Chanda Devi is one of the 16 sahyoginis working with Jagriti Mahila Samakhya, reaching out and to more than 2700 women and adolescent girls through 160 groups across 48 villages. Parivartan recognises gender inequality in rural communities, where women are forced to adhere to stereotypical norms cleverly designed to curtail their movements. Often seen as weak and pitiable, their demand for freedom and equality is viewed charitably, which grossly undermines their innate potentials and identity.

Parivartan began its journey by encouraging the local youth to engage and involve themselves in social development programs – mobilising and training to connect with the community. Rajkeshwar Kumar, a resident of Badhuliya, and the youngest of four children, managed to finish his higher education, struggling through an emotionally and financially challenging childhood, bereft of his father.

Rajkeshwar joined Umang, Parivartan’s Community Sports vertical, first as a Community Youth Leader, and is now working as a Training and Mentoring Officer. Umang aims to engage, inform and sensitise community children using sports as a tool for social upliftment.

With changing times and urban migration, it’s becoming difficult to keep cultural folk forms alive. The loss of intangible art forms amounts to irreparable loss of intangible heritage of communities. Rangmandali, the Community Theater vertical of Parivartan, has been conceptualized as a local repertory and aspires to keep the conventional forms of folk theatre alive and active.
Parivartan Natya Mandali constitutes 15 local artistes from 10 villages. Pratima Kumari is one such local artists working with Rangmandali.