Shanta Foundation Inc

Programs

1. Village Development Zambia-Shanta Village Partners is structured to reinforce long-term sustainability by funding and training grassroots, locally-based organizations (such as Muditar in Myanmar and Peoples Action Forum in Zambia) rather than directly implementing the Village Partnership Model (VPM) ourselves. This is the preferable approach for several reasons. By investing know-how and resources in local development practitioners, we build local capacity to drive development, ensuring that the necessary skills are rooted in the local communities and not dependent on expatriates. Moreover, it means that our organizational structure reflects the very principles we are trying to share in local communities. Rather than doing for, we equip others to do for themselves. This happens when Shanta trains its local partner, and then it happens again when our local partners go into villages to provide training, facilitation, and encouragement. Finally, this approach empowers the local organization (a separate legal entity from Shanta) to contextualize and execute the VPM. This enhances sustainability because it allows local people, who understand the culture, to adapt the model to fit a…

   $349,870 spentof which $221,631 as grants
   51% of program spending

2. Shanta Village Partners is pioneering a holistic, community-led, sustainable development model (Village Partnership Model VPM) that equips local people to solve local problems permanently; this approach fosters independency rather than dependency. Moreover, by placing local villagers in control of the partnership, the vestiges of colonialism (so ubiquitous in how international development is commonly implemented) are erased, and the voices, choices, and sovereignty of local people are centered in the project design. When Shanta partners with a village (typically for six years), we begin by facilitating a process whereby the entire village elects a Village Development Team that will design and oversee the implementation of their villages development path. Our approach is not prescriptive. Rather, we believe that the villagers themselves know their context, complete with its opportunities, resources, and challenges, better than we ever will. As such, we facilitate a process whereby the villagers set their development priorities, actually choosing what projects will or wont be pursued. The VDT leads this work and begins by establishing a community bank. The community bank offers…

   $337,894 spentof which $148,558 as grants
   49% of program spending

3. o Womens group discussions led by the Village Health Educator (VHE) took place in 17 villages with 52 VHEs, involving 1,517 women in knowledge sharing and peer learning. The VHE strengthened its role as a key player in the village health sector by fostering collaboration with the health department through forming village health committees and promoting health awareness among women. All villages involved in the VHE project maintain strong relationships with rural health midwives, collaborating on community mobilization, transportation support, data collection, and maternal health needs. For income generation and economic development, the Soybean project with 72 farmers covering 76.5 acres, the ginger project with 13 farmers on 5 acres, and the Building Resilience Livelihood project with 277 farmers covering 277 acres, were completed in several villages, benefiting a total of 362 farmers. For the Education Program, (1) The Scholarship Fund project, (2) English Summer Class, (3) Library, and (4) Preschool projects were accomplished, which benefited women in 19 villages and benefited 344 students overall. Under the Infrastructure Program, seven projects have been completed: three road…

4. Leadership project: The Village Development Teams (VDT) consists of 52 members, including 21 women and 31 men. These volunteers dedicate their time, energy, and commitment to various projects. VDT meetings are held regularly, allowing the team to effectively lead and manage village development activities with inclusive participation. They have also fostered collaboration between the village headman and the VDT by inviting them to meetings and encouraging social peer pressure to promote accountability. The Community Bank covered 222 borrowers, providing an opportunity to lend. Villagers borrowed to invest in livestock such as goats, cows, and chickens; they also invested in agricultural inputs, bicycles, and solar panels. The beneficiaries who received loans from the CB are now able to make profits from their businesses, which was previously difficult due to minimal capital. The Women Action Groups (WAG) Project began in April 2025 in Siyowi, Kabanje, Nachili, and Mpasu villages. In Myanmar,

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $687,764.