Measuring the Impact of Sarvodaya in the Village of Hummana

This study was designed to answer the question: What has been the Hummana Sarvodaya Shramadana Society’s impact in the village of Hummana in the six areas of “awakening” identified by the Sarvodaya movement? The six awakenings are spiritual, social, moral, economic, cultural and political. Secondary questions explored the importance the community placed on each of the six awakenings and impacts that fell outside of the six areas or were unintended by the Society. In order to assess Sarvodaya’s impact in each area, I administered an impact ranking survey and conducted interviews with society members and made observations in Hummana over an eight-week period. I found that notable impacts on the community were made in five of the six areas of awakening. Economic impact was by far the greatest followed by moral, social, spiritual and cultural which were all nearly equal. Study participants made many connections between these five areas while identifying the two major impacts Sarvodaya has had on the community: creating unity in the village; and contributing to economic and social empowerment, especially for marginalized groups. There was no discernible impact in political awakening. It is hoped that by learning of its successes and failures in Hummana, Sarvodaya can better serve that particular community and others like it in the future. There may also be techniques used in the approach adopted for this study that Sarvodaya will find useful in future impact assessments