Mandra Lions ClubPurulia, West Bengala) 12/24/2008 Site Visit Report b) 2009 10 Project Proposal

February 21, 2009

IntroductionStarted in 1975 by Mr. Somnath Singha Roy and friendsPurulia district of West Bengal tribal areaMr. Roy was born and raised in these parts Coordinates day to day activitiesHigh level: MLC has president, exec committee

Aim: Development of the tribal community in the region1992-93: Focus shifted to tribal children and education

Past funding: Asha, AID, UNICEF, CRY, Dutch Embassy Long history of various developmental projects No association with Lions Club AssociationKolkataMandra

Photos from Site Visit in 24/12/2008The Mandra office in Saradapally, at the base of the Ayodhya Hills. Also has residential quarters for staff anda mini mess.The 7 schools are spread over the hills. Notethe abundance of date trees. Graffiti on wall, near the entrance,acknowledging support by various agencies including Asha.

Socio Economic Status of the people74 tribal villages in Ayodhya Hills, Baghmundi district Extremely interior: ~2.5 hours bikeride from Mandra office Dense forest, habitat of elephants, bears, boars etc. Massive deforestation in some parts to set up hydel project

Cutting wood for fuel is major occupation Tribals (both male and woman) cut wood for one whole dayNext day: Climb down, carrying wood through forestsSell them (Rs 60 Rs 100), buy food, and go up againMinor agriculture- mostly for internal consumptionSoil is infertile. Place is extremely hot during summers

10% of families have 1 meal/day, 50% have 2Illiterate tribals are often exploited by political partiesMura tribes: Understand/Speak BengaliSanthal tribes: Separate language (Santhali) Elder Santhals have working knowledge of Bengali

Photos from Site Visit in 24/12/2008Some loads of cut wood. Each person carriesabout 2 such loads and sells them for Rs 30 50per load. Also seen in photo are Mandrastaff Benimadhav and Mama (in blue) who is Mr. Roys uncle and the overall in-charge of the education component of MandraThatched huts in atribal village

Activities of Mandra Lions ClubHeath Community health intervention Mother and child health, reproductive child healthWomens empowermentSelf help group promotion, micro-cerditSponsor a grand parent Malaria detection and control Natural Resource Management Water conservation and managementWorked with Govt, linked existing Govt schemes

Details about educational projects No of schools = 14 for Santhali children 7 schools supported by Stanford are about 2-3 years old7 new schools funded by CNJ (schools started April 2008)Children: 2.5 5+ years (pre-primary education)~240 children , boy/girl ratio ~1No permanent buildings in courtyards or in the open Teachers in a village school are youths from the same village, Madhyamik to graduate education Periodic teacher training by Mandra (more about this later)

There are Govt. schools at primary levelInsensitive to local cultureAll in the plains none up in Ayodhya hillsTeaching medium is Bengali alien for Santhali childrenSanthali language and Alchiki script different from BengaliHence need of vernacular pre-primary schools

A note about Santhali language and Alchiki scriptSanthali language: Very different from BengaliCertain Santhali phonetics: not expressable in Bengali scriptThus a new script was neededPt. Raghunath Murmu developed Alchiki ~ 100 years backSanthali language is much olderA language cant be sustained without a scriptWithout written works, a language diesDebatable: Do we need to sustain Santhali language/script? Point: Wouldnt help them in finding jobs in modern societyCounterpoint: Part of broader process of upliftment of tribalsRecognizing their culture gives them a boost

Type of Education imparted to kids Development of cognitive faculty E.g. 5 cubes of different shapes; child asked to put them on top of each other, with largest one at bottomFun and learning (recall how we played with lego blocks as kids)

Introduction to formal language structure Introduction to both Alchiki/Santhali and Bengali E.g. flash cards with photo of a house on both sides One side bengali word and other side Santhali word in AlchikiRecognize letters from phonetics (by pronouncing the word)Basic Science, Maths, and Nature appreciationMade aware of importance of nature and junglesChildrens performances are evaluated and monitoredMake efforts to link children to regular schools after 3 yearsReasonable success achieved with older 7 centers

Photos from Site Visit in 24/12/2008School # 1Village Leoa: Community centerNote the yellow blocks one of the toys for cognitive development Teacher Duryodhan teaches from the flash cards. Note the innovative whiteboard made of cloth with pockets to keep the cards

Photos from Site Visit in 24/12/2008School # 2Village: MamoriOut in the open. Just the previous day a wildelephant had meandered into the village and had to be driven out. The blackboard containing lettersfrom Alchiki script

Comments about the Schools and Mid day Meal Was a surprise visit in both places Both teachers were very dedicated Children were paying attention Some children were working on their ownAbout 60% attendance Mid day meal was flattened rice (chiura)Problem: Storage and transportation of foodInterior villages: Food cant be brought every dayNo fridge: Else milk could be stored and givenSuggestion: Give tinned milk already implementedNew proposal emerged after discussionEach day a family takes responsibility of cooking for all kidsThe family cant sell woods that day reimbursed by MandraMandra will investigate if this is feasible

Teacher Training Held in Mandra office for 2 days. 12/14 teachers were present. The other 2 teachers are from the schools in the site visit. They were not informedabout the teacher training workshop and also that there would be a visit. Side profile of Mr. Roy is seen in the right side of the photo (orange shirt) Held every 6 months New educational material prepared flash cards etc Reason given: Children lose interest if they keep seeing the same old cards. The need new things (books, cards etc) to keep their interests up. Organized by Mama; Mr. Roys uncle and in charge of education Discussion about teaching methodology

Utilization of funds for first 6 months April 2008 to September 2008 As of October 2008240 (Total no of children ) x 20 (working days per month) = 4,800 child per day are present x 6 months =28800 no of children are present in 6 months.Tiffin cost already made in 6 months is Rs.80, 040/- i.e. (Rs.80040 divided by 28800 children) Rs.2.79 per child per day expenses are happening.

Sl. NoBudget headYearly sanctionedExpenditure during 6 monthsBalance with MLCA.1Home Educator cum Mobilizer1,26,000.0063,000.0063,000.00B.1Tiffin cost1,60,000.0080,040.0079,960.00C.!Purchase and repairing of educational materials 14,000.0010,000.004,000.00DBank charges001,167.00- 1,167.003,00,000.001,54,207.001,45,793.00

Yearly ReceivedExpenditure during the periodBalance with MLC3,10,944.001,54,207.001,56,737.00

Synopsis of budget for 2009-10

Sl. NO.ITEMNo/UnitCost (per No / Per unit /Per day / Per month)Amount (Rs.) Annual Amount Requested from ASHA New JerseyA1 Home Educator cum Mobilizer07 No1500.001,26,000.001,26,000.00A2Field Organizer02 No2500.0060,000.000,60,000.00A3Co-coordinator014000.0048,000.000.48,000.00B1Purchase and repairing of educational materials7 Unit (Round the year workshop method)1400.009,800.000,09,800.00C1Tiffin cost @ Rs.2/-Per day, for 200 days in a year400 No (all 14 schools)1,60,000.001,60,000.00D1Annual sports & Cultural Program 400 Nos, of centers & other non school children of the villages600 Nos.21.0012,600.0012,600.00D2Children day observation6005.003,000.003,000.00JSUPPORT TO GOVT. PRY.SCHOOL (for teaching Alchiki i. This program, was a suggestion made to Mr. Roy by Asha CNJ and he had promised to implement it this year, if we provide the money)J.1Honorarium to Volunteer Teacher in 2 nos. Government Primary School (Tribal dominated)2 nos.3000.0072000.0072000.00

Some Random Discussions had with Sandip Pal, a social worker in MandraAim of education is not a regular jobElse tribal person will relocate to cityHis community will not benefit Literacy that improves the entire communityEducation should be tied to income generation If Asha funds a school, Asha should also fund a project that generates incomeE.g.: Project where tribal people can sell their artIn that way, they wouldnt relocate to cities. Formal educational projects shouldnt destroy indigenous tribal culture

Misc Photos Part of the hydel plant. This area used to be one of the most densely populated forests. Millions of trees cut and hundreds of animalsdisplaced. The plant is running at a loss now due to inefficient designTwisted trees inside the forest

Misc Photos Incision made and tube thrust into a date tree forthe juice to trickle down. Usually collected insidean earthen pot all night. Here a bird is seen perchedon the tube, to drink some of the morning juice, which is incidentally intoxicating and used to made tadiThe pure date juice collectedall night is boiled and processedto make gur

Misc Photos Chhou dance masks being madein a nearby town. Purulia is famous for this dance form which has attracted international attention Child and goat in a tribal village