AboutDAWN Daksh Foundation
DAWN Daksh Foundation is a research-driven, technology-enabled social enterprise committed to advancing equity, inclusion, and empowerment for India’s most vulnerable populations—especially Persons with Disabilities, Dalits, Adivasis, and women.
As a Section 8 not-for-profit company, the Foundation works at the intersection of policy, data, and grassroots innovation to eliminate structural barriers in access to information, services, and entitlements.
The Octagon of Community Development
The eight essential pillars of community development with intersectionality and interconnectedness of these initiatives in fostering a holistic approach to community empowerment and support.
Health and Well-being Programs
- Maximize access to health camps and mobile medical units.
- Engage SC/ST/OBC/Minority group ASHAs for better outreach
- Maximise access to maternal and child health services, immunization, nutrition through public databases created including at GP level .
- Create customized intervention strategies to maximise access to menstrual hygiene, mental health counseling, and de-addiction.
- Promote Mental Health and well being through innovative strategies like ASHA acting as first counsellor before referral services. Training modules on line ones to be created to learn in private time and spaces.
Legal Aid and Advocacy
- Provide AI Driven interactive Legal Aid initially
- Create template formats for applications/ petitions
- Create database of lawyers in district courts to facilitate use of legal aid and fees
- Establish legal help desks offering affordable consultations.
- Undertake legal literacy on rights and protections.
- Run awareness drives on accessing justice systems.
- Train paralegal volunteers from local communities.
Building a Supportive Network
- Expand created and new spaces for inclusive spaces for learning and support.
- Set up Community Resource Centres with services.
- Forge partnerships with NGOs, academia, corporations.
- Build alumni networks to inspire youth.
- Build Network of Like Minded Persons and Entities to forge synergy, collaboration, align resources and amplify advocacy.
- Build network of network for Disabled, Dalits, Women based on best practice cases.
Economic Empowerment and Livelihood
- Consolidate and improve access to job-oriented training in skilled trades
- Build partnerships with employment exchanges.
- Partner with MSMEs for job placement opportunities including creation of a portal for such jobs in the pattern of UN jobs https://unjobs.org and create push down messages to local district magistrates for dissemination to PRIs and CSCs.
- Support SHGs and micro-enterprises with seed capital through innovative strategies like auto industry link up with major players, link up with local business associations, priority of giving supply orders in government procurement processes and certification that similar goods and supplies not available from these groups.
- Exposure to new vocations and Trends – link up with market needs and capacity and need assessments done by professional organisations.
- Promote and consolidate entrepreneurship efforts of business associations
- Allign with Schemes of Aspirational Districts
- Allign with One District One Product
- Encourage participation on platforms like GeM/ONDC/ Amazon.
Advocacy and Policy Change
- Engage with Urban and Rural local bodies for inclusive planning and do advocacy of SC and ST component in District Plan.
- Build partnership with Panchayati Raj System to make Dalit and Aliasi participation and leadership meaningful.
- Develop policy briefs and submit to public representatives at the GP/ Samiti, Zila Parishad/ State and National legislatures. Prepare policy papers and send online to these inliiduals
- Liaison for effective implementation of rights and schemes with NGOs, CSOs, CBOs etc.
- Use Social media to amplify grassroots voices.
Empowerment Through Technology
- Ensure and improve access to digital ID, banking, and e-services and bring out the access reports at block, district levels etc.
- Help create enabling environment and promote Digital Entrepreneurs
- Establish tech hubs for digital access and learning.
- Train youth in digital skills and app development.
- Promote Futuristic Vocations , Tech, AI, ML, Design and Innovation.
- Promote tech solutions for productivity.
- Help access jobs abroad on para medic staff, caregivers, agriculture workers/labour jobs outside.
Cultural Empowerment and Pride
- Encourage Students in fields of Art, culture, sports and crafts
- Allign with One District –One Cultural Product
- Creation of district museums linked to local history
- Also try for creation of a national museum
- Try for black history month type of intervention
- Facilitate district, state and national festivals, art exhibitions, and cultural events and facilitate those awarded presidential awards.
- Drum and build support for traditional artists with grants and training.
- Document oral histories, folklore, and indigenous wisdom .
- Integrate indigenous knowledge into learning and interaction.
Education and Skill Development Programs
- Build Initiatives for Early Child Care (0-2/ 2-5/ 5-8 Years) and Education
- Engage for newer strategies/partnerships with Aganwadis and ASHA Workers
- Engage and make Parents as partners for periodic assessment/review
- Consolidate and build newer strategies enabling child to build basic linguistic and numeric capabilities ( bilingual same page books, resources of NCERT, Khan Academy, Doordarshan studios , QR code access to databank of books, English learning like Bangladesh and numerous strategies)
- Address Under/malnourishment and strengthen vaccinations and supplements- online monitoring of child charts
- Promote Hygiene and Cleanliness
- Engage with digital learning hubs/ Digital Libraries with e-content in local languages.
- Also encourage bridge courses, and adult literacy centers.
- Help and maximize access to vocational training aligned with employment demands.
- Facilitate creation of newer learning management systems that can impart training skills on smart phones, Computers, coopt CSCs as training partners
- Facilitate certification of trainings received,
- ITI and Kaushal Training models put on line and facilitate/link up international databases on vocational trainings
- Create AI driven and help desk mentorship initiatives for student career guidance including continuing guidance for IITs, IIMs NITs where psycho social support issues need strengthening
What We Do
Foundation acts as the community-facing platform directly engaging with Vulnerable Sections for on-the-ground mobilization, empowerment, and service delivery. It focuses on community capacity-building, social welfare, and legal advocacy.
Knowledge Hub
Links to major resources
