Tag Archives: Bihar

Heifer India Keeps Hope Alive Simariya Village

Posted on by
0

 

Heifer India particiapnt Leela with her sons

Leela Devi poses with her two sons Luv and Kush

In Simariya Village, Leela still continues to struggle with her life. But with the help of Heifer International India, things have changed. Her family income has gone up and her dream of living in a concrete house is seeing the first rays of hope. With the increase in income, she and her husband have started thinking of building their concrete house in the same yard. They hope to finish is in a years’ time.

In her small yard, Leela has started growing vegetables from the different seeds she received, and she is also growing fodder for her animals. As they struggle along, Leela and her family live with hope and a very positive attitude as she continues as an active member of her family, group and community.

Editor’s note: This post is part of a series that follows the progress of specific families, starting at the beginning of their work with Heifer. Our colleagues in the field have chosen one family in each region in the countries where we work and will bring us quarterly updates. You can read read the first post about Leela and her family here.

Heifer India project management committee

Leela Devi guides project management committee members on poultry farm structure

 

In Bihar, India, a woman poses with goats she received from Heifer International

Leela Devi poses with her two goats she received from Heifer International


SHGs and PMCs

Posted on by
0

During my field visits to Heifer India’s project sites, I’ve learned some crucial on-the-job lingo. On my first day I read through a report filled with references to “POG”, “OG”, “PP”, “LSE”, “PPMIS”, CAWH”, etc… you get the idea… constantly having to look up what each one meant. Now a little older, a little wiser, I still don’t know many of them- but I do know the ones we use daily!

 SHG: Self Help Group

 PMC: Project Management Committee

When visiting the villages, we meet with several different Self Help Groups, groups of approximately 20 women who meet regularly to participate in Cornerstone Trainings and monitor money in their group account. The group members support each other emotionally and sometimes financially, partner with other groups, and make significant changes in their own lives as well as within the community.

The Project Management Committee is made up of several members from various groups in a community. The PMC results from each group selecting a member to represent their needs and discuss ideas and trainings with other selected PMC members. The PMC is truly representative of the groups as it is chosen by the groups themselves.

During a workshop involving potential project partners in Bihar, several members of the PMC traveled to the meeting to talk with the heads of several organizations. Confident in their work, they sat in front of the room and described their micro-loaning system, village hygiene improvement initiatives, and the 100 percent school enrollment rate of their girls. The partners asked questions, and because the PMCs were wisely chosen by their groups, the women were able to answer them easily, knowing all of the groups’ information.

The “SHGs” and “PMCs” are more than acronyms I throw around to sound professional. They are unifying entities that help to actually apply the Cornerstone concepts in these project areas.

Both the women of the SHG, and by extension the PMC, are visibly proud of their work in the villages and are excited to do so much more.

Hope Floats in Simariya Village

Posted on by
2
Leela Devi, age 36, makes her way back home along the narrow lanes of Simariya village in Bihar as the evening sun descends into fields of harvest wheat. Her life will never be the same again. From barely being able to make the ends meet, her life is taking a turn for the better making her more self sufficient. Heifer International India in association with Society for Advancement of Tribes, Health, Education and Environment (SATHEE) is working for many such people and families in Bihar and other States of India. Leela Devi belongs to that fraction of community, which has been surviving amidst isolation, oppression and exploitation along with acute poverty-stricken conditions for a long time.
Leela Devi has two twin sons, Luv and Kush, and two daughters named Priyanka (seen in the picture) and Suman. While her husband, Umesh Prasad does masonry work, she cooks the mid day meal provided to the school children. Leela Devi has one cow, a calf and two goats. She is one of the most active members of the Project Management Committee (PMC) and has received trainings on 12 Cornerstones, self-help group management, gender justice and improved animal management. By the means of these trainings, Leela and her husband feel encouraged and empowered to lead a balanced and self sustainable lifestyle.
Apart from the regular sources of earning, Leela Devi has been able to earn and save more money by means of selling 14 litres of cow’s milk every week. The family’s nutrition intake has also gone up due to consumption of this milk. She, along with her family, currently lives in a thatched bamboo hut but because of the improved circumstances, she has been able to earnestly save some money to build a safe concrete house. Apart from learning the importance of nutrition, saving, sharing, caring and cleanliness, Leela Devi and her husband have also learned to manage their livestock’s safety, health and productivity. They have learned to live a balanced and self-reliant life by optimally utilizing the available resources.
They are one of the 4000 odd families whose food security, livelihood promotion and empowerment is taking place on a regular basis as an impact of the Heifer Project.
Editor’s note: This post is the first from India in a new series that follows the progress of specific families, starting at the beginning of their work with Heifer. Initially, this series will focus on our programs in Asia/South Pacific, where our colleagues have chosen one family in each region in the countries where we work and will bring us quarterly updates.