WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Women’s
empowerment
www.ammachilabs.org | 2017-2018
COMMUNITY SANITATION THROUGH DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION PROJECT (UDF-15-IND-667)
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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Amrita University is a multi-campus, multi-disciplinary research university that is accredited ‘A’ by NAAC and is ranked as one of the best research universities in India. The university is spread across five campuses in three states of India - Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, with the University headquarters at Ettimadai, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
AMMACHI Labs is an academic and research center at Amrita University that brings an interdisciplinary approach to addressing societal challenges. We envision a world where technology is designed and used to empower people. We create innovative educational tools and skill development solutions to help uplift entire communities. We are as excited about community outreach solutions as we are about our focused research and development for Computer-Human Interactions (CHI), robotics and automation, haptic technologies, and applied robotics. Through the use of CHI technology, AMMACHI Labs aims to augment skill development, life enrichment education, healthcare, disaster risk reduction, and much more. We began in 2009 as a small research lab located on the beautiful Amritapuri campus of Amrita University in Kerala, India. Today, our team consists of over 100 people from all over the world working towards the common vision of bettering society through technological innovation. We are a diverse and talented family. Our team members come from many countries, backgrounds and professions to make AMMACHI Labs a unique place. As part of Amrita University, AMMACHI Labs stands out as a cutting edge research facility and social outreach platform. Our parent NGO, Embracing the World, is a global network of regional humanitarian organizations inspired by the India-based humanitarian initiatives of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION
PROJECT GOALS AND OUTCOMES PROJECT BENEFICIARIES
2. PROJECT ACTIVITIES
OUTCOMES AND ACTIVITIES
3. RESEARCH 4. FUTURE PLAN 5. APPENDIX: PHOTOS
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
INTRODUCTION The Women Empowerment: Community Sanitation through Democratic Participation (WE:CSDP) project (UDF-15-IND-667) was launched in February 2017 by Amrita University’s AMMACHI Labs. It is a two year, pan-India initiative jointly funded with the United Nations Democracy Fund. It aims to address the issues of inadequate community sanitation, women’s health, and water management in rural India through improving democratic representation of women in local governance. The project targets 21 villages in India, and aims to empower at least 5,000 women in rural Indian communities to champion sanitation and community development, eventually reaching their entire village, or 30,000 indirect beneficiaries. Participating women will receive continuous life skill training, will conduct sanitation campaigns, and will organize and mobilize efforts to implement key community actions to access government programs, such as the Swacch Bharat Mission, that specifically promotes sanitation. This community mobilization and training effort is designed to efficiently reach entire communities in a short amount of time. It will also provide strength and support to the women advocating and petitioning to their local governments to address social and environmental issues in their villages. It is in line with the Government of India’s commitment to improving sanitation and rural development, as well as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since the launch of the project in February, we have accomplished a number of objectives. After setting up centers in each of the villages and selecting Community Organizers (COs), we held a Train the Trainer event at the university headquarters in Amritapuri where women from all over India got the chance to learn about their role in the project, and get to know each other and share their incredible stories. Since then, the CO’s have engaged over 20 SHGs, held dozens of Community Awareness Events, and have started to meet with local government, becoming real community leaders. The COs and SHGs have launched their community sanitation campaign and have begun a process of social change. As these women continue to empower themselves and others, we hope to see a chain reaction that will lead to stronger, more resilient communities where women are able to lead the way to sustainable development.
CHAMPIONS OF
CHANGE WE:CSDP
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: COMMUNITY SANITATION THROUGH DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION Center for Women’s Empowerment & Gender Equality
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OUTCOMES OF THE WE:CSDP PROJECT Challenges Addressed by the Project:
Gender Inequality and Empowerment
Inadequate democratic engagement around sanitation
Absence of project sustainability through socio-democratic development.
The overall development goal of the WE:CSDP project is women’s empowerment and improved sanitation through advancing women’s political participation, leadership, economic & social development. The project will address three major social problems hindering the democratic process in the targeted villages:
Project Goals and Outcomes:
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Project Beneficiaries
The WE:CSDP project aims to empower at least 5,000 women in rural Indian communities and indirectly benefit 30,000 beneficiaries, as follows:
No.
Role
Criteria
21
Community Organizers
Selected based on leadership skills and enthusiasm
300
Champions
Chosen with the help of COs and local interest. Under current SHG regulations, group sizes can range from 10-20 women
5000
Change Agents
Open Defection Free Campaign participants (1 woman per household). Enlisted by ASHGs through outreach and door-to-door
30,000
Indirect Beneficiaries
Total population of the 21 villages (between 500-2,000 residents in each village)
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PROJECT ACTIVITIES Outcomes and Activities Outputs for Outcome 1:
Increased women’s individual capabilities and awareness on sanitation and personal development
Output 1.1
TTT workshops for 42 women COs (Q1 & Q4) 2 weeks
1 event successfully completed 42 women participated. 2nd event planned between Feb 18th and April 1st (4 in-village sessions by zones).
Output 1.2
Delivery of Computerized Life-Skills/Life Enrichment Education (c-LEE) to Champions and Change Agents
240 Women participated in 21 Villages
Output 1.1 TTT workshop at Amrita University, Amritapuri - February 2017
The TTT was held from February 18th to March 1st at Amrita University. A total of 48 people from 17 villages participated in the 12 days of training (43 women and 5 men). Refresher and continued training will be conducted in the villages during the subsequent village visits made by project staff. The TTT covered around 30 major topics, that ranged from how to form self-help groups, run a community advocacy campaign around sanitation, and facilitate awareness sessions using Amrita University’s tablet based, life skills education. The training included various topics with a special focus on sanitation and community health, financial literacy, legal aids, and the Right to Information Act. The trainees learned the correct vocabulary, the environmental and social effects of open defecation, and strategies for enacting change within their communities. Generally, the morning sessions included discussion, activities, and group work; and the afternoons consisted of peer-topeer learning, during which a group of COs led various sessions to instruct the rest of the class. These sessions were very successful, and created feelings of group adhesion and camaraderie among the trainees.
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REFLECTIONS ON THE PROJECT
“Every woman should come out of her home and be more involved in our project works. Women must come out of their Purdah (veil). Only then will we know our rights.” -Renu Singh, CO. Hadiabad, Bihar
“According to me, Champions of Change are the ones responsible for the development of the village. Our society is a male dominated one. It is time for women to come forward.” -Suchita from Dunda, Uttarakhand
“If we become champions of change anywhere , first we create a group and make everyone aware about what needs to be done.” -Urmila, CO. Guptapada, Odisha
“Everything in my village is good apart from cleanliness, which I will go back and focus on.” -Surekha from Malakpan, Goa
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“This project is so good, and makes me happy. The LEE courses teaches about solutions to social issues, legal rights, government programs, and so many other useful things for empowering women. I see the women becoming confident, independent, and able to solve their own problems. When I see the women take up problems and solve them, it gives me strength and enthusiasm to continue this work.” -Seema C., ZL
“Participating in this project has changed my life in so many ways. I have much better time management skills and can take care of my child better with the knowledge from the training. Most importantly, I am more confident. I can speak to anyone in the village and stand up for myself and for other women. With the money I earn, I feel in control of my life and I can help others, too.” -Meenal Behn, CO, Nani Borwai, Gujarat
“I believe we have an inspired approach to assisting women and the diverse communities in rural India. Over the past years, I have witnessed the tremendous potential for vocational education, life skills, and the support to work with local government to transform villages and provide the skills for women to stand on their own. The WE:CSDP project takes this approach and applies it to sanitation a critical problem facing much of India. So far we have seen remarkable progress with half of our villages being declared Open Defecation Free in only 6 months! Before this, there were minimal toilet facilities and almost no awareness of the hazards of poor sanitation. The compassionate guidance of our chancellor and the experiences our team has had in the field have taught us much and continue to motivate our efforts”
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-Christopher Coley, Field Deployments and Research
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Output 1.1 Computerized training as part of TTT
Output 1.2 Delivery of c-LEE, Jharkhand
Output 1.2 c-LEE given to Champions and Change agents: Pandori village, Jammu and Kashmir
Output 1.2 A Community outreach program: An awareness rally in Kalinagar village, West Bengal to encourage community people to use dust bins in every home and pathways and keep the village clean.
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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT Outputs for Outcome 2: Output 2.1
Increased women’s collective capabilities in sanitation and social development 18 Completed Ideal Village Activity & Vulnerability Mapping
Output 2.2
Community-Led ODF Campaign Initiatives mobilizing 5,000 women as Change Agents
Over 1,400 names collected from the 21 villages.
Output 2.3
168 Life Skills Community Events by ASHGs (8 per village)
238 LEE Events (9,584 participants), hygiene, women’s health, and legal awareness Including 40 Clean Up Drives led by women in SHGs
Output 2.4
21 Advocacy Self-Help Groups formed by 300 women Champions (min one group per target village)
13 ASHG 141 Women participants
Output 2.1 Training for ideal village activity
Output 2.2 Inauguration ceremony of #WECSDP project in Nani Borwai, Gujarat
Output 2.4 Advocacy Self-Help Group Dr. Khera village, Lucknow
Output 2.3 Amala Bhatratham Campaign, Kali Nagar village, West Bengal
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THE COS AND ASHGS HAVE INITIATED SANITATION AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS, AND ARE STARTING TO CHAMPION OTHER CAUSES LIKE EDUCATING GIRLS, AND FIGHTING ALCOHOL ABUSE.
On March 8, International Women’s Day, Juna Katthiwada, Madhya Pradesh
The Community Organizers from Haryana have taken a sanitation oath as a commitment to transform their village Kanti into one of the cleanest villages in the state.
Ravi Kalantre, Zonal Lead meeting with the Juna Kathiwada (Madhya Pradesh) villagers. The villagers were given awareness on #RightToEducation and various government initiatives
Clean up
Kanti village, Haryana
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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT Outputs for Outcome 3:
Increased women’s participation and stronger voice in sanitation policy making and community action
Output 3.1
Water quality management and monitoring by 21 ASHGs
Water testing completed in 10 villages and results reported to local government. This has prompted clean water initiatives in many places.
Output 3.2
Two Government-ASHG meeting (1 per milestone)
45 documented meetings initiated by the women in SHGs trained by us, with local government to promote village sanitation and to secure scheme benefits
Output 3.3
National Development Workshop for ASHGs
Output 3.4
ASHGs Community Action Proposal to Policy Brief on Policy Recommendations
Drinking water testing as part of Community Awareness Program in Andhra Pradesh
Scheduled for Spring, 2018
Women from Indpur village, Himachal Pradesh meeting with Development Officer and other Gov. officials
Women from Chandrapuri and Mathkhani villages in Uttarakhand meeting with Grama Pradhan (Village Head) with a petition for adequate supply of water and and installing a water tank in their villages.
SHG members from Malcopon village in Goa meeting with Officers from District Rural Development Agency and National Rural Livelihood Mission
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Community Organiser from Kanti village, Haryana. meeting the Kanti Sarpanch to discuss water and sanitation issues.
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
TOTAL SANITATION WORK BY AMMACHI LABS
188 Women have been trained in toilet building 235 toilets(16 villages, 13 states) built by these women, with another 200+ planned to be done by October (21 villages, 21 states). Approximately 2000 Toilets built by government in these villages after we started working 132 LEE events with 5100 participants in 28 villages (21 states) 220 women trained in soap making and spreading sanitation awareness
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Number of organic farms 30+ (20 in Tamil Nadu, 1 in Haryana, 5 in Bihar, 2 in Gujarat, 5 in Karnataka) Number of household kitchen gardens 500+ Number of trees planted: 4000+ saplings and 1000+ seed balls These activities were coordinated by Amrita SeEVe, as part of the larger village adoption project of our parent organization M. A. Math
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RESEARCH AND INTERVIEWS
Research and population studies are an integral part of the WE:CSDP project. This is not only to track the progress of the project, but to gain a better understanding of the participants’ lives and challenges, so that we may better structure our interventions going forward. Each of the participants are asked to complete short surveys and interviews led by senior AMMACHI Labs staff which help to engage them in discussing community issues and possible solutions. The trust and friendship shared between project staff and participants is the foundation of project success, and such discussions help to strengthen these bonds. The confidential data gathered in these studies will be used to document the project and eventually be shared for publication so that this work can be beneficial to the global academic and NGO community.
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FUTURE PLAN
The WE:CSDP project is off to an exciting start, and already so much has been accomplished. Our next steps are to continue the progress made on ASHG formation and structuring, continuing the c-LEE classrooms, and increasing the amount of community involvement by the women’s groups. Our focus will be on assisting the groups to meet with local government and hold discussions on the community problems they have identified with the goal to encourage government support. Water testing, clean-up drives, and other community assessments will continue and provide supporting evidence the ASHGs can use in their government meetings. Classes on legal rights and financial literacy will continue, and women will be encouraged and assisted in opening personal bank accounts and how to manage their finances. The progress made so far has been huge and encouraging, and we are excited to share the success of this project going forward.
For real time updates and more success stories, please visit our website:
www.ammachilabs.org
www.facebook.com/ammachilabs www.twitter.com/ammachilabs
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OCTOBER 1
Indpur, Himachal Pradesh: Zonal Officer Vinod, Community Organizer and SHG members led the AmalaBharatham clean up drive. Village children joined the campaign and learned the hand washing techniques after the program.
Ratanpur village in Bihar: ODF Pledge and Rally led by CO, AServe Coordinator and AMMACHI Labs team.
Indpur village, Himachal Pradesh: CO, Facilitator, 6 SHG members and AMMACHI Labs’ Zonal Officer visited the Post Office. They interacted with the officer and learned about a new scheme called Sukanya Samriddhi Account Yojana (Girls) in Post office which can be opened up to age of 10 years only from the date of birth. On Monday they are expected to submit the 6 forms they collected from the Post Office.
Karanji, Chhattisgarh: More than 230 people participated in the Gandhi Jayanti celebrations led by AMMACHI Labs’ deployment team, CO, students and staff from Karanji Higher Secondary School and villagers. Community Organizer Saritha led the rally and pledge for ODF in the village. Our team members had a brief discussion with the Gram Pradhan about the major challenges faced by villagers.The school principal and staff thanked MA Math and AMMACHI Labs for the initiatives and support for spreading Sanitation awareness.
OCTOBER 3
Harirampura, Rajasthan: AMMACHI Labs’ Zonal Lead and facilitator led the clean up drive and cleared the village roads.
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OCTOBER 8
12 villages got Open Defecation Free status by Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Honourable President of India, Shri Ramnath Kovind recognized the COS with commemorative plaques and encouraging words for their collective achievement in actualizing Open Defecation Free status in several villages. Each of these women has her own unique story of success, but also shares in the common societal and economic struggles which Indian women face. Open Defecation Free status is no easy achievement as it takes hard work and campaigning to shift deep rooted cultural behaviors around sanitation and hygiene. To achieve this status the entire village must participate in ensuring that every household has access to a toilet and that there is no visible human waste or sewage around the village.
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OCTOBER 15
Ratanpur, Bihar: AMMACHI Labs team and CO Urmila led the sanitation pledge and awareness activities for the Mushar community women. All of them participated in the Ideal Village exercise and presented their work. Under the supervision of AMMACHI Labs deployment team, the tailoring assessment conducted of students who took our Cvet course at Hadiabad and Ratanpur villages.
OCTOBER 16
Nani Borvai village, Gujarat: CO Meenal and facilitator Pravin organized the morning Yoga class and Kho-Kho lessons for the women and children. Later on an awareness session on Health was conducted which talked about Child Health and Clean Water.
Hadiabad, Bihar: Under the supervision of AMMACHI Labs deployment team, the tailoring assessment conducted of students who took our Cvet course at Hadiabad and Ratanpur villages.
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OCTOBER 23
NOVEMBER 4
Uttarakhand: Mushroom Cultivation Training in Malakpan Village, Goa: Community Organizer progress at the AMMACHI Labs training center. Surekha met with the Member of Legislative Assembly. CO and AMMACHI Labs deployment team invited the MLA to participate in the community meeting organized by our team.
NOVEMBER 6
NOVEMBER 7
Sarai Noorudin village, Uttar Pradesh: Water quality checks were done of water from handpumps, the results were not very alarming. Later on, CO led a session on “How to improve the quality of potable water” Jharkhand: CO and AMMACHI Labs deployment and many of the community people partcipated in the team led a session on ODF class.
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NOVEMBER 9
NOVEMBER 9
Hadiabad Village, Bihar: Cleanup drive led by Com- Dewgain village, Jharkhand: Community Organizer munity Organizers and women SHG members. Sukmani Kachhap has been selected as ‘Village Coordinator’ under Jharkhand Chief Minister’s Rural Development Scheme. This role will see her responsible NOVEMBER 10 for the administration of government schemes. It also gives her authority to directly contact CM on implementation delays etc.
NOVEMBER 11
Dewgain village, Jharkhand: CO Sukhmani discussing on a LEE topic (spreading of disease) with a community gathering
In collaboration with Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, AMMACHI Labs’ training centre in Goa conducted Jute bag making and Crochet work training sessions. This collaboration is expected to be a great platform Dewgain village, Jharkhand: Drinking water quality for our students to exhibit their skills at all India level. test was conducted at five different locations/clusters Program was inaugurated by the Sarpanch of Malby SHG members led by the CO. akpan village and products made by our students are kept there in the training center for exhibition.
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NOVEMBER 11
Hadiabad village in Bihar: On 11th November, Hadiabad village in Bihar celebrated National Education Day. AMMACHI Labs Deployment team members in Bihar,conducted a session on #SocialResponsibility for the school children. After the session, 9th class students made one team AUM ( Amrita Ujwal Manav) and they decided that the group will work for changing people’s mentality by conducting the street plays in various subjects. Children also engaged in team building exercise.
NOVEMBER 12
Guptapada village, Odisha: AMMACHI Labs team, village youth and women in Guptapada conducted Amalabharatham campaign by cleaning the village streets and installed and painted garbage bins with inspiring messages.
NOVEMBER 13
Ratanpur village, Bihar: Our CO Mausam Devi is determined to improve the status of women from Mushar community in Ratanpur. She is currently engaged in providing Tablet training to the community women.In two days, Mausam encouraged five kids to take their new learning to next level, by regularly attending the tuition class. She is also encouraging the community women to read and write. Once she generates interest in them, she directs them to the tuition class.
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NOVEMBER 14
Juna Kathiwada children celebrated Childrens Day with special programs and rally organised by AMMACHI Labs’ CO and Facillitator. In Ratanpur and Hadiabad villages (Bihar), school student’s team along with Gram Pradhan, Community Organizer and facilitator visited the nearby primary school and conducted a ‘Nukkad’ about Education and Sanitation. Later on, the group conducted an awareness program on Sanitation by house visits and requested the community members to stop OpenDefecation. On the occation of Children’s Day, CO in Sarai Noorudinpur village invited children from a nearby school and they were shown videos & posters on Hygiene, Cleanliness and #CleanDrinkingWater. Malgaon village, celebrated November 14th with the school children by leading Amala Bharatham campaign. In Guptapada village, Odisha, our team organised an essay writing competition on ‘How to protect Environment’ and conducted cultural programs. Later on children went to the nearby temple site and developed the drip irrigation system to create a new garden. Community Organiser and Facilitator at Himachal Pradesh led a nuked natal with the children and celebrated Children’s day.
NOVEMBER 17
Guptapada Village, Odisha: CO Urmila had filed RTI Sarai Noorudinpur, UP: CO & Facilitator fol- to know the status of Government Toilet construction lowed up with the concerned authorities at Block schemes in her village. After waiting for 30 days for a office, finally These are images of the new road con- reply from the panchayat officials, today, she sent a letter to Information Commission struction
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NOVEMBER 19
Celebrated World Toilet Day by celebrating the women who have championed the basic human rights of sanitation and hygiene. By 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals aim to reach everyone with sanitation and cut the the proportion of untreated wastewater in half. AMMACHI Labs is committed to the cause of making sanitation available for all citizens. By empowering women to lead the change, we can multiply the effects of awareness campaigns and behavioral transformation to reach the wider community. Community-led total sanitation. As women pledge to be open defecation free, they inspire change within their entire community.
Karanji village, Chattisgarh: CO SarIta and Computer students performed drama on need for toilet and problems of Open Defecation. Sarpanch inaugurated the function and many of the villagers attended the program. Children are the new “sanitation campaigners’ at Sarai Noorudinpur village,UP. Alongwith our #CO & Facilitator, these kids are raising awareness on good hygiene habits, education. In Kalinagar , West Bengal our team conducted rally and an awareness session was led by Dr.Sunil and almost 70 people took pledge for ODF. In Kanti village in Haryana, CO led AmalaBharatham campaign to spread awareness on #Sanitation
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NOVEMBER 20
NOVEMBER 20
Hadiabad Village, Bihar: Gram Pradhan, SHG members, CO, Facilitator and college students from village visited an ATM in nearby Gahrni market, to learn how to use ATM for withdrawing money and checking balance. AMMACHI Labs’ Deployment team member taught the women more about the basic transactions using ATM card.
Goa: AMMACHI Labs team met with Shri. Prasad Goankar, MLA, Goa. MLA will be visiting our training centre and the Jute Bag training classes soon. Later on, CO and SHG members met with Deputy Sarpanch, NRLM District Project Director and District Coordinator. Meeting agenda was to discuss about starting Phenol, Jute Bag and Masala&Chilli powder manufacturing by our SHGs. NRLM has selected three SHGs for three products.
NOVEMBER 23
Hadiabad Village, Bihar: Community Organizers, Facilitator and #SHG members are now attending IT training session by AMMACHI Labs Deployment team members. Village women are learning how to use Tablet, Gmail and WhatsApp.
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Hadiabad Village, Bihar: The Field Team from AMMACHI Labs along with students from ‘Amrita Ujwal Manav’, a newly constituted student organization which supports the community interventions by AMMACHI Labs conducted an awareness program at a temple in Hadiabad Village in Bihar. They presented Nukkad natak, an oldest form of storytelling used for creating awareness on social issues like GenderEquality, Education and Sanitation.
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
NOVEMBER 25
NOVEMBER 25
Guptapada, Odisha : SHG members are even more inspired to produce handmade soaps after a successful batch of of Neem and Tulsi soaps sold really well at a recent program in Bhubaneswar. For the next batch, women will produce natural Hibiscus flower soaps which are very aromatic and popular in the region. Soap making is one of the courses offered on tablet through AMMACHI Labs, that gives women an opportunity to learn a trade for potential income generation.
Sarai Noorudinpur Village, UP : A team of consultants from the World Bank in Delhi, visited for conducting sanitation assessments. This village is in the spotlight due to the transformations happening in bettering sanitation and hygiene. The consultants met with all members of our diverse team including the Community Organizer CO, facilitators, youth groups, RTB women masons and other field workers. A formal report is likely to follow. AMMACHI Labs had previously formed a 21 member sanitation committee that was nominated to attend the Government’s five day, rigorous training program on community-led total sanitation.
NOVEMBER 27
Dewgain Village, Jharkhand : Following the footsteps of AMMACHI Labs’ championsofchange, a group of children have assumed the responsibility for spreading awareness on Sanitation. Recently a meeting of village children was organised with support from our deployment team and a school student led a session on hand washing techniques to teach the importance of hygiene and sanitation. CO, SHG members and AMMACHI Labs deployment team members led Amalabharatham campaign in the village with an overwhelming support from villagers. With the locally available bamboo, community people designed new dustbins for the village streets and took a pledge to remain committed towards ‘Swachchhata’ (cleanliness).
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NOVEMBER 28
NOVEMBER 30
Guptapada village, Odisha: CO and deployment team conducted Life Enrichment Education classes for our tailoring students. AMMACHI Labs’ Life Enrichment Education program directly addresses the social issues that plague the very communities we are working with and it benefits both children and women. Issues such as cleanliness, sanitation, disaster preparedness, human trafficking etc are discussed and addressed during these sessions. Trained facilitators and community organizers lead these classes in every AMMACHI Labs training centers.
Malkpon, Goa: AMMACHI Labs’ deployment team members met with Shri. Prasad Gaonkar, MLA, Malakpan, Goa. MLA has assured to look into the fund request for the construction of training centre and purchase of jute bag materials for the training sessions. Also, the proposal submitted by our team was forwarded to the state director of District Rural Development Authority for further review
NOVEMBER 30
DECEMBER 1
Guptapada village, Odisha: SHG members and CO Urmila visited the village school with a special purpose. Team spent time with school children, distributed handkerchief and taught them how to prevent spread of infection from respiratory illnesses and runny noses.Women group trained the children to follow Juna Kaathiwada village, Madhya Pradesh: Yoga can routine healthy practices to lead a healthy and well benefit children significantly, researches have shown higher levels of self-esteem and overall emotional balbalanced life. ance in children who practice yoga. In Juna Kaathiwada village, kids are learning yoga lessons from AMMACHI Labs’ community organiser and here are the pictures from the yoga class.
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DECEMBER 2
DECEMBER 3
Guptapada village, Odisha: Our team members and SHG women are experimenting with neem at AMMACHI Labs’ training center at Guptapada village, Odisha. Neem paste is extracted from neem leaves and is a natural cure for dandruff and dry scalp. It also increase the hair growth and helps to remove head lice. Women’s group successfully extracted liquid from the neem leaves and applied it on hair to test. Inspired by the results, now they are looking forward to make products like neem oil, soap etc as an income generation activity for the village self help group.
Dr. Khera village, Uttar Pradesh: AMMACHI Labs SHG women and community organizer, got an opportunity to interact with Shri. Rajnath Singh, Minister of Home Affairs, Government of India. Team members expressed gratitude for the support and the active intervention by the minister, on the infrastructure work. As representatives of their community, our team submitted request for three more submersible pumps, improved drainage system besides expanding road construction to the entire village.
DECEMBER 5
DECEMBER 8
Malakpan village, Goa: Member of Legislative Assembly and other government officials visited our training center. A one day exhibition of jute bags made by Women SHG from Malakpan village was organised on the occasion of official visit. MLA has assured everyone that he will look into the funding possibilities for the training center and encouraged the women to keep up the good work.
Malakpan village, Goa: Community organizers Surekha and Renu arranged a medical health camp and awareness program for community people. This program was focused towards educating the rural people and make them aware about how to take proper care of their health. Leading doctors addressed issues like personal health care, hygiene, sanitation, illness prevention etc.
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DECEMBER 10
DECEMBER 12
Pandori village, Jammu and Kashmir: AMMACHI Labs deployment team facilitated free legal seminars and a session on right to information act as part of the legal awareness training program for the SHG women. Our new community organizer Barkha Rani called a meeting of SHG members, to discuss about the existing government initiatives for self help groups and women in the village. As per the study of our team, there are 9 widows in the village who never heard about widow pension scheme. Barkha invited their attention to Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme and promised to assist eligible applicants to apply for pension.
Pandori village, Jammu and Kashmir: Children are the best change agents at home and in the community. In many of our community awareness programs, children actively particpate along with our women SHG groups. AMMACHI Labs community organizers and facilitators have undertaken many initiatives in collaboration with the village schools to promote hygiene and cleanliness. Last week, we organized a one day life enrichment education session for hundreds of school children. Through this class now they have more awareness about the importance cleanliness and also attended a practical session on ‘7 steps of handwashing’.
DECEMBER 15
DECEMBER 30
Jammu and Kashmir: AMMACHI Labs’ zonal coordinator and community organizer met with Shri. Rajiv Khajuria, Assistant Commissioner, Developments, Department of Rural Development, Jammu and Kashmir. CO gave a brief introduction about Women Empowerment: Community Sanitation through Democratic Participation (WE:CSDP) Project and its presence in J&K. After listening to the successful stories of rural toilet building programe and sanitation awareness campaigns by AMMACHI Labs, the officer has promised to look into availability of funds to start toilet building activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
Kodur village, Telangana: Community cleanliness and waste management programs are part of AMMACHI Labs’ village outreach awareness training. Community Organizers and facilitators conducted a cleanup drive and around 30 people of all ages eagerly participated. The village was full of trash as the group started with the entrance of the village and made their way through. At the end, the village was transformed into a spotless beautiful place. This drive taught the community about waste management and environmental cleanliness and opened new possibilities towards maintaining a clean village.
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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
DECEMBER 30 Kodur village, Telangana: AMMACHI Labs has been actively involved in engaging the community in skill training and community cleanliness. Ongoing tailoring training sessions via tablet conducted by local SME tailors, Community Organizers & facilitators has proved to be successful. Recently, assessments for the 4th and 5th batch of tailoring students, showed great results and promise for these women as they continue to improve quality and fine tune their skills. The group is eager to continue attending classes and practice what they have learned.
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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
2018 JANUARY 14
JANUARY 16
Madgoan village, Goa: National Rural Livelihood Mission is a poverty alleviation project implemented by Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. Here in Madgoan, Goa, women artisans from the Malakpan Malkarne Self Help Group (SHG) display their products at a NRLM exhibition
Malgaon village, Chhattisgarh: SHG women are now learning and practicing flat hemstitch with help from the tablet. Hemstitch is a decorative drawn thread work for embellishing the hem of clothing or household linens.
JANUARY 26
India adopted the constitution on November 26, 1949, which came into force on January 26, 1950, marking the country’s first Republic Day. Today the whole country celebrated its 69th Republic Day. AMMACHI Labs’ community organizers led the celebrations at our centers across India. After the flag hoisting program at the village school, our CO Renu Bala, Zonal coordinator Vinod and Amrita SeRVe staff were felicitated for their outstanding contribution in the areas of village development, sanitation awareness campaigns, skill development and women empowerment programs in Kanti village.
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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
FEBRUARY 5
FEBRUARY 6
Pandori village, Jammu and Kashmir: With support from AMMACHI Labs zonal coordinator, our SHG women have opened six Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts in Post Office. Our team has been encouraging the women to enroll in these saving schemes, securing funds for girls especially for higher education.
Dewgain village, Jharkhand: AMMACHI Labs deployment team members organised community meetings particularly with the direct beneficiaries of mould toilets.We are involving them as volunteers to make sure that there is an increased awareness & they understand the importance of getting one. They are also participating in government funded toilet building.
FEBRUARY 6
FEBRUARY 7
Dewgain village, Jharkhand: Through our tailoring project, we are exploring to get some lasting employment for the pass outs by connecting them to relevant business units. In this connection we spoke to Niraj Kumar, CSR head of Arvind Mills. They are branching out to many places to fund/induct rural talents & sounded positive on our way of skilling. He was introduced to us by Mr Halder, a senior from Jharkhand state food commission & quite familiar of our work in villages
Juna Kathiawada village, Madhya Pradesh: Through NRLM several tailoring students procured a large order to make non-woven bags. The Subject Matter Expert relayed that the students are very skilled in the craft. The National Rural Livelihood Mission is a poverty alleviation project implemented by Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.
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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
FEBRUARY 8
Kalinagar village, West Bengal: Community cleaning and awareness rally led by the community organizer
FEBRUARY 8
FEBRUARY 9
Guptapada village, Odisha: Community cleaning Kanti village Harayana: Conducts the “Ideal Village and awareness rally led by the community organizer Exercise� In our sanitation interventions in 21 states across India, we have worked closely with villagers, especially women, to discover what is most important to them. In this exercise they envison what is most important to their community.
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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
FEBRUARY 10
FEBRUARY 11
Naniborwai village, Gujarat: Our community organizer Meenal is giving awareness on Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, a small deposit scheme of the Government of India meant exclusively for a girl child and is launched as a part of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Campaign. She is also helping the villagers to fill the application forms to open an account for their girl child.
Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science celebrations took place in several villages. Shown here are events in Kalinagar, West Bengal and Guptapada, Orissa. Women COs organized motivational talks and posters on women leaders in the fields of science and technology.
FEBRUARY 15
FEBRUARY 16
Naglapuria village in Vrindavan: AMMACHI Labs’ deployment team members are conducted a community outreach program at the village and a large number of women attended the event. Our team is Naniborwai village, Gujarat: AMMACHI Labs’ looking forward to select a new community organizer trained Community Organizer led the anti tobac- and facilitator for The Women Empowerment: Comco(Gudka) campaign and cancer prevention aware- munity Sanitation through Democratic Participation (WE:CSDP) project. ness session on the occasion of World Cancer day.
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WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
FEBRUARY 16
FEBRUARY 19
Naglapurvia village in Vrindavan: AMMACHI Malgaon village, Chhattisgarh: Life Enrichment Labs’ deployment team members visited almost 24 Education classes were organised by our Community houses and called up an another community meeting Organiser for the high school girl’s at their hostel. for selecting a Community Organizer and Facilitator. Kumari Pooja seems very enthusiastic to take over the challenge while explaining the roles and responsibilities of CO and her family also supported her. So we selected Pooja as our Community Organiser in Vrindavan.
FEBRUARY 21
Kalinagar village West Bengal: In bringing social transformation through community engagement, we conducted a mass awareness program yesterday with 50 women in attendance. They were mostly SHG members & change agents, they were initially apprised of their role as change models. Later on, our team shared success stories of women from other villages. After initial inspiration, next we showed them a video with social message and then the floor was open for anyone to come and speak about it. We could see women leaders emerging.Having thus created a fertile ground for interactions, we asked them to name 4-5 most pressing problems. They were grouped into 4 groups and each group had to choose one problem and suggest any solutions they could possibly imagine. What followed was a good presentation, we formed 4 task groups (with a leader and a second in command with 8 to 10 members), for solving drinking water problem, road building, perusing for 100% ODF, pension issue. These groups will now work with our Community Organizer in putting efforts to solve issues they took up, thus building community ownership.
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FEBRUARY 22
Karanji village, Chattisgarh: Certificate distribution to first and second batch students from AMMACHI Labs computer training center. Our Cvet programs aims at providing quality education to the women and youth in rural villages in India.
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
ABBREVIATIONS AMMACHI ASHGs COs c-LEE MLA NOs ODF SDGs SHGs TTT UNDEF UNESCO WE:CSDP ZLs
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Amrita Multi Modal Applications and Computer Human Interaction Advocacy Self Help Groups Community Organizers Computerized Life-Skills/Life Enrichment Education Member of Legislative Assembly Nodal Officers Open Defecation Free Sustainable Development Goals Self Help Groups Train-the-Trainer United Nations Democracy Fund United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Women Empowerment: Community Sanitation through Democratic Participation Zonal Leads
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