is something that everyone can appreciate given India's value on motherhood/family. He said, “we don’t support abortion, we promote SAFE abortion!” I think that this was a lesson that really resonated with me and will be something that I really need to hone in on when thinking about my approach and advocacy strategies for my “controversial” business plan. Their approach is obviously working well because they have a myriad of stakeholders ranging from the government to sex workers and religious leaders! He said through donations, the organization is able to thrive and meet the needs of women at a meager administration fee of just 10 rupees (pennies in the U.S.) and that NO ONE gets turned away from their clinic because of pay requirements. Also, we learned that FPA goes into the community to ask folks how much money they would pay for a particular service and what is reasonable subsidized pricing. Again, another brilliant scheme to not only set prices according to the fluctuating economic climate but to also connect and learn what their constituents need/want! 

A really interesting fact about this NGO is that their first meeting was in 1952 and that the brains behind FPA was closely associated with Margaret Sanger (the founder of Planned Parenthood Federation of America).  As you can imagine, their funding stream is just as complicated as in the U.S. as there are restrictions and spending caps when it comes to abortion. Due to the FPA’s overlap with the International Planned Parenthood (as well as the Helms Amendment I would imagine), their foreign assistance aid is minimal. However, most of their money and direct fundraising tactics are targeted at the average woman who doesn’t make a lot of money. Through small donations, more than 60% of their funds come from this target population which in my mind is quite empowering and affords FPA a lot of autonomy and an ability to be transparent. 

We were encouraged and charged by the very prolific and dedicated president with these words: 

“As long as you are firm in your belief, as long as you are doing your best for women then no one, no country can deny you. You will win your case. Just keep smiling and keep going. He also said, “You may be single, but you can also be an army. You all are armies!” 

To prevent maternal deaths; increase access to safe abortion, birth spacing, and contraceptives; to make women utilize and reap the benefits of breastfeeding; and to make gender equity a reality in India....what a SOLID investment in society. I believe FPA is an ambitious NGO with measurable objectives, best practice approaches (peer leaders, street theater in communities, government support, broad allies), and leadership integrity.