Projects > Gujarat
State Level Programme in Gujarat
In the week following the quake, VAK representatives had mobilised relief
supplies, and distributed to the affected people in Maliya. This initial
intervention in Maliya and the mass contact programmes that followed,
helped the VAK team to grasp the community dynamics that played a role
in people's accessing the State relief measures. The team observed that
the state machinery discriminated against minorities - Dalits and women.
Thus, the focus was on ensuring that these minorities received adequate
aid compensation. Also, the extent of the devastation in Maliya was severe;
to the extent of 89% (42 of 47 villages were severely damaged). It had
a majority population comprising Dalits, Muslims and Other Backward Classes.
Successive droughts in the two years prior to the quake had caused further
impoverishment of the small and marginalised farmers. Also, in economic
and social terms, Maliya has been one of the most backward talukas in
the district. It was thus decided to consolidate efforts in Maliya.
In the earthquake, school buildings had collapsed, adversely affecting
the schooling of children. Also, during its survey VAK observed that
generally children in Maliya did not go to schools or had dropped out
early. This was especially the case with children belonging to communities
that faced economic hardships, struggled to make a living and migrated
for work. Such children were found working in saltpans, hotels, panshops,
rearing cattle or handling responsibilities at home. Education of the
girl child was largely ignored.
The objectives of the education programme basically remained the constant
with few additions over time. At first, the immediate priority was to
restore schools in the affected districts and ensure that children continued
school education and did not drop out of the system.
The objectives stated first were:
- To restart / start the pre-primary education of children in the select
villages through constructing community education centers in earthquake
affected 16 villages.
- To provide education to children who have never been to school and
children who dropped out after earthquake, and enroll them in formal
- To sustain the development progress made through the proposed intervention,
by mobilizing community's support.
PPE / NFE Classes
The PPE and NFE classes are run from Monday to Friday. The curriculum
is specialized and oriented towards holistic growth of children's faculties.
Besides learning alphabets and basic mathematics in their mother tongue,
games, music and play are important components and media for learning.
Children's creativity is given space for expression. Media for learning
is developed by the teachers with locally available material usually
discarded as trash. Teachers in these programme were specially trained
for preparing teaching material and aids, and using it, classroom management,
people's participation in education, basic mathematics through aids,
realization of self and personal management, preparing lesson plan, maintaining
registers, reports for various activities, environment education and
community play, preparing growth monitoring charts, story telling and
In 2002, in the primary school in the Railway ward, that denied admission
to the chidren from the basti on grounds that their seats were
full and that children from basti had a tendency to drop out
from schools. VAK staff checked the district administration records if
the classes were indeed full and found it untrue. They took up this matter
with the Taluka Education Officer. 5-6 children were then admitted in
that school. Their parents also committee to ensuring that children would
not drop out.
Supplementary nutrition is provided to all children attending the center
on all the days. A person is assigned to cook fresh food everyday according
to preplanned menu. The menu over the week from Monday to Friday includes
sukhadi (a mixture of jaggery, wheat flour and oil), potato pova, boiled
moong, boiled chana, sheera and potato pova. Children growth in terms
of height and weight is also regularly monitored.
Parents of the children attending the education programmes, form the
parents committee. Its role is to monitor and look after the education
centers and its needs, contribute towards a token fund, participate and
develop as a community center.
Literacy programmes for youth were undertaken, with the objective to
make them literate and to build up their individual confidence and knowledge
on social issues. Two centers were opened to Vir Vadarka and Maliya town
with 8 women and 23 men respectively. A yuvati class was also started
iv) Women's Empowerment Programme
Gender perspective building for women's empowerment is a process, which
is on-going enhance women's ability to change those structures that subordinates
them. The process of empowerment is a political process, because it aims
at changing existing power relationships. Accordingly perspectives are
developed on issues of patriarchy, socialization, economic and political
rights and specific issues of child marriage, education of children,
government schemes etc. This process enables them to gain more access
to resources and decision-making; gain more control over their own lives,
gain more autonomy. It is a process, which enables women to have self-respect,
and dignity, which improves their self-image and social image.
It is also to make women and society recognize the knowledge, capabilities
and skills that women have, particularly in areas of agriculture, health,
handicrafts etc. It is to create a social environment that gives women
self-esteem and self-confidence. Providing opportunities for girls and
women to realise their potential and have choices than be pushed into
the traditional roles and occupations. Education for empowerment, providing
facilities and resources to meet their potential and have choices than
be pushed into the traditional roles and occupations are the other areas
including providing women access to and control over means of production,
property and other resources and control over income.
To address specific gender issues
To help articulate women's grievances on issues related
i. Micro Credit Scheme
Women were organized by undertaking door-to-door canvassing for forming
women's savings groups. Besides, training in savings groups operations,
gender issues and health were undertaken.
The objective was to empower whilst simultaneously causing economic
and social benefits.
The clarity on the purpose and implementation of this programme, developed
gradually through a series of training programmes. First there was a
gender training and exposure visit in Dwarka. Here the team learned about
savings groups' size should be limited to 20 members. After these training
existing groups were split and new ones created to manage the membership
limit. This was followed by training at Dakor, in savings and credit
operations. Nitty gritties of even conducting meetings were imparted.
The Dakor training helped with inputs on systematic management of savings
groups. After this training more groups were created.
A perspective-building meeting was held at Koba. Here the clarity on
MVM and saving groups developed. MVMs were envisaged as larger and open
groups without any limits to membership. The savings groups could be
contained in them, besides the Citizen's Education Committees, yuvak
mandals, and a working committee of the Mahila Mandal at the village
level. After the meeting at Koba the staff started mobilizing women for
this epanded community organization.
ii) Mahila Vikas Mandals
MVMs were first made in 5 villages viz., Manaba, Vidarka, Navagam, Derala
and Kiliwas. In Navagam and Manaba, 70 and 35 women came together respectively.
In Koliwas parents' committees, IGP and savings groups were formed and
it was planned to combine them into a MVM. In Koliwas and Kajarda the
MVMs took up social issues and conducted meetings once a month. They
had been taking up village and health issues and focused on women's issues.
A campaign for issuance of ration cards to those entitled to it was undertaken
by them. Supplying water in Koliwas and reinstating Morbi as the center
for collecting widows pension instead of Rajkot were some other issues
up by them.
Two kinds of health concern showed up during the assessment undertaken
by VAK, viz., physical and mental health. In its assessment VAK found
that most of the women and children suffered from various illnesses due
to malnutrition, lack of drinking water and other basic necessities.
Following the quake in rural areas, public services like health care
facilities were not functional and people had no recourse to any other
The study on psycho-social impact of the earthquake on women and children
revealed that even six months after the earthquake psychological problems
prevailed especially among the single, elderly, injured and with those
in bereavement. The prevalent symptoms observed were insomnia, startle
reaction, intrusive memories of the quake, obsessive possession syndrome,
sadness, diminished interest in work and uncertainty of the future. Also
psychosomatic ailments were noticed among women, pertaining to their