Suranjini Foundation

If you head out towards Kurmingia, via Kalinga in the Kandhamal district, you’ll find the Suranjini Foundation. We operate out of Chakrabarti Nayak’s place. It’s a quiet area, and we like it that way. Being in a rural spot like Kandhamal means we have to be practical about how we help. We mostly work with the local families here. It’s not always easy because the roads aren't great and sometimes communication is slow. We focus on whatever the village needs at the moment. Sometimes that’s help with farming, and other times it’s making sure the local kids have what they need for school. We don't have a big corporate office with air conditioning. We sit on the porch or in the front room and talk things through. We’ve all lived here a long time, so we know who is struggling. It’s a small foundation, run by people who actually live in the community. We don't try to act like we have all the solutions. We just do what we can with what is available. Life in the hills can be beautiful but also quite tough, especially during the rainy season. We just try to be a reliable point of contact for people who don't know where else to turn. It’s simple, grassroots work, and we keep it that way because it works for us and our neighbors. We don't have a big staff, just some dedicated folks from the area. We are just here, trying to be useful to our own people in Kandhamal.