A CONCISE REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY JABALPUR DIOCESAN SOCIAL SERVICE -SOCIETY {JDSSS} DURING THE YEAR 2006-07

  1. ANIMATION PROGRAM:

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: PEOPLE PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT MODEL IS CREATED.

The Major achievements are:

1) 884 groups in 236 villages are formed and consolidated into center-level federations at Duhania, Dullopur, Junwani, Sakwah, Ghoreghat, Madanpur, Ghuttas, Bagdu, Balpur, Maharajpur, Surajpura and Harratola.

2) About 1600 group leaders are undergoing training as village pilots for accessing information with regards to Govt. programs and projects and disseminating the same to respective groups/communities.

3) 200 advocacy groups are undergoing formation for networking with government via PRI.

4) About seven hundred members of the SHGs are in the panchayat bodies as sarpanchas, members and Janpat members.

Summary sheet Agency-wise:

SLNO / Name of the Agency / No.of Animators / No.of Gram Panchayat / No of Villages / No. of Groups / Total / No.of Group Member / Total
Male / Female / Male / Female
1 / Caritas India / 7 / 39 / 77 / 153 / 145 / 299 / 2372 / 2340 / 4712
2 / Misereor / 9 / 31 / 77 / 176 / 118 / 294 / 3214 / 2043 / 5257
3 / Namaste India / 5 / 10 / 30 / 60 / 67 / 127 / 960 / 997 / 1957
4 / Manos Unidas / 3 / 18 / 35 / 65 / 40 / 105 / 1035 / 465 / 1500
5 / HCDI / 5 / 9 / 35 / 35 / 70 / 399 / 382 / 787
Total / 24 / 103 / 228 / 489 / 405 / 895 / 7980 / 6227 / 14213
  1. WOMEN EMPOWERMENT:

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES – WOMEN ARE EMPOWERED AND BECOME AGENTS OF SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN ALL SPHERES OF LIFE.

The Achievements:

1) 60 women leaders from six centers under Sakwah Animation program are conscientized and orientation for a women movement to take up govt. projects and programs.

2) At 12 centres Annual Women Day Celebrations are regularly held as attractive events for the public & government notice.

3) Several women SHG promoted Income Generation Program in 12 centres.

4) Women’s Active Participation enabled in 21 Watershed Programs, and in another 16 villages, early childhood care, Nutrition Program, community health care etc. are in progress with the support of women.

  1. PEOPLESINSTITUTIONBUILDING:

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE:THE PARTNER COMMUNITIES INITIATE & SUSTAIN THEIR DEVELOPMENT THROUGH COMMUNITY OWNED INSTITIUTIONS.

The Achievements:

1) SHG federations at six of the centres are registered into Cooperative societies. These are in good progress with a total capital occurred by people’s saving amounting to Rs. 53 lakhs.

2) 19 Watershed Committees are currently operational and participating in the watershed management.

3) 10cluster level community grain banks are under formation.

4) Replicating the watershed committee model, several villages are initiating their own village development committee with a view to link to Panchayat and govt. departments for resourceful support.

  1. INTEGRATED NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE:EMPOWERED COMMUNITIES INITIATE A PARTICIPATORY DEVELOPMENT IN REGENERATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND SUSTAIBLE AGRICULTURE

The Achievements:

Nineteen Villages covering 2500 households are influenced to initiate community owned development practices under CRS aided watershed Program:

1) Earthen Farm Bunds: 457 kms.

2) Stone farm bunds: 103 kms.

3) Land leveling: 1046Ha.

4) Compost preparation: 2017 pits.

5) Nursery raising: 151200.

6) Tree plantation: 1, 66,130 saplings.

7) Horticulture plantation: 24,930 saplings.

8) Gully Plugs: 3750 nos.

9) Gabion Structure: 90 nos.

8) Stop dams: 6nos.

9) Earthen Check Dams: 3nos.

10) Irrigation Well: 49 nos

11) Farm ponds: 46 nos.

12) Tanks: 38 nos.

13) Contour Bunds/Trenches: 80 kms.

14) Farm Spill Way: 187 nos.

15) About 6000 farmers are participating in double crop cultivation with early rice followed by chickpea.

  1. CHILD FOCUSED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:

Maharajpur and Harratola mission centres had lined up four years ago, behind one main development concept and ethics that the benefit of the rural community development, primary need to be aimed at ensuring a healthy future for the children and women who appear to be the most neglected groups in the interior villages of tribal districts like Mandla and Dindori. Funding agencies like HCDI came to support Maharajpur initiative while at Harratola; Namaste India started giving financial assistance in a small scale. These are two pilot projects aiming to demonstrate visible impact among the target groups and replicate it as a model of community-participated welfare for women and children, in the region. At Maharajpur nine village communities are participating by forming 73 groups whereas, at Harratola, there are 100 groups in 10 villages. The surprises recorded in the chronicles of both the projects are:

  1. The community is attracted to the idea of giving first place to women for which the village community has built up a good rapport among themselves and the visiting project staff; this in itself is a good indicator confirming the progress of the program overcoming the initial suspicion.
  2. The community is found contribution increasingly in the cost burden of running village level ECDC centers, nutrition program for women PN women with babies, Tuition centers, women empowerment and other cultural activities are under this program.
  3. Self-help based remedial measures are on the increase among the partner communities such as savings, sending children to the schools, tuition centers, shramdhan at public utility places like repairing roads, maintain hygiene at the residential area and the well sites, constructing community halls, soil and water harvesting structures etc.
  4. Community owned savings with a desirable objective of federating the same into larger cooperatives for promoting livelihood oriented micro-lending practices among women members.
  5. Inspired by the model performance of ECDC of Maharajpur, the govt. has taken over Two ECDCs to learn and propagate more of it in the region.
  6. Measuring the success of the community participation and the social impact, HCDI is involving in a larger level financially to realize economic empowerment among the target groups.
  7. The groups have developed increased self-assertion and have obtained more development projects and programs from the Panchayat and govt. department.
  8. Increased level of involvement by the govt department for the capacity building programs for the target groups.

6. CO-OPORTATIVE SOCIETIES:

Federating men and women groups and focusing their efforts in remedying single problem “exploitation by the money lenders” have resulted in regular saving habits and inter-loaning in groups. At present there are 6 registered Cooperative Societies in six centers {Sakwah, Junwani, Dullapur, Dhania, Harratola and Madanpur} to fight back the problem above mentioned. And as a result this will also encourage the people to begin with the income generative programs through the loan from their own respective Societies. Balpur and Maharajpur are trying to get registered their federations into Co-operatives.

Details of the Co-operative Program:

S.L.No / Name of the Center / Name of the Co-operative Society / No.ofVillage / No.of Saving groups / No. of Members / Amount Saved
1 / Sakwah / Akrishi Shak Samiti / 20 / 106 / 1440 / 20,86,470.00
2 / Junwani / Jeevan Sudharbo / 24 / 84 / 1343 / 19,30,043.00
3 / Dullopur / Jan-Shakthi Samittee / 27 / 109 / 1274 / 10,80,755.00
4 / Duhania / Jan-Jagaran Samittee / 15 / 62 / 1079 / 12,07,517.00
5 / Hararratola / Jag-Jabo Samittee / 11 / 100 / 1150 / 9,60,552.00
6 / Madanpur / Sangeevan Samittee / 9 / 57 / 603 / 5,61,435.00
Total / 106 / 518 / 6889 / 78,26,772.00
  1. VOCATIONAL TRAININGS:

Grihini Training at Chabi: This is a Family life Education Program to semi literate and illiterate girls. Capacity building and sharing of basic skills in domestic and social life of women have been imparted under this training. Trainings are organized mainly for tailoring, embroidery, kitchen garden, herbal medicine and so on, in order to enable them in self-employment and livelihood skill. The training is carried out by ASMI Sisters at Chabi centre for eight months.

Masonry Training at Binjhia:Masonry Training for two batches every year has been organized at Binjhia. One Masonry trainer is appointed for giving the training. During the reporting period there were 15 boys for the training. The training mainly involves preliminary training in brick masonry, plastering, flooring, foundation lay-out etc. are given. Apart from this they are given exposure to construction of watershed components like gabian structure, gully plugs, boulder check-dam, irrigation well etc. The training has been enabling the semi-literate youth for increased earning and livelihood option. This training has directly contributed towards poverty reduction in the rural sector.

8. CONCLUSION:

As I conclude this concise report on the activities undertaken by Jabalpur Diocesan Social Service Society{JDSSS} during the reporting year I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who are connected to JDSSS in one or the other way for the well being of the society. Special thanks to JDSSS team. And I wish to record my sincere thanks to all the funding agencies that support us through funds and technical guidance.

{A concise annual report of JDSSS presented during the AGBM of JDSSS on 28-09-2007.}