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Project Name: Project Partners: Project Number: Website: |
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Chopra Dhora - Water Women and Children Project Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti, Jodphur TH.GRA.CHD.0407 |
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The project villages are located in Baap Block some 60 km from Baap village and are very remote and difficult to access. The target cluster consists of 6 hamlets, covering 151 sq. km (15,173 hac.), 531 households with a population of 3186. The project started in 2003. Chopra Dhora Project was started in 2004 with an integrated approach to development. This project stemmed from the need to develop an area weakened by multiple adversities such as water scarcity, recurring drought, poverty, lack of healthcare facilities and illiteracy. The objectives of this project are to ensure that all households are self sufficient in drinking water, children of all households get primary education and the women of all the households generate extra income as well as save money through Self Help Groups and the population of hamlets, especially women, have easy access to primary health services given by trained health workers. Thirty household water storage tanks (taanka) are being constructed benefiting 115 families. Women of the selected households have been made the owners of the taankas. If after the rains a taanka is full it can support a family for at least 6 to 7 months, saving 6000 to 7000Rs. |
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Recent Progress: In Ramchilla, desiltation of a naadi was carried out in August and October and a school building was constructed in December. This was inaugurated by Wells for India supporters in January 2007. GRAVIS continued logistic support to schools as well as providing assistance with teaching and learning materials. By the end of the financial year, fifteen Self Help Groups (SHGs) were operational with total membership of 151. Total savings in these groups reached Rs.121, 000. About four vocational trainings were organised this year in which sixty-five women participated. To promote good health in women and children, two trainings of village health workers were carried out. In these trainings, they were given information on overall health and hygiene, common diseases and their prevention and about various programmes under the National Rural Health Mission. This was done in order to disseminate information to the rural people of remote dhanis. Three health camps have been organized for women. These were merged with SHG trainings. Doctors from GRAVIS hospital was present dealing with problems encountered by women and adolescent girls. Distribution of supplementary nutrition to women and children continued to be carried out by providing forty beneficiaries with 4 kg of germinated porridge, ½ litre of edible oil, 1 kg of jaggery and ½ kg of pulses each. This combination of food would suffice for the supplementary nutritional requirements of a pregnant woman or a lactating mother for a month. At present, two pregnant women, five lactating mothers and thirty-three children are being supported through this program. To engage staff and beneficiaries to ensure better management of the project activities, training of both groups has been organized by GRAVIS. The training sessions covered topics such as water conservation, water purification and water-borne diseases. There were also sessions on maintenance of taankas and controlling the spread of malaria. |
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Case Study: Kamla Kamla a widow who lives alone, has made health care her crusade for life and works round the clock to look after her patients. She gets house calls in the middle of the night to attend births, and while families pay her generously when the baby is a a boy, she gets no money when a girl is born . When a boy is born, the placenta is buried in the house’s courtyard, but when the baby is a girl, the placenta is thrown away for the dogs to eat. Thus, for Kamla, her work not only involves health care provision but also fighting against challenges such as gender discrimination. Case Study : Badhu Devi Badhu Devi lives in a dhaani at Ramchilla village. This village is a large expanse of sand dotted with small settlements. Poverty and the remoteness of the location have resulted in extreme scarcity of resources. There are twelve people in Badhu’s family including ten children (six boys and four girls). Although the family owns three goats and thirty bighas of land, recurring drought has rendered agriculture useless. As a result, the family depends on animal husbandry and daily labour for its livelihood, which provides them with just enough money to have a meal every day. Thus, Badhu becoming pregnant once again was not good news for anybody in the family. Badhu’s health was deteriorating fast, with anaemia taking its toll on her and her baby in the womb. So, when the project chose the beneficiaries for the nutrition program for 2006, Badhu was selected on the Village Development Committee (VDC’s) recommendation. The VDC and the project team not only provided her with a nutritious package every month, but also ensured that she had regular health checks. Now that Badhu has delivered her baby safely and is enjoying reasonably good health, she thanks the project for giving her the supply of nutrients which she needed so much. |
