Seva Mandir’s Balwadi Programme
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- Capacity building of Sanchalikas
- Payment of shulk
InferencesOn the whole Balwadis have made a positive impact on the capacity of mothers to attend to other work, even if it does not generate cash in the short run and for all the mothers. Siblings The IRM study had taken a sample of 12 girls between the age of 10 and 14. All but one was from Kaya village. All the girls from Kaya had never gone to school. The only girl in the sample from Doolawato ka Gura was in 8th class. All the children in the sample stated that the Balware was beneficial for them. Perhaps the question was not administered properly or the children were afraid to say anything else. The nature of the sample indicates that at least in Kaya village girls have not benefited even where younger brothers/sisters are going to Balwadis. Since this was more a cultural phenomenon, it would be wrong to assume that simply because of the Balwadi, siblings would now be sent to school. Perhaps the only difference would be in the nature of the work now being done by the siblings at home. Hence this is a benefit that can clearly not be attributed to the Balwadi because there are other constraints both economic and cultural that prevent parents from sending the girl child to school. Until these constraints are removed through parallel interventions (convergence) one cannot expect the situation of the girl child to improve significantly. Inferences There are other constraints that prevent siblings from being sent to school, which are cultural and / or economic in nature. During discussion with field staff it was reported that the pattern of sending girls to school varied from block to block. A more representative study would need to be carried out in order to draw any meaningful conclusion on the trends. Participation of Different Stakeholders The observations provided in this section are based mostly on the interactions with various stakeholders during the field visit (see Annexure .2 for field notes). Sanchalikas Motivation When asked what gave them the most satisfaction while working as a Sanchalika, majority of them provided evidence of internal rather than external motivation. Some of the responses are paraphrased below: “It is nice to work with kids and lot of benefit is brought to the parents.” (Sunita) “One child was skin and bones when he was brought to me. He was not able to walk even after four years of age. I worked with him for two years and he became normal again. He would not have survived otherwise.” “I sent a lot of kids to school, this gives me satisfaction.” (Nirmala) “Two children who came to me were staying with their grandparents as their parents had split. They could not even walk when they were brought to me. I nursed them back to health. Now both have got entrance in the school. They are so attached to me…” (Prem devi) “One child could not walk due to malnutrition and used to drag himself on the floor. He was also eating mud. He has stopped this habit now and is growing normally.”(Kumir devi) “When the bell rings, the children know and want to come to the Balwadi. When the kids are not well, I inform the parents. I have taken three children to the hospital and went with the parents. Once the parents had no money and I gave them money so that they could get the child treated.” (Navali devi) “I don’t have any children of my own, so I like this job even more!” (Padma devi) “I worked for over two years over a severely malnourished child by massaging her. It was very satisfying to see her recover completely.” In a few cases the Balwadi job had proved as a source of economic independence and empowerment to women in their struggle for justice against husbands/ in-laws who had ill-treated them. Even in these cases the motivation was internal. This augers well for the programme and is perhaps the main explanation for the commitment of the sanchalikas (many of them have remained in the system since inception) and the success of the programme. It is significant that none of the women felt that their status in society had gone up because of their job as sanchalika. This is indicative of the fact that although most parents and the community leaders appreciate the work done by them this appreciation is not shown or communicated sufficiently to them. Capacity building of SanchalikasAn orientation training of six days is given to new entrants after which, they are attached to an experienced sanchalika as a trainee for fifteen days. This short internship is enough to give them the confidence to start a Balwadi independently. The contents of the training programme are shown in Table 11, Annexure 1. As the table shows the topics covered are quite exhaustive. The effectiveness of the training would depend both on the design (contents and pedagogy) as well as delivery (skill of trainers). Six-monthly trainings are linked to bi-monthly meetings of sanchalikas at the block level. These meetings are used for the following purpose: Allocation of work for the month Discussion of health issues Special guidance on such as feeding the weaker children Updating all the registers (Panjikaran, status of shulk, number of children admitted to school etc.) Filling up of monthly report Discussing specific difficulties if any A content analysis of the meetings at Girwa block was carried out (see Annexure .4) based on the notes of the block facilitator. The analysis showed that the meetings were more focused on giving sanchalikas instructions and building their capacities. Perhaps greater time could be spent in facilitating sharing of experiences and cross learning among sanchalikas to make the meetings more effective. In addition a zonal meeting of two days is organized on a monthly basis where Sanchalikas: Help each other in updating records Review the work done Provide Seva Mandir with information and suggestions. The first day is devoted to capacity building while the second day is sued to update registers, plan and place indents for materials needed. The monthly and bi-monthly meetings serve as a good source of cross learning, among sanchalikas and give them a reference point for further growth and improvement. It also develops a community feeling among them. Mechanisms to stimulate further cross learning should be used. Best practices of good sanchalikas may be highlighted and converted into standard practice. It was reported for instance that one sanchalika started the practice of noting any new birth in the village in her diary. This practice ensured that the proper age was available for monitoring of malnutrition later. It also gave her an idea of her potential clients! This is a practice worthy of emulation by all sanchalikas. Inferences and suggestions If the sanchalikas have proved effective in their roles as caregivers, this may be largely attributed to the fact that their primary motivation is internal rather than external and to the effective training provided to them by Seva Mandir and its associate organizations like Mobile Creche, ASAG, and Shrujan. It may be concluded that the overall impact of the training has been very positive and has done much to impart new skills to the sanchalikas, which enables them to work effectively in their role of caregiver. This is not to say that all sanchalikas are at effective. As shown by the grading system much work needs to be done with the C-grade sanchalikas so that all are brought up at least to B-grade level. Monthly and bi-monthly meetings serve the dual purpose of monitoring and guiding progress while building capacity of the sanchalikas on a continuous basis. Cross learning in these meetings should be encouraged further. New mechanisms of such learning should be found. Some of the best practices of outstanding sanchalikas may be converted into standard practice so that the entire programme can benefit from them. Sanchalikas may need additional inputs in certain areas such as interacting with other stakeholders, skills in dealing with severely mal-nourished children and children with special problems/ disabilities, monitoring of iron deficiency, proper use of medicine etc. Parents Although parents in general are satisfied with the Balwadi services there is an apparent lack of involvement in the programme, which also affects the overall performance and impact on the children. Hence this is a weak link in the programme and needs to be addressed through proper understanding of the problem and through creative solutions. Client satisfaction: During the field visit the review team got the opportunity to meet a few parents (mostly mothers) who had come to leave their children at the balwadi, or at their home visits. All parents contacted asserted that the Balwadi was beneficial for them and their children. Most of them pointed out that the children got to eat meals during the day which were of good quality, they got to learn and become fit enough to go to school, and parents benefited due to the time they got to do their work or go to the forest to collect various items for household consumption. They also mentioned that children learn good hygiene and tell their parents to do the same. Knowledge and attitude gap: Although the parents seem to value the services of the balwadi for the above reasons, it appears that they are not fully aware of the long term benefits on their children in terms of normal physical growth and cognitive development. Dr. Kirti observed during the field visit that: Though the mothers were aware about Mannol, they were not aware about ‘why’ the syrup was given. Use of local foods and awareness among parents about ‘what and how much to eat’ was very less. Since the food and care provided to children is only supplementary in nature, parents should be more informed in order to provide the remaining diet and care when they are at home. Although orientation meetings have been held for parents perhaps more detailed training may be needed to fill the knowledge and attitude gap. Participation in meetings: Sanchilakas are expected to organize meetings with parents once in two months. Village committee members particularly women members are also expected to be present in the meetings. The sanchalikas and village development committees feel that their participation is poor in the meetings. In some places the meeting with parents is merged with the GVC meeting. Even where meetings are held, the only issues that are discussed are a) need for sending children regularly b) payment of shulk. It is plausible that parents may have got weary of attending meetings where they are likely to be hauled up on these two issues and that may partly explain lack of interest in the meetings. In the case of villagers who rely purely on labour for income, the question of time is also an issue. Unless the meetings are held in the evening or on the day of rest (Thursdays in case of NREGA, Saturdays in case of mine workers) they may not be available to attend these. Weekly visits of sanchalika Seva Mandir had initiated a system of weekly visit of the sanchalika to the homes of parents who were irregular in sending children. On every Saturday, the sanchalika would close shop one hour early in the evening so that she has enough time to visit the parents. This system has however not worked out in most places. The sanchalikas stated that many parents who had gone to work for NREGS or to the forest etc. did not come back before 5.00 pm. The houses being scattered, usually the sanchalika had time enough to cover only a few families. In places where NREGS is on, the day of visit should be changed to Thursday since that is the day on which NREGS is closed. Payment of shulkShulk (contribution) of Rs 5/month is collected from each parent as fees. This amount is collected by the GVC and used annually to purchase clothes and other items for the children at the Balwadi. Although the amount is nominal (one chairman mentioned that “five rupees are blown away in the smoke of bidi!”) the shulk often becomes a bone of contention and the money is often not forth coming. Some committees have therefore decided to raise shulk annually or bi-annually so that time and energy is not wasted over this issue. It is worth mentioning that all stakeholders other than the parents consider payment of shulk as an indicator of participation. Seva Mandir monitors shulk payment religiously for the same reason. In spite of repeated efforts, only about 60-70% of the shulk is paid. The data as on Sept. 2009 is provided in Table 3, Annexure 1. This cannot be attributed to poverty alone, as it is an amount that most villagers can afford. 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