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Community Development Project Programme Report – January to December, 2014

Submitted to U-landshjelp fra Folk til Folk, Norge

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Community Development Project Programme Report – January to December, 2014

Projects in the Programme

S. No. State Name of the Project

1 Madhya Pradesh Community Development Project Karahal

2 Delhi

Community Development Project Delhi East

3 Community Development Project Delhi North

4

Haryana

Community Development Project Panipat*

5 Community Development Project Haryana

6 Community Development Project Gurgaon

7 Bihar Community Development Project Nalanda*

8 Community Development Lucknow

*The projects have discontinued in June, 2014.

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Background

The Community Development Projects of Humana People to People India were established on

the principle of fighting with the poor. The projects are intended to provide opportunities for

developing skills, knowledge and experience of people as individuals and in groups, thus

enabling them to undertake initiatives on their own to combat social, economic, political and

environmental problems within their communities and enabling them to fully participate in a

truly democratic process. The Community Development Projects are an integrated approach of

development expressed in 10 lines of activities – covering all aspects of life, and thus

strengthening the community. The 10 lines of activities deal with long-term development,

which needs sustainable solutions to be found and implemented. A Community Development

Project is therefore, capable of changing its way of operation to seize upcoming possibilities

for cooperation with all forces pulling in the same direction – be it governmental initiatives,

companies and other organisations.

The main activities of the projects

Every Community Development Project has defined 10 lines for implementation. These 10

lines encompass various activities that are undertaken as a part of the project. To promote

people’s participation in the project, the project leader and the community members jointly

decide upon the different activities, which are to be carried out.

Line 1 – Improve the income of the family

To improve the economic development of women and create a facilitating environment for

their social transformation in the light of gender discrimination in work and the household, the

project mobilised 3,467 women to organise themselves in 139 Self Help Groups (SHGs). By

becoming a part of the SHGs, the women have developed the habit of thrift saving which has

resulted in achieving a cumulative saving of Rs.1,335,4421 (USD 226,346) out of which

Rs.7,258,823 (USD 123,031) is getting inter-loaned among the group members as loans.

Through the amount received through inter-loaning, the women are able to meet their emergent

economic needs without depending on external help. The group formation has facilitated access

to formal financial institutions, as 114 groups are operating saving accounts in various

nationalised and regional banks. For the purpose of encouraging the women to venture into

entrepreneurial activities, the projects organised a number of trainings for the group members.

The trainings focused on skill development based on the local requirements, such as

agriculture, animal husbandry, tailoring, beauty culture, handcrafted products like earrings,

artefacts made with old newspapers, clay pots, handmade envelopes, etc. As a result of the skill

development trainings, 222 women are providing tailoring and beautician services to the

community. The women are able to supplement their family income by earning Rs.2,500 (US

$ 42.38) per month on an average.

One of the primary objectives of the project is to economically empower the youth and women

in the target community with vocational skills and training so that they are capable of

contributing towards the upkeep of their family. Under the projects, 72 youth from

disadvantaged and marginalised rural and urban communities are being offered market demand

driven job oriented vocational training, such as, basic computer and data entry, advance beauty

culture training, cutting and tailoring, Basic English speaking skills, etc. For the purpose of

grooming and preparing the youth for job interviews, the projects have organised training

sessions for filling of job application forms, preparation of CVs and mock interviews. The

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projects also organised job fairs to enhance the employment opportunities of the local youth.

The job fairs assisted 66 youth in getting jobs as field officers, security officers, salesman, etc.

Line 2 – Health including HIV and AIDS

Access to quality and affordable healthcare services is one of the major concerns for people

living in remote rural areas and slums. Due to lack of knowledge, people succumb to diseases,

which are usually preventable or can be cured easily by healthy practices and by taking

balanced diets. Acknowledging the gap, the project made efforts to create awareness in the

community through organising various sessions, meetings, trainings, workshops, etc., to

promote healthy behaviour among the community members. Issues related to personal health

and hygiene, cleanliness and sanitation, importance of washing hands, common diseases,

proper handling of drinking water, immunisation, etc., were highlighted during the various

activities. The health sessions also helped in making the community aware about various

medical facilities offered by the Government hospital. 6,994 people have received the facility

of healthcare services provided at minimal cost through the health clinics operated by the

projects. The health check-up camps have reached to 6,753 people from the community with

curative and referral services (in case of serious ailments). Apart from providing general

healthcare services, the projects also reached out to the community with specialised services

pertaining to ENT (Ear Nose Throat), Dental, Eye, TB, HIV/AIDS, etc.

With the objective of enhancing the awareness level about health issues among the community

especially in young girls and women, the project formed 45 health clubs by organising 600

girls and women from the community. The members were provided training by the project staff

on common diseases prevalent in the area, RTI/STI, personal health and hygiene, balanced diet,

facilities available in Anganwadis (Government Preschools), reproductive health, importance

of safe drinking water, etc. A total of 45 mini health kits were provided by the project to one

of the club members in each group. Each kit contains antiseptic liquid, band aid, iron tablet,

soap, ointment, nail cutter and crepe bandage, for providing first aid in case of an emergency.

To make an effort for checking maternal mortality, the project endorsed the idea of institutional

delivery among pregnant women of the area. The project together with the community health

functionaries conducted regular meetings with the pregnant women and their family to make

them aware about daily care and nutrition required. The mobilisation efforts resulted in 38

pregnant women opting for institutional delivery. The projects also distributed 4,479 low cost

sanitary pads to the women and adolescent girls to encourage proper menstrual hygiene which

remains otherwise neglected due to ignorance and financial constraint.

Line 3 –Early Child Development

The project believes that education is a vital investment for socio-economic development of

the community. With the aim to build educational prowess, the projects are providing primary

education to the underprivileged, never-been-to-school and dropout children, by operating non-

formal educational centres and bridge centres. For the purpose of catapulting the children in

mainstream education, the centres groom the students in both curricular and extra-curricular

activities, so as to enable them to cope up in the formal educational institutions. Having

developed the capacity of the students to cope with the formal education system, the centres

enrol them into mainstream education.

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In addition to providing basic education, the teachers also encourage the children to practise

basic courtesies and understand their role in making the school and community a better place.

In order to promote team learning and acquaint the children with the dynamics of team work,

the education at the centre encompasses group activities that include sports, group

presentations, etc. The project emphasis on holistic development of the children is achieved by

organising exposure visits, health and hygiene camps, extra-curricular activities like dancing,

drawing, singing, etc. Tutorial support is also provided to the slow learners or to the students

who are facing difficulty in adjusting to the curriculum of formal educational institutions.

Line 4 – Children and Young people as active in the society

Kids Clubs help in moulding the behaviour and attitude of the children in the right direction.

Through regular meeting with the members of the 22 kids clubs, the project staff acquaint the

children on physical education, body language, good manners, personal hygiene and

uprightness, etc. A number of activities like sports events, drawing and painting, singing,

dancing, poetry recitation, storytelling, etc., were organised for enhancing the knowledge base

of the children.

With the purpose of sensitising the local youth about the social, political, cultural and economic

problems prevailing in their residential areas, the project has organised 1,296 youth in 144

youth groups. Through regular meetings conducted with the group members, the project

sensitised them towards the pressing issues and sought their support for providing their

contribution in the project activities. The project staff participated in the meetings and made

the youth aware of different skill development trainings provided by the project and various

skill-based trainings provided under various Government schemes.

Line 5 – People in difficult circumstances

Winters are a constant struggle of survival for the thousands of homeless people who are forced

to spend the chilling nights on footpaths, under flyovers, open grounds and even in public

urinals. For providing relief to this marginalised community, the Community Development

Project Delhi East runs four temporary night shelters and a permanent night shelter at

Mansarovar Park, Subhash Park, Kasturba Nagar. The key focus of the service is to ensure

warmth to the rescued homeless individuals. The rescue teams go out to scout for people

spending nights on the roads between 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. during winter. The team encourages

and transfers the homeless residing on the street to the nearby night shelters and they are

provided with first aid, depending on various situations. If medical attention is required,

homeless people are assisted in gaining admission in the hospitals. During winter, 801 people

have been rescued in a stretch of over one and a half months of 2014.

The benefits of a number of Government welfare schemes do not reach the intended

beneficiaries due to lack of knowledge among the target group. To bridge the gap, the project

conducted knowledge transfer sessions with 3,044 families in order to enhance their capacity

on the procedure involved for availing benefits under the schemes. The project staff also

supported 874 families to get the benefits of various social welfare schemes, such as Food

Security schemes (Food allowance to poor families), Old-Age Pension, Widow Pension,

Handicapped Pension, Ration Card, etc. The project also enrolled 338 people under the Unique

Identification Scheme, which will facilitate a smooth documentation process under various

welfare schemes.

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To inculcate the habit of saving among the slum community and facilitate provision of benefits

under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (Prime Minister Scheme for People's Wealth), the

project supported 539 individuals in the opening of bank accounts.

Line 6 – Education

The Academy believes that a literate woman can make a lot of constructive difference for the

entire society. Working in this direction, the project is running literacy classes to improve the

basic skills of vulnerable illiterate women residing in the slums so that they are able to read

and write and are able to do financial calculations, which will help them in day-to-day

budgeting, saving and investing. The timings for the sessions are adjusted as per the daily

schedule of the women so that they do not miss any sessions while getting busy in household

chores. The sessions are also utilised to provide them with information about health, sanitation,

importance of child education, safe drinking water, family planning, climate change, child

immunisation, etc. A total of 1,022 women received basic education under the project.

Line 7 – Village Development

To promote transparency and accountability in the execution of the project activities, the

project formed 36 Village Action Groups involving opinion leaders from the local community.

The project conducted monthly meetings with the groups to organise the people from the

community and initiate an integrated approach to address the common issues faced by the local

people such as limited access to education, health facilities, drinking water, information about

various welfare schemes, etc. The objective of the meeting was to mobilise the key persons and

local opinion leaders from the community to make a collective effort to devise improvements

that can be made to have a better living environment.

Acting on the social, health and economic issues related with open defecation, the project

stressed on the importance of toilet construction and mobilised the people from the community

for getting a toilet constructed in their houses. In 2014, 101 toilets were constructed in the

model villages with project contribution of Rs.3,500 (USD 60) for the construction of each

toilet. Additionally, the Community Development Project in Gurgaon took up repairing of 27

community toilets. The toilets have instilled a sense of dignity among the families, especially

among the women and young girls of the household.

Line 8 – Environment

Climate change is a challenge with diverse implications through impact on various sectors such

as agriculture, water resources, forestry and biodiversity, human health, energy and

infrastructure. No one is immune to climate change but its repercussions hit the poor a lot more

than anyone else. The projects joined hands with people from the community to contribute

towards a clean and green environment by planting 114,587 tree saplings across the project

operational areas.

Erratic and prolonged power cuts are frequent in the villages, which affects both livelihoods

and studies of the children. To address the issue, the project initiated a small step in partnership

with The Technology and Resource Institute (TERI) to illuminate the households with solar

energy. The project established 10 solar charging stations and illuminated households through

distribution of solar lanterns at a monthly rental of Rs.60 (USD 1). The initiative has enabled

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400 families to continue with their normal daily chores, which they earlier had to stop in the

absence of any source of light.

Effect of the programme

During the entire period of the implementation phase, the programme has continuously

involved the community through formation and participation of Community Based

Organisations such as Self Help Groups (SHGs), Youth Groups, Farmers’ groups, Adolescent

Girls Groups, etc., to build the social capital, integrate the community for village development

and to provide access to financial resources, besides promoting financial literacy among the

women. Self Help Groups have been playing a considerable role in enhancing the

communication level of members, self confidence among members, change in domestic

violence, frequency of interaction with outsiders, change in the saving pattern of SHG

members, involvement in decision making, achieving social justice, involvement in community

action, sustainable quality and accountability, equity within SHGs, defaults and recoveries, and

sustainability-financial value. The credit linkage of the groups with financial institutions has

reduced dependence on informal sources for their monetary needs. Moreover, the initiative has

empowered the members and instilled confidence in them to operate bank accounts on their

own. 294 youth, women and girls have acquired gainful employment after attending skill

development trainings offered by the project.

The health clinics have filled a gap in the life of the community as they were forced to travel

long distances for availing quality healthcare services or consult quacks due to financial crisis.

The health camps have helped in amplifying the reach of the project as people from nearby

areas also participated in the camps and availed of the health care facilities. The health club

members are acting as change makers for their residential areas and they are helping the project

in promoting healthy living by sharing information pertaining to health and hygiene with their

family members, neighbours and peers.

Youth in the project area are socially empowered by participating in sports activities, sessions

on personality development and access to opportunities for enhancing their skills. The youth

are contributing to community development by participating in various common and cleaning

actions. They are counselling the villagers on the importance of cleanliness. The increasing

awareness about the project in the community is resulting in enhanced people’s participation

in the project activities. The adolescent girls from the operational area have become capable of

taking informed decisions and contributing actively in the development of their community as

a result of the knowledge transfer sessions provided by the projects.

With mutual aid and collaboration with the different banks and local government department,

such as Food and Supply Department and other state departments related to social welfare, the

programme has established itself as a facilitator in the community. Around 874 people have

received direct benefits of various welfare schemes. The night rescue missions and night

shelters have provided a roof over the head of the homeless who were otherwise exposed to

deprivation, exclusion and a variety of other social and health problems. As a step towards

mitigating the effects of climate change and Global warming, the project together with the

community has planted 114,587 tree saplings.

A special emphasis was given on people’s participation and delegation of responsibilities to

the community which ensures ownership of the local people in the development process and

ultimately helps in providing sustainability to the initiatives.

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Attachment 1: The Programme in numbers - January to December, 2014

Activities Goal

2014 Results

Diff.

(-/+)

Line 1 – Improve the income of the family

No. of women’s Self Help Groups in the programme 105 139 34

No. of women in the Self Help Groups 3,215 3,467 252

No. of bank accounts to be opened with groups and

individuals 77 389 312

No. of Farmers’ Clubs in the programme 29 9 -20*

No. of members in the Farmers’ Clubs 625 105 -520*

No. of women and adolescent girls trained in cutting and

tailoring, beautician course, skill development 665 552 -113*

Line 2 – Health including HIV/AIDS

No. of people participating in Health Camps/clinics 9,260 16,013 6,753

No. of Community Health Club members empowered with

health education 40 45 5

No. of women and girl members in the Health Clubs 600 600 0

No. of patients getting curative and referral services from the

evening clinic 4,500 11,494 6,994

Line 3 –Early Child Development

No. of village Pre Schools supported 43 52 9

Line 4 – Children and Young people as active in the society

No. of Kids’ Clubs in the programme 22 22 0

No. of actions and trainings with youth 132 134 2

Line 5 – People in difficult circumstances

No. of people rescued from the street during the winter 1,000 456 -544^

No. of people benefitting from night shelters in winter 200 300 100

No. of Identity Cards distributed 150 157 7

Line 6 – Education

No. of women and girls participating in literacy trainings 850 1,022 172

Line 7 – Village Development

No. of Village Action Groups in the programme 36 42 6

No. of toilets constructed 140 146 6

Line 8 – Environment

No. of trees planted 20,000 114,587 94,587

No. of minigrids and solar charging stations installed 20 10 -10*^

No. of families benefitting from Solar Energy 1,000 400 -600*^

No of stores cooperating with the project about E-Waste 3,000 3,519 519

No. of Green Points achieved by collection of E-Waste 150,000 0 0*

* The projects in Nalanda and Panipat discontinued in June, hence the targets were not

formed, whereas the activities with E-Waste were stopped by the local partner.

^The activity is under-progress.

*^ The installation was restricted due to electrification of the proposed villages.

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Attachment 2: Case Stories

Case Story 1

My name is Malin Das, 36 years old, and I

live in the slums of Chakkarpur, Gurgaon

since past many years with my wife,

Sandhya. We work as helpers in nearby

shopping malls. We had attempted to open

a bank account in the nearby banks but

could not succeed since the banks demand

local identity proof, which we do not

possess. One day, we attended the financial

inclusion camp conducted by the

Community Development Project, where

project staff introduced the financial

inclusion scheme under Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (Prime Minister Scheme for People’s

Wealth) to many of the residents of Chakkarpur slums. Later, the project staff assisted us in

opening savings accounts in the Union Bank of India, Sarswati Vihar, Chakkarpur. We had

tried many times to open a bank account but could not succeed. However, through the project’s

support we easily opened the account. We had moved to Gurgaon to earn money but earlier we

had no secure place to save money. But now, with the bank account, we can save surplus money

as an emergency cushion against risks like illness, unemployment, economic adversity,

educational requirements and rising cost of living. We are very thankful to the project and

project staff for understanding and supporting us in fulfilling our requirements.

Case story 2

Name: - Hema Yadav Village: - Saisai Pura, Block: - Karahal, District: - Sheopur (MP)

One day, I participated in a meeting at the

Anganwadi Centre, which was organised by

Humana People to People India in Karahal. In

the meeting, the field officer described the

benefits of a toilet and how to construct it. I

was inspired and visited the local Mason

Rajbhan Singh to complete the construction

work on the toilet supported by the Village

Council. Soon my toilet was completed.

Before, we were going for open defecation

and faced problems of mosquito bites, and

illness related to it. In the rainy season, we

could not find a place to defecate and the old and the sick in the family always faced problems.

Now, my family is using the toilet, and all are very happy to get rid of our problems. I thank

the project team of HPPI for their support.

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Attachment 3: Recommendation Letter

Translation:

Office of Gram Panchayat Yusuf Nagar (Bagiyamau),

Block – Sarojini Nagar, District – Lucknow, U.P.

This is to certify that Humana People to People India, under the Community Development

Project is working in our village for making our community self-dependent through conducting

trainings on stitching, Computer and English language. Health Camps and workshops are

organised by the organisation to provide medical services and create awareness among the

community. The organisation has created awareness among the people from the community by

organising them into groups (SHGs, Youth group, Adolescent girls group).

We appreciate the work undertaken by the organisation and hope that the organisation will

continue to provide its services to the community.

s/d Ramesh Chandra,

Village head, Gram Panchayat Yusuf Nagar (Bagiyamau),

Block – Sarojini Nagar, District – Lucknow, U.P.

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Attachment 4: Media Highlights

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Attachment 5: Pictures from the project

The community has taken pledge to take care of

the tree saplings planted by them

Literacy classes have enabled women and girls

to take informed decisions

Skill trainings have economically empower the

youth and women

Access to toilets have resulted in maintaining

hygenic condiutions

400 households have been illuminated with

solar energy

The Health camps have facilitated provision of

specialised healthcare sevices

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Job fairs have eased the access to gainful

employment

The projects believe in holistic development of

the underprivileged children

Health clinics are providing quality and

affordable healthcare services

Regular meetings have helped in building the

capacity of the adolescent girls

The local youth are participating together with

the project in organising various activities

Access to financial resources have enabled the

women to become self-reliant