SITE VISIT REPORT OF ABHIYAN
we visited bhaiswa and jagpura villages of bhaiswa panchayat of masaurhi
block on 12th feb. 99. This area is adjacent to jehanabad dist. (the area
which was recently rocked by massacares of dalits by fundamentalist forces).
The political tension is palpable. Bihar is a state which can boast of
very high level of political consciousness having
close similarity only to kerala and west bengal. It has been the seat
of many movements, like the bodhgaya movement (concerning land rights)
and the JP movement leading to imposition of emergency and finally dethroning
of indira gandhi. JP movement attracted lot of youth. Many of them
entered
active electoral politics later. The declining state of affairs also
saw the hardening and growth of ultra-leftist marxist-leninist (ML) groups.
Simultaneously bihar also witnessed mushrooming of NGO culture. Many of
these NGOs are headed by people who were part of the JP movement.
many youth tried to strike a balance between socio-political movements questioning the status quo and NGO type of work concerning welfare activities like education, health, income generation programs (IGP), etc. Abhiyan group constitutes of such workers at the helm.
Abhiyan is active in masaurhi block for about 2 years. So far they have worked on the issues such as a few IGP schemes, organizing women around sewing classes, education and awareness on panchayati raj, implementation of govt. programmes, etc. They have tried to build a rapport with the community and their local workers are from the same area.
the villages where Abhiyan proposes to start schools are predominantly
scheduled caste (SC) villages. Most of the people are landless labourers
or marginal farmers with few middle-level farmers belonging to other backward
communities. It is these other backward caste
(OBC) communities which are socially and politically dominant in bihar
today. Laloo prasad yadav who along with his wife ruled for nearly last
nine years and his main contender the present railway minister at the centre
nitish kumar belong to this group. The two schools - one primary level
in bhaiswa and another higher secondary level in jagpura villages are dominated
by higher castes among OBC and SC population.
Abhiyan proposes to start schools for the mushar community which can
be termed as outcaste within outcaste. In british period they were notified
caste and were termed as criminals. Their children even today are
considered socially unacceptable and do not go to the govt. schools.
Mush
means rats in hindi and mushars eat rats catching them from agricultural
fields after the harvesting is done. They are also allowed to collect whatever
grains they can recover from the rat burrows in these fields. Infact mushar
means rat-eaters. Most of them, with few exceptions, are totally landless
and stay on the outskirts of villages practicing pig-rearing. The community
is in dire need of education (for most families
it will be first generation going to school of any kind) but at the
same time only a literacy oriented education wouldnt do as in the present
socio-economic-political structure it is unlikely that they will make much
headway with their school certificate. Therefore we have redrafted
their proposal keeping three points in focus: (1) component of literacy
and introducing children to formal schooling, (2) imparting them some technical
skills which may help them earn bread when they grow up, (3) community
organization for socio-political empowerment.
Strong points of Abhiyan: (1) the workers belong to the area. being
from the same milieu they can empathize with the target community and process
of interaction will be smooth, (2) the urban activists associated with
the
project have many years of experience in socio-political movements
and have the capacity to theorize Ideas. The proposed consultant has experience
with innovative education programs.
Areas need to be worked upon: (1) the group doesnt have prior first
hand experience of running a school, (2) so far Abhiyan has been involved
in socio-political issues and has taken a struggle oriented approach. Campaigning
and mobilizing people has been their strength. there is possibility of
their being swept away by other more pressing issue impacting the lives
of target population. Hence close monitoring is essential, (3) in a highly
volatile political scenario of the area close rapport with and support
of target community is essential. Theyll have to
seriously make this investment.
The proposal remains same as was tentatively proposed after modification. It is being given again for convenience.
PROJECT PROPOSAL
Submitted by Abhiyan, Patna
Objective of the Project:
(1) To provide meaningful education to about 50 children and literacy
to
about 30 children of Mushar caste and other Scheduled Caste (S.C.)
population.
(2) To work for economic self-sufficiency programmmes for the youth.
(3) To make people aware of the importance of peoples organizations, importance
of proper utilization of their resources, free them from the clutches of
money-lenders and the corrupt and degenerate government bureaucratic and
political system.
Location of the Project:
Bhaiswa and Jagpura villages of Bhaiswa panchayat of Masaurhi Block
in Patna district. The Masaurhi block is situated in south at a distance
of 40 km from the Patna district headquarters. The village Bhaiswa is located
at a distance of 8 kms from the Masaurhi Block headquarters. The nearest
railway station is Masaurhi. The target area can
be approached through Patna-Gaya road up to Masaurhi.
Components of the Project:
(1) Education centre.
(2) Economic Self-reliance.
(3) Organizational awareness.
Education Centre: Objective of the educaiton programme will be to raise
people with right understanding, right behaviour and sefl-sufficiency in
occupation. The education programme will be holistic in nature and will
not be limited to the school boundaries. A close interaction with the villagers
will be maintained and they will be motivated to get involved in
the process of education. Apart from teaching language, maths, sciences
and social sciences, art/craft activities, making the process of learning
joyful and involving local artisans will be part of the education programme
for 50 children. Rupesh, a social activist from Patna will help
the team of teachers at the education centre to develop the curriculum
as
well as give direction to the overall project.
Besides 30 children in a neighbouring village will also be imparted literacy training by the educaiton centre.
Economic Self-reliance: Each teacher of the school will attempt to become
self-reliant by associating himself/herself with some economic activity.
Some of the activities being considered as part of this project are screen
printing, chyawanprash making, repair of diesel pumping set, water
tube-well boring, automible (tractor) repair and tailoring. The activities
will be carried out with the school as a centre. These activities will
serve as training programmes for the students of the school as well as
other members of the villages. Some of these people may also join the produciton
activities on a long-term basis.
Organizational Awareness: Peoples organization will be strengthened
in the
village. Meetings and camps will be held for education, self-sufficiency
activities, making people aware of their responsibilities and rights and
to free them from the clutches of money-lenders by inculcating savings
habits among the poor.
Resources Available:
A community land, 2400 sq. ft., is available for the project at no
cost Besides one centre is also available in the form of a kachcha house.
It has a room of 450 sq. ft. size and about 3000 sq. ft. of open space.
Four
tailoring machines are also available.
Duration of Project:
It will be a three year project, i.e., funding will be required for
three years. An attempt will be made to make the centre along with its
team completely self-reliant by the fourth year.
Budget:
Following is a budget for the first year. Budget for the second year will be proposed when the project begins. In subsequent years the amount of funds required to sustain the centre will go down.
Items
Amount (in Rs.)
Fixed Expenses
Diesel Pumping set with kits
20,000
Equipment for tube-well boring
5,000
Screen printing material
5,000
Capital for Chyawanprash
20,000
Blackboards and teaching kits
1,000
Bicycle
2,000
Total
53,000
Recurring Expenses
Honorarium for 7 teachers @ Rs. 1000 p.m. 84,000
Consultancy for Rupesh @ Rs. 1250 p.m. 15,000 Learning material for 80 children @ Rs. 100 per child 8,000 Snacks for 50 children @ Rs. 2 per child per day for 300 days 30,000 Rent for a room @ Rs. 500 p.m. 6,000 Training programmes and camps 7,000 Travelling 5,000 Stationery, etc. 4,000 Monitoring 2,000 Total1,61,000
Grand Total
2,14,000
Total Budget for Rupees Two lakhs fourteen thousand only.
Project Team:
The project team will be as follows:
Name Age (in years) Educational Qualification Service
Satendra Kumar 35 M.A., B.Ed. Social Activist
Shailendra Kumar 25 B.Sc. Pramila 30 I.A. Kameshwar Prasad 35 I.A. Upendra 30 B.A., Trained Teacherplus two Mushar boys as teachers will complete the team of teachers.
Rupesh 33 M.A. Social Activist
will serve as the consultant for this project, and
Chandra Bhushan 38 M.A. (Gandhian thought), LLB Dr. Anil Kumar 35 Ayurvedic Doctor Practice Akhtari Begum 23 M.A. Social Activist Kranti Rasor 50 M.A.will be also assisting voluntarily.