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ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008 THE HUNGER PROJECT
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THP annual report '08

Feb 21, 2016

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Page 1: THP annual report '08

ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008 ThE hUNgER PROjEcT

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the hunger project ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008

You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women

– Jawaharlal Nehru

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the hunger project ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008

1 About The hunger Project

2 Message from the country Director

4 Programme Strategies

6 1. Strengthening Women’s Leadership

13 2. Making Panchayats Effective

17 3. Influencing Public Opinion

20 4. Alliance building for Advocacy and Support

23 Rebuilding Lives after the Tsunami

24 Significant Events 07-08

26 Financial Facts

27 Auditors’ Report

28 Balance Sheet

29 Income and Expenditure Account

30 Schedule 1

31 Partnerships with civil Society Organisations

33 governance

34 The hunger Project State Offices

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The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

Map of India showing the

14 states in which

The Hunger Project works.

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The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008 �

About the Hunger Project

The hunger Project is a global strategic organisation working in 14 countries committed to ending hunger. In India it is committed to ignite, kindle and sustain the leadership spirit in women elected to village Panchayats. The 73rd constitutional Amendment Act (cAA) which mandated 33.3 per cent reservation for women in all three tiers of the Panchayati Raj Institutions, has brought more than one million women into public political life. It is our conviction that active participation of these women in local governance shall make hunger free India a reality.

Several social conditions have systematically hindered and undermined the role of women over centuries denying them access, opportunities and a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. however, the revolutionary 73rd cAA seeks to transform Panchayats into ‘little republics’ and within it has recognized the need for women’s leadership, in reality there are numerous obstacles faced by the elected women representatives. The hunger Project recognizes these social conditions and understands the obstacles and seeks to address them by strengthening the role of elected women representatives in grassroots governance so that they are able to assert their rights and build a future which is free of hunger, poverty and injustice.

The elected women leaders that The hunger Project has worked with in the last eight years have shown phenomenal leadership ability, against all odds. They have struggled to bring water, health, and education to their villages despite pressure, threats, violence, and brutalities. They have constructed roads and provided clean drinking water to their communities. These elected women representatives are slowly but surely changing the development agenda of their villages. Fifteen years after the 73rd cAA, rural women understand that it is their right to stand for elections and govern their Panchayats. In the remote corners of this country, thousands of women leaders have already started to occupy public spaces and are questioning corruption, inefficiency, and lack of necessities in their villages.

The elected women leaders need support and mentoring such that their leadership is strengthened and they are able to construct a hunger free India for themselves and their fellow citizens. The hunger Project is committed to staying the course with these elected women leaders.

The hunger Project, working in 14 states of India, focuses on the mobilisation and empowerment of elected women representatives in Panchayats. Through effective strategies, and in partnership with more than 68 civil society organisations, The hunger Project has worked with and supported the leadership of more than 70,000 elected women representatives.

Fourteen years after the

Constitutional Amendment, rural

women understand that it is their

right to stand for elections and

govern their Panchayats. In the

remote corners of this country,

thousands of women leaders

have already started to occupy

public spaces and are questioning

corruption, inefficiency, and lack of

necessities in their villages.

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� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

Message from the Country Director

It gives me immense pleasure to present to you The hunger Project’s work and its progress for the year 2007-08.

It has been eight years since The hunger Project began its work with elected women representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions. Over 70,000 women trained in the Women’s Leadership Workshops (WLW’s), and the subsequent follow up and need-based workshops, have proved that they are dedicated to making a difference within their own communities through their focused agenda of basic health, education and food security for their families, communities and villages of India.

This year, like other previous years, has been witness to intense activities. I would like to draw your attention to a few key points. In the States of Assam and Uttarakhand, where Panchayat elections had been delayed, elections were finally held in Assam, however Uttarakhand has yet to announce the final election date. We organised the Strengthening Women’s Empowerment through Electoral Processes (SWEEP), a pre-election campaign in both these States. The campaign, in Assam resulted in greater participation of women in the entire electoral process as well as an increase in the number of victorious women candidates.

In the States of Bihar, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra nine Training of Trainers’ (ToT) and 270 trainers were trained to strengthen women’s leadership. In these eight States, post the ToTs, 6,863 first-time elected women representatives were trained through 275 WLWs.

In the States of Karnataka and Rajasthan, The hunger Project has begun the pioneering work of facilitating the creation of elected women’s federations. The need for these federations emerged from the elected women leaders who realise the power of a collective voice. They have successfully come together in both these States and we know that this work will continue across all other States in our work area in the years to follow.

Another initiative undertaken by us in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu has been the systemic tracking and mobilising for gram Sabhas (village general body meetings). It is here in the gram Sabha where development priorities are set, and budgets are approved. By undertaking this enterprise of mobilisation and tracking of gram Sabhas The hunger Project has the firm belief that the lacunas in the system will be exposed. In addition, this exercise will help track women’s leadership skills.

In the States of Assam and Uttarakhand, where Panchayat

elections had been delayed, elections were finally held in Assam, however Uttarakhand

has yet to announce the final election date.

We organised the Strengthening Women’s Empowerment through

Electoral Processes (SWEEP), a pre-election

campaign in both these States. The campaign, in

Assam resulted in greater participation of women in the entire electoral process

as well as an increase in the number of victorious

women candidates.

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The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008 �

At the national level one of our key interventions this year has been the facilitation of setting up the National Platform to Promote Decentralisation (NPPD). Towards this, a series of meetings took place with key stakeholders of Panchayati Raj and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, government of India. NPPD envisages harmonizing decentralization initiatives undertaken by both government and non-governmental institutions. The platform will symbiotically bring together and amicably bind a plethora of critical stakeholders in local governance viz., the representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions (elected and appointed), academia, and civil society organisations along with the relevant government functionaries. NPPD will consolidate past and current learning, share best practices and insights about decentralization, and create a mechanism through which existing expertise may be used towards systemic reforms thereby strengthening the voice of the poor and marginalised within governance. Further, the Platform will access, compile, document and share information through research studies and on ground interventions related to the initiatives of the Panchayats along with developing knowledge and issue based networks.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank all our investors, donors, partners, board members, well wishers and friends for the wholehearted support, help, appreciation and commitment given by them to The hunger Project, its work and continued growth.

With deep appreciation of your support

Country DirectorThe Hunger Project-India

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� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

Strengthening Women’s LeadershipThrough a three-day residential Women’s Leadership Workshops, a two day follow up workshops and a one-day need based workshops, The hunger Project has trained 71,863 elected women representatives.

Making Panchayats EffectiveThe second strategy understands the need for mobilisation of the gram Sabhas if women’s leadership in the Panchayats is to be effective. The hunger Project facilitates greater participation of women in the gram Sabhas such that issues concerning women are identified, raised and addressed on a regular basis.

Influencing Public OpinionInfluencing Public Opinion is also a key strategy of The hunger Project. Understanding the need for the development of a political and public will to facilitate conditions which will truly create an environment for transformative change at the grassroots, The hunger Project has actively engaged with the media and other stakeholders. To this end, The hunger Project also awards the Sarojini Naidu Prize annually. The Prize carries a cash award of Rupees Two Lakhs annually to journalists in the print media as recognition of best reporting on women and Panchayati Raj in the print media in hindi, English and Other Indian Language categories.

Alliance building for Advocacy and SupportOver the last decade little has been done to ensure the effectiveness of the 73rd cAA at the grassroots. As a strategy, The hunger Project has been collaborating with other like-minded organisations on policy issues that negatively impact on the effectiveness of women’s leadership. This has ensured that policy changes create a favourable environment for women Panchayat leaders who have made a choice to stand firmly on the ground of good governance and equal participation.

Programme Strategies

The Hunger Project uses a multi pronged strategy to strengthen the leadership

of elected women representatives so that

they become key change agents in ending hunger, poverty and injustice in

the villages of India

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The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008 �

state year in election cycle as on 2006-07

elections due

Andhra Pradesh 2nd 2011Arunachal Pradesh 5th 2013Assam 5th 2012Bihar 2nd 2011gujarat 2nd 2011himachal Pradesh 3rd 2010jammu & Kashmir Delayed DelayedKarnataka 3rd 2010Orissa 1st 2012Madhya Pradesh 3rd 2012Maharashtra Ongoing Ongoing Rajasthan 3rd 2010Tamil Nadu 2nd 2011Uttarakhand 5th 2008

India: Five year cycle of

empowerment

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� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

strategy 1 : strengthening women’s leadership

Elected women’s leadership is strengthened through various capacity building initiatives that include Training of Trainers, Women’s Leadership Workshops, Follow-up workshops, Need based workshops (workshop’s on Right to Information (RTI), gender based violence, gender sensitisation, legal literacy, social audit), workshops on building federations, addressing vision, objective, structure, membership, advocacy plans and action plans and campaigns on Strengthening Women’s Empowerment through the Electoral Processes (SWEEP) or pre-election voter awareness campaign.

Strengthening Women’s Leadership Through Workshops

The hunger Project in India’s core strategy is capacity building of elected women representatives.The objective of this strategy is to build confidence and empower first time elected women representatives with information and knowledge about the key roles and responsibilities in local self government institutions – the Panchayats – so that they can effectively and efficiently articulate the vision of their communities and take the first step towards transformative leadership. In 2007-2008 a total of 6,863 first time elected women representatives were trained through 275 Women’s Leadership Workshops (WLWs) in Bihar, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Across eight states, nine Training of Trainers (ToT) were conducted and 270 trainers were trained to strengthen women’s leadership.

The hunger Project has organised conventions in order to en-able elected women representatives to come together and speak as one. conventions are platforms which give elected women rep-resentatives a space to learn and share from each other’s experi-ences. Stories and experiences of courage and good governance are a great learning experience for the women leaders and help them in their own work. The women leaders who have faced the odds of marginalisation, patriarchy, feudalism, gender discrimi-nation and gender based violence experience a great sense of dignity and self-respect when they share the platform with sen-ior policy makers, bureaucrats, police officers and politicians. In the past, conventions have also been spaces, which advocate for women’s political and social rights and plan for future advocacy campaigns and collective action. conventions are also a time of celebration and build strong bonds across caste, region, religion and class amongst elected women. In 2007-2008 two state level conventions took place – one in Bihar and the other in Madhya Pradesh.

In Bihar, a state level convention – Aparajita – The Victorious 2007 was held in April in collaboration with 15 partner organisa-tions in the State capital, Patna. The prime objective of the con-vention was to felicitate the newly elected women representatives. Overall, 3,500 elected women representatives from all three tiers of Panchayati Raj Institutions from 35 districts of Bihar, partici-pated. During the convention elected women representatives’

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The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008 �

drafted a 16-point memorandum, which they felt, would enable their effective and efficient functioning within Panchayati Raj In-stitutions. This, they submitted to Mr. Narendra Narayan Yadav, the State Minister for Panchayati Raj.

In Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, The hunger Project organised a state level convention in collaboration with 15 civil society organ-isations. Two hundred and seventy five women leaders from 18 districts of Madhya Pradesh participated in the convention. The objective of the convention was to educate the women and make them aware of their rights and motivate them to consciously par-ticipate in social development and political governance. Sessions on Right to Information, Women and governance, Domestic Violence and a panel discussion on various government schemes imparted valuable information to the women and helped them to develop their capacities to meet future challenges. Post the con-vention a memorandum was submitted to the chief Minister of the State. One of the key demands of the memorandum was to make the State more responsive to issues of good governance.

Participants

undertaking the

vision and planning

exercise in a Women’s

Leadership Workshop.

Karnataka & Rajasthan

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� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

Creating Effective Local Elected Women’s Federations

The need to federate is a natural outcome of The hunger Project’s trainings and has become the most effective next step needed by elected women representatives. As shared by The hunger Project partners and the team on the ground, during the WLWs and fol-low-up workshops, there was a realization amongst elected wom-en leaders that as individuals their voices were scattered, but as an enlightened group they could protect and represent their own interests in an effective manner through collective bargaining. This would enable them to collectively advocate at the grassroots on issues of participatory and accountable governance. Subse-quently, local elected women’s federations have emerged as effec-tive collective voices, which influence public policy at the district and State level. The hunger Project has built upon the need for federations by giving inputs on the vision, goals and objectives of these federations.

In Karnataka, the year 2007-2008 has been a year of ground-breaking work – the laying of the foundation for the building of elected women’s federations in the state. As part of the advoca-cy, in july 2007, The hunger Project along with other organisa-tions facilitated the Panchayat Raj Hakkottaya Andolan, a rally in which more than 2,300 elected representatives participated. This was organised to protest against the Karnataka Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill 2006 which empowered the State to distribute Ashraya houses, thus taking away the power from the Panchay-ats and dealing a blow to decentralisation. The Amendment was eventually withdrawn. Of the 2,300 representatives, more than 40 per cent were women and this was the first time they had come together as a collective to further their cause. Subsequently, the need to form associations or federations started to emerge in The hunger Project’s WLW’s from the women themselves. Karnataka was one of the first states to roll out the capacity building work-shops for federation building. Developed by The hunger Project, it aimed to clarify the concept of federations amongst elected women representatives.

The hunger Project pioneered conceptual clarity workshops on federations across seven districts, in Karnataka in which more than 3,200 elected women representatives participated. The ob-jective of the workshops was to develop an understanding on fed-erations in a structured and strategic manner. The workshops

“Prior to THP trainings, women were not

participating effectively on the ground, hence

there was no question of them wanting to know

the financial and physical reality of their Panchayati

Raj Institutions. The moment they became aware of governance

related issues and their rights during trainings

and follow-up meetings, they felt the need to form

associations in order to add a chorus of voices to their concerns. Not only this, as effective leaders, women want to address

their concerns and resolve them.”

ThP Partners and the team on the ground

strategy 1 : strengthening women’s leadership

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The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008 �

Potential women

candidate. Assam

Panchayat elected

women representatives

after a WLW. Bihar

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�0 The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

Potential Women Leaders

from taking the oath at

a leadership workshop.

Ladakh

Elected women from

a Federation meeting.

Karnataka

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The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008 ��

addressed women’s political and social rights, which are critical in building women’s leadership, and also focussed on issues of gender and governance, and highlighted elected women repre-sentatives roles and responsibilities in Panchayats. Information on the powerful Right to Information Act was imparted during the workshops, so that women could be empowered to use it as a tool to demand transparency and accountability in local govern-ance. A unique and relevant aspect was sharing with the women the history of federations in the country. Elected women repre-sentatives were encouraged to have in-depth discussions on their visions, goals, and the objective, roles and responsibilities of their federations. These discussions were documented in ‘white papers’ brought out by elected women representatives in 53 blocks. A consolidated first draft of ‘The White Paper on Federation Build-ing’ was brought out at the end of the process. This document has become a guideline and is unique because, for the first time a truly bottom-up approach to federation building has emerged in the State, with elected women representatives leading and own-ing the process.

In Rajasthan, 12 block level federations with an overall strength of 900 elected women leaders, across eight districts have been actively engaged with Panchayats and the community on issues of education, health, water, sanitation and conservation. Federa-tions have raised their voice against female foeticide, child mar-riage and alcoholism. By organizing themselves, elected women representatives have successfully and with great confidence en-gaged with non-cooperative and suspicious local government bureaucrats and accessed rights and entitlements to government schemes. The hunger Project and its partner organisations or-ganised a State level meeting where Block Level Federations pre-sented a charter of Demands to the State government demand-ing, among other things, 50 per cent reservation for women in Panchayats and removal of the ‘Two child Norm’ from the Ra-jasthan Panchayati Raj Act. The federations have realized their collective strength and are currently in the process of building a State Level federation - the Rajasthan Mahila Panch-Sarpanch Sangathan. To strengthen the work of federations, issue based training on Right to Information Act, National Rural Employ-ment guarantee Act/Scheme and Panchayati Raj Institutions was imparted to the elected women leaders.

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�� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

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Strengthening Women’s Empowerment through Electoral Processes

Panchayat elections in Assam were held in january 2008. The hunger Project with its three partners implemented the SWEEP campaign across seven districts of Assam covering 34 blocks, 366 gram Panchayats and 1,700 villages. The objective of the cam-paign was to encourage the community to participate in Pancha-yat elections and create an enabling, violence free environment for women leaders to contest the elections and participate in the overall election process as aware voters and responsible citizens. The SWEEP campaign was implemented six months prior to the elections. Strategies used in the campaign were street plays, ral-lies, meetings, media workshops and distribution of materials. An important issue addressed during the campaign was that women could contest all seats in the Panchayat election, as there is a com-mon misconception that the remaining 66.66 per cent seats are reserved for men! Other issues included awareness about people’s right to demand accountability of corrupt local governance prac-tices. The SWEEP campaign reached out to more than 5,000 po-tential candidates and at least 63,000 people across the districts. Despite resistance in the form of a backlash from local politicians there was tremendous support and participation from the com-munity; as a result 44 per cent women candidates won across all the three tiers.

In the northern state of Uttarakhand, the SWEEP campaign was launched in january 2008. however, the elections have been postponed and are expected to take place in September 2008. In preparation, five partners in Kumaon and garhwal regions implemented SWEEP across seven districts covering 450 gram Panchayats. The campaign was conducted both extensively and intensively. Maximum coverage was ensured through extensive dissemination of posters and pamphlets, radio programmes (across all districts of Uttarakhand), a ‘Rath Yatra’ (advocacy pro-cession) and through street plays. Intensive activities included village level meetings and engaging with existing women’s fed-erations to actively participate in the election process. Intensive capacity building workshops were conducted with smaller groups of potential women candidates. A unique strategy was to set up Panchayat Knowledge centres, which serve as single windows for election, related information. During SWEEP, media advo-cacy was done to address pre-conceived notions about women’s participation in Panchayats.

Strengthening Women’s Empowerment through

Electoral Processes (SWEEP) is a pre-election campaign strategy, which

The Hunger Project has successfully implemented

across various states in India. Panchayat

elections were held in two States - Assam and

Uttarakhand. The overall objective of the campaign

is to highlight and re-define the concept of

women’s leadership and to ensure and increase

women’s participation in the electoral process as

informed candidates and voters.

Elected women leaders march

to the Chief Minister’s office

in to submit a charter of

demands.

Simla, Himachal Pradesh

Election help desks during the

SWEEP campaign. Assam

strategy 2 : making panchayats effective

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Facilitating Effective Participation of Elected Women in Gram Sabhas

The gram Sabha (village general body meeting) is a constitution-ally mandated mechanism by which the community holds the Panchayats accountable in rural areas. All eligible voters within the constituency of the Panchayat are members. Meetings are to be held quarterly on dates specified by the State (generally on national holidays such as Independence Day, Republic Day and gandhi’s birthday). A quorum is required to fulfil legal require-ments. In the gram Sabha, development priorities are to be set, budgets are to be approved, and results are to be reported to quar-terly mandated gram Sabha meetings. While gram Sabhas are a clear indication of democratic governance, in practice there are significant gaps, due to a lack of commitment by the state au-thorities. The powerful rural elites also hamper its functioning in its true spirit. As a result, participation in the gram Sabha is a low priority amongst citizens, especially, marginalised groups such as women and Dalits. Therefore, The hunger Project makes a con-scious effort to facilitate and make Panchayats effective through active mobilisation and improved functioning of the gram Sab-has. It is only by demanding accountability and transparency in governance processes that both effective women’s leadership can emerge and Panchayats can truly be called ‘little republics’.

In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, a focused gram Sabha mobi-lisation campaign was launched, with the objective of increasing participation of citizens, especially women. This campaign high-lighted the primary role of the gram Sabha and citizen’s right to engage with the institution of gram Sabha. The strategy for the campaign was based on the recommendations made by two re-search studies that were conducted in these States to look into the ‘State of the gram Sabhas’. The research studies highlighted that issues affecting marginalised groups like women, Dalits and Other Backward castes failed to get addressed in gram Sabhas and as a result participation from these groups in the gram Sab-ha was significantly low. It was also noted that the upper castes treated elected women representatives with disrespect and an at-mosphere of hostility and non-cooperation prevailed in a large number of gram Sabhas.

In Madhya Pradesh, prior to all the four mandatory gram Sabhas, four gram Sabha campaigns were launched. Seven of The hunger Project’s partners in the State conducted the 7-12 day campaign.

strategy 2 : making panchayats effective

It is only by demanding accountability and

transparency in governance processes that

both effective women’s leadership can emerge

and Panchayats can truly be called ‘little republics’.

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The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008 ��

At least 90 Panchayats were covered by each campaign with active participation of 226 ward members and 32 Sarpanches in each campaign. Overall all the four campaigns impacted at least 12,000 citizens.

In Rajasthan, three publications on rules and regulations of gram Sabhas and steps required to strengthen gram Sabhas were brought out. Specifically, the publications addressed the myths and misconceptions associated with gram Sabhas. In 160 Pan-chayats, intensive orientation workshops on gram Sabhas were held with both elected women and men. Village meetings and the campaign impacted at least 17,000 citizens.

In Tamil Nadu, the Tsunami Intervention Project has worked to-wards gram Sabha mobilisation, by engaging with various groups in the Panchayat. Trainings on governance have been held with Self help groups (Shgs) and youth members, with a view to in-crease their participation in gram Sabhas, as responsible citizens. Statutory committees of the Panchayats have also been trained on their roles and responsibilities. In addition, mobilisation through announcements and distribution of pamphlets was done prior to the gram Sabhas. Participation of women in the gram Sabhas was tracked and has risen steadily. In several gram Sabhas, wom-en have outnumbered men.

Elected woman leader

addressing a public rally,

Bihar

Gram Sabha

Mobilisation campaign

in progress. Bihar

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�� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

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Influencing Public OpinionInfluencing public opinion is one of the key strategies of The hunger Project. Despite 15 years of reservation for women in Panchayats, various lobbies still undermine women’s participa-tion in local governance. Both rural and urban societies continue to raise concern over a women leader’s capacity to take decisions on behalf of her communities. Unconcerned and unresponsive government and insensitive government officials also act as im-pediments, preventing the elected women leaders from perform-ing their duties. For women’s leadership to be effective in the Pan-chayats enabling conditions need to be developed. It is only with the media’s partnership that The hunger Project has been able to highlight women’s leadership in Panchayati Raj and break this mindset of cynicism.

Partnership with the MediaMedia WorkshopsMedia Workshops help to educate, inform and sensitise the media on the successes and challenges of the elected women representatives in the village Panchayats. A total of 19 media workshops were organised by The hunger Project in eight States. In all, 600 journalists were sensitised in these workshops.

Media Fellows in Madhya Pradesh The fellowship instituted by The hunger Project aims to break the cynicism of the media by reporting the successes and achievements of the elected women representatives in the Panchayats. Mr Lokendra Singh Kot was selected as a media fellow in MP in 2007 – 08. Media fellows are selected by a dynamic jury from the academia and media through a rigorous process of interviews. Fellowships are given for 12 months. Mr Kot has written and published 56 articles on the role of elected women representatives in strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions.

Media workshops in

progress.

Madhya Pradesh

Elected woman leader

addresses the media.

strategy 3 : influencing public opinion

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�� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

Media Partnerships with the government of IndiaMedia hub, an innovative project of The hunger Project, was created in collaboration with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, government of India with the aim to ensure a dialogue between the media and its various stakeholders in Panchayati Raj. At the request of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, government of India, The hunger Project conducted two workshops to educate and sensitise Radio and TV journalists on the issues of Panchayati Raj. These two-day workshops helped journalists from the elec-tronic media to produce sensitive and genuine episodes on the successes and challenges of Panchayati Raj in India.

Radio Programme‘Amar Bhaen Satyabati’ was an innovative radio programme cre-ated to impart information on the role of elected women repre-sentatives in strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions. Twelve episodes were broadcast over All India Radio every Friday. This highly successful radio programme in Oriya generated much fan following. Interested elected representatives and Panchayat citi-zens phoned to understand Panchayat issues.

Madhya Pradesh also broadcast four programmes on AIR Bhopal in the said period.

Sensitising Students of journalismIn Rajasthan, The hunger Project organised a one-day interaction with the students of journalism from different colleges. Aiming to sensitise journalism students on the issues of women’s leadership, this interaction helped students gain an understanding of wom-en’s role in the Panchayats as elected leaders. Post the training, 45 per cent of the students showed keen interest in reporting devel-opmental issues.

Sarojini Naidu Prize

Ceremony Oct 2 2007.

New Delhi

The winners of the 2007

Sarojini Naidu Prize for Best

reporting on Women and

Panchayati Raj.

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Sarojini Naidu PrizeThe Seventh Sarojini Naidu Prize ceremony for best reporting on Women and Panchayati Raj was held at the chinmaya Mission, Lodhi Road, New Delhi on the 2nd of October 2007. This year the Sarojini Naidu Prize focused on articles, which highlighted the role of, elected women representatives in bringing education to every child. The hon. Minister of State (Ic), Ministry of Women and child Development, government of India, Ms. Renuka chowdhury was the chief guest for the occasion. Ms. Sonam Dolma, Panchayat Adalat chairperson of Phey village in Ladakh, jammu and Kashmir, Ms. Asma jahangir, eminent Pakistani human rights activist and lawyer and Ms. Shabana Azmi actor and social activist were the guests of honour. Elected women leaders from jammu & Kashmir, himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, gujarat, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra attended the award ceremony, which felicitated the journalists who write on the work done by them. More than 450 dignitaries from the fields of journalism, senior government officials, bilateral organisations, NgO’s, civil society groups, the corporate sector, and academia were also present for the ceremony.

The Prize Winners

Ms. Teresa Rehman, the North-East correspondent of the weekly Tehelka was awarded the Prize in the English language category for her article ‘Lead Kindly Light’.

Mr. Bhanwar Meghwanshi was awarded in the hindi Language category for his article in the magazine Vividha Features - ‘They Want to Work for the Education of children’.

Mr. Jyothish Kumar won the award for his Malayalam article ‘Ref-ormation De Silencio: Four women Panchayat presidents who pioneered revolutionary transformations in rural education’ pub-lished by the largest circulating national women’s magazine Va-nitha.

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�0 The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

Building Alliances for Advocacy

Building Alliances for advocacy has been a major strategy of The hunger Project. Both nationally and in the states, The hunger Project has steered and participated in key initiatives like the Right to Food campaign, National Rural Employment guarantee Act/Scheme, Right to Information and the campaign against the Two child Norm.

In Bihar, The hunger Project in collaboration with 17 organisa-tions created ‘Jan Adhikar Manch’ to protest against the imple-mentation of the two child norm. The two child norm disqualifies those have more than two children from an elected public post in Municipalities and Panchayats. Fearing that this norm would be extended to the Panchayat representatives in Bihar, the Manch under took political and media advocacy and individually met leaders of different political parties and journalists on this issue. In an interview with the Manch, Smt. Asha Devi, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) rejected this norm saying that this will hinder the rural and Dalit women and will stop them from participating in politics in rural areas as there are hardly any women with only two children. In a country where child mortal-ity rate is high in rural areas, it is customary to have more than two children, as families fear that some children may not survive and reach adulthood. The jan Adhikar Manch also held a peace-ful protest march in March 2007 where three hundred people marched to the Secretariat and handed over 5,000 letters request-ing the withdrawal of this norm. With pressure from Panchayat representatives, civil society organisations and the media, the as-sembly did not pass this bill.

In himachal Pradesh, hunger Project partner SUTRA has been engaged in a study on Nyaya Panchayats. Successes of Nyaya Pan-chayats have been recorded since 1952 in himachal Pradesh. In the light of the new proposed Nyaya Panchayat Act 2006, a study was conducted to look into the present status and its relevance on the lives of women in the State. The study emphasizes the need to build the capacities of Nyaya Panchayats for the effective delivery of justice in Panchayats.

The hunger Project in Bihar has also engaged with disaster relief during the floods. Relief materials like blankets, food, medicines and other materials for shelter were sent to the flood affected areas. In collaboration with other civil society organisations, a core committee has been formed to manage disaster situations and also to advocate the formation of an alternate policy on flood management.

strategy 4 : Alliance building for Advocacy and Support

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National Platform to Promote Decentralization

Initiated by The hunger Project, the objective of the National Platform to Promote Decentralization is to create a platform which brings together stakeholders, consolidate past and current learning’s, share experiences and insights about decentralization and create a mechanism through which existing expertise can be used towards systemic reforms that strengthen the voice of the poor within governance, especially engaging with federations of elected women representatives in Panchayats.

The advisory committee of the National Platform to Promote De-centralization met in july 2007 under the chairmanship of the Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, government of India to discuss the need for a pro active national platform. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj reiterated the need for the platform to continue the work on issues of decentralization and Panchayati Raj.

In October 2007, the members of the advisory committee of NPPD participated in the Indo-Norwegian seminar. chief guest hon. Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar (Ministry of Panchayati Raj, government of India) shared the urgent need to launch the na-tional platform and congratulated The hunger Project for taking the initiative towards it. In December 2007, a final round of meet-ings were held with the Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj to plan for the launch of the platform in 2008.

Women leaders participating

in THP’s leadership

workshops.

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�� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

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The Hunger Project has also been working on

disaster preparedness. Panchayat level

contingency plans for disaster preparedness

have been prepared for all the 104 hamlets of the 17

Panchayats.

Rebuilding Lives after the Tsunami

Federation building

processes underway.

Karnataka

Gram Sabha meeting in

progress. Tamil Nadu

When the Tsunami struck the coast of Tamil Nadu many villages in the Nagapattinam district faced huge devastation. The liveli-hoods of people living the villages were destroyed, their natural resources were ruined, and their assets were irreparably damaged. The tragic death toll is well known.

The hunger Project intervened in 17 Panchayats to try to strengthen local governance to address needs emerging from an unprecedented disaster like the Tsunami. In order to channelise the aid that was coming in, it was decided to prepare micro-plans with the participation of the communities of the 17 Panchayats. In working towards strengthening Panchayats and particularly women’s participation in them, trainings of Panchayat members on Panchayati Raj Institutions, training of statutory committees, mobilizing youth, and Shg members on governance as well as WLWs have been conducted. Sixty-five of the 71 elected women leaders in the 17 Panchayats participated in the Women’s leader-ship Workshops.

Today 70-75 per cent of the needs identified in the plans have become a reality. Two centres established by The hunger Project, namely, the Farmers’ Information centre at Kameswaram Pan-chayat which serves 3000 farmers in five villages and a centre for Specially Abled in Pillai Perumal Nallur Panchayat which supports above 300 physically challenged people were a direct consequence of the need which emerged out of these plans. The Farmers’ Information centre has, in addition, organised several workshops for its members on issues on environmental change, as well as organised exposure trips and has been working towards crop insurance for the members. The centre for the Specially-Abled has conducted camps for prevention of disability for ex-pectant mothers, exposure trip to vocational institutes, physi-otherapy camps and awareness camps for government schemes. Both centres have also been working towards evolving a post project strategy for handing over of the centres to the members once the project ends in july 2008.

The hunger Project has also been working on disaster prepared-ness. Panchayat level contingency plans for disaster preparedness have been prepared for all the 104 hamlets of the 17 Panchayats. The plans contain four thematic maps per hamlet: emergency exit routes, vulnerability mapping, and households in low-lying areas and infrastructure maps. In addition, there is also a resource map per Panchayat. These plans have been shared widely with fishing hamlets, Self help group members, youth groups, and schools. They have also been presented at the gram Sabhas.

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Significant Events in 2007 - 2008

Pakistan-India Symposium on Local Governance at LahoreAs part of the government of India’s delegation led by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, The hunger Project’s country Director Ms. Rita Sarin visited Lahore, Pakistan in july 2007 to participate in a Symposium on Local governance. The National Reconstruction Bureau of Pakistan hosted the Indian delegation, where The hunger Project’s work on capacity building of elected women leaders over five years was seen as a breakthrough. The Women’s Political School, Islamabad requested The hunger Project to work with them on this in order to bring the experience to Pakistan. The need for women Tehsil and Zilla Nizams in Pakistan to access appropriate support and training was as clear as it has been in India for the past 10 years.

Hosting Investor TripsThe hunger Project India hosted two investor trips. Nineteen senior management personnel of ANZ Bank in Australia visited Kolar and Mysore districts of Karnataka in November 2007 to understand women’s leadership in village Panchayats. They observed a WLW and interacted with the elected women representatives.

In February 2008, 60 visitors from across the world visited Satna district in Madhya Pradesh to understand The hunger Project’s work in strengthening the leadership of elected women in a feudal and patriarchal part of Madhya Pradesh.

Partners Meet The hunger Project hosted its annual partners’ meet to discuss its key strategies and achievements. held in Delhi from 17th - 18th of March 2008, more than 60 people attended the meet from 30 partner organisations across the country. The annual meeting provides partners and The hunger Project national and state teams a platform where they can interact with each other and share their experiences, collectively creating the next breakthrough in the effort to build a hunger free India through the effective leadership of elected women leaders.

Jill Lester, Global President and CEO of

The Hunger Project with Federated Elected

Women Leaders. Rajasthan

Investors attending a district level

convention of Elected Women Leaders.

Madhya Pradesh

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President and CEO of the Hunger Project, Ms. Jill Lester visitedTHP India In March, the new cEO and President of The hunger Project jill Lester visited India. While on her visit she attended the partners meeting as well as she attending a Federation meeting in chaksu block, jaipur district, Rajasthan where she met 85 elected women leaders from eight districts that belonged to 12 different federations in Rajasthan.

Strategic Fundraising Meetings Rita Sarin and Sriparna g chaudhuri visited Sweden and Australia to meet present and potential investors and present the work of The hunger Project India. Former elected woman representative Ms Shailaja Shankaranarayana also accompanied The hunger Project-India team to Australia.

The Hunger Project - SALA IDA PartnershipThe hunger Project and SALAR (the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions) through their international arm SALA IDA have signed a technical partnership towards building a state level federation of elected women representatives in gram Panchayats in Karnataka.

Elected Women Leaders Meet In Rajasthan More than 400 elected leaders gathered in chaksu Block, on 9th Feb 2008 in jaipur District of Rajasthan, to discuss the powers transferred to them in the areas of education, health, water, sanitation, conservation, etc. The elected women leaders, despite their different affiliations and agendas, drafted a charter of Demands and presented it to the chief Minister Ms. Vasundara Raje Scindia.

Jill Lester, Global President and CEO of

The Hunger Project with Federated Elected

Women Leaders. Rajasthan

Investors attending a district level

convention of Elected Women Leaders.

Madhya Pradesh

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�� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

Financial Facts

Fund Receipts during the financial year 2007-2008

rupees %Interest on FDR/Savings 13,01,579 1.65grant 7,69,43,027 97.20Donation 7,70,025 0.97Others 1,37,694 0.18

Total Receipts 7,91,52,325 100

Cost Centrewise Expenses for the financial year 2007-2008

rupees %Administrative 86,09,298 11.33Programme 5,58,89,366 73.53Programme Support 1,15,05,433 15.14Total Expenses 7,60,04,097 100

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The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008 ��

Auditor’s Report

1. We have audited the attached balance sheet of The hunger Project – India (“The Project”) as at March 31, 2008 and also the income and expenditure account for the year ended on that date, annexed thereto. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Project’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.

2. We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in India. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

3. Further, we report that:

a) We have obtained all the information and explanations, which to the best of our knowledge and belief were necessary for the purposes of our audit;

b) The balance sheet and income and expenditure account dealt with by this report are in agreement with the books of account;

c) In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, the accounts give a true and fair view in conformity with the accounting principles generally accepted in India :

- in the case of the balance sheet, of the state of affairs of the Project as at March 31, 2008; and

- in the case of the income and expenditure account, of the surplus of the Project for the year ended on that date.

New Delhi For A .F. Ferguson & co. chartered Accountants– 4 oct 2007

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�� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

Balance Sheet as at March 31, 2008

As at As at

March 31, 2007 March 31, 2008

Rs. Rs. Rs. ASSETS

Fixed Assets 8,248,638 gross block 8,137,320 5,248,446 Less: Depreciation 5,585,850 3,000,192 Net block 2,551,470

Current Assets, Loans and Advances 9,188,118 cash and bank balances 12,508,904 1,209,858 Loans and advances 1,216,229 13,398,168 16,276,603

LIABILITIES

Funds 500,000 corpus fund balance 500,000

General Fund Balance 891,498 Opening balance 1,389,498

Add: Transferred from earmarked funds 498,000 - Others - 1,389,498 1,389,498 8,937,367 Income and Expenditure Account 11,638,315 10,326,865 13,027,813

Unutilised earmarked funds for:

Others: 10,704,643 Opening balance 1,156,114 29,512,522 Add: Transferred from income and expenditure account 41,285,638 (38,563,051) Less: Transferred to income and expenditure account (41,643,032) (498,000) Less: Transferred to general Fund - 1,156,114 798,720

Current Liabilities 1,415,189 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 1,950,070

13,398,168 16,276,603

Notes to the accounts -Schedule -I Per our report attached

For A. F. Ferguson & co. chartered Accountants

For The hunger Project

trustees

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The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008 ��

Income and Expenditure Account

For the Year Ended March 31, 2008Year ended Year ended

March 31, 2007 March 31, 2008

Rs. Rs.

INCOME

65,497,630 grants and donations 77,713,052

477,713 Interest 1,301,579

356,434 Other income 137,694

66,331,777 79,152,325 EXPENDITURE

6,826,702 Administrative and general expenses 8,609,298

64,233,405 Other expenditure on objects of the Trust 67,394,799

611,130 Depreciation 804,674

71,671,237 76,808,771

(5,339,460) Surplus/(Deficit) for the year 2,343,553

5,226,298 Balances brought forward from previous year 8,937,367 (29,512,522) Specific grants transferred to earmarked funds (41,285,638)

38,563,051 Expenses transferred from earmarked funds 41,643,032

8,937,367 Balance carried to general fund 11,638,314

Notes to the accounts -Schedule -I Per our report attached to the balance sheet.

For A. F. Ferguson & co. chartered Accountants

For The hunger Project

trustees

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�0 The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

Schedule 1

The Hunger Project - Indianotes annexed to and forming part of the accounts for the year ended march 31, 2008

1. Significant Accounting Policies

a) The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention on an accrual basis.

b) Fixed assets are stated at cost of acquisition less accumulated depreciation. cost is inclusive of freight, duties, taxes and incidental expenses.

Depreciation is provided on the written down value method mainly at the following rates:

nature of asset rate of depreciation percentage

computers 40 %Vehicles 25.89 % Furniture and Fixtures 15 % Office equipment 13.91 %

2. The figures of the previous year have been regrouped/recast to

conform to the current year’s classification

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The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008 ��

Partnerships with Civil Society Organisations

Andhra Pradesh 1. Mahila Margadarshi, Srikakulam Assam 2. District community Development Programme, Sonitpur 3. gramya Vikas Mancha, Dakshingaon 4. North East Social Trust, guwahati Bihar 5. Parivartan Vikas, Rohtas 6. harijan Adivasi Mahila Kalyan Samiti, Munger 7. Bihar Sewa Samiti, Madhubani 8. NIRDESh, Muzaffarpur 9. ABhIYAN, Patna 10. Sakhi Ree Mahila Vikas Sansthan, Siwan 11. Shakti Vardhini, Patna Delhi 12. Aman Public charitable Trust, New Delhi 13. Institute of Social Science, New Delhi gujarat 14. Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangthan, Bhuj 15. Maldhari Rural Action group (MARAg), Ahmedabad himachal Pradesh 16. Society for Social Upliftment through Rural Action (SUTRA), Solan jammu & Kashmir 17. Ladakh Development Organisation, Leh Karnataka 18. Action for Social & Education Development Association (ASEDA), gauribidanur 19. Belaku Trust, Bangalore 20. Bharathi Welfare Society, chintamani 21. Organisation Development of People (ODP), Mysore 22. Organisation for Bidar Integral Transformation (ORBIT), Bidar 23. Sumana, Mysore 24. Vikasana, Tarikere Madhya Pradesh 25. Anupama Education Society, Satna 26. Bhopal Rehabilitation, Bhopal 27. congregation of the Sisters of St. joseph of chambery India, Bhopal 28. gram Sudhar Samiti, Sidhi 29. Institute for Development of Youth, Women and children, Amarwara 30. Om Shiksha Samiti, Sidhi 31. Sampark Samaj Sevi Sansthan, jhabua Maharashtra 32. Lok Panchayat, Sangamner 33. Parivartan, Ratnagiri 34. Resource & Support centre for Development 35. (RScD), Navi Mumbai Orissa 36. ANKURAN, Rayagada 37. AYAUSKAM, Nuapada 38. DAPTA, Bhawanipatna 39. KARTABYA, Kalahandi 40. Institute for Women Development, Behrampur 41. Nari Surakhya Samiti, Angul 42. PIPAR, Dhenkenal 43. People’s cultural centre, Bhubaneshwar

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�� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

Rajasthan 44. Astha Sansthan, Udaipur 45. cEcODEcON, jaipur 46. humana People to People India, Behror 47. jan chetna Sansthan, Sirohi 48. Mahila Mandal, Barmer 49. Shanti Maitreyee Mission Sansthan, Bikaner 50. SOhARD, Alwar 51. Urmul Setu Sansthan, , Bikaner Tamil Nadu 52. Arumbugal Trust, Tirunelveli 53. Association for Rural community Development (ARcOD), Krishnagiri 54. Association for Rural Education & Development Service (AREDS), Karur 55. cEDA Trust, Dindigul 56. centre for Education & Empowerment of Marginalized (cEEMA), Erode 57. centre for Social Education & Devlopment, coimbatore 58. Indo-Sri Lankans Development Trust (Island Trust), Kotagiri 59. Reform Trust, Madurai 60. Sevalaya, Nagapattinam 61. Society for community Organisation & Rural Development (ScORD), Thiruvarur 62. Wishwa Women’s Service Society (WWSS), Madurai Uttarakhand 63. Association for Rural Planning & Action, Pithoragarh 64. grameen Uthan Samiti, Kapkote 65. Kasturba Mahila Uthan Mandal, Almora 66. Mahila haat, Almora 67. RLEK, Dehradun 68. Shri Bhubaneshwari Mahila Ashram, Tehri garhwal

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The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008 ��

Governance

Governing Council

Kanika Satyanand Shankar VenkateswaranRita Sarin Amarjeet K Ahuja Brinda Dubey Tara A Sharma

State Teams

Aradhana NandaBijendra P SinghLitali DasBeenita MeherBimalBrinda AdigePreethi hermanIrudaya MarySandip NaikNeeraj SaxenaShibani SharmaShriram KevatN. LalithaE. KamalakannanKanika KaulShabnam KhalidVirendra Shrimali

AuditorsAF Ferguson & co.

VolunteersAditi chandakShatam RayPooja Sarin

National Team

Rita SarinSriparna g chaudhuriMaalan Adil AliBhaswati DasSrilakshmi h DivakarSubhadra guptaRuchi YadavRohini ghadiokRadha KhanRuhi DeolPrita Das guptaN. K. MalhotraParitosh Sasmalguneet SethiBharani SundararajanAmit goyalEunice ThongNidhi KumariSubrato Sahoojesse Dhukahema chetri

The Hunger Project-India

team and partners, with the

Global President Jill Lester,

and Vice-President

John Coonrod

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�� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

The Hunger Project State Offices

Arunchal Pradesh Officethe hunger project Bank Tinialia,Eastern Press BuildingItanagar – 791 111Arunachal Pradesh

Tel: 0360 – 229 1742

Bihar Officethe hunger project Mehman Sarai (First Floor)Behind Imarat Rizvi, Bank RoadPatna – 800 001BiharTel: 0612 – 220 7705Fax: 0612 – 223 1826

Karnataka Officethe hunger project No – 4 (Second Floor)Opp. ganeshpuja houseBerlie Street cross,Langford Town, ShantinagarBangalore – 560 025Karnataka

Tel: 080 – 221 111 42

Madhya Pradesh Officethe hunger project A – 450, Mansarover colony,Shahpura, Bhopal – 462 016Madhya Pradesh

Tel: 0755 – 242 4736

Fax: 0755 - 424 6259

Orissa Officethe hunger project 310, ‘A’ Block Bharati TowerForest Park Bhubaneshwar – 751 009Orissa

Tel: 0674-259 5330

Rajasthan Officethe hunger project A-3, hawa SarakOpposite Ram MandirNear Bal Mandir Schoolcivil Linesjaipur-302 006 Rajasthan

Tel: 0141 – 222 3123

Tamil Nadu Officethe hunger project house No – 1, 2nd Main RoadNehru Nagar, Adayarchennai – 600 020Tamil Nadu

Tel: 044 – 244 525 20

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�� The Hunger Project • Annual Report 2008

Cover Montage: Faces of Inspiration - Panchayat women leaders in Bihar.

Shaheed Bhawan18/1 Aruna Asaf Ali Marg Qutab Institutional AreaNew Delhi 110 067Ph: 011-4168 8847-50Fax: 011-4168 8852Email: [email protected]