Parijat

PROJECT PARIJAT

Accessing Civic Rights through Active Citizenship Education and Engendered Elected Women Representative

PARIJAT Project has been initiated by MARG in the Gorakhpur division of Uttar Pradesh with support of the Flowering Tree Inc. It is a combination of active citizenship education and good governance i.e. accessing civic rights especially water, sanitation and health through active citizenry and engendered elected women representatives in the Gorakhpur District of UP. Especially in a pandemic situation, right based initiatives like Project Parijat becomes a vital step in achieving good governance.

Parijat operates on three levels of the Panchayat system: Zila Parishads, Block Parishads, as well as Gram Panchayats. It aims to implement the Indian Constitution’s Article 243ZD, which states that there shall be a Planning Committee constituted in every State to consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats and the Municipalities in the district and to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole. The focal point of the implementation process is on the 28 women who are elected to be the District Committee members. As the level of female participation in policy planning increases, women’s issues will be highlighted better and the overall quality of life of the women in the district will rise.

There are three main components of Parijat’s work in Gorakhpur: Health literacy, legal literacy, and economic literacy. Health literacy extends to awareness campaigns relating to WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene). During the height of the COVID pandemic, Parijat also conducted programmes that taught how to prevent the infection itself through regular sanitation and masks. Legal literacy involves awareness campaigns and building connections between community cadre, local bureaucrats, and the general public. MARG’s work in this area also entails legal aid for those who require it.

Economic literacy includes public campaigns giving information about government schemes that are available for livelihoods, education, loans, and others, like how to access the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, getting MNREGA cards made, and how to get scholarship opportunities.

There are several challenges that appear in the kind of work that Parijat aims to do. The women who are elected to be representatives of the people are themselves victims of a patriarchal society, and often even after being elected, they are not allowed to work properly outside their homes. There are also problems that arise with the interaction between cadre, community, and the bureaucracy, and the gaps sometimes lead to inefficiency and delay in work. Another problem is that while elected members are given salaries, they are too low for them to take on all responsibilities by themselves. The committee member positions are all voluntary, which can also be a problem for work since there are no monetary incentives.

The second phase of the Parijat project started in April 2023 and conducted many successful programs at the Gram Panchayat level and district level to provide the WASH facility and access to justice and entitlements. Mukshya gram Jan Swasthya Prahari awareness Meetings in 132 Gram Panchayats conducted under 20 blocks in Gorakhpur – district, Uttar Pradesh. District level outreach meeting conducted for Block Development Committee and Gram Pradhan. Mukhya Gram Jan Swasthya Prahari awareness meeting conducted in the district level to enhance their skills and knowledge to implement the ongoing activities smoothly. Through this meeting, the community women were empowered and gained a good knowledge of using rights to access entitlements. The Parijat project covered 120 Gram panchayat and made around 6000 active citizens known as JAN SWASTHYA PRAHARI in the villages.

Consultation on WASH issues: “Right to accessing Water, Sanitation, Health & Hygiene (WASH)”

On 18^th March, 2023 MARG had organized a district level Consultation with primary stakeholders on “Right to accessing Water, Sanitation, and Health & Hygiene (WASH)” under PARIJAT project, in collaboration with Flowering Tree Inc. This consultation focused on the WASH rights, and importance of safe drinking water. Additional initiatives like PM Har Ghar Jal Yojana – Jal Jeevan Mission and the implementation of water, sanitation, health, and hygiene (WASH) in schools and health facilities, Ayushman Bharat Yojana or National Health Protection Scheme.

PARIJAT JAN SWASTHYA JAGRUKTA ABHIYAN 

An interactions with Block Pramukhs and District Committee women leaders have also taken place. MARG organized an orientation programme with Zila Parishad members. Several district officials attended the programme, with its Chief Guest being Smt. Sadhna Singh, President of the Gorakhpur Zila Panchayat. Mr. Jatashankar Tripathi, MLA Khadda, was also present.

Parijat has made an impact in 120 Gram Panchayats, 88 out of which have had successful health literacy campaigns. The impact of the participation and capacity building of female representatives can have far-reaching benefits, not only in terms of the socio-economic growth of women, but as figures of inspiration for women across the country. 

MARG started PARIJAT JAN-SWASTHYA JAGRUKTA ABHIYAN on the theme of “saaf safai and jaankari hi bachaw hai”. The main aim of this awareness campaign was to spread information regarding covid-19 in 20 blocks of Gorakhpur district.

The meetings were conducted with the help of gram Pradhan and block representative and with the support of Asha and Anganwadi workers. During the session, villagers were explained about the pandemic through games and activities and were told about the symptoms of the viral infection and the precautions to be taken to avoid spreading of the disease. The session ended with a Q&A session.

TELEPHONIC INTERACTION DURING COVID-19 LOCKDOWN WITH ASHA WORKERS, ANGANWADI WORKERS AND GRAM PRADHANS

The team interacted with Asha workers, Anganwadi workers and Gram Pradhans in about 88 Gram Panchayat under 20 Blocks of Gorakhpur District and helped them in creating COVID-19 awarness.

The Gram Pradhan appreciated MARG for conducted sessions in the villages under the theme of “Jaankari hi bachav hain”.

MARG team also organized a workshop session under the theme “Jankari Hi Bachhav Hain” in arount 88 gram Panchayat of Gorakhpur districts regarding COVID-19 precautionary strategies. The team also created awareness among the Gram Pradhans regarding the registration process for vaccination.

DASTAVEJIKARAN OBSERVATION IN GORAKHPUR

During the interactions with the Pradhan, Elected representatives and Community Cadres in the villages of Gorakhpur district,  MARG team got to know that majority of  people have IDs but the villagers are unable to engage them in MNREGA related work due to lack of opportunity at the village level. As about the welfare schemes of the Govt., due to delaying tactics and ongoing corruption, villagers aren’t able to avail the benefits easily. The state government had also ordered those returning to the village after the lockdown to make MNREGA laborers cards. Officials were called from the block to facilitate the process of obtaining ration cards in the village so that people could have access to subsidized ration during the lockdown.

CASE STUDY ON THE MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT IN RURAL INDIA

During the COVID-19 crisis, Parijat team organized 16 village level health rights awareness ‘Jaankari Hi Bachao Hai’ programs. This initiative helped the MARG team to interact with many villagers who did not have MNREGA job cards. During the community campaigns, most of the villagers inquired about the procedure to enroll as MNREGA labor.

The team explained the process of enrollment for new MNREGA cards to the village head as well as i.e. water conservation, tree plantation drive, construction of dam, construction of house under Indira Awaas Yojana, irrigation related work, and road or village level maintenance.

MARG conducted a community campaign to create awareness on Corona under the theme of “Jaankari Hi Bacchav Hai” with the support of the village head and member of Kshetra Panchayat. Many ASHA workers and ICDS workers were also trained for the said purpose and training kits were also distributed in the village.

 PUBLIC HEALTH AWARENESS CAMPAIGN, GORAKHPUR

The project team members approached to Gram Pradhans of the various gram panchayats  and local leaders and informed them about the vision and mission of an organization and shared plan of conducting awareness campaigns in their Gram Panchayat. They were informed of the diseases borne by water and sanitation.

Theme-“Jankari hi bachaon hain”, the project team member explained a precautionary strategy for many diseases caused by bad Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene practices. The session delivered as guided by IEC material. The project team members continuously conducted  Public Health Awareness campaign in 88 gram panchayats in Gorakhpur Districts under 20 Blocks.

Team members of Parijat project continuously following about impact of awareness activities and making aware people on WASH rights.

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