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| Maharashtra
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Case
Studies |
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A
Little Effort Can Be a Lot
This story lives out the Chinese proverb
- A journey of a thousand miles begins with
one small step.
It is a story from Targhar village in Panvel,
Maharashtra. The SHG members here all had
been making small savings with the SHG every
month. They decided that a continuous income
generating activity was needed. After they
discussed and debated, took into consideration
the availability of raw materials and the
viability of different business options,
one member suggested agarbatti
making. The SHG unanimously agreed with
the idea, and started training in how to
make agarbattis.
The training was so successful that the
group went into production in only two months!
Another member pointed out the need for
packing and marketing the product properly.
The members approached the local ACF office
where they got a research plan sorted out
to explore cost, sourcing of raw materials,
packaging material, etc.
For most of these women this was their first
experience of working outside of their homes.
The training, exploring the market, connecting
with dealers and handling the venture on
their own was an empowering experience.
The SHG members are now even selling their
agarbattis outside their village,
and also have orders from co-operative stores.
Motivated by their initial success, the
women are taking more efforts to improve
the standard of the product, and are trying
to run their organisation professionally.
They got a bill book printed and are now
in the process of getting a
VAT number.
This steady development of the women’s
group is promising toward ACF’s efforts
and the village community in general. |
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A
Shakutai to the rescue
Megha Boir felt her dreams of becoming a mother would never be fulfilled. After seven miscarriages, she was in a terrible mental and physical state. The pattern was the same. Each pregnancy was naturally terminated in 2 to 3 months. Belonging to a poor family,her nutritional status wasn’t good to begin with the onslaught of successive failed pregnancies only made it worse. When there was little to eat, it was hard for the family to spare money for medical expenses.
When Megha was expecting for the 8th time, she rushed to the VHF of her village with the hope that Shakutai would be able to do something to help her. When Shakutai met Megha, she knew that the odds were stacked against her. Megha’s case did not look very hopeful, but Shakutai was determined to help her in every possible way. She took Megha to one of ACF’s health camps for pregnant women and got her examined by the doctor there. The doctor prescribed her some tonics and supplements to improve her health and Shakutai was requested to closely monitor her health and report any untoward development to the doctor.
Megha’s family was strapped for finances and the added healthcare cost was exerting too much pressure on their limited resources. Shakutai brought up the issue in the Village Health and Sanitation Committee meeting as she needed more resources that she had with her. The villagers were moved by Megha’s plight and unanimously agreed that to help Megha. They decided that a token amount will be given to her by the Committee from its common pool of funds. The money she would receive per month was to be used for purchasing nutritious food and the recommended supplements.
With the assistance extended by the villagers, Megha’s financial troubles eased. Shakutai too did her bit by regularly advising and monitoring her progress. As her health stabilized and began improving, Megha and her husband were frequently found in high spirits. Her pregnancy progressed without any serious problem and now she is awaiting the arrival of her bundle of joy.
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A
Smart Step to a Safe Future
Meenatai Bobade and her husband Deorao
Bobade were small farmers from the village
Pimpalgaon, in Maharashtra. Meenatai was
a clever woman, and when she learnt about
the local Suvidha SHG, she joined it so
that she could maintain some savings.
This was two years back.
A year after that Deorao was nominated
for micro enterprise training, to make
organic pesticides, at the Centre for
Science in Villages (CSV) at Wardha.
They decided to put the training to work
and produce a neem-based pesticide on
a large-scale. Initially itself sales
were good. So Meenatai got a loan of Rs.
15,000 from the SHG for an initial capital
needed to start a business. The couple
also approached CSV to learn about packaging
techniques, and so with the loan Meenatai
got and Deorao’s new knowledge,
the Bobades came up with Herbipest. They
sold their final bottled product for Rs.
100, and bagged a huge profit with just
the first 400.
With the profit they could repay their loan
immediately, and have got a huge order for
1,000 bottles. A small endeavour proved
to have the makings of a great business
establishment. |
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Co-operating
to Change Lives
Owning a meagre land holding of 1 acre in
Maharashtra, Arun Kasti depended on his
cycle repair shop to meet his family’s
material needs. The money he earned from
his shop fell short of his requirements
and the family lived in a perpetual state
of financial crisis. A young motivated man,
Arun was convinced that there had to be
a way to boost his income. He felt that
a milk co-operative may be the answer to
his problems. It would not only benefit
him but would also benefit all those who
joined the co-operative. He took up the
charge of motivating others in the village
to come together to form the
co-operative. He managed to get a group
of 25 ready and formed a milk co-operative
in October 2007. Each member purchased two
cattle of good quality.
Today Arun supplies 20 litres of milk to
the society and earns about Rs. 250 per
day. The society too has been doing well.
It has established a link with a private
dairy in Chandrapur. After repaying his
monthly instalments and deducting the cost
of cattle feed, he was able to make a neat
profit of Rs. 3, 000 per month. With the
profits made through the sale of milk, Arun’s
life has improved for the better. He hopes
to buy more cattle in the future and further
improve his profits.
Arun has big dreams. He now wants to improve
the quality of his cattle to get a yield
of 30 litres per day. |
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Education
Vs Corruption
It is sad that the last place that corruption
should taint is where it is centered.
A school in Lakhmapur, in the Gadhchandur
district of the state of Maharashtra,
had been receiving food from the government
for its mid-day meal programme. Being
a fairly large school, the daily consumption
of food was high, so it took a while for
the Village Education Committee (VEC)
to suspect that the food grains weren’t
being properly utilized and that misappropriation
of food grains was taking place.
An investigation revealed that the school’s
headmaster had been pilfering a portion
of the food grains meant for the children.
Even though he enjoyed strong support
from his staff members, the VEC decided
to take strict disciplinary action against
him. He was reported by the VEC to higher
authorities and was ousted from his position.
The VEC set an excellent example for
the entire village community, showing
how effective monitoring can ensure that
institutions set up to serve society do
not become corrupt. |
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Fight
HIV with Love
In Gadchandur, Maharashtra, two little
girls, Priya*, 7 and Meera*, 3 were orphaned
when their parents died of AIDS. The girls
were being taken care off by distant relatives,
since not only were the girls young but
they were also tested positive for HIV.
The local ACF decided to cover the expenses
since it was beyond the means of the family.
With ACF’s help the girls are doing
well with constant medication and care,
and have a lot to look forward to in life.
* Names changed to maintain confidentiality |
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Heads
Held High
Dhanoli, Maharashtra, is one of the many
villages in India, which faces a recurrent
scarcity of fresh potable water every summer.
The little village in Korpana block managed
its fresh water needs with just two hand
pumps. But each time the pumps needed maintenance
the women would have to walk at the least
2 km. everyday to bring home water. The
women realized it was a waste of time and
energy, and so they organised training sessions
for themselves, where they were taught to
repair and maintain hand pumps.
The hands-on training they received has
changed their lives for the better. Now
everytime the water pumps need to be fixed,
the women of Dhanoli take care of it themselves.
Along with saving a lot of time and energy,
the women of Dhanoli are self sufficient
are also very proud of themselves, and for
good reason. |
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HIV
Back on a Leash
When HIV affects one person, it affects
the whole family. Last year, in Lakhamapur,
a small village in the Chandrapur district
of Maharashtra, a sudden outburst of HIV
+ve cases began emerging. An ACF staff
member in that village, Jignabhai Waghli
*, suspected Ramabhai Gogla* of being
HIV +ve for a long time. So Waghli organized
counseling sessions for him, where he
disclosed that he had been tested positive
for HIV two years back. Ramabhai died
of TB sometime later. Waghli decided to
test the entire family. With husband gone
and no one to take care of the family,
misery struck again. His wife, Leelaben
Gogla* was also positively tested for
HIV. Luckily she was the only one who
was infected.
Being a fighter, Leelaben refused to
fall apart. She picked up courage and
with her head up in the air she was ready
to support her family. She has been trained
to become a peer educator and now educates
people about HIV.
* Names changed to maintain confidentiality |
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Losing
a calf could bring him to his knees
Bapurao Kumare, a resident farmer of Bhendavi
village owned a calf. It was his only wealth
because he lived on the periphery of a forest.
The nearest veterinary hospital was over
12 km away and that too did not guarantee
timely service or availability of a doctor.
When Bapurao’s calf took seriously
ill, he feared he would lose his prized
possession. Knowing that travelling to
the veterinary hospital would in all probability
be a waste of time, he rushed to ACF for
help. The veterinary at ACF immediately
rushed to Bapurao’s help. He made
a home visit, examined the calf and administered
the requisite drugs. He waited to see
if the calf showed any signs of recovery
and when it didn’t, he administered
another dose. This time the calf showed
some response. Bapurao and the vet heaved
a sigh of relief knowing that now the
calf had overcome a life threatening situation.
It would recover fully after proper care
and rest.
Bapurao is grateful to ACF for the prompt
help- the loss of his calf would have
been unbearable. It would have destroyed
his only hope for a future.
Community healthcare
Panvel, on the western coastline of Maharashtra
receives a heavy monsoon which often results
in stagnant water, clogged drains and
an outbreak of epidemics like malaria.
The situation took on grave proportions
when almost all the families had at least
2 to 3 cases of malaria. There was need
for swift action.
ACF took on this challenge and collaborated
with the Terna Medical college to organise
mass screening. To prevent further spread
of the epidemic, fumigation of drains
and garbage dumps was undertaken in all
the five villages. Meetings and information
sharing sessions were organised by the
medical team. Villagers were educated
about cleanliness, garbage disposal and
prevention of drain clogging.
These immediate steps along with provision
of medical treatment saved many lives.
The collaborative action of ACF, Terna
MedicalCollege and the villagers was the
key to nipping a potential medical disaster
before it attained epidemic proportions. |
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Timely
Intervention to the Rescue
Sakhubhai Sidam, a resident of Mangi village,
Maharashtra, was expecting her 7th child.
Till now all the children she had borne
had died soon after birth. This fact was
extremely distressing for her and her family.
They really wanted a child and were pinning
their hopes on this pregnancy.
Ashatai, a VHF in the village was aware
of the medial history of Sakhubhai and knowing
her high-risk status, tracked her progress
closely through out the pregnancy. Ashatai
arranged for a trained dai (midwife)
for the delivery and was herself present
as well. In spite of the best efforts of
Ashatai, the baby born was grossly underweight,
weighing a mere 800 gms. Seeing the child,
Ashatai immediately swung into action. She
knew essential prompt medical care was required
in this situation. She placed the infant
on a warm bag to stabilise his body temperature.
For the next month, Ashatai regularly monitored
his health and conducted five examinations.
She also spent time with Sakhubai and enlightened
her on simple and practical ways to look
after her child.
When the infant’s health was reviewed
after a month and it was found that his
weight had increased to 3.3 kgs. Timely
intervention by the VHF saved the life of
the infant, which otherwise would have been
lost for lack of adequate medical information
and intervention. “The child is very
healthy today”, says a beaming Sakhubai. |
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Trainee
Turned Trainer
This is a small story about Sunita Thipe
from Lakhamapur village, Maharashtra.
She took tailoring lessons in 2004, which
was intended to instill confidence and
economic independence for the women. With
this training she began stitching garments
for people in her village. Then she decided
she wanted to do something more. She found
out that an increasing number of women
and girls in her village wanted to take
tailoring lessons from a class in Gadchandur,
which was around 8 km away. So Sunita
decided to start a tailoring center of
her own.
She got all the support she needed from
her family, who even gave her a room to
set up shop. Sunita made a deal with ACF
to sell her a few of their second-hand
sewing machines at 50% of their original
value.
Approximately two years later, Sunita is
doing very well and has a centre with four
machines. She charges a decent fee of Rs.
100 per month per trainee, and has already
trained two batches of 20 students. Now
ACF has appointed her as trainer for a new
training centre at another village, a contract
for Rs. 2,000/- per month. |
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