Wisdom of Life

Testimonial

A little hero, Singrai Murmu, 13, emerged as a change agent in the U3 programme. Despite his young age, he is passionate about protecting nature and is determined to make a difference. His journey to protect the environment is both inspiring and educational, and it serves as a reminder that even the smallest actions can lead to significant change.

Singrai’s family survives on 1 bigha of land; his father is a marginal farmer and often works as a labourer in various agricultural fields to earn as much as he can to support and provide for his family.

It all started when Singrai learned the importance of environmental protection in public meetings organised by the U3 programme, where he used to accompany his parents to these meetings. The U3 programme works towards fostering and securing self-sustaining climate-resilient and climate-adaptive agriculture and livelihoods through community-owned processes in West Bengal, Karnataka, and Telangana.

Whenever Mrs. Padmabati Routh, a community educator, arranged for a meeting, he would come along with the participants and listen to the speaker carefully. He showed his involvement in every meeting he attended and was inspired to save nature and preserve our natural resources from being destroyed.

Singrai didn’t stop there. He convinced his friends to join him in his mission to protect the environment. Together, they started planting trees in their community, and they put up placards on trees to stop deforestation and tree-cutting. They educated their neighbours about the importance of protecting nature and inspired them to take action as well.

His love for nature kept growing, and he got involved in sapling restoration. He cultivated the habit of sapling restoration, and wherever he would go to play with his friends, he would collect saplings from places with infertile soil and plant them in a proper place so as for them to grow and nourish. He eventually gathered his friends to go with him on his path to saving nature. The group of five children would make posters to spread awareness among the community and his fellow classmates with slogans such as “Save life, save plants” and ‘ No plant, no life on earth’.

He also requested that all his friends make more awareness-building posters and join in the rallies, cancer campaigns, World Earth Day, and green campaigns conducted by the programme. He actively participated in all the events to help influence and draw other children closer to working together and to let the community know about the devastating results of living without nature. Recently, he took the initiative, along with his friends, to hang some posters in the forest to spread awareness and prevent people from cutting trees. Through this action, he wanted to make people aware of the consequences of disrupting mother nature and the benefits of preserving and saving her from destruction.

He is the only junior volunteer on the team, and he continues his work whenever he gets time and involves his other friends in it.

Singrai’s journey is a testament to the power of one person’s actions. He may be young, but his passion for protecting the environment has inspired those around him to take action as well. His story is a reminder that we all have a responsibility to protect nature and that even the smallest actions can have a significant impact.

Young climate warriors’ commitment to protecting the environment

Rupais the second among seven daughters in her family. She hails from a village namedHarincolin inPurnea district in Bihar. With no stable family income and many mouths to feed, education was of secondary importance to her family. With her dedication, Rupacouldcomplete her education upto grade eight. However, the poor socio-economic circumstances of the family forced her into marriage.In the year 2013-14, when the vacancy for the post of a teacher arose in the Girl Child Educational Empowerment Programme through Caritas India, Rupaapplied and qualified for the same. Association with the programmehasmotivated her to continue her studies. Resultantly, despite the oppositionfrom her family and relatives, andbesides having a child, she made attempts to get enrolled in Grade IX. She put up valiantly with several systemic hurdles and disdainful attitude of the officials towards her when she sought a written permission from the DEO (District Education Officer) for her admission as the date of admission had lapsed. Finally, she received the written permissions and is continuing with her studies, whilst also serving as a teacher under the Educational Empowerment Programme. In this course, she not just struggled for her right to education, but also right to life with dignity and refused bribe that was demanded of her during the process.

Story of Rupa

She said that she is a unmarried women and taking care of her paralyzed father and Mother since 7 years. She is the only Bread Earner of the Family. During Flood she and her family suffered too much because she is only person have to take care of her Family. Her house also partially damaged during Flood. She also request for the Repair of her House to Caritas India. She said that after getting support From Caritas India – Shelter kits , Food kits and Wash kits she get emotional because no other Ngo or Govt Department has supported during the Flood.

She found very helpful by receiving all the 3 kits because she is not able to purchase. She Thanks Caritas India and Start Network for Supporting her and Her Family.

Sabitri DasSiliguri Basti

Mrs Shefali Das share her sad moments during Flood, I was at home when the floods came. It was 3 o’clock in the morning on the Sunday of the flood when I woke up. By the time I was out of the house, the water was up to my chest. I waded, trying very hard to find the road. When I get armies with Boat I got courage and finally reached to highland. That’s how I got here. My whole family ran away but we left everything behind. Then, when I first got here, I stayed in the ‘club house’ here in Jathera. But so many people came there after me that I moved to Camp 2. But we don’t have enough shelter here from the rain, and even food sometimes we can’t find.

She Thanks Caritas India for giving support by giving Hygiene Kits which is very much helpful for them.

Shefali DasJathera

Sangita lives in Gogaipur village in Khalwa, Madhya Pradesh with her husband and in-laws. Since the couple did not own any land in the village. It compelled her family to migrate frequently to different cities in search of livelihood. During one of the surveys conducted by Caritas India Sabal programme to initiate the livelihood programme as response to COVID-19 pandemic to support the migrant returnees and to provide job opportunities to the affected families; Sangita was identified as one of the beneficiaries qualifying for the initiative. The livelihood initiative was to identify the poor families which are the most deserving and are constrained to migrate due to lack of resources available in the village for surviving but have basic talents and skills that can help them to uplift their financial well-being but are unable to create it as an opportunity due to lack of or no financial resource to invest.

Sabal under its COVID-19 pandemic response identified 210 such deserving families and supported them financially to initiate the livelihood opportunities. These livelihood opportunities included opening a petty shop, starting a tailoring, beauty parlour and juice centres, mobile repairing shop, automobile repairing centre etc. Sangita is one of such successful stories of Sabal which has paid off the family well to sustain the unanticipated second wave of COVID-19 which brought the whole country to a halt with another lockdown for 2 months and lack of opportunities for the families which extensively depended on the migration.

When the Sabal team visited the village the poshanmitra identified Sangita’s family deserving the support. Further discussion with her revealed that before marriage she had been doing tailoring at her home but had to stop it after coming back to her husband’s home. She had also studied till 10th and knew basic calculations and emphasized on savings which was supported by her husband Madan as well. She wanted to do something on her own and did not wanted to migrate as she find it very risky due to Covid. “Hume yaha rehne se kuch nhi milta isley bahar jana padta hai” (We don’t get anything here that is why we need to migrate). “Bimari ka bhi dar hai magar parivar bhi chalana hai” (We are afraid of getting infected, but we need to run the family). – said Sangita.

Considering her willingness to do something the team of Caritas India assured to support her in purchasing a sewing machine with a commitment that she will stay back in the village and continue her livelihood. On 18th January, Sangita got her new sewing machine and started her shop in her own name “Sangita Silai Center” (Sangita Tailoring Centre). Within couple of months, she earned ₹14,000 and with the savings brought by her husband she also bought another machine and installed electric motor to the machines. Her husband also stopped migrating and is supporting Sangita by also learning tailoring from her.

“Maine silai class bhi chalu kiya hai aur teen ladkiyan pass ki gav se seekhne bhi aati hai” (I have also started tailoring classes recently and three girls come to learn from nearby villages) – happily shared by Sangita. Sangita is charging ₹500 per student for the tailoring classes where she also provides raw materials to the girls for learning.

Even during the pandemic lockdown Sangita and her family did not migrate and survived as they got monthly income of ₹4000 from the tailoring orders.

Talent paid-off during the pandemic lockdown

Ranju was standing beside the school wall watching people queue to receive their relief but her name was not in the list. At an age of 26 she had become widow with a mother of one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. She only thinks about her daughter’s future.

Her house was washed away in the flood and now the mother and child lives with her husband’s relative at Dezoo Chapori village in North Lakhimpur, Assam. She helps in house work but always worried as anytime they can ask her leave the house.

“We wanted to raise our daughter by giving her quality education but our dreams remained as dream”, exclaimed Ranju. She used to stay happily with her husband Madhav Prasad Sharma and daughter in their house close to the river but never thought that the same river will take their house one day.

“Madhav had a medical shop which was their only source of livelihood. After his death, the shop is closed and whatever income used to come has stopped,” narrated Ranju with tearful eyes.

Every one affected by flood has their own story of pain which only brings back the moments of deprivation, confusion, hurt, loss and psychological trauma.

Ranju came to know about the complaint box installed at the distribution point for grievance redressal, so she dropped her application in the box mentioning her case for support. The village committee along with Caritas India personnel reflected on the application and considering her vulnerability had decided to extend emergency relief support to her.

“I will use this money for the admission of my daughter in school and reconstruct my house” said Ranju. She further plans to reestablish her husband’s closed medical shop to become independent so she can provide good education to her daughter.

The complaint redressal mechanism of Caritas India during emergency is an effective step to invite community to submit their confusion, complains and feedback for redressal and improvement. It not only creates space for community to express their views but also brings accountability, transparency and participation.

Every day after distribution of relief materials, the village committee and Caritas India personnel sits with the community and open the complaint box to hear the issues and unanimously decide for its redressal.

I will use this money for the admission of my daughter in school and reconstruct my house

I, ChandrakalaDigal, aged 55, wife of Late Gimango am a resident of village Padrikia, in Kandhamal, Odisha, where a majority of the inhabitants are Tribals (Adivasis). After my husband’s demise, I took charge of running my family single headedly by taking up daily wage labour. With school going three daughters and two sons, the wages I earned were far from sufficient to take care of our rudimentary needs. When the riots broke out in the district following the alleged assassination of a Hindu leader, the right wing fringe groups started attacking and vandalizing the houses belonging to the people of Christian faith. Since I belong to the Christian community (Tribal Christian), I feared for our lives and rushed towards the relief camps set up in Raikia much later, where I stayed with my family for six months. During this time, I learned that all our houses were burned down by the rioters. After returning home, I found out that my name was missed out in the official assessment on damages and losses for compensation. This shook me to the core as I was unable to resume work and had nothing to ball back on to sustain my family with a square meal also.

On 15th November 2012, I happened to attend a legal-aid training camp after returning home, that was organised in Raikaby some voluntary organisations. Empowered by the information gathered at the training programme by the lawyers, I filed a grievance petition to the administrative block office of Raikia, challenging exclusion from the assessment and demanding compensation for the damage of my house. On 17th November, I consulted with the legal aid lawyer and was assured pro-bono support to follow up with my grievance petition. Filing of grievance itself wasn’t an easy task for me and took me three attempts to get through due to the absence of the concerned block officials. At last, investigation was assured by the Block Development Officer and repeated follow ups were conducted by the lawyer. Finally, my house damage was enlisted, which secured me a compensation of Rs. 10.000 (Ten Thousand rupees) under the partial damage category. This financial support enabled me to reconstruct my house, while I also sought legal assistance for applying for widow pension. Thanks to all these voluntary efforts of the lawyers that we are able to return and live in our own house.

I reached the doorsteps of justice

The Nagas, both men and women farmers from the Peren district of Nagaland came together to cultivate a popular variety of pulse called Naga Dal. They practiced cultivation of Naga Dal in a selected plot near the village. The result was an astounding yield of 640 kilograms of Naga Dal on the 3 acres of land. The produce is sold in the market for Rs 80-90 per kilogram and the proceeds are shared between the members. This initiative has motivated the people to widen such collective cultivation.

To read motivational stories of change and empowerment visit our exclusive blogon the project at:
http://backtofarms.blogspot.in/.

Beginning of a Change in the Naga Valleys

Rinku Kumari d/o ArunSaday and Pavitri Devi and Leela Kumari d/o Shiv Saday and Savitri Devi are from RantiMusahartola in Madhubani district of Bihar.They are the first ones to have cleared matriculation in their tola and are studying in Grade XI. When asked about their hardworking daughters, parents of both girls couldn’t conceal the pride and happiness they felt and exclaimed that their daughters were continuing their studies further. The girls too expressedtheir jubilation and determination to not think of marriage until they completed their education. The girls have taken up the initiative of teaching the younger children of their tola and encourage them to go to school with them. Their dedication towards highlighting the importance of education paid off when they realized that a hundredMusahar children from their tolawere enrolled in local Government schools as a result of their efforts. Both Rinku and Leelahave become the role models in their tola.

Rinku Kumari

A ‘Musahar’ girl from Bihar broke the age-old barriers of education deprivation. Literacy rate among musahar’s is only 3 percent and falls below 1 percent for the women who are subjected to exploitation, violence, and sexual harassment since ages.

Reena, a shy and simple musahar girl from Bedwaliya village was no different when aspired to get educated to lead a better future.

Even after all the hardships she managed to get promoted to class 6 but her joy ended when due to sudden sickness and lack of public health services had to dropout from the school.

The next entire year was even more difficult for Reena and her family as she neither could attend the school nor able to assist the family in earning their livelihood. Once a little better, her family did not send her to school in order to make up for the income lost during her illness.

Reena is now coming to an age where most of the girls of her age get married but due to lack of finances she had to continue working to bear the expenses of her marriage. By the time Hamari Pathshala reached her tola, almost three years had passed since she had been to school and she had forgotten what she had learnt.

Today, Reena is married and taking bridge course to cover the gap in her studies for appearing in Bihar Board Open Schooling and Examination. The counselling and educational support provided by Caritas India Hamari Pathshala project made this possible for Reena and many other musahar girls. The project gives special focus on the development of teaching modules and training of facilitators to improve the system of education in the targeted community.

Reena and many others are receiving educational benefits and able to teach other children of her community. She wishes to continue her studies even after her marriage till her “Gauna” (a practice when the bride is finally taken to the in-laws’).

Supported by Millennium Alliance, the project with 18 months of its intervention has infused positive communication and reinforcement to build self-confidence and independence in musahar community towards education.

The project has reached out to 392 musahar girls from which 129 girls were mainstreamed into local schools. The intervention has helped 165 girls to avail RTE benefits such as school uniform allowance, books and scholarship.

REENA IS 15 YEARS OLD NOW

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