Health & Nutrition
12 February 2026
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4 min read
A Healthier Childhood
Toddler smiling after nutrition programWhen CYDF's nutrition team first visited Kavita's home in a small village outside Bhopal, her 18-month-old son Aarav was underweight and frequently unwell. Like many mothers in the area, Kavita had little access to reliable information about infant nutrition, and the nearest health centre was over an hour away.
CYDF's community nutrition program starts with the basics: monthly growth monitoring, home-based counselling, and take-home rations built around locally grown millets and pulses. Field workers trained mothers like Kavita to prepare simple, nutrient-dense meals using ingredients already available in their kitchens and fields.
“For the first time, someone showed me exactly what to feed my son and why. Within four months, he was a different child — active, curious, always running around.”Kavita, mother and community health volunteer
Within six months, Aarav's weight had crossed into the healthy range, and Kavita had become one of the program's community health volunteers — now supporting eight other mothers in her hamlet with the same guidance she once received.
The program has since expanded to 50 villages across the region, combining growth monitoring, nutrition education and referral support to give more children the healthy start every family deserves.
Youth Development
3 April 2026
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5 min read
Turning Dreams Into Reality
Young achievers group photoRohan was sixteen when he left school to help support his family after his father fell ill. For two years, he took on odd jobs around his village, unsure of what came next. “I didn't have a plan,” he says. “I just knew I couldn't go back to studying full-time, but I also didn't want to stay stuck.”
A CYDF field team visiting his village told him about a six-month vocational training program in electrical repair and maintenance — free of cost, with tools, mentorship and placement support included. Rohan enrolled in the next batch.
“The trainers didn't just teach us a skill. They treated us like we were capable of building something — and that changed how I saw myself.”Rohan, program graduate
After completing the program, Rohan was placed with a local electrical contractor for six months of on-the-job experience. Within a year, he had saved enough to open a small repair workshop of his own in the neighbouring market town, and now employs one apprentice.
Rohan is one of over 3,000 young people who have completed CYDF's skill development programs, which cover trades ranging from electrical work and tailoring to computer basics and retail readiness.
Agriculture & Livelihood
22 May 2026
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4 min read
Better Farming, Better Income
Farmer in his fieldFor over a decade, Ramesh farmed the same two acres his father had left him, relying on chemical fertilisers and a single wheat crop each season. Yields were inconsistent, input costs kept rising, and the soil felt less productive every year.
Through CYDF's integrated agriculture program, Ramesh attended a series of field demonstrations on crop diversification, organic composting and low-cost drip irrigation. He started small, converting a quarter of his land to a mix of vegetables and pulses alongside his wheat.
“I was farming the way my father did. CYDF showed me there was another way — one that costs less and gives the soil something back.”Ramesh, farmer
Within two growing seasons, Ramesh's household income had grown by nearly 70%, driven by better yields, lower input costs and a second harvest of vegetables he now sells at the local market. He has since converted his full plot to the new methods and regularly hosts other farmers from nearby villages who want to learn.
CYDF's agriculture program now works with over 12,000 farmers across the region, focused on practices that improve both income and long-term soil health.
Volunteerism
9 July 2026
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5 min read
Empowered, Stronger Voices
Women leaders groupSunita had never held a bank account before joining her village's self-help group, formed with support from CYDF. Like many women in her community, financial decisions had always been made by the men in her household.
The self-help group started small — weekly savings meetings, basic financial literacy sessions, and guidance on accessing formal credit. CYDF's facilitators also introduced modules on leadership, public speaking and local governance, encouraging members to take on more active roles in their community.
“The first time I spoke in a village meeting, my hands were shaking. Now I run those meetings.”Sunita, self-help group leader
Sunita used a small loan through her group to start a tailoring micro-enterprise, which now supports her family independently. Her confidence and organisational skills led other members to elect her as their group leader, and she was later invited to represent her federation at the block-level panchayat.
Today, over 15,000 women across CYDF's program areas are part of self-help groups that combine savings, credit access and leadership development — building both economic independence and a stronger collective voice.
Sports & Fitness
2 August 2026
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4 min read
A Team, Not Just a Game
Kids playing sportsFourteen-year-old Priya was the only girl in her hamlet who wanted to play football, but there was no coach, no ground worth the name, and plenty of neighbours who thought sport was a distraction from her studies and chores.
CYDF's sports & fitness program set up a weekend league in her block: a levelled patch of common land, a trained local coach, shared kits and balls, and mixed practice sessions open to every child regardless of gender. Priya was one of the first to sign up, and one of the few who never missed a Saturday.
“On the field, nobody cared that I was a girl or that I was quiet in class. I just had to show up and play — and slowly, that confidence followed me everywhere else.”Priya, league player and peer coach
Within a year, Priya was captaining her village team at a block-level tournament and had started helping the coach run drills for younger children joining the league. Her parents, who once worried the games were a distraction, now travel with her to away matches.
CYDF's sports program now reaches over 4,000 children across 60 villages through weekend leagues, school sports days and basic fitness coaching, using the discipline and teamwork of sport as a gateway to confidence, health and leadership.
Environment
15 August 2026
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4 min read
Planting Roots for the Future
Tree plantation driveManoj watched the well on his family's land run drier each summer, and the grazing land beyond it turn bare as older trees were cut for firewood faster than new ones could grow. Like most of his neighbours, he assumed there was little any one family could do about it.
CYDF's environment program brought his village into a cycle of community tree plantation drives, simple rainwater harvesting structures and awareness sessions on waste management. Manoj joined the first plantation drive mostly out of curiosity, then volunteered to help maintain the young saplings through their first two dry seasons.
“We used to think the rains were just getting worse every year. Now I understand how much of it we can actually change ourselves, one tree and one check dam at a time.”Manoj, farmer and plantation volunteer
Three years on, the stretch of common land his group replanted is green again, the well on his land holds water later into the summer, and he now leads plantation days for two neighbouring villages joining the program.
CYDF's environment initiative has planted over 85,000 saplings across 150 villages, paired with rainwater harvesting structures that help recharge local groundwater every monsoon.
