IBRAD, Action Research on Assessment of Human Development

Action Research on assessment of Human Development with Intervention in one Pilot Block and Municipality for its improvement in Bankura District, West Bengal

Well-being of the human beings is the ultimate goal of all development works. The concept of human development was originally introduced as an alternative to conceptions of development that focused on economic growth – with or without equity considerations.

Human development ensures enlargement of people’s choices in three central areas of health, education and resource.These three components while addressed together will have a synergic effect and lead towards the goal of human development. The challenges before the development practitioners are to develop a strategic planning to integrate the three areas and develop operational plan for it’s implementation.

Keeping the above in mind an action research project on assessment of Human Development with intervention in Sarenga Block and Bishnupur Municipality in Bankura district, West Bengal has been assigned to the Indian Institute of Bio-Social Research and Development (IBRAD) by Development and Planning Department to initiate action research and intervention in the pilot block and municipality to develop a model for human development. The project was for six months duration starting on 31st January 2006.

Purposive sampling technique has been followed in consultation with the administration and people’s representative whereby the 27 villages falling under 15 backward mouzas in Sarenga block have been taken for the study and intervention. In case of the municipality, 11 slums under seven wards of Bishnupur Municipality have been covered under the study.

The experience of IBRAD while conducting the action research, training and intervention for human development in Sarenga block and Bishnupur Municipality reveals how important it is to ensure the policy of the government, institutional arrangements and social norms together with cultural practices of the community to be addressed collectively (Bi lateral matching Institutions) by creating an enabling environment and capacity building of the stakeholders to have synergic action of health (Swasthya), education (Shiksha) and enlargement of resource base (Sampad) for sustainable livelihood. Series of sequential action following systemic approach by converging different sectors for synthesis of approaches and activities have yielded desired result. Our experience reveals that the sectoral activity if practiced in isolation even if with good intentions and commitment will not produce desired output. To create the synergic effect for convergence of sectors at the community level, capacity building of PRI, community members and line departments with built in mechanism of participatory monitoring and evaluation is imperative.

IBRAD realizes that all efforts of capacity building will go in vain if the community does not have the attitude, knowledge and desire for collective action in the form of CBO/SHGs/CIGs to meet the objectives of the developmental programmes. Same way if the Government organization is very rigid in transforming itself to meet the philosophy, norms and practices of participatory approach it will not reach the goal of the project.

The attempt for action research and interventions has been to take holistic perspective following Systemic Approach to Social - Ecological – Technical Interdependence and the activities with forward and backward linkages. All the five interdependent capitals – natural, human, social, physical and financial are interdependent and while addressed together will have synergic effect.

Involving the stakeholders in action research and facilitating the process of empowerment

The uniqueness of the action research has been involvement of the local stakeholders like people’s representatives and community members for collection and analysis of the data. During the process of collection of data only the major areas of concern and issues have been identified,

discussed with the stakeholders and interventions strategies have been made in consultation with the stakeholders to overcome the issues through the volunteer’s initiation as Self Initiated Community Organisers (SICO) group in the village. The main emphasis has been to empower the community to take responsibility to overcome their own problems based on the local resources. 38 SICO groups have been formed both in the villages and slums. They have initiated voluntary activities in the area of health, education and resource mobilization based on specific, measurable, tangible and time bound plan of action. The uniqueness of the approach has been that the community members themselves identified the gaps/issues and initiated the activities to overcome the gaps by mobilising the existing resources as well as creating linkages with concerned government departments through Bilateral Matching Institutions.

It has been found that though in many cases there has been lack of infrastructure required to ensure human development but the major problem lies in management of public resources.

The major issues identified in 27 villages have been high incidence of home deliveries It has been found that 43 deliveries (41.7%) occurred without the presence of trained dai and out of it 23 deliveries (53.4%) took place in presence of trained dai. ECCRs were updated till April 2004. The block suffers from communicable diseases like TB, leprosy but the numbers are under reported as during the survey it appeared that 12 patients are there in one village only, Jangalkhas, but none of them are covered under DOTS and neither do the health assistants know about them. It had been revealed through discussion with the BMOH and BPHN that Rs 75,000/- received for Rogi Kalyan Samity could not be distributed, as the samity had not yet formed. Same way under Janani Suraksha Yojna the money could not be distributed because of lack of clarity about the procedures for distribution the rupees. In number of cases the ICDS centers are open only three days a week, mostly due to man power problem, as one person has to take care of two centers. People of these villages mostly do not use sanitation facilities.

After identification of the problems, linkages have been developed with the health department and operational plans for interventions have been prepared. Interventions such as identification and one week residential training of the 21 local dai at the BPHC, preparation of training materials in Santhali language and awareness camps on TB at Jangalkhas by the BMOH and registration of nine patients, organised residential training of trainers for the SICO (45 members) of 27 villages and trained them on issues related to RCH, age at marriage, public health education, services to be provided by the sub centres and above as well as Anganwadi centres, survey on status of health in the villages by the SICO, formation of block level Rogi Kalyan Samity and started disbursement of the money, awareness on sanitation etc.

It is found that in many of the cases due to seasonal migration students could not attend the school for couple of months but do get promoted in the next class as the evaluation system allows promotion for all. Out of 27 villages, people from most villages seasonally migrate for about 3-4 months in a year. The girl students even though come to the school but in many cases bring their brothers and sisters with them and become occupied in managing them only. As a result quality of education suffers. Though enrollment of the students and their attendance in the school became more after the introduction of mid day meal but in all most all the schools, classes are suspended after the mid day meal served.

Capacity building trainings to develop skills for problem solving has not been organized in most of the cases. As a result many of the public resources have become defunct or under utilized. Like in Phulbari village under Sarenga GP a River Lift Irrigation scheme was handed over to the villagers but without building any institution and training them. As a result the RLI became defunct and is of no used for last five years.

Interventions have been made through the SICOs and in three villages namely Jetpara, Telijat and Khaulimura SICO members have started adult literacy centres for the people of the age group of 45 – 60 years for two days/three days a week. Evening schools have been opened in Kabardanga and Kharbangla. It runs for five days a week.They have also done tree plantation in the primary schools at Dalambijha, Bordi and Habra. After the feedback meeting with CDPO meals in schools have been regularized at Jukhanala which was earlier been opened only three days a week. Renovation and cleaning of ICDS centre at Bordi have taken place by the SICO members.

It is very important to note that although in almost all the villages SHGs are formed but in most of the cases gradation of them has not been done even if they have been formed one year back and all most none of them have initiated any income generating activities as there have been no training. Though in some cases like Kalapathar some of the SHG members have attended training on vermicomposting but there has been no follow up and none of them are implementing it. Value addition of the natural resources like sal leaf, grasses, etc have not been promoted in a few villages even though natural resources like forest are available.

Though lots of wastelands are available in the villages with scope for plantation, but this has not been practiced. As the area is mostly dependant on rain fed monocropping, this leads towards seasonal migration where the whole family migrates for few months. They also are trapped by the moneylenders and have to pay very high interest rate. The irrigation schemes like Kangsabati CADA, RLI, dug wells are either not functioning or people cannot depend on them.

Through the action research identified the local natural resources, prepared training modules and materials and conducted training programmes for 15 villages on nursery raising with the help of the forest department. After the training, villagers have already raised nursery and started selling the saplings, opened seven grain banks with their own contribution to reduce the vulnerability on food security during the lean period. A workshop has been conducted on 28th October, 2006 at Sarenga Range Office on Sustainable Livelihood Development to enhance the overall development of FPCs. A training on vegetation monitoring has also been conducted in 3 Beat offices involving 3 FPCs.

The hygiene level at these slums is pathetic. 2.25% of the total households in the slums have sanitation pits. There are a total of 27 drinking water tube wells in the 11slums studied, with most of them being at a distance of 40 metres away on an average. The surroundings of the tube wells are not cleared properly. Diseases like diarrhea and dysentery are very significant both among elders as well as the children of the slums. Most common medicines are not available in the Government hospitals, which these people can afford. Out of 12 primary schools spread over 11 slums, 75% of the schools do not have sanitation facilities and 7 i.e.58.3% are devoid of drinking water taps.

The Municipality area is not covered by ICDS center. SICO members with the help of the local councilors have opened one school for the children below five years of age in Kharbangla in Ward 1 as there has been no ICDS centre. 53 students have been enrolled. Another school has been opened at Kabardanga for school dropouts where 26 students have been enrolled and the SICO members of Pathakpara for adult education with 15 female members have initiated a third centre. In Pathakpara, in the building of primary school a police camp has been set up and for that reason school has been shifted in that camp area and this is hampering the education system as well as mid day meal cooking procedure. In all the slums, number of school dropouts is more among males than among females. Two main reasons for dropout have been identified- one is due to child labour in shops and other due to child marriage of girls. Poverty and weakness out of severe disease are also reasons in some cases. Two of the schools in Mahapatrapara and Dompukur are very hard to reach, as the condition of the road is very poor.

Slum dwellers are devoid of adequate and proper infrastructure, the basic amenities do not accrue to them. Most of the houses do not have electricity even today.

In the Municipality area, there is no key occupation for the slum dwellers like in the rural area agriculture is the primary occupation. Here people earn their daily bread from a variety of sources. Most of the slum dwellers lack sustainable sources of earnings through out the year. Interventions have been made through identification of SICO in all the slums and three days Training of Trainers have been conducted for them on issues related to ANC, PNC, public health education by involving the health department officials.

A workshop on Institutionalization of SHGs have been conducted on 12th May,2006 at Bishnupur IBRAD Office. All SHG members of Bishnupur Municipality were present in the training. The main objective was to train them to maintain records, cash books, minutes of meetings etc.5 SGSY groups consisting of 10 members in each group have been formed in Kharbangla and Kabardanga. People have started savings and four of them have already opened bank account in Mallabhum Gramin Bank, Bishnupur.

In ward no 7, most of the families are engaged in weaving Baluchari sarees but they face difficulty in arranging the raw materials. There has been an open land area where they can have Mulbery cultivation. A training was organized from 3rd to 9th June for 30 participants on Mulbery cultivation and nurturing of Polu insect. 30 women have formed a group namely “Chirasathi Polupalak Mahila Dal” and they have selected land for cultivation and have planted saplings of tut tree.

A training on Incense Stick making have been conducted to develop livelihood skills. The participants had made 4000 incense sticks and sold them in different markets and shops. The women would get to earn Rs.7 for every 1000 bamboo sticks from RKM only after the quality is approved by RKM for sale in the market.

Based on the learnings from the study strategies are to be made for replication in the following areas: