ESAF Foundation is a not-for-profit organization formed as a response to the development gaps in society. Driven by the vision to build a just and fair society, ESAF’s interventions are based on an integrated development model that focuses on creating livelihood opportunities for the underprivileged. Since its inception in 1992, ESAF has been engaged in transforming the lives of the poor and marginalised in different states of India. ESAF has impacted more than 5 million lives. ESAF partners with city governments, government agencies, community bodies, and national and international agencies, to deliver lasting changes to the poor and marginalised, especially women, children, and people living with disabilities.
The eight strategic areas that the ESAF Foundation primarily focuses on are: Education, Youth and Child Development, Environment, Skills and Livelihood Development, Farm Sector, Urban Initiatives, Healthcare, Disaster Preparedness and Management, and Sustainable Tribal and Rural Development. Livable Cities is one of the important programs implemented by ESAF with HealthBridge’s technical and financial support. The program aims to improve the quality of cities by ensuring access for the most vulnerable to public transportation, fresh and healthy foods, and parks and other public spaces.
Since 2008, ESAF’s initiatives have sparked widespread discussion about the significance of parks and other public spaces in India. ESAF has effectively collaborated with city governments to implement barrier-free infrastructure, thereby facilitating the use and accessibility of open public spaces by people with disabilities, women, older citizens, and families. Additionally, ESAF has been instrumental in establishing car-free streets in India, showing how even crowded, polluted cities lacking outdoor public space can promote recreation and socialization by temporarily freeing street space from cars.
The Beach for All and Open Streets campaigns are ESAF’s flagship initiatives that promote beach accessibility and car-free streets to transform unattractive spaces into popular public places. The policy interventions resulting from the Beach for All campaigns led to the addition of accessible and child-friendly infrastructure at 38 beaches in the state of Kerala, India. ESAF has organised 16 large open-street events and 467 cycle days in Indian cities with the support of HealthBridge and city governments. In addition to bringing changes in policy, these open-street activities have resulted in the addition of provisions in city master plans for converting streets into car-free zones.
Most recently, ESAF has succeeded in launching wheelchair accessible farming programs in schools and has initiated mapping fresh markets across nine cities to assess their status. ESAF continues to advocate for better conditions for walking, improved public transport systems, and open public spaces. In addition, ESAF provides data to support informed policy discussion and action towards developing and upgrading markets that sell fresh, healthy food that nourishes people’s health, the environment, and local economies.
