Three inspiring organizations

After a random and long 55 hours of travel to India our first meetings with social enterprises was a complete success. All three organizations, Under the Mango Tree, Be! Fund and ATMA, were all very inspiring and yet distinct in their social entrepreneurship. Under the Mango Tree was a prime example of selling a good that benefits communities and makes a profit. Be! Fund was about “making heroes” in everyday Indian communities, a program I feel understands the concept of community ownership. In public health the term country ownership is becoming vastly recognized as a needed solution to health epidemics. Be! Fund has taken the concept of country ownership and microcosmic it into community ownership. Acknowledging that people within their own community, not outside influences, know best what changes need to make in order for positive sustainable impact does this.

However, ATMA was the organization that stuck out the most to me. It is an NGO that functions solely to train and assist other NGOs in running and reaching the full potential of their organization. With 3.1 million NGOs in India, it seriously makes me question the status and potential benefit of the majority of them. ATMA is designed to take NGOs that have the potential for high impact but that are not functioning properly and over a year grow them into sustainable organizations. This is an organization I think should be recognized and duplicated across all countries.