The funding request is for non-formal educational programs. Currently there
are no such programs underway. WARM apparently has been holding such programs
right from its inception. They are particularly proud of Mr. Lakshmanan, who
benefited from one such program and has been with WARM for about 15 years
(Unfortunately, I did not get to meet Mr. Lakshmanan).
At the WARM headquarters, I saw photos of some of their past programs. One
innovative item was an awareness program for women that WARM holds once every
year since its inception. Here, WARM brings together several successful women
from in and around Tiruvannamalai - doctors, lawyers, policewomen, etc. - to
address some of the poorer sections. WARM has also run an English-medium primary
school in the past. The school had been very popular, according to Mrs.
Krishnan, but was shut down in 1998 due to lack of funds.
The places visited were:
1) Computer training centre: This centre prepares +2 passed girl students to
take the CSI diploma exams. The centre is funded by the Government. I was told
that the Government has committed to fund the centre for 20 years (!) subject to
proper functioning. There were about 25 students and 4 computers. Each student
gets a stiped on Rs. 350 per month. Most of the students were from the SC/ST
community in the neighbourhood (I saw some records confirming that most of them
were SC/STs). There were a few upper caste students also, apparently because of
lack of qualified SC/ST students in the area. Classes go on from morning to
evening, like in a regular school. One student mentioned she gets an hour of
on-hands practice everyday. As part of their training in databases, they collect
local demographic data. An Assistant at the WARM headquarters had also been
borrowed from the class. The first batch of students were just getting ready to
take the CSI exams. I was shown their hall tickets. The students looked
confident and it seemed to me that the program had made a positive impact on
their lives.
2) Coaching centre: This centre coaches 10th failed girl students to reappear
in the exam. The first batch had apparently just taken the exam and were
awaiting their results. So, there was no activity when I visited. Some past
students had been put together for the sake of my visit. This program is again
funded by the Government.
3) Literacy centre for "hotel" workers: Boys working in the hotels nearby
come to this centre for 2-3 hours everyday. They are taught to read and write.
There were about 10 boys in the age group 5-10 years when I visited. They had
been coming to the centre atmost for 3 months.
4) Training session to form women's Self Help Groups (SHGs): The Tamil Nadu
Government has begun in 1998 a state-wide program to form women's self-help
groups. WARM has been selected to help form these groups in Tiruvannamalai. I
attended (or interrupted!) a session where a WARM volunteer was training women
of a village in micro-credit schemes. The Government sets the criteria by which
women are selected to take part in the program. About twenty women were in this
particular program and it had been going on for a couple of months.
Surprisingly, most of the women in the group owned land - many owned about an
acre, one had 15 acres (!) but said it was tied up in some family problems.
About 5 said they were landless. Despite the two months spent, the training had
not seemed to make much progress. I also talked briefly with the husband of one
of the women in the group and he said the men were in general supportive of the
SHGs.
5) A full-fledged SHG: Finally, I met with members of a full-fledged SHG that
had been working since the days of Mr. Krishnan. They had started as a
chit-funds group, but now, with the Government initiative, had reorganized
themselves. This group has been very successful in making use of the Government
program. They had just been given a loan of Rs. 3 lakhs for purchase of cows.
Women in this group were clearly more vocal and confident. None of them seemed
to own land.
27 July 2000 WARM Site Visit Report by Ranjith:
BACKGROUND:
__________ WARM (Welfare Association for the Rural Mass)
was started in 1983 in Tiruvannamali by Mr. Krishnan. It has been active in the
upliftment of SC/STs, particularly, women and children. Mr. Krishnan died in an
accident in 1991, and since then it is being run by Mr. Rajavelu and Mrs. Shanti
Krishnan, widow of the founder. Mr. Rajavelu has a B.Sc in Physics. His interest
in social work started with the NSS program during his B.Sc studies.
Subsequently, he earned several degrees and diplomas related to social work.
Mrs. Krishnan's direct involvement with WARM started after her husband's death.
She has a Master's degree in Public Administration and, very recently, has been
attending computer courses to take the CSI examinations. She lives in the same
building that houses the WARM Headquarters. Both Mr. Rajavelu and Mrs. Krishnan
are native to Tiruvannamali and have spent most of their lives there.
SITE VISIT:
I visited WARM sites on 27 July 2000 for about 7 hours. I
had called the previous day and Mr. Rajavelu and Mrs. Shanthi Krishnan were able
to organize the visit at such short notice. Activities of WARM are very widely
spread in Tiruvannamalai. By Mr. Rajavelu's estimates at the end of the day, I
got to see only about 25 percent of their work.