Our projects

Regularity and periodicity of drought and declining livelihood options:

Which is reflected in terms of low and erratic rainfall, poor soil undulating terrain, skewed distribution of land poor cropping pattern decreasing forest coverage unscientific use of natural resources and above all facility and improper implementation of Govt. programme.

Unfavourable and Monopolistic Market Mechanism:

Exists in the area which is characterized by poor community capacity, poor, infrastructure in accessibility to price information no alternative market outlet. Thus whatsoever measure surplus poor have informed and non-farm sector, do not fetch proper price.

Gender Disparity: - Is evident in the area making the women position more vulnerable and increasing their struggle difficult for sustaining their life. Poor or no access to productive resources, no access to basic life sustaining services like education, health and scope in decision making process at family and community level are some of the significant factors indicating gender disparity and imbalance.

Goal: - To create sustainable livelihood through drought sensitive development planning.

Immediate Objectives: -

• Ensuring better access for primary producers group (NTFP) and surplus (agriculture produces) to local and higher level market.

• Enhancing house hold income and food security in drought prone area.

• Community based drought preparedness measures undertaken

• Ensuring gender integration and mainstreaming in programme and management at village and other appropriate level.

The main aims were:

• To build capacity of vulnerable sections to fight drought effectively.

• Women are sensitized on participating in different income ventures

• Gender mainstreaming in all activities

• Collective decision making ensured

• Regular agricultural inputs along with irrigation facilities will enhance productivity of the people and reduce migration

• Sensitization on STD/RTI/HIV/AIDS and preparedness.

Disaster preparedness measure: -

• Insurance promotion for landless SHG Members

• Capacity building of women federation members

• GP / Block / Dist. / State level workshops as part of women networking and advocacy.

Livelihood Measures:

• Construction of water harvesting structure

• Promotion of homestead plantation and kitchen garden

• Pisci-culture with new and existing WHS

• Promotion of herbal garden

• Gotery support for landless families.

• Land development for marginal and small farmers

• Cash support to farmers for agriculture productions.

• IGP for destitute women  IGP for women at individual levels

• Production of seed bank and grain bank

• Leadership training for SHG/Federation Management

• Exposure visit for village leaders

• Support for SHG/NTFP groups / Federation.

Market Access Measures:

• Capacity building on sustainable harvest, storage, processing and marketing

• Linkage with Govt./Financial institution

• Linkage with resource agencies

Insurance Promotion for land less SHG Members

200 SHG Member’s insured under Janata insurance policy of Golden India Trust and DRAS (Death relief Assurance Scheme)

Strengthening SHG Federation on Skill Development and Marketing

300 SHG were strengthened by regular meeting, capacity building training on management skill of SHG and Marketing of NTFP 10 number of panchayat level SHG federations were organized. These federations are very effective in terms management providing services to members and in providing timely credit and other services to its members.

NTFP: 115 women of 6 SHGs are collecting storing and selling NTFP to generate income for their families. During NTFP collection period they collect these products and store them to avoid distress selling. Because the middle man procedure the NTFP at throwaway prices and sell to get hug profit at higher market. Instead for selling these products to the middle men these women store NTFP and sell when market price of NTFP.

SHG Federation Meeting :

Meetings of SHG federation were organized to develop strategies to market NTFP and surplus agricultural produces for better price. The market of NTFP and surplus agricultural produce greatly helped in providing fair prices to its members. More importantly the initiative by the SHG groups at the village also help increasing the prices of the produces. By competing with the local traders. Who had monopoly in rates of procurement in the past. This indirectly increased the prices of the produce.

Construction of MICRO WHS:

73 Micro water harvesting structure was constructed in 73 villages which will irrigate the land and benefiting small and marginal farmers. This is helped in getting assured production even during in drought years.

Land Development :

545 acres of land development in 545 small and marginal farmers of DALAP area, increased productivity and income of this families.

Promotion of Homestead Plantation :

15517 families assisted with saplings of fruit bearing tree mainly Guava, Mango, Custard apple, papaya, drumstick, jackfruits, sajana, amla, lemon, banana etc. Most of beneficiaries are small and marginal farmers and landless households. The back yard plantation of the fruit bearing trees will help in gaining supplementary income to the households. More importantly this will increase the health condition of the poor and vulnerable population who cannot effort to buy the fruit from the market for consumption.

Promotion of Kitchen Garden:

3450 families provided with vegetable seeds to growth vegetable in their backyards. This initiative created access to fresh vegetable to the poor households besides supplementing income to some families.

Support for landless families for goatery:

465 families mainly belonging to landless category were provided with goats with Rs.1000/- each in 250 landless families and Rs.2000/- each in 215 landless families. Thus Rs.680000/- worth of goats supported. The mast liquid asset in the village is goat. This support has decreased the proneness for the poor household get trapped in the vicious cycle of money lenders. The 465 families are like to earn Rs.1000/- within one year which will greatly hike in the family income.

Capacity building Training (TOT) :

TOT were organized at cluster level for the SHG members to enhance their knowledge and skills. The in turn helped the members to develop the skill of other members in the group. The share skill and knowledge has resulted in better management of the group affairs and the group emerged as a cohesive unit which are acting as pressure group at the village level to planning, implementation and monitoring of the developmental activities by different agencies.

Forest Protection:

Initiatives were taken to form village forest protection committees. Protection committees are formed and functioning. The protection of forest increased in intensity of the forest cover. This in future likely to enhance the livelihood base of the poor people more particularly for the poor land less households.

Linkage of SHG with Mission Shakti:

26 SHGs were linked with Mission Shakti during the reporting period. This helped them to avail of Rs.5000/- support each as revolving fund. This helped the groups in two ways the group have got exposure with other groups which has widened their horizon and to initiate income generation activities with the revolving fund which supplemented the family income.

Policy, Advocacy and Counselling:

A number of steps were taken in form of informal meeting & interactive sessions highlighting. People issues and organizing workshop between Govt. people’s representatives and other stakeholders for better appreciation about people’s issues among planners and officials and to press for suitable policy changes.

Support for Farmers for Cash Crop :

100 farmers were supported for cash crop (banana, green, gram, black gram, and groundnut) in terms of provision of inputs/seeds.

To end all violence against women :

This is a unique programme introduced in Nuapada district to raise awareness on the equality of men and women equal treatment of both of gender. Various kinds of violence being made against women, girls in Nuapada district. The most of violence are in the form of forced migration, wife beating, desertion by husbands and sexual exploitation of adolescent girls during migration, various poster showed on violence to the participants. They were asked to comment on the various types of physical and mental violence against women as depicted in those posters. Thus the various types of violence were categorized and discussed and how to reduce those incidences in Nuapada were also discussed upon. To achieve this objectives 4221 volunteers from various school, village, colleges, organization PRI, SHG members, Govt. employees were selected and took oath to reduce the disparity in social behaviour towards the women community.

Education:

We ae running bridge course centres for the children of the migrant labours to ensure their continuous study, supported by district primary education programme (DPEP) these are residential centres and the volunteers takes care of overall development of the children of migrant parents to ensure retention in the school, while their parents are away in migration.

Social watch groups formation :

Accordingly, social watch group formed in villages. The objective was to empower and orient the members on the education campaign to make Government school functional. All the villages have VEC in Primary Schools. The purpose of forming the social watch group is to activate the VEC to play a major role in village school development.

Child Club Formation :

60 no of child club formed in primary schools consisting of children in the age group of 6 to 14 years (both regular and dropout) / never enrolled). The idea behind forming child clubs is to create child centric environments in schools to attract the drop out children to school and motivate parents to allow their never enrolled / dropout children to be mainstreamed. This method was adopted from the earlier education concept in Nuapada district which was found to be successful. The child club members are very instrumental in attracting other non-school going children to school by playing with them will the play materials given to the child club. This way the out of school children will feel motivated to attend school.

Wall Writting :

To spread awareness amount all, wall writing on education theme wee done to have a greater outreach and advocacy. As education campaign is purely an advocacy work. Walling at prominent places to get impact is an utmost necessity. Keeping this in mind education theme on sending children to school, discouraging child labor, spreading message on education have been painted.

Enrollment drive rally:

Special enrolment drives were conducted to attracts never enrolled / drop out children to the education fold during the start of the school session. The child club members, teacher, GP Co-ordinate BCC Teacher participated in these rallies to make an impact on the parents. The rallying contingent go round the villages shouting slogans on right to education of children, say no to child labour. Also enrolment drive during car festival was conducted with the help of teachers.

Networking with education department:

During the education campaign phase, the BRC, CRC and DPEP personnel were invited to various meeting advocacy campaign. The purpose of including them is make them feel working honestly for the deprived children. The fallout of this interaction is that the children have received study material dress from DPEP of Nuapada.

Child development:

Child development is a 2 word concept but it encompasses all development parameters in its fold concerning the child issues. As Mahila Vikash had been in the fore-front in working on the RCH issues in recent past it created a notch for itself in the child centric development process in the Nuapada dist. The various issues which were cropped up during the RCH interventions were like Malnourishment among pregnant mother and child non registration of mother immunization.

Awareness Campaign to PRI Members:

Besides SHG members PRI representatives from the target area were also aware about the anti trafficking measures and the important role they supported to play.

Awareness Programmes to Adolescent Group:

Considering adolescent as one of the prime victims of trafficking, accordingly about 250 adolescents (boys and girls) were identified from target area and oriented.

Trafficking of Women and Children:

The Nuapada district with extreme poverty repeated drought, limited employment opportunity and high illiteracy and ignorance provides favourable ground for migration and exploitation including trafficking of women and children. The huge percentage of depressed category population (40% SC/ST). Further make the district prone towards trafficking. Mahila Vikash took this challenge and initiated a campaign against of women and children. It got favourable support from concerned groups and institutions for this campaign.

Observation of Anti-trafficking day and week:

Anti-trafficking week was observed 25th November to 10th December was organized to create awareness and understanding about trafficking and to make measure like registration of Migrant Labourer in all the village.

IGP Support to Trafficked women & HIV Positive :

Intensive awareness campaign backed by income generation support were given to the most vulnerable groups from the community. 5 person trafficked women, 4 no of HIV Positive were supported to start their own income ventures like small shop vegetable vending grocery shop.

MICRO FINANCE & MICRO ENTERPRISES:

As envisioned in the vision of Mahila Vikash. There are 380 women self-help group in the village level. The objective has been to create leadership and financial independence of the women members. Self Help Group holds potential for real changes because it focuses on those directly affected by disadvantages and discrimination. It helps to gain power over their lives, over information, resources and discussion. In the entire process from self-help group formation to grounding of MICRO - ENTERPRISES. Mahila Vikash got full co operation from financial institution.

HIV / AIDS INCIDENCES :

Mahila Vikash believes in multi-pronged approach in reducing and eradication the scourge of HIV/AIDS in Nuapada district. It is not confined to particular area/village/cast/communities, the people of the district have had experience to fight hunger and starvation due to drought but have hardly any ability and experience to fight HIV/AIDS. The menace is not only eliminating particular individual and his family but also causing enormous, social, economic and cultural stress on community and the nation as a whole. This alarming trend necessitated all stake holders be the Govt. NGOs Civil Society and others to join hand getting a grip on it and finally eliminating it.

The district has all the related ingredients responsible for incidence of HIV / AIDS VIZ periodic drought and high poverty (more than 78% BPL families) leading to high migration (more than 40%). These migrants are one of the crucial factor to bring and spread STI/RTI/HIV/AIDS in the family and the village poverty and migration further more ignorance high illiteracy existing social and traditional norms culture pattern causes a lot of improper sexual behaviours, these all cumulatively add in spreading the disease.

Mahila Vikash found many incidence of STI/RTI/HIV/AIDS in the villages and decided to tackle this problem with more systematic intervention. Accordingly, it was taken up as one of the key intervention areas of Mahila Vikash.

Sanitation:

Mahila Vikash was entrusted by the DWSC Nuapada to motivated the people in village level to construct individual house hold, latrines (IHLS). As it is a national programme top priority was given and the people were motivated through village meetings with the help of PRI Members, teachers and village opinion makers to have IHLS in their homestead land or community land. The objective of this national mission is to reduce open defecation in the fields by the people, reduce contamination and disease and ensure clean environment in and around the village, so far over 1900 IHLS have been constructed in a 4 GPs Lakhana, Samarsing, Kurumpuri, and Darlipada, and from Rastrapati Award to samarsing Panchayat and Rs.50,000/- award from Odisha Govt. to Kurumpuri Panchayat.

Gender Mainstreaming:

As the vision of Mahila Vikash suggests empowering women in the field of financial independence, gender mainstreaming is ongoing process all throughout over the periods more number of SHG women is made free from their economic dependence on their husbands. Through various support mechanisms they are independently pursuing their own livelihood without having to depend upon their husbands. The women are accessing banks and asserting their rights as well their children’s right in various forums.

Legal Literacy Week:

To help the poor women to come to terms of legal awareness legal literacy week observed. The learned Additional District Judge graced the occasion to help the women in knowing various legal help / safeguards that are enshrined in the constitution various women rights were discussed to help them understanding about role and rights in the society. Apart from this distinguished guest. D.L.O. Police officers DSWO, NGO heads invited child right experts are participated to discuss about women issues and child rights in this meeting. The district child cell should be activated was decided by everybody.