Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been among the most crucial recent developments. Inclusion and Equity are prominently at the centre-stage of many SDGs. This bolsters further AIILSG’s conviction about emphasising on these themes anchored at its International Centre of Equity & Inclusion for Transformation.
The team at AIILSG’s International Centre of Equity & Inclusion for Transformation (EQUI-T) synergises with India’s commitment on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which promise to usher in a new era of Inclusion. The centre’s field initiatives are sure to bring about transformation in the lives of the under-privileged & vulnerable populations. The Centre certainly adds value to AIILSG’s institutional commitment to reach out to the marginalized members of our society.
AIILSG’s equity, inclusion and poverty alleviation related initiatives are anchored at its International Center of EQUI-T. In sync with the key global & national priorities, International Center of EQUI-T builds on the rich inheritance from AIILSG’s learnings generated since 1926. It undertakes actions, research, capacity building, knowledge management and policy advocacy. It also provides customized need-based support to the stakeholders. Developing tailor-made knowledge products building on the systematic ‘learning’ approach is a special feature.
AIILSG's pioneering contribution in agriculture acknowledged: from Facebook of Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (and Tata Rallis), the funding partner-Promoting new crop of strawberry in Palghar district of Maharashtra for poverty alleviation of tribals. Tata Chemicals strawberry case study (Click here to view more)
World Environment Day is celebrated by our more than 12000 children. An illustration from Shikshan Ranjan Kendra project supported by HDFC Bank CSR in Palghar district with 2167 children:
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RISK AWARD 2015 Project: “Community Self Assessment and Planning with Women’s Participation for Disaster Risk Reduction of Vulnerable Communities.”
Supported by United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Munich Re Foundation-Germany & Global Risk Forum-Davos
Supported by : United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA)
Support from : Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) ‘Stars in Global Health’
The project focuses on improving learning attainments, imparting life skills and enabling holistic personality development of the under-privileged children from 4 cities- Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai &Benguluru through its 140 Shikshan Ranjan Kendras (Community based Learning with Fun Centers) with the beneficiary reach of 1.37 lacs stakeholders including slum dweller children, their parents, school teachers & community members. There is special focus on education of girls & socio-economically marginalised children belonging to nomadic tribes, denotified tribes, scheduled castes and religious minorities.
The project is addressing crucial issues affecting education & learning attainments amongst under-privileged children which includes-
The project aims to improve health & nutrition status of the community with targeted interventions to -
There is specific focus on pregnant and lactating mothers, infants and children up to 6 years of age and adolescent girls. The project is being implemented in 14 remote villages in Raigad district with the beneficiary reach of about 5500 population.
The project aims to sustainably improve nutritional status of children within the slum communities. The Swasthya Suposhan Rankan Kendra’s thrust areas are improving nutritional status of children, health education, awareness generation & behavioural change vis-à-vis nutrition & WASH through edu-tainment, self assessment & planning by the community for nutrition needs assessment, scientific knowledge transfer to the community- nutritional recipes, swasthya suposhan library; raising nutrition kitchen gardens, linking community with the existing government health services and developing community based sustainability mechanism to ensure the issue is addressed sustainably. The field interventions are implemented in ‘Adivasi Pada 2’ in Bhadwad area of Bhiwandi. The targeted interventions focus on children in age group of 0-6 years & parents of these children with the beneficiary reach of 1000 population.
The project’s thrust is on improving access of slum dwellers to health services especially Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal & Child Health Services. The project is being implemented in 6 slums in Mumbai with a beneficiary outreach of 12000 including pregnant and lactating mothers, infants and children up to 6 years of age, adolescent girls & women in reproductive age.
The project focuses on improving learning attainments, developing life skills & nurturing holistic personality for the disadvantage children in Bhiwandi & Malegaon Cities. The project is reaching to total 1643 most disadvantaged children. Of these 52.1% are girls and 50% children belong to socio-economically disadvantaged minority communities.
Some of the key activities conducted were-
- Special campaign undertaken by Shikshan Mitra within community for enrolment of children in schools lead to re-enrolment of 37 school dropout children in Government schools.. (Minority- 13, Non-Minority- 24) (Girls-20, Boys-17).
- First time Cultural Performance by Muslim Minority Girls: Another significant achievement is cultural performances (songs, dance, action songs, poem recitation) done by the Muslim minority girls during 26th January 2018 cultural programme in their community. The programme was attended by about 600 community members.
- Cleanliness drive and door to door campaign was undertaken by the children within their communities with focus on safe waste disposal, using garbage bins, maintaining cleanliness within community, clean drinking water & primary water purification methods.
The project was implemented in extremely challenging conditions in 12 remote Denotified & Nomadic Tribe Settlements in Shirur Taluka, Bid District. The project developed a technological innovation of mobile app. for health training, social innovation of ‘Gender Sensitive Community Self-Assessment & Planning’ & service delivery innovation of developing a cadre of DNT health volunteers & settlement level health committees to link DNTs with government health service providers. Dissemination workshop was conducted with the Govt. Health machinery in Beed District to share project’s achievements and learnings to enable its replication in other areas as well.
Illustrative Photo: Dissemination Workshop with Government Health Functionaries
This is a first of its kind project in Maharashtra focusing on strengthening the protection system for child rights. The study was conducted across three tehsils in Jalna district to identify and probe issues of child protection, efficiency of, and awareness regarding established child protection mechanisms and social protection schemes which have an impact on the development and growth of children. The study identified the areas for strengthening in the child protection efforts in the district and will feed into a District Child Protection Plan (DCPP) for the Jalna district. This is a UNICEF Sub-grantee Project with Leher as Technical Expert and partners with District Administration Mumbai Suburban District and Department of Women and Child Development, Govt. of Maharashtra.
Project Description: The project’s key focus is on holistic empowerment of under-privileged tribals through community based interventions for improving quality of education of the tribal children through Shikshan Ranjan Kendras, improved health & nutrition through kitchen gardens, family based activities for promoting livelihoods, and fostering community enabler organizations for sustainability. The field interventions are conducted in tribal villages of ‘Kirmire’ in Jawhar & ‘Kalampada’ in Vikramgad (Palghar District), Maharashtra.
Health Camp conducted in Palghar Tribal Project Area:
A health camp was organized on 3rd June 2018 in Palghar tribal project area. The camp witnessed footfall of 161 tribal women and children for primary health check up conducted by the doctors. In addition to that consistent follow is up is taken by the Shikshan Mitra (community volunteers) with mothers of young children, pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescent girls to monitor adequate food & nutrition intake by them. Further close linkages are established with Anganwadi for enabling access to nutrition & basic health services by the tribals.
‘Movement Against Malnutrition with Transformative Actions’ for improved Nutrition & Health
The consistent efforts to improve nutrition intake by the tribals specifically children & women resulted into reducing cases of severe malnourishment. This was enabled through the under the ‘Movement Against Malnutrition with Transformative Actions’ (MAMTA) by promoting kitchen nutrition gardens, household poultry and drinking water purification. Seasonal MAMTA seed kits were provided to the tribal families with knowledge on cultivating kitchen gardens.
Demonstration & Training to Tribal Women in preparing Nutritional Recipes from local produce
Training was given to the tribal women about new ‘nutritional recipes’ made from the local produce (e.g. Nachni) in Palghar district to address malnutrition amongst tribal populations especially amongst women & children.
A customized Nutritional recipe book is developed for dissemination for nutritional recipes.
The project focuses on enriching quality of education for the under Privileged Slum Dweller Children in Pune at Ramtekdi Slum in Hadapsar area. Shikshan Ranjan Kendra for slum dweller children is being run under the project for improving their access to quality education and for their holistic development through enriched learning environment. There is special emphasis on education of girls and socially marginalised children. Regular classes are conducted to enable age appropriate and grade specific learning for children to improve their scholastic achievements. In addition to academic learning various extracurricular activities are conducted for the children.
Project Description: The project focuses on serving & enriching education to slum dweller children in urban slums in Pune and Thane cities in Maharashtra. The Shikshan Ranjan Kendras (SRKs) or Children’s Resource Centres are established at slum level for easy, convenient access for the children. The SRKs act as a nucleus for enriching education and holistic development of the under-privileged children through interventions at the grassroots. The key thrust is on improving learning attainments of children coupled with co-curricular activities for their holistic personality development. Currently the project is into the third year and has impacted total 884 children, of these 48.9% are girls and 84.9% children belong to socially marginalized sections. Collectively the project has impacted 1918 stakeholders including children, parents, teachers, members of School Management Committees& community leaders cum volunteers.
Project Achievements:
Improvement in Learning Attainments
Awards & Accolades:
The children have also won awards & accolades in various co-curricular activities of- drama/ street plays (won Thane Mayor’s Trophy consecutively for 2 years), sports (Muslim minority girls have won medals in Pune International Marathon in the category of 3 Km run), drawing expressions (6 pictures published in Sakal Newspaper in its Sunday edition), cultural performances at various fora including ‘All India Radio’, ‘Aakashwani’, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Teachers Association Maharashtra , Bal Ranjan Kendra and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd.
Mentoring by Shikshan Mitras:
The children are closely mentored by a cadre of trained & committed Shikshan-Mitras (SM) or Youth Mentors which has resulted in creating a conducive environment for holistic learning to supplement education, provide minimum grade-appropriate learning and ensure literacy levels amongst the children through planned academic modules. The Shikshan Mitra regularly conduct home visits and hold parent’s meeting to update them about their child’s overall performance – academic progress, behavioral aspects, hygiene & cleanliness, participation in co-curricular activities.
- Using Special Pedagogical Methods to foster Learning:
The Shikshan Mitra use special pedagogical methods to engage the students through games, drama/ street play, puppet shows, chitra-katha, sports, music and art to reinforce age appropriate learning outcomes. This also helps in honing their talents and nurturing soft skills of team spirit, cooperation, collaboration, communication, leadership and self-esteem amongst children.
Enriched Learning Environment:
The CRCs provide enriched learning environment and is equipped with Library which has story books, educational games, learning aids, curriculum related books for children to generate their interest in reading and learning.
- Giving Children a Voice: Baal Panchayats
There is equal impetus on imparting other life skills including safe water, sanitation & hygiene practices, communicating messages of gender equality in the children during the sessions at the CRCs. Children’s Organisations or ‘Baal Panchayats’ are established on 5 thematic areas of ‘Education’, ‘Health & Hygiene’, ‘Environment’, ‘Sports’ and ‘Cultural’. The Shikshan Mitra have played catalytic role in igniting the spark in children unlocking their talent and skills.
- Engaging Parents & Schools:
The parents of children are direct participants in the children’s literacy and growth. The programme is based in the community thus has a strong connect with the parents as well as community stakeholders. The programme also actively engage with the schools (including training of teachers, discussions with School Management Committee) attended by these children.
The CRCs or Shikshan Ranjan Kendras have become centres of learning, exploring and a creative space for these under-privileged children to express themselves. The CRCs have proved to be very inspirational and giving them one of the most important things in life- ‘dare to dream’ whose impact is immeasurable. It has provided them avenues and opportunities to realise their dreams & aspire for a better life.
Project Description: The NSE-AIILSG Rural project is essentially a replication of the urban programme in the rural areas of Satara District with the difference that the Children’s Resource Centres (CRCs) are spread over 16 villages with 8 of them being in remote tribal hamlets. These tribal hamlets are home to ‘Katkaris’ who are primitive tribes and are designated as ‘Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups’ in Maharashtra. Another extremely marginalized group is ‘Denotified and Nomadic Tribes’ who are stigmatized as ‘born-criminals’ and face severe geographical & social exclusion. They are also known as ‘Vimukta Jati Nomadic Tribes’ (VJNTs) in Maharashtra. Due to dwindling livelihoods these extremely marginalized groups struggle for their survival as most of them are landless unskilled farm labour or do odd jobs as daily wage labours. The extreme poverty, socio-economic backwardness and with hardly any avenue to gain literacy makes these groups particularly vulnerable.
The special feature of the rural project is that it’s reaching to the most marginalised, under-privileged ‘hard to reach’ children belonging to indigenous populations like ‘Katkari Tribals’ (Primitive Tribes) and Denotified & Nomadic Tribes (branded as born-criminals & have very high gender inequality) & other socially marginalized groups like Scheduled Tribes & Scheduled Caste (faced high discrimination as Dalits). The project villages are characterised by remoteness, acute poverty, marginalisation, & lack of access to basic services including primary education, water & sanitation, health services etc. There is an overall poor quality of life and living with low application of health and hygiene practices such as sanitation and nutrition. The adverse living conditions severely affect their learning attainments and continuation of education.
The CRCs have played instrumental role in generating interest in learning amongst these children & their parents. These CRCs are established at village/ tribal hamlet level and act as a nucleus for enriching education and holistic development of these children. The project is delivered by the cadre of 16 Youth Mentors called ‘Shikshan Mitras’.
Project Location: The project is being implemented in 8 remote villages & 8 tribal hamlets in Satara district of Maharashtra.
Project Achievements:
This Quality of Education project impacts 827 children, of these 53% are girls and 62.4% belong to socio-economically highly marginalized groups. The programme is reaching to the most vulnerable and hard to reach 115 ‘Katkari’ tribal children and 219 Denotified & Nomadic Tribes children. Many of these children are ‘first-generation’ learners and started attending schools after rigourous efforts made by the Shikshan Mitras. Before project intervention relatively less proportion of these tribal children were enrolled in school and the dropout rate was very high. Post close handholding and with support from the project team the tribals’ enroll their children to schools.
Collectively the project has impacted 1752 stakeholders including children, parents, teachers, members of School Management Committees& community leaders cum volunteers.
Improvement in Learning Attainments
Awards & Accolades:
Engaging Parents & Schools:
CRCs actively engage with parents of the children and with the schools attended by these children. The project activities have been highly appreciated by the Block Education officer, Kendra Pramukh (Head of 10 nearby schools) and Head Masters of different schools. The project also received appreciation from the Sarpanch, Zila Parishad and Nagar Parishad members.
The CRCs are instrumental in improving learning attainments amongst children and have become centres of learning, exploring and a creative space for students to express themselves. This is reflected in significant improvement in age-appropriate learning.
| February 6 | International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation |
| March 8 | International Women’s Day |
| October 11 | International Day of the Girl Child |
| October 13 | International Day for Disaster Reduction |
| October 15 | International Day of Rural Women |
| October 16 | World Food Day |
| October 17 | International Day for the Eradication of Poverty |
| November 19 | World Toilet Day |
Dr. Mukesh Kanaskar
Distinguished Prof. Dr. Mukesh Kanaskar
Deputy Director General, AIILSG
Director - AIILSG's Corporate Social Responsibility Centre
Director - AIILSG's International Centre of Equity & Inclusion for Transformation
AIILSG International Cenre of Equi-T, 4th Floor, L Building, Pinnac Memories-Phase 2, Kothrud, Pune - 411 038
T: +91-20-2545 2301
E: director.aiilsg.icequit@gmail.com / mukesh_kanaskar@yahoo.co.in / mkanaskar@aiilsg.org
Contact Person: Mrs. Shweta Gupta, Sr. Executive Director (sgupta@aiilsg.org)
ADDRESS FOR COMMUNICATION:
AIILSG’s International Center of EQUI-T 4th Floor, L Building, PinnacMemories-Phase 2, Kothrud, Pune. 411038. Maharashtra, India. Tel-fax: 91-20-25452301
