The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) comprise a mosaic of principles that carve a path to a more empowered, equitable, and sustainable future – especially for those who are marginalized, disenfranchised, or otherwise underserved. The seventeen official SDGs include tenets such as Gender Equality, Quality Education, Reduced Inequalities, and No Poverty. Indeed, the beauty of the SDGs is that each goal is intertwined with all of the others. Just as a magnificent tapestry consists of individual fibers that are interwoven, a peaceful, just, and developed society is erected through consistent investment into each of the UN’s delineated aims. In this vein, the objectives of the Vicente Ferrer Foundation USA (VFF USA) are directly correlated with the SDGs as members of the organization work tirelessly with various partners to transform rural India through action starting from the grassroots level.

Through multifaceted approaches which consider the socioeconomic and psychosocial realities of the situation, VFF USA has become a bastion of collective community growth, diverse partnerships, educational and economic mobility, skill development, health and wellbeing, environmental sustainability, and women’s empowerment. Each venture is undertaken using the SDGs as a concrete foundation. For example, through the construction of medical facilities, health promotion, provision of nutritional and clinical services, and distribution of sanitation products, VFF USA encapsulates the SDGs of Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Clean Water and Sanitation, Quality Education, and Gender Equality. By the same token, the organization champions the principles of Quality Education, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and No Poverty by establishing schools, implementing scholarships, providing entrepreneurial opportunities, and supporting vocational training within rural areas that may otherwise have been dismissed or neglected. VFF USA recognizes the profound caliber and potential of each and every person and actively strives to build a platform of empowerment and lifelong achievement, especially for those who may lack a voice.

VFF USA’s implementation partner, the Rural Development Trust (RDT) boasts over fifty years of social justice experience through its intersectional initiatives of combating issues such as poor rural health, economic stagnation, gender disenfranchisement, ableism in the workforce, substandard education, and more. Over time, RDT has grown into an impressive force of nature that produces community-oriented outcomes through collaboration with various stakeholders both domestically and internationally. VFF USA and RDT work in tandem to concentrate on tackling problems through an interdisciplinary lens, and this methodology echoes the interconnectedness symbolized by the UN’s SDGs.

The core and life source of VFF USA is its community of workers and advocates who embody the UN’s ideologies for a better, brighter future. Without such unwavering agents of change, sustainable progress would not be a reality. Each passing day marks a renewed commitment to the SDGs, and the joint efforts of VFF USA and RDT are producing tangible, quantifiable change for the people who need our actionable support the most. No matter the circumstances, VFF USA will continue to rise to the occasion to build a more equitable world that safeguards those within it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Miss Suporna Chaudhuri, BA is a current graduate student pursuing dual Master’s degrees in Public Health and Digital Health/AI in Medicine. She holds an undergraduate degree in International Relations with a concentration in Diplomacy and International Service. Her professional aspirations in public health and medicine include working with disenfranchised women and children in developing nations in South Asia, and she intends to continue her clinical research work in the fields of global health, crisis counseling, and trauma studies for marginalized communities.