Working with Aroehan has been an eye opener for me. Actually, it delivers shocks when I witness the activities.
Aroehan is an NGO. In 2005-06, 169 children below the age of six died in Mokhada due to malnutrition. That led to formation of AROEHAN. It is striving to bring sustainable changes to the tribal communities. I got associated with Aroehan over the last two years.
With Madhuri, Ganesh (who work for Aroehan) and Sulabha, my wife, I went to Kurlod. It is a village consisting of many тАШpada’ or hamlets. Our vehicle took us to Pethecha Pada. Madhuri said that we had to walk to Shedyacha Pada where she had arranged meetings with the villagers. (More about our discussion with the villagers in another blog).
Shedyacha Pada is about two Kms away from Pethecha Pada, but you must cross a river. Pinjal River.
Presently the river does not have much water so one can cross it easily, jumping over the rocks. Then you climb up a tiny hill to Jambhul Vadi. Shedyacha Pada is a little further away. In the monsoon, both these hamlets get cut off completely from Pethecha Pada, putting the villagers’ life at risk in many ways.
We finished our meetings with people at Shedyacha Pada. Sarita and Meenakshi from Aroehan had arranged all meetings. We were walking back to cross the river when two persons approached us at Jambhul Vadi. They had some discussion with Madhuri and Sarita. They looked worried.
┬аMadhuri and Sarita in discussion with Patient’s relatives
┬а
“A person is very sick. He must be taken to Hospital immediately. They were asking if he can be taken in our vehicle.”
“What did you say?”
“Yes, I said. If somebody is critically ill, there is no choice.”
“How will they cross the river? Can the patient walk?”
“They will carry him in a hammock. They do it тАУ I mean they have to do it often. Sad. There is no way out!”
We crossed the river. And walked a few steps when Madhuri looked back and said “Look, they are already on the way.”
I turned back. They were crossing the river. It had taken me good time to cross it, balancing my way on the rocks. They crossed it as if it was as smooth as a runway! They walked incredibly fast with a fifty-kilo patient cuddled in their hammock! And barefoot!!
┬аCarrying Patient in a Hammock across Pinjal River
I reached for my mobile and shot the video.
“Where will they go?” I asked Madhuri.
“There is a hospital about twenty Kms away. Our vehicle will take him there and then it will return to pick us up.”
“What happens when the river is in spate during the monsoon?”
“HE decides if the patient must survive or die. No help is available.” She pointed finger to the sky.
“A PHC (Primary Health Centre) unit is sanctioned for us. Since 2014. But it has not come up.” A villager said.
“It will come up soon. We must not lose hope,” another said.
“Till then this river will decide the life and death issues” the villager said.
I was feeling relieved that our vehicle was available for the patient. That it was available was just a coincidence.
We walked our way to the Pada. No word uttered. Feeling helpless. And powerless.
Water is a basic necessity, but for some it is a priceless commodity!
Background:
The Mokhada block in Palghar district is witness to heavy rainfall during the monsoon months, but by the time the year comes to an end in December the water crisis steps in. The non-monsoon months force the villagers to migrate for 5-6 months to nearby brick kilns or companies in search of menial jobs. Water in all forms for domestic use, potable purposes and irrigation is out of reach for many.
A study on water availability conducted in 2018 by IIT CTARA and AROEHAN supported by Siemens India Ltd, revealed the villages with mild to severe water stress areas. This also led to the erection of over 196 water conservation structures like check dams, cordons, wells, ponds, sub-surface bunds and farm ponds in at least 13 Gram Panchayats of Mokhada alone. Lifting solutions made it feasible for water to be supplied to distant places thus reducing the hard work and time put in by women to fetch water for their daily needs. This is just the beginning, the road to completion is still distant.
The CORONA pandemic:
The Corona pandemic has added on to the already existing woes of the poor tribal farmers. Due to the country wide lockdown announced on the 23rd┬аof March, all the activities including construction, even in the villages came to a standstill. If the water conservation structures were not ready by June, it would not be possible to retain rain water for the non-monsoon months.
The AROEHAN team decided to wait for some leeway during the lockdown and at the first opportunity in the end of April, decided to get permissions from the government authorities for transportation of construction material, allocation of resources in the form of local labour and also for travel of staff within the block limits. Once the permissions were granted, national directives for work places were put in place and people were asked to follow them stringently. The construction work started in full force in the selected villages of Mokhada by the team led by our Project Officer, Chetan Bhoir and supervised by Program Manager, Nitesh Mukne.
With funding support from Siemens India Ltd and the involvement of local labour and the team, we were able to put up 11 new structures┬а[New check dams (5), New wells (6)]┬аand refurbish 5 existing ones,┬а[Refurbished wells (3), Refurbished ponds (2)]┬аby the end of June. This will surely help solve the water stress in these villages and also reduce the thirst days leading to reduction in migration in the non-monsoon months. This also helped the villagers to earn income staying in their own villages during the pandemic.
The structures have a total storage capacity of┬а3.15 cr litres, which will ensure water supply to┬а11┬аhamlets with┬а695┬аhouseholds and a population of┬а4033┬аbeneficiaries.
Dr Helen Joseph was Professor at the College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan (affiliated to the University of Mumbai) since 1983. Throughout her academic and professional career, she was been actively involved in issues related to communal harmony, domestic violence, ethics in social work practice and Peace Education. She was the Founder-Director of Salokha тАУ A Field Action Project of the CSW, Nirmala Niketan on building communal harmony. We interviewed her on various issues:
VivekтАЩs World (VW): You are a founder-trustee and Chairperson of Aroehan (NGO). Tell us about the journey of Aroehan.┬аLooking back, what are your thoughts about the achievements of Aroehan?
Dr Helen Joseph (HJ): I am reminded of the day (in 2005) when Dr. Abhay Bang gave a lecture at the College of Social Work on the plight of malnourished children in Maharashtra. This left some of us with a terrible sense of discomfort; and made us ask ourselves what more our profession ought to do to remain relevant and more responsive to the plight of the disadvantaged in India. ┬аAs field work coordinator at that time, I made a small presentation at our weekly faculty meeting in this regard, proposing that we practically demonstrate the relevance of our teaching by taking up a limited area, working there, and showing the impact of our intervention. An opportunity arose when in 2006 the Govt. Of Maharashtra wanted us to take up some villages in Mokhada to work on the issue of Malnutrition. Accordingly AROEHAN was born. Anjali Kanitkar took responsibility to steer the project as Director, and I was part of the advisory team.
Starting with a micro-planning exercise we quickly realised the multiplicity and inter-connectedness of various factors that contributed to the high malnutrition deaths in the region.┬а Hence we realised the need for an integrated approach that intervened simultaneously in areas of┬аHealth, Education, Agriculture, Livelihood and Good Governance.
Starting with a small team, led by a social work graduate from our own College, we began an arduous learning process in a difficult and hilly terrain lacking transportation facilities, no electricity, and where the villagers survived through subsistence farming and migration to the cities. As we educated ourselves, we stumbled, we fell, we rose, we discussed and debated on intervention strategies, our partnership with the government and the industry, what our ideology should be, what we should compromise on and what we should not etc.
Funds were difficult to access initially, though after CSR came into existence in 2013, the situation improved significantly. Today, we work in Mokhada, Jawhar, Dahanu and Palghar talukas of Palghar district. In 2014 we graduated from being a field action project of the College to an independently registered organization.
Health:┬аWe started with a maternal and child health program and Life Skills education among women and girls, but moved on towards empowering them to participate in Village Health & Sanitation Committees (VHNSC) which monitors nutrition and community health. We were instrumental in getting Ultrasound machines in 3 rural hospitals in Palghar district with the help of Siemens and DHLF.
Water scarcity is a major problem
Water┬аconservation has been a major achievement for AROEHAN. We have so far constructed 196 small and medium sized check dams, sub-surface bunds, and cordons, repaired and refurbished several defunct wells, and made new ones. This has helped not only in mitigating the water issues of the villagers, but even more importantly it has helped in recharging the ground water table across 13 GPs over the time we have been there. This has also relieved the women of the drudgery of carrying water from far off places, and made the conditions suitable for farmers to grow crops during the rabi season, thereby enhancing their livelihood. Thus intervention in a strategic area has had multiple impacts.┬а Today more than 1000 small farmers have moved beyond rain-fed primitive agriculture to using modern techniques of farming to augment their yield. Besides cultivating grains and millets, they have also started growing vegetables, fruits and flowers.
Education┬аfor Life is what AROEHAN is working towards, which involves capacity building to make children and youth responsible and proactive citizens of tomorrow. The youngsters take up environmental projects, participate in school governance issues etc. The Jigyaasa project makes the teaching of Science, Technology, English and Mathematics (STEM) more interesting to students тАУ allowing them to explore with their hands the concepts that many children find very difficult to grasp.┬а Through this project, AROEHAN has so far reached out to 7575 students in 10 Ashram schools of Mokhada block.
In the critical area of┬аGovernance,┬аvillagers are empowered with knowledge to proactively engage with local self-government bodies to claim their entitlements and influence their village development.┬а┬аThis was done by forming тАШpada samitisтАЩ (sub-village neighbourhood communities) which then learn how to engage with the Gram Sabhas, a statutory body, where their representations can be made. As a result, the villagers now work closely with the statutory committees like the VHNSC, the committees formed under PESA (Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas), and on issues concerning their forest rights, employment issues (under MGNREGA) and other aspects of the Village Development Plan. Working on Governance is the corner stone of our work, as AROEHAN believes that at the end of 4 to 5 years, people should be able to work independently. Only then can our work be sustainable.
VW: What do you think Aroehan should do now to bring about substantial change? And what are the plans ahead?
Dr Helen Joseph (HJ): In general, I think we are on the right track. However┬а┬аNOW,┬аwe need to establish evidence of our impact on the ground, by setting up some measurable targets that demonstrate this.
Dr Helen Joseph, Chairperson, Aroehan
We have therefore selected a few villages where we will focus our attention on achieving the following strategic goals: (i) To achieve Zero Malnutrition deaths in the selected villages, (ii) To ensure that ALL school-going children are in schools, (iii) To reduce migration by 50% in these areas, and (iv) To establish a citizenтАЩs forum with special emphasis on participation of women.
Secondly, it seems to me that the CORONA pandemic has brought into sharp focus a number of issues that are ailing the public health care system. I believe that there is need for AROEHAN to play an active role in assessing/identifying gaps in the system and advocating for a more robust public health care system especially in rural Maharashtra.
But in all this, people themselves need to lead the change; otherwise no work is sustainable. For this, people must believe in themselves, believe that they can aspire for a better life, and also believe that they are responsible not just for themselves but for their entire village. When we can do that, we can withdraw from the area -for which we must have an exit strategy in place.
Gram Sabha
Furthermore, personally, I believe that there is a non-tangible aspect on which we need to bring about substantial impact.┬а Our work needs to go hand in hand with ensuring that a strong value base is developed in our children/youth (and village communities) тАУ values of an inclusive society where there is respect and concern for all, irrespective of gender, caste, religion, race, language, community etc., accompanied by concern for the environment. I say this because I have realised that when disadvantaged people start becoming upwardly mobile, there is a danger that a тАШme-firstтАЩ attitude could develop, that takes no responsibility for those others who are still disadvantaged and discriminated against, even in their own neighbourhoods and beyond.
VW: Tell us about the issues facing the NGOs today.
Dr Helen Joseph (HJ): Some of the challenges faced by NGOs are:
Funding┬а: This is a major challenge that many NGOs face. The Corona pandemic has resulted in a lot of CSR funds being diverted to it. This I fear will definitely affect our funding and thereby our work.
Professionalism in work,┬аand having a well trained staff committed to the vision of the organization, are things that most NGOs are looking for. But this combination is difficult to find. For instance, there could be individuals who have a fire in their bellies and are devoted to the vision of their organization, but who are not necessarily good at management functions, or at following legal and other compliances, or vice versa. This is a big challenge.
Retaining oneтАЩs value system, and yet skilfully handling the political and sometimes selfish interests that inevitably come into play whenever change is being brought about, is again another significant challenge for all civil society organisations today, especially those that would like to focus on people-centred governance.
Thanks Dr Helen for sharing your thoughts with us.
Dr Shubalakshmi Iyer,┬аChief Operating Officer┬аof┬аAroehan┬аwas instrumental in preparing a five year Strategic Plan. Two (out of five) objectives are: тАЬReduction in migration by 50% and No child out-of-school by 2025.тАЭ These are AroehanтАЩs (what Jim Collins called) тАШBHAG тАУ Big, Hairy, Audacious GoalsтАЩ. This is what most successful organisations set: Ambitious Long-Term Goals. Bill Gates said, тАЬMost people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years.тАЭ Aroehan has taken first step with a five year strategic plan.┬аDr Shubalakshmi answers our questions.
VivekтАЩs World (VW):┬аMigration of labour is a humongous problem. Tell us the situation and what can be done to curtail migration.
Dr Shubalakshmi (Dr S):┬аThe context:┬аThe migrant communities in Palghar mainly belong to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) viz. Katkaris. They are either marginal farmers or landless working as farm labour in otherтАЩs farms or wage labours in brick kilns or nearby companies. Usually migration in these areas takes place in the non-monsoon months from November to March. They come back to celebrate Holi, only to migrate for another 3 months of April to June, till when the monsoon begins. Most of our tribal population fall prey to this vicious cycle.
Dr Shubalakshmi Iyer, COO, Aroehan
The COVID crisis:┬аThis year due to the COVID crisis in the country the worst hit were the seasonal migrant labour who could not earn their wages as all forms of employment came to a standstill due to the lock down. They were left with no money or even basic necessities. This has affected not only the individuals, but their families and the community at large.
But as we say тАЬEvery cloud has a silver lining.тАЭ AROEHAN has been working in the Mokhada block since many years with the objective of reducing seasonal migration through water conservation and allied agriculture and alternate livelihoods.
Alternate livelihoods:┬аWe have started a pilot project with support from Siemens India Ltd. in 28 hamlets of Mokhada block to initiate alternate livelihoods for the marginal Self Help Groups. Some SHGs of landless and migrant farmers were identified and livelihood equipment like rice mill, papad making machine, oil crusher, and flour and masala mill have been provided to them. The members have been trained to operate the same. 50% of the SHGs have an earning potential between 5000 тАУ 15000 rupees through regular and optimal utilization of the rice mill and the flour mill. This has also helped the neighbouring villagers in reducing their time and cost of travel and engaging in other forms of activity.┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а┬а
Non-monsoon agriculture: Some farmers were also encouraged to take up Rabi cropping in the non-monsoon months. An interaction with the farmers, gave an insight into their cropping pattern. They usually prefer paddy cropping during the monsoons and buy other condiments like chilly, onions and vegetables for their regular use at high prices. This is when the team, felt that multi cropping with training on good agricultural practices esp. during the non-monsoon months will help the farmers with an additional source of income and reduce migration in the long run. Leafy vegetables, fruit vegetables, gourds, roots and tubers, groundnuts and sunflower were selected as crops to be grown on 10 gunthas of land each. The farmers could earn an income of around Rs10-15K with the sale of produce in the local markets. This not only helped the community but also the nutrition requirement of their own families. This income generation activity prohibited them from migrating elsewhere in search of work. They were spared from the harshness of the corona pandemic in way of lack of money and essentials and could lead a better daily life in comparison to the other migrants.
The working conditions of Migrant Labour are appalling (Photo Vivek Patwardhan) Copyright
What can work?┬аEmpowering people with alternate livelihood opportunities and multi-cropping or generating income from agriculture enables communities to stay in their local villages and not venture out in search of menial wage employment during such pandemic or crisis situations. Availing government employment schemes through MNREGA for village development activities in oneтАЩs place of residence will also help people to generate income and thus curtail migration.
VW:┬аAroehan wants to ensure that in the next five years all children will attend school, there will be no child тАШout-of-schoolтАЩ. ThatтАЩs a very ambitious goal. Tell us please, what was the situation on the education front pre-Covid and what is it now?
Dr S:┬аThe context:┬аFor a child to drop out of school or remain irregular, the reasons are manifold. Most of the schools in the tribal areas have very poor infrastructure and lack of WASH facilities as per norms. The nearest secondary school is distant from their residence. Caring for the younger sibling or migrating for work along with parents is other areas of concern. Even though students are enrolled in the schools, they usually drop out or are irregular due to lack of child friendly infrastructure and other reasons mentioned above, not to exclude the student тАУ teacher ratio gap and lack of child friendly learning practices and pedagogy.
Education remains a neglected area in villages
Usually the children attend the school by chance or force, rarely by choice. The other attraction for the family is the food that is served at the school, not to talk of its nutritional value but surely helps decrease the burden on the family especially the woman to feed another mouth.
The COVID crisis:┬аThis year due to the CORONA pandemic, the schools were the first ones to lockdown in the beginning of March to contain the spread of the virus- a loss of almost 2.5 months of learning and exams esp. 10th and 12th Std. and also an anticipated decline in the already poor nutritional status of the children.
Education and Nutrition:┬аTimely meals are provided to the children in the Ashram schools and the mid-day meal at the Zilla Parishad schools. The question lies to whether the children have the same access to food facilities at home where their parents are busy at work and cannot manage to make both ends meet with their meagre incomes and lack of food security.
The children have been promoted to the next class on the basis of their annual performance. With children at home, lack of educational facilities at the school due to the closure and also at the home front, it has become very difficult for the parents to monitor the childтАЩs activities. The parents usually tend to feel that the sole responsibility of the childтАЩs upbringing lies with the school.
The government authorities and the schools have made every effort to bring in various learning platforms through NGOs and other sources in the villages so that the children are not idle. Not everyone is familiar to digital and visual learning methods including the teachers in the rural and tribal areas. Online education is fine in the cities and semi-urban areas, but with the absence or limited availability of electricity and internet access and lack of awareness or education among the caretakers, this still becomes a distant dream for the students residing in far to reach tribal hamlets.┬а
A few solutions to this problem could be setting up a central community kitchen to cater to the needs of children of all age groups, setting up of child friendly schools with improved infrastructure and educational facilities, an educational hub or a safe drop-in centre for continued learning and overall development of a child. ┬а
Getting familiar with their projects became essential as I was invited to join Aroehan as a trustee. Aroehan works in the Jawhar тАУ Mokhada area of Dist Palghar (in Maharashtra). Take Ahmedabad Highway, travel up to Manor and then turn right to take a road leading to Vikramgad. The road has more potholes than the lunar craters. Perhaps it is a warning sign; the traveller must get ready to receive more severe shocks; I am referring to the living conditions in villages and of villagers.
We finished our work at the Jawhar Office and started for ‘Dharecha Pada’. Pada means a hamlet. A few Padas or hamlets dispersed over a large area makes a village in these scarcely populated hilly terrains of Mokhada. I guessed the population of Dharecha Pada may be less than a thousand. Dr Shuba, Madhuri and I reached Dharecha pada.
“I think she is already inside, I see her two-wheeler” Madhuri said, “A Mata-Baithak is organised here.” ‘Mata Baithak’ is a meeting of women. We alighted from our car in front of a small building. It was a small room, about 18’x18’in size, and it was obvious that the room was made for meetings. Mata Baithak was in progress. About twenty or twenty-five women made the audience, some carried children in their arms. Dr Shuba, Aroehan’s Chief Operating Officer, Madhuri, who supervises a few projects and I joined the meeting. Somebody hurriedly put three chairs for us. Reshma who works with Aroehan, was conducting the meeting.
In Mokhada 169 infants died due to malnutrition in 2006. Anjali Kanitkar and Dr Helen Joseph, moved quickly to establish Aroehan. ‘Aroehan’ is actually an acronym of ‘Action Related to Organisation of Education, Health and Nutrition’ and it is registered as NGO. The initial focus was on malnutrition eradication or health. However, they realised that the multiplicity and inter-contentedness of various factors that contribute to high malnutrition deaths required an integrated approach to the problem resolution.
“This is Mata-Baal Suraksha Card (Health Card of Mother and Child). This is an ‘encyclopaedia’ of pregnancy.” Smile on everybody’s face! Reshma was explaining to the Adivasi (Tribal) women. “It contains all information about a pregnant woman’s registration, delivery and inoculation of the infant.”
Reshma holds Mata-Baithak
“Look at these three colours or three zones.” Reshma was held open the Health Card, and pointed to a diagram. “Three zones тАУ Green, Yellow and Red. Ideally, in which zone your child should be?”
“Green”, a woman replied.
“Good. What needs to be done to make sure that the child is in green zone?” She introduced healthy diet. She was explaining how they should provide ‘Tiranga’ or tri-coloured diet. Tiranga is easily understood because that’s what the national flag is called; it has three colours saffron, white and green. Saffron colour included tomatoes, carrots, white included milk, eggs and rice and green included leafy vegetables. “You don’t have to travel outside your village, all the ingredients of tri-colour diet are available here.”
Note:┬аI was later informed that following is the correct information: “The food tricolour depicts the following food groups: Saffron:┬аBody building foods which include all the pulses(dals), meat, eggs and milk тАУ protein sources. White:┬аEnergy giving foods which include all the grains, roots and tubers, oilseeds, ghee, milk products, sugar тАУ carbohydrates and fat sources Green:┬аProtective foods which include all the leafy vegetables, fruits and fruit vegetables, jaggery, iodised salt, spices тАУ vitamin and mineral sources. The┬аAshok Chakra┬аdepicts water.”
Dr Shuba turned to me. “Several infants are born as under-weight babies in this Mokhada area. Wrong diet is a problem, but the wrong beliefs and practices about a pregnant woman’s diet is a greater problem. Many tribal women survive only on ‘pej.’ Pej is the water in which rice is boiled. Their diet becomes woefully inadequate. How can the pregnant woman remain healthy and will it not affect the development of the baby? Most of the pregnant women become anaemic, their haemoglobin drops to abysmally low levels.”
Mata Baithak in progress
Internet throws up a study of two researchers from Tata Institute of Social Sciences on malnutrition in Mokhada. ‘In 2005, child malnutrition claimed as many as 718 lives in one single district namely Palghar. Even after a decade of double-digit economic growth, in 2016, more than 600 children died due to under-nutrition in the same district.’ тАж.. ‘Our study level estimates suggest that 59% of children were stunted.’
“Education of girls usually stops at 7th Class. A 15 or 16-year-old girl is often married in tribal villages. This is quite common. Then she gets pregnant at an age she should not. These are big problems to overcome.”
“I read recently that a fourteen-year-old girl got pregnant in an ‘Ashram School.’
A story in ‘Firstpost’ mentions, ‘In November last year, (2016) the whole state of Maharashtra woke up to a horror тАФ a tribal school in Buldhana was derecognised after reports emerged that girl students are being sexually assaulted there. The incidence only came to light after a girl, who was visiting her parents, complained of stomach-ache and was later found to be pregnant. As the episode unfolded, several other girls came forward complaining of sexual harassment, and at least three of them were pregnant. Eleven people were arrested, including school trustees, the headmaster and a few teachers.
“Ashram Schools provide hostels facility, boys and girls stay there. So, it is not a surprise that a young girl got pregnant. Such cases are not infrequent. They get them married тАУ there is hardly any ceremony тАУ sometimes she moves to the boy’s home, that’s it. Poverty! In a rare case there is a problem if the boy disowns her.”
“Take a look at some women in this meeting (Mata-Baithak). The one with a child in her arms looks under-age. She may be just about sixteen.”
“The are also under-nourished. If you ask them, girls will tell you that they are eighteen years old, but I feel that may not be correct age. There are many bad consequences of an under-age mother тАУ not only at physical but also social level.”
Young Mothers At the Mata-Baithak
Reshma was now discussing the problems faced by women in the pada or hamlet. She spoke about ‘Gram-Sabha’ (Villagers’ Body). ‘People use the forum of the Gram Sabha to discuss local governance and development, and make need-based plans for the village. The Panchayat implements development programs under the overarching mandate, supervision and monitoring of the Gram Sabha. All decisions of the Panchayat are taken through the Gram Sabha and no decision is official and valid without the consent of the Gram Sabha.’
Reshma was persuading all women to organise a Mahila (Women’s) Gram Sabha. The women spoke about the problem of drinking water. Incidentally Mokhada region has a very high rainfall, but the villagers face scarcity of drinking water from march to July.
“You must organise Mahila Gram Sabha to voice your problems. Those will then be raised before Gram Panchayat effectively.” Although Reshma’s words made some impact, the real problem was that tribal women would not speak up in a large gathering. And that was, and remains, a big hurdle to cross.
Reshma turned to the issue of migration of villagers. For the tribal villages this is a huge problem. They can’t survive only on one-crop-agriculture, so they move to cities or towns in search of jobs.
“Migration eats into your life in many ways. Migrating men and women leave behind their aged parents who are left to fend for themselves. Children leave their school. They stay under harsh conditions during the migration period, affecting their health adversely. The entire economy of the village suffers.”
“We have helped farmers produce second crop. Several farmers have been harvesting second crop.”
“Aroehan has decided to take immediate measures to reduce migration of people by 50% in certain area. And that target appears to be almost unsurmountable тАУ you can imagine the magnitude of this problem of migration.”
I was leading my Rotary Club’s project to build two check dams near Bhiwandi. I went to inspect the work when I noticed that a few families of labourers had set up a shade тАУ well, you can’t call it home or even dwelling place тАУ by erecting three feet high sticks and placing a torn saree over it. They were staying under it!
“They come down (climbing down the hills) here in search of a job, and return to their villages for the Holi Festival” the construction supervisor who had engaged those migratory labourers informed me. I was shocked. On my way I noticed a family camping under a tree; once you think of migration, you start spotting those who have migrated.
Migrating tribal families live under horrible conditions
I clicked this photograph. If you wish to grasp the humongous scale of migration, you should travel in Mokhada area. Statistics can provide you information, but sensitization to a problem is the result of seeing migration; statistics fails to sensitise us.
This is a very complex situation. It is multi-dimensional. Any amount of work and support will fall short of eradicating, transforming the situation; that’s my initial assessment. We require long term solutions and some immediate short-term measures, and, of course, a group of committed persons.
There should be no doubt that the Government is the most ineffective organisation, be it of any party. There are many programs and measures which are designed to ameliorate the conditions, but no benefit reaches the people who should be the real beneficiaries. It is heartening that NGOs like Aroehan are seized of the problem.
This horrible situation of poverty, malnutrition, migration, unhealthy practices and low literacy level has undoubtedly resulted from short-sightedness of leaders as well as their preoccupation with their own welfare. Can this be disputed?
┬аMadhuri and Sarita in discussion with Patient’s relatives
┬аCarrying Patient in a Hammock across Pinjal River
