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>View discussions about this entry Country: India
Organization: Joint Women’s Programme
Sector Focus - Civil society
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 2007
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - Increase in number of missing/trafficked children with no government intervention demands tangible community action. Systematic mechanisms are required to create Protective environment for development
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? - Recent Reports (Nithari Village Gautam Budh Nagar, Vijay Nagar Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh) of Kidnapping, Sale, disappearance, murder have shaken us. Police has not responded responsibly. Our survey in January 2007 and April 2008 established that these children belong to families who are migrant, displaced, evicted, discriminated communities with no permanent homes, postal address or Identity. Complete absence of schools, Crèches and Government health centres forces the children to roam in the streets and lanes. Such negligence on the part of the government denies them their rights as children; deprives them of a promising future; forces them to be alienated from their urban counterparts; leads them to criminal activities; vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking, begging, drug peddling, organ and blood sale.
These children need special attention. Parents are daily laborers leaving home at day break and returning at night. Our programme provides training and awareness to the local community, youth, elderly to form community support groups – Mera Sahara for the protection, care and development of their Children. Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? - Through interface meetings, a trained group of gender sensitized local leaders, youth and elderly form the community watch group. This training involves situational analysis of the area, understanding the problems of Children and spotting anti-social elements. Knowledge of the Constitution and other laws and their implementation are discussed. Creation of linkages with law and order machinery is made possible in providing an anchor for ‘Mera Sahara’ – Lifeline for Children. Thus, the two pronged programme becomes possible – Protection & Empowerment.
How do you plan to grow your innovation? - Mera Sahara-Lifeline For Children through its community action has been able to prevent continuous violence and co-ordinate the running of the centre. News about Nithari Centre Programme were covered by several prominent newspapers leading to several responses and promises for support in kind. It is now a developing model for other displaced communities like VijayNagar, Ghaziabad from where Children have gone missing.
Our pamphlets have also raised awareness and public schools have asked the centre co-ordinator to speak to the school children about Mera Sahara. This year two private schools have admitted the children from our centre in First and Second Standard on the basis of their merit. The adolescent children who have dropped out of school, some almost 3 years ago are given Non-formal education supported by the local NGO’s and we link with technical schools for their skill training. Corporate Houses have also been approached for support either in cash or kind and we are waiting for positive response. However, we are still looking for necessary funds to develop, strengthen and sustain our programme. Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them? - We have been able to create groups of activists, local youth, women’s group, lawyers, religious& political leaders for the smooth day to day functioning of the children’s programme and advocating with local administration for support and implementation of policies and schemes. Constant interface with influential community leaders and Government functionaries has been essential in building partnership which needs to be strengthened as the disadvantaged communities are never considered important. We organize occasional interface programmes on local problems affecting children and the community to make them conscious about and capable of executing their responsibilities.
J.W.P is part of Anti-Trafficking Network and The National Women’s Organizations Network. These have helped ‘Mera Sahara’ with some local support, and continuous information on current issues, policy and legal changes. Also the commitment to help in tracing missing children through pressure on the police. ‘Mera Sahara – Lifeline For Children’ is constantly trying to develop new linkages with middle class house wives for collecting toys, books and children’s clothes.Panchayat leaders and M.L.A’s have also been brought into our awareness programmes. Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. - Building a sensitized Community watch group for the protection and development of the community Youth and Children and advocating with Government Authority for Citizens Rights.
How many people have you served or plan to serve? - J.W.P, since its inception, has worked with thousands of Men, Women and Children in urban and rural areas belonging primarily to marginalized communities. Through ‘Mera Sahara-Lifeline for Children’ we have been interacting with two thousand families in Nithari, each having 6 to 8 children, and Old Vijaynagar where the population is around 25,000 and our target here is two thousand. Through, ‘Mera Sahara’ the information base in the community has been strengthened, and local leadership has become responsible, gender sensitized and active. Constant interaction with other groups has built new linkages. Discussions on children and community problems with existing Government and Law and Order functionaries has made the latter participate in registration of crimes and initiating investigations.
However, the process is on and so far the results have been limited. Planning now needs to involve more parents who are often absent because of their lack of free time.
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation? - This programme has been able to involve the community in the development and protection of children. Parents, community leaders, local political and administrative functionaries, police who did not acknowledge different forms of violence on children, such as foeticide, child labour and trafficking, child marriage, child sacrifice, dedication to God and dependence on fate are now partially sensitized. They have started questioning violent religious, customary and traditional practices. Mera Sahara encourages community to oppose such practices to ensure that the rights of the child are honoured.
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation? - Beneficiaries are local community members and their children who are deprived of educational and health care facilities and become vulnerable to trafficking, sale, kidnapping, at the mercy of antisocial elements and traffickers. Children are lured away, forced into labour and prostitution, sexually abused, threatened, sold compelled into organ sale and begging. Recent information Jan-May, 2008, is that 46 children are missing from Ghaziabad. Two children who escaped from confinement informed us, that they saw children being hacked with a hammer and bleeding. (119 words)
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? - Total J.W.P programme is financed with support from UNICEF, UNIFEM, Ministry of Women and Child, National Human Rights Commission, National Women’s Commission and National and International agencies which are all project centred.
Mera Sahara has been supported by general funds of J.W.P and local donations in cash and kind from some parents, religious groups and individual friends. Government has not yet responded though approached as these migrant people and children are from displaced communities with no permanent address. If known, provide information on your finances and organization - Annual budget;
Annual revenue generated; Number of staff: J.W.P Total Rs. 35 – 40 lacs per annum. ‘Mera Sahara-Lifeline for Children’ suggested amount is Rs. 9.5 lacs • Annual revenue generated – The above from donations, membership fees, and National and International sources. • Number of staff (3 boxes: full-time, part-time, volunteers) The Joint Women’s Programme is a registered body under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It is a movement for freedom from violence, empowerment of women and children, creation of a new society characterized by an equal partnership between women and men. It is present in both urban and rural areas, where it is actively combating the multiple manifestations of violence and discrimination with emphasis on research, awareness-raising, advocacy for policy change, gender sensitization and other activity. With the help of community organizers , JWP has s led many widespread campaigns throughout the country such as nationwide movement for change in dowry laws, need for Women’s Reservation Bill, elimination of violence in the workplace, sexual harassment, domestic violence, child trafficking for labour , marriage and prostitution. What is the potential demand for your innovation? - For ‘Mera Sahara-Lifeline for Children’ Community Action for Child Education, Protection and Healthcare we have been spending Rs.30,000 per month inclusive of Food,Medicine,Books,Recreation materials, Rent for space, furniture and salaries per centre. For the two centres it comes to Rs.60, 000 which is bare minimum.J.W.P handles the community leadership training programme and regular orientation meetings through its general funds. Total expenditure per annum is Rs. 60,000x12 is Rs.7,20, 000.We require a small vehicle for emergency purposes Rs.7,20,000 + 2,00000 = Rs.9,20,000
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? - The Main barriers are indifference of the Government in responding to problems of these non-citizens and migrants. Funds provided are very small and cannot sustain daily and decent functioning. Raising funds from National Organizations becomes difficult as one needs to convince the funder as their sensitivity is limited because they have no first hand knowledge. They think that the problem is common to all children across India. These Children Are Different. They are socially outcasts and politically no citizens.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - Children form the backbone of the Human Resource potential of any country and therefore it becomes our responsibility to provide for them a Holistic Environment for development.
But what is the truth? Is every Indian Children getting an holistic platform for development? For those children belonging to the capable and affluent section of the society, it is true that their basic needs in the process of development such as Food, Clothing, Shelter, Education, Recreation and other Fundamental Rights to live a life of Dignity is satisfied. But the children belonging to the marginalized, minority, Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes and other backward communitunies find themselves in a situation where they and their families are regarded “As No People” voiceless and invisible – shackled by poverty and violence. In accordance with its belief that JWP must create a protective environment for children and women, JWP involves the participation of all sections of the society, including men, women and the youth in its programmes. This Process has helped to transform the community to be proactively involved in its own development. It is this transformation that JWP continues to facilitate through its Projects. This major projects running on small donations is awaiting funding. Mera Sahara- lifeline For Children with the support of a sensitized local community group must provide for every child, space for development, survival, protection and recreation with special emphasis on the Girl Child who will be the empowered woman of the future. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material - Dr Jyotsna Chatterji, Director, Joint Women’s Programme, is involved, with community, women’s groups, youth, children to address issues of human rights violations and ensure holistic empowerment. Formerly Professor of English literature, Senate Member of Calcutta University, Director of William Carey Study and Research Centre. Board Member of several governmental and nongovernmental organizations.
Author/Editor of books papers; Resource person in international, national workshops, conferences; Gender sensitization training programmes for government, police, judiciary, NGOs.Advocates for gender just laws, policies, plans, budget. Contact Information:
Jyotsna Chatterji
Director Joint Women’s Programme (NGO) Discussions about this entry |
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