Annual Activities Report Year 2012-2013
CHALE CHALO
S-3/60, Niladri Vihar, Po- Sailashree Vihar Bhubaneswar – 751021, Dist – Khurda, Odisah, India Ph-0674-2721157, Mob-9439400352 Email- [email protected] Web – www.chalechalo.org.in
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PREFACE
The year was dedicated to enormous working on the themes of Education, Empowerment, Environment and Child Rights. Our effort to recreate a luxurious green belt around coastal Kendrapara and ensure its bio-diversity unrestrained flourish is moving at a steady pace. Through community participation, we have planted around 1 lakh mangrove species and 2 lakh general plant species across the 60 operational villages since 2006. The movement has taken on new heights with more people, youth, women and children orienting determinedly towards it. School children are no less enthusiastic, and are cooperating with us in every way through their eco-clubs which we have facilitated for strengthening in all 60 schools in Rajnagar Pattamundai Mahakalpada Aul and Rajkanika Blocks. We have in the meanwhile set up a new MANGRO Center at Rajnagar which would stand out as an excellent resource center of the region inspiring progress of the masses in social, economic and environmental sectors.
We are also engaged in intensive empowerment drive targeted at 6000 marginalized families in 60 backward villages of drought-prone KBK region of Odisha. We are assisting them to articulate their genuine problems, demand civil and constitutional rights and constitute legitimate forums to bear on the government collectively for accessing entitlements. We have brought in the community radio technology to strengthen their voice and reach, and it has worked superbly. We are also advocating with the same tool for rescuing thousands of innocent children from extreme poverty and humiliation in poverty- stricken Nuapada district of KBK region. We aim to improve quality of children education and break into booming child labor markets in the district.
We are thankful to our people that we have been receiving huge support from all corners of the communities to this end. We have also been tied up with some best humanitarian organizations of the country and abroad who support us in great many ways. We only wish that our solidarity with these forces continued to grow in the years ahead.
Mr. Ranjit Kumar Swain Director, CHALE CHALO
CONTENT
1 Preface 2 2 Abbreviations 5 3 Organization Profile 6 4 Genesis 6 5 Value System in Management 6 6 Target Group 6 7 Our Vision 6 8 Our Goal 6 9 Our Legal Status 6 10 Registered Office 6 11 Branch Offices 6 12 Aims & Objectives 7 13 Our Funding Partnership Experience 8 14 The MANGRO Project: Community Based Mangrove Regeneration, 9 Protection, Conservation and Management 15 Introduction 9 16 Objectives of the MANGRO Center 9 17 Workshop on Protection of Costal Bio-Diversity among School Children 11 18 Workshop on Conservation of Mangrove Forest 11 19 Common Plant Specie Nursery Raising & Plantation 12 20 Mangrove Nursery Raising & Plantation 12 21 School Environment Education & Action 13 22 Women SHGs and their Involvement in Development & IG Program 14 23 District Level Workshop on Protection of Bhitar Kanika National Park and 15 Gahir Matha Marine Sanctuary 24 Youth Volunteers Orientation on Environment Protection 16 25 Campaign for Protection of Mangrove Species During Barunai Mela 17 26 Commemoration of World Environment Day, Forest Day and Van Mahostava 18 27 Advocacy & Networking on Environment Issues 18 28 Anti- Liquor Campaign 19 29 Running of Sikshyashrama in Hentala Kutira 20 30 Health, Water and Sanitation Survey and Campaign on Right to Health 20 31 Advocacy, Lobby and Networking on Health, Nutrition and Education Issues 20 32 EMCOR Project: Empowering Marginalized Community for Rights and 21 Entitlements through Community Radio 33 EMCOR Project Activities in the Year 2012-13 22 34 Orientation to Marginalized Communities Forum Members 23 35 Orientation of Women SHGs on Rights and Entitlements of the Poor 23 36 Capacity Building Training for Community Radio Activists 24 37 Orientation of Community Radio Listens' Club on Poor People's Rights and 25 Entitlements 38 PRI Members Orientation on Rights & Entitlements of the Poor 25 39 Information Fare 26 40 Workshop on Rights and Entitlements for the Marginalized Communities 27 41 Project Orientation to Technical and Managerial Project Staff 27 42 Networking Meeting on Rights and Entitlements of the Poor 28 43 Jan Sambad on Rights and Entitlements of the Marginalized Communities 29 44 Consultation with Media on Rights and Entitlements of the Marginalized 29 Communities 45 Project Information Sharing Workshop 30 46 Capacity Building of Technical and Managerial Project Staff and Trustees 31 Page 4
47 Capacity Building Training to Community Radio Reporters 31 48 Annual Participatory Review and Planning Exercise 31 49 Rights and Entitlement Awareness Building and Claiming Rallies 32 50 Broadcasting and Narrowcasting of Community Radio Episode 33 51 Cry- Children Community Radio, Voice to Voiceless, Marginalized 34 Children in Nuapada District of Odisha 52 Migration Survey Tracking to Basic Rights Status 34 53 Interaction with District Collector regarding Distress Migration 35 54 Regular Household Campaign 35 55 Strengthening of Child Right Club 36 56 Training for SMC Members on School Development Plan 36 57 Preparation of IEC Materials on ICDS Services and RTE 37 58 Wall Writing on the Child Rights 37 59 Interface Workshop on ICDS Services 37 60 Child Cultural Program (Mega Sishu Mela) 37 61 Children Study Tour & Exposure Visits 37 62 Publication of Child Oriented Newsletter 'Mor Tune, Mor Kathani' 38 63 Publication of Child Community Radio Program 'Mor Tune, Mor Kathani' 38 64 Narrowcasting of Child Community Radio Program 38 65 Others 38 65 Involvement in the Capacity Building Training for 2nd Liener Organized by 38 CRY 66 Participation in CCRP Network 38 67 Involvement in the VCRO Process 39 68 Participation in Children Right to Food Convention 39 69 Participation in Children's Right to Education 39 70 Cleft Lips and Palate Patients' Surgery in Collaboration with the Operation 39 Smile India 71 Budget Advocacy 39 72 Acknowledgements 40
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ABBREVIATIONS
AIR – All India Radio IVDT – Integrated Village Development Trust ASHA – Accredited Social Health Activist JJMA – Jami Jangal Mukti Andolan‟ AWW – Angan Wadi Worker JSS – Jana Swasthya Sangathan AWC- Angan Wadi Center JSY – Janani Surakshya Yojana BDO – Block Development Officer KBK – Kalahandi - Balangir - Koraput BKNP – Bhitarkanika National Park KSS – Krushak Shakti Sangathan BPL – Below Poverty Line LC – Listeners‟ Club BRCC- Block Resource Centre Coordinator MANGRO - Mangrove CBO – Community Based Organisation MASA – Manav Adhikar Surakshya Abhiyan CCRP- Coalition for Child Rights Protection MDM – Mid Day Meals CDPO – Child Development Project Officer MGNREGA – Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment CHC – Community Health Centre Guarantee Act CR – Community Radio MGNREGS – Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment CRCC- Cluster Resource Centre Coordinator Guarantee Scheme CRA – Community Radio Activist MHGS – Mor Haq Gaon Sangathan CRY – Child Rights and You MLA – Member of Legislative Assembly CSO – Civil Society Organisation NGO – Non Govt. Organisation DFO – Divisional Forest Officer NRHM – National Rural Health Mission DRDO – Defence Research and Development Organisation NRLM – National Rural Livelihood Mission ECCP- Early Childhood Care and Protection OBC- Other Backward Caste EMCOR – Empowering Marginalised Community for PDS – Public Distribution System Rights and Entitlements through Community Radio PHC – Primary Health Centre FD – Forest Department PRI – Panchayati Raj Institution FLR – Forest Land Rights RTE – Right to Education FLRA – Forest Land Rights Act RTI – Right to Information GKS – Gaon Kalyan Samiti RWSS – Rural Water and Sanitation Scheme GMMS – Gahira Matha Marine Sanctuary SC- Schedule Caste GP – Grama Panchayat SHG- Self Help Group IAY – Indra Awas Yojana SP- Superintendent of Police ICDS – Integrated Child Development Scheme ST- Schedule Tribe IEC – Information Education Communication SWOT – Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat IG – Income Generation TRIPTI – Targeted Initiatives for Poverty Termination and IGA- Income Generating Activities Infrastructure IGS- Income Generating Scheme VCRO- Voice for Child Rights in Odisha IGP – Income Generation Programme WSHG – Women Self Help Group
Declaration
Name of the Report : Annual Activity Report, 2012-13 Year & Month of Publication : April, 2013 Content of the Report : Summary Report of Development Project Implementation works Publisher : Mr. Ranjit Kumar Swain, Director, CHALE CHALO Complete Address of the : CHALE CHALO, S-3/60, Niladri Vihar, Po: Sailashree Publisher Vihar, Bhubaneswar-751021, Odisha, India, Phone: 0674 – 2721157, Email – [email protected] Page 6
ORGANIZATION PROFILE
Genesis: poverty, distress, violence and sufferings, and a society “CHALE CHALO”- literally meaning „let‟s move free from child labor, gender and social inequality and forward‟ is a grassroots voluntary organization that oppression of tribal, dalits, women, children and emerged during the voluntary service provided by the other marginal communities. socially committed youths to the victims of devastating super cyclone which had hit Odisha in Our Goal: 1999. More than 300 volunteers under the dynamic Creation of self– governing communities and their leadership of the young social activist Mr. Ranjit organizations and empower them for poverty Kumar Swain had extended all sorts of cooperation to reduction, strong rural economy, inclusive social local communities, government and non-government structure and grassroots democracy through achieving agencies in their relief and rehabilitation works in basic human rights and entitlements including Kendrapara & Jagatsinghpur District of Odisha. After 5 education, health, employment, income, livelihood years of informal existence, in 2005 “CHALE CHALO” security, good governance, gender and social justice was registered under Indian Trust Act, 1882. Ever and adopting sustainable development practices. since, it has been closely working in Odisha‟s underdeveloped and disaster prone areas where Our Legal Status: majority of people are reeling under abject poverty, Registered under Indian Trust Act – 1882 and are victims of disasters, exploitation, violence, Registration No: 591/IV/2005 (old) 758/IV/2008 inequality, injustice, violation of human rights and (amended) poor governance. The people involved with CHALE Date of Registration 21st April 2005 (old) 10th April CHALO mostly hail from social actions that aim for 2008 (amended) inclusive, equitable, just and sustainable development Registered under FCR Act – 1976 process. Registration No: 1048302333 Date of Registration: 25th November 2008 Value System in Management: Registered under 12A of Income Tax Act – 1961 Institutionalization of the system of self-regulation, Registration No: 17/2010-11 democratic functioning, non-violence, equality, equal Date of Registration: 26.11.2010 opportunity, and respect for human values, human dignity & human rights, respect for nature, caring and sharing, transparency, accountability, responsiveness, Registered Office: effectiveness and adoption of best practices are few S-3/60, Niladri Vihar, Po: Sailashree Vihar, mantras (core principles) of our internal Bhubaneswar-751021, Odisha, India organizational management. Phone; 0674 – 2721157, Mobile: 91-9439400352 Target Groups: Fax: 0674 - 2721157 We work for marginalized children, youths, scheduled E-Mail: [email protected] caste, scheduled tribe, backward caste, women, Web Site: www.chalechalo.org.in differently able people, landless, unorganized www.emcorproject.org workers, forest dwellers, fishermen, migrants, people prone to or victims of HIV/AIDS, displaced people, Branch Offices: small and marginal farmers, destitute, income poor 1. At/PO: Kharair, Dist: Nuapada, Odisha, and other disadvantaged groups Pin – 766107, India 2.At/PO: Madanpur, Pattamundai, Our Vision: Dist: Kendrapara, Odisha To create an economically, socially, politically, 3.At/PO: Kuarmunda, Dist: Sundargarh culturally and environmentally sustainable society Odisha where people enjoying their human rights without
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Aims and Objectives
To work for Relief of poverty, distress & suffering and to attempt total human development and social transformation in backward areas in India To create awareness on various government/ non-government schemes/programs meant for socio-economic and cultural development of the poor and to cooperate with the government departments and other agencies for effective implementation of poverty reduction, income generation and welfare/developmental programs and realization of basic rights and entitlements by the poor; To promote better health and nutritional status among the needy and poor and promote and improvise the Aurvedic, Homeopathic and Naturopathic medicines and treatment practices for sustainable health care and to undertake special projects / programs / camps for medicinal plant, blood donation, eye camps, integrated health services, control of STD, HIV / AIDS, Malaria, TB, Ammonia, waterborne diseases, blindness and other diseases for better health of the poor; To undertake child, youth, women, scheduled caste, scheduled tribe development initiatives for their all-round development and promotion of their rights To undertake Relief and Rehabilitation programs on the event of natural and / or manmade disasters / calamities and promote disaster preparedness, response and management To promote integrated and sustainable management and optimal use of natural resources and promotion of Sustainable Livelihood among the poor through promotion, creation, preservation, strengthening and judicious promotion and management of livelihood assets – Natural, Physical, Human, Financial and Social assets. To bring awareness and initiate appropriate actions for employment & income generation, self-reliance, sustainable development, protection of human rights, environment protection, socio-economic, educational and cultural development, gender, social justice and equality, realization of basic rights and entitlements, strengthening democracy, participatory governance among children, youths, women, SC, ST and other weaker section people and to provide legal aid to the poor. To establish, promote, set up or help in the setting up and/or maintaining and / or running schools, care centers, crèches, orphanages, old age homes, short stay homes, destitute homes, widow homes, houses for the poor or other establishments for relief and/or help to the poor, old & infirm people and/or destitute To impart vocational and skill development training to the women, child laborers, bonded laborers, farmers, forest dwellers, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, wage earners, unemployed youths and others and assist them in getting jobs or self-employment, increasing income and improve their standard of living To open, found, establish, promote, set up, run, maintain, assist, finance, support and / or aid to schools, colleges, training and vocational centers / institutions, lecture halls, boarding, hostels, libraries, reading rooms, sports, arts and leisure centers / complexes and other establishments and initiatives for advancement of education and knowledge, science and technology, sports, arts and culture etc. and other useful subjects that enable the needy to lead decent human life. To open, establish, promote, set up, run, maintain, finance, support and aid or help in setting up and/or maintaining and/or running hospitals, charitable dispensaries, rehabilitation centers, mental health care centers, maternity homes, child welfare centers, hostels and other similar institutions for rendering or providing medical service/relief and/or aid to the suffering humanities or for research centers and institutions for promotion of research/education for medical science/health promotion To undertake studies relevant to the target groups with the aim to searching alternative inclusive development strategies To develop areas of mutual cooperation, support and understanding among different individuals, NGOs, CBOs and government agencies working on similar issues; To take all necessary steps / initiatives for socio-economic, educational, political and cultural development of the tribes / indigenous people and work for protection and promotion of their rights, their lives and livelihood To organize meetings, workshops, trainings, seminars, discussions, conventions, conferences, camps, games, exchange programs, development education programs, demonstrations, exhibitions, symposia and other such programs on social and developmental issues & for furtherance of the said objects of the trust. To disseminate information regarding the aim, objects and activities of the trust & to edit, print, publish and exhibit and circulate books, booklets, posters and leaflets etc. and open, run and maintain libraries, documentation and resource centers for furtherance of the objects of the trust Page 8
To help the poor communities in mobilizing self– sustaining development organizations and to build up an institutional base for capacity building of the weaker sections including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Women as well as young educated professionals, community based organizations and small NGOs in order to augment the development process To provide stipend, fellowship and other support services to the needy social activists, unemployed youths and students including the children of social workers and persons belonging to disadvantages communities and disseminate information and educational materials to them with regards to accelerating their academic growth, employment and self– sufficiency. To develop areas of mutual cooperation, support and understanding among different individuals, voluntary organizations, and other government and NGOs working on similar causes in India To work for peace, communal harmony and social cohesion, strengthening of democracy, national unity and integrity as well as to promote good governance through village self-rules both in scheduled and non–scheduled areas. To do all other lawful things as may be incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objects of the trust.
Our Funding & Networking Partnership Experience
Sl. Name of Projects / Programs / Actions Funding source Period Standing 1 Child Community Radio – Voice to Voiceless CRY Since July Continuing marginalized children in 28 villages of Nuapada 2007 district for their rights 2 Empowering Marginalized Communities for their DFID / IVDT - UK 57 months Continuing rights and poverty reduction through community (Since July radio in 60 villages of Nuapada, Kalahandi and 2009) Bolangir 3 Mangrove Regeneration and Conservation IVDT - UK Since July Continuing through community participation 2008 4 Environment Education in Odisha – Pilot phase IVDT-UK (2008-09) Six months Completed 5 Organization Development Support to Chale IVDT – UK (2008-2010) 24 months Completed Chalo 6 Community Monitoring under NRHM in MOH&FW, through PFI, New 8 months Completed Pattamundai Block Delhi & KCSD/ OMRAHA, Odisha 7 Promotion of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Department of Agriculture – 6 months Completed in Nuapada Government of Odisha 8 WE CAN – Campaign as Nuapada district partner AINA – BBSR, RARE - Since 2008 Continuing for Prevention of Violence against Women Sonepur (Network) 9 Odisha Budget Advocacy and Campaign – CYSD - BBSR Since 2011 Continuing Nuapada District partner & Study on ICDS(Network) 10 Promotion of volunteerism among youths in PATANGA – Sambalpur Since 2013 Continuing western Odisha (Event based) 11 CCRP- Coalition for Child Rights Protection Basundhara – Cuttack Since 2011 Continuing (Network) 12 Study & Action for Activation of ICDS Centres & VCRO – Bhubaneswar Since 2007 Continuing Primary Schools & Campaign on Child Rights Issues
(Network)
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MANGRO PROJECT Community Based Mangrove Regeneration, Protection, Conservation and Management
Introduction With the support of Integrated Village Development Trust (IVDT) - UK, we have been implementing MANGRO project in costal Odisha since 2006. This year we have successfully completed construction of the new MANGRO Centre, also known as ‘Coastal Environment Resource Centre’ at Madanpur, 4 km from Rajnagar and 15 kms from Pattamundai in Kendrapara District of Odisha. The centre sits in a unique natural surrounding livened up perpetually with refreshing distance sea breezes. The facility consists of a training hall, well-equipped office rooms, guest rooms, kitchen with dining hall, and sanitized bath. There is besides a library room that has a good supply of reference materials on environment issues most of which have been provided by the IVDT and purchased in Book Fairs. Good growth of useful plant species dots the premises all over. The premises also houses a nursery for raising saplings, kitchen garden, a pond and few demonstration plots for practicing organic farming. The construction of the MANGRO Centre presented difficulties at every step, and shifting of the office equipments, furniture and papers also consumed lots of time and energy of program staff and office functionaries. As a result, a decision was made to confine the project works to 25-30 villages and 30 schools during this year.
During the year the following activities were carried out:
Workshops on Protection of Coastal Biodiversity for School Children Workshop on Conservation of Mangrove Forest Common Plant Species Nursery Raising and Plantation Mangrove Nursery and Plantation School Environment Education and Action Promotion of Women SHGs and their Involvement in Development and Income Generation Programs Publication of Awareness Generation Materials on Environment Issues Publication of Newsletter – ‘The Hental (Odia)’ Youth Volunteers' Orientation on Environment Protection Lobby, Advocacy, Meetings and Campaigning for Awareness Generation, Plantation, Plant Care, and Conservation of Mangrove Strengthening of our partnership with PRIs, Government Departments, NGOs, CBOs, networks, people’s organisations, media, intellectuals and other concerned individuals and groups on the issues of environment protection
Local communities are cooperating and collaborating with us in all our environment-related interventions. The women, community leaders, youths, social activists, faith groups, farmers, fishermen, cow and buffalo herders and villagers in general are fast changing their attitudes and taking initiatives for protection of mangroves and creation of a stable green belt in the region. Page 10
Children are among the most enthusiastic and promising collaborators who feel very strongly the need of awareness and action for protection of their local environment. We have received awesome encouragement from all these cadres of community actors who are enthralled by the cherish vision of a rich and resplendent bio- diversity complementing their lives with pleasure and quietude.
All of them have also contributed significantly according to their ability to sustain the course of development in these picturesque and quaintly overpopulated villages of costal Odisha. The project has succinctly underlined the need to build up capacities and consensus of different community based organizations of the area to promptly react to situations affecting environment and livelihood concerns. It has linked the functioning WSHGs with banks, forest, block and ICDS offices, and with various welfare and social security schemes including livelihood promotion and income generation programs of the government, like TRIPTI & NRLM. The existing VDC, youth and farmer club members are being oriented to consolidate progressive trends in these communities. They are increasingly demanding and accessing their rights and entitlements to improve standard of living of themselves and their fellow citizens. At the same time, they have begun evincing keen interest in matters, such as environment, education, sanitation health and infrastructure that bear relevance to their dream of a better and meaningful life.
Objectives of the MANGRO Centre
The MANGRO Center at Madanpur is intended to stand as a center of excellence for inspiring sustainable environmental, social and economic regeneration of rural communities in Kendrapara District in Odisha and beyond. Its long-term aim is to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters and protect the lives and livelihoods of coastal Odisha through community mangrove regeneration and protection, and to prepare people for climate resilience and adaptation.
The Centre and staff have the capacity to provide a range of services and facilities in the area. The meeting room is ideal for carrying out training, workshops, and conferences for a wide range of groups connected with or sympathetic to the work of the project. In the process, it is also expected to generate small income towards running cost of the center. There are besides, kitchen garden, tree nursery and space for agricultural training on the center premises. These will be essential for evolving models of good practice and of inspiration and opportunity for people to benefit from the approaches and its ethos. Over the years the Centre has built up resources which will now all be accessible to students, teachers and environmental activists in the area. It is hoped that in course of time the center will be an easy access point for all environment-related information. With the centre and the project team stepping up awareness building and skill development drives, in course of time, an enabling atmosphere will be generated inspiring people to take up innovative approaches on environmental, social and economic issues. Page 11
Workshops on Protection of Coastal Biodiversity among School Children
The MANGRO project team ran 25 workshops on local bio-diversity conservation around 1200 school children in 25 schools. The children were prompted to explore the flora and fauna of their area and discuss measures for the protection of coastal biodiversity. The workshops motivated them to observe, collect information and record living things, both moving and non-moving, in their localities and to find out how they are useful to the environment and the human beings.
The children were also sensitized on the need to maintain ecological balance, and on the positive impact that such balance might have on the environment. They were taught about species which have already been extinct or are on the verge of extinction. Pioneering models for protecting endangered species were brought under discussion. The children used binoculars and magnifying glasses to observe birds and their nests, animals, insects, butterflies, and living things inside soil, water, plants, flowers and fruits. They used microscope to observe phenomena related to nature and tiny creatures. They were further encouraged to draw pictures of species they have come across and to scribble away their observations and findings on their nature diaries. They were shown photos and pictures of various creatures and plants were shown and asked to identify them.
The focus of the workshop was to help the students understand their local bio-diversity and to engage them in activities that promoted exploration into native environment, give strength to conservation practices and fosters respect for natural object and bio-diversity.
Workshop on Conservation of Mangrove Forest
Three workshops on conservation of mangrove forest were held at Jagannathpur – Mahua, Barahapur Mangrove Regeneration Site and Barahapur School. Out of the total 155 participants, more than 100 were women. The workshops were facilitated by Mr. Sudarsan Rout, local environment activist; Mr. Hemanta Rout, headmaster, Barahapur High School and environment activist; Dr. Krupasindhu Samal, retired medical officer and environment activist, Rajnagar; Mr. Sarat Mohapatra, retired headmaster and environment activist; Mr. Subodh Nayak, lecturer, Madanpur College and environment activist, and Mr. Rama Ranjan Mallick, project coordinator acting as resource persons.
The participants at these workshops were the persons who have been involved in plantation activities on their own land with support of Chale Chalo for reducing human pressure on mangrove forest. For several years now, they have been making every effort to create and regenerate patches of mangrove forests near Jagannathpur- Mahua village, in Barahapur-Tantiapal and Paraharajpur and near Kankadia and Koelpur. These workshops were meant to recapitulate on different conservation models, discuss emerging best practices besides nurturing participants’ motivations to excel in the work. At the workshop, the participants expressed their enduring interest in keeping up of the existing mangrove plantation in good and vigorous growth and to extend the areas of plantation by around three kilometre on both sides of the newly created forest. They revealed how the tough task of safeguarding the older plantation had been accomplished despite repeated buffalo and human incursions into the plantation area in form of grazing, fishing, careless grass and fodder cutting and damage to fences several times, even at night.
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Common Plant Specie Nursery Raising and Plantation
This year the project raised a total of 20,000 seedlings of which 10,000 were raised at MANGRO center while around 2,500 seedlings each were grown in local nurseries at Junupanga, Sil Pokhari, Barhapur and Gamasikhar. Due to excess salinity in soil and sand, some seedlings were damaged. Only healthy seedlings were distributed widely among individual beneficiaries across the project villages and beyond. Some seedlings also travelled far as gift to friends and relatives by the beneficiaries. The nurseries established earlier with our support by WSHGs of Kankadia, Ostira, Ratapanga and Eco-Clubs of Patrapur, Chandiagadi, Rajnagar, and Barahapur, and Badapalli high schools also continued to raise seedlings and distributed or sold them among the students, WSHG members, farmers, and villagers in and outside the project areas.
We organised series of meetings, group discussions and consultation camps for SHGs, Eco-Clubs, youth groups and community members. Over these platforms, the participants were mobilized and oriented to undertake nursery raising and plantation activities with ingenuity and confidence. One mangrove activist, Sri Sukdev Malika and some other SHG, youth club and eco-club members who have already received training on nursery raising techniques during the previous years, came to the aid of the newer groups and guided them at every stage from preparation of the nursery beds to sorting of seedlings for eventual plantation. We too had been monitoring progress in these entire nurseries closely and summoned regular feedbacks from beneficiary groups during the run of weeding, manure application, and watering activities in nurseries. As monsoon drew out longer, we revamped certain nursery beds and planted new seeds for raising extra saplings.
Thousands of seedlings were thus distributed to students, teachers, women SHGs members, youths and villagers for plantation through individual and group initiatives in more than 30 villages of Rajnagar, Mahakalpada, Aul and Pattamundai blocks of Kendrapara. In many villages, as Junupanga and Barahapur, both avenue and block plantations were carried out on public as well as private land. Seedlings were also planted on individual and community plots in Barahapur, Koelpur, Kankadia, Kalupada, Koriapala, Sila Phkhari, Jagannathpur, Mahua, Gama Sikhar, Dera, Chinchir, Khandamara and Krushna Nagar villages, among others.
Mangrove Nursery Raising and Plantation
We raised 8,000 mangrove seedlings at Koelpur River Site to provide for plantation and regeneration activities in adjacent mangrove forests. Long before taking over preparatory work for mangrove nursery, we conducted a series of village level meetings and focus group discussions involving women, PRIs & youths to come up with a consensus of the stakeholders on key issues. Our project staff and the villagers working jointly as a team drew up an action plan relating to nursery raising and assisted forest regeneration practices.
Elaborate arrangements were made with regards to seed collection, bush and grass clearing, management of saline water inlets, casualty replacement, fencing and plant care and so on. Continued monitoring of progress of work was also accorded a top priority. We conducted training programs bearing on different aspects of mangrove forest regeneration for groups of stakeholders. Seed collections had been done as per the availability of seeds in different mangrove forest. Trained villagers provided labor for packing up polybags with silt. Seeds were sown in silt filled poly bags in phases as per their availability.
The team evolved strategies to synergize efforts of various stakeholder groups and go for massive mangrove regeneration by adopting gap plantation and other silvicultural measures in Koelpur and Kankadia river sites and Page 13
near Sila Pokhari and Ghadiamala area. Gap filling and maintenance works were also carried out in all the old mangrove plantation sites of Barahapur, Kankadia, Praharajpur and Jagannthpur. The team has also planned extensive gap filling at damaged Singarpur mangrove plantation site in collaboration with the forest department.
School Environment Education and Action
This year we worked with 1,500 school eco-club children in Rajnagr, Mahakalpada, Pattamundai and Aul Blocks of Kendrapara district. The eco-club children met every month at the school campus to discuss environment related issues, including importance of mangrove forests and protection of endangered flora and fauna of local mangroves. They were provoked to plan and act as per their capabilities in the best interest of their school and the peripheral areas. Eco-club activities included a wide range of educative exercises, spanning from drawing competitions and cleaning up school compound to climate change quiz and snake and ladder games on environment themes. The children were made to identify local animals and birds, plants and their leaves, flowers and seeds. The eco-club workshops also discussed social issues and matters related to health, hygiene and sanitation. They observed national and international environment days in their schools with the facilitation of CHALE CHALO and school teachers. CHALE CHALO also guided them through school campus development activities like cleaning and tidying up, waste management, gardening and plantation.
These activities were carried out in addition to regular classroom lessons on environment which reflected on local plants and animals, climate and water resources. 1500 Nature Diaries have been distributed among the eco-club children who regularly maintain them with information, drawings, write-ups and case studies. The project has facilitated several group exercises consisting of explorations into characteristic features of specific local flora and fauna. More concrete action is needed to motivate, guide and persuade children to observe nature carefully and keep records in a systematic manner.
The project also conducted awareness programs for children on global warming and prevention of sun stroke during summer vacation at village level. Children were encouraged to visit Praharajpur Barahapur and Kankadia Mangrove forest and plantation sites to learn from afforestation work and the newly regenerated mangroves that have produced such a difference in the locality within a very short time span. They were further encouraged to interact with their parents, teachers, friends, brothers, sisters and elders in the villages on issues related to environment, and contribute to community effort aimed at creating a better environment in the areas. CHALE CHALO has distributed 1,000 copies of ‘Hental’ newsletter among the eco-club children and teachers. The children have taken saplings from the nurseries for planting them in their garden and land. Some children have been collecting information on environmental topics through mass media like television, radio and newspapers.
Women SHGs and their Involvement in Development and IG Programs
We have been intensively facilitating group meetings of WSHGs in the project area and sensitizing the women members to the pressing need of mangrove regeneration and protection of the costal environment. We have engaged those living in and around mangroves areas as ‘regenerators’ or managers of mangrove forests. They are enjoying their involvements in nursery raising, backyard, land and boarder plantation and plant care. They are also good at their savings and credit activities. We have facilitated over 150 WSHGs in developing links with governmental programs and schemes meant for income generation, social security, welfare and development. Most of the WSHGs have made the grade for getting supports under TRIPTI (Targeted Initiatives for Poverty Termination and Infrastructure), a World Bank supported program executed by the government of Odisha. The Page 14
members are now aware about the provisions of NRHM, TRIPTI, MGNREGS, NRLM, RTE and ICDS and have remarkably improved their access to the benefits guaranteed under these schemes.
In all the project villages, the WSHGs have fervently associated themselves with plantation and plant care activities. Around 4 out of 12 WSHGs supported earlier have been maintaining their plant nurseries. The WSHGs of Ostira, Ratapanga, Sasan, Tantiapal and Nahakani have been keeping a round the clock vigil not only on natural mangrove forests, but also the fledgling plantation carried out by forest department in and around the prawn culture project area supported by the World Bank. The SHGs of Ostira have further set an example by keeping intact nearly whole of the plantation raised by them on private and community land despite discouragement from vested interest groups. Several WSHGs have continued vegetable cultivation on their own lands. In 4 villages the WSHG members and farmers, who are convinced of the harmful effects of chemical fertilizers and pesticides are concocting organic manure to nurture plants, and using neem extracts, cow urine, cow dung and ash for pesticides.
Crosscutting feminine issues concerning gender equality, domestic violence and atrocity on women, women rights, health and girls’ education have been given due weightage in all meetings, training, workshops and campaigns under the project actions. These approaches have found favour with community leaders, opinion maker and youth and have gone a long way in creating a conducive environment for women ascendancy in household and social affairs.
Several WSHGs have significantly improved their management system and practices for which they feel more comfortable at handling income generating programs. WSHGs in general are also involved in Gram Kalyan Samitis constituted under National Rural Health Mission and manage the untied funds of Rs.10,000/- to support health and sanitation programs in the village. The women now participate in Palli Sabha and Gram Sabha in large numbers and ventilate demands for safe drinking water, sanitation, quality education, health service and several other provisions. The women SHG members near Barahapur, Kankadia and Praharajpur mangrove regeneration sites are collecting the mangrove grass and straw, fallen leaves and twigs to meet their fodder and fuel needs. Most of the women have come to appreciate environment friendly ways and inspiring women of other villages to be frugal in the use of natural resources.
A recent trend that is gaining popularity among the women in these villages is to celebrate festivals with an environmental import. For example, during this year Rakshya Bandan festival observed in Barahapur mangrove, the women tied Rakshi threads to the branches of trees.
District Level Workshop on Protection of Bhitar Kanika National Park and Gahir Matha Marine Sanctuary
A district level workshop on protection of Bhitar Kanika National Park and Gahir Matha Marine Sanctuary was organized at Rajnagar Pustaka Mela premises in May 2012 with around 200 participants drawn from different professions and backgrounds. Mr. Manoj Mohapatra (DFO), Mr. Hemanta Rout (teacher), Mr. Sarat Chandra Mahapatra (retired head master), Mr. Bhabani Mohapatra (writer), Mr. Krupasindhu Samal (retired medical officer), Mr. Bhaskar Routray (journalist), Mr. Rama Ranjan Mallick (project coordinator, Chale Chalo), and Ms. Dibya Bharati Dash (student Rajngar College) facilitated the workshop as resource persons. The local member of legislative assembly, Mr. Alekha Jena, local government officials, PRIs representatives and reputed environment activists representing various mangrove regeneration sites were among the others who took part in the Page 15
discussion. The discussions aimed at sharing stakeholders’ concern over reigning threats to genetic diversity of costal Odisha and evolving suitable strategies for protecting flora and fauna of Bhitar Kanika National Park (BKNP) and Gahir Matha Marine Sanctuary (GMMS), in addition to contemplating measures to add more lustre to its importance as one of the rarest eco-tourism spot of the country.
The following observations and recommendations emerged during discussions:
The DFO, Rajnagar briefed the participants about 62 varieties of mangrove species of costal Odisha and their utilities to the mankind Active involvement of local people was considered crucial to protection of flora and fauna in BKNP and GMMS The participants felt the need of constructing eco-friendly permanent boundaries around BKNP for enhanced protection of wild lives and plants. The farmers needed to be compensated adequately for crop loss due to wild animals. At the same time, the crops had to be protected without inflicting any harm on the wildlife. It was suggested that the iron fences could be charged with mild current flow generated by solar panels to deter encroaching animals from entering human habitation and crop fields. It was proposed that massive avenue planation on approach roads to BKNP and block plantations in its periphery be carried out with watch and ward and plant care support provided by local youths under community support. Forestry, inland fisheries and horticultural activities were to be stepped up across Kendrapara district by using MGNREGS funds especially during the fishing ban period to provide alternative livelihood to poor fisherman families. Awareness of fringe communities on bio-diversity conservation needed to be sustained through leaflet distribution, wall painting, thematic folk song, street-play and pala performances. The people living beside rivers and nalas required to be cautioned against crocodile attacks. The victims in any case had to be provided with adequate first aid, treatment and compensation. The Forest Department must promote BKNP and GMMS as excellent eco-tourism centres while allowing the school and college students, children and youths of the district to visit both sanctuaries for educational purposes. Areas in and around BKNP must be maintained neat and clean and the roads connecting BKNP quiet, safe, green and attractive. Enterprising villagers living close to BKNP, rather than the corporate houses, needed to be provided with technical and financial support for developing quality rest houses and restaurant to benefit from eco-tourism People running any business concern or activity at BKNP and GMMS must agree to abide by the official rules and regulation, project his service and facility in a women and child friendly way, and refrain from exploiting visiting tourists in any manner. People visiting GMMS could use traditional boats accompanied only by local and traditional boatmen or local and forest department guides. Intensive fishing with machine boats and trawlers must be forbidden inside, and up to 5 kms from BKNP and GMMS to prevent injury to the aquatic lives therein, and to their food bases. Environmentally harmful activities in the core areas must be banned by appropriate legislations. Page 16
The prawn cultivators must be banned from catching prawn eggs and siblings, so that the number of prawn in natural rivers and nalas does not diminish leaving enough catch for traditional fishermen to support their livelihoods Test firing of missiles by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization) off Odisha coast during mass nesting time of Olive Ridley Turtles has the effect of disturbing the nesting and egg-laying cycle of the endangered reptile. It was thus suggested that the forest department and the local CSOs take up advocacy for rescheduling tests that coincides with mass nesting time. The fishing communities needed to be provided with viable livelihoods alternatives during the fishing ban period from 1st November to 31st May. It was suggested that a contingent of fishermen and women ought to be trained and engaged for protection of the Olive Ridley Turtle. Similarly, local people taking lead roles in the protection of BKNP and GMMS were be recognised for their services and awarded publicly. The Eco-Development Committees constituted under OFSDP should be capacitated to involve local people to sustainably manage and improve the situation in BKNP and GMMS. Traditional fishing communities should be provided with all benefits applicable to poor and backward class families as they are frequently prevented from fishing by forest officials and are susceptible to attack by crocodiles.
Youth Volunteers' Orientation on Environment Protection
During the year, CHALE CHALO organized two youth volunteers’ orientation programs, one at Dandi and the other at Mahavir College, Madanpur on the theme of protection of costal environment and bio-diversity. Around 200 youths, mostly students took part in these workshops.
Ever since the completion of the MANGRO Centre at Madanpur and shifting of the project office, the MANGRO team has been making consistent efforts to sensitize, unite, and engage local youths for protection of mangrove forests and its rich bio-diversity. The response of youths in villages and in local college to this effect has been very encouraging.
The orientation workshops were facilitated by our project team members, local conservationists and environmental activists including, Governor awardees and retired headmaster Mr. Sarat Mohapatra, Mr. Subodha Nayak (lecturer), Mr. Krupasindhu Samal (retired doctor), Chale Chalo’s Project Coordinator Mr. Rama Ranjan Mallick, Headmaster, Barahapur High School Mr. Hemanta Kumar Rout, Mr. Bhaskar Routray, journalist. The facilitators mentioned places like BKNP, GMMS, Satbhaya and Barunai and explained their importance to the costal heritage of Odisha. The rich diversity of mangrove species, varieties of birds, animals, fishes, crabs and prawns, including crops, vegetables and fruits native to these places featured clearly through their discourses.
Some of the facilitators highlighted the serious challenges to geographical expanse and organic identity of costal environment with perpetuation of practices like conversion of mangrove forests into agricultural lands, relentless tree felling and exploitative and unsustainable hunt for territorial and marine bio-diversity. Concerns were also raised at lack of people’s initiatives in non-flood villages with regards to plantation of suitable species trees and raising the green cover on land. The spacious compounds of educational and other institutions, road sides, village periphery, large patches of community and individual land lay barren with little traces of vegetation, adding to the threat of a virtual environmental imbalance. Some facilitators pointed at the vulnerability of people in BKNP Page 17
and GMMS area to cyclones, storms, sea surge and floods due to general unpreparedness and poor disaster management skills. The youth representatives also shared their concern over inoperativeness of youth force and its chronic indifference to community development and environment issues. Following live discussions and debate on the role of youth as regards to protection of environment and bio-diversity, they unanimously resolved to bring about progressive changes in youth attitude and behaviour towards social issues in general and come forward unitedly to meet challenges linked with mangrove regeneration and protection of bio-diversity.
Campaign for Protection of Mangrove Species during Barunai Mela
In collaboration with the forest department, we launched a mass awareness campaign on the occasion of Barunai Mela, a religious festival held between January and February every year at the mouth of Barunai River in Kendraparda district. The campaign aimed to reach out to thousands of devotees who throng the scenic spot covered in dense mangrove forests stretching out inland and to the sea. A team of 30 energetic staffs and volunteers of CHALE CHALO together with forest department personnel organised group discussions, leaflet distribution and individual-to-individual motivation rounds over which they encouraged people to take up individual and group initiatives in their respective areas towards regeneration, plantation, protection, conservation and management of mangrove forest. They pleaded that the measures were crucial to minimise vulnerability of coastal regions to natural disasters, besides leveraging livelihood of numerous fishermen, farmers, businessmen and poor people. The volunteers went round the festive crowd soliciting people to refrain from damaging the mangrove plants during the celebration. Songs and poem highlighting the importance of coastal ecology and bio-diversity of Bhitar Kanika National Park were recited in public. CHALE CHALO distributed 5000 leaflets for creating awareness about the negative effect of plucking fruits, flowers, crown and twigs of Hental plants or bringing other injury to the mangrove species. Each round of campaigning reasoned with an oath taking whereby the visitors pledged to conserve the local environment and take active role in the regeneration of mangrove forest and all the flora and fauna therein. It has been observed that as a result of our successive interventions, the extent of damage to bordering mangrove and wild lives during the fare has come down to an insignificant level.
Commemoration of World Environment Day, Forest Day and Vana Mahostava
The organization observed World Forest Day on 21 March 2013 in collaboration with the Barahapur High School eco-club. It also partnered with the Forest Department, local NGOs, youth clubs and local schools to organize a similar event at Sansarphala. Interactive meeting and rallies were organised for reinforcing people’s commitment to protection and conservation of forests, especially the local mangroves of the sea coast. The rallies aimed to send out the message that forests are worth preserving not only for their beauty and inexhaustible wealth, but also because they are the only option available to mitigate a fast approaching global catastrophe.
In the first weeks of July 2013, we celebrated Van Mahostava week in Jagannathpur Sasan area with awareness rallies and plantation of useful species on homestead plots, private and community lands and school compounds. Eco-Clubs of different schools and the DFO, Rajnagar, Mangrove Division lauded our community mobilization and greening effort in commendatory terms. He praised the accomplishment of CHALE CHALO with regards to mangrove regeneration and protection and integration of different segments of community on a common platform. He also appreciated the organization’s continuation of publication of ‘Hental’ newsletter and other awareness materials concerning costal bio-diversity. Page 18
On 5 June 2005, the CHALE CHALO project team celebrated World Environment Day at the Environment Resource Center in Rajnagar. Local forest officials, lectures, eminent environment activists, WSHG leaders and representatives of youth clubs participated in the celebration. The speakers discussed various consequences of carbon emission including acid rain and global warming and explained how forest could help to avert the global disaster. Then, the participants took out a rally across the town to demonstrate their resolve to work for protection of forests and bio-diversity.
Advocacy and Networking on Environment Issues
We actively participated in 3rd Odisha Environment Congress held at the Conference Hall of Natural History Museum in Bhubaneswar. Together with the stakeholders’ representatives from various project villages, we went through several district level workshops and seminars organized by the forest department on subjects like, protection of olive Reedley turtles, protection of wildlife, mangrove forest protection and regeneration, and avenue and shelter belt plantation. We also attended commemoration of World Environment Day and Forest Day organized at different levels.
We have been publishing a newsletter ‘The Hental’ to project views, activities and challenges held by our MANGRO staff and stakeholders to the outside world. The 76 paged bulletin with a multicolour cover has earned appreciations of our promoters and fans for its straightforward approach and diverse contents, and has gone a long way in building a delicate camaraderie among people who are used to judge environmental issues from the same perspective. The MANGRO project now serve to be a common platform for community based organizations, NGOs, social activities, intellectuals and environment loving people of the district to air their convictions and raise demand for change. It had never been so easy before to speak on behalf of the common people, shape popular opinion and solicit peer support for collective action with regards to environment. The local media has also played a positive role by voicing our concern for protection of the mangrove forests and its rich bio-diversity.
A visible effect of our community mobilization effort is the growing volume of popular demand on the forest department for supply of free seedling for plantation on private and community land. The villagers now acknowledge the positive gesture displayed by the forest department in taking people into confidence and undertaking massive plantation programs involving local communities.
This year our volunteers provided technical support in the form of decorative and flowering plant saplings to around 6 schools for school campus beautification program. CHALE CHALO’s nursery and plantation activities have been recognised well in the communities, schools, PRI and government circle. Its key partners in this sector, namely the WSHGs and the youth clubs have also earned distinction and esteem. Their involvement in this sector has not only paid off by boosting their confidence and good skills, but also earned them new work contracts from forest and other line departments.
Anti – Liquor Campaign
Tantiapala is a border villages of Mahakalpada block in Kendrapara district. The majority of household belong to poor or low middle class category. The village hosts a rural market that is visited by people from around 10 to 12 other villages. Tantiapala has a primary and a middle school. For higher studies the children go to Barahapur high school situated in Barahapur village half kilometre away. Hundreds of students from other villages also go to Barahapur high school and other schools by taking the road that passes through Tantiapala village. The Page 19
Tantiapala village road, thus conducts a significant volume of traffic every day. Women and children going to Rajnagar hospital or their relatives’ houses also pass through this place.
The opening up of a foreign liquor shop right on this road triggered a rash of nuisances in the area. The girl students and women started feeling unsafe on the road due to growing number of alcoholics and anti-social elements. The children feared to go to school alone on that road. It had become increasingly difficult for anyone to pass along that road due to unrestrained use of filthy language, teasing, intimidation, fear of assault and so on.
Realizing the concerns of the students, women and others, CHALE CHALO facilitated a series of meetings and a mass rally lead by WSHGs members demanding closure of the liquor shop. The women of the area blocked the roads twice and lodged grievances with the officials at block level. They invited the media and provided account of their helplessness against these developments. We carried their dissentions among our peers and partners and after pressure from local people, school children, WSHG members, NGOs, youth clubs and media, the liquor shop was finally closed down.
Running of Sikshyashrama in Hentala Kutira
30 students aged between 3 and 10 years belonging to dalit and other disadvantaged groups are being provided with pre-school and supplementary education in CHALE CHALO’s ‘Hental Kutira’ (mangrove cottage) near the Barahapur regenerated mangrove forest and plantation site.
Mr. Banamali Pradhan, software engineer from the area and now settled in New Delhi has registered the organisation under the name of ‘Help the Poor Society’. He has been providing the Sikshyashrama with financial support ever since. The institution is entrusted to the guidance and overall care of the trustee cum volunteer Mrs. Minati Sethi and local youth volunteer Mr. Sanjay Jena. Mr. Hemanta Kumar Rout, teacher and a veteran volunteer of CHALE CHALO, looks after the management of the Sikshyashrama on day to day basis. The Sikshyashrama help poor students to receive quality remedial teaching and improve their prospects of life. It provides extra care and supplementary support, such as clothes and learning materials to the children free of cost. The staff and volunteers of CHALE CHALO on their part coordinate with the local communities, CBOs, parents and teachers, peer organizations and donors to ensure support for continuity and effective running of the institution.
Health, Water and Sanitation Survey and Campaign on Right to Health
A survey was conducted to evaluate the status of health services, and water and sanitation situation in Pattamundai and Rajnagar block of Kendrapara district in collaboration with JSS, Odisha. The JSS-Odisha provided orientation training to our volunteers and guided them through the use of surveys format and procedures of field level data collection. The survey drawn out to several weeks entailed interactions and meetings with stakeholders at different levels and our volunteers accomplished the task successfully gathering useful information in an atmosphere of congeniality. Following the survey we deposited the filled in forms with JSS- Odisha for compilation, analysis and further action. We have been participating in the JSS led campaign on Right to Health as an active member and working at the field level for proper implementation of NRHM, which recognises health as one of the people’s right and deliver health services at the door step.
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Advocacy, Lobby and Networking on Health, Nutrition and Education Issues
CHALE CHALO is an active member of the national level health network “Jana Swashtya Abhiyan” and is involved in lobby and advocacy activities at local, district, state and national levels for better access of the poor to public health services. It has been advocating for quality health service at the doorsteps of the people in consonance with Indian Public Health Standard as fixed by the Government of India under NRHM. Regular meetings with Government officials and medical personnel on people’s health and nutrition issues have resulted in improvement in functioning of Sub-Centres, PHCs, CHC and ICDS centres across the blocks within the operational area of the organisation. The organisation has effectively integrated the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), Rural Drinking Water Mission, Right to Education, ICDS, MDM, Antodaya, Annpurna and PDS provisions to its lobby, advocacy and networking drives at different levels in order to achieve improved health, food, nutrition and education of the marginalized groups in the targeted areas and beyond.
EMCOR Empowering Marginalised Community for Rights and Entitlements through Community Radio
Introduction
The project ‘Empowering Marginalised Community for Rights and Entitlements through Community Radio (EMCOR)’ aims to achieve right to information, right to work, basic entitlements and participatory governance by marginalized communities for poverty reduction through community radio (CR), a relatively recent powerful tool that offer the marginal communities opportunity to express and be heard by persons who matters. Drawing strength from the fundamental rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association guaranteed in the Indian Constitution, it empowers the voiceless marginalized communities to articulate their problems, demand their rights & entitlements, and constitute powerful forums to engage community and local government structures to deal with their specific issues and grievances. The program operates in 60 Villages of KBK region where marginalized families have been organized, educated, capacitated and empowered to demand their rights from the local and district officials, and people's representatives through ‘Mor Haq Gaon Sangathan’ (My Rights Village Committees). Members of ‘Mor Haq Gaon Sangathan’ (MHGS) have become aware of their rights and entitlements, identified and prioritized village level issues, learned about government schemes, and got involved in radio programs. CR Programs in the series “Mor Haq” (My Rights) produced by the commit is being put on air every week with effect from 2nd October 2009 from AIR- Bhawanipatna and Sambalpur. The 96 episodes produced till date have brought to light stakeholders’ perception of government’s welfare and poverty reduction schemes, employment generation and development programs as implemented in the region, and succeeded in drawing attention of the appropriate duty bearers in concerned project villages, GPs, blocks and districts and successfully resolved some of their problems. Page 21
The direct beneficiaries under the program are 6000 marginalized families including women, disabled, destitute, tribal, dalits, people living with or prone to HIV/AIDS, the children, the elderly, and unemployed youths. The wider beneficiaries are 500000 plus radio listeners in KBK region and elsewhere in Odisha. The PRIs, government & other agencies benefit from the program through continuous feedback, interaction, dissemination of information, increased beneficiaries participation and cooperation & collaboration of the administered. The outcomes of the program are increased accountability; transparency; responsiveness; effectiveness and credibility in the governance system for implementation of programs and delivery of services to the poor.
Under the EMCOR project, CHALE CHALO works toward:
Developing common understanding among people on poverty, rights and entitlements, gender and governance issues of the locality. Assisting the members of MHGS (‘Mor Haq Gaon Sangathan’) to obtain fair knowledge of government schemes like MGNREGA, NRHM, RTI, RTE, and Forest Rights Act. Enabling the marginalized people to use RTI for retrieving essential information and ensuring transparency in administration & delivery of services. Promoting collective and community actions to demand and access civil and constitutional rights, entitlements and public services, and Guiding and encouraging the poor to use community radio as an important advocacy and empowerment tool.
EMCOR Project Activities in the Year 2012 – 2013
We organized workshops, orientation meetings and capacity building programs for different categories of stakeholders with a view to expand their awareness of key issues related to poverty, governance, livelihood and social security of poor and marginalized communities, while highlighting the role they might assume to effect changes in the existing state of affair in respective localities. Suchana Mela and Media Consultations were held to
heighten concern about such issues in different circles. We also organized skill trainings for activists and volunteers who were new to CR terminologies. The project team produced digital recording of programs of different genres for transmissions on radio. We also arranged interfaces between the community and local government officials to confirm and expedite the process of grievance redressal and delivery of service. The following is a list of specific events that took place during the year:
Orientation to marginalized community forums, ‘Mor Haq Gaon Sangathans’ members Orientation to women SHGs on rights and entitlements of the poor Page 22
Capacity building training to Community Radio (CR) activists Orientation to Community Radio Listeners' Clubs on poor people's rights & entitlements PRI Members' orientation on rights & entitlements of the poor Information Fair, or ‘Suchana Mela’ on various pro-poor government schemes Workshop on rights and entitlements for the marginalized communities Orientation to technical and managerial staffs of the project Capacity building training for community radio reporters Production and broadcasting of CR program Narrowcasting of village meetings on poverty, rights, entitlements and development issues Organization of Jan Sambad, i.e., workshop for sharing of concerns by poor directly with authorities on their rights & entitlements Information sharing workshop among representatives of different stakeholders Rights & entitlements claiming rallies & public meeting Media Consultation on status of rights, entitlements, poverty reduction measures and development actions in project villages Annual Review and impact assessment Networking Meeting with stakeholders on rights and entitlements of the poor
Details of Project Activities Undertaken in the Year 2012-13
Orientation to Marginalized Communities Forums Members
60 nos. of programs for orientation of marginalized community forums (Mor Haq Gaon Sangathan) were organized in all 60 Villages of EMCOR project area in Kalahandi, Nuapada & Bolangir districts of KBK region in Odisha. The orientation had for its aim sustained generation of popular demands for access to various rights and entitlement.1547 persons, including 842 males and 705 females belonging to ST, SC, OBC communities, physically challenged persons, elderly, youth, children and people of low income group participated in the orientation programs. Care had been taken to ensure increasing participation of women members in Mor Haq Gaon Sangathan and their active involvement in identifying and addressing village level issues at par with their male compatriots. In every village on an average, 20 to 25 members of MHGS were accommodated in these events.
Through the orientation programs, the marginalized villagers were made aware about right to works, right to health, right to education, right to information, right to food and right over forest land as well as other basic civil and constitutional rights. The orientations have subsequently paved the way for their engagements with public institutions and official for demanding 100 (increased to 150 days now) days’ work under MGNREGA, free and quality health services through NRHM, better functioning of ICDS for reducing Mother and Child Mortality Rate, and free enrolment and quality education for 6-14 years age children. Groups of villagers are using right to information to put pressure on public officials to account for their activities. They are also advocating for rights and entitlements of the marginalized communities through rallies, interviews and signature campaigns at various levels. In all these activities, community radio has proved to be a dependable and stimulating tool. Now they collectively assess the impacts of their works, produce audio and video documentations of the same and evolve Page 23
strategies for further strengthening the rights based initiatives. The leaders and members of MHGSs are now confidently working with the PRIs and concerned government officials for addressing the problems of fellow villagers.
Orientation of Women SHGs on Rights and Entitlements of the Poor
Women empowerment through formation and strengthening of women SHGs has been an important component in the project. To this end, we organized 60 orientation programs for 1283 women members of 240 WSHGs in 5 project blocks in the EMCOR project area. The orientation programs had been tailored to meet general and project specific needs of the participating women and covered a broad range of topics, including aim and objectives of micro-financial institutions, members’ code of conduct, roles and responsibilities of the group leaders, record keeping, institutions collaborating with WSHGs, banks and credit linkage, public policies and schemes for welfare of the poor and the women, community radio, lobby and advocacy for realization of rights and so on.
The programs provided a platform for women to discuss unemployment and poverty issues in rural areas and focused at length why low-income people should seek self-employment as a viable option for alleviation of poverty by mobilizing small scale social and human capital. It facilitated qualitative analysis of the impacts of women SHGs on individual members, their knowledge, attitude and skill, and their family and community life. The participants were also made to appreciate the successful outcomes of the group activities and the unbounded scope for development of human and social capital under WSHG movement.
The orientations have raised the participants’ awareness of governmental programs and schemes affording them extra insight into politics and administration of the country, as well as capacity to engage in community radio (CR) program confidently. A push to this end has also come from the WSHG federal arrangements and awakening inspired under the MISSION SHAKTI initiatives of Odisha government for women empowerment. Subsequent to the trainings, the WSHG members have demonstrated substantial intelligence with regards to sustaining small savings practices, revolving internal loans and contributing to poverty reduction in the household and community. Now they willingly participate in preparation of community radio episodes highlighting concern for village level issues and for better environment, accountability of public officials, participatory democracy and poverty reduction. They also promote Mamata Yojana and Janani Surakshya Yojana meant for safe delivery and wellbeing of the mothers and new born among fellow women.
Capacity Building Training for Community Radio Activists
In the year, we organized 13 nos. of capacity building training programmes for community radio activists. A greater part of the training consisted in lessons for educating the participants on governmental schemes and programs, as MGNREGA, NRHM, RTI, RTE and FLR etc. that could help them identify realistic alternative solutions vis-à-vis to crucial village issues. A total of 774 CR activists including 433 male and 341 female attended the CB trainings facilitated by Community Radio Reporters, and Program and Technical Managers. Much of the discussion aimed at developing participants’ understanding of poverty, rights and entitlements, gender and governance issues pertinent to KBK region, in addition to giving them intriguing insight into the range of entitlements and provisions enacted in the country for welfare of the poor. The discussions also focused on skills required for CR applications, production of programs, and obtaining information under the RTI act. Besides, the Page 24
programs provided an excellent platform to these grass-root level change makers to share their ideas and experiences, and strengthen collective initiatives for accessing rights and entitlements.
An obvious impact of the training was subsequent involvement of community radio activists (CRAs) in facilitating right based actions for poverty alleviation by individuals and groups among the marginalized communities in their own village. Now, the CRAs are taking lead role for preparation of community radio programs and application of CR technics for reaching out to a greater audience. They are also making extensive use of RTI to obtain necessary information for backing up their lobby and advocacy drives. Orientation of Community Radio Listeners' Clubs on Poor People's Rights & Entitlements
Under the EMCOR project, community based radio listeners’ clubs have been conceived of as an integral element for shaping and articulating demands of the voiceless people. During the year, we oriented 1856 nos. of listeners consisting of 896 men and 960 women who represented various listeners’ club spread out across the target area to various aspects of community radio program. We raised their awareness about different governmental welfare provisions and schemes to help them realize the significance of role they were going to assume. The programs helped the radio listeners to review the circumstances when they have been denied an entitlement despite legal injunctions to deliver, and to identify specific problems of the individual and the community as consequence of malfunction of certain administrative machinery. It was for the listener’s club to cast such realizations as concrete issues for advocacy. Our staff and knowledgeable persons from government and social sector facilitated these workshops as resource persons.
The club members have been specifically oriented to use audio materials for carrying information to the disadvantageous families regarding the provisions under RTI, MGNREGS, NRHM, RTE, FLRA, ICDS, housing schemes, social security schemes, land and water conservation schemes and livelihoods promotion programs etc.. Now they are taking lead role in organizing narrowcasting of the community radio episodes involving local issues. They are encouraging voiceless people to articulate their views through local cultural mediums like pala, dance and singing which are being subsequently woven into these episodes. Due to their support, it has been possible to broadcast CR program ‘MOR HAQ’ on AIR, Bhawanipatna every Wednesday at 1.20 pm and on AIR, Sambalpur every Tuesday at 6.20 pm.
The listener club members are also engaged as ‘change agents’ in respective communities. Through their activities they add momentum to the process of empowerment of the marginalized, contributing to poverty reduction in the targeted area. They help fellow villagers in gaining access to various government programs and services, and actively follow through their claims through dialogue and negotiations with duty bearers in different government department and agencies.
PRI Members Orientation on Rights & Entitlements of the Poor
We arranged for a series of programs to orient PRIs representatives currently holding the positions of sarapanch, naib sarapanches, ward members, samiti members and zilla parishad members in different Gram Panchayats, Blocks and District Councils on the role and responsibilities of the Panchayati Raj Institutions and Panchayat Representatives in the context of rights and entitlements of poor and marginalized communities. A total of 202 incumbent representatives including 112 men and 90 women attended these orientation workshops. 52 former PRI representatives with community leadership predilections also participated in these programs. Page 25
The resource persons discussed wide-ranging issues pertaining to rights and entitlements of the poor, and the discretions at the hands of the Panchayati Raj Institutions to address them. The programs were participatory in nature. On their part, the PRIs representatives shared about their experiences in implementing various development works in the communities, the problems faced and the strategies adopted by them to overcome them. During the sessions, the representatives were made aware about NRHM, RTE, RTI, FLRA, MGNREGS, ICDS, Housing Schemes, Social Security Schemes, Land and Water Conservation Schemes and Livelihoods Promotion Programs of the government. The salient features of 73rd constitutional amendment act that conferred power upon PRIs for ensuring implementation and management of 29 welfare and development functions with direct impacts on lives and livelihoods of the common villagers also came under the focus of discussion. The programs also succeeded in upgrading their knowledge about gram sabha and palli sabha, as well as about facilitating participatory decision making process, strengthening local governing structure and accountable service delivery mechanism. The trainees were urged on to make the gram sabha and palli sabha evolve as effective platforms for addressing issues of hunger and poverty.
The PRI members shared their positive experiences of community radio, mentioning how it has served to spotlight issues surfacing within the GPs, and to raise awareness of people on ongoing governmental programs related to health, education, housing, infrastructure, employment and poverty reduction. They expressed optimism about the progress of EMCOR activities and welcomed the EMCOR staff, volunteers and activists to an enduring cooperation and partnership for expediting developmental process in the target communities.
Information Fair (Suchana Mela)
An Information Fair or ‘Suchana Mela’ throws open extraordinary opportunities to know the project beneficiaries in person and to implant the desired information deep in their minds. During the year, we organized 10 such fares at 10 central locations within the project villages. Over 1154 people including 635 men and 529 women visited the fare and went through various entertaining and educative shows hosted on the premises. Among the visitors were the people’s representatives, civil society members, media and government officials who came from relatively distant places to recommend our effort. Some of the invitees promoted our objective by disseminating in public useful information on governmental schemes and services meant for marginalized people. There was a rich display of hoardings, banners, posters and information charts featuring different welfare measures initiated by the government to improve health, livelihood, education and employment scenario in the country. The program staff distributed several leaflets and mini-booklets among the audience containing detailed information on various governmental schemes. Recordings of community radio episodes on burning issues were played aloud at the mela compound. Several cultural events were also organized for the edutainment of the masses. All these communication mediums disseminated information about Right to work (MGNREGA), Right to Education (RTE), Right to Information (RTI), Forest Land Right (FLR) to tribal and traditional forest dwellers, Food security Schemes and Right to Health under NRHM.
Over the fare, we spread awareness about 210 verities of medicines available in government hospitals for various ailments free of cost. We appealed to poor women to stop paying tips while seeking benefits under JSY and Mamata Yoyana and encouraged people to be confident while demanding information under RTI. We urged on the people to contribute their accounts of success or frustration with public machineries to the production of community radio episodes in increasing number and they responded to our call positively. We also encouraged Page 26
them to carry on dialogue with government officials using peaceful means to resolve issues that come in the way of accessing their legitimate rights and entitlements.
Workshop on Rights and Entitlements for the Marginalized Communities
We organized 2 consecutive workshops on rights and entitlements for the marginalized communities on 23rd & 28th December 2012, at Babamatha (Ghantiguda) of Nuapada district and Turekela village of Bolangir district respectively. 278 persons, including 137 male and 141 female belonging to different marginalized groups attended these workshops. Mr. Jagat Kata, Sarpanch of Ranimunda GP, Mrs. Rebati Das, ANM, Mr. Rajkishor Panda and Mr. Muralidhar Das, Social activist and experts on governmental schemes, as well as senior staffs of CHALE CHALO facilitated the sessions as resource persons. The principal objective of the program was to develop the capacity of the members of ‘Mor Gaon Haq Samiti’ (MHGS), listeners’ clubs and the women SHGs to help them take maximum advantage of various poverty reduction and livelihood opportunities extended by the government. The strategy was to boost their knowledge of governance and skill of articulation so that they are able to hold effective dialogue and negotiation with government officials and people’s representatives to access rights and entitlements for reducing poverty, as well as to raise their voice against discrimination and wilful negligence by the authority.
During the discussions the resource persons explained the provisions of MGNREGS, RTI, RTE and FLR acts, NRHM, RWSS, ICDS, MDM, IYA, JSY, MAMATA, MO KUDIA, MO JAMI, and PDS to the participants and discussed various grievance redressal laws and mechanism under all pro-poor schemes. In the course of group exercises, the participants were asked to prepare lists of existing issues, evolve strategies and draw action plans to address them. They shared their success stories that described different stages of their sustained effort to get governmental programs and schemes implemented in their favor. They also shared their community radio experience and experience with RTI for demanding information from public authorities, as well as other achievements made through EMCOR project interventions that has brought real changes in their socio-economic conditions contributing to poverty reduction and improvement in local governance. The participants acknowledged that their organizations in the form of MHGS have raised awareness level and collective democratic actions for rights and entitlements of the project participants, making the governance system more and more accountable to the poor.
Project Orientation to Technical and Managerial Project Staffs
Orientation of Technical and Managerial project staff was carried out in two phases at CHALE CHALO’s conference hall in Khariar to keep them abreast of the latest developments in project monitoring, evaluation and management tools and the recent changes in the spectrum of pro-poor policies and legislations. All EMCOR project staff and staff of other implementing projects of the organization took part in the program. Mr. Ranjit Kumar Swain, Director and Mr. Rudra Madhab Barik, Chairman of CHALE CHALO, initiated discussions on various aspects of the project while focusing on updated log-frame that defined achievements and challenges come upon through its implementation. The staffs were guided through a SWOT analysis process in order to identify the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat accompanying the project execution at various levels. They were made to reflect on the growth of the organization, structure, institutionalism and progress achieved in the course of the project implementation. The staffs revisited their roles and responsibilities and detailed job profiles. They identified lessons learnt from their interactions in the field and shared their best practices with Page 27
other colleagues. Each individual activity performed by them in the implementation of the project was brought under focus. They were asked to draw up future action plans in their respective sphere of activity.
The guest resource faculties, Mr. Gopal Dash, Dr. Ajit Panda and Mr. Khuturam Sunani discussed at length about the recent development in pro-poor policies and laws including amendments to the existing programs and schemes. They oriented the participating staff to various government schemes and issues related to rights & entitlements, poverty, gender, governance, civil society and inclusive development. The community radio reporters, narrators, technical and program manager improved their learning on community radio with lessons on new technology and approaches involving radio messaging on mobile phones that could enable to expand their reach of people many times larger. The participants were further capacitated on better facilitation of community forums for claiming and accessing their rights and entitlements and evolving people-centered approaches to implement poverty reduction schemes and programs in the project villages.
Networking Meeting on Rights and Entitlements of the Poor
A Networking Meeting on Rights and Entitlement of the Poor was organized on 9th February 2013 with 76 participants, consisting of the representatives of NGOs, Government, SHGs, MHGSs and Youth Clubs, Listeners’ Clubs, PRIs, Media, Lawyers’ Association and Social Activists from Nuapada, Balangir and Kalahandi districts. 33 of the participants were women. The meeting was facilitated by a team of CSOs headed by Dr. Ajit Kumar Panda, Secretary, Ayuskam. The Chair and Trustee of IVDT, UK, Ms. Helena Nightingale and Ms. Kim Devenish were also present in the meeting. The participants reviewed the status of rights and entitlements of the poor in project villages, GPs, Blocks and districts. Ms. Nightingale and Ms. Devenish who followed the overall process presented their monitoring observations, and warranted attention to development issues that needed urgent treatment.
The participants thoroughly reviewed the progress of the project interventions in terms of improving the situation for implementation of RTI, MGNREGS, RTE, FLR, Women and Child Rights, and NRHM in the targeted areas of the three KBK districts. They carefully examined every cases of collective action and achievement in areas like, building leadership among the poor, especially the women, dalits and tribals, generating adequate popular demands for service, pressurizing duty bearers into increased accountability, and accessing rights and entitlements. The participants appreciated the project’s contributions in breaking up of the epoch of silence permeating the marginalized communities and people, and encouraging them to lead a decent life free of stings of poverty by gaining unrestrained access to their basic rights and legitimate entitlements. The participants attributed these developments to the positive role of community radio that has thrown open the opportunity for the poor to be organized, raise voices and advocate for their cause. Sharing her observations, Ms Helena Nightingale remarked that through the project actions and positive policy environment the women in project villages are coming forward to take leadership and responsibility in developmental work. She expressed her concern about increasing fatalities among dalits and tribal in KBK areas as a result of high alcohol consumption and renal failure, and urged the CSOs to bring the problem to the notice of government for immediate action.
The participants drew up a participatory action plan for the following project year 2013-14 in consonance with the EMCOR project proposal and the log frame targets. The day long function came to an end after a vote of thanks offered by the Director of CHALE CHALO
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Jan Sambad on Rights & Entitlements of Marginalized Communities
We organized 2 numbers of ‘Jan Sambad’ on Rights and Entitlements of Marginalized communities on 20th and 28th February 2012 at Ghantiguda of Nuapada district and Jamkhunta of Bolangir district respectively. A ‘Jan Sambad’ is an arrangement for a community-government interface where the poor could share their concerns directly with the local duty bearers. On the other side, it provides an opportunity to the duty bearers to interact personally with the end beneficiaries and learn about the issues and problems affecting the poor and the marginalized communities.
The two interfaces were participated by a total of 239 persons including 112 men and 127 women. The local BDO, MLA, CDPO, BRCC, CRCC, medical officers, JE, revenue and forest officials, PRI representatives, GP executive officers, AWWs, ASHA, goan sathi, ANMs, and teachers represented the government side, whereas, the social activists, members of MHGSs, SHGs, and listeners clubs, children, youths, women, elderly persons and victims of social oppression were among those who came for redressing their grievances or advocating for common issues. The marginalized poor submitted their complaints to the duty bearers in verbal as well as in written forms. Some of the problems were resolved then and there by the concerned official, while some others were scheduled for subsequent appointments, or forwarded to appropriate authorities at block or district level. In some serious cases of denial of right and entitlement, the concerned duty bearers offered to visit the affected families in their own village. The duty bearers educated the people on the provisions of different schemes and programs currently implementing in the state, including the range of benefits that can be accessed by the poor people under these schemes by following simple procedures. Mr. Santosh Singh Saluja, Honorable MLA, Kantabanji who has assumed a pro-active stance for improving the circumstances of the marginalized community in Bolangir district assured the participants to take follow up action in coordination with the concerned government officials for speeding up grievance redressal process.
Consultation with Media on Rights and Entitlements of the Marginalized Communities
On 20th January 2013, we had organnized a media consultation meeting at our Conference hall at Khariar in Nuapada district. A total number of 35 media persons representing prominent newspaper groups and television channels of the state, as Sambad, Dharitri, Samaj, Surjyaprava, Pramaya OTV, ETV, Kamiav TV, Kanaka TV, and community radio associations like Lok Udayam, Mor Haq and Mo Tundre Mo Kathani from Kalahandi, Bolangir and Nuapada districts took part in the meeting .
The representatives of Mor Gaon Haq Samitis (MHGSs) discussed various developments at the field level following EMCOR intervention. They shared some of the key issues that have come to surface over the project term and the actions initiated by them to address them. Our project staff also shared the goal, objectives, activities and impacts of the projects and presented few case studies as indications of changes that have taken effect in these communities. They mentioned an isolated survey conducted in 68 villages with a population of 57, 653. The survey has revealed that 71 people in the age between 15 and 45 have died in recent months due to renal failure and 37 persons were suffering from severe nephropathy, while pointing to the status and effectiveness of the health rights in the area. The project team also drew attention of the participants to the problems at the Page 29
ground level related to MGNREGS, RTE, NRHM, FLR, ICDS, PDS and other welfare and development schemes and programs, and the measures initiated by local MHGSs to resolve them.
The project team also acknowledged the bighearted support coming from the media mentioning that since the beginning of the project, the team has been closely working with the local media to help the voiceless poor to raise their issues, get heard by others, and claim and access their rights and entitlements. During the meeting, it was decided that detailed district wise information regarding functionality status of various welfare schemes directly affecting the poor to be gathered with evidence and communicated through media consultancy and popular representations to concerned authorities for redress.
Project Information Sharing Workshop
The Annual Project Information Sharing Workshop was held at CHALE CHALO Conference Hall, in Khariar on 23rd March 2013. A total number of 56 participants, comprising 43 men and 13 women who represented different NGOs, CBOs, service providers, radio activists, youth clubs, SHGs, MHGSs, listeners’ clubs and PRI members were present on the occasion. Mr. Rudra Madhab Barik, chairman of CHALE CHALO and Mr. Basanta Kumar Ojha, program manager of EMCOR project welcomed the invitees and facilitated the proceedings of the workshop. Mr. Baisnaba Jagat, Secretary, VIDYA and Mr. Paresh Pal Coordinator of World Visions facilitated group discussions among the participants on project learning and future actions in consonance with the project plan.
During the discussion, it was made clear that all project activities undertaken during the year were linked to the rights and entitlements issues affecting the poor and the marginalized, and that every activity aimed to accomplish improved accountability in government and reduction of poverty of people. The chairman, CHALE CHALO provided an account of various budgetary and non-budgetary activities carried out under the project during the year. These activities aimed to pave the way for better implementation of provisions under MGNREGS, RTE, NRHM, FLR, ICDS, PDS and other welfare programs that could reap direct benefits for the poor people in the target areas. He appreciated positive involvement of stakeholders like, MHGSs, NGOs, CBOs, SHGs, youth clubs, listeners clubs, PRIs, radio activists, government officials, service providers and others in the project and hoped for their continued cooperation. The participants on their part expressed satisfaction about the progress of the project, its achievements and impacts for ensuring rights of the marginalized communities as well as for poverty reduction. Capacity Building of Technical & Managerial Project Staff & Trustees
A capacity building program for technical and managerial project staff and trustees was held from 1st to 2nd April 2013 at CHALE CHALO Conference Hall in Khariar. 16 Project staffs and 04 trustee members took part in the workshop. Mr. Ajit Kumar Panda, Social Activist and Mr. Ranjit Kumar Swain, Director, CHALE CHALO facilitated the sessions. The program aimed at upgrading skills of the participants for effective facilitation of participatory planning, program implementation and management, monitoring, impact assessment, evaluation, and documentation. Emphasis was laid on sustainability of poverty reduction process and continuation of organizational growth beyond the project term. In addition, it provided several useful tips on organization of people’s forum, lobby and advocacy, campaigning, networking and actions for rights. Page 30
Capacity Building Training to Community Radio Reporters
We organized 2 capacity building training for community radio reporters from 22nd to 23rd April and from 14th to 16th June 2012 at CHALE CHALO Conference Hall in Khariar. Community radio reporters of EMCOR project, the radio reporters working for community radio program, volunteers and project staffs participated as trainees. The two events were facilitated by Mr. Sharat Kumar Naik, Technical Manager, Mr. Ranjit Kumar Swain, Director, Mr. Ghanshyam Bhitria, Social Activist and Mr. Rudra Madhab Barik, Chairman, CHALE CHALO.
The trainings focused on the use of community radio as a tool for empowerment of the poor, and for self-led advocacy to claim their rights and entitlements. The participants were reoriented on various aspects of the projects and were made to revisit the log frame. The facilitators provided them with several updates on various government programs and schemes. The participants shared their experiences, learning and problems encountered during the period and the steps taken by them to accomplish project objectives. Elaborate discussions were carried out on people led and evidence based advocacy by using RTI and community radio tools for improving poor people’s access to rights and entitlements. The facilitators demonstrated skills for better facilitation of marginalized community forums to identify their key problems. They were also taught about prioritizing issues, designing, production and transmission of community radio episodes. The discussion moved around subjects like filing RTI application, obtaining information, preparation of charter of demands, articulations of the issues, sharing of issues with the villagers and participatory planning. They were further oriented on the skills of holding dialogue with duty bearers, negotiations for striking a deals, follow up actions and tracking of progress. The facilitators also touched on the procedures of project impact assessment and documentation of process and output during the sessions of the training.
Annual Participatory Review and Planning Exercise
We organized Annual Participatory Review Meetings one each in 10 randomly selected project villages during the month of February – March 2013. The purpose behind such meetings was to involve the beneficiaries and other stakeholders at grassroots level in the assessment the progress of the project and record their suggestions for the following year’s planning. 154 participants, including 86 men 68 women who represented project beneficiaries, MHGSs, SHGs, LCs, Youth Clubs, GKS, PRIs, service providers and others stakeholders were present in these meetings. They went through the long chronicle of activities accomplished during the project year and examined the quantity and quality of achievements, and the impact and outcome against each. These activities ranged from workshops and rallies to production of radio episodes and broadcasting, and from RTI moves and advocacy to community-government interface and negotiations with the duty bearers. They also reflected on the capacities and leadership qualities of the program beneficiaries, their knowledge of contemporary and village level issues, their skills of articulating and ventilating problems on community radio, the strength of the organizations like MHGSs, listener clubs, CBOs and WSHGs to successfully implement the project activities. In addition, they carried out a detailed assessment of responsiveness of the service providers and authorities to popular demand for rights and entitlement, and examined the status of various pro-poor schemes in the target area. Finally, they gave their feedbacks on various aspects of the project and offered suggestions for next year’s project planning which was duly acknowledged and recorded by the project team. In the end, the project team helped them prepare the draft annual action plan for MHGSs and village level activities.
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Rights & Entitlements Claiming Procession and Rally
During the reported period, the project team provided facilitation and support to 2 numbers of rights and entitlements claiming processions and rallies organized jointly by people’s organizations, like ‘Krushak Shakti Sangathan (KSS)’, ‘Jami Jangal Mukti Abhiyan (JJMA)’ and ‘Manab Adhikar Suraksha Abhiyan (MASA)’. The rallies mobilized on the street on 7th December 2012 and 8th February 2013 at Khariar in Nuapada district on both occasions. More than 2000 men and women representing forest dwellers, MHGSs, women SHGs, youth clubs, KSS, JJMA, MASA, CBOs, NGOs and PRI representatives joined in the procession that passed through the main town and attended the rallies held at the public ground.
In preparation for the rally, we facilitated a series of village level awareness meetings on various rights and entitlements with focus on government’s welfare schemes and programs, as, FLR, MGNREGS, RTI, RTE, NRHM, PDS, farmers benefits and others, which had as their themes, pro-people arrangements to bring about development in education, health, nutrition, agricultural supports, road, electricity, food and social security of people. On the day of rally, the participants marched in an orderly procession as they shouted for legal redress against delay in issuance of land rights certificates for private and community land under FLRA, inadequate MGNREGS works and delay in payment, insecurity of girl children in government residential schools, poor health services in remote villages and negligence of duty in some government offices. Many people from places outside the project villages had also voluntarily joined the rally as they faced similar problems in their areas. They submitted petitions containing those demands to the local authorities like the BDO, Tehsildar, DFO and DAO. They also sent copies of the petitions to higher officials at the state secretariat, and to the ministers in the government. The rallies helped in creating awareness on various schemes / programs / services and empowered the poor to clam and access them for bringing positive changes in their socio-economic conditions.
The processions and rallies succeeded incredibly well in drawing attention of the duty bearers, media and general public to the neglect and discrimination faced by the marginalized communities. Many people including government officials pledged their support for the marginalized people. The effect of the rally also became evident quite soon, with officials initiating actions for speeding up issuance of land rights certificate, providing more MGNREGS works, improving basic services and welfare activities in forest and non-forest villages. Broadcasting and Narrowcasting of Community Radio Episode
During the period from 1st April 2012 to 31st March 2013, we have produced and put on air 52 community radio episodes under the title “MOR HAQ” (My Rights). It takes the total number of such episodes produced and broadcasted by us since 1st July 2009 to 175. The issues are invariably those affecting rights and entitlements of voiceless marginalized communities of the KBK districts. The overall process of production and transmission of episodes is a long route involving issues identification, developing understanding, prioritization of themes, discussion and debate on aspects of production including choice of literary genre, selection of characters, script design and rehearsal. Then the technical team is recording the voices, editing out the final version and taking steps to put them on air as per the arrangement with AIR stations in the districts. The process even goes further, as for gathering feedbacks of listeners and planning improvement on subsequent productions. We have been transmitting different episodes of ‘MOR HAQ’ on AIR Bhawanipatana on Wednesday between 1.20 pm and 1.50 pm and on AIR Sambalpur on Tuesday between 6.20 pm and 6.50 pm. During the year, we conducted 442 transmission and learning sessions for 60 EMCOR project villages on issues affecting the poor. Page 32
The EMCOR community radios are all community-patters, reflecting the life, culture, livelihood, poverty, discrimination and deprivations of the marginalized communities of KBK regions. They have given a voice to the voiceless people who had been struggling so far to articulate their thoughts and reactions. The ‘MOR HAQ’ initiatives now get these people to talk intently on their own issues, and get them on air across a wide audience including the authorities and policy makers. It has tapped the rural talents, nurtured them and brought them under limelight. It has provided a common platform for the government officials, service providers, PRI representatives, MLA, experts, CSOs representatives, beneficiaries of government programs, community leaders and villagers to hear each other’s view points on issues of marginalized people and take collective actions for their improved access to rights. It has also brought about accountability and transparency in governance, gender and social equality, inclusive development and poverty reduction.
CHILDREN COMMUNITY RADIO Voice to Voiceless Marginalized Children In NUAPADA District of Odisha
Introduction Since 2007, with the support of CRY, India, CHALE CHALO has been engaged in a special relationship with thousands of disadvantaged children of Nuapada district of Odisha, putting their voices on air through community radio episodes, “Mor Tune Mor Kathani” (It’s My Story on My Lips). The episodes depicting their stark insecurities and plight of living are based on real life accounts retold by the children themselves. The shocking stories warrant attention to the grim status of rights of children in the sphere of childhood care, educational facilities, health, nutrition, drinking water, sanitation, environment, development and other issues in both rural and urban areas of the drought-prone and poverty stricken district. Our strategy is to use the community radio inputs as an important advocacy tool for promoting children’s right to survival, protection, development and participation. By sensitizing, educating and mobilizing the community, we are facilitating a campaign to promote adequate childhood care, universal primary education, free health care facilities, and right to life, liberty and association of children. Simultaneously, we are coordinating collective action to discourage seasonal migration of parents, child labor, illegal trafficking, and their exploitation and abuse by others.
Migration Survey Tracking to Basic Rights Status Nuapada district, an erstwhile sub-division of Kalahandi District of Odisha until 1993 is prone to severe seasonal distress migration. The district formed of nearly all droughty areas of former Kalahandi district is known for its abject poverty, starvation deaths and child sales. In fact, every year acute deficiency of provisions in the local area forces thousands of people to migrate to Andhra Pradesh, Utter Pradesh, Mumbai, Surat, Jammu and some other parts of India often with the family.
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The trend has been growing in volume for last couple of years due to unrelenting drought across the district and unavailability of work for the working force. MGNREGA could have been a source of relief for the poor, but as it is fraught with several instances of delayed and occasionally non-payments, most of the workers find it unreliable. Many public officials also intentionally avoid implementing MGNREGA due to stringent transparency requirement under the act, depriving the community of its manifold benefits. Many other pro-poor schemes, such as, IGA promotion and social security have also little effect on the trend for their slipshod approaches. Consequently, people land themselves at a brick kiln of Andhra or other state, mostly with their wives and children for having taken money from the kiln agents early in the year, taking their wives and children with them. Another practice contributing to child migration is the ‘PATURI’ (A Unit of Dish) system which requires a unit of labor to comprise of one male, one female and a male or female child labor. In such cases, parents having no children usually borrow children from their relative and friends to compete for the job.
To assess the status of child migration in the age groups of 0-5 and 5-14 for both girls and boys a survey was conducted in the project villages of Khariar and Boden block, the two most poverty stricken blocks of the district. VCR-Odisha had developed questionnaires for tracking issues behind migration in the area. Following the survey, we compiled the information and arrived at the following results. Migration is rarely an enjoyable experience. The principal reason behind it is the extreme livelihood pressures. Migrant workers suffer a lot during their journey and during their stay at the worksite. The migrant worker is always apprehensive of the safety of his person and his family in his alien accommodation, and lives in the dread of possible sexual harassment or abuse of his spouse and children. The children have to drop their school permanently. Even after their return, they are afraid to join school for having missed their study for so long. The teachers are often unwilling to take them back into the same class. Mild to serious health hazards occur very commonly to the workers at their alien dwelling and worksite, which are usually located on the periphery of the town or close to the slums in unhygienic environment. The worker must compromise his choices even to his disadvantage, because he fears that, his claim for better arrangement or pay might make him liable to physical torture or wage deprivation. Apprehensions about financial exploitation or trickery hangs over the assignment from beginning to the end. The employer often extracts extra or hazardous work without giving additional payment. On the other side, the lucky ones among the migrant workers gather a sizable sum of money to the extent of 10 or 20 thousand, with which they recover their loans or pay off mortgages, buy utensil, electronic gadgets or jewelry, or build houses in their native village. Their relative success allures the fellow villagers to follow the suit. However, not every one’s venture is crowned with success and majority returns home with broken health or horrific experiences. Consequently, it is the child that is the worst loser in this vicissitude. He cannot resume school and virtually weds himself to the fate of manual labor and drudgery for life.
Hence, it stands to reason that the rural workforce should be dissuaded from such migrations that entail discontinuation of children’s schooling. In such case, MGNREGA must be presented to people as a rewarding livelihood opportunity. Simultaneously, the local resources, both natural and human, need to be capacitated to create more or less same facilities and jobs as in the targeted towns. Ever since, we have taken up advocacy at different level for better implementation of MGNREGA and other development schemes in the district. We have been conducting sensitization meetings advising the prospective migrant workers to register their details with District Labor Officer, or at Gram Panchayat for personal safety and wage security before going outside the Page 34
district or state for work. During this quarter 26 families from 28 project villages registered their names before migrating to other states for work.
Interaction with District Collector regarding Distress Migration
We conducted two rounds of discussions with the honorable District Collector of Nuapada, Mrs. Guha Punam Kumar Naik, IAS in the month of September. After reviewing the situation, the DM assured to implement MGNREGA across the district in a larger scale. She sent instruction to the officials to make available all possible assistance to the poor people in filling in C1 forms for lodging job demands under MGNREGA. She also suggested that creating awareness at the Palli Sabha and Grama Sabha would be the first step to make MGNREGA popular among the masses. Subsequent to these discussions, CHALE CHALO began to provide facilitation at different model Palli Sabha held between 2nd and 12th of October in 16 gram panchayats of Boden block. The officials from the district administration actively cooperated in the conduct of business at these meetings. They raised different issues associated with development and appealed the villagers to check proliferation of distress migration, especially the trend of migrating for jobs to alien towns with school-going children. It was proposed to scale up MGNREGA activities in the block and speed up job allocation and wage- payment procedure to make it attractive to the villagers. In due course, CHALE CHALO shared the findings of these meetings with the District Collector and discussed measures to dissuade people from distress migration.
Regular House Hold Campaign
Our project team has been sensitizing the people to the various provisions of the Child Rights Act and the numerous benefits of enrolment of children in schools through door to door visit in all the 28 CRY supported project villages. The team members are meeting with the parents and legal guardian of children and discussing with them the various ill effects of child labor, school dropout, child marriage and distress migration. Our staffs are getting along well with village children and encouraging them to join schools. We are distributing posters and leaflets carrying information on Right to Education Act and various ICDS services among the people of all operational villages and 16 other non-project villages of the neighborhood. People have begun to welcome us to their homes and listen to our talks patiently. Through such regular campaigning, we have been able to produce significant moderation in parents’ attitude towards enrolment of children, including the girls.
Strengthening of Child Rights Clubs
We have promoted 46 child rights club in Bargaon, Khudpej, Lanji, Larka, Karlakot and Farsara GP of Khariar and Boden block of Nuapada district. Presently, the children are carrying out their routine meetings and getting involved in recreational activities with minimum facilitation provided by elders. They are listening to community radio episodes, having rehearsals for new episodes and staging the final production for recording by our technical team. For a child club member, every Sunday is a special day when they would organize debates on interesting issues, discuss child right problems, recite songs, tell stories, conduct quiz tests and play various local games. The community radio reporters like Mr. Sishu Kumar Barik, Mr. Harisankar Podh, Mrs. Saraswati Panda, Mr. Debendra Bhitriya and Mr. Rajkumar Meher have earned recognition as good organizers and facilitators of Page 35
children’s collective processes. Our project staff are keeping in regular touch with the child clubs and orienting the child leaders to various organizational procedures and skills.
Training for SMC members on School Development Plan
During the year, four training programs were conducted on the subject of ‘development of school development plan’ for the chairpersons and members of the ‘School Management Committee’ (SMC) of 25 government primary schools running within the operational area of the project. The trainings were held at Kenduguda and Darlipada village, and at the training hall of the organization at Khariar. Mr. Boldhar Nag, BRCC, Khariar, Mr. Trinath Punjee, CRCC, Khariar and Mr. Khuturam Sunani, CRY-Fellow, RTE Activist and Senior Journalist facilitated the trainings as resource persons. The resource persons stressed the importance of a sound school development plan (SDP) in the context of the RTE act. They outlined the salient features of an SDP and discussed a paradigm to adapt the plan to local conditions and requirement. A floor exercise followed when the participants working collectively drew a comprehensive SDP consistent to the RTE specifications. Mr. Ugresan Majhi, Head Master, Bhimapadar Project UP School and Mr. Jagadish Barik, Head Master Kenduguda Primary school shared their experiences of some real problems and ground realities in implementation of Right to Education provisions.
Preparation of IEC Materials on ICDS Services and RTE
The organization has designed two leaflets on provisions of Right to Education and ICDS services. The leaflets have been circulated widely among the children, students, elders, teachers, AWWs, ASHA and other service providers in the operational area for creating awareness on the respective subjects. They have also been used by the child rights club members as an awareness and campaign tool during their meetings and prabhat pheries. These leaflets have helped people to know about the services and schemes of the government and generated popular concern for safeguarding the spirit of the provisions for welfare of the masses. The organization has printed 5000 copies of leaflets in each category.
Wall writings on the Child Rights
Wall writings were carried out in Putupada and Gumabahal villages of Boden block and in Mantritarai Kala and Bhimapadar villages of Khariar block. The writings were supplemented with impressive drawings of boys and girls with symbolic gestures and appeal for recognition and dignity. The objective behind the wall writings was to popularize ideas, principles and catchwords associated with child right movement in the communities, and to facilitate peoples’ articulation of issues related to children. Many posters and leaflets were distributed in the villages as complements to growing public interest in issues relating to children’s education, health, safety, and freedom from exploitations. The publicity materials also reflected concern for distress migration of parents, non- enrolment of children and school dropout, child labor, and illegal trafficking of children.
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Interface Workshop on ICDS Services
We organized rounds of Interface workshops on ICDS services with the active involvement of CDPOs, lady sector supervisors, ANM, AWW, ASHA, community representatives and Janch (Investigation) Committee members, at Mantritarai Kala, Bheruamal, Karlakot, Bhimapadar villages and at our training and conference hall at Khariar. In these workshops the CDPOs and the lady supervisors described at length the progress achieved with respect to supplementary nutrition food program, health check-up, immunization, referral service, nutrition & health education and pre-school management. The CDPO of Boden Mrs. Droupadi Kauir, and Lady Sector Supervisors Mrs. Kalpana Raut, Achana Raut, Bedamati Khamari led several interactive discussions on issues associated with service delivery in ICDS and Anganwaris, and responded to questions raised by the janch committee members and community representatives.
Child Cultural Program (Mega Sishu Mela)
On 16th December 2012, CHALE CHALO organized a child cultural program, ‘Mega Sishu Mela’ on the premises of Upper Primary School, Khudpej. Around 203 participants consisting of children, parents, school teachers, press reporters and program staff from Boden & Khariar blocks of Nuapada district took part in the mega event. Mr. Rudra Madhab Barik, chairman, CHALE CHALO inaugurated the event with a welcome speech wherein he briefed on the aim & objectives of the sishu mela. He described the event as a platform for children who have had little opportunities to exhibit their talents for dancing, acting, singing, painting, caricaturing, story-telling and so on at any function of this dimension. He said that the event was not merely an entertainment program, but also an opportunity for children residing in remote villages with hidden talents to showcase their natural endowment.
Mr. Khuturam Sunani, CRY fellow in his speech stressed the need for creating adequate facilities in rural areas to promote talented children. He expressed his displeasure at the fact that many rural talents are dying out every year due to lack of patronization. He thanked CHALE CHALO for creating opportunities to bring such children to limelight. He also laid his hope on the role that could be taken by children community radio to bring out the best in these children and help them find recognition and sponsorship in the greater world. Mr.Tankadhar Yadav, headmaster, Panchayat High School, Khudpej described the event as a golden opportunity for the local children to demonstrate their inner abilities. He advised the parents to nurture natural endowments inherent in their children. He thanked CHALE CHALO for organizing such programs in the area. He also thanked CRY-Kolkata for supporting the community radio program. He mentioned that the radio episode ‘Mor Tune, Mor Kathani’ and the project newsletter would create enough space for the young talents to refine and sophisticate their natural abilities. After the meeting, the cultural programs were started with a devotional song by young vocal artists. Several performances by children, including dancing, singing, drama, caricature and acrobatics followed one on another moving the audience to cheer and applause. Mr. Debendra Bhitriya from CHALE CHALO coordinated the entire program. The performances were over by 5 PM, when Mr. Sishu Kumar Barik, offered vote of thanks to the chief guest and the guests of honor, invitees, children and the community representatives for their participation in the fare and encouragement to the young artists.
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Children Study tour and Exposure Visit
On 16th January 2013, a team of 18 child club representatives along with three adult guides from CHALE CHALO were taken on a tour around district level government offices to learn about the administrative systems and operation of different government offices in the district. As the tour schedule included activities like submitting appeal cards based on the children’s own observations to the public official, all the children including their parents were very happy and enthusiastic about it. The journey set forth in the early morning towards Nuapada district headquarters and was a unique experience for many who had not been to the town before. By 10 AM, the team had arrived at the district collector’s office in the district headquarters. With their appeal cards written by the team previously, the children sought permission for meeting the district magistrate, but they did not succeeded due to an emergency meeting conducted by the latter with senior officers, However, they were able to conduct meetings with several other important officials of the district administration, such as, the sub- collector, district social welfare officer, the district education officer, the chairman of CWC, and finally, the superintendent of police, with whom they had an interesting meeting. The SP welcomed the children, offered them with biscuits and toffees, and spent nearly half an hour with them. He enquired about the child rights clubs and the child community radio. He appreciated CHALE CHALO’s effort to further children rights situation in the district. Following lunch, the team went to see the Upper Jonk Irrigation Project at Patora. The children enjoyed viewing the dam site, irrigation project, landscape and sceneries, the reservoir, the floodgates and their control. They were back at CHALE CHALO’s guest house in Khariar by 8 ‘O’ clock in the evening. After reaching home each of the children prepared a resume of their study tour and submitted copies to our office. Some of these resumes have been published in the newsletter ‘Mor Tune, Mor Kathani’ to encourage young writing talents.
Publication of Child Oriented Newsletter ‘Mor Tune Mor Kathani’
We have been publishing a newsletter, ‘Mor Tune Mor Kathani’ (My Story on My Lips) on quarterly basis for child rights club members, child right promoters and listeners of child community radio program. The newsletter helps upcoming child artists by creating space for their stories, poem and drawings based on their day to day experiences. Materials and manuscripts previously broadcast under child community radio programs on All India Radio stations are also get printed on the newsletters. In addition, the newsletter also publishes fictitious stories, poems and biographical accounts related to the life of great men and women written by the children. The newsletter has been a source of inspiration for children by serving as a boost to undertake creative exercises.
Production of Child Community Radio Program ‘Mor Tune Mor Kathani’
During the year ended 31st March, our project team had produced and broadcast a total of 187 nos. of community radio episodes with the active involvement of children as artist, singer, narrator and writer of scripts. As per our community radio broadcasting arrangement with AIR, Bhawanipatna, we have been allowed a regular half-an- hour slot every Sunday between 1.20 and 1.50 PM for the serial ‘Mor Tune Mor Kathani’ (My Story on My Leaps) relating to children’s issues exclusively. We have been regularly receiving reviews and feedbacks arriving on postcards, letters and over phone from our listener in various parts of the state. Our office has received over 200 such feedbacks till date, and as reported to us by AIR officials, about 200 other have been received by them directly. Over these reviews, the listeners have valued our effort, commended child artists and pledged solidarity with us for reinforcing child right status in a district infamous for its chronic poverty and violation of child rights. Page 38
We have a team of well-trained community radio reporters who are carrying on their program recording efficiently. In search of ground realities in connection with child right issues, we have extended the scenes of action to neighboring non-operational villages within Nuapada district. We are also trying to involve child reporters to record conversations and interview in their villages. Our project team has also demonstrated excellent ability to devise interesting plots and sequences to make the best out of the recorded materials. We have also received and made use of script designs and song samples send to us by the listeners in the neighboring Balangir, Kalahandi and Nabarangpur districts. Our project team is also looking out for child talents on a regular basis, and taking measures to improve presentation skill and performance of the child artists.
Narrowcasting of Child Community Radio Program
In addition to putting our episodes on AIR, Bhawanipatna’s frequency for transmission around the state, we keep on narrowcasting the same episodes in the village where the story had been initially recorded. We employ the original recording and amplification methods to achieve the effect. Such narrowcasting retrieves the situation for the villagers who had missed it during the real-time broadcast. It makes possible to replay the material as many times as needed helping every persons involved in the production to rethink improvements to respective roles. Narrowcasting also sensitize people to the issues in a profound way and help sustain the overall sensitization process for a long time.
Others:
Involvement in the Capacity Building Training for 2nd Liners Organized By CRY
CHALE CHALO representatives attended a capacity building training program for 2nd liners organized by CRY between 27th and 29th at Puri in Odisha. The representatives actively participated in the discussions and shared their experiences of the ‘child collective processes’ as employed in organization of child clubs, community radio reporting and production of radio episodes under the children community radio program in Nuapada district. The CRY officials admired the approaches taken by us to mobilize children and commented that child collective process helped in developing inner qualities of children making them confident. Project aspects were also shared.
Participation in CCRP network
CCRP (Coalition of Child Rights Protection), a CRY initiative in Odisha for promotion of child right through collective action held a partners’ meet at Bolangir on 17th of September. Representatives of CHALE CHALO and community leaders from the operational area under children community radio program took part in the function. During the meeting, our organization made a brief presentation related to child protection issues in the context of Nuapada district and actively contributed to the discussion moving around child right status in the state.
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Involvement in the VCRO Process
We have been actively involved in the Voice of Child Rights in Odisha (VCRO) process to reduce child migration and child labor, and to provide children safe protection under the Early Child Care and Protection (ECCP) scheme. We are working to ensure that the child gets adequate early childhood care and protection through parents, legal guardians or private and public institutions functioning to that end. We have also been carrying on awareness campaign to halt proliferation of distress migration and consequent loss of schooling on the part of the child, and all other kinds of child rights violations. Campaign on ICDS and School provisions have been organized.
Participation in Children Right to Food Convention
A 20 member team representing CHALE CHALO attended the convention on children’s right to food organized by VCRO at Bhubaneswar from 27th to 29th December 2012 and given their inputs in Food Right Bill.
Participation in Children’s Right to Education
The project staff of Children Community Radio Program enrolled themselves for the TOT program organized by VCRO between 18th and 20th March 2013 at the Institute of Regional Education Center, Bhubaneswar. The training of the trainer (TOT) program made wide ranging discussions on various aspects of the right to education act. Subjects like the role of the school management committee (SMC) and preparation of school development plan (SDP) were discussed with special focus on details. Group exercises were conducted to guide the trainees through preparation of 3 years’ SDP and annual SDP. Now the trained staffs are engaged in orientating SMC members to their roles and responsibility as per the RTE provisions. They are also helping other on the methods of preparation of short and long term SDPs accommodating special community needs under them.
Cleft Lips and Palate Patients’ Surgery in Collaboration with the Operation Smile India: During the year, we organized a mega surgery camp for the cleft lips and palate patients of Nuapada district in collaboration with Operation Smile India. The mobile van campaign launched in the month of November identified 42 patients aged between 1 and 60 years. We organized a prescreening test at our meeting hall in the district on 16th November 2012 with the help of eye experts and doctors from Hi-Tech Medical College, Rourkela. Following confirmation by doctors, the patients were sent to Hi-Tech Medical, Bhubaneswar with three escorts for surgical operation. After the operation, the patients were given a week’s rest and then discharged from the hospital with smile on their face.
Budget Advocacy
CHALE CHALO has been implementing Budget Advocacy programs in Nuapada district in collaboration with Odisha Budget and Accountability Center (OBAC) of CYSD, Bhubaneswar. We have developed budget expectation documents pertaining to the education, health and agriculture sectors of Nuapada district. We have organized several budget consultations and orientation workshops in the district, and campaigned for budget increment in cases of essential services and livelihood promotions. Our organization has also been actively participating in state level programs on budget advocacy. Special community radio episodes have been developed, broadcasted and narrowcast on budget issues.
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Chale Chalo’s Esteemed Donors / Supporters / Collaborators of Development Actions for the year 2012-13
1. Local Communities and Volunteers 2. IVDT – UK 3. DFID – UK 4. CRY – Kolkota 5. WE CAN – Odisha 6. CYSD – Bhubaneswar 7. Vasundhara – Cuttack 8. VCRO – Bhubaneswar 9. Oxfam India – Hyderabad 10. Individual Donors / Sponsors / Supporters 11. Schools and Colleges 12. Smile India Foundation
We are thankful to all who have been supporting the development initiatives of Chale Chalo for bringing positive changes in the lives of the marginalized people and strengthening the sustainable development processes in remote and disaster prone areas in Odisha.