Maitri Manthan Sansthan is a non-governmental organisation founded in December 2013 by Monika Sharma, headquartered in Udaipur, Rajasthan and built on more than a decade of work with rural, urban, tribal, and remote communities.
The name is our method. Maitri is friendship: goodwill and real ties with a community. Manthan is churning: turning an idea over until it becomes a solution that lasts. We work alongside communities, so the change outlives any single project.
Our healthcare, education, women's empowerment and rural development work, which we still run today, also taught us that lasting change in rural Rajasthan runs through culture, craft, and the land itself. So we use the same trust and village network for heritage protection, artisan livelihoods and the ecosystems those livelihoods depend on, alongside everything we started with.
To address health, education, women’s empowerment and rural development, and to protect the tribal arts, handicrafts, livelihoods and natural resources rural communities depend on, working alongside the rural, tribal and remote communities of Rajasthan.
To improve the lives of those in need within our society, becoming easily accessible to them, and spreading positive thinking amongst them.
To help the government carry its initiatives for betterment into rural areas, by informing citizens and supporting the implementation of its policies.
Maitri Manthan works directly in communities around Udaipur, in person and over the long term. These are the programmes we started with, and we run them the same way today.
Free medical camps that have given healthcare assistance to 1,00,000+ people.
Tobacco-addiction and breast-cancer awareness drives across communities.
Early-childhood development through community toy libraries and play.
Rural education initiatives and child development programs.
Skill-building workshops and mentorship that help women earn their own income.
Community cleanliness and sanitation drives for healthier living.
A rescued group of children led us to adopt the whole village. We have worked on its health, education and infrastructure ever since.
Tree-planting initiatives around Udaipur to protect the Aravalli green belt.
Health camps, school outreach and everyday village life across Rajasthan, one visit at a time.
Recognition earned during our decade of grassroots healthcare, education, and women's empowerment work in and around Udaipur.
Registered December 2013. Work began at once around Udaipur, led by Monika Sharma: healthcare camps, rural education and women's empowerment.
Our programs grew and the work reached Jodhpur. The mentorship networks we built in these years led to our cultural and livelihood work.
Health, education and women's empowerment work went on in the villages we have always served. We also listened to what those communities said no one was dealing with: tribal art disappearing, artisans priced out of their own craft, and forests under pressure.
Our founding work in health, education, women's empowerment and rural development goes on. Alongside it now are four newer focus areas: tribal heritage, artisan livelihoods, sustainable livelihoods, and forest & wildlife conservation.
