Village Upliftment Programme 18-Month Update Vasanthanadai, Tamil Nadu, India

Village Upliftment Programme 18-Month update Vasanthanadai, Tamil Nadu, India

Tailoring Training to the villagers

Submitted to

Pharmarelations AB

Submitted By

Hand in Hand India

August 2020 Introduction

Address: Hand in Hand India, SEED Trust Training Centre, Nasarathpet Village, Opp Pachayappa’s Men’s College, Little Kancheepuram, Kancheepuram District 631 503, Tamil Nadu, India Phone: +91-44-420 293 60 • Fax: +91-44-272 693 01E-mail: [email protected] • Web: www.hihindia.org

Thank you for your support of Vasanthanadai Panchayat. Please find below the 18-month report covering successful stories of people benefiting from Hand in Hand India’s (HIH India) interventions as well as challenges in implementing the programme.

Empowering people

Vasanthanadai is situated in Anaicut block of Vellore district in Tamil Nadu. Eighteen months ago, HIH India introduced the Village Upliftment Programme-VUP in the panchayat. Since its launch, the VUP has implemented interventions in the areas of self-help-group and microfinance, and Child Labor Elimination Program (CLEP). The integrated development approach has not only brought out a progressive change but has also laid the path for a better quality of life for villagers in Vasanthanadai Panchayat.

Women Empowerment and Job Creation

Poverty affects women and children the most. Illiterate poor women in rural India have, for long, confined themselves to the conventional way of life — household chores, working as labourers, or assisting in family-based enterprises. By forming self-help groups and providing affordable microcredit they are now away from the web of poverty in Hand in Hand India’s self-help groups (SHGs) and microfinance programme has helped poor women emerge from a cocoon existence and carve out an identity of their own. With the backing of the microfinance programme, women have received business training, and enterprise creation initiatives and marginalised women have emerged as change agents in their communities. Based on the need, Hand in Hand India also conducts skill training to self-help group women. For many women, the SHG programme has given them the life of hope, dignity, and choice. Women receive microfinance loan to create and strengthen their family based enterprises and some women were linked with banks to receive loans.

A Petty Shop Crafted The Path For A Big Dream!

Life has never been a bed of roses for many. Saraswathi, aged 48 is no exception to this phrase. She was born in a family, who struggled a lot to make ends meet. Hailing from Vasanthanadai, this ambitious woman is an example of how strong will and determination can lead to success. She lives with her Saraswathi in her petty shop husband and two children. Her husband is engaged in farming, which does not yield much to run the family. This was a crucial time for her since she had to take care of her two children. So she decided to think outside the box and look for ways to generate some additional income. Being an active member of Bhavani SHG of Hand in Hand India, she was able to avail a loan of INR 30,000 to start her own petty shop. Now, she makes about INR 15,000/- per month through her petty shop enterprise. She sells all types of essentials that come as a blessing in disguise for the village people, who otherwise had to travel far to buy things. Being an empathetic person, she gives credit to those in need.

With a thankful heart, Saraswathi says, “I never thought I could run a shop on my own. I was skeptical at first; nevertheless I was determined to give it a try. Now, I am satisfied that I can support my husband in some way. I have plans on expanding my petty shop in the future. I am grateful to Hand in Hand India for this timely support”

Small Investment Big Profit – The success story of Ranjani

Ranjani, aged 48 is a hardworking woman who hails from Vasanthanadai village. She belongs to Muthumani SHG of Hand in Hand India. Just like every other woman in the village, she relies solely on her husband’s income for running the family. Her husband, Sankar is a retired army serviceman. The pension amount that he received was insufficient to handle the sudden expenses the family had to incur. To cope with the increasing expenses, Ranjani had to think of other ways to yield some income to support the family. To put her plan into action, she decided to start backyard poultry farming. She availed a loan of INR 30,000 for starting her own small chicken farm. Her hard work finally paid off as she was able to gain an income of INR 20,000 by selling meat, chicken and eggs on a seasonal basis.

Ranjani in her poultry Farm

When asked about her amazing journey, Ranjani replies, “I was just like everyone else, cocooned within the four walls of the house. But then, I wanted to do something different and took this path to gain success. I owe my heartfelt gratitude to Hand in Hand India for aiding me in my time of need”

Sowing the Seeds of Fortune

It is an undeniable fact that the women of today are chartering unknown boundaries in a quest for success. Being a tough survivor by nature, women have always succeeded in everything they put their mind and heart into. One such motivating story of transformation comes from the village of Vasanthanadai. Mohana Priya, 35 years old is an active Mohana Priya in her Jasmine Field member of Myna SHG of Hand in Hand India. Her husband, Palani is a farmer by profession. Both faced a lot of hardship as the income generated could not suffice the growing needs of the family. Having two children to take care of, Mohana Priya wanted to lend a helping hand to support her husband. It was at this time, she seeked help from Hand in Hand India and availed a loan of INR 50,000 for cultivating jasmine flowers (50 cents). She now sells jasmine flowers for INR 30 to 40 per kg and makes INR 5000/month. The amount she gains from the yield has helped her run the family smoothly without any hassle.

With a joyful heart, Mohana says, “Life had been difficult for our family as we did not get the anticipated income through farming. Now, with the support of Hand in Hand India, I am able to yield a profitable income through flower cultivation. I warmly render my gratitude to the organization for their valuable and timely support”

Leveraging Income through Goat Rearing

Vanitha, aged 28 is an inspiration to other women in her village. She is an active member of Vazhaga Valamudan SHG. Unlike others who rely on their husbands for support, she decided to be different and lend a helping hand to him. A humble mother of three children, Vanitha had experienced many hurdles in her life. Her husband, Selvamani Vanitha with her goats works as a daily wage labor. With the amount in hand, it was a herculean task to support the family. To make things better, she availed a loan of INR 30,000 from Hand in Hand India for buying four goats. She takes good care of the goats by feeding them only the best food. She sells the goats to nearby vendors for meat and other purpose. Through this, she makes about INR 7000 to 10000 based on the demand from the buyers. She plans on starting her own goat farm in the future and earn a profitable income. “Life is tough when you have a big family to support. Earlier, it was difficult for us to run the family as my husband could make only a small amount from the labor work. Now, with the support of Hand in Hand India, I am able to support my husband and my family. I thank them for aiding me in my time of need”

Financial Gearing through Cow Rearing!

Sumathi (38), who belongs to Vasanthanadai village, is a member of Myna self-help group run by Hand in Hand India. She lives with her husband, Elumalai who is a farmer by profession. Due to seasonal changes, the yield was less which resulted in low income. Since the family cannot rely on the meagre amount for support, she decided to Sumathi with her cow step in to support her husband. With the timely help from Hand in Hand India, she availed a loan amount of INR 30,000 for buying a cow. Now, she has a cow, which she handles with love and care. She provides only the best feed to ensure that the cow is hale and healthy. By selling milk to nearby villages and milk stores, she makes about INR 5,000 per month.

“We struggled a lot during the early stages of our life. Due to unfavorable weather, the yield was not stable. The amount we gained was just enough to handle our basic needs. The loan from Hand in Hand India came as a blessing in disguise. I owe my gratitude to the entire team” says Sumathi with a warm smile on her face.

Income Generation through Pickle Business

There was a time when rural women were confined within the four walls of the house. Now, the scenario has changed and they have set foot in the path of becoming an entrepreneur. One such motivating story of change comes from the village of Vasanthanadai. Indira (55) is a living example of how a woman can be of great support to her husband. In the early days, both Indira and her husband, Kumar suffered a lot to run the family. They were making meagre income through a small pickle sale. Indira decided to go one step further and start her own enterprise. Being an active member of Working Women’s Self Help Group, she availed a loan

of INR 30,000 to start her own family-based enterprise. She started making pickles and sold them in large numbers to the people in her village, army soldiers and others nearby. On an average, she sells about 10 to 25 pickle bottles. Indira while preparing pickle Through this small enterprise, Indira makes about INR 20,000 /month. She says, “We faced a lot of hardship during the early stages of business. Now, with the support of Hand in Hand India, we are able to gain a steady income and support our family. I plan on doing a wholesale pickle business in the near future. My sincere thanks to the organization for lending a helping hand in time of need! Sewing her Way for a Fruitful Future!

Poverty and pain has been the part and parcel of life for the poor. Unprivileged rural women, who solely rely on their families for support are no exception to this phrase. Stuck within four walls, they have no window to the outside world. Lakshmi, aged 34 was leading such a life, relying on others for Lakshmi while stitching cloths support. She comes from a family of poor financial background. Her husband, Vadivel is a mason by profession, who works very hard to earn a decent wage. The amount he gets as income was never enough to handle the expenses of the family. Lakshmi, taking the current situation into account decided to turn a new leaf. She became a part of Olivilakku SHG of Hand in Hand India, which organized

different activities for supporting vulnerable women in the village. Through this, she came to know about the tailoring training course conducted in her village. She actively participated and completed the course in flying colors. After completion of the training, she bought a machine and started stitching clothes from her home. Now, she happily earns about INR 3000 per month based on the orders she receives. “I have always wanted to provide everything for my two children, but I couldn’t do anything. Now, I can support my family and provide a comfortable life with the amount I earn. My heartfelt gratitude to Hand in Hand India for the training” When Rural Flour Mills Echo the Sound of Success!

“Where there is a will, there is a way”. Saraswathi (39) lives by this example. She hails from Vasanthanadai and is an active member of Vennila SHG of Hand in Hand India. Her spouse, Ramalingam grinds flour and sells it for making a considerable income. This could never suffice the expenses of the family as it kept piling up. Saraswathi decided it was time to make a difference and support her husband to gain additional income. In order to kick-start her career dream, she availed a loan of INR 40,000 from Hand in Hand India and started a mini flour mill. Her determination and the will to succeed paid off! Now, this energetic woman Saraswathi in her mini flour mill makes INR 10,000 by grinding Wheat, rice, and chilli. When asked about her transformation, she happily replies, “I have always wanted to support my husband with his regular chores. Since I have studied only till 6th, I could not go for work outside. Now, I am supporting my husband with the amount I

get through the flour mill. I have plans for purchasing new equipment and expanding my enterprise. My sincere thanks to Hand in Hand India for this change”

Leveraging Income through Tailoring

Jayamary, along with her husband and two children hails from the charming village of Vasanthanadai. She is 37 years old and is an active member of Vazhga Valamudan SHG of Hand in Hand India. Her husband, Karunanidhi is a plumber by profession. Her husband could not support much to run the family as his income was based on the orders Jayamary stitching cloths in her home he received. This being the case, there were times when they had to struggle to cope with the sudden expenses that hit hard. It was at this juncture, Jayamary came to know about the tailoring training conducted by Hand in Hand India. Seeing a way out of the misery, she actively took part in the training and learnt all the basic things related to tailoring. On completion of the training, she started stitching clothes from home and gained income. Now, she earns about INR 2500 per month, which may increase based on the orders in the future.

“Earlier, I was dismayed since I could not help my husband. Seeing him struggle to run the family really bothered me a lot. So I decided to take up the tailoring training and support him, even if it’s a little that I could do. Now, I feel happy that I am able to lend a helping hand to my husband. I sincerely thank Hand in Hand India for providing the training and changing my life” says Jayamary with a thankful heart.

Child Labour Elimination Programme-CLEP

"Making a “Child Friendly Panchayat” is the primary focus, where all 6 to 14 year old children are in school. Hand in Hand India creates awareness on Child Rights and child protection. Also trains School Monitoring Committee (SMC) members on Right to Education (RtE) and monitoring 100% children enrollment in school, providing quality education by the teachers and general function of the school. Hand in Hand India works with such committees and provides them capacity building training for regular and effective functioning.

Awareness camps are conducted using programs like rallies, street plays, dance and theatre workshops, poster campaigns etc., to motivate the community to minimize child labor, strengthen education, and regularly send children to school."

Students Friendly Safe Mode Urinal System’ installed by Hand in Hand India through Village Upliftment Programme

Background The Government Middle School at Vasanthanadai panchayat of Anaicut block in Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, India accommodates 200 boy students. The school had two urinal spaces in the same ground as that of the school premises. Both the spaces were not conducive for urinating as they were constructed with only four walls covered and no sinks were installed as separate urinals. The Unhygienic Urinal space used by the students students were un-hygienically urinating in the covered walls without any basic facilities. Even their shoes were covered with droplets of urine, which created a lot of discomfort. Students hesitated to use the urinal due to unhygienic conditions.

Due to this, many students fell sick which was noted by the School Head Master, who expressed the difficulties of the students to Hand in Hand India. Hand in Hand India’s initiatives The unhygienic situation faced by the students was observed by Hand in Hand India’s Village Uplift Programme (VUP) team as they were working in the panchayat through VUP Sweden funding. The team primarily initiated the process after discussion with the school headmaster, management committee and the students. They provided inputs on making Initiation of installing urinals by the students 'Students' Friendly Safe Mode Urinal System' and the students who volunteered themselves actualized it with the tuned support from Hand in Hand India’s VUP team. Low-cost urinal tanks were constructed from disposable water cans with the Installing urinals by the students support of school students, teachers and the villagers. The students are now relieved from the unhygienic practice created at the urinal space as the same space has been turned into a more hygienic one.

Completion of the installation of Urinals by the students

A local newspaper, ‘Dinamalar’ has captured the below innovative method in its daily coverage on 21st July, 2019.

Challenges and lessons

 Community gathering was a great challenge faced by the HiH India’s staff members but forthcoming month’s people integrated and realized the values of HiH India’s interventions.  Village families require more than one livelihood opportunities for their subsistence as their major livelihood options are seasonal and become risky. FURTHER PLAN OF ACTION

- Strengthening Cluster Level Network (CLN) - Social audit exercise - Working towards sustainability mechanism

FUTURE REPORTS & INDIA CONTACT

We look forward to submitting the 24 month report in January 2021 and the final 30-month report in July 2021. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] or +91 9500041800. Thank you for your generous support to Hand in Hand India.