Krishnavatar Sharma
Krishnavatar Sharma is the co-founder and Director (Programmes) of Aajeevika Bureau - a widely recognized public service initiative to provide services and support to millions of vulnerable migrant workers. Under his leadership, the Udaipur based Aajeevika Bureau has developed unique solutions in providing identity, skill training, legal aid, financial services and health care to migrant communities. Krishna holds a degree in law and has over three decades of experience in leading rural development and urban inclusion programmes. He currently oversees both the source and destination teams of Aajeevika Bureau: at source, he helps teams to develop programmes to support migrants make informed decisions, and he works with the destination team to shape a long term response for dignified inclusion of migrant workers in urban labour markets. Krishna is based in Udaipur, Rajasthan. He won the India Social Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2010.
- Visit their website
- Aajeevika Bureau
- Model
- Non-profit Social Enterprise
- Sectors
- Migration
- Headquarters
- India
- Areas of Impact
- South Asia, India
Aajeevika Bureau
Aajeevika Bureau is a specialized institutional initiative providing services, support and security to rural seasonal migrant workers. Its focus is based on the belief that rural-to-urban migration is an inevitable socio-economic reality, especially for those unable to generate a meaningful livelihood from rural resources.
Despite their major contribution to the economy, rural migrant workers remain excluded from opportunities, services and protection. The work of Aajeevika Bureau is therefore aimed at improving social and livelihood opportunities for migrants while developing services and policies for their advancement. Aajeevika Bureau works in the registration and issuance of identity cards for migrant labourers, allowing them to access banking and mobile telephone services, and government and citizenship entitlements. The organization offers skills training and job placement for rural youths. Through the trade-based collectivization of migrant workers from the disorganized sector, Aajeevika Bureau is able to lend greater voice to this often neglected group.
Aajeevika Bureau also enrols migrant workers in legal services and insurance and pension plans. It facilitates links with government programmes, food security, health services, and counselling for women and children who experience the long-term absence of men family members. Additionally, Aajeevika Bureau manages migration resource centres that provide knowledge, capacity building and management support to migration initiatives in other NGOs and projects. Aajeevika Bureau is a non-profit, charitable trust registered in Udaipur, Rajasthan. It has helped over 50,000 migrants since its founding in 2005.
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