Integrated Development Project In Jamwa Ramgarh, Rajasthan

The Integrated Development Project in Jamwa Ramgarh takes forward the achievements of the Natural Resource Management programme being implemented there. Village libraries were started in the area in 2004. The specific objectives of the programmes planned under the Integrated Development Project are -

• Meet the basic learning needs of children, both in and out of school
  
• Develop activities related to improving the quality of education available in the local elementary schools
  
• Provide opportunities for continuing and remedial education
  
• Improve the educational infrastructure available in the area
  
• Capacity building of school teachers and training of non-formal teachers
  
• Increase awareness and participation of the community in the education of children

The project period is 3 years to meet the above objectives and is being implemented in collaboration with Society for All Round Development (SARD). Activities began in 15 villages in November 2006 and have expanded to 22 villages in the area in the year 2007-08.

Nodal Centres have been established in Raiser, Thalli, and Neemla. The Nodal Centres are attractively developed as resource centres for teachers, children and the community. They are located in the centre of the village and are equipped with educational material, books toys, charts, maps and games to supplement the school curriculum. A Cluster Coordinator manages the Nodal Centre, liaises with the local government schools, conducts teachers training and remedial and bridge classes for children.
Twenty two educational centres have also been established in 22 villages across the three panchayats. Out of these, 14 Remedial centres for children studying in classes

2 -3 are held by teachers to help school-going children with learning difficulties. A group of 25-30 children per village with the most serious learning problems, like inability to recognize alphabets have been identified. The remedial centres are run in the government school premises and so far around 425 children have benefited.

For children who have dropped out of school due to various reasons, bridge classes for 2 hours each day have been started. Eight such centres are being run in the area and around 225 children are enrolled in these centres. These children are encouraged to enroll in school again at the beginning of the new academic session in cooperation with the government schools.

The teachers at the Remedial and Bridge centres are mostly local educated youth, selected with the cooperation of the local community. The teachers are provided regular training, won issues such as pedagogy, Teaching Learning Material (TLM), class room processes, record keeping etc.

An Sports meet was organized in April 2007 wherein about 150 children participated from all the three panchayats. Pravesh Utsav 2007 was orgainsed wherein rallies were held in all the 3 cluster areas and around 500 children participated Creative writing , story telling workshops are held regularly with the children.

Supplementary educational material like workbooks and readers developed by SARD, and based on Rajasthan government school curriculum are being used in the educational centres. The intervention has been received positively by the community.

Projects for Elimination and rehabilitation of Child Labour

RGF collaborated with CRY to work among the tribal community of Sonebhadra District in Eastern UP. The operational area consisted of 10 Panchayats in Dudhi block. RGF supported the initial intervention focusing on the three components of the right to development (education), right to protection (advocacy) and right to participation.

Widespread awareness on the value of education and a child's right to it as part of a normal childhood has been created. The project reported 100 per cent school enrolment and retention at three villages (Harpura, Baikhard and Amora). One hundred children enrolled themselves in regular as well as non-formal schools. So far, CBOs - the local community-based monitors have been active in all the project villages. One primary school has been opened. There are 5 Non Formal Education centers where 246 children are receiving education. Altogether, as many as 528 working children have been linked with formal and non-formal education.

The long-term goal of this project was to address the root causes of child labour and make pragmatic interventions into issues of survival, protection, development and participation.

Rehabilitation, Education & Assistance to Children on the Street (REACH)
Project REACH, Madhya Pradesh

RGF has been supporting Project REACH (Rehabilitation, Education and Assistance to Children on Street) since 1995 to educate and rehabilitate street children in Indore. Under the project, the children are provided with a safe shelter to live in and are encouraged to opt for formal or non-formal education. There are 40 children in the age group of six to 16 years at the shelter, of whom 37 attend regular school and three are educated at non-formal centres. During the year, vocational training camps in computers, candle making, paper bag making, etc., were organised to encourage the children's financial independence. The children also attended eight health camps during the year.

Jeewanshalla

Four community based primary schools were started in four villages of Karoli Dang area. These schools have been named as "Jeewanshalla" where apart from the educational activities other aspects are also covered. In all villages where Jeewanshalla is running there was no educational facility available, children were forced to walk about 4 to 5 Km to attend school in the adjoining village. RGF is supporting by providing teacher honorarium, educational material, children exposure and additional nutrition whereas the local community has provided the school building and they are managing day to day requirement of the school. At present 132 children are enrolled in our Jeewanshalla. Looking into the success and positive response from the community this activity would scaled up in other six villages.

KASHMIR INITIATIVE FOR QUALITY EDUCATION

The Foundation has demonstrated its enduring commitment to the people of Jammu & Kashmir through various projects in the last 15 years. Our work for the vulnerable groups in the state has paved the way for significantly increasing our involvement with new initiatives that promote Kashmiriyat with culturally sensitive programmes for the children and youth of the state.

The Foundation has tried to play a significant role as a catalytic institution, by bringing together positive energies in the state to create dynamic programmes for the future of its children.

Manual on Discovering Kashmir

A manual for teachers relevant for the entire valley titled, Discovering Kashmir, has been prepared. The manual has been written by Creative Learning for Change, headed by Mr. Feisal Alkazi, an educationist and a theatre personality. The teaching manual for middle school children of Kashmir has been designed as an educational reference material to help children learn about Kashmir through its arts, buildings, natural environment, crafts and culture.

Subsequent to field testing in March 2008, the draft was reviewed by experts and appropriate changes made. The manual was printed during the year and a strategy was formulated for its formal release in Srinagar and the follow-on programme in collaboration with the Department of Education, Kashmir. It is hoped that the manual will take forward the process of quality education, and enable all children to learn exciting aspects of their culture and heritage with a modern, contemporary perspective.

Children's Film Festival

The trauma, anger, pessimism and helplessness of the ordinary Kashmiri need no elaboration. The socio-cultural situation in the state, especially the valley which has been witnessing turmoil for the last two decades, is complex

To bring the best of the country to the children of Kashmir, a children's film festival was organised for the third consecutive year. The four-day event was conducted at the end of March 2009 at Tagore Hall, Srinagar, in collaboration with Help Foundation.

Around 6,000 children from various schools of almost all districts of the valley enjoyed the films during the festival. The few of the films screened were Abahy, Anmol Tasveer, Choo Lenge Akash, Chirayu, Ek Aadesh, Heda Hoda, Jawab Aayega, Kala Parvat, Netraheen Sakshi, etc. Transport facilities and refreshments were provided to the children.

Awards for Creative Writing

The Foundation instituted awards for the third consecutive year in 2008-09 for creative writing for children in Kashmiri and Urdu to reach out to a wide cross-section of people in the state. The focus is to encourage young talent and develop, publish and disseminate original creative, good quality books for children. It is also an attempt to increase the educational resource base available to government school children and teachers and expose children to the world of literature.

The awards were announced through advertisements in local English, Urdu and Kashmiri newspapers. A jury comprising eminent personalities reviewed the entries and selected the award winners.

A total of nine awards were announced and the award-winners were given attractive cash price ranging from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 7,500 each.

An awards function was organised on 30 March 2008 at Tagore Hall, Srinagar. The awards ceremony encouraged the young writers, and the concern and interest shown by RGF for the people of Kashmir was appreciated by the public in general and participants in particular.

Initiative To Educate Rehabilitate And Assist Child Victims of Terrorism ( INTERACT1)

Violence exists in our society in various forms and changes its characteristics with each act. There are numerous socio-economic and political factors that result in these disasters such as communal riots, ethnic conflict and acts of terrorism.

Children are the most vulnerable and the worst affected by such inhumane acts. To help child victims of terrorism, the Foundation currently supports the education of 790 such children, of which 131 children have been selected in 2008-09. Interact one is for children from class 1-12. An allowance of up to Rs. 12, 000 per year is made to each child and covers expenses such as school-books, uniforms, fees, etc.

The children are identified with the help of local government organisations, NGOs and individuals; and 1,697 children have been supported by RGF so far under this programme.

New Children Identified 2008-2009

We pay close attention to the children's development not only in the academic sphere but by remaining in touch with them and their guardians through letters, phone calls, meetings and workshops.

Children enjoying themselves in the workshop in Andhra Pradesh

INTERACT II

Children supported under INTERACT I earn scholarships for higher education on merit/need basis from RGF, as part of INTERACT II. The Foundation currently supports 46 young adults, of whom 18 young adults were selected in 2008-09. The support per child ranges from Rs. 20,000 to 30,000 per annum.

New Children Identified 2008-09

The table below shows advance courses that INTERACT II children are currently enrolled in:

Workshops for INTERACT Children

To help children express themselves creatively, we organise workshops centred around activities such as music, dance, painting and sports. This year a three-day residential workshop was organised in Warangal, Andhra Pradesh, for 45 children in the age group of 11-18 years.

SP Warangal, our partner, and a local NGO called MASS, collaborated with us in making the workshop a success. We also invite doctors and counsellors to these workshops to answer questions raised by the children and give them advice on issues pertaining to health, nutrition and hygiene.

RAJIV GANDHI TRAVELLING SCHOLARSHIPS PROGRAMME

The Foundation collaborates with the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust and Rajiv Gandhi (U.K.) for an award of up to 20 scholarships to students from Cambridge and other British universities, e.g., the University of Edinburgh, the London School of Economics, to travel within India to either conduct research or simply to gain a better understanding of India. The Foundation supports the travel and stay of the scholars within India. This year, 17 students visited India, eight were from Cambridge, two from Edinburgh, six from Hull and one from the London School of Economics. The study areas included veterinary sciences, medicine, Japanese, theology and religious study, history and anthropology.

Here is what some of the awardees had to say after their experience in India.

CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARSHIPS AND BURSARIES

With the help and support of the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust, U.K., the Foundation continues to award scholarship/bursaries to meritorious Indian students for pursuing a second degree course at any of the affiliated colleges of Cambridge University, U.K. This year, Mr. A. Banerjee (St. Edmund's College) and Ms. I. Manasi (Wolfson College) were awarded bursaries for B.A. in Natural Sciences while Mr. A Sen (St. Edmund's College) and Ms P. Khera (Lucy Cavendish College) were awarded bursaries for B.A in Economics.

Assistance for riot-affected children in Gujarat

A total of 53 children, orphaned by the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002, are getting support for their education and maintenance. Three among them are getting medical assistance too. In addition to these 53 children, two girls were extended assistance for an advanced computer course.

Assistance for tsunami-affected children

A total of 222 children who lost either or both their parents to the tsunami were identified for assistance for their education. They receive an allowance to meet their school fees, books, uniform together with a small amount for general maintenance.

Currently a total of 163 children are being assisted from three states as follows:

VidyaGyan Scholarships

Acute poverty causes a large number of children to drop out of school after the first few classes; Muslim and Dalit girl children are particularly vulnerable. While the overall enrolment of girls is increasing, the drop-out rate of girls from marginalized and rural sections, especially from the upper primary level upwards, is extremely high.

The Vidyagyan Scholarship Programme was launched last year by the Foundation to help reduce this trend. The focus has been to encourage girl children of marginalized and minority communities to get formal education as also to offer them remedial support to prevent drop outs and improve their academic performance. RGF is running this programme through the generous support of Shri Sivasubramaniya Nadar Educational and Charitable Trust. In 2007-08, around 1,440 girls, from classes 6 and 9, were awarded scholarships on merit/means basis More than 2,900 girls received scholarships under the programme.

The challenge for 2008-09 was that it was decided to conduct an entrance examination for the selection of worthy students. The registration of girls was done by 10 implementing partners in the specified geographical areas of Varanasi, Raebareli and Barabanki, UP. Girls from all recognised government and private schools in the area were covered for registration. An examination was conducted on 20 May 2008 at the 10 specified locations in Varanasi, Raebareli and Barabanki on the same date and time. More than 5,000 girls appeared for the examination, and around 1,500 girls were selected and awarded scholarships for 2008-09. The examination paper, overall planning for conducting the examination, the evaluation of answer sheets and declaration of result was all done internally at RGF.

Each girl gets Rs. 500 per month as the scholarship amount. Coaching classes are also conducted to support their school education to improve their academic levels and thereby help in their retention. Special focus is laid on teaching of Maths, Science and English. Computer classes are organised for the older girls to keep pace with emerging market needs. The scholarships received have enabled the girls to buy books, uniforms, school shoes, bags, etc., and supplement their family incomes as well. Many girls have even bought bicycles for commuting daily to school.

The programme has had a positive impact on the social lives of these girls. It has been received very positively by the community and has generated an enabling environment in the community.

VILLAGE AND SLUM LIBRARY PROJECT

The Foundation has nurtured a countrywide village library programme over the last fourteen years. It is one of our most widely recognized and popular programmes, which is focussed on improving the quality of education for children in marginalized communities and expanding the learning capacity of people. A typical library is located in a public place in the village and has 400-500 books. The librarian is a local educated youth, who is supported by a Village Library Committee. Typically, each library is supported for 2 or 3 years. In all, since 1993, RGF has established a total of 1444 libraries in 22 states, which includes 1344 village and 100 slum libraries. In view of the changing demands from the people and our experience over the years, the Foundation has tried to evolve flexible new models and improve the quality of the libraries and the range of books and activities, they offer. RGF's effort is based on the premise that mere availability of books is not enough. Libraries must be the homes of interesting activities which enthuse and inspire children, and cultivate their literary and imaginative faculties. The attempt has been to try to get books out of the book shelves, and motivate teachers, parents and children to broaden their creative and intellectual horizons.

Librarian/Volunteers Training

Training programmes form an integral part of the Village and Slum Library Project. The effort, essentially, is to enthuse and motivate the librarians to make libraries the homes of interesting activities besides systemic library operations. The challenge has been to try to get books out of the book shelves, and motivate teachers, parents and children to broaden their creative and intellectual horizons.

During the year, training programmes on library management and creative activities for children and youth were organised in Varanasi, Raebareli and Chhattisgarh. The training sessions were conducted by the Nalanda Resource Centre, Lucknow, Samantar Sansthan and individual resource persons from the National Book Trust.

State-wise Distribution of RGF Village Libraries and RGF Slum Libraries

SNAPSHOTS OF LIBRARY ACTIVITIES IN ABU ROAD BLOCK, RAJASTHAN

Six libraries were established in 2006, each with about 400-700 books. The libraries have been actively providing a variety of activities as follows:

• Meetings of women's groups on issues such as maternal health, reproductive health, immunization etc
• Museum Activities- Collecting rocks, leaves, feathers and seeds
  
• Recreational Activities- drawing, painting, sports and quiz competitions, dialogues, meetings, story writing and story telling sessions.
  
• Pathak Mela- Community mobilization through book fairs to strengthen linkages and build relationship. Hundreds of colourful books with interesting and educational activities.
  
• Centre for raising issues of social concern such as question of irregularities in BPL list or irregularities in NREG scheme.
  
• Vigyan Mela- stalls on science experiments, models of human body, microscope, magical games etc.
  
• Sustained efforts for continuing education especially for adolescents and youth.

CASE STUDIES

COMMUNITY LIBRARY IN SRINAGAR

The Community Library in Srinagar was started in March 2005, in partnership with Help Foundation, Srinagar. Within three years of its establishment, the library has become a cultural hub for children in the locality. It has a large collection of books on various themes in English, Urdu and Kashmiri, with a special section for children. The majority of children visiting the library have never seen books with colour illustrations. A number of reference books, and books on the history and culture of Kashmir are also available.

A series of creative programmes and workshops for children and teachers are being organized in the library every month on reading, art, theatre, writing, music, and craft. A computer centre in the library gives local children access to learning computers and exploring the internet.

A notable feature of the library is that a number of children from orphanages and institutions for children with disabilities have been given special attention, and transport.

AREA FOCUSSED VILLAGE LIBRARIES PILOT PROGRAMME, JODHPUR, RAJASTHAN

As part of the efforts to bring in enhanced cooperation with the government school system, policy level changes have been introduced in a phased manner in the library programme. Integrating libraries with schools, and bringing out-of school children back into the educational mainstream with library resource centres has been started on a pilot basis. The programme involves systematic micro level planning and specific educational outcomes.

The programme is being implemented with Foundation for Education & Development (FED) in Bap. Bap is located in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, at the junction of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner districts in western Rajasthan, in the heart of the Thar desert. Practically all the educational parameters for Bap block are adverse. The overall literacy rate is 46%, with only 26% literacy among females. The male female ratio is around 55:45. It is observed that boys are generally sent for higher studies and girls are forced to work at home.

The project was started in October 2006 and will run for 3 years in the first instance. The project has 10 village libraries supported by the grant from Good Gifts UK, and matching funding from RGF. It also involves development and capacity building of a cadre of local youth in education and related community programmes. Baseline information has been compiled in all the 10 villages on the status of education, reading ability, school infrastructure etc.

Each library serves one gram panchayat, and has about 1000 books, educational and sports material, a large number of periodicals, and basic furniture. A full-time library coordinator is responsible for organizing all the required programmes with the cooperation of the community.

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