Samata Samachara
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SAMATA samachara Community and local government together keep girls in school Shabana Kurundwad, Vijayalaxmi and H. S. Srikanta Murthy VC members with the family of a girl who was brought back VC members engaging with the school to reduce to school the admission fee n Samata’s intervention villages, conversations with Samata outreach Arathi’s education, and encouraged Ithere is a slow and growing workers help them to gather timely the Anganwadi teachers to supply people’s movement to keep girls in intelligence on these issues. There extra food to the family. She is today school. Convinced about the need are now 29 VCs with 531 members happy to be back in school with to sustain Samata’s outcomes even across 29 villages. her friends. after the project ends, community The VCs have been active in resolving The VC members’ own personal and the programme team formed girls’ problems in their villages. In experiences motivate them to be Vigilance Committees (VCs). Girls Tikota village, five girls dropped agents of change. Shabana, an ASHA from Parivartan groups, other young, out of school due to pressure from in Tikota village says, “My mother married and unmarried women their families and their inability chose my brother over me for school. in the village, community health to pay the admission fee. The VCs I was married early, when I was 16 workers (ASHAs and Anganwadi met with the family, motivated years old. My marriage fell apart workers) and local government them to rethink their decisions and due to problems from my husband. representatives form a 15 member convinced the school to reduce the I decided to take control of my life, committee. The VCs strongly believe fee. Today, all five girls are back in finished school and got a job as an in the right of girls to education. They school. Elsewhere, in a tribal hamlet ASHA. I stand on my own two feet meet monthly to take stock of girls in Balkundi, sending Arathi to school now. Today, my mother often says in school especially those who have was too difficult for her grandmother, that she should have sent me to school dropped out and are vulnerable to as she struggled to make ends meet instead of my brother. I know the being married early. Being part of the with no earning family member. The problems of girls. I can really motivate village community, good rapport with VCs assured the grandmother with and help them to complete school.” the school administration and regular help to fund Issue No. 5 September 2016 Karnataka Health Promotion Trust 1 Samata engages with the government to take its work forward Uma Patil, Parimala Patil and H S Srikanta Murthy “Samata’s focus on working with teachers participated in the event. for the programme, “Samata the children from Scheduled Castes Presentations on Samata’s activities is our programme and not just and Tribes (SC/ST) is the need of in the schools and the progress so far another NGO programme. KHPT the hour. The outreach workers’ were followed by discussions with works closely with the education efforts have brought girls, who the education department officials. It department to help us be more discontinued and dropped out, back centred on issues of child marriage, effective with our work. Extend all to school. The teachers’ training, migration and lack of parental cooperation to the team. The village and the simultaneous work with interest in children’s education. contexts are very challenging to work girls and boys in the village, have in and Samata’s collaboration with The team sought feedback from together created a gender sensitive the schools have helped us do better. the headmasters (HMs) on four and enabling school environment for I will personally visit your schools to key aspects: impact of Samata in girls to study. The Lambani tribal see the programme’s contributions.” supporting them to keep girls in hamlet, with high rates of migration schools, the usefulness of Samata’s The BEOs and HMs thanked Samata and disabling gender norms, is one tracking tool in monitoring girls for the opportunity to interact with of the toughest areas to work. Its attendance, performance and the senior officials, inform them commendable that the team works continuation in school, ways about the issues faced by schools and with families there.” to strengthen the school safety programme’s impact on their work. - Deputy Directors of Public Instruction committees, and further ideas The HM of Lokapura High School (DDPIs), Bagalkot district to collaborate with the school to said, “Gender sensitive training for minimise school drop out of girls. chools are an important the school development committee The HMs spoke about the prevailing stakeholder group in the fight (SDMC) members and teachers S gender norms that force girls to for girls’ education. Samata brought have changed the way our school leave school. Schools which used together headmasters of all 69 functions. Today, we have a gender the tracking tool found it helpful. high schools and higher primary action plan and are working towards The HMs requested Samata to schools in its intervention districts. making the school more friendly further build capacities of the safety The meetings were held on 21 July and safe for girls.” Nandanur, RMSA committee members. Some of the 2016 in Bijapur and 15 September Coordinator, Bagalkot said, “Samata’s HMs suggested the formation of 2016 in Bagalkot. Deputy Directors contribution has strengthened the village level bodies to sustain of Public Instruction (DDPIs), capacities and functioning of SDMC Samata’s efforts specifically on Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha and safety committees.” preventing child marriage and school Abhiyan (RMSA), Sarva Shiksha The expression of support from drop out of girls. Abhiyan (SSA) and Block Resource the higher officials boosted the morale Centre (BRC) Coordinators, Block H. K. Gonal, DDPI, Bagalkot district, of teachers and district and villge Education Officers (BEO) and subject openly expressed his support level officals. Samata’s presentation at the meeting Discussion and feedback session with the headmasters 2 Issue No. 5 September 2016 Karnataka Health Promotion Trust My voice “I was irregular to school. I was not able to complete my homework or concentrate on my studies. So, I thought to leave school. My parents also decided to discontinue my education. But, changes started happening in my life after joining Parivartan groups. I realised the importance of education and got the courage to discuss my education and future with my parents. I know well that if I had not changed my thinking on education, my life would have been very different.” - Laxmibai Madar, Class X, Sulebavi village ‘Becoming Our Better Selves’, adolescent boys share stories of change Ramesh Sollapur, Sarojini Rotti and Parimala Patil The tournament champions, Krantiveera Parivartan teams participating in the cricket tournament Sangollirayanna Parivartan group, Kulageri village “In our Lambani hamlet, there is no and helpfulness through trainings before Parivartan. The teammates value for girls’ education. All of us in Cricket and Kabbadi. In the last helped each other and palyed with joy. in the Parivartan group thought the two years, Samata along with male Post the event, boys shared their same. But the Parivartan sessions mentors formed 93 Parivartan groups stories of change. They support made a lot of difference in our with 1646 boys across 69 villages. their sisters and mothers at home, thinking. Today, we take the lead Boys who completed the sessions encourage their girl classmates to in motivating the girls who have expressed their desire to demostrate participate equally in all activities, dropped out to get back to school. We their learnings and share about their and have stopped using bad have convinced two families to resend personal journeys of change on a language with their friends. Santosh their girls to school. It feels good.” community platform. Hallidamani, from Dada Parivartan - Banjara Bulldozers group, Samata organised a tournament, group in Bijapur says, “I was not Balkundi hamlet, Bagalkot district where 10 teams from Bijapur and interested in Parivartan when the Bagalkot districts competed to win a mentor approached me. But my amata’s Parivartan programme game of cricket. Village communities friend Vinod motivated me to join the has focused on shifting S fully supported the event and sessions. I am now a proud member disempowering gender attitudes and contributed ` 1.25 lakhs in cash of the group. I convinced my family behaviours among adoelscent boys and kind. The game saw no use of to send my sister to school and today, through a sports intervention. Boys’ unnecessary aggression or expletives help the outreach workers to mobilise groups in the villages are taught marking a definite change from how community support for Samata’s values of equality, fairness, empathy, the boys interacted with each other initiatives in my village.” Issue No. 5 September 2016 Karnataka Health Promotion Trust 3 Project Update Gautam Sudhakar Period: June 2014 to September 2016 Indicators Number Indicators Number Girls who completed Parivartan Plus sessions 998 Teachers Trained 431 Girls who are currently undergoing sessions 428 *SDMC members trained 435 Girls trained in leadership 480 Schools developed gender plans 64 Discontinued girls identified 257 Schools have gender sensitive committees 50 Dropped out girls identified 185 Schools using tracking tools 62 Discontinued girls brought back 110 Boys who completed Parivartan sessions 755 Dropped out girls brought back 37 Boys in Parivartan sessions 427 Girls linked to social entitlements 1569 Families linked to social entitlements 406 Girls availed tuition support 1150 Girls/Women Vigilance committees formed 37 *School Development Management Committee Ackowledgement Priya Pillai edited the newsletter. The newsletter is from Samata, a project to help 3600 Editorial Team: Raghavendra.