|
In the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, where literacy of women is just 30 per cent, Nishtha has been working to keep girl children in school and encouraging adolescent girls to participate in village activities and decision-making
Thirteen year-old Jhuma Pramanik's is not an easy life. Her father is an alcoholic and with 4 siblings, getting 2 square meals a day is a problem. But Jhuma is no ordinary girl. Amidst all this squalor and poverty, she attends the local government school in the 7th standard, walking 8 kms every day. She even stood first in her class the previous year. Jhuma almost didn't make it this far in school. Poverty almost forced her mother to remove her from school. But she stayed on thanks to social workers from Nishtha, a CRY-supported initiative in rural West Bengal. Nishtha which has helped several girls like Jhuma dream of a life beyond poverty and degradation is located at Baruipur block in the district of South 24 Parganas, 25 kms from Kolkata. In this underdeveloped area, about 90 per cent of the families belong to the class of small and marginalised farmers, sharecroppers and landless labourers. They depend upon agriculture and seasonal employment for their livelihood. However, returns are less than remunerative in the absence of proper irrigation facilities. Those not involved with agriculture belong to the unorganised sector - rickshaw pullers, vegetable-sellers, domestic workers. As a result, 70 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line.The area is also devoid of basic amenities like safe drinking water, proper health communication facilities, link roads etc. The literacy rate in the area is as low as 45 per cent among males and 30 per cent among females. The school dropout rate is as high as 50 per cent at the primary level. Sixty per cent of the children suffer from malnutrition and other health problems such as intestinal, water born and skin diseases. Belief in age-old superstitions, alcoholism and wife battering are the major social problems prevalent in the area. In fact, incidents of violence against women - dowry deaths and bride burning - are extremely common. Girls are considered a burden on the family, if indeed they survive, deprived of health and education facilities and are married off at an early age. It is against this backdrop that Nishtha was born - a group of educated women got together in an attempt to organise rural women and fight against injustice done to them. These women wanted to form an association with those of their gender who were uneducated, unaware of the rights and thus exploited in every possible way since their childhood. In spite of various hurdles and stiff opposition from society the members of Nishtha continued mobilising women to join the association. The group's dedication ultimately paid off and Nishtha was registered in 1983. Since it's inception, Nishtha has addressed the cause of girl children and has taken concrete steps to sensitise people on the issue. Violence against women which was extremely high in the past has lessened considerably due to Nishtha's intervention. Taking into account the special need of girl children, Nishtha has ensured their access to education, health and recreational facilities. Programs targeted at women have a multi-faceted approach which aim to empower women socially, economically and politically. Nishtha's activities comprise of pre-primary and primary education for younger children with the focus on girls, non-formal education for the school dropouts and adult education for women. Health facilities for children and mothers, income generation programs and small construction of low cost latrines, awareness on biogas usage and use solar lights are the other activities of the organisation. They run pre-primary centres for 138 Children in the age group of 3-6 years in 3 villages, NFE centres for 312 children in the age -group of 6-14 years covering 4 villages and 100 Kishories ( adolescent girls' groups )in five villages through training activities and supportive education support. The Kishories are a remarkable intiative, reflecting the emphasis Nishtha places on the right of the child to participate in decisions affecting its family and community. These groups participate in programmes that build awareness in the community about health and education matters, sanitation, cleanliness and even building of roads in the villages. Besides this, Nishtha also encourages women's groups and Mahila Mandal activities that provide a platform for women to unite and raise their voices against oppression and violence. Nishtha is now renowned as a pioneering organization in the area of women's empowerment and other activities related to the rights and betterment of the girl child. For more information on Nishtha and other CRY-supported projects, please contact: Mina Das
Vill. Subudhipur De Para, P.O. Baruipur,
Dist. 24 Parganas ( South ), Pin - 743 302
West Bengal Telephone # 433 - 9865 ( O ) Parvathy Nair
CRY- Child Relief and You
189 - A, Anand Estate, Sane Guruji Marg,
Mumbai - 400011
Ph: 022 - 3096845/ 6472
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
