Rejuvenate India Movement Annual Report: 07-08 RIM Annual Report: 2007-08 CONTENTS • President’s Foreword……………………………………….. 2 Part 1: Movement Related Work 1. Samaj Shilpi Program: An overview………………………………………………..5 1.1 MADHYA PRADESH………………………………………………....6 1.2 RAJASTHAN…………………………………………..……………..7 1.3 Maharashtra……………………………………………………… 11 1.4. TAMILNADU……………………………………………..………….12 Part 2: RIM Tsunami Rehabilitation Activities. 2.1. QUALITY EDUCATION PROGRAM, CHILD CARE………………………21 2.2. MICRO ENTERPRISE, LIVELIHOOD, SKILL TRAINING & LAND RECLAMATION……………………………....24 2.3. COMMUNITY BASED DISASTER PREPAREDNESS……………………26 2.4. IT INFO SOLUTIONS………………………………………………..………..27 3. Financial Details……………………………………………………… 28 1 RIM Annual Report: 2007-08 President‘s Foreword It has been another eventful year in RIM towards a mass movement. It is a not a question of success or failure; it is rather a question of efforts and earnestness. When we hear the word —movement“, it often conjures up pictures of large segments of a population advocating a particular issue or an ideology. In RIM we felt that the key to movement for social change and deepening democracy lies in focusing on small groups at the community. It is only at this level that complete participation of an individual human being is even possible. There was also an understanding in RIM that by strengthening communities, mobilizing resources of communities, neighbourhoods, organizations is what would help overcome the problems of today‘s world. This means working on —attitudinal changes“, —dole Vs development“, spontaneity and inner urge to make the villagers to work on their own for their development. It has not been that easy. With limited human and financial resources, we have been striving to make a difference. Entering its 9th year, it is about time that RIM spends time introspecting and reflecting on its approach and accomplishments. Are we in the right direction? And if it is to be modified, how and what it should be? What is the change that we are seeking? Do we desire to question and change the existing values of society, bring in universally accepted human values, towards complete paradigm shift in our ”development approach‘. RIM has been started in the year 1999 to deepen democracy and equality through voluntary action by bringing Indians living across the globe. RIM has impacted 400+ villages and city slums through volunteers called Samaj Shilpis. While RIM has been formed as a network of individuals and partner NGOs working together for India‘s development, Samaj Shilpi programme has been conceptualised as —the programme“ to achieve these goals. While Samaj Shilpi fellowship programme provides excellent access & platform to work on grass root activism, to effectively link up the action with block, taluk, district and regional level issues, we need much more powerful programmes, campaigns, stronger alliances and bonding relationships. In Tamilnadu, where our Samaj Shilpi program has been successful so far, continuous questioning of approaches and changes are made. During the year 2007-08, core program areas for movement work by the Samaj Shilpis have been identified; these are education, agriculture, sanitation, Panchayat Raj Institutions(PRI), Right to Information (RTI) and Friends of the Movement (FOM). With these core program areas, Samaj Shilpis are given more thrust and work to optimise their outcomes with limited resources. 2 RIM Annual Report: 2007-08 At Marakkanam and Vanur blocks of Villupuram district, we could see some feelers towards a mass movement through voluntary efforts instead of stimulated volunteerism in the form of fellowship to Samaj Shilpis. If we succeed in this, it could be another wonderful learning for RIM as a whole. Under tsunami rehabilitation, Quality education program covering about 2000 children in Government and aided schools, community based livelihood restoration and strengthening self help groups, strengthening common property resources have been completed by March 08. Plan has included RIM‘s efforts on Quality education as one of the —Best practices on child participation“ in strengthening existing institutions. CWS may continue their partnership in the coming year as well for training inputs on organic farming, vermi compost, social infrastructure etc., We thank all those communities, government and non government functionaries, donors, governing body members, volunteers and staff for their untiring effort, faith and positive energies towards building a movement. I believe there are two crucial questions for RIM; whether we can create a paradigm of development based on a convincing articulation of universally acceptable and ecologically sustainable values. And whether these values can provide the basis for designing approaches to solve the wide range of social and ecological problems which appear to be unsolvable in the framework of today‘s society's accepted conventional wisdom. We look forward to a healthy debating, revisiting of strategies and energizing suggestions to have a more productive and empowering year ahead. Dr. H. Sudarshan President. 3 RIM Annual Report: 2007-08 PART I: Movement Related Work 4 RIM Annual Report: 2007-08 1. Samaj Shilpi Program: An overview RIM has been providing fellowship to individuals who in turn would work as change agents of the communities. The Core philosophy of RIM fellowship was to enable the communities with adequate support of —facilitation“ through trained workers called —Samaj Shilpis“. RIM Samaj Shilpi concept can be assessed as under. Positive Factors Factors to be improved Selecting the worker from the Individual qualities play a vital role same village or cluster of villages since it is individual based social and no transplantation or activism that ultimately we are importing of workers from outside. supporting. Change will not be Thus it is more a local cadre sustained unless the change agent building and strengthening i.e. Samaj Shilpis are changed or community human resource willing to change themselves. development. Getting such highly committed Network of organizations are individuals requires more pruned involved in providing mentoring selection process. support and several committed Some of the issues are larger individuals are also volunteering enough that the individuals cannot for the cause. handle them in a given geo- No thrust is being given for any political condition. particular activity but the Samaj Fund raising is an issue even Shilpis are trained to identify the where we have experienced nodal felt needs of the communities and mentor organizations are through participatory exercises. available (E.g. Rajasthan, Working through Gram Maharashtra) Panchayats, Government agencies, From the donors‘ perspective, banks and delivery departments is most of the funds are spent on an essential concept to —enable“ fellowships rather than tangible the communities from what they projects. are entitled to and deprived of. Results are slow to emerge as it is Supporting a worker is cost more process oriented. effective and proves to be very Issues at district, regional and useful in the medium run if not in taluk levels are not able to be the immediate or short run. addressed through Samaj Shilpi NRI Sponsorship has the programs. uniqueness of their participation The concept of ”stimulated which is beyond donating. voluntarism‘ itself is to be reviewed and clarified. Identification of Core Program Areas: Keeping the above mentioned factors in mind, Tamilnadu unit has identified two new add-ons to the approach. Firstly, identifying and introducing core program areas for Samaj Shilpis to work in the villages. Secondly these core program areas have to be in coherence with movement perspectives. Thirdly, it should result in ensuring effectiveness and efficiency of the Samaj Shilpis and help us to build better working relationships. Education, Panchayat Raj Institutions, Agriculture, Sanitation, Friends of the Movement and Right to Information have been identified as Core program areas. These are tested out for the first time in Tamilnadu during the year 2007-08. 5 RIM Annual Report: 2007-08 1.1 RIM MADHYA PRADESH Four Samaj Shilpis under the leadership of Yogesh Shastri were working under RIM Madhya Pradesh. Four of them have been supported by RIM for the past 7 years. Yogesh Shastri Suvarna Shastri Manish Matonkar Girish Matonkar P N Mishra Madyastha Darshan: For the last two years, the team attended several Shibirs on Jeevan Vidya (JV). Especially, Yogesh and Suvarna felt that they should start working on the lines of JV concepts. This is basically to —live it out“ for themselves. RIM fraternity wished all the best to this couple. In the last Governing body meeting of RIM held at Bangalore in February 2008, both of them made an involved presentation on JV and why and how it is attracting them to lead a life on the lines they feel to be blissful. In December 07, Dr. Satyamurty, RIM Secretary has also visited their work and stayed with them in the process of understanding Jeevan Vidya. In their search of human conscience, both Yogesh and Suvarna have left to live in Achoti, a village near Raipur. This is based on the following principles. 1. Trust in the ”Self‘ or ”I‘ 2. Feeling of acceptance for excellence 3. Harmony in intellectual capacity and personality 4. Self reliance and 5. Social in action Soil and Water conservation programme: Mr. Pemnarayan Mishra is the overall incharge of the programme. His headquarter is at KESHWAHI (in BRHAR block of SHAHDOL dist.). In 10 villages