Tag Archives: Heifer India

SHGs and PMCs

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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.

The Difference a Goat Can Make: Photo of the Week

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Photo by Russ Powell, Courtesy of Heifer International

Sumitra Devi and five-year-old daughter Anita happily pose for a photo with their family’s goat. Heifer International’s work in India empowers women like Sumitra to make life better for their families. Learn how you can be a part of this transformation.

Basanti: A Changed Woman

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Basanti at the goat shed near her home

by Avni Malhotra

Basanti (23) is a simple tribal woman from a small village in Orissa. Basanti joined Heifer’s Tribal Empowerment Through Sustainable Livelihood Program in 2010 as a member of a self help group. Her family’s main source of income is labor, and they have a small plot of land that they cultivate. Since it is a joint family, the expenses keep growing as the elderly can’t contribute as much and the needs of the five year old son grow. She started working as a local health worker last year, and this increased her income. Also, she manages to sell the fruits and vegetables she cultivates as a part of the Heifer project and this also substantiates her income.

When I visited her village she was one of the eight people who was giving her gift to another woman very much like her. Basanti shines in the Heifer India program as one of the women who is an example of the Value Based Holistic Community Development Model. She gave her gift joyously along with vegetables and plants. She and her entire family; parent in-laws Kisnu and Karna, husband Hemanta and son Soumyaranajn all danced along with the gift recipient family (and me).

Following the Passing on the Gift ceremony, Basanti participated in a play she and her friends had scripted, directed and acted in. She played the role of a spoiled son who wastes his mother’s time and money.

After the ceremony was over she took us to her house — a neat mud walled hut with a thatched roof. She showed us her goat shed, which had been made in the corner of her house. The craftsmanship and the manner in which the bamboo was tied together make the goat shed very impressive. It was well ventilated.

Basanti has self-respect and does not want to be a burden on anyone. Her drive to improve her lot motivated her to take up the work of the village health worker. Today she has three pigs, three goats and eight hens. She has worked hard and demonstrated an improvement in her family income.

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. Today’s post is the first in a series of  quarterly updates on the progress of Basanti and her family.

In Context: Malnutrition in India

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Editor’s note: In Context is a new series designed to inform and educate you on Heifer’s work in each country we have a presence. Every two weeks we’ll tackle a different country and examine unique situations related to hunger and poverty, how Heifer works to address them as well as take some time to explore local culture and traditions.

Photo courtesy of Babasteve, Creative Commons

Maltnutrition is more common in India than in Sub-Saharan Africa.

  • In the world, one child in every three that is malnourished lives in India.
  • 47% of Indian children under the age of five are moderately or severely malnourished

Last week’s post helped us to understand malnutrition on a large-scale. Today, we’re looking at malnutrition as it relates to India and its children.

There are an estimated 146 million children living in India. Of those children,

  • 57% of children are deficient in Vitamin A, increasing blindness and death among the preschool population
  • 70% of children are anemic
  • There has been a 13% increase in iodine deficiency, decreasing learning capacity. Less than 50% of all Indian households use iodized salt

About 61 million Indian children have stunted growth and they account for 34% of the world’s under age 5 population. In these instances, malnutrition is inherited.

1/3 of Indian women are underweight and receiving inadequate nutrition. Consequently, when these women are pregnant, they give birth to low birthweight babies– in fact, nearly 30% of newborns in India are underweight. This makes them more susceptible to disease and further malnutrition. The most crippling effects of malnutrition occur during pregnancy and in the first two years of a child’s life. After two years, the damage done is irreversible, making pre-natal care and newborn nutrition critically important.

Photo courtesy of CIDSE, Creative Commons

Despite recent rapid growth in India (the GDP has more than doubled since the early 1990s), the malnutrition rate has only decreased slightly. One of India’s Millenium Development Goals was to halve malnutrition by 2015. However, economic, environmental and social disparities make that goal difficult to achieve.

  • Children under five in rural areas are more likely to be underweight than those living in urban centers
  • Low-caste children have less to eat than high-caste children
  • Women are expected to eat less than men and usually wait to eat until after the men have finished dining

Children from wealthier families suffer from malnutrition not because they don’t have enough to eat, but because they’re not being fed correctly. In this case, the solution is to not make more food available but to educate parents on how to feed their children well-balanced, healthy diets.

For further reading, check out this recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald that tells the story of a rural Indian family and the effects of malnutrition on their children.

 

In Context: India

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Editor’s note: In Context is a new series designed to inform and educate you on Heifer’s work in each country we have a presence. Every two weeks we’ll tackle a different country and examine unique situations related to hunger and poverty, how Heifer works to address them as well as take some time to explore local culture and traditions.

Written by Avni Malhotra, Country Representative, Heifer India

Population: 1.2 Billion

Native greeting: Namaskar (Salutations)

Capital: New Delhi

Official language: There are 16 official languages but Hindi and English are the most widely spoken

Local currency: Indian Rupee

The Republic of India is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with more than 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Home to the ancient Indus Valley civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world’s major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism—originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium and shaped the region’s diverse culture. Gradually annexed by the British East India Company from the early 18th century and colonized by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence which was marked by a non-violent resistance led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

India is a federal constitutional republic with a parliamentary democracy consisting of 28 states and seven union territories. A pluralistic, multilingual and multiethnic society where more than 400 languages are spoken, India is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.

Economically India has the world’s eleventh largest economy by nominal GDP and the fourth largest by purchasing power parity. Since the introduction of market-based economic reforms in 1991, India has become one of the fastest growing major economies in the world, but the country continues to face severe poverty, illiteracy, corruption and public health related challenges.

The figure related to how many are poor in India has been a subject of debate. According to the latest government figures 29.8% of the population was poor in 2009-10. But studies show different estimates made by different methods. A more recent study states that the population living below $ 2 a day is 75.6% of the 1.2 billion.

Poverty in India is a major issue. Rural Indians depend on unpredictable agriculture incomes, while urban Indians rely on jobs that are, at best, scarce. Since its independence, the issue of poverty within India has remained a prevalent concern. More than 75% of poor people reside in villages.

For these poor people who live in the rural areas, agriculture is their main source of income. Developments in this sector thus impact the rural poor. In the 1960s India had a revolution in agriculture that boosted its productivity, popularly known as the “Green Revolution”. In the 1980s another breakthrough was the cooperative movement in the dairy sector, popularly known as the “White Revolution” or Operation Flood. Since then, India is waiting for a breakthrough that will enhance production to feed the growing population. The imbalance between the production and consumption of food leads to a tentativeness which results in disturbances in the supply chain leading to rises in prices of essential commodities. Also enhanced productivity is required to feed the growing numbers, especially the marginalized populations.

Photo courtesy of Heather Buckley, Creative Commons

The Structure of the society lends itself to discrimination. As has been described earlier, the society is pluralistic and the long history is witness to the fact that at some point or another one or the other community dominated and ruled the country. Thus, there is a long history and many factors that divide this nation socially. This is a major weakness in the economy, that growth is not perceived as being sufficiently inclusive for many groups, especially Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and minorities. In addition to gender inequality also remains a pervasive problem and some of the structural changes taking place have an adverse effect on women. For these marginalized groups [SC and ST, minority and women], the rate in decline in poverty has not accelerated along with the growth. The absolute number of people living under the poverty line has also not decreased (320 million in 1993-1994 to 302 million in 2004-2005).

In India, women as a whole have a lower status than their male counterparts. They are not only subjected to the rigors of traditional social structure but are also neglected in terms of food and health care from early childhood. Gender inequality is therefore distinct from other forms of economic and social inequalities. It dwells not only outside the household but also centrally within it. Gender inequality has adverse impact on development goals as it reduces economic growth. It hampers the overall well-being because it blocks women from participation in social, political and economic activities. This can adversely affect the whole society. India has witnessed gender inequality from its early history due to its socio-economic and religious practices that resulted in a wide gap between the position of men and women in the society.

Though there is reduction in gender discrimination by the efforts made by government policies but still there are loopholes in the society and policy implementation at the grass root level to address gender issues. As persistent gender inequalities continue we need to rethink concepts and strategies for promoting women’s dignity and rights.

India is among the world’s most disaster prone areas with a population of more than one billion. The geographical statistics of India show that almost 57% of the land is vulnerable to earthquakes; 28% to drought; 8% to cyclones and 12% to floods.

Heifer Approach 

Livestock portfolio: Goats, chickens and cows

Technology portfolio: Rain water harvesting tanks, improved cooking stoves, microcredit lending programs and self help groups

Issues addressed: Women’s empowerment and livelihood promotion

The main focus has been to work with communities that have the greatest need for assistance. The program tries to encompass all the interrelated forces within a community in order to ensure full participation and build solidarity.

Heifer projects are implemented through NGO partners. This allows for a continuous and two-way flow of information, resources and support among the project groups, project partners and Heifer. Prior to Heifer’s involvement in the community, the partner NGO facilitates the community members to form self-help groups which undertake savings and credit activities and hold monthly meetings.

Women are the direct project participants through whom the entire family benefits. This mechanism aims to empower women to end the deep-rooted gender discrimination in the society.

The 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development are the time-tested principles that enable the community to assess and realize its own potential to achieve holistic development. Passing on the Gift is the main value that encourages participants to share their inputs and learning with others similar to them.

Building on the valuable experience of working with the communities, Heifer has learnt that real development goes beyond distributing physical inputs and technical trainings and thus propagates the Values based Holistic Community Development (VBHCD) model. This model recognizes the need to empower communities for a sustainable and self-reliant society. It builds on the strengths and values that are innate in every culture and society and encourages people to see themselves as having strengths and values rather than seeing themselves in a situation of hopeless poverty.

Using livestock and technical trainings as entry tools Heifer forms a relationship with the community and then works as a catalyst for holistic transformation, according to the community’s vision. The model addresses the interrelated elements of poverty, enabling individuals to take charge of their individual and community development. Once the project participants begin to take charge of their own development, the program’s impact becomes boundless and goes beyond the initial inputs.