Skip to main content
Home•About

About Us

Who We are

Grameen First Development Foundation

Grameen First Development Foundation (GFDF) is a Section 8, not-for-profit organisation working exclusively in Mokhada Taluka, Palghar District, Maharashtra.

Thereafter, we simply call ourselves Grameen First.

Our Vision
Happiness, Prosperity and Social Justice in Mokhada — Grameen Bharat
Our Goal
Building the Best Tribal Taluka in Bharat

Grameen First follows a place-based development model, concentrating its work within one geography through six interconnected development pathways:

Education
Healthcare & Nutrition
Social Protection & Rights
Skilling, Livelihoods & Local Enterprise
Humanitarian Response
Biodiversity, Agriculture & Farmer Prosperity

Rather than dispersing programmes across multiple geographies, Grameen First has chosen to work deeply, consistently and over the long term within Mokhada — strengthening local capability, improving last-mile access, building institutional relationships and contributing to sustained socio-economic transformation.

Our History

Why Mokhada?

The decision to work in Mokhada was deliberate.

During the early stages of our development work in Palghar District, representatives of the organisation met the then District Collector of Palghar, Dr. Kailash Shinde, and shared our work, vision and the areas in which we hoped to contribute.

After understanding our approach, he encouraged us to explore Jawhar or Mokhada, where the development needs were significant and closely aligned with our mission.

A week later, a Board member travelled to Mokhada, spent the day with a local organisation, visited the area and asked questions to better understand its communities, public services and development challenges.

That visit became an important turning point.

Rather than arriving with a predetermined large project, we decided to:

Begin Small. Listen. Learn. Serve.

One of our earliest interventions was the Adivasi Lokseva Kendra, established to help tribal citizens access Government documentation, schemes, entitlements and essential public services.

The centre was inaugurated by the local elected representative, who has continued to observe and support the organisation’s journey over the years.

What began as a relatively small last-mile service intervention gradually became a deeper commitment to Mokhada.

Over time, Grameen First expanded its work into education, healthcare and nutrition, livelihoods, agriculture and humanitarian response — while remaining committed to the same geography.

That continuity has become one of our defining characteristics:

Listen First. Start Practically. Build Trust. Stay Committed. Grow With the Geography.

Timeline

Our Journey to Progress

2018

Choosing Mokhada

Following guidance from the then District Collector of Palghar and a subsequent field visit to understand local realities, Mokhada is chosen as the organisation’s principal geography for long-term development work.
2018–2019

Establishing a Grassroots Presence

The Adivasi Lokseva Kendra becomes one of the organisation’s earliest interventions, helping tribal citizens access Government services, documentation, schemes and entitlements.
2020–2021

COVID Response & District-Level Mobilisation

As the COVID-19 crisis emerged, the organisation rapidly shifted to a work-from-home operating model and launched CovER — COVID Emergency Response, working closely with Government health systems in Mokhada.

The response included daily meal support for frontline COVID ward teams, handwashing infrastructure at health facilities, awareness and IEC campaigns, distribution of masks, oxygen-support equipment and support towards an oxygen generation plant at Mokhada Rural Hospital.

The organisation subsequently took on a Palghar District leadership role under COMARG, a UNICEF Maharashtra COVID initiative. Through this effort, awareness outreach reached approximately 1.5 lakh people across five talukas, while the organisation also supported large-scale mask production and a hand-hygiene campaign involving portable handwashing stations.
2021

Grameen First Development Foundation

Grameen First Development Foundation is incorporated as a Section 8 company, creating the institutional platform for an expanding development portfolio.
2021–2025

Deepening the Work

Programmes progressively grow across education, healthcare and nutrition, social protection, skills and livelihoods, biodiversity and agriculture, and humanitarian response.
2026

One Taluka. Six Development Pathways.

Grameen First consolidates its work around six interconnected strategic development verticals and strengthens its single-taluka development model.
Towards 2036

Future

Years of grassroots experience, community relationships, Government convergence and institutional partnerships become the foundation for a larger ambition:
Our Stratergic Approach.

Placeholder Placeholder Placeholder.

Grameen First’s development approach has evolved from years of working closely with communities, local institutions and Government systems in Mokhada.
Rather than building stand-alone programmes, we seek to strengthen existing systems, close last-mile gaps and build local capability over time.

One Taluka. One Geography. Deep Engagement.

Grameen First has consciously chosen to remain focused on Mokhada Taluka.

By concentrating our work within one geography, we are able to build:

  • deeper community relationships;
  • stronger local knowledge;
  • long-term institutional memory;
  • measurable outcomes over time;
  • better coordination between programmes;
  • stronger local leadership; and
  • intergenerational impact and resilience.

Our approach is therefore based on:

Depth Before Geographic Expansion

Working With Government Systems — Not Parallel to Them

Wherever appropriate, Grameen First seeks to work within, alongside and in close coordination with Government systems.

The objective is not to unnecessarily duplicate public structures.

Instead, we seek to strengthen their reach and effectiveness at the last mile through:

  • community mobilisation and outreach;
  • implementation support;
  • improving citizen access to public services;
  • screening, referral and follow-up;
  • field-level coordination;
  • sharing relevant implementation insights;
  • Government convergence; and
  • bridging gaps between public systems and lived realities.

This approach runs through much of Grameen First’s work — whether with Government schools, healthcare systems, tribal development institutions, citizen-service systems or local administration.

From Projects to Systems

Projects matter. But individual projects are not the final destination.

Grameen First sees each intervention as an opportunity to:

Learn
Build Trust
Test Solutions
Strengthen Partnerships
Build Capability
Develop Stronger Systems

Over time, individual interventions can begin to connect with one another and contribute to deeper transformation across the taluka.

The Grameen First Development Pathway
Sowing Seeds
Learning & Trust
Expansion
Integration
Transformational Systems

Over time, individual interventions can begin to connect with one another and contribute to deeper transformation across the taluka.

SevaBHAV First

A Spirit Of Service Comes First

SevaBHAV First is a core organisational ethos at Grameen First.

It reminds us that our first responsibility is to serve the communities of Mokhada with:

Sincerity

Humility

Urgency

Respect

Professional roles, career development and individual growth are important, but they remain anchored in a deeper commitment to public service.

We seek to place:

Community before self.
"Responsibility before recognition.
Action before excuses."

And we strive to work together with honesty, compassion and discipline to create change.

Read the SevaBhav First Pleadge
Placeholder

Local Representation Matters.

Grameen First believes development is stronger when people from the geography are represented within the organisation itself.

A significant part of our programme delivery is therefore led and supported by local team members and project leaders from Mokhada and surrounding tribal communities.

They bring:

Local Knowledge
Language and Cultural Understanding
Trusted Community Relationships
Practical Field Intelligence
Institutional Continuity
Long-term Ownership

We do not see these colleagues simply as “field workers”.

They are:

Local Development Professionals, Programme Leaders and Custodians of Community Trust.

SevaBHAV First

Service With Dignity

SevaBHAV does not mean charity without responsibility or accountability.

It means serving while respecting the dignity, rights and agency of every individual and community.

This principle also guides how Grameen First communicates its work.

People and communities should be represented as partners in development, never merely as subjects of portrayal.

OUR PEOPLE

Placeholder Placeholder Placeholder.

Grameen First is guided by a combination of governance, strategic leadership, professional management, sector expertise and local programme experience.

The strength of the organisation lies not only in its leadership, but also in the people who translate strategy into daily work across Mokhada.

Board of Directors

The Board provides governance, oversight, fiduciary responsibility and institutional direction.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board contributes external experience, specialist knowledge, sector expertise and strategic guidance to strengthen Grameen First’s long-term work.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

C-Suite Management Team

The C-Suite provides organisation-wide leadership across strategy, programmes, finance, operations, people, partnerships and institutional development.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Managers

Managers translate organisational strategy into coordinated programme and operational delivery.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Project Leads

Managers translate organisational strategy into coordinated programme and operational delivery.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Name Surname

Name Surname
Two to three line profile summarising background and role on the Board.

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

“All living beings on the earth are a family.”
This belief reflects the spirit of interconnectedness that Grameen First seeks to bring into its people, programmes and relationships.

It reminds us that development must respect human dignity, diversity, community and the natural environment.

It is the ethos we seek to carry through the organisation and its work.
WHAT GUIDES US

Our Belief, Characteristics & Values

Grameen First is guided by a combination of governance, strategic leadership, professional management, sector expertise and local programme experience.

The strength of the organisation lies not only in its leadership, but also in the people who translate strategy into daily work across Mokhada.

Local Representation Matters.

Grassroots
We stay close to communities and field realities.
Place-Based
We concentrate our work within Mokhada and build depth over time.
Government-Aligned
We work with and within public systems wherever appropriate.
Locally Represented
We value leadership and implementation capability from within the geography.
Integrated
We recognise that education, health, livelihoods, rights, agriculture and community resilience are interconnected.
Learning-Driven
We listen, adapt and improve based on experience, evidence and realities from the ground.
Dignity-Centred
We protect the rights, agency and representation of the people and communities with whom we work.

Our Key Values

Seva
Service comes first.
Dignity
Every individual deserves respect and agency.
Integrity
We seek to act honestly, responsibly and transparently.
Inclusion
We value diversity, equity and meaningful participation.
Partnership
Complex development challenges require collaboration.
Accountability
We remain accountable to communities, Government systems, partners and the standards we establish for ourselves.
Learning
We remain open to evidence, feedback, reflection and continuous improvement.
HOW WE ARE ORGANISED

Placeholder Placeholder Placeholder

Grameen First combines governance, strategic leadership, professional management and local implementation within a clear organisational framework.

Governance & Oversight
Board of Directors
Strategic Guidance
Advisory Board
Executive Leadership
Founder-CEO & C-Suite Management Team
Community & Public-System Interface
Communities • Government Departments • Institutions • Partners
Implementation Leadership
Project Leads & Local Teams
Programme & Operational Management
Managers

Our organisational principle is straightforward:

Strategy and governance at the top. Programme leadership in the middle. Local implementation closest to communities.

Our Team

Shared values. Collective impact.

Kenneth Dsouza

Founder & CEO
Kenneth is an original habitant of Thane district where Mokhada taluka was located until its bifurcation. Today he still feels a close connection with the communities of Mokhada as his own, and comes with a deep spirit of giving back to the communities. Kenneth’s background in music production gave him his successful networking abilities, operating strategies, methodologies and leadership styles that have facilitated partnerships for Grameen First at the highest levels of government in the Palghar District and with stakeholders.

Thaiza Dias

Director
With over 10 years of experience in rural social work, Thaiza comes to the board with a deep commitment and vision for Mokhada. Born in Mumbai, just a 100-kilometres from Mokhada, Thaiza successfully straddles the worlds of networking and compliance and coaching our tribal beneficiaries and team in the villages of Mokhada to express their voices and potential. She converts tangible ideas into action at the grassroots.