Udaipur District –

 

1.      Mr. Bhanwar Singh Rathore, Palana Khurd (Seva Mandir, Udaipur):

Work done –

§         Participated in the Gram Sabha with the villagers and the fellow Samaj Shilpis. They were informed about the income and expenditure of the Gram Panchayat. Further, the Gram Sabha has sanctioned the proposals (on priority basis) submitted by the people in the Ward Sabhas, as well as sanctioned the proposal to provide benefit/relief to four poorest of the poor families. They were provided 50 kg of wheat and Rs. 50 each.

§         Submitted a proposal in the Gram Panchayat for initiating fodder distribution with 50% subsidy supported by Mahavir International – an Udaipur based voluntary organization, and establishing two fodder depots in two villages for its proper distribution. Panchayat has sanctioned the proposal and thanked them for their kind support and benevolence.

§         SS has actively participated in the National Integration Camp, organised by RIM and Gandhi Darshan Kendra in Chennai from 15 – 22 May 2003. He has learnt a lot both from the lectures of the distinguished speakers/resource persons and from the experiences of the SSs working in different states. He has also raised his genuine concerns and sought answers/clarifications from the resource persons. He has come up as one of the leading SSs as we all have expected from him.  The only problem he has faced was the English language being used most of the time during the camp.

§         Conducted a meeting with the fellow SSs and briefed them about what has happened and has been discussed in the National Integration Camp. He also shared with them about the geography, weather, Sea beach, food habits, language etc. of the South India.

§         Closely observed the severity of the drought and need of the villagers, so that support/help could be sought from Mahavir International by convincing them the real plight of the people.

§         Ensured participatory implementation and monitoring of all the activities of drought relief in the panchayat. SS was also involved in the purchase of the fodder, its distribution, collection of the contributions and submission of details to Tehsil office and to Mahavir International.

§         Conducted meetings of the hamlet wise village development committee periodically, to discuss with them about their need and supervision, control & conflict resolution mechanism for drought relief work.

§         Facilitated the construction of one water trough for cattle, in one of the hamlets, in which 50% of the total cost i.e. material cost has been supported by Mahavir International and the remaining 50% has been contributed by the villagers as Shramdan.

§         Ensured proper distribution of the supplementary food and sports materials to five schools of the panchayat, which was provided by the Mahavir International for the school children for the entire period of summer vacation.

§         Keeping in mind the success of drought relief work through people’s participation, Red Cross Society, Udaipur has also come forward to provide relief to the people. Then, it was decided that this could also be initiated in the three neighboring gram panchayats. SS visited these panchayats regularly and contacted the people there and identified the person who could take the lead. A committee has been formed in each panchayat to look after the drought relief work. He helped the panchayat functionaries and the committees to establish proper arrangements for the distribution of fodder and water supply.

§         Mahavir International has spent Rs. 7,00,000 (approx.) on different activities of drought relief in the area starting from 1^st April till 30^th June.

§         Participated in the Press Conference, organised by Mahavir International on drought relief being implemented by them in the Mavli Tehsil. He presented details of the all the activities before the press correspondents with its financial and social implications.

§         Contacted parents of the school going children, motivated/suggested them to enroll their children and send them to schools, which would be commenced from the first week of July.

§         Helped two volunteers of Seva Mandir in their study on the impact of first phase of SS initiative in Palana Khurd village.   

§         SS is trying to decentralize his responsibilities to the village development committee and making them more accountable and responsible for their own development and empowerment.

 

Achievements –

§         Four poorest of the poor families have been benefited by providing them food grains and some monetary benefits.

§         Succeeded in convincing Mahavir International about the seriousness of the fodder scarcity of the area.  

§         One water trough has been constructed by the villagers through Shramdan.

§         All the Village Development Committees has been functioning well and taking up the challenge of community development.

§         Participated in the press conference on drought relief organised by Mahavir International.

 

Rajsamand District –

 

2.      Mr. Chenaram Bhil, Kamboda & Siyan (Seva Mandir, Udaipur):

Work done -

§         SS together with the villagers and the fellow SSs participated in an event organised by Mazdoor Kishan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Bhim on 1^st May – the International Labour Day. 20,000 labours across the state have participated in this event and shared their thoughts and problems & concerns on right to work. SS was very impressed by the labour unity, their strong force and organised efforts for their rights and entitlements. He felt that the time has ripened for the labour to get at least minimum wage.

§         SS has participated in the National Integration Camp organised by RIM and Gandhi Darshan Kendra in Chennai from 15 – 22 May 2003. He has learnt a lot both from the lectures of the distinguished speakers/resource persons and from the experiences of the SSs working in different states. He has also raised his genuine concerns and sought answers/clarifications from the resource persons and from other SSs.  The only problem he has faced was the English language being used most of the time during the camp.

§         Participated in the monthly meetings of Mahila Mandals and Nav Yuvak Mandals of all the hamlets of the gram panchayat, and discussed with them in length about the status of health, education, PRIs, and strategy to further strengthen the mandals, need & relevance of village development committee etc. After discussions, it has been realized by the members of the Nav Yuvak Mandals that they have to come forward and took up the responsibilities of monitoring the drought relief work, being implemented by the panchayat, and of curbing corruption at all levels. They also decided to open up bank accounts of their Mandals, with the objectives of security of the savings and interest on savings. Earlier, they had collectively decided not to open bank account because of the distance of bank from the village, fear about security of the savings etc. Now, all the confusions have been sorted out. It has been possible only because of people's participation in the governance of the village and selfless service to the society.

§         One of the Mahila Mandals has got loan of Rs. 25,000 from the government. SS facilitated the distribution of loan to six members, according to their need and priorities. It was decided that the rate of interest would be Rs. 2 per hundred per month i.e. 24% per annum, and the repayment period would be two months.

§         Literacy Center has been started/opened in Siyan hamlet, in which 20 children have been enrolled. SS also motivated and appealed illiterate women to join literacy center.    

§         Participated in the monthly panchayat meetings, submitted proposals for deepening of 12 wells and increase the number of labours in the drought relief work. Panchayat has sanctioned the proposal and as a result the work has been started. SS also participated in the monthly meetings of mini-secretariat where he raised the issue of water scarcity and the defunct hand pumps.

§         Participated in two-day youth training camps organized by Jarga Khetriya Vikas Samiti - an organization of tribals of Kumbhalgarh area, on roles and responsibilities of youth in the process of development and formation of tehsil level organization of youth. 50 youths both male and female have participated in the camp. They have also organized a follow-up meeting to decide and chalk out rules and regulations of the organization, its strategy of work and who should be the leader.

§         SS has attended the Tehsil Committee meeting of Adivasi Samaj Sangh, in which 300 tribal leaders and 7 cluster Presidents have participated. They have discussed on status of education, consequences of social evils and impact of deteriorating environment on tribal community.

§         SS assisted and helped a research team in their study on status of loan and its pattern among tribal community. It was found that moneylenders have been grossly exploiting the tribals since long. For instance, on principal amount of Rs 1000 appox. a poor tribal has to pay Rs. 40,000 this is unbelievable and amazing. We felt that this needs to be carefully examined and verified before reaching to any conclusion.     

 

Achievements –

§         Two village development committees and a Nav Yuvak Mandal have been formed.

§         Got a Literacy Center in Siyan hamlet.

§         SS has made a good rapport with all the organisations working in the Khumbhalgarh area. They knew him well and also invite him in all the meetings and events being organized for the area and in the area.

 

---