A Voluntary Organisation -SSVK Patna (India) ppt an overview -2014 Vision : “establishment of an egalitarian society devoid of any kind of discrimination and exploitation based on caste, class, gender, race or religion: a society that would permit the collective flowering of human potential for humane ends” Mission: “to work for the effective empowerment of the socially, economically and politically marginalised people to ensure their equitable participation in the societal mainstream”
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1. An Overview
2. Genesis Founded in 1986 Inspired by the ideals of Mahatma
Gandhi, Ram Manohar Lohia & Jai Prakash Narain Logical
culmination of the founders background in student and journalistic
activism
3. Vision and Mission Vision: establishment of an egalitarian
society devoid of any kind of discrimination and exploitation based
on caste, class, gender, race or religion: a society that would
permit the collective flowering of human potential for humane ends
Mission: to work for the effective empowerment of the socially,
economically and politically marginalised people to ensure their
equitable participation in the societal mainstream
4. Operational Area and Target Population Operational Area
Target Population Starting with intensive work in 4 districts and
overtime spreading to 14 more districts of Bihar comprises the most
deprived sections of the society with special emphasis on the
dalits, the scheduled tribes, women, minorities and the depressed
backward classes
5. Profile of the Target Population A historical legacy of
marginalization reflected even in spatial terms with them occupying
the periphery of the village settlement Embedded structural
inequity (class and caste) in a context of extreme ecological
vulnerability (recurrent floods) renders them extremely poor by
limiting their access to, and control over, assets, education,
health care and other constitutionally ordained entitlements
including the potential gains from institutions of local self
governance which stand appropriated by the locally dominant
interest groups Largely landless with dependence on agricultural
wages and casual non farm labour Limited employment opportunities
rendered further fragile by the recurrent floods and the poor
evolution of the secondary and tertiary sectors prompting large
scale migration High incidence of indebtedness Oppressive social
structure coupled with the rigour of day to day survival promote a
sense of fatalism inhibitive of collective development
initiatives
6. Factors perpetuating the status quo Lack of critical
awareness about the self and the socio, economic, political,
cultural and institutional context amidst the target group Their
lack of organisation Their lack of leadership and decision making
ability Inadequacy of institutional mechanisms for collectively
addressing their woes and accessing their entitlements
7. SSVKs Developmental Perspective Locates development anomaly
in 1. Exogenous factors structural causes like control/ownership of
and access to resources economic, political and social structures
2. Endogenous factors ideological factors (habits, beliefs,
cultural preferences) insufficient awareness and knowledge Accords
primacy to endogenous factors with emphasis on bringing changes in
the attitude and action of the marginalised entailing continuous
reorientation and adaptation of their values , practices and
institutions in order to facilitate appropriate
interventions/technologies to enhance their quality of life and
welfare, and their consequent bargaining /negotiating powers
8. SSVKs Strategic Orientation Strategically this perspective
translates into a harmonious blend of activism/struggle and
development Strategic Orientation - Activism/Struggle Grassroots
sensitisation, mobilisation and organisation of the most
disadvantaged sections of society, and facilitating mass activities
to enable them to access their rights and entitlements Mobilization
involving intensive animation inputs at the village level, periodic
larger meets on entitlements related issues and mass contact
programmes through `Padyatras. Protest strategies involving
petitioning, demonstrations, sit ins and legal redressal. Advocacy
conceptualised as a tool meant to go beyond mere public policy
influence to the larger arena of influencing societal attitudes and
practices so as to transform the oppressive value system to a more
just and humane world view.
9. SSVKs Strategic Orientation Strategic Orientation The
Developmental Development oriented services to address the
immediate and intermediate needs of its target group (Health,
Education, income generation, revitalisation of natural resource
base, provision of legal services) Such interventions prompted by
the protracted time factor inhering in entitlement oriented
struggles as well as to generate the critical mass of demand in
pursuit of entitlements. Also to emphasise innovative approaches to
service delivery Emphasis on promoting the self help initiatives
and strategically calibrated for demand generation
10. Strategic objectives of SSVK Promote leadership at the
community level by training them as social animators and social
organizers Create amidst the target group an awareness of their
physical, social and political environment to induce an attitude of
meaningful and constructive action on their part Enable the
empowerment of its target population through organizing them as
self-defining groups with a strong sense of self-identity and with
capacities to leverage resources and act as a pressure group.
Enable the target group to access its developmental and welfare
entitlements from the government Develop linkage building
capacities of the target group Enhance the self-reliance of the
target group through creating and sustaining economic opportunities
Documentation of best practices, achievements and results generated
and its dissemination to build credibility and enhanced recognition
of SSVKs efforts by the relevant stakeholders thus laying grounds
for formalised cooperation and collaboration Advocate on issues of
consequence for the target group: Building strategic alliances
around common themes and regional issues
11. Key Intervention Areas Health Education and promotion of
Primary Health Care including WATSAN Non Formal Education and Adult
Education with a focus on socially relevant education Securing
livelihood opportunities with emphasis on facilitating control over
and access to land and water based productive resources, ensuring
just wages, enabling access to the governmental employment
generation and development programmes and promotion of
complementary income generating interventions Legal Assistance and
Education including public interest litigation Environmental
awareness and mobilisation on the ecologically sensitive issues of
the project area Training of social animators and social organizers
from the target group Pro poor governance through sensitisation,
capacitation, and institutionalised follow up systems for effective
functioning of the Panchayat raj institutions Awareness,
mobilization and capacitation on right to information
Rehabilitation of child labour Consciousness raising on relief and
rehabilitation related issues along with relief and rehabilitative
interventions in the aftermath of natural calamities Publication of
newsletter and information dissemination through thematic
publications on issues of relevance to the development of the
marginalized
12. SSVKs Approach to Health The key elements of SSVKs approach
to health security include: Linking health security to work
security. Women-centered health care led by local women Capacity
building of Traditional Birth Attendants through upgrading their
skills so that they become the barefoot doctors of their
communities and villages Addressing common health problems among
poor families Promotion of health and well-being by providing
access to information and education Through awareness and
information dissemination regarding government schemes and
programmes building up an informed constituency of its target group
who subsequently use their strength as organised collectives to lay
claim to and access their developmental and welfare entitlements
from the government. Emphasising self-reliance in terms of women
owning, controlling and managing their own health activities
through setting up of village health committees
13. WATSAN In an operational context characterized by a high
incidence of water and sanitation related morbidity, WATSAN
interventions contribute to improved health and well being of the
people by increasing their access to safe water, sanitation and
hygiene promotion Key Interventions Sanitation Construction of low
cost sanitary toilets (sulabh model) adding value by incorporating
a pre cast roof and door within the limited budget Training of
local masons in casting of roofs and production of pans Beneficiary
contribution secured in all instances Awareness campaigns for
promotion of appropriate sanitary practices and development of IEC
material for the same
14. WATSAN Safe Water Installation of high quality hand pumps
at depths to sustainably supply safe water Hand pumps located
within the most deprived sections of village settlements through
community participation with participation of women at more than
50%. Each hand pump is provided with a cemented platform with
provision of appropriate drainage of water Village level committees
for maintenance and repair and the costs linked to the gram kosh
Training of local mechanics in repair of hand pumps and provision
of tool kit to each Awareness campaign around safe drinking water
practices carried out and IEC material developed for the same.
Special campaigns carried out in accordance with the seasonality of
diseases in the area.
15. SSVKs Approach to Education Organisations educational
interventions targeted at communities historically excluded from
the educational process for their effective integration into the
government primary education system NFE centres set up as bridge
schools for facilitating their entry and effective and equitable
participation in the government system. Special emphasis on girls
education to substantively improve their participation in education
Deployment of Innovative teaching methodologies to facilitate
learning capacities of the children Reorientation of content and
process of NFE by linking them with the living and working
conditions of the people Efforts to ensure that the various
governmental schemes, like scholarships, incentives and nutrition
support, targeted at the underprivileged children actually reach
them Organisation of community representatives into VECs and their
capacitation for sensitisation, management and advocacy functions
Sensitisation and advocacy initiatives seeking to positively
influence the elements in the policy and operational context that
contribute to the exclusion of the targeted children. `REFLECT, an
innovative approach to adult learning and social change and which
fuses the theories of Paulo Freire with the methodologies of
participatory rural appraisal, used for running adult literacy
classes.
16. SSVKs Approach to Livelihoods Strengthening the subsistence
livelihoods of the marginalised by promoting their access and
control over land and water based productive resources Optimizing
the returns on the land and water based assets that the poor have
Promoting tenurial security of the sharecroppers Ensuring just
wages Enabling access to the governmental employment generation and
development programmes Creating off farm economic opportunities
both for income augmentation as well as a risk sharing mechanism
Facilitating resilience of the target group to indebtedness to
moneylenders
17. Promotion of community institutions The Sustainability
Dimension All pro poor initiatives firmly embedded in strong and
vibrant community based organisations to render them sustainable as
community owned , community led and community managed initiatives
Grassroots mobilisation, organisation, and facilitating mass
activities to enable the most marginalised sections of society to
access rights & entitlements, gain control over common property
resources and effectively participate in panchayati raj
institutions Even in project centred sectoral initiatives the
overall guiding framework has been that of empowering the community
based institutions in rights mode. The community institutions
organised into a tiered structure: The Primary Groups at the level
of each tola (hamlet/village) The Intermediate/Apex level groups
(the Lok Shakti Sangathan) - an agglomerated representative body at
block, district and state level A differentiated role between the
primary and the intermediate/apex groups: The primary groups serve
as platforms to provide developmental inputs in health and
education and as forums for information sharing and capacitation
inputs, optimise economic and livelihood opportunities and get
active in village and development affairs by standing for local
elections, and addressing crucial social issues. The
intermediate/apex groups subserve the purpose of process extension
and act as pressure group on PRI & Govt. offices and facilitate
linkages as well as advocacy initiatives.
18. Gram Kosh A resource base at the community level created
with regular contributions made by the community members themselves
on a monthly basis with flexibility to pay a minimum of 60% in cash
and the balance in grains Strategic core of SSVKs successful
community level institution building being essential in terms of
harnessing and holding together the social capital of the
marginalised communities by providing economic teeth A mandatory
pre condition for coming under the banner of LSS A reserve for
community members to dig into to address their individual
contingent needs as well as a fall back mechanism for the CBOs in
the struggles they wage for just wages and for pond and land
related rights. Being the communitys own resource, borrowings are
returned at a premium of 2%/month to expand the fund base A
substantial resource base cumulatively built over the years has not
only helped reduced the dependence on the local money lenders but
also enabled sustaining many a struggle for rights and
entitlements
19. Disaster Management SSVKs operational area vulnerable to a
host of hazards ranging from flood to earthquake to cyclone to fire
Class, caste, ethnicity, gender, disability and age are all factors
affecting people's vulnerability and those at a disadvantage
because of one or more of these characteristics more likely to
suffer Thus disaster risk management one of the defining paradigms
for all the developmental initiatives of SSVK Key interventions
Emergency relief operations involving provision of food, safe
drinking water and temporary shelters, extension of medical
assistance and provision of boats for facilitating movement of the
marooned Rehabilitative efforts involving reconstruction of damaged
settlements and restoration of livelihoods Diversification of
livelihood support base Strengthening community level coping
mechanisms through organisation building and institutional
development and promotion of grain banks and contingency fund
reserves (gram kosh) amidst affected communities Building community
capacities to act as first responders in the event of floods
Networking with all relevant stakeholders around a shared
perspective, towards addressing the issue of Bihar floods at all
the levels of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
Advocacy centred initiatives geared towards addressing the root
causes of the flooding problem, galvanizing state response and
inclusion of the most marginalized in the relief and recovery
operations initiated by the various stakeholders most importantly
the government.
20. Strengthening of Local Self Governance Thrust on rendering
the panchayati institutions stronger as well as accountable to the
poor Constitution of panchayat adhikar samitis for greater and
effective devolution of powers and panchayat nigrani samitis with
adequate target group representation to monitor the functioning of
panchayats Pre-election awareness drives for informed casting of
votes and enabling target group members to contest various tiers of
panchayati raj and post election training of elected
representatives for effective functioning and community members for
informed participation to render panchayati institutions pro poor
in their initiatives
21. Achievements Network of Community Organisations, under the
banner of Lok Shakti Sangathan (LSS), now spreads over 1709
villages covering 162355 families. It has contributed greatly
towards enhancing the self-esteem and self-worth of these families.
The popular acceptance and practice of `Gram Kosh (villagers own
fund through fixed monthly contributions and its development as a
revolving fund for the benefit of the members) with a cumulative
accrual of Rs 1,87,80,150/- (Rupees One crore eighty seven lakhs
eighty thousand one hundred and fifty only) in all these villages
has not only enabled self-help capacities but also reduced
dependence on money lender as well as helped sustain several
struggles for rights and entitlements. SSVKs leadership development
initiatives at the community level have led to the Lok Shakti
Sangathan being instrumental in the formation of 1039 SHGs in the
districts of Madhubani Saharsa , Supaul and Darbhanga SSVKs target
group has been able to sustain struggles and wrest victories on
issues related to just wages, control over land and water related
productive resources, access to governmental development and
welfare programmes and redressal of issues pertaining to
victimisation by the local administration and dominant elements.
Land and ponds acquired through struggle have been put under land
and pond user committees for their productive and sustainable
management. Sustained environmental awareness campaigns have been
carried out to increase green cover in the intervention area and
for promotion of sustainable agriculture.
22. Achievements With support from CAPART, SSVK has not only
conducted 5 `Training of Trainers programme covering 300 NGOs but
also trained over 700 Social Animators and 120 Social Organisers
many of whom came from the organisations target community and were
instrumental in setting up and scaling up of Lok Shakti Sangathan.
While still staying very active, they have essentially worked as
volunteers with SSVKs support limited to guidance on perspective
and strategic choices. SSVK has conducted state level review
workshop of social organisers and social animators as well as a
regional review workshop of 10 states of eastern and north eastern
India for CAPART. Members from its target group have been elected
to various tiers of the Panchayati Raj. The organisation has been
instrumental in setting up of a Panchayat Adhikar Samiti to ensure
the effective devolution of powers to the Panchayati bodies.
Training and mass awareness camps for effective functioning of the
Panchayat bodies have been carried out which have promoted more
responsible functioning on the part of elected representatives and
also contributed to informed participation by the target group
members in the gram sabha meetings. The organization convened a
conference in November 2005 to pass a set of 22 resolutions on
desired reforms in the Panchayati Raj Act, the most notable amongst
which was the submission of a memorandum to government for 50%
reservation for women in Panchayati bodies which in fact was done
three months prior to the Government of Bihar taking a policy
decision on it.
23. Achievements Through its health intervention it has
appreciably improved the health status of its target group on
indicators pertaining to infant mortality, maternal mortality,
child mortality, incidence of malnutrition. Particularly
sustainable gains at the community level have been the creation of
a pool of trained TBAs capable of conducting safe deliveries and
that of health promoters with skills of ante-natal and post natal
check-up and diagnostic abilities for addressing minor ailments
occurring in the community. Attitudinal and behavioural change as
reflected in improved dietary practices and the wide scale adoption
of ORS as a response to diarrhoeal outbreak have been the other
notable gains SSVKs efforts in the area of primary education have
led to enhanced enrollment of children from the marginalised
communities in the government schools, a perceptible decline in
their dropout rate and their enhanced access to the various
governmental schemes targeted at the underprivileged children. CBOs
regularly monitor these schemes and engage with relevant
authorities for improving student teacher ratio and teacher
absenteeism in government schools. The organisation has been
instrumental in the installation of 550 ( PH-6 ) & India Mark
II hand-pumps, making of 150 modified treadle pumps; the
construction of 900 low cost latrines and construction and
renovation of 100 houses. These installations were mandatorily
accompanied by the training of local masons and hand pump mechanics
and the responsibility for the maintenance of these assets was
vested in popularly elected village committees. Regular drinking
water and sanitation campaigns were carried out to sensitise the
communities on safe water usage, appropriate sanitary practices and
personal and environmental hygiene.
24. Achievements In relief operations approach has been to
involve the beneficiaries not as passive recipients but as active
relief workers in the running of the relief camps. To ensure
transparency and accountability, not only local authorities and
panchayat representatives but even members of the victim
communities are integrated in the Relief Coordination Committee
instituted by the organisation for effective implementation and
monitoring of relief operations. Given its longstanding experience
and track record, SSVK, in the aftermath of the catastrophic Kosi
Floods of 2008, could successfully leverage corporate, bi lateral
and INGO assistance to reach out to 47975 families with relief and
rehabilitation package. SSVK has also carried out a pilot
intervention for enhancing the disaster preparedness capacities of
the vulnerable communities that it works with in 15 villages and
with 4,000 families. To address the issue of food security grain
banks were set up, disaster management committees constituted and
DMC members were trained as trainers in capacities required of them
as first responders. Another intervention aimed at addressing the
health needs of the communities, particularly during floods, led to
the creation of a trained pool of traditional birth attendants and
health volunteers in all the 15 villages. SSVK is also a member of
Training and Learning Circle (TLC) which is a community of Disaster
Risk Reduction (DRR) practitioners from South whose overall purpose
is to enhance learning through South-South knowledge and solution
exchanges with a focus on addressing systemic gaps and topics in
training and education. The TLC Community of Practice works on
system-wide issues relating to DRR training and education in India
and beyond. Since 2007 SSVK / LSS has been a part of Dalit Watch in
Disaster Mitigation Bihar along with 5 networks of peoples
organization and NGOs. Dalit Watch, a national forum for Equity and
Inclusion of Discriminated in Relief and Rehabilitation, has since
been involved in eliminating discrimination and ensuring equity and
inclusion in relief measures..
25. Achievements Publication of a quarterly newsletter by the
name of `Lok Shakti for the past 15 years on issues that impinge on
the development of its target group SSVK / LSS is one of the nine
Indian member constituents of the World Dignity Forum (a forum
against casteism, racism, other forms of discrimination and
exclusion) and has been an active co-participant in the
conferences, public rallies and protest marches organized by it in
the interest of the dalit communities. The Forum in India roots
itself amongst Dalits and Dalit organisations, and consists of more
than 125 social, cultural, voluntary, Dalit and non-governmental
organisations The organisational Secretary has been an invitee
participant in the World Social Forum Meets held in Mumbai and
Brazil. The organization Secretary also visited Hong Kong on the
occasion of 6th WTO ministerial level conference. Two Dalit women
from SSVK and LSS were nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 2005 and
were among the 91 nominated from all over India and 1000 from all
over the world. In recognition of their nomination, the Ryan
Foundation awarded them with Women of Substance Award 2004. One of
the two also received Out Look Speak Out Award 2005. Awarded the
prestigious Green Globe Foundation Award for the year 2010 in
recognition of its seminal role as a civil society organisation
contributing to the causes of sustainable development while
subscribing to the principles of social equity and justice. A joint
initiative of Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and
the International Indian Film Academy, the Green Globe Foundation
is partnered by distinguished knowledge partners: the United
Nations Environment Program and The Energy Resources Institute
(TERI) led by Dr. RK Pachauri. The award was adjudicated by a
distinguished panel of jury comprising, Mr. M.C. Mehta, Mr. Darryl
D Monte and Mr. Kartikeya V. Sarabhai.