Asha Darshan Assam OACKGROUND & PROPOSAL - PowerPoint Presentation

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Asha DarshanAssamOACKGROUND & PROPOSAL

Amit Sharma

JULY 2016

Background Asha Darshan is one of the oldest AfE

-SV projects, running since the year 2000

Asha

Darshan

Trust is the grassroots NGO and an

AfE

affiliate, similar to Asha Trust

Biju

Borbarua

is the principal coordinator of Asha

Darshan

and has been working in the area since 1998

Asha

Darshan’s

work is broadly organized into:

Education

Women Empowerment

Community Development

Environmental Activism

Overview Asha Darshan’s e

ducation program spans 11 villages in

Baksa

and

Tamalpur

districts of Assam

Education Program has expanded into Manipur with support from Stamford

Primary site of Asha

Darshan’s

is

Bodo

tribal area, governed by

Bodo

Tribal Council (BTC)

Primarily agrarian society with large population dependent on small farming or seasonal labor

The region has been historically marred by violent conflicts and militancy

Political agreements and arrangements over the

p

ast decade have brought some normalcy to the region , however, there’s little improvement in the lives of people

Access to affordable and quality education and healthcare continues to be a challenge

Relatively high [and rising] drug & substance abuse in the area

Education Program Asha Darshan runs schools with community support where there is a need and

demand

Since 2001 Asha

Darshan

has started 24 schools, of which 15 schools have been either converted (to) or adopted by the Government!

Asha

Darshan

currently runs 9 schools

Nagapur

(Assamese medium)

Nagapur

(

Bodo

medium)

Shimliguri

Shantipur

#1

Shantipur

#2

Devinagar

Satyanarayanpur

Abhayapur

Sonmuni

SL. No.

Name of School

Year of support

Year of closing

Govt. Support

1

Khumguri PP school

2000

2006Anganwabi Kendra 2Bathouguri PP school 20002004Do3Amlaiguri LP school20002006Govt. 4Anthaibari PP school20002011Anganwadi Kendra5Jhargaon PP school20002003Do6Nagapur PP school20002007Do7Kawli PP school20002005Do8Singramari LP school20002010Govt 9Satyanarayanpur LP school2000Continue  10Satyanarayanpur ME school2006Continue  11Namati LP school20002011Govt. 12Hajongbasti PP school20002015Govt13Lakhinarayanpur LP school20002010Do14Paharpur PP school20042007Do152No. Shantipur LP school2006Continue  16Danswarng LP school20062010Govt17Garughutu LP school20062010Govt.18Lakhinarayanpur ME school20072015Do19Nagapur ME School (Bodo)Medium 2007Continue  20Devinagar LP school2007Continue  21Nagapur LP & ME school (Assamese) Medium 2008Continue  22Simliguri ME school2009Continue  23Sunmuni LP school2011Continue 241No. shantipur LP school2013Continue       

All 8 Pre-Primary schools have been

supported as

Aanganwaadi

Centers by

the Government

7 LP Schools have been recognized by

the Government as well

Education Program Government norms for setting up Aanganwaadi Centers is tribal density of 150-300, but, little or no support was available

Asha

Darshan

started with opening per-primary schools in 7 hamlets in

Tamalpur

These centers were eventually upgraded to primary/upper-primaries as children graduated and little help came from the Government

between 2007-2015 ICDS centers were either opened or pre-primary centers were adopted Nagapur is an exception where Asha Darshan ran a Secondary School to meet the damand and non availability of a school in 10-15km vicinity Adha Darshan schools are either Bodo or Assemese medium

Education Program Most schools are in temporary construction, with concrete floors but bamboo walls/roofs, and need annual (or frequent) repairs, especially during the rains

Community generally works together on maintenance and repairs of the schools

Schools are typically constructed on community [donated] land

Schools follow the state curriculum, and free books were procured from the State Education Dept.

Since 2010-11, only the schools with DICE Code were made mandatory for free supply of teaching and learning material, making Asha

Darshan ineligible.

Education Program Multiple discussions with BEEO, SDO, and DC have been futile and Asha Darshan today either purchases the books and material from open market or by bribing the storekeepers of DICE book supply

Official recognition of school typically requires a bribe of somewhere between

Rs

. 2.5L – 3L

Nagapur

and

Satyanaraynpur schools paid this bribe to get recognized and subsequently DICE codes

Education Program Field staff visits the schools 2/3 days every week and parents frequently visit and meet at the school

SMC meetings are conducted every month, students, parents, and community at large attends the CMS meetings to discuss issues including, but not limited to, the school.

Teacher meetings are held in rotation bases every month or two months

There’s a monthly meeting, last Sunday of every month, of teachers at Asha

Darshan

center in

Bogajuli

or TamalpurProgress of all schools is discussed along with a post-training follow-up Annual teacher training program for all teachers Conducted with help from Asha Trust or other local NGOs with expertise in teacher training

Self Help Groups Asha Darshan runs an extensive network of SHGs since 1998 with a broad objective of empowering women socially and economically

Initial target was the most backward poor working women with little savings because of non-linkage with banks

Since 1998, 450 SHGs have become operational under

Baksa

and 24 under

Dhemaji

districtEach SHG has between 10-15 members with nominal weekly contribution of Rs. 5-10A SHG comprises of a president, vice president, secretary, an assistant secretary, and a treasurer. Group can take no or very low interest bearing loans on as-need basis SHGs have been targeted by the nationalized banks to meet their rural banking and grup banking targets Private lenders also target the SHGs for extending larger loans on unfavorable terms to members with the SHG pool as a collateral Asha Darshan is leveraging NRLM to rejuvenate SHGs and improving the overall economic condition of the women

Vocational Training Vocational Training program was started in 2002-3 for members of SHGs on the following areas:Candle making

Tailoring

Horticulture and improved farming practices

Animal Husbandry

Poultry

Soft Toys and Tailoring

The objective is to eventually ensure

Rs

. 10L by every SHG member

Mahila Shanti Sena Mahila

Shanti

Sena

was formed in 2002 under the guidance of

Paramshree

Rabindra

Nath Upadhyay with the following objectives:Rescue and counseling of victims of domestic abuse Raise awareness, rescue and rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking Health awareness amongst women and childrenRaise awareness about Right to Information and Right to EducationBuilding a strong group of women leadersRaise awareness against militancy and violence Mahila Shanti Sena has played a critical role in formation of SHGs, and operations of the Asha Darshan schools. Women from Mahila Shanti Sena have played a critical role in reduction of violence in the region and promoting community participation in the region

Weavers Program Weaving Training & ProductionHandloom is traditional industry hat has been systematically decimated by introduction of

modren

power looms and import subsidies

Weaving continues to be a potential means of economic empowerment with highly skilled labor

pool

Training Program using modified looms and Jakarta looms

Focused on designing and quality of final product

Started a local shop for direct sale with moderate success Over 200 weavers have received training from Asha Darshan Connecting Asha Darshan with Dasktar (Delhi) to participate in Nature Bazaar (Delhi) and get design and marketing training in 2016-17

Activities in 2015-16 International Women’s Day celebrationMarch 8

th

‘16 in

Tamalpur

More than 300 women and girls participated

Exposure visit of Asha

darshan

teamMarch 12-15, ‘1623 participants visited visited Apna Ghar (Tatyaganj, Kanpur)Apna Ghar is an Asha Trust project supported by AfE

Proposal for 2016-17Budgethttp://www.ashanet.org/projects-new/documents/284/AD_budget_2016-17.docx

(overall budget is

7879500

.00)

Annual Report

http://

www.ashanet.org/projects-new/documents/284/Asha_Dharshan_Annual_Report-2016-17.docx

Site Visit Reporthttp://www.ashanet.org/projects-new/documents/284/site_visit_2015.pdf