| Administrative History | Allocations: 1936-1937, 1943-1945, 1960-1962, 1964-1993; programme spending in 1993/94, 1994/95; see later annual reports for any subsequent allocations.
As part of the British Empire, India donated considerable sums to SCF during the early years of its existence - in the first five years donations amounted to £3,461. In 1929 SCF gave a grant to improve midwifery methods among the dais (local midwives) of Sind. In 1935, SCF issued an appeal for Baluchistan earthquake victims (both of these provinces are now in Pakistan). In 1943, SCF backed a child welfare centre in Kolkata, and allocated money for famine relief in Bengal. In 1959 money was sent for flood relief.
In 1961 Lady Alexandra Metcalfe, Chairman of the Overseas Relief and Welfare Committee, visited India to investigate ways in which SCF could help the children of refugees from Tibet. This led to a number of projects including the opening of children's homes in Simla [Shimla]; work at Tibetan nurseries in Dharamsala; and the running of medical clinics and dispensaries for Tibetan refugees at Mussoorie. The work in Dharamsala and Mussoorie was handed over to Indian authorities in 1967. By the end of 1969 children in the homes in Simla were transferred to other schools or reunited with their parents. SCF continued to work with Tibetan refugees in India, for example running health care and nursery school education projects for children of Tibetan refugees living in camps in Kalimpong and Ladakh in northern India. In the 1990s, SCF's programme included projects relating to education, income generation, tuberculosis control, and primary health care.
In 1963 and 1965 India was aided as part of the Freedom from Hunger campaign. In 1969, SCF began funding mobile crèches in Delhi and started a feeding programme in Madras.
Following the Orissa cyclone and tidal wave disaster in 1971, SCF established a medical scheme and school-building programme in Orissa. Many Indian children were also sponsored.
In 1971-1972 SCF went to the aid of those displaced by fighting between India and Pakistan. SCF provided emergency relief for Bangladeshi refugees at camps in Kalayani, Salt Lake and Krishnanagar.
In 1975, following a review of SCF's work in India, it was decided to extend the work. A New Delhi office was opened, and new projects were begun.
SCF began working in the Guntar region of Andhra Pradesh after the cyclone and tidal wave of 1977. Projects included establishing water supplies, rebuilding hospitals, and feeding programmes.
Following flooding of the River Ganges in summer 1978, SCF began working in health and rehabilitation projects along the river, including at Ladakh and Lucknow.
SCF established a mobile clinic in the Kendujhar region of Orissa (Odisha), providing nutritional education, child health care, and advice for mothers.
In 1979 a project was established in Chamba to provide mother and child health care to the nomadic Gaddish tribe.
In 1987 the last SCF-run project in India, in Ladakh, was handed over to local control. SCF work in the country remains extensive, working through local organisations. |