Resort’s Social Commitment towards the Community
Grinding poverty, poor health care facilities, and a variety of diseases, mainly malaria, claim a disturbingly large number of lives in the tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh. One finds this prayer framed and displayed at the impressive museum of tribal culture located in Araku Valley of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh. This is a prayer offered by the tribal people of the region to the all-pervading `evil power', seeking good health and longevity.
The prayers notwithstanding, hundreds of tribal lives were lost in recent weeks in the absence of a reliable health care system. Many more people are on the verge of dying.
The death toll is always open to dispute, but it is not as if there is no crisis at all. Buried in the maze of charges and counter-charges is the fact that the tribal people are victims, as always, of government apathy. The political debate does not encompass the cumulative effect of poverty, deprivation, illiteracy and exploitation on tribal mortality rates. It looks as though the Gadabas, Valmikis, Paranga Porajas, Kondus, Nookadoras, Kammaras, Konda Doras and Bagathas, the tribes that inhabit the lovely hills around
Lakshya Resort management team is deeply supports and strengthens the vulnerable and underprivileged sections in Eastern Ghat hills/ around the resort for transforming the quality of life through better infrastructure and volunteerism. It is committed to train local resources and provide employment at the resort to improve the quality of life. Resort management will work with other charitable organizations or foundations and government schemes to provide the basic needs to the community surrounded by the resort.
We have identified the following areas of work, addressing critical issues for the benefit of Bhimpole, Bhimavaram, Garugubilli, Thotavalasa and near by villages:
1. Drinking water: Clean drinking water was always in short supply and especially during summer seasons. Lakshya resort will work with other foundations like Satyam/Byraju foundations, and we will provide the required capital for setting up drinking water plant and towards the maintenance. Most plants are operated by purpose-trained local youth, creating livelihoods as a by-product. The project is sustained through user charges, which are very nominal, making safe drinking water accessible to the poor.
2. Sanitation: There is no proper infrastructure in the above said villages and especially during rainy seasons. On an average, 312 tribal people die in the Integrated Tribal Development Agency area of the State every month. There could be several factors responsible for this, but there is no denying that malaria is a major cause of the deaths. Even if one survives an illness, it only leaves him or her more vulnerable to another, with the body's defenses dwindling because of poverty and malnourishment.
They say that the health workers who visit them every week pop a few chloroquin pills into their mouths at the first sign of any illness, leading to further complications. The maternal mortality rate is nearly 25 per cent and the infant mortality rate is around 165 for every 1,000. The difficult terrain, locational disadvantages of primary health centers, non-availability of specialized services and lack of transportation add to the woes of the tribal people.
The three community health centres located in
4. Integrated farming: Lakshya resort will facilitate resort’s machinery and train local people on farming techniques. It will provide necessary infrastructure to store and market the farm produce. It will offer necessary loans to support their financial needs.
5. Education/Scholarship: Lakshya Resort will work with government bodies to set up educational system and it will provide
necessary transportation for the students. It will offer part-time employment to the students in the local farms to support their educational needs. Resort management will provide necessary scholarships to encourage bright students for higher education.
6. Housing Schemes: The local tribals will stay in huts and you don’t see any permanent structures nearby. Resort management will work with government bodies to channelise necessary housing schemes to the local people.