On November 23, 2022, Gram Nirman quarterly programme review was conducted at Xavier Institute of Social Action (XISA), Raipur where, 18 community educators along with regional Gram Nirman staffs participated to witness the successful implementation and documentation of different practices and innovations. The main objective of the event was not only to review the progress but also to help to identify the gaps and take appropriate measures while orienting community educators on the programme activities to be implemented in the next quarter.

The Gram Nirman is a direct implementation programme of Caritas India developed on Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) approach with an objective to enhance the livelihood of communities for a dignified life. The programme works to facilitate improved access of various schemes and programmes, enhancing the income of families through on-farm and off-farm livelihood initiatives, making efforts towards availing recognition and empowerment of widows, people living with disability (PLwD) and migrants. It is being implemented in both Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh states consists of four clusters covering 165 villages.

The meeting was led by Mr. Nikhil Sanga, the Programme Lead, Mr. Vibin Varghese and Mr. Edmund Kerketta, Programme Associate of Gram Nirman. Community educators from all the 6 districts of Chhattisgarh presented the work done along with key results achieved in last six months. Each of the teams was given quality feedback and appreciation for the innovative work done in their respective locations.

With regards to the monitoring evaluation accountability and learning (MEAL), Dr. Jayaraj Karuvadiparambil, the Thematic Lead – MEAL for Gram Nirman gave his inputs and suggestions based on the project outcome and indicators. He emphasises on the importance of MEAL and encourages the team to document the results in line with programme framework.

The purpose of the programme implementation was explained by Mr Pradipta Chand, Thematic Lead – Climate Adaptive Agriculture and Food Sovereignty (CAAFS). He also mentioned that the implementation should not be limited to activity accomplishment but rather lead to the next level capturing the qualitative aspect of the interventions in line with production, income, consumption (nutrition), resilience and farmers control (access to basic rights and entitlements and service facilities available at the local level) and thereby a secured life and livelihood.

Ms. Ankita Singh, Programme associate for KSP shared about the integration of Key Strategic Pillars ( KSP) in Gram Nirman on 24^th November 2022. The purpose of KSP orientation was to integrate Key Strategic Pillars i.e., Empowering Animation, Dialogue, Volunteering and Sharing Community in the Gram Nirman Programme framework. The overall concept along with the four key pillars was well explained with due emphasis on evidence-based case stories and audio-visual for better clarity and understanding of the participants. It starts with community-based to community-led organizations. She further added that accompanying or facilitating the community and then leaving the community to grow. Here community would realise the need for collective action which leads to people’s self-reliance.

The interlinkages of Gram Nirman Programme framework, and how the data can be generated from each activity in line with KSP were explained by Mr Pradipta Chand. He educated all the participants on the process of data collection for the next quarter’s reporting.

The two days programme review cum KSP integration workshop went considerably well and helped the entire Gram Nirman team to understand the process of data management while capturing for the programme reporting. It was essential for the team to learn the importance and need for quality documentation while translating the data into programme reporting and management.