Location: India-Australia
Focus Areas: Global Partnerships | Grassroots Development | Community-Led Change
When Parinaama Development Foundation began its journey in 2012, the goal was never just to run programs. It was to stay close to the ground, respond to the lived realities of women and youth, and allow change to grow at its own pace.
Thirteen years later, that approach is now reaching new supporters, including those thousands of miles away.
This month, Parinaama officially joined the Myriad Australia platform, a step that opens the door for Australians to support grassroots work in India through tax-deductible donations, without the organisation having to set up operations abroad.
But beyond the technicalities, this partnership marks something more meaningful: a recognition that local work matters, even from afar.
From Namkum to New South Wales
The registration came after a conversation between Myriad Australia and Parinaama’s founder, Madhavi Panda, who shared stories from the field that rarely make headlines but shape lives every day.
There was Savita, who came seeking refuge after domestic abuse and now runs a tailoring business while mentoring young girls in her community. There was Pratima, who began as a volunteer health worker and is today an elected leader managing her soap-making enterprise with a group of other women.
These are not exceptions in Parinaama’s world they are the outcome of an approach that walks with communities, not ahead of them.
What This Means for the Work Ahead
With this partnership, supporters in Australia can now contribute directly to Parinaama through the Australian Friends Fund on the Myriad platform. The funds raised will support a range of ongoing work, from education and menstrual health to nutrition-sensitive agriculture and women-led enterprises.
And while the financial aspect is important, the symbolic one matters just as much: people outside India choosing to trust local leadership, to support without directing, and to believe in small, consistent change.
Why Local Still Matters
For Parinaama, staying small-scale and community-rooted has always been a strength. Projects grow not from blueprints, but from conversations. Impact is measured not just in numbers, but in the shifts that happen quietly in how a woman holds herself, how a child begins to ask questions, or how a group comes together for the first time without waiting for someone else to lead.
Partnerships like the one with Myriad don’t disrupt that process they strengthen it.
They help carry these stories beyond the geographies where they unfold and invite others to stand beside them, not above, not ahead, but beside.
📩 To learn more or contribute via Myriad Australia:
🔗 Support Parinaama on Myriad Australia
🌐 For more about our work: www.parinaama.org
