GLOSSARY OF TERM S USED
UNICEF United Nations Children Fund
PECL Programme for Elimination of Child Labour
PEPCR Preventing Exploitation and Protecting Children’s Rights NGO Non-governmental Organisation
SV K Shramika V ikasa Kendram MDG Millennium Development Goal SHG Self-Help Group
MMS Mandala Mahila Samakhya
MPTC Member – Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency
SC Scheduled Caste
V O V illage Organisation OSC Out-of-School Children SMC School Management Committee CPC Child Protection Committee
MPDO Mandal Parishad Development Officer IKP Indira Kranti Patham
SI Sub-Inspector
MRO Mandal Revenue Officer
CDPO Child Development Project Officer RTE Right to Education
WOMENS GROUPS AND CHILD RIGHTS: Experiences from Integrated Child PRotectioni Programme of Kurnool District
THE BACKGROUND
Adoni Revenue Division of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh is one of the most b a c kwa rd a re a s i n the entire State. The entire division is drought prone and is also industrially underdevelo ped wi t h n o major industries. Irregular monsoons and unavailability of livelihood opportunities locally have resulted in distress migration. Families migrate en masse to seek wage employment in nearby Bellary a n d f a r off places such as Bengaluru, Guntur and Hyderabad. Hundreds of children drop o u t o f sc h o o l a nd accompany their parents, who are unwilling to take them along but cannot afford to do so in the absence of an alternative. The children are consequentially deprived of their ri g h t s t o h e a lt h, f o od, education and protection.
There is another dimension to the problem of migration. Gender bias is explicit in most villages o f t h e project area. The social status of girls and women is inferior to that of t h eir m a le c o u nt erp art s a n d they often lack the freedom to intervene in issues that influence their welfare or future. Girls are usually withdrawn from school soon after they attain puberty and are either put to work or are married.
More often than not, m igrant parents are driven by their insecurity to marry their daughte rs off underage in violation of their rights.
It is against this background that UNICEF launched its integrated child protection programmeintegrated child protection programme in Adoni Division from June 2009 on, in partnership with NGOs having prior exposure to children’s issues. SVK was invited to implemented the projec t in 6 mandals in 2 phases. The development objectives of the project were to:
Achieve Universal Education (MDG #2)
Promote Gender Equity and Women Empowerment (MDG - #3)
Achieve Millennium Declaration on Child Protection
The specific objectives to be met by the project at the end of five years were as follows:
75% of the children in the 6-14 years in the project area to be in school
Adolescent girls (with priority to former child workers) to be equipped with skills so t h a t t h e y can make informed decisions on their future livelihoods and careers
Formation of collectives for young people which function as a common platform and facilit a te dialogue with key influencers and policy makers on issues affecting their lives
Women to become leaders having been trained and equipped with appropriate skills, information and confidence to empower them politically and economically
Upper Primary Schools have quality package training and child protection indicators in place The table and diagram that follow capture details of SVK’s project area under the intervention:
While the project implemented a comprehensive programme for the p re v en tio n a n d re d u ca tio n o f child labour and child marriages, this report tries to capture the specific strategy of the project in terms of empowering SHGs on range of children issues with specific focus on prevention of child labour and child marriages and SHGs can play critical role in the empowerment of adolescent girls.
P r oject Area
Mandal Panchayats Habitations Total
Maddikera 7 4 11
Pathikonda 15 12 27
Tuggali 19 31 50
Gonegandla 20 8 28
Mantralayam 17 5 22
Nandavaram 14 11 25
Total 92 71 163
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INTERVENTIONAL STRATEGY
SVK has had rich experience in working with women’s self-help groups in the past. The organisational functionaries noted during the course of their interactions with various stakehol d e rs su c h a s y o u t h , adolescent girls, SHGs and local institutions that SHG members were most proactive. However, though they were actively involved in thrift and credit activity and also had good entrepreneurial skil l s, the women had not been focusing equally on education, child labour and child marriage. Their primary agenda was to secure their financial position and these issues often assumed se c o n d p ri o ri ty . T he daughters of hundreds of SHG members were out of school and either working or married unde ra ge . The volunteers subsequently embarked upon an interventional strategy with three comp one nt s, v i z . Building Capacities, Social Mobilisation and Networking, to work towards the project goal.
KEY INTERVENTIONS
Building CapacitiesThe village volunteers regularly participated in SHG meetings and facilitated intera c tiv e d isc u ssi o n s on child labour, gender- and caste- based discrimination, child marriage and high incidence of dropout among girls. They informed the members that there were two dimensions to development – economic and social , and that the developmental process would not be complete without addressing th ese issues. The volunteers held brainstorming sessions to initiate a debate and advised t h e m emb ers t o focus equally on their children, as Investing in their future was the best form of investment.
Convincing the women was not an easy task and n ot much response was forthcoming from the m initially with most of them stating that they were forced by poverty to send their children to work. Some of them opined that there was no use educating their daughters, as they would eventu ally le av e t h e household after getting married. They preferred preparing them for marital life. The volunteers identified active members of the MMS and the Mandal Mahila Action Groups and m a d e u se o f t h e ir services to reach out to these women. Issues that were unresolved at the SHG level were d i sc u sse d with these members during their mandal level meetings and plans of action chalked to address them.
The staff members noted during the course of their work with the members that most women Sarpanchs, MPTCs and ward members were not in a posi tion to discharge their responsibilities effectively either because they lacked the necessary skills or because local leaders/male members o f their households had been influencing their decisions. This phenomenon was n o t e d m a inly a mon g women from the SC community. Regular meetings were convened with t he wo m en a nd t he y we re given detailed inputs on the provisions of the Panchayat Raj Act and on their duties as elected representatives. They were urged to exercise their powers and act independently.
The efforts put in under the intervention have largely succeeded in promoting community ownership of the project. SHG members have included child labour and child marriage on t h e o f f icia l a ge nda o f their meetings and have been regularly updating the status of these indicators in some villages. T h e y have also grown aware of the importance of education and many of them have come forward to educate their children even though they cannot afford it. An entire generation of first generation learners has emerged as a resul t.
The stories of Varalakshmi and Lakshmi Karvancha from Nalakadoddi bear testimony t o t h e i mpa c t that the capacity building sessions have had on SHG and VO members.
Jour ney from cottonseed farm to college – the stor y of Pranitha
Commented [MKM1]: Write a paragraph about the SHG movement in AP, Kurnool, presence of SHGs in proect mandals etc.
Bathina Pranitha, the 21-year old daughter of Varalakshmi and Yugandhar from Nalakadoddi in Pathikonda mandal had studied up to Class 6 in the same village, when financial con st ra i nt s f o rc e d them to withdraw her from school in 2005. They were keen on continuing her education but could n ot afford it, as she would have to travel to another village. They subsequently put her to work in a cottonseed farm, where she was employed of four years. Long years of work took its toll on her health and she grew weak. She was often reminded of her past and yearned to return to sc h o o l. S h e wa s, however, too old and her parents also couldn’t afford her education.
It was around mid-2011 that Varalakshmi participated in a village meeting convened by the VO. Upo n being informed that her daughter could appear for the Class 10 exams through Open stream, she g o t the girl registered with the Open School Society. Pranitha cleared her exams in March-April 2011 and later got a scholarship to pursue her Intermediate level education full time in Nandyal. She progressed by steps and got admitted to a B. Sc programme in Tuggali mandal. She managed a sponsorsh i p f o r her college education as well. She wants to study well and dreams of getting employed wi t h a b an k.
She does not want to get married before settling in a career because she feels it would otherwise be a waste of her education.
SHG member withdraws daughter from work to educate her
35-year old Lakshmi Karvancha, an SHG member from Nalakadoddi used to attend gro up m e et ing s regularly. The members used to discuss savings, loans, self-employment schemes and their financ ial problems but rarely focused on child labour, their daughters’ education or child marriage, as they h a d never considered them to be serious issues. Lakshmi had withdrawn her own daught er f ro m sc h o o l after she had passed out of Class 7 and had sent her to work in a chilli farm in Guntur during 2008. A team of community volunteers identified her case and convened a series of meetings wi t h m e mb ers of the SHG. They highlighted the need for the participants to educate their daughters and called upo n some members of the Balika Sangha to share their experiences.
Lakshmi was greatly influenced by the girls’ presentation and all but decided to se n d h e r d a u gh te r back to school. She was, however, in a fix because she would lose valuable income if the girl ce ase d to work. She eventually weaned her daughter off work and sent her to school in June 2010. She cannot explain why she took this decision but replies that she is glad whenever she see s a sm i l e o n her daughter’s face when she returns from school in the evening. It is worth a million rupees to her.
SHG, VO and MMS members were encouraged to contest elections held to loc al b o die s i n A n d hra Pradesh during mid 2014. More than 400 women came forwa rd and 152 of them succeeded in winning the polls, the details of which are as under:
W omen winning local body elections Mandal Sarpanch Ward Member MPTC
Maddikera 3 6 5
Pathikonda 10 21 8
Tuggali 9 18 9
Gonegandla 11 8 5
Mantralayam 9 7 6
Nandavaram 7 6 4
Total 49 66 37
Social M obilisation
VO and MMS members placed special focus on addressing the issue of child marriage and child labour. They identified potential cases of child marriage and brought them up for discussion with th e i r mothers during SHG meetings and MMS meetings. Hardcore cases were referre d t o t h e Wo m a n &
Child Welfare Department. The members also rallied against child marriage and sent ac ro ss a c l e a r message that it was illegal to perform/abet child marriage. They personally counselled the pare n ts o f these girls in addition. SHG members periodically updated lists of child labour at the village lev el a n d shared them with officials of the Revenue Department. They also made representations to them, demanding action against erring parents and employers.
Members of the SHG, VOs and the MMS played an active role in mobilising pare n ts f o r t h e S c h o o l Reopening Day on 12th June, which is also observed as World Day against Child Labour. They m a de elaborate arrangements for the event, cl eaning and decorating schools on the occasion. They cooked special midday meals at their own expense in some schools. VO and MMS members h e l d m e et ing s on the evening of the previous day to discuss plans of action. SHG members went around their respective villages to identify out-of-school children and brought them to school. Lists of childre n t ha t had not enrolled in school were read out in public and their mothers motivated to send them to school.
Teachers and children were formally invited to school.
VO member s lead by example
63-year Saraswati from Jonnagiri in Tuggali mandal is a member of Triveni VO and has been associated with the group for more than 20 years. She has dedicated her life to village d e ve lop men t and has earned the goodwill of the entire village. Also an ASHA (Accredited So cia l He a lt h A c t iv ist ) Worker, she had married her daughter off at the age of 15 but realised that early marriage has negative implications for the health of the girl child and began counselling parents in this regard . S h e held a protest at the Police Station along with the members of her VO demanding legal action again st those guilty of abetting /performing child marriage after a young g irl a g ed 1 6 y e ars wa s wi d o we d followed her husband’s untimely death within a year of their marriage. She has personally m otiv ated more than 15 dropouts to resume their education. At least 5 of these children have bee n su p p o rt in g the campaign against child labour. She proudly declares that all 38 children aged 9 -14 years from h e r fellow members’ families are in school.
Gayatramma, a member of Pratibha VO – one of 40 VOs that operate in the villa ge , h a s a l so b e e n playing an active role in the movement to provide all children with opportunities of education. At l ea st 10 children from families of her fellow members had been engaged in different fo rm s o f wo rk i n t h e past. She and some other members of the VO had taken up an intensive drive to bring b ac k m o st o f them to school. The children’s parents had been claiming that they were to o p o or to e d uc ate the ir wards. Some of them came up with the lame excuse that they had none to care for their infants.
Gayatramma had pointed out to them that a fate similar to theirs awaited their children if they d i d n o t study. This convinced them and a number of them not only sent their children to school b u t a lso g o t enrolled in Adult Education programmes. She and the other members visit the school at least o n c e a day and keep track of children’s presence in school.
Another member Sulochana sums up that education is the best form of investme nt a nd t ha t sa v i ng money is nothing in comparison to gaining knowledge. She opines th a t kn o wl e d g e i s t h e u l t imat e destination of human life. It is not sufficient to just get an education – it is more importan t to u se th i s education for the common good.
These women have initiated a process of social change that would hopefully transform the village before long.
SHG members have become more sensitive to their daughters’ educational, h ea lth a nd n utri tio nal needs and have also realised that early marriage is not only a gross violation of th eir ri g h ts b u t c a n also render their future uncertain. They have not only postponed child marriages within their f a milie s but have also been motivating other women to follow their example. A n u mb er o f a d ole sc e n t g irls have opposed their parents’ decision to marry them off underage and have opted to pursue education instead. This has reduced the number of child marriages recorded during the project by nearly 30%.
Child M arriages P revented
Mandal Cases Identified Cases Prevented
Maddikera 82 17
Pathikonda 242 65
Tuggali 260 68
Gonegandla 46 23
Mantralayam 43 19
Nandavaram 38 15
Total
711 207
The efforts of the members to combat child labour have paid off and approximately 7 5 % o f c h il d ren aged 8-14 years that were identified through the baseline survey as out -of-school were linked to formal school under the project.
OSC Enr olment Mandal Boys Girls Total Maddikera 149 219 368 Pathikonda 573 744 1317
Tuggali 405 670 1075
Gonegandla 312 387 699 Mantralay am 382 405 787 Nandavaram 221 229 450 Total 2042 2654 4696 Baseline Information on OSC
Mandal OSC (B) OSC (G) Total
Maddikera 149 219 368
Pathikonda 583 753 1336
Tuggali 410 680 1090
Gonegandla 630 892 1522
Mantralayam 605 716 1321
Nandavaram 361 383 744
Total 2738 3643 6381
90 villages of the project area have been freed from child labour and me mbe rs o f 3 5 0 S HG s h a v e enrolled their children in school.
Child Labour free villages/SHGs
Mandal Child Labour free Villages Child Labour free SHGS
Maddikera 11 68
Pathikonda 23 88
Tuggali 34 102
Gonegandla 6 38
Mantralay am 6 28
Nandavaram 10 26
Total 90 350
Networking
SHG members and VO leaders continuously monitored the functioning of schools with focus on c h i ld absenteeism, teacher irregularity, infrastructure, record maintenance, implementation o f t h e m idd ay
meal scheme and teacher attitude. They also participated in SMC meetings and shared observations made during their visits, suggesting me asures to fill gaps. Members in some villages assisted the SMC in drawing School Development Plans.
VO leaders and MMS members met newly elected Panchayat members in mid 2014 and emphasise d the need for them to work for the cause of village development. They were also motivated to organise Grama Sabhas as per schedule and discuss social issues. They were urged to properly utilise f u n d s earmarked for school development and asked to send show cause notices to employers of child labourers. Petitions on the need to improve school on infrastructure were jointly signed by SHGs/ V O s and SMC members and submitted to Sarpanchs.
VO leaders undertook periodical visits to Anganwadi Centres with the objective of ensuring e ff e ct iv e service delivery by Anganwadi Workers. They kept track of the Workers’ presence in the Centres a n d asked them to conduct meetings with adolescent girls at least once a month. MMS members identified proactive Anganwadi Workers and publicly honoured them in appreciation o f t h eir e f f o rt s.
SHG members coordinated the conduct of immunisation drives in their respective villages.
The relation of SHG members with their daughters has been symbiotic. Most of t h e i r d a ugh t ers a re associated with the Balika Sangha. The members maintained close contacts with the Balika S a ng ha and made it a point to attend their meetings, during which they made suggestions to t h e g i rls i n t h e context of problems being faced by them. They encouraged hundreds of girls aged 16 a nd a bo ve t o appear for the Class 10 and Intermediate exams through Open stream and t o a p ply f or v o c a tio na l training/skill development programmes. Interestingly, some illiterate members were influenced by t he Sangha and their daughters to acquire basic literacy skills through the Adult Educat ion p ro gra mme . Mandal Mahila Action groups arranged tailoring machines for girls in some villages through likeminded NGOs working on the agenda of women’s empowerment.
Local institutions have begun working keenly to uphold children’s rights with focus on the girl child and have developed the capacity to implement ad monitor the pro je ct i nde pe nde nt ly . CP C m e m b ers, Gram Panchayat members, women’s groups and adolescent girls are involving themselves at all levels of the project. SMC members have shed their indifference and are making e ff ort s t o d e v e l op schools. They have been undertaking fortnightly visits to school and have succee d ed in min imisi n g gaps in implementation of the midday meal scheme. School grants are being utilised as per norms.
Relations between SHG members and schools have improved and teachers, who u se d t o t re a t t h e members indifferently, have now begun to accept them. Teachers have also become regula r t o t h eir duties and they have developed a friendly attitude towards their pupils. Retention l ev els h a v e b e en positively impacted as a result. SHGs and the SMC have contributed small sums o f m o n e y t o wa rd s school development in some villages.
Uma Maheshwari, former MPDO of Pathikonda mandal and currently posted t o De v an ako n d a , h a s been advocating the cause of the girl child for a long time now. According to her “The intervention has positively changed the lives of many girls by enabling them to have forma l a c a d emi c c e rt i f ica tio n.
Their lives are secure and they can improve further if free education and hos t el f a cilit ies a re ma d e available to them at the Intermediate and undergraduate/graduate levels. It is good to not e t h a t t h e y now have an idea of the w orld around them. One key area of concern is that parents are overprotective about their daughters and this often manifests in child marri a g e . Th e p re v ale nc e o f superstitious beliefs has resulted in increased infant mortality is many a case. It is necessary to address this issue on a priority basis.”
Village development takes pr ecedence over politics
Political rivalry is a hallmark of most villages in Kurnool district and Kulumala village o f G o neg an dla mandal is no exception to this. There is, however, one distinguishing feature of the villag e. M emb ers of leading parties, viz. Telugu Desam Party, YSR Congress Party and Indian National Co n g re ss a re united when it comes to the development of their village. Telugu Desam Party leade r Ra m i Re d d y–
formerly Sarpanch and member of the CPC notes, “We are like brothers. We are together for mo s t o f the time and are different only during the elections. Srinivasulu , w ho b e c ame S a rp a n c h a f t er me , belongs to the YSR Congress Party but w e rarely have differences of opinion. We have w orked together to meet the infrastructure needs of our village.
There are marked changes in the education scenario of the village. Only the well off w o uld e du ca te their children in the past but the situation has been reversed now. Poor parents show greater inte re st in their wards’ education than their better off peers. As many as 40 families belonging to upper castes from the village had employed children in their homes and fields but a ll t h es e c h ildre n h av e b e en w ithdrawn from w ork. This included 2 children aged 10 years that had been w orking in my household.
I also pledged in public, during a mandal level meeting, that I w ouldn’t employ any child in future.”
VO President Narsamma informs, “There has been significant change in SHG me mb e rs ’ a tti tu d es tow ards the girl child and village development. They had many inhibitions and restrictions a nd w ou ld hardly venture out of their homes earlier but have now become proactive due to the volunteers’ efforts to involve them in the programme. They visit the local school reg u larl y a n d i de nt if y o u t-o f -s c ho ol children, w ho they motivate to return to school. More than 70 children have been freed f ro m w o rk i n cottonseed farms due to the efforts of the SHG members, the volunteers and the village elders.”
Srinivasulu recollects the efforts that members of all parties from the village had made to st re n g t h e n the local school. He says, “We had only a Primary School in the village with 220 pupils on rolls prior to 2009. They had only two rooms and all efforts by us to resolve the situation had failed because t h e re w as no unity among us. Many children had been dropping out of school for w ant of physical spac e. A team of 20 people including village elders brainstormed the issue d u rin g a me e t i n g a n d e x p lore d possible alternatives. We noted that half an acre of government land tha t h ad b ee n e a rma rk e d f o r setting up an electrical sub-station had been occupied by 8 farmers for three decades . We t o o k t h is matter to the notice of the officials, w ho ordered the eviction of the families and set aside o n e -h alf o f the land to construct a school building. Five additional rooms w ere built over the n e xt t h re e mo n t h s
and the status of the school was upgraded to that of Upper Primary. The number of students in the school also went up to 360.”
Present Sarpanch Vijaya Sirisha, who is also Srinivasulu’s daughter, was unanimously elected to th e post of Sarpanch. A trained teacher, she is of the opinion that it would be g o od if a ll g irl s f ro m t h e village studied at least up to Class 10, as this level of education is mandatory. She has already g ot a compound wall put up around the school and has provided water c o n n ec tiv it y t h ro ug h t a p s a t a n expense of Rs. 1.5 lakhs. The necessary budgetary allocations were made from the Gram Panchayat.
She plans to get toilets constructed in the school so that girls are not inconvenienced and can a t t end school with dignity. She proposes to involve the District Collector, the District Education O ff ic er a n d the Mandal Parishad President in this effort.
Political leaders from this village clearly know their priorities and are definitely unwilling to let po lit ica l differences hinder the development of their village.
IKP team ushers in positive change
Once notorious for high incidence of child labour and child marriage, Pathikonda mandal has witnessed a sea change in its child rights scenario thanks largely to the efforts of the Indira Kranti Patham team led by APM Sheshappa and ably supported by Communit y Co o rd inat o rs K a l a v at hi, Vishnu and Karim Basha. Child labour, child marriage and skill training f o r a d ole sc e n t g i rls a re a n integral part of their discussion agenda. They have made it mandatory for SHG/VO/MMS members t o educate their children if they wish to apply for loans. There was initial resistance from SHG m e mb ers but they consented after being educated on the importance of education.
Sheshappa notes, “There w ere many hardcore child labourers in the mandal, especially in the mandal headquarters, a few years ago. We told their parents that educating their children w ould not only g iv e them better prospects in life but also rendering them capable of chan ging the world a ro un d t h em b y expanding the horizons of their thought. This convinced some of them and they enrolled their children in school. The others followed suit later on.”
Vishnu informs, “We have been able to prevent nearly 8 in 10 cases of child marriage identified in t h e mandal through well planned and executed community mobilisation s t ra te gie s. Th e re h as b ee n a realisation in general cross the mandal that early marriage is detrimental to the w ellb eing o f t he g irl child. This has, however, not been an easy task and we have had to involve mandal level officia ls o n a number of occasions. There have been attitudinal change among many girls and they have defiantly said NO to child marriage, demanded that their parents continue their education instead.”
Karim Basha narrates some instances in which girls have opposed their parents’ decision to get the m married. “One girl from Pathikonda town actually lodged a complaint against her p a re n ts fo r h a vin g attempted to get her married though she was only 15 ye ars old. In another incident, a girl s t ude nt o f Class 9 from Baata Thanda, Tuggali mandal informed her teacher that her parents had fixed her marriage w ith a youth from a neighbouring village. The teacher approached her parents along with the VO members, the local volunteer, the Anganw adi Worker and his fellow teachers. They tried to
reason w ith the girl’s parents but they were unwilling to listen to the group. The issue w as referred to the police and the couple w ere forced to drop their plans.”
Kalavathi agrees that there has been an overall improvement in the situation at the grou nd l e ve l b ut there are times when it has not been possible to influence parents’ mindset. She is remi n ded o f o ne particular instance in Peddahulthi village. “The parents of one girl aged 1 4-1 5 y ea rs h ad fix ed h er w edding against her w ishes and she informed us of this through the Balika Sangha. Our team w ent to the girl’s house and tried to persuade her parents to lay off the wedding but they were a d ama n t a n d told us that there w as no w ay they would agree to this because she would never get married in fut u re if they postponed the affair. They also threatened to commit suicide.
We rang up the SI of Police, the MRO, the CDPO, the Sarpanch and the MPTC, all of w ho came dow n to the venue. They tried to get the couple to see reason but th ey w o uld h a v e n o ne o f i t a nd stuck to their stand. The SI and the MRO finally told them that they were free to perform the marri a g e but w arned them strongly that they would face legal action. The girl’s parents y ie lde d a n d s ig ne d a statement to the effect that they would not marry their daughter before she crossed 18 years o f a g e.
They got her married to a youth from Karnataka in the groom’s village without anyone’s knowled ge a year later.”
Sheshappa concludes with an observation that the situation is quite encouraging and that it would b e possible to sustain this good work in the long run by continuing to involve all stakeholders and by giving SHG members inputs on reproductive health so they could un derstand the adverse i m p a ct o f early marriage on the health of the girl child.
Concerted efforts by stakeholders r esult in attitudinal change
“I am Veerapogu Sushantamma from Puttapasyam village of Gonegandla mandal in Kurnool district. I am presently Secretary of Bharati MMS and am also associated with Ve lug u B a a ta V O a nd In d ira Podupu Sangham. I am 55 years old and I have four sons and three daughters. Ours i s a v e ry p oo r family and w e used to migrate frequently in search of w ork opportunities. I remember having spent a t least one year in Hyderabad. Our entire family used to leave the village because we had none to care for our children. Our income w as limited and we could barely make both ends meet w ith our earnings.
We could not educate our two eldest sons and our eldest daughter as a result.
Life w as a struggle and our situation worsened with our decision to quit migration in around 2006 . My physical endurance had gone down and I could not perform laborious tasks. I used to attend SHG and VO meetings regularly. During one such meeting, I put forth a demand for a l lot me n t o f t h e mi d d a y meal agency to me because I belonged to the SC community. There w ere hostile reactions from members of the BC community, w ho were in charge of the midday meal until th en. They beat me up a couple of times, after w hich I filed a case against them. The SI of Police summoned them to the police station and w arned them. The SMC decided later to aw ard me the contract for the midday meal.
My stint as midday meal w orker finally gave me some economic stabilit y a nd I b e g a n f o cu s ing o n educating my younger children. Babu and Vijaya Kumari (inset) are engineering graduates and another of my daughters Sunita is a postgraduate in Economics. Babu is employed in Hyderabad and is also pursuing higher education. I and my husband are happy with their progress and are optimi s t i c that they will lead independent lives. Their achievements have inspired me to motivate other mo t h e rs from my village to educate their own children as well. I sent across a strong message t o t h em n t h i s regard through Padayatras and other campaign activities. I personally identified more than ten out-o f - school children and brought them to school. Our VO had also run a Residential Bridge Cours e Ca mp for 35 such boys. My contributions to village development w ere recognised and I w as made Secretary of the MMS in late 2008.”
Sushantamma has been actively involved in the campaign from the moment she was appointed to the MMS. She has included the issue of school development as an agenda point i n b o t h M MS a nd V O meetings. She opines that an educated person has unlimited growth potential. A re g u lar a t t ra i ning programmes, she has not only mastered the nuances of community mobilisation but is a l so f a m i liar with key provisions of the RTE Act.
Sushantamma’s efforts have been strengthened by the resolve of Sarpa nc h Ra m a nja ney ulu (wh o also heads the CPC) and Balika Sangha leader Varalakshmi to ensure the overall development of the village through promoting universal education and upholding children’s rights wi th fo c u s o n th e g i rl child. Ramanjaneyulu is illiterate but this does not deter him from advocating the cause of educ a tio n.
He personally counsels dropouts from the village to continue their education. He attends all CPC meetings and also visits the local Anganwadi Centre regularly.
The village has three Balika Sanghas. Meetings of the Sangha are held o n t h e 5t h o f e v e ry m ont h without fail. Child marriage and girl child education are the key agenda points of the discussi ons. T h e girls identify potential cases of child marriage and pass on this information to the Sarpanch, VO/MM S members and the local health Worker. These groups jointly counsel the girls’ parents on the ill effec ts of early marriage and encourage the girls to study because education is the best strategy t o c o u n t e r child marriage. Response to these efforts has been largely positive and all but 5 childre n o f sc h o o l - going age from the village are in school. Sushantamma and Ramanja ney ulu a re o pt imist i c t h at i t would be possible to reach out to even these children before long and that they would set an example for others to follow.
A BRIEF NOTE ON THE OPEN SCHOOL INTERVENTION
The UN-CR defines anyone aged below 18 years as a child and the scope of the PECL -PEPCR intervention extended to the 6-18 year age group. However, educational facilities were available o n ly for children aged below 14 years in the project area and the formal education system did not c at er t o the needs of those aged 15-18. It was also difficult to convince children in this age group to attend full- time school. The children had an alternative in the Open School system, whereby they co uld a ppe ar for the Class 10 exams without having to be physically present in school.
Discussions were held wi th SHG members and the Balika Sangha and they were asked t o m o t i va te girls in their respective villages to make use of this opportunity. Door-to-door visits were undertaken to publicise the issue. Local youth were also involved in this effort. The prosp e c t o f b ein g a b le t o g e t academically certified in a hassle-free manner appealed to m any c h ildre n a nd h und re ds o f t h e m submitted their applications for the exams. There was, however, one drawb a ck. T h e e n t ire p ro jec t area had only one Learning Centre/Examination Centre in 2009, as a result of which it was difficult t o cope with the high demand.
The issue was brainstormed at various levels with women’s groups, the Balika Sangha, the SMC, youth and village elders, following which it was decided to put forth a de mand for additional Centres in the project area. Children that had successfully cleared the exams were invited to share their experiences with these groups during SHG meetings and SMC meetings. This convinced the members and they resolved to move the authorities in this regard. Petitions were according ly si g n e d and submitted to the Open School Society for Centres in the other mandals of the proje c t a re a . T h e authorities responded positively and set up four Centres at the mandal level.
The success of the Open School intervention gave rise to a demand for similar facilities at the Intermediate level. Hundreds of children that had passed the Class 10 exams evinced interest in continuing their education and requested the SVK team to help them in this regard. A represe n t a t io n was made to the Board of Intermediate Education and the officials consented t o se t u p a Ce n t re i n Pathikonda Junior College. The response was overwhelming and more than 700 children re g ist e re d themselves for the Open Intermediate scheme. This has also had a ripple effect on other government run Junior Colleges and their pupil strength has gone up significantly. There is also gre a t e r d e m and for infrastructure and faculty.
Principal of Pathikonda Junior College and Coordinator of t h e O pe n I n t e rm ed iat e p ro gra mm e K . Srinivasulu is highly appreciative of the intervention. ”I’m proud that e nro lme n t i n th e Co l leg e h a s gone up from a mere 300 to an approximate 1200 – an increase of nearly 300%. Notably, mo re th a n 400 girls that had dropped out have opted to give the exams through Open stream and thi s i n clu des married w omen aged 19-21 years as w ell. These exams are considered as equivalent to t he re g ula r exams and this is useful for them in terms of career development. He suggests increasing the number of Study Hours in order to improve the effectiveness of the intervention. Supplying t e xt bo ok s w ou ld help the needy”
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More than 2000 young people successfully cleared the Class 10 and the Intermediate exams throu g h Open stream, the details of which are as under:
Open School assur es livelihood opportunity
23-year old S. Nabi Saheb from Jonnagiri belongs to a big family and is one of 7 siblings. The economic situation of his family was not very bad but the family earnings were not suffic i e n t t o m ee t everyone’s needs and he was forced to quit education after having passed the Class 8 exams. He worked in a cottonseed farm in Kogilathota village of Holagunda mandal for two years after that, which was followed by a stint at a stone polishing unit in Owk mandal.
Nabi Saheb’s health failed him in 2009, when he was down with malaria for 3 months. His constitution was weakened and he could not engage in physically arduous tasks. One of his friends suggested that he could learn to ride an auto rickshaw and he consented to this. His friend also got him a n a u t o rickshaw a year later in 2010. Hough he was good at his job, Nabi Saheb often landed in trouble because he had no Driving License, for which a Class 10 certificate was mandatory. He did not kn o w what to do and felt desperate and let down.
It was around early 2012 that he attended a meeting that was held in the village to publicise the Open School scheme. He was delighted and immediately registered himself for the course. He took his education seriously and worked very hard, clearing his exams with flying colours. He scored more than 70%. The first thing that he did after passing his exams was to get himse l f a L ic en ce . He n o w has an assured source of livelihood but his interest in education has no t waned and he wants t o g i v e the Intermediate exams through Open stream. He aspires to own a car sometime in the near future.
Single woman overcomes per sonal tragedy to embrace education
Calm and unassuming Pathinti Kavita from Nalakadoddi village in Pathikonda mandal has undergon e traumatic experiences in a short span of 24 years. Her parents Ranganna a nd S o malin gam ma a re poor farmers. She had studied in Upper Primary School, Aspari six kilometres away, afte r wh i c h h e r parents withdrew her from school and got her admitted in a skill development course in their own village. She acquired some tailoring skills. She did not gain productive employment and was subsequently sent to work in a cottonseed farm for four years. She would hand over her entire earnings of Rs. 80-90 a day to the family. This reduced the burden on her parents to an extent.
Children clearing Class 10 and Inter exams thr ough Open stream
Mandal Boys Girls Total
Maddikera 82 69 151
Pathikonda 268 333 601
Tuggali 271 257 528
Gonegandla 168 157 325
Mantralay am 133 115 248
Nandavaram 118 105 223
Total 1040 1036 2076
Her life took a turn in 2009 when her parents got her married to her cross cousin at the age of 1 8. He took ill frequently and was referred to hospital a few mon ths after their marriage. He wa s d i a g n o se d with cancer and all attempts to revive his health condition failed. He su c c u m b ed t o t h e d i se a se i n 2011. She was very uncertain about her future and her parents were in no position to take any decision either. Somalingamma attended a women’s meeting convened by the SVK staff in the village and shared her daughter’s predicament with them.
The MMS members and the VO members later met Kavita at her home accompanied by the volunteers and encouraged her to appear for the Class 10 exams so that she could aspire for a better future. Distraught as she was by the recent demise of her husband, Kavita c o u ld n o t d e c ide i n t h is regard. The MMS members were involved in the issue and they convinced her to give the exams. She successfully passed the exams in April 2013 through the Open School Society with 5 0% m arks a n d went on to clear the Intermediate exams through Open stream a year later. She plans to go for advanced training in tailoring so that she is self-reliant.
Kavita’s determination has clearly triumphed over her personal tragedy.
