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Project duration: June 2008 - May 2013
Period covered by report: June 2008 - May 2009 |
The pilot project was initiated in June 2008, with the aim of creating Child and Woman Friendly Communities (CWFCs), focussing on improving education, protection, health and nutrition indicators.
CINI has longstanding health and nutrition programmes in some areas of West Bengal, and education and protection programmes in others. Under the Child and Woman Friendly Communities approach, CINI is ensuring that all these strands of CINI’s work are present in the same area. The plan is to launch communities in an upward, positively reinforcing spiral, whereby better nourished children are healthier and therefore better able to concentrate in school and able to stand up for their rights. There is plentiful evidence that better educated women have better nourished and healthier children. Related issues such as gender, social, political and economic inclusion, as well as cultural practices, have also been considered during the programme’s design.
The CWFC approach is to work with communities and not just for them; to work with the existing services and resources available rather than setting up parallel systems of delivery; and to bring the community and the service providers closer together by working with both groups. The project is being implemented in the villages of Molla Pukhuria, Bagda and Chadnagar and the slums of Tiljala Lane and Chamru Khansama lane in West Bengal. |
Aims of the project:
- Increase primary education enrolment and retention rate
- Increase numbers of children receiving pre-primary education and care
- Improve the quality of primary and pre-primary education
- Reduce gender disparity in primary education.
- Reduce abuse exploitation and violence against children and women
- Increase access and utilisation of health and nutrition services in order to reduce child and woman morbidity and mortality
Background
The total population of the villages Molla Pukhuria, Bagda and Chadnagar in Patra gram panchayat (GP), Diamond Harbour, Bishnupur II, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal , is approximately 25,000 people. Everyone in the project area stands to benefit from improvements to the quality of health services. All children aged three to 14 (of whom there are an estimated 5,500) stand to benefit from improvements in education services. The slums of Tiljala Lane and Chamru Khansama lane are located in Ward 65, Borough VIII, Kolkata, West Bengal. The population of Tiljalla Lane is approximately 5,200 and the population of Chamru Khansama Lane is 15,600. Everyone in the project areas stand to benefit from improvements to health services. There are 4, 500 children between the ages of three to 14 resident in these areas, all of whom stand to benefit from improved education services.
| The first phase has been identifying community concerns related to education, protection, health and nutrition and the services and resources that are available locally to address these. Sensitisation meetings have been held involving local government, local service providers (including police personnel, school teachers, and early years centre staff, health workers and medical practitioners) and local community groups and representatives (including women’s micro-finance self-help groups and religious leaders). The meetings have ensured stakeholders understand their roles and responsibilities.
Tools were developed to carry out a detailed baseline study, including quantitative research within the community (through questionnaires) and qualitative research (through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews). These are being used to gather information about health, nutrition, sanitation, child labour, domestic violence, trafficking of women and children and other important social issues. |
A local self-help group member from a neighbouring site identifies needs, and services and resources already locally available |
Key Activities
In response to needs voiced by the community, work has started on the following priority issues:
i) Health and Nutrition
Mothers are taught what food to cook with in order to achieve a balanced diet |
Identifying and supporting malnourished children and their families.
One in every 25 children born in India dies before the age of six of a cause related to malnutrition. For malnourished children who survive, there are nevertheless implications for their long terms health and development, as malnutrition contributes both to physical and mental disabilities and chronic ill health, which can make attending school regularly difficult, and later make it hard to hold down a steady job.
With your help, nutrition camps, staffed by government health-service providers and members of the local community are now occurring once a month. At the camps, malnourished children are identified and their families are offered counselling and advice, empowering them to restore their children to health, and. Where necessary, families are provided with rations of supplementary wholesome foods. The camps are also providing training to parents on good nutrition and include demonstrations in how to cook nutritious meals on a budget (demonstrations were however put on hold when people were fasting during Ramadan). Particularly severe cases of malnutrition are being referred to the CINI’s Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre for intensive support both to help relieve the children’s immediate suffering and to work closely with their families to prevent a similar crisis in their children’s health from reoccurring in future. |
Raising awareness of adolescents about HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS continues to have a relatively low incidence in India, but young people are particularly at risk because of taboos about discussing sexuality.
Meetings have been conducted to raise awareness amongst adolescents on the vulnerability of adolescents to HIV/AIDS infection, alerting them to how HIV is transmitted and how the spread of infection can be prevented.
Improving maternal health via sensitisation of traditional birth attendants.
| Women in India are 80 times more likely to die of a maternity related cause than women in the UK. Women giving birth at home are particularly at risk as, unlike in the UK, if they give birth at home they cannot be whisked to hospital in an ambulance if medical intervention is required. Traditional birth attendants usually have received no formal medical training, but providing some support and training to them can greatly reduce the risks.
Meetings have been conducted with trained birth attendants, encouraging them to play an active role in improving maternal health. Issues covering include ensuring the umbilical cord is cut with a sterilised blade and that good hygiene measures are followed. They have also been taught them how to spot common complications early, so they can refer mothers so they can receive full medical support.
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Traditional birth attendant Dolena, and some of the children she has delivered |
Educating the community about existing health and nutrition services and how these can be accessed.
Because the government has not invested in community outreach work, and because marginalised groups such as people from lower castes and women are nervous about approaching figures of authority at health centres or schools, there is a lack of awareness about the services that are currently available in the project area.
A workshop involving team members of CINI, doctors, nurses and representatives from the District Family Department was conducted in order to educate health workers and community working group members on the availability of adolescent and maternal health services and the various government schemes and programmes that exist to support woman and children. Health workers and working group members are now sharing what they have learnt with the wider community and encouraging them to make use of the services available.
ii) Education
Improving retention in schools.
| More than a third of children in India drop out of school before the age of eleven.
CINI has facilitated the formation of two new children’s groups. These are encouraging peer learning and working to improve retention in schools. The issues of low retention rates and the high incidence of children dropping out in order to engage in child labour have been raised by the community as key concerns.
Child labour is a particular problem in Tiljala, as this is a tannery area. Child labourers are often recruited to either stretch hide for drying in the sun, run errands, or are involved in various processes of making finished leather products, such as cutting out straps for sandals. Children are exploited, exposed to hazardous chemical, and their wages are very low (13p–19p per day).
Group members have been trained on the rights and duties of children, with the aim of spreading the word about the rights of all children, including girls and children from lower castes, to an education. They are also raising awareness amongst children living locally about the importance of getting an education in order to acquire the skills needed to get better paid skilled work in adult life. |
Education in India is free, but drop out rates are high so work is needed to improve retention. Girls education is often considered a lower priority than boys among parents. |
Alerting teachers to children’s problems and adapting teaching methods.
Although schooling is essentially free in India, the quality and accessibility of schooling for marginalised groups remains a major contributory factor to children dropping out or not registering in the first place.
Teachers have been made aware of the types of problems disadvantaged students in their care may be experiencing and the types of pressures they may be under (such as lack of adequate food, pressure to work etc). Teachers are being taught how they should take these issues into account, and aim to make the school environment more welcoming and their teaching methods more appropriate, for effective learning.
iii) Protection
Preventing child trafficking.
South 24 Parganas has been identified as a transit and source point for national and international child trafficking and has one of the highest numbers of missing children in the state. Children are trafficked into prostitution, to be domestic servants (this applies to girls in particular).
In response to the trafficking issue, CINI is in the process of establishing a community-based identification and tracking mechanism for identifying and tracking down missing children and those at risk of being trafficked.
Awareness sessions have been run for the local police on child trafficking, domestic violence and child abuse, and what they can do to intervene in these cases.
Other Activities
Collecting the information needed to hold government service providers to account.
This project aims to bring about sustainable benefits by building the capacity of local communities to demand better health and education services from their local elected representatives.
Sensitisation meetings have occurred with 45 members of woman’s self-help groups. Members have been trained on collecting and monitoring information on local health and education services, and using this information to hold local government representatives to account for the quality of services provided.
Community participation in awareness-raising events.
Major national and international events within the fields of education, protection, health and nutrition were celebrated in the urban implementation areas. The decisions regard which events to celebrate were made in consultation between CINI project staff and members of the local community and the community provided the venue for the celebrations. Representatives from local governing bodies and various service providers were also present. By celebrating these events as a community, a strong community base is built. Participation in these events created great awareness of the issues present in the urban area.
The following major events were celebrated:
- Children’s Day- 14th November 2008. The event had an impressive 800 participants and provided an opportunity to discuss the importance of education, good health care and nutrition for children, and the overall rights and entitlements of children.
- World AIDS Day. With 50 participants, this event served to create a greater awareness of HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS related issues; issues addressed included modes of transmission and methods of preventing the spread of infection (in particular stressing the use of condoms). The event also served to help eradicate the stigma and discriminations of HIV/AIDS infected people.
- National Girl Child Day. This event was used as a platform to raise awareness on gender equality, and the importance of providing equal opportunities for girls and protecting their rights and entitlements. 500 participants attended this event.
- International Women’s Day. With almost 300 participants this event was used to address the issues of the importance of education and good health care and nutrition amongst woman, and the rights and entitlements of women.
- International Safe Motherhood Day. This event focused specifically on maternal and child health related issues. It was also used as a platform to highlight the various government schemes and local services available in the communities.
Key challenges faced and lessons learnt
- Arranging convenient times for meetings involving many stakeholders was difficult because of the varying working schedules and family commitments of the participants. Regular interaction with all the stakeholders ensures that meetings are arranged for a time when most of the required participants can attend, often at the weekends or after usual working hours. Also, one- to-one meetings with those who are not available, ensures that everyone is involved.
- Cooperation and trust building among all stakeholders, and strengthening community ownership can lead to sustainable initiatives.
- Involvement of woman's self-help groups facilitates in developing the capacity of these groups and contributes towards woman's empowerment.
Thank you so much for helping to make this work possible!
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