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“My mother told me to stay away from boys when I started having periods for the first time. No one talks about it and as a result I don’t know what is right from wrong. I only know that I have to stay away from many things during those 4-5 days that I bleed every month.”   (Muskan, 18 years, Rajasthani Camp)

Menstruation, the most natural process for many women and adolescents across the globe, remains the most secretive subject ever inflicting severe indignity upon millions of women and girls, violating their basics of human rights. The stigma around menstruation and menstrual hygiene is a violation of their bodily integrity, health and privacy, the right to freedom of mobility and it reinforces gender inequities and exclusion. The worst is the serious lack of facilities and appropriate sanitary products pushing the menstruating girls to health hazards, including temporary and sometimes permanent dropping out from schools.

No work on sanitation is complete without addressing the menstrual health and hygiene needs of  women and in our endeavor to establish a sustainable sanitation value chain we have been engaging with  menstruating-age women across geographies to ensure that they not only have access to hygienic menstrual practices  but also to safe and bio-degradable disposal of menstrual waste.

This is best reflected by Rama, Member of the Women’s Forum, Babar Pur who said: “We need to start talking about menstruation and address the inherent taboos and stereotypes to reduce violence against women.”

In Delhi, the Forums of Young People or Adolescents and Women’s Forums supported by the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) have reached out to 474 adolescents and 882 women across 73 settlements; 150 college going students; 232 ICDS workers across 168 ICDS centers and have conducted several training sessions on re-useable cloth pads- ‘Uger’- the new beginning which has been designed and developed by an NGO in Udaipur. Along with skilling women to make their own re-usable cloth pads, sessions on general and specific hygiene related knowledge and awareness are also shared and deliberated on with the trainees. At present we have 53 master trainers across our intervention areas in Delhi, who are not only training women and young adolescents in their own settlements but are also training officials, teachers, students and NGO partners.

Speaking about this, Manju, a trainee from Gautampuri said: “Many of us still can’t talk about menstruation openly and are tied by age old rituals and practices. I am very happy to break out of this mould and undergo the training and I will now be very careful about my health and hygiene and will also inform others with right information.”

Therefore, the intervention on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) in urban poor settlements is a multi-pronged initiative. It is as much about  responding to increasing need and interest among women and young girls to know all about menstruation- breaking  silence, managing health and hygiene, reducing menstrual  waste, challenging the existing myths and practices. Also recognize that while sanitary napkin is a symbol of hope and aspiration, young women in these urban poor settlements realize that there some salient choices to be made. It is in this spirit, they came forward to find alternative to conventional sanitary napkins that are increasing the burden of environmental waste and showed interest in being trained for making their own reusable and biodegradable sanitary napkins. These trainings in many ways are also opening up potential livelihood opportunities for the economically vulnerable women.

The Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) is collaborating with and supportive of the effort and in fact, requesting the master trainers to train the ICDS workers on the technique of making Uger cloth pad. We have been also invited by SDM, South West District, to train women on Uger napkin making.  It is encouraging to get support from all concerned and see young women benefitting from the training and developing innovative solutions.

This was stated aptly by Rekha, ICDS Worker, Sadatpur Bhajanpura, who said that: “I knew that the sanitary napkins we buy cannot be recycled and pollutes the environment. Now Uger napkin will solve the  problem and will also cost much less as we can now re-use the sanitary pad.”

A day long consultation meeting with networks and government officials was held on May 3, 2018 in Bhubaneswar to ensure universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene for all vulnerable and marginal persons and groups such as transgender persons and those living with disabilities and to develop a community-centric vision and a comprehensive understanding of the needs and entitlements of marginal communities, recognizing the barriers and challenges they face. More than 100 participants joined the consultation to discuss various issues of stigma and exclusion. 

In this consultation, the officials mandated specific recommendation for a synergized solution addressing the needs of the vulnerable as expressed by strong community voices.

Stakeholder Commitments:

Mr. Saroj Sahoo-engineer, BMC, committed to incorporate suggestions/feedback of the community prior to installation of any facilities and service provision like water ATM/Water kiosk. He also committed to re-installation of water ATM points in locations easily accessible to the community.

Mr. Subhransu Mishra, Dy Commissioner, NZ, BMC ensured that BMC would extend all possible support towards enumerating and bringing together the VMPGs and integrate them under various available schemes and provisions. He committed for installation of five water Kiosk facilities especially for the TG community in various parts of the city. He further stated that, application submitted through the mini Single Window “PARIBARTAN” will be fast tracked and the issues would be resolved immediately not only for the VMPGs but also for their families.

Mr. Madhausmita Nayak, Deputy Secretary SSEPD, handed over a tri-cycle to the Mr. K.  Behera, one of disabled persons and expressed full support to the community and also suggested other departments to come forward and support the VMPGs.

Voices from the Ground:

Ms. Surati Moharana, Maa Mangal Basti, highlighted the challenge of accessing water ATM facility even though she has a water ATM card. She said, “Though we have the provision of collecting 10 liters of drinking water per day using the water ATM card, we hardly use the facility as the water ATM point is half a kilometer away from home and it is nearly impossible to carry water from such a distance every day.”

Mx. Neha Kinnar and Mx. Menaka, Vanivihar Basti, requested officials to provide for toilet facility and water connection in the settlement with storage facility.

Mr. Sukanta Behera, a person with disability demanded for “disabled friendly housing, water and sanitation facilities.” 

Mx. Meera Parida and Mx. Sadhana said, “Paribartan has given us confidence to scale up the mini single window in all the 30 districts of Odisha to integrate the VMPGs into various available service and provisions.” The officials supported the mandate.

The consultation was an important event as it not only brought the VMPGs and the officials in one common platform but it created an enabling environment to discuss various concerns of the marginalized communities and also to decide a common consensus for mainstreaming the excluded communities.

 

Background

E-Mitra platforms of e-governance to provide quick and convenient delivery of services to citizens was initiated by the Government of Rajasthan in 2004. Currently, over 492 Government to Citizens (G2C) and Business to Citizens (B2C) services are being provided through these platforms, across rural and urban areas in all 33 districts of the State and new services are being systematically added to its fold. E-Mitras finds its origin in the Sanskrit word, Mitra (fe«k) meaning ‘Friend’.

 Objectives of E-Mitras

– To provide a wide range of services of various government and private organizations in a citizen-friendly manner under one roof, so that citizens are saved the inconvenience of having to make repeated visits to Government offices; despite which they do not get benefit of the schemes.

– Empower women by providing them business opportunities and generate employment opportunities for people up to the grassroots level.

How the community led E-Mitra function

Deepa Sankhla and Deepshikha Salotery, in Nagfani and Jadugar Nagar settlements of Ajmer very well illustrate how the E Miras which has been named by them as ‘Basti Sewa Kendras’ can function successfully. The two young women are from the local community and operate with the support of 12 community volunteers. Their initiative emerged from their involvement in the day to day activities of the Sahaya Single Window, supported by the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR). The volunteers from the two settlements include Hemlata, Chanda, Sameena, Tanuja, Pinki, Rekha, Parvati, Dhaneshwari, Krishna, Lajwanti, Bhawana, Rekha and Anjulata.

This group of women had come together and formed a Community Based Organization (CBO) in November 2017. They named it “Akshara”. As part of their effort to sustain and take forward their CBO, they took on the responsibility of facilitating the management of the two Basti Sewa Kendras on a daily basis. Their responsibilities include identifying beneficiaries, filling forms, ensuring that they are completed properly and submitting them to the online E-Mitras portal. They also conduct awareness activities and hold knowledge camps on the welfare schemes, with support from the Sahaya Single Window team.

The group of women also maintains records and documents, including a walk-in register, cash book, application receipt registers and a copy of token/receipts. The operational issues and challenges that come up every day for community members are also noted in separate registers. The technical issues are resolved fortnightly by the team of technical experts from local service providers (LSPs) designated by the Department of Information, Technology and Communication, Ajmer.

Both the community representatives, Deepa Sankhla and Deepshikha Salotery, were trained by officials of the Department of Information, Technology and Communication, Ajmer and Digital Empowerment Foundation, Delhi. Through E-Mitras they are providing the services on daily basis of online submission of applications of pension, Labor card, new ration card, corrections in ration card, new Bhamashah cards and corrections and also filing online grievances of ration.

Sharing her experience, 31 years old, Meera Devi from Jadugar basti getting her Jannai Shishu Suraksha yojna(JSSY) benefit, ‘I easily got the course correction in my Bhamasah card as required for getting the benefit directly in my bank account with the support of team of Basti Sewa Kendra providing services at our door step’.

Maya Devi, 42 years old, from Gulab Badi basti, despite of being a single woman applied three times for pension but got rejected, as volunteers approached her, application was submitted through the Jadugar Basti Kendra, the sanction message she has got last week, she is so happy to share that.

As schools across the country prepare for the commencement of the new academic session, Prayash Single Window, with the support of Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, (APPI) launched, “Namalekha Sachetana Abhiyan”, a three day campaign, which commenced on April 6, 2018, to improve elementary school enrolment across Odisha, of children aged 6-14, particularly girls and those who belong to socially excluded houses.  Under this initiative, Prayash Single Window will re-enrol children who have dropped out into government schools and anganwadis and also try to identify the reasons that are causing large numbers of children to drop out at the grass root level.

Therefore, it was but appropriate that, the campaign aimed at motivating slum dwellers to enrol their children during ‘Pravesh Ustav’ was held in five settlements – Maa MangalaBasti ,Akhandalamani,Harijansahi ,Pichupadiya Basti and Akhaykendra basti – of ward no 46.  A host of community leaders, school teachers and children of Unit-6 Capital Primary School participated in the launch. The Single Window has, in fact, been conducting these campaigns annually to sensitize slum dwellers to the importance of schooling for their children but this year the focus was on enrolling vulnerable children and creating awareness among parents on how importance education was for the overall development of their children. 

The launch concluded with Mrs. Archana Mohanty , Head  Mistress , Unit-6  Capital Primary School, motivating parents to fulfil their children’s dream of going to school and getting an education. The School Management Committee and other stakeholders, who were present,  also offered to organize door to door visits and rallies in their communities, to help parents to understand the importance of education.

Following the launch, the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) conducted a Pravesh Ustav programme at Unit-6 Primary School in the presence of Mrs.  Kalyani Maharana, Asst. Block Education Officer, Mr. Manoham Biswal Cluster Resource Coordinator, teachers, parents and community leaders.  Mr. Sukant Kumar Sahoo , CC Prayash Single window explained that the objective of this programme  was  to encourage the enrolment of  children in schools.

Mrs Pujafulla Pattnayak, State Project Manager CFAR, added that education was one of the fundamental rights of the children, so parents, teachers, the community and others stake holders were duty bound to enrol children in school and also address issues resulting in the exclusion of children from schooling.

By the close of the Pravesh Ustav programme, 30 children, many of whom were drop outs,  were enrolled in school – 20 children in class 1 and 10 in class 2. They were welcomed to the school with the Odia ritual of putting a tikka on the forehead.

 

To develop a shared conviction on access to sanitation as a basic life affirming entitlement and right, an Orientation Training was conducted for Community Management Committee (CMCs) members on March 28, 2018, in Delhi. Twenty seven (27) participants from Vishwas Nagar, Shastri Mohalla, Khichdipur , Janta Jeewan Camp, Janta Jeewan Camp, Amar Jyoti Camp, Sanjay Colony, Mazdoor Kalyan Camp and Janta Jeewan Rajeev Camp attended the training.

During the training, Lead Managers from CMCs in new settlements were identified and the roles and responsibilities of CMC members were established through shared visioning and problem solving. The participants were also trained to engage with the government not just as providers but as duty-bearers.

Experience sharing

When participants were asked to share their vision for their entire settlement they spoke of how:

“Household toilets exit wastes into drains resulting in the drains getting clogged” 

“Clean and sufficient water should be available but the pressure is so low at times that many houses do not get water”

“The drains are constantly getting clogged but they cannot be de silted because slabs have been placed over them and even houses have been built over them. So there is overflowing and dirty water and vermin enters our homes. If this problem could be addressed our basti would become livable”

The final session meanwhile focused on encouraging the group to arrive at an understanding of why it is important to work towards a sustainable sanitation agenda and how the community has a significant role in furthering it. Interestingly, the response to who should drive the effort ranged from pessimism to the need to work with the government to better their living area….

Sarkar to sirf bana ke degi usko rakhrakhav to hamko karna hoga (Government will only give us a toilet but its management has to be done by us)

Ganda hum karenge to sarkar pani dalney thodi ayegi (If we litter the place the government will not come to pour water)

Sarkar basti mein thodi rehti who thodi zimmedari legi (The Government does not live in bastis, why would they take the responsibility?)

Sarkar hamare vote se banta hai, sarkar to hum hi hai isliye humko ek saath mikar kaam karna hai (Governments are formed when we vote, so we are also a part of the government and need to work together)

A Helpline, which will operate from the Sahaya Single Window in Ajmer, was launched by Dr. Abhishek Gupta, District Social Welfare Officer, for the effective implementation of schemes that are being implemented by the Government of Rajasthan’s Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, under Palanhar.

The launch which was held yesterday (March 28, 2018) during a media interface event was attended by five (5) representatives from the print and electronic media, 45 community representatives, social security scheme messengers, members of the CBO Akshara and representatives of 12 settlements.

The decision to launch the Single Window was taken following demands by community representatives that information and counseling on Palanhar schemes be provided on a daily basis. The Helpline will therefore be providing information regarding all schemes to both urban and rural people through its Helpline number.

During the launch, Dr. Abhishek urged community representatives to spread awareness of this Helpline and said that he would be meeting the Zila Pramukh to plan how awareness building could be done in rural areas in all blocks of Ajmer. He added that if

this model was successful the Department would share this initiative with Directorate at the state level so that it could be replicated in other districts.

Experience sharing

Seven beneficiaries of Palanhar then spoke of how they had successfully accessed schemes through the Single Window.

Sanjay, a resident of Sansi basti who had lost both his eyes 25 years ago said, “I gave money to a broker and waited for three years to get the benefits of Palanhar.  It was only after Vidhya, a community representative, submitted my application and did continuous follow ups that I started getting the benefits”.

Ashia Bibi, from Khanpura, related how, “After being widowed I had to support my family with the Rs.1500 I earned every month by stitching clothes, so there was no money for my children’s education. Then Shakila, a community representative, helped me to file the application form, which is enabling me to avail of the benefits of various schemes under Palanhar, including those that are enabling me to educate my three daughters.”

Others like Pinki, Nirmala, Krishna, Puja and Jamuna also shared their experiences of accessing Palanhar schemes; under which beneficiaries gets Rs.500 for 0-6 year old children and Rs.1000 for each child per month. In addition to this Rs. 2000 is given annually to each child for purchasing school bags, clothes and shoes.

To date 1126 beneficiaries have availed the benefit of Palanhar schemes through the Single Window.

On February 23, the Chairman of the Odisha Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, Mr Subash Singh and the District Labor Officer Mr Ambika Mishra, distributed 521 labor cards to construction labor in Khurda, at an awareness camp organized by the CFAR team in Bhubaneswar with support from the Odisha Nirman Sramik Sangh. The workers had applied for the cards through the Prayas Single Window and within a month of the public hearing (held on January 31, 2018), the Labor Department had sanctioned the labor cards.

While distributing the cards, the Chairman congratulated CFAR on its effort to organize and create awareness among construction workers and also expressed his gratitude to CFAR for supporting the department in identifying actual beneficiaries who were engaged in building and other construction work. He added that this had helped in excluding other unorganized workers for whom there are separate provisions, under a board for unorganized workers. In this context he suggested that CFAR should work also for the inclusion of workers in urban settlements in the board for unorganized sector so that they could avail of various entitlements.

At the event, Mr. Ramkrishna Panda, Member OB&OCWW Board informed the workers on the latest provision that had been included in the Board of spouse pension and explained that prior to this only the construction worker was eligible for pension after 60 years, but now after his/her death the spouse can also avail of the pension. Moreover, the girl child of workers were eligible for receiving promotional benefits under the Board, like exclusive scholarships, from class 5 and onwards. The DLO also declared that enrolment camps would be conducted by the Labor Department in CFAR’s settlements through the Praysh Single Window. 

The Department of Labor put up a display of IEC material on the welfare measures available to construction workers under their Board and also distributed leaflets to the workers.

 

Early last week CFAR’s Pune team received the Swachh Award for 2018 for the outstanding work it has been doing through Community Management Committees to strengthen public and community toilets services, ensure clean drinking water and clean settlements. The award has been constituted by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to create public awareness on the various innovative initiatives that are being undertaken by stakeholders- private/public/NGOs/corporates – to improve the hygiene and sanitation status of the city.

The award, comprising of a trophy and cash prizes, was presented to  Community Messengers by the Mayor of Pune, Hon. Mukta Tilak, the Dy. Commissioner Mr. Suresh Jagtap, and Actor Mr. Sachin Gavali.

Aim of the Award

This prestigious award aims at not only triggering a positive and competitive spirit among stakeholders, across all the wards of the city to perform better and achieve `Swachh’ status, but also to encourage them to showcase best practices that have had an impact and are scalable and replicable. More importantly, such initiatives could be used to create knowledge sharing platforms for all stakeholders and build awareness among the citizens on various hygiene and sanitation practices.

The awards​ ​were  given on the basis of nomination/ self-nominations, received by the Department of Solid Waste Management (SWM) under various categories such as; efforts led by Individual Household, Housing Society, School / College, NGO, Public and Private Sectors. ​The parameters followed by the jury, comprising of sanitation sector experts,​ ​academicians, NGO representatives ​etc​., focused on whether creative solutions – either technical or social, were used to address issues of solid waste or sanitation, the number of people positively impacted by the intervention and the number of IEC activities that were  held.

CFAR’s award winning entry

In its application under the NGO category, the CFAR team provided details of its efforts and achievements in various settlements. For example, details were given of how:

• In Visharatwadi 112 B, the community, after mapping the status of community-cum public toilets, held a dialogue with the officials of Department of Solid Waste Management, during which they presented evidence (through photographs) of the difficulties being faced by the   This direct exchange accelerated the response and by December 2017, the Department of Solid Waste Management replaced 10 broken seats of the community toilet during September and October 2016, repaired the water tank, restored internal water supply and repaired the toilet stalls.
• The CMC also identified three dengue prone spots in the area with the active participation of the community initiated awareness drives in the settlements. This in turn prompted the Department of Public Health to fumigate all the settlements.
• The issue of the Ghanta Gadi not being regular and the short time given to collection of waste was brought to the notice of the SWM Department resulting in an extension of the timings and assigned spot for the Ghantha Gadi.
• Similarly, in Shramik Vasahat, the process of evidence collection and dialogue resulted in the Department of SWM removing the blockage in 6 toilet seats and cleaning of the premises. The wiring of 3 street lights in the basti was also repaired so now all the street lights in the basti are fully functional.
• In Laxmi Nagar, the CMC in tandem with the SWM Department removed the blockage of 2 public toilet seats, replaced 2 water taps and restored the pipeline. Fifteen street lights were also repaired. Similarly, street lights were repaired in Ganesh Nagar and in Kamraj Nagar settlements.

 

Community led initiatives in water, sanitation and hygiene (WSH) were on display at the CFAR stalls in the recently concluded two-day Kishori Mela at Shilpgram in Jaipur, Rajasthan. CFAR was among the 30 NGOs that participated in the Mela. More than 1500 adolescent girls from different schools of Jaipur were part of the crowds that came to the Mela which was a part of the One Billion Rising Campaign.

Held on 9-10 February, the Mela was aimed at creating and spreading awareness around menstrual hygiene, livelihood and educational opportunities and health issues among adolescent girls and boys. Although the Mela addressed serious issues, street plays, singing and dancing made for a festive mood at the venue. Lessons on self-defense and health camps formed part of the Mela.

Visitors to the two CFAR stalls were given information on its many community-led initiatives such as the twin-pit toilet technique, conversion of insanitary toilet to sanitary toilets, solid waste management and waste segregation at source. Samples of eco-friendly, reusable cloth sanitary napkins as well as compost from waste were on display. These were in much demand among the visitors.

The twin-pit toilet technology and making manure from waste impressed many. Ms Kavita Mahavar, a resident of Jawahar Nagar basti felt that many people would want to adopt the twin-pit toilet technology as it was economical and doable. This was echoed by Mr Pradeep Joshi who said the technique would prove to be very useful in slum areas of Rajasthan.

Social activist, Dr. Meeta Singh and Ms Ginny Srivastava were of the opinion that making manure as a part of sanitation project was a good initiative and required to be scaled up. Besides, it was an easy process and any woman could make it at her own house.

Mr. D. K. Bose, Trustee, CFAR found the Mela a good platform for showcasing the community initiatives of CFAR and the organisation could take part in it every year. He said it was encouraging to see the response to the products such as manure from household waste and cloth sanitary napkins. However, it was important to impress upon people the benefits of the cloth reusable sanitary pads against other menstrual absorbents available in the market.