Kalapandhari Magasvargiya & Adivasi Gramin Vikas Sansthan (KMAGVS)

Situation Think of any facility essential for human existence and Latur lacks it: • One of the most backward and deprived region in the state • Poor infrastructure and lack of livelihood options • Rampant illiteracy • Struggle for basic survival, stemming from food insecurity • No awareness of constitutional rights • Exploitation by person in a position of greater power	Challenge Failed Primary Economy: • Agriculture is the mainstay for the majority of the population. However, due to poor soil quality and successive years of drought, has resulted in low yield. No Fixed Pattern of Occupation: • Most families migrate to wok as sugar cane cutters, coolies and laborers between September and March. The Plight of Women: • The situation is worse for women – whatever little they earn is handed over to the men in the family. • Women workers also face sexual harassment. • Awareness about self-health care is miserably low among the women. A Lost Childhood: • Children are forced to work to contribute to the family earnings. • Number of child marriage cases is also on the rise.	Highlights • Ensure Right to Development, 100% education and access to health services in 65 villages • Create awareness on rights by enhancing in-house capacity to undertake media advocacy and lobbying for policy level changes related to landless agricultural laborers • Build a cadre of leaders to sustain the people’s movement at the district level • Strengthen people’s organization so that they can bargain for minimum and equal wages.	Results • All children aged below 3 years were covered under immunization programs • 12 ICDS centers were retained and are functional   • Safe drinking water provisions were ensured for 7 villages • Emphasis was on retaining children in school in 10 villages • Migration of 50 children from these villages was arrested and they continued with school education • 50 identified child laborers were removed from the workforce and linked with education programs • 100% retention of all mainstreamed children was ensured in 10 villages • 32 new children’s groups were formed and 11 existing groups strengthened.

Background:

In 1986 the Project Holder, Mr. B. P. Suryavanshi, along with a few like minded friends, started Kalapandhari Magas Vargiya and Adivasi Gramin Vikas Sanstha (KMAGVS). The organization was set up with the primary objective of ensuring access to quality education to children in 8 villages, as a means to prevent children from working. Being brought up in Latur district, the Project Holder is well aware of the socio-economic issues in the region.  An articulate individual, he is a good trainer on issues related to child rights and organizational development. He is also very active in the network Bal Hakk Abhiyan both at the state as well as at the regional level. His current efforts are focused on mobilizing communities towards building groups in Latur district under the banner of Campaign for Human Rights (CHR).
  

Situation:

Kalapandhari works in 65 villages of Renapur (Latur district) and Parali block (Beed district), Maharashtra. Marathwada is one of the most underdeveloped regions of Maharashtra. The region is characterized by poor infrastructure development and lack of livelihood options. Agriculture is the mainstay for the majority of the population, however, poor soil quality, lack of ground water has resulted in low yield and a mono cropping agricultural cycle. The existing hardships have been compounded by successive years of drought. The area has been declared drought prone and government schemes have been implemented however, their impact is not visible. Population is mainly comprised of SC’s, nomadic tribes and other socially backward classes. Literacy level in the region is as low as 51%. Gender discrimination and gender disparity in literacy are alarming. Lack of awareness about their constitutional rights, education and irrigation facilities render people helpless, and make them easy prey for landlords, middlemen and other exploiters. The drought conditions further add to the misery through scarcity of drinking water. Diseases and malnutrition are rampant. The recurrent failure of rains and the lack of livelihood options in the area have forced a vast majority of people to move to other regions with their families in search of work, mostly in sugar cane plantations where wages are unequal and are in gross violation of the minimum wage norm.
Children are completely denied a normal childhood with education and recreation. The struggle in this region is for basic survival issues which stem from food insecurity for nearly 6 to 8 months in a year. Drop out rates are as high as 47%. Most of the children go to work with their parents. Girl children are engaged in taking care of younger siblings and rearing livestock. During migration the entire family moves out. Child marriage is prevalent as parents see this as a way to increase working members in the family. Thus many of the children who are enrolled in school have irregular attendance.  Health care facilities are grossly inadequate. Kalapandhari aims to prevent migration by creating irrigation and agricultural opportunities through watershed and development and mobilizing people to take charge of their development process.

Objectives:

• To ensure right to development, 100% literacy, access to health services through strong people’s organization in 40 villages.
• To create awareness on rights and strengthen people’s organization.
• To build a leadership groups to sustain the people’s movement.

Review:

With CRY’s support, Kalapandhari has been successful in improving the health and education status of the children. Efforts are on to register births and get birth certificates. Immunization (both of children and pregnant women) has increased. The organization has made successful efforts in assisting poor families in getting ration cards. Enrolment of never enrolled and dropped out children in formal schools has also increased.

Major achievements include –
• All children aged below 3 years were covered under immunization programs.
• 12 ICDS centers were retained and are functional.
• Provision of ration cards was facilitated for 105 of 197 needy families.
• Safe drinking water provisions were ensured for 7 villages.
• Collective farming was initiated in 20 villages on the reclaimed land. Simultaneously the community is addressing entitlement issues of the reclaimed land in 7 of these 20 villages.
• Emphasis was on retaining children in school in 10 villages.
• Migration of 50 children from these villages was arrested and they continued with school education.
• 50 identified child laborers were removed from the workforce and linked with education programs.
• 100% retention of all mainstreamed children was ensured in 10 villages.
• 32 new children’s groups were formed and 11 existing groups strengthened.

KMAGVS has been one of the coordinating organizations for the study on inequities in health. This study will focus on access to health and health care to all- various aspects of health, quality of health services and policy level intervention. This study would aid organizations in developing a strategy to work with health issues. KMAGVS has collected statistical information regarding the health care services of Latur district as well as for all the districts of Marathwada region. This secondary information could be used to help identify the gaps between the statistical fact and the actual situation and in drawing out an advocacy plan with the participation of the people. KMAGVS has worked to empower women and the community towards ensuring rights for their children. They have promoted a holistic approach, and have successfully highlighted the linkages between socio-economic deprivation and discrimination.

Plans:

• Continuation of campaigns on birth registration and birth certificates.
• Continuation of campaigns on immunization of children and pregnant women.
• Continuation of campaigns on ration cards
• Continuation of campaigns on health check-up camps for children to continue (for all the 65 villages).
• Efforts for activation of government health centers and demand for new centers.
• Monitoring currently functional ICDS centers.
• Campaign for safe drinking water in 16 villages.
• 62 children to be prevented from migration.
• Campaign on enrolment (including 131 out of school children) and retention in formal schools, 100% retention targeted in all 65 villages.
• 45 child laborers to be freed from work.
• 11 gram Panchayats to be made active on child labor.
• 11 gram Panchayats to be made active on child marriage issues. Campaign against child marriage to be initiated in 11 new villages.
• Atrocities on dalit women and children to be monitored in all 65 villages.
• Campaign for Human Rights (CHR) groups to be formed and strengthened in 14 villages.
• 23 existing child groups to be strengthened and 37 new groups to be formed and organize a child Melawa.

Budget Summary (January to December 2008)