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AS THE SALT IN THE SEA The story of Project ACCESS Mina Swaminathan and L. S. Saraswathi M. s. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai MSSRF/MG/03116 August 2003 Citation Swaminathan, Mina and Saraswathi L.S. As the Salt in the Sea The Story of Project ACCESS M.5.5waminatha n Research Foundation 2003 ,Editor : Gita Gopalkrishnan Cover Design and Layout : C. Arumugam Illustration : N. Bindhumalini M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation III Cross Street Taramani Institutional Area Chennai - 600 113. Tel 91 - 44 - 22541229 / 22541698 Fax 91 - 44 - 22541319 E-mail [email protected] Printed by: AMM Screens, Chennai CONTENTS For eword -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- v Pref ace --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vi i A b b rev ia tion 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ xii GERM INATI0 N 1991-1994 ------------------------------------------------------ 001 At the Micro Level------------------------------------------------------------------------ 006 Government Support for Child Care Facilities ---------------------------------- 007 Getting Parents Involved ------------------------------------------------------------- 008 Child Care is a Women's Issue ----------------------------------------------------- 012 Engaging with Industry --------------------------------------------------------------- 015 The Second Stage ----------------------------------.--------------------------------------- 018 Entering the Training Field ----------------------------------------------------------- 019 Action and Research Go Together------------------------------------------------- 021 At the Macro Level ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 023 Bringing FORCES to Tamil Nadu --------------------------------------------------- 023 The Human Element ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 026 DEVElOPMENT 1993-1997 ----------------------------------------------------- 031 Networking Takes Root ------------------------------------------------------------------ 038 The Bal Sevika Convention --------------------------------------------------------- 041 The Southern Regional Network --------------------------------------------------- 046 The Research Network --------------------------------------------------------------- 048 Advocacy is the Next Step ------------------------------------------------------------- 056 Support for Mothers and Children ------------------------------------------------- 057 Burden on the Preschool Child ----------------------------------------------------- 060 Taking Child Care Services to the Grassroots ---------------------------------- 063 Using Communication as the Tool------------------------------------------------- 064 Research Grounds the Project--------------------------------------------------------- 067 How do Women Cope?--------------------------------------------------------------- 068 Other Research Themes -------------------------------------------------------------- 070 Communication Spreads the Word --------------------------------------------------- 072 Sensitising the Media ----------------------------------------------------------------- 072 Meeting Project Needs --------------------------------------------------------------- 078 Capacity Building for ECE Skills------------------------------------------------------- 084 Heartbrea ks with Government ----------------------------------------------------- 085 Encouraging Results with Other Sectors ----------------------------------------- 091 The Seed is Sown ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 095 iii Resource Materials are Effective----------------------------------------------------- 097 Guides for Teachers------------------------------------------------------------------- 097 Toys as Aids to Learning ------------------------------------------------------------- 100 And Stories Too ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 102 Train ing Teachers through Film ----------------------------------------------------- 104 Beyond COT A ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 107 The SURAKSHA Series --------------------------------------------------------------- 107 Two New Issues------------------------------------------------------------------------ 111 Relations with National FORCES-------------------------------------------------- 113 Handing Over Charge ---------------------------------------------------------------- 115 The People Who Made It Work -------------------------------------------------------- 117 CO N SO LIDATION 1998-2 001 ------------------------------------------------- 123 Research Becomes Central ------------------------------ ...---------------~-------------- 130 Caring for Infants ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 133 Rating Quality in ECE----------------------------------------------------------------- 133 What are the Costs of ECD?----------------------------------~---------------------- 140 Three More Studies -------------------------------------------------------------------- 142 Systematic Communication Grows -------------------------------------------------- 145 The Young ChiId (0 t03) --------------------------------------------------------------- 147 Advocacy Materials for ECE-------------------------------------------------------- 150 Survival of the Girl Child ------------------------------------------------------------ 152 Multiple Roles of Women ------------------------------------------------------------ 154 Reaching People's Representatives ----------------------------------------------- 156 Widen ing the Spread ----------------------------------------------------------------- 158 Capacity Building at New levels -----------------------------------------------------162 Evolution of the Trainers' Network ------------------------------------------------ 162 Getting to a Marginalised Group -------------------------------------------------- 171 Strengthening Local Governance ------------------------------------------------- 173 Links with Others ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 176 With Old Friends ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 176 With the Parent Institution ----------------------------------------------------------- 179 Once More, the Human Element -----------------------------------------------------182 looking Back and looking Forward ------------------------------------------------- 190 In Retrospect ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 194 Refer e n c e s ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------197 About the Authors ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 201 About the Contributors --------------------------------------------------------------------- 202 iv Foreword I have great pleasure in introducing this extraordinary book about an extraordinary project. In my professional career of over 50 years, I have come across very few programmes like ACCESS,which has accomplished so much in so many dimensions in such a short span of time and with so little money. Project ACCESShas been an exciting adventure in confronting what I consider to be one of the most critical concerns of our country: an understanding of the issues relating to care of the child and the social recognition of the psychological, physical, and institutional support needed by the mother. I have watched with great interest the birth and growth, initially, of DACCS(Development of Alternative Child Care Strategies) and, later, COTA (Children on the Agenda) andORS (Operation Resource Support) within ACCESS.I therefore share the views of those like Ms. Bhuvaneswari who feel "Project ACCESShas carved a niche for itself and it cannot close." I know the work will continue in a variety of ways, but more importantly, from the viewpoint of the Foundation, through the Uttara Devi Centre for Gender and Development, of which Mina is the Honorary Director. Dr.Jayashree Vencatesan has captured this evolution in the following words. If I were to represent the work of Project ACCESSin diagram, first, it was like a small child and woman, then it went on to become a woman and a child, then it went on to become a man, a woman and a home, then it eventually became gender and development programmes. Project ACCESShas brought out powerfully the message of child care as a woman's issue. As pointed out in this book, when a woman says,"1quit working because I needed to take care of my child," society accepts it as the natural instinct of a mother. This is obviously not enough-there is need for the involvement offather and family, society and state, if children are to be born for happiness and not just for existence. Lamenting the gender divide in his own way, Mahatma Gandhi said in 1920:"Man is born of woman; he is flesh of her flesh and bone of her bone. Come to your own and deliver your message again. Let us tear down the purdah with one mighty effort"This book is an authoritative reminder of that message. I do not wish to repeat what is contained in this absorbing account of the philosophy and outputs of a project that touches the very fundamentals of human life and behaviour. I would, however, like to quote