SITE VISIT REPORT OF ABHIYAN

we visited bhaiswa and jagpura villages of bhaiswa panchayat of masaurhi block on 12th feb. 99. This area is adjacent to jehanabad dist. (the area which was recently rocked by massacares of dalits by fundamentalist forces). The political tension is palpable. Bihar is a state which can boast of very high level of political consciousness having
close similarity only to kerala and west bengal. It has been the seat of many movements, like the bodhgaya movement (concerning land rights) and the JP movement leading to imposition of emergency and finally dethroning
of indira gandhi. JP movement attracted lot of youth. Many of them entered
active electoral politics later. The declining state of affairs also saw the hardening and growth of ultra-leftist marxist-leninist (ML) groups. Simultaneously bihar also witnessed mushrooming of NGO culture. Many of these NGOs are headed by people who were part of the JP movement.

many youth tried to strike a balance between socio-political movements questioning the status quo and NGO type of work concerning welfare activities like education, health, income generation programs (IGP), etc. Abhiyan group constitutes of such workers at the helm.

Abhiyan is active in masaurhi block for about 2 years. So far they have worked on the issues such as a few IGP schemes, organizing women around sewing classes, education and awareness on panchayati raj, implementation of govt. programmes, etc. They have tried to build a rapport with the community and their local workers are from the same area.

the villages where Abhiyan proposes to start schools are predominantly scheduled caste (SC) villages. Most of the people are landless labourers or marginal farmers with few middle-level farmers belonging to other backward communities. It is these other backward caste
(OBC) communities which are socially and politically dominant in bihar today. Laloo prasad yadav who along with his wife ruled for nearly last nine years and his main contender the present railway minister at the centre nitish kumar belong to this group. The two schools - one primary level in bhaiswa and another higher secondary level in jagpura villages are dominated by higher castes among OBC and SC population.

Abhiyan proposes to start schools for the mushar community which can be termed as outcaste within outcaste. In british period they were notified caste and were termed as criminals. Their children even today are
considered socially unacceptable and do not go to the govt. schools. Mush
means rats in hindi and mushars eat rats catching them from agricultural fields after the harvesting is done. They are also allowed to collect whatever grains they can recover from the rat burrows in these fields. Infact mushar means rat-eaters. Most of them, with few exceptions, are totally landless and stay on the outskirts of villages practicing pig-rearing. The community is in dire need of education (for most families
it will be first generation going to school of any kind) but at the same time only a literacy oriented education wouldnt do as in the present socio-economic-political structure it is unlikely that they will make much
headway with their school certificate. Therefore we have redrafted their proposal keeping three points in focus: (1) component of literacy and introducing children to formal schooling, (2) imparting them some technical skills which may help them earn bread when they grow up, (3) community organization for socio-political empowerment.

Strong points of Abhiyan: (1) the workers belong to the area. being from the same milieu they can empathize with the target community and process of interaction will be smooth, (2) the urban activists associated with the
project have many years of experience in socio-political movements and have the capacity to theorize Ideas. The proposed consultant has experience with innovative education programs.

Areas need to be worked upon: (1) the group doesnt have prior first hand experience of running a school, (2) so far Abhiyan has been involved in socio-political issues and has taken a struggle oriented approach. Campaigning and mobilizing people has been their strength. there is possibility of their being swept away by other more pressing issue impacting the lives of target population. Hence close monitoring is essential, (3) in a highly volatile political scenario of the area close rapport with and support of target community is essential. Theyll have to
seriously make this investment.

The proposal remains same as was tentatively proposed after modification. It is being given again for convenience.

PROJECT PROPOSAL
Submitted by Abhiyan, Patna

Objective of the Project:
(1) To provide meaningful education to about 50 children and literacy to
about 30 children of Mushar caste and other Scheduled Caste (S.C.) population.
(2) To work for economic self-sufficiency programmmes for the youth. (3) To make people aware of the importance of peoples organizations, importance of proper utilization of their resources, free them from the clutches of money-lenders and the corrupt and degenerate government bureaucratic and political system.

Location of the Project:

Bhaiswa and Jagpura villages of Bhaiswa panchayat of Masaurhi Block in Patna district. The Masaurhi block is situated in south at a distance of 40 km from the Patna district headquarters. The village Bhaiswa is located at a distance of 8 kms from the Masaurhi Block headquarters. The nearest railway station is Masaurhi. The target area can
be approached through Patna-Gaya road up to Masaurhi.

Components of the Project:
(1) Education centre.
(2) Economic Self-reliance.
(3) Organizational awareness.

Education Centre: Objective of the educaiton programme will be to raise people with right understanding, right behaviour and sefl-sufficiency in occupation. The education programme will be holistic in nature and will not be limited to the school boundaries. A close interaction with the villagers will be maintained and they will be motivated to get involved in
the process of education. Apart from teaching language, maths, sciences and social sciences, art/craft activities, making the process of learning
joyful and involving local artisans will be part of the education programme for 50 children. Rupesh, a social activist from Patna will help
the team of teachers at the education centre to develop the curriculum as
well as give direction to the overall project.

Besides 30 children in a neighbouring village will also be imparted literacy training by the educaiton centre.

Economic Self-reliance: Each teacher of the school will attempt to become
self-reliant by associating himself/herself with some economic activity. Some of the activities being considered as part of this project are screen
printing, chyawanprash making, repair of diesel pumping set, water tube-well boring, automible (tractor) repair and tailoring. The activities
will be carried out with the school as a centre. These activities will serve as training programmes for the students of the school as well as other members of the villages. Some of these people may also join the produciton activities on a long-term basis.

Organizational Awareness: Peoples organization will be strengthened in the
village. Meetings and camps will be held for education, self-sufficiency activities, making people aware of their responsibilities and rights and to free them from the clutches of money-lenders by inculcating savings habits among the poor.

Resources Available:
A community land, 2400 sq. ft., is available for the project at no cost Besides one centre is also available in the form of a kachcha house. It has a room of 450 sq. ft. size and about 3000 sq. ft. of open space. Four
tailoring machines are also available.

Duration of Project:

It will be a three year project, i.e., funding will be required for three years. An attempt will be made to make the centre along with its
team completely self-reliant by the fourth year.

Budget:

Following is a budget for the first year. Budget for the second year will be proposed when the project begins. In subsequent years the amount of funds required to sustain the centre will go down.

Items
Amount (in Rs.)
Fixed Expenses

Diesel Pumping set with kits
20,000

Equipment for tube-well boring
5,000

Screen printing material
5,000

Capital for Chyawanprash
20,000

Blackboards and teaching kits
1,000

Bicycle
2,000

Total
53,000

Recurring Expenses

Honorarium for 7 teachers @ Rs. 1000 p.m. 84,000

        Consultancy for Rupesh  @ Rs. 1250 p.m.                 15,000
        Learning material for 80 children @ Rs. 100 per child
8,000
        Snacks for 50  children @ Rs. 2 per child per day for 300 days
30,000
        Rent for a room @ Rs. 500 p.m.
6,000
        Training programmes and camps                             7,000
        Travelling
5,000
        Stationery, etc.
4,000
        Monitoring
2,000
        Total

Grand Total
2,14,000

Total Budget for Rupees Two lakhs fourteen thousand only.

Project Team:

The project team will be as follows:

Name Age (in years) Educational Qualification Service
Satendra Kumar 35 M.A., B.Ed. Social Activist

Shailendra Kumar        25                      B.Sc.
Pramila                 30                      I.A.
Kameshwar Prasad        35                      I.A.
Upendra         30                      B.A., Trained Teacher

Rupesh 33 M.A. Social Activist

will serve as the consultant for this project, and

Chandra Bhushan 38                      M.A. (Gandhian thought), LLB
Dr. Anil Kumar          35                      Ayurvedic Doctor
Practice
Akhtari Begum           23                      M.A.
Social Activist
Kranti Rasor            50                      M.A.