Dhule Site Visit Report

Date: 1 Dec 2004

Shirpur is accessible by bus from Bombay. Its an overnight journey from 
Bombay and is about 60 km away from Dhule and lies on the border of 
Maharashtra and MP

We met Fr. Godfrey D'Lima (GDL) at the Vishwamandal Sevashram (VS). After 
breakfast, we visited the project site. As explained in the project 
proposal, the project consists of 25 centres. We visited one of them in a 
hamlet named Khuyakundi(approx 35 km from Shirpur) under the village 
Khayirkutti. The hamlet belongs to the Pawra tribe a subtribe of the 
Bhils who are farmers who grow cotton (we saw cotton fields) or groundnut. 
They also grow food for their family. Upon enquiry we came to know that 
by selling the cash crops a family typically earns about Rs. 500 a month.

There is vehicular access to the village only upto a certain limit. We had 
to walk in a difficult terrain for atleast a kilometer (or more) to 
reach a hamlet. The village is formed by hamlets that are separated by 
several hundred meters. Each hamlet consists of 3 to 4 houses. The villages 
have not been electrified and drinking water is available though bore 
wells which cater to the needs of villagers around a radius of 
about 1 to 2 kilometers.

The school we visited was held in the house of a local, who gives the 
space free of cost. At the time we visited, the school had about 16 
kids (about 4 girls and 12 boys) and the teacher Dilip (a guy in his 
early 20s) was handling classes on the marathi script. The room had 
flip charts depicting the alphabet, counting systems etc. There were 
also modules on hygiene etc. The duration of the class is 2 hours 
everyday (5 days a week). As GDL informed the network consists of 25 
schools. Regular attendance was about 15 per school and the complete 
attendance is about 20 per school.

The participation of the villagers was positive. They provide the 
space free of cost and each child pays Rs. 10 a month to the teacher. 
If a family has more than one child, then they are given some rebate in 
order to reduce the burden on the family. In addition to this, the 
teacher gets paid Rs. 500 per classroom per month by VS. (Note that a 
teacher gets Rs 10 per child per month and Rs 500 from VS. Hence, a 
teacher typically earns upto Rs. 650 per month, or some teachers 
handle more than one school and tend to earn more). Apart from this, 
the villagers spend to buy learning material like slates etc. from VS 
which offers it to them at cost price. I asked the villagers (about 15 
of them gathered at the school) if they think it is worth to pay Rs. 10 
a month and if its affordable. They were very positive and felt the need 
to educate their kids. When asked why they want to educate their kids, 
the first answer was that they thought that by being educated the kids 
might get jobs. Another reason was that they were happy to see their 
kids read and write and thought it will help them in when they went to
the town or when they had to fill up forms. The villagers seemed to 
understand the need for literacy and were ready to support it. 
This is a very positive sign. 

Dilip does teaching full time, and hence handles 3 classes in the 
neighbouring villages. For example he handles one class from 0800 
hrs to 1000 hrs then another from 1100 hrs to 1300 hrs and finally 
from 1400 hrs to 1500 hrs. He arrives from his village with his 
bicycle, parks them at some point and walks more than 2 kilometers to 
reach from one village to the other. This has to be particularly 
acknowledged considering the rough terrain that he has to tread. 
Dilip and other teachers like him were trained by VS and are 
retrained once every month. In addition to teaching the kids, VS 
also uses the service of the teachers for distributing information 
about organic farming etc. which GDL is actively involved in.

Both at VS and at the schools, we did not see signs of Christian belief. 
All villagers seemed to be Hindus (since they greeted us as Ram Ram) and 
referred to their Hanuman Temple. The charts had nothing religious about 
them nor did the songs that the kids sang after the class (they seemed 
more like Hindu ones). Also VS appeared to be rather secular. So I 
personally think that VS is not on its way for conversions. Also GDL 
came out to be a very down to earth person and seemed more like a social 
worker than a religious missionary. 

GDL has several ideas about education, organic farming etc. He along 
with his colleagues has put in effort to design teaching methods that 
will suit the tribes. I saw several flip charts and small booklets 
produced by him. They also have a small group that produces these 
materials, which they also supply to other organisations which are 
involved in a similar work.

In addition to this project, GDL is active in development of organic 
farming, which he had probably mentioned in his proposal. Asha might 
think of assisting him, by networking him with other NGOs with similar 
interest. GDL came out to be a simple, straightforward person, who 
seemed to have a clear idea of the situation and his plans. He is 
able to communicate well with his staff and with the villagers. He also 
seemed sincere in his efforts.

Considering the region (no electricity, poverty levels, literacy rates, 
poor terrain etc.), I personally think that the work GDL is doing is 
definitely worth supporting. It will have an impact on the tribes, as 
they are actively supporting the effort and there is local participation. 
Asha should devise means of evaluating the projects by suitable site 
visits etc. Asha should also be generous in supporting the effort 
thought provision of means like bicycles etc, since access to the 
villages is difficult. I recommend this project strongly. Asha zurich, 
as rightly decided, should support a part of the project and decide 
about future directions.