ICount-CountMe

Struggles,Aspirations&AchievementsofYoungPeopleDalit,Tribal&Muslim

OrganisingYouthforSociallyInclusiveSociety(OYSIS)

CentreforSocialEquity&Inclusion

CLAY(CommunityLeadershipandYouth)ChangeStories

Count-CountMe :Struggles,Aspirations&AchievementsofYoungPeople Dalit,Tribal&Muslim

©CentreforSocialEquity&Inclusion2016

Vol:2

Edition :FirstPublishedin2016

Conceptby :CentreforSocialEquity&Inclusion

Compiledby :PankajKumar NiranjanKumar GeetaKumari SaurabhKumar

Cover&bookletdesign :RahulKumar

Editedby :MannatArora SatyendraKumar

Publishedby :CentreforSocialEquity&Inclusion

Supportedby :

CentreforSocialEquityInclusion2157/A,2ndUpperFloor,SarthakBuilding,

GuruArjunNagar,NewDelhi-110008Tel011-25705650;Website:csei.org.in

Introduction

IgottheopportunitytoworkwiththechildrenofMusaharcommunitythroughtheCLAYproject.Thegirlswhoareapartof thisproject,despiteof theirhectic scheduleattendedmeetingseverySundayandareactively involved in it.Theydohouseholdchores,taketuitions,dotheirstudiesthroughcorrespondenceandyettaketimeforalltheeventsofCSEI-VVK.Theyfinditanimportantspaceintheirgrowth.Itisalsotheirinstrumenttoaddressandovercomethetrapofcastsystemforthemselvesandtheircommunities.

TheCLAYfellowsarekeentoensurethateverychildintheirtolaiseducatedandencourageoutofschoolchildrentogetadmittedinschools.Theyfollowuptheirregularityinschools.TheyruntheCLAYeducationcentrestohelpthechildrenintheirlearning.Thisisanuphilltask,intheMusaharcommunitythatisnotorientedtoschoolinganddoesnotrecognizethevalueofeducation.

In Musahar community, both boys and girls are married very early. Some of the CLAY fellows themselves had to getmarriedinthismanner.Theyarethusdeterminednottogetthechildrenfollowthistradition.Theyconvincethechildrentoget educatedand followa career.Theydialoguewithparents to let their children learn. It amazesme to see theirdedicationtowardseverythingtheydo.

Girlsdiscussthattheywillnotgivedowryintheirmarriageandboysthattheywon'ttakeit.Sotheseyoungpeopleareactuallyupforchallengingthissocialevilprevailinginoursociety.

These young people were very active during the sessions that I had with them. I learnt so much from them. Theirenthusiasm for life despite the harsh conditions inspiredme. They want to learn, grow andmake it big in life. Theirenthusiasmandwillingnessto learn fromeachandeveryperson inspiredmethroughoutmy internshipexperienceandwillcontinuetodoso.

Thesearethoserevolutionarymindswhoarestillunawareoftheirpotential.Oncegivenproperguidance,basicamenitiesandeducationofgoodlevel,theycandowonderstothesociety.Theyhavetobegivenequalopportunitiesineverysphereoflifebecausethesearethosepeoplewhoaspiretoworkforthesociety.Theycanbeourrolemodels.

MannatArora(SMILEintern,Pravah)StudentLadyShriRamCollege,NewDelhi

NameofClayFellows

1. AnitaKumari

2. BasantKumarManjhi

3. BasantiKumari

4. DharmendraKumar

5. MunnaKumarManjhi

6. PritiKumari

7. PrityKumari

8. RakeshKumar

9. SanjayKumar

10. SarveshKumar

11. SeemaKumari

12. ShailendraKumar

13. SannyKumar

14. UdayKumar

15. UmaKumari

16. VikasKumar

AnitaKumari

Anita, a 15 year oldMusahar girlwho stayswith her family of parents and 5 siblings in aMusahar tola

calledGoaimathinDhanaruablock,50kilometersfromPatna.Shewenttoagovernmentboardingschool

till5thgrade.

Herparents couldnotputher inprivate school as theywere

daily wages labour. To support family economically, she

startedworkinfieldswithfatherandbrother.Inherheartshe

knewshewantedtostudy.Shepleadtoherparentstoputher

inaschool.Finallyafter2yearsherfatheragreedtoadmither

to thenearbygovernmentschool.Shesoonrealizedthat this

school is different from previous boarding school. She was

askedtositatthebackonthelastseat.Eathermiddaymeal

separatelyandwastreateddifferently.

In 2013 July through CSEI (Center for Social Equity and

Inclusion), Ambedkar Student Forum (ASF) came in her tola-

Gosaimath.Anitastartedleading‘PlayforPeace’:co-operative

gamesessionsandteachingyoungerones.Sheenrolledallchildrenofhertolatogovernmentschoolwith

support fromotherpeer educators. She also joined tuition classeswith the fellowship she receives from

CSEIprogram.

AnitastartedtotraveltovariousprogramslikeInternationalpeaceyouthfestival-Chandigardh,RTEforum

consultationinDelhitoperformapuppetshowandothermeetingsandconferencestorepresentherown

communityandgivethemavoice.

Anita, is currently staying inGovernment supportedHostelwhich is runbyanNGOspecially forMushar

Children.Theideabehindtostayinhostelistoprotectherselffromgettingmarriedatearlyageandpursue

her education life long. Right now, she is in 10th standard and willing to continue her study til Post

graduation.Shewantstoachievesomethingbiginherlife.

BasantKumarManjhi

Basant ispresentlyamemberofaStateCoreCommitteeof theVyaktitvaVikasKendra-VVK(Personality

DevelopmentCentre).Hewaselectedtothepositionthroughavotingprocess..Priortothat,heworkedas

aclustercoordinatorforafewmonthsandorganizedactivitiesinvariousschools.

Basant’sfatherhadgonetoschoolandencouragedBasanttostudy,

as he is convinced of the importance of education. Basant has

completed his BCA (Bachelor in Computer Applications),may be

thefirst intheMusaharcommunityandnowhewishestopursue

MastersinComputerApplications(MCA).Heisconcernedthathe

maynotbeabletomeetthecostsinvolved.

Basantalsowishestoworkinthesocialsector.Heisveryfondof

teachingchildrenandthereforeheteacheskidsofhistola.Basant

isconcernedaboutthepovertyandilliteracyinhiscommunity.He

isconcernedaboutalcoholbrewingbecomingasourceof income

in his community. It is ironic that even though Musahar

communities,beingDalitsareuntouchableunderthecastesystem,

dominant caste communities come and drink alcohol and even eat the snacks prepared by theMusahar

community.TheyactivelyencourageMusaharcommunitytobrewalcoholandlendthemmoneytosetup

thebusiness.However,foryoungpeoplelikeBasant,alcoholisacursetotheircommunity.

Manyget addictedaffecting theirhealthand family lives.Childrendonothaveahealthyenvironment to

learnandenjoy.WiththeBihargovernmentbanningalcoholinthestate,theproductionandconsumption

hasdrasticallyreduced.Givennoalternativelivelihoods,thereisthefearthatillicitbrewingmayhappen,

whichwillbeevenmoredangerous.Itwillbringpolicetothetolasandfurtherexploitationandviolence.

Basant’s family was not engaged in alcohol production and it helped Basant to choose his own area of

studies. He acknowledges that the VVK helped him a lot in his growth. He got guidance from VVK. His

managerialskills,leadershipskillsandconfidenceimprovedtoagreatextentafterhegotelectedasastate

corecommitteememberofVVK.

Heaspirestobuildahouseofhisownandwishestodosomethingbigforhisfamilyandsociety.Hewants

everychildtogotoschool,learnandtakeupadignifiedcareer.

BasantiKumari BasantifromNadwan,Bihariscurrentlystudyingin9thstandard.Shehas4brothersand3sisters.Allhersistersgotmarriedatanearlyage.

Her favorite subject isEnglishandshewishes toexcel in that. Shealso likesmastering in computer.Her

fatherdiedwhenshewasasmallkidsoalltheburdenofearningbreadandbutterforthefamilyshiftedto

hermother.Hermotherpresentlyworksasanagriculturallabour.Consequently,Basantihastotakecare

ofthehouseholdchoresalongwithherstudies.Herbrothersdoagricultureandotherlabourwork.

Basanti has been connected with VVK

for the last 6-7 months. It takes her

almost an hour to reach the VVK from

herhomebutstillshecomesthereevery

Sundaytoattendthemeeting.

According toher,VVKhasprovidedher

platform where she can openly talk

aboutherproblems,canshareanything

she wants to. She tells that other

members of the VVK help her in

differentways.

Peopleinhervillagediscourageherstudying.Theyputpressureonherfamilytogethermarried.Sheissad

thatchildreninhervillagedonotvalueeducationandcareerandbegintoconsumetobacco,alcoholeven

whentheyarestudying.

She aspires to be a teacher so that she can spread education and awareness in her village and her

community. She feelsshyto talk tonewpeopleandwantstoovercomeherhesitation. Shesaysshehas

alreadystartedworkingonitintheVVK.

DharmendraKumar

Dharmendra is the first person to pursue studies in his family. Currently studying in 12th standard,

Dharmendra dropped out from the school for a few yearswhen hewas in class 1. Therewas a lack of

motivationfromhisfamilyashisfatherwasstrugglingtomakeendsmeetforthefamily..However,lateron

withhisfather’smotivationandsupport,here-joinedtheschoolinclass6th.

“Initially,itwasdifficultformetocopeupwiththepressureofstudiesbutgraduallywithmyfriends’help

andmyownhardwork,thingsbecameeasy”,saidDharmendra,whenaskedabouthisprimary/firstschool

life.DharmendraisveryfondofplayingCasio.

He is a constant learner and is very

enthusiastic to learn fromeverypersonhe

meets. He is very confident and does not

hesitatetoputhisviewsbeforeothers..He

is very fond of learning new things and is

verypassionateaboutstudying.Heisavery

responsible person who has initiative and

takes up work voluntarily. He wants to

make it big in lifewith his hard-work and

intelligence.

He gives full credit to CSEI for what he is

today. It is with the assistance of this

organization that he has been able to

pursuehisdream.HeenjoystheSundaymeetingsorganizedintheVVKastherehegetstolearnalot.Not

just that, he visits VVK almost everyday to read books in the library. He shares a good bondwith the

facilitatorsatVVK.

Dharmendra’sparentsneverwenttoschool,sohetaughtthemtowritetheirnames..Heisaverydedicated

personwhowantstostayawayfromallthedistractionsanddowellinlife.Heteacheskidsofhistolaand

wishestocontributetowardsthesocietyasmuchaspossiblewiththeknowledgethathepossesses.

MunnaKumarManjhi

Munnaiscurrentlypursuinghisclass10.Hehasthreesisters,twoofwhoaremarriedandoneisstudying.

Munnahasalwaysbeenveryenthusiasticandsensitiveinlife.Hetellsthatwhenhewassmallandusedto

gotoschool,healwaysfeltsadtoseemanykidswhowereworkingonthestreetsandcouldn’tstudy.So,he

decidedtoconvincethemtostudyandsucceededinconvincing4-5kidstogotoschoolwithhim.

Munnatells thatsincehebelongs toMusahar community,hehassuffereddiscrimination fromchildhood.

Teachersinschoolneverlethimsitinthefrontseattostudy.

WhenMunnagottoknowabouttheVVKand

CSEI,hewasveryeagertojoinit.Ittookhim

5 hours to find the place the first time, but

that did not deter him. . He has been very

regular in the meetings at VVK. Earlier he

wasveryshyinfrontofgirlsbutafterjoining

the VVK he is more comfortable to talk to

girls. Hehasgainedvariousnewfrontiersof

knowledge and has been able to make

associationswithnewpeople.

Munna has a very keen interest in politics

,therefore ,he is standing for a post in the

panchayat elections in his village. He thinks

that a leader is one who takes up all the

concernsinthecommunityHewantstoworkforthewelfareofhisvillage.Hewantstopreparechildrenof

hisvillagetobecomeleadersoftomorrow.

Munnafeelsthathegetsangryquicklyandconsidersthatoneofhislimitations.Munna’sparentsarevery

supportive.Munnawishestoevolveasapoliticianwhocanworkfortheupliftmentofthesociety.Hehasa

specialinteresttoguidethechildreninhisvillage.

PritiKumari

Priti ispresentlystudying inclass10.Shehas3sistersand1brother.She lives invillagecalledChanaki,

Dhanrua.Allareyoungertoher,andallofthemarestudying.

Hermotherhasalwaysencouragedherto

study.Pritiwasalwayskeentolearnand

therefore when she got to know about

CSEI,shejoinedit.Also,shedidn’thavea

computerathome,butnowshe learns it

at the CSEI VVK. Earlier she rarelywent

out of her house, but now with CSEI’s

assistance she goes out for various

training programmes. She also takes

booksfromtheVVKlibrarywhenevershe

feels like reading.Also shehas learneda

lot of games in CSEI. Priti teaches her

youngbrotherandsisterseveryday.Prity

likestosingandenjoysmusic.

Pritirecognizesthatcastesysteminhervillagehas ledtodiscordanddivisiveness inhervillage.A lotof

arguments and fights keep happening across the people from different castes.Most of the times people

fromDalitcastessufferexploitationinthehandsofdominantcastepeople.Sheishappythatnooneforces

herinherfamilytomarry.Pritiwantstobeateacherandstandonherfeetbeforegettingmarried.

PrityKumari

Prityispresentlystudyingin10thstandard.Shehas2sistersand2brothers,allofthemareyoungertoher

fromNadwan.LikePrity,allherbrothersandsistersarealsostudying.

ShehasbeenwithCSEIVVKforthelastoneyearandsherecognizesmanychangesinherlifeinthisperiod.

Herparentshavebecomemoresupportive.ShehaslearnedalotwhilebeingwithCSEIandVVK.Shenow

knowshowtooperatecomputers.Sheenjoysthetrainingprovidedthroughgamesinthemeeting.

She,beingagirlwasneverencouragedtotalk

to people, but after joining VVK, she has

learned to talk openly to anyone through the

discussions that take place in the meetings.

The English classes have helped boost her

confidence.

Prityisveryfondofsingingandwouldloveto

learnitsometimeinherlife.

She talked about her caste and states that

child marriage is still prevalent in her

community. However, her parents have

always encouraged her to study and never

askedhertogetmarried.Literacyrateamong

girlsofhercommunityisextremelylow.

Prity aspires to be a teacher so that she can

help her community to progress. She wants

thechildrenofhercommunitytogeteducated

likeher,andshewouldliketobeanactiveparticipantinthiswork.

RakeshKumar

Rakesh, is currently doing his 10th. He has

onlyonesisterwhoiseldertohim.Hissister

studiedtill8thstandardandthengotmarried.

Very rare to find, both his parents have

studied till 10th standard and they are the

primarysourceofencouragementforRakesh.

RakeshisconnectedtoCSEI-VVKforthepast

5-6months.Hehasmademanyfriendsinthe

VVK. He always wanted to learn computer

andwiththehelpofthisorganization,hegot

to do that as well. He has become more

confidentnow.

Rakeshfeelssadtoexpressthathebelongsto

Musahar community because people of his

communityarenotrespectedanddon’teven

have basic necessities. He always keeps

wondering as to why his community is

suffering so much. The people of his

communityfaceexploitationindifferentformsfromthedominantcommunities.

Rakeshsayshedidnotdaretodreamofanything-big-beingpoorandfromtheMusaharcommunity.After

joiningtheVVK,heishopefulforhimself,hisfamilyandhiscommunity.

He is also very fond of playing cricket and so plays daily with his friends. He is strictly against child

marriage.Rakeshaspirestobeanengineer.

SanjayKumar

Sanjaypresentlystudyingin10thstandardis19yearsold.Tomysurprise,heistheonlychildinhisfamily.

Sanjaygotmarried3monthsbackunderthepressureofhisparents.Hetriedtoconvincehisparentsnotto

gethimmarried,but itwent invain.Hiswife is

presently15yearsold.Shedidn’twanttomarry

either.However,bothgottrappedinthisvicious

systemofearlymarriage. Itsgoodtoknowthat

Sanjaywants hiswife to study further andwill

makeeffortsforit.

HehasbeenapartofCSEIVVKsince2014.He

got to know about CSEI from Govind ji who

conducted‘KhelseMel’inhisschool.Helearned

alotfromitandenjoyeditthoroughly.

Initially, Sanjay was scared to go for the

meetings in the VVK, but later became

comfortable with everyone and decided to

continuewithit.

CSEI has helped him in a lot of ways. He has

overcomehishesitationcompletely,andcantalk

toanybodyopenly.HehasgainedmuchknowledgethroughthemeetingsorganizedinVVK.Also,nowhe

knowshowtooperatecomputer,whichmakeshimfeelgoodabouthimself.

HeisconcernedthatthecenteratGosaimathwherehewithotherCLAYfellowsteachthekids,hasnotbeen

working properly for 2-3 months. Villagers are not supportive of their initiative to teach kids in the

community,insteadtheycreatetroublesandmakeitharderforthemtoteachkids.

Thereisnofacilityoftoiletsintheirvillagewhichleadstoopendefecation.Also,thereisshortageofwater

inhisvillage.Hewantstoworkhardinlifesothathecanbeanactiveparticipantinthedevelopmentofhis

village.Sanjaywishestoprepareformedicinestudiesandwantstoworkhardforit.

SarveshKumar

Sarveshispresentlydoinghis12thandis20yearsold.Hehas3sistersand1brotherandallareelderto

him except for one of his sisters,who is younger to him. All his sisters gotmarried at an early age. His

youngersisterevenhasachild.

He has been with CSEI VVK for the last 1.5

years. It’s only through CSEI that he became

aware of problems associated with early

marriage. Therefore, he took a decision to

marryonlyafterhecompleteshisgraduation.

VVKhashelpedhimdevelophispersonalityto

agreatextent.Hewasgiventheopportunityto

attendvariousevents inDelhi.Hegot a lotof

exposure through the visits that he made to

variousplaces.

Sarveshtellsthat,noonefromhisvillageever

went to school before him. Also the state of

the government schools in his village is

extremelypoor.Teachersdon’tcometoschool

or teach. Children are deprived of basic

facilities.Sarveshdoesn’tgetmuchsupportfromhisparents,eventhenhekeepsworkingtowardshisgoal

andcontinueswithhisstudies.

SarveshaspirestostudyinIITtobecomeanengineer.Alsohefeelsthatalotneedstobedonetoimprove

theconditionofhiscommunitysothateverychildofhisvillagecanbecomewhatsoevershe/heaspiresto

be.

SeemaKumari

Seema presently studying in 10th

standard,has4brothers.Oneiselderto

herandothersyounger.Allherbrothers

arealsostudying.

ShehasbeenwithCSEIVVKforthelast

oneyear. Assoonasshecametoknow

aboutit,shejoinedit.ThroughCSEI,she

hasbeenabletomeetmanynewpeople

fromBiharandotherplacestoo.Shegot

to learna lot fromthem..Also, she feels

that in themeetings of CSEI, since boys

andgirls sit togetheranddiscuss, ithas

madeher feelcomfortableabouttalking

to boys. Seema’s parents encourage her

a lot to study and not just that, if they

seehergettingcarelessaboutit,shegets

scolded by them . She is very close to

hermotherasshehasbeenherconstant

support.

Sheisveryfondoflisteningtotheradio.Alsosheteachesherbrothereveryday.Shewantstolearntodance

butthereisnodanceteacherinhervillage.

Shetalksabouthowgravetheproblemofearlymarriage is.Childrenwant tostudybut theirparentsget

themmarriedat anearlyagebecause they can’t afford their education. She feels thatpoverty is amajor

issueduetowhichalotofchildrenaredeprivedofbasiceducation.

Seemawantstobecomeindependentbeforeshegetsmarried.Shedreamsofapplyingforcivilservicesin

future.

ShailendraKumar

Shailendra come fromGunsainmath, Dhanrua, Patna just passed his 10th exams.He has 1 brother and 3

sisters.Allhissiblingsarestudyingexceptforonesisterwhogotmarriedwhenshewas17.

Heisoneoftheoldestclayfellows.Hejoined

CSEI in2013.Shailendragotmarried1year

beforehejoinedCSEI.Hesaysthat ifhehad

got connected to CSEI one year before, he

wouldn’t have married so early. CSEI has

madeahugedifferenceinhislife

Earlier Shailendra used to be scared of

talking to people in authority. But now he

canconfidentlytalktoeveryone.Healsogot

an opportunity to attend an event in

Chandigarhwherestudentsfromalloverthe

world came to share their culture. CSEI has

helpedShailendrainbecomingaresponsible

personinlife.

Shailendratellsthathisfathertaughthimto

writealphabetsinHindi.Hethinksthatifthe

parents are educated, they will always

encouragetheirkidstogeteducatedaswell.

ShailendrawiththehelpofhisfriendsconstructedaCLAYlearningcentreatGosaimath.Alotofkidscome

tothiscentrewhereShailendraandotherclayfellowsteachthem.Shailendrathinksthatitisimportantfor

thosekidstogetawareandunderstandtheimportanceofeducation.

Heissadthatthevillagersarenotsupportiveofteachingkidsofhistola, insteadtheymakeitdifficultto

teachbyinterferingalot.Duetothis,theturnoutofkidshaddroppedsignificantlywhichtroubleshimalot.

Shailendraistryinghardtogetasmanykidsaspossibletohiscentresothathecanteachthemfortheir

good.Hisfatherisalaborer.ButShailendrawantstogetajob,whichcanhelphimearnadecentliving.

SannyKumar

SannycomesfromDhanrua,Patnastudyingin9thstandardpresently.Hehasonebrotherandtwosisters,

allofthemareyoungertohim.His10yearsoldsisterdoesnotstudy.WhenIaskedhimthereasonforthe

same,hesaid”Mummy–Papaaskhertodohouseholdchores.Theyneverencouragehertogotoschool.”

Sanny dropped out from the school when he was in class 6th because he did not get anymotivation to

continuestudyingatthattime.However,hisfatherforcedhimtorejointheschoolinclass7th.Interestingly

hisfatherdoesnotthinkitimportantforhissistertobeeducatedwhichispartoftheinherentbiasagainst

girlsinoursociety.

Sunny isavery fondofdancingandwishes to learn it aswell.However ,he isnotable to learndanceas

thereisnoonetoteachdance.Healsodoesnothavethemeanstogofarandlearnit.

He feels happy that he can

continuehisstudiesevenwhen

there are many financial

problems in his family.He gets

a fellowship from VVK every

monthwhichmeetssomeofhis

coststostudying.

Sunny tells that people of

Musahar community face a lot

ofexploitationbythedominant

caste community in different

ways.Heexpresseshisanguish

about how they do not allow

theMusahars toworkoutsidethevillageandforcethemtoworkontheir fields.Musaharsalsogetdeath

threatsiftheydaretoworkoutsidethevillage.

Sunnywishestoenddiscriminationprevailinginthesocietywithhishardworkandknowledge.Heaimsto

beacommissionerandwantstodevelophisfamilyandsociety.

UdayKumar

UdaycomesfromDhanrua,Patna,currentlystudyingin11thstandard.Hehas1brotherand2sisters.His

brotheriseldertohimanddiscontinuedschoolingwhenhewasinclass8thtoworkasalaborer.Bothhis

youngersistersarestudying.

Udayisveryfondofplayingcricket.However,thereisnoparkinhisvillagewhereheandhisfriendscan

play.

Uday’sfriend,BasanttoldhimabouttheCLAYfellowshipandsince6monthsUdayisconnectedtoVVK.He

teacheskidsofhistolaeverydayforwhichhegetsfellowshipfromVVKeverymonth.Thismoneyhelpshim

tomeethiscoachingandotherbasicexpenditure.

HehaslearnedalotfromtheSundaysessionsthattakesplaceinVVK.Hesaysthathehasbecomeawareof

thevariousproblemsprevailinginthesociety.Also,hehasreceivesguidancefromthefacilitatorsofVVK.

Uday feels happy to tell that his

parents treat him and his sisters

equally. Everything happens in a

fairandjustmannerinhisfamily.

However, his villagers are not in

much support of him going to

schoolanddiscourageshimoften.

He feels there should be an

‘Aangadbaadi’ in his village to

orientsmallchildrentoschooling.

Uday wishes to be an engineer

andwantstoworkhardforit.

UmaKumari

Umaiscurrentlystudyingin9thstandard. Shehas4brothersoneofwhom,is aneldertoher.Sheisthe

onlygirlinherfamily.Allherbrothersarestudying.

Uma’s source of encouragement

is her elder brother. He has

encouragedher toworkhard in

life so that she can be

independent.Umahasbeenwith

CSEI for the last one year. She

recounts that before joining

CSEI,shecouldn’t talk topeople

as she used to stay at home all

day. Now that she is with CSEI,

shefeelsconfidentaboutherself

and she can openly talk to

anyone. Since she belongs to

schedule caste, the girls of her

communityhavenevergotmany

opportunitiestogrow.ShethinkswiththehelpofCSEI,alotofkidsofhervillagecanstudynow.

ShehasgotalotofexposureandtrainingthroughtheworkshopsandseminarsorganizedbyCSEI.

AccordingtoUma,unemploymenthaspushedhercommunitymemberstotakeupalcoholbrewing.Sheis

veryupsetthattherearestillnotoiletsinhervillage.

Uma’sprimaryfocusisonbeingindependentbeforegettingmarried.Similarly,shewantseverygirlofher

villagetogetindependentforwhichshethinksthateducationisaprerequisite.Shewishestoworkforthe

developmentofhervillage.

VikasKumar

Vikashasgivenhis12thexamsthisyear.Hehas2brothers.Hiselderbrotherhasbeenhisinspiration.Vikas

isveryfondofplayingcricket,andsoheplayseverydaywithhisbrothersandfriends.

Heisveryconcernedabouthiscommunity,

therefore he teaches kids at his centre. It

has been one year that Vikas is connected

with VVK and it has helped a lot in his

personal growth. He believes that after

joining VVK, his horizon has broadened

which was earlier restricted to his own

village. He realized that there are a lot of

kids from his community who aspire to

study like him.VVK has empowered him

and provided him guidance and vision in

workingwiththechildreninhistola.

Vikas’smotherhasalwaysencouragedhim

a lot to study.Howeverhe feels sadas the

community does not encourage education,

ThediscouragechildrenfromgoingtotheVVKalso.Heisalwaysaskedbypeopletoengageinagricultural

activities.Heisconcernedabouthowtogetadmissionintoagoodcollegeandcourse.HavingjoinedVVK,

heishopefulofbeingguidedandsupportedtogaincollegeadmission.

Heanalysesthatdevelopmentdoesnothappeninthevillagesasonlypeoplewhohavemoneygetelected.

Then theydonotdo anything todevelop the village.Thosewhodesire todevelop the villagedonot get

elected,astheydonothavethemoneytobuyvotes.

Vikas abhors this practice and thereforewants tomake people aware and spread education in his own

village.Hefeelsthateveryoneinhisvillageshouldgeteducatedandemployed.

Centre for Social Equity& Inclusion (CSEI) is concernedwithdeepeningdemocracyanddevelopingourbodypoliticsbyenhancingtheawareness/understandingamongexcludedcommunitiesof theirsocial,economicandcultural (SEC)rights.WerecognizethewidespreadprevalenceofexclusionanddiscriminationagainstDalits,Adivasis,Muslimsandothersociallyexcluded communities in our society, and the specific vulnerabilities of women, children and youth within thesecommunities,inissuesregardingaccesstoeducation,employmentandgovernance.Poverty,disability,physical/geographicin-accessibility, forms of illnesses and other context specific characteristicsmake the picturemore complex, demandingsustainedefforts inunravelingandaddressingexclusion independentlyand intersectionally.OurMajorconstituenciesarethree communities- Dalits, Tribals andMuslims with special focus on women, children and youth in collaborating withCommunity ledOrganizations (CLOs). CSEI therefore undertakes advocacy- oriented research, social equity audits, policyadvocacyandthepilotingofmodelinterventionswithmembersofexcludedcommunitiesinthecriticalareasofeducationand employment. Embedded in the experiences of excluded communities, CSEI works to bring together all relevantstakeholders: theexcludedcommunities, stateactors, civil societyorganizations, corporate sectorandothers.Consistentinterventions in the above areas are undertaken through the CSEI Bihar and Delhi office. In addition, CSEI shares itsmaterials, modules and lessons with other community-led organizations and civil society organizations. Education,employment,entrepreneurshipandgovernanceare thekey interventionareaskeeping“Exclusion–Equity–Inclusion”asourwatchwords.

CentreforSocialEquity&InclusionNational Office:

2157/A,3rdFloor,SarthakBuilding,

GuruArjunNagar,NewDelhi-110008

State Office:

C/oBDVS,Administrativeoffice,

Rukunpura,Bailyroad,Patna,Bihar800014

www.csei.org.in

Tel-011-25705650