Aims and Objectives

• Economic empowerment of families especially women
• Care and support for underprivileged children
• Providing comprehensive services to poor and needy families
• Focusing and strengthening CBOs for sustainability

Components

Community Development and Livelihood Promotion

Lack of year round employment opportunities aggravate family poverty situation. Keeping employment generation in mind the project has provided loans to 43 families till now. Technical guidance is being provided through the technical experts while cattle feed and medicines are being provided to the families.

Under the vaccination programme, 1150 cattle heads have been vaccinated with HS and BQ vaccines and 55 with FMD. This activity has played a major role in reducing cattle death and disease.

The project has undertaken a new programme of small business. Most of the benefitting families under this programme are landless, dependent on wage labour. Three water tanks have been constructed in schools of three villages, 32 SHGs have been formed and strengthened to promote savings habit and micro finance. Seeds of green vegetable plants have been distributed among 365 families for provision of nutritious diet at home and for reducing malnutrition. Alongside, 220 families have been given Family Nutrition Kit (drip irrigation kit) as there is a scarcity of water in the summer. This kit is helpful to the poor families in irrigating their kitchen garden.

Child Protection and Participation

The project is running 15 children clubs in 16 project villages. These children clubs are giving a broad platform to the children to provide them an opportunity of active participation in decisions concerning them. Activities like sports, village sanitation and personal hygiene, campaign on early marriage, school plantation and awareness building on child rights are organised regularly.

A total of 15 child well-being communities are running to ensure child protection and participation in the project area. One child resource centre has been established in the project area with the purpose of children cognitive and intellectual development where children can get platform to improve their inherent qualities.

Health

Poor health makes child poverty situation worse and the project area has poor health facilities. The community members are not aware about health and hygiene. Malaria, viral fever, diarrhoea, skin diseases and STI/RTI infections are commonly found in the area. Awareness is being spread among families through regular meetings and video shows about killer disease malaria and its prevention. Along with it seven blood testing camps are organised in the area.

Health camps are organised for detection of STI/RTI. Government health department has provided medicines and technical support (treatment) in these camps. To address the issue of unsafe delivery 32 birth attendants have been trained for delivery and referral. For awareness generation on health and sanitation among the community video shows have been conducted in 11 villages.

Community members migrate to Gujarat and other places in Malwa. There is a possibility of spreading AIDS in community. Mothers and adolescent boys and girls are being counselled and made aware about AIDS through counselling sessions and trainings and eligible couples have been made aware about the mother to child transmission also.

Early Childhood Care and Nutrition

The project is running nine pre-school centres for centre-based interventions in the villages for children in the age group 0-6 years. These centres have been successful in curbing and significantly reducing malnourishment among the attending children. These centres also provide supplementary nutrition to pregnant and lactating mothers to promote overall health of child bearing mothers.

The project has taken a new intervention to address the issue of malnourishment. Spirulina candies and Spirulina chickies are given to malnourished children and lactating mothers. The project has formed nine ECD management committees in all the project villages. These committees look after the day to day functioning of ECD centres and have ensured community participation in early childhood activities. The project has formed strong linkages with government ICDS department and has handed over two of its ECD centres to ICDS department for optimal use of resources and for providing better services to the community.

Education

The project has conducted global action week on theme of ‘literacy for all’. During this week project conducted rallies, campaigns, street plays and educational exhibition. It has formed parent-teacher associations which are taking action on school management, quality MDM in schools, child friendly atmosphere for increasing children attendance and quality education.

Ten reading skill improvement centres specifically for dropout children are being run to improve reading and understanding levels. An equal number of libraries have been set up for children to enhance their reading and cognitive skills.

Under school quality improvement programme the project has given specific attention to five schools to create child friendly environment for ensuring children quality classroom process and learning level.

A new initiative has been taken up for board exam students to reduce exam phobia. The students are given coaching to access easy method to securing 60 per cent marks in exams.

Bird Eye View

Project Name: Jeevan Jyoti Family Helper Project
Project Period: Since April 2006
Focus Area: Overall development of families
Funding Agency: Chlild Fund India
Working Area: 15 villages of Dhar district
Beneficiaries: Community people