A look back at Pragya's work in 2018... and a look forward at what's to come this year!

As is often the case with the coming of a new year, Pragya UK’s transition into January is serving as an important time of reflection! Here we’ve had a look back at Pragya’s work and progress in 2018, as well as a moment to look at what we hope to achieve going forward into 2019.

2018 was a busy year for Pragya’s programme in India. Our Food Security for Himalayan Smallholders project continued to go from strength to strength, empowering farmers to adapt their practices in response to changing ecosystems, guided by each other as well as through services provided by Pragya-supported Agri-Advisors, including soil testing and weather information. Farmers were also supported to add value to their produce with services established to provide them with information on prices, buyers and markets, in order to enhance their revenues and help move their communities out of poverty. We trained women’s Self-Help Groups in Nutri-dense farming and dietary requirements in order to increase each family’s calorific and micronutrient intake, helping lift communities out of hunger and food insecurity. Pragya UK made a field visit to project sites in and around Uttarkashi, meeting with members of a farmers’ cooperative supported by Pragya for local value addition and the development of ethical trading links, and also visiting Pragya-supported crop research plots that provide insights enabling the Agri-Advisors to assist farmers in crop diversification and Climate Smart Agriculture.

A Schools on Wheels lesson in Bhapkund camp

In 2018 Pragya further developed its programme for migrant communities in the Indian Himalayas. The past year has seen an emphasis on the importance of reducing levels of educational exclusion suffered by children of migrant road workers, providing the basis for our ongoing ‘Schools on Wheels’ campaign which transports learning materials and a trained teacher to migrant workers’ camps. The classes introduce basic literacy and numeracy and encourage both the children and their parents to develop an interest in education, with some adult classes being run as part of the programme. The project staff have also made progress in their liaisons with local schools near the camps, encouraging admissions of the children of migrant workers despite lack of documentation.

We also made significant progress with our project establishing DMS-Himalaya, a community-led disaster preparedness model for the Himalayan region. With the aim of increasing the resilience of neglected communities particularly prone to natural disasters due to the region’s unique climate and geography, Pragya have introduced the citizen-led disaster management system in order to empower communities for grassroots disaster risk reduction and response. In the project’s recent year, Pragya-established Disaster Response Teams received further intensive training and orientation, the integration of the model within existing disaster relief programmes was heavily promoted in meetings with state government officials, and the project was enhanced by the addition of a new element, Eco-DRR, an initiative that incorporates community-based monitoring of ecosystem health as part of their disaster preparedness. The DMS-Himalaya system was even successfully employed on several occasions as a response to incidents over the year – a positive step going forward in the development of the project.

Establishing a fodder farm at Simpani

In Nepal, 2018 saw the continuation of Pragya’s post-earthquake rehabilitation projects, primarily focused on communities in the disaster-struck rural districts of Dhading and Sindhupalchowk who continue to suffer from the long-term impacts of the earthquake such as the loss of livestock and damages to housing, community water sources and cultivatable land. Combatting the earthquake’s negative impact on WASH practices in these districts, Pragya’s implementation of the rehabilitation project included the installation of water tanks and community toilet blocks in the regions where such facilities had been damaged, the formation of Women’s Water and Sanitation Councils to ensure the sustainability of WASH improvements, and workshops in schools and in the wider community to raise awareness and provide training on community hygiene, sanitation and waste management practices. The earthquake’s threat to Nepalese livelihoods also continued to be addressed with repair of irrigation structures and pipelines to increase farming productivity, as well as the establishment of community fodder farms in regions that would benefit from shared farming space. Pragya also helped rehabilitate livelihoods, supporting disaster-affected families with livestock and poultry packages, and providing training in fields such as organic farming, goat rearing, and candle making. These projects helped build local enterprise capacity for sustainable income generation.

As part of our initiative to combat trafficking and other gender-based violence (GBV) in Nepal, an issue which had particularly escalated in districts where economic distress caused by the earthquake has been highest, Pragya continued to monitor the previously installed Women’s Helpline Centres and conducted further discussion and training with the Women Vigilance Committees. Helpline leaders and committee members have received further training in effective support to victims of GBV and awareness raising of the issues within their communities. Extensive efforts have also been made to establish linkages with police and government departments to foster an integrated response to GBV and a comprehensive support network for victims of GBV and those at risk.

A cultivation field demonstration session in Isecheno

In Kenya, the conservation and cultivation of medicinal plants in Kakamega Forest was a priority in 2018. The initiative saw Pragya addressing the depletion of threatened medicinal plant species by supporting Pragya-established Community Conservation Groups educating them on the importance of local biodiversity and building grassroots capacity for species identification, habitat monitoring, data collection and analysis. Awareness campaigns were also run in schools where children were encouraged to participate in conservation efforts and feed information learnt back to their families and peers, ensuring a greater scope of impact as well as the sustainability of the project. Pragya also expanded its earlier established plant nurseries in 2018, building propagation sites for important endangered medicinal plant species as a crucial conservation effort as well as a means of income generation for families within the community.

As for 2019… our commitment to transformational change for the communities with which we work of course lives on. Our efforts to strengthen community disaster preparedness remains a priority, with a view to the regional expansion of our work and the adoption of the latest appropriate and affordable disaster management technologies. We will significantly expand and enhance our Food Security work, helping secure the prosperity of smallholder farming communities in the face of climate change. We remain committed to serving the needs of highly disadvantaged ethic minority and migrant communities, supporting their access to education, health care, and rights, towards a brighter future. 

Our gender programme in 2019 will continue to challenge the many forms of violence against women that persist across the regions in which we operate, including work in south Asia to tackle the regionally-interconnected trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and bonded labour. We will be exploring partnerships to further our maternal and reproductive healthcare work, working to improve the accessibility and capacity of community health services, helping to combat the appalling maternal and infant mortality rates commonly found in the marginalised and last mile communities that Pragya serves. Pragya will also strive to enhance access to safe water and quality sanitation in desperate communities deeply impacted by climate change, providing a vital lifeline in harsh environments and combatting the spread of water-borne diseases. We remain committed in 2019 to supporting the development of sustainable, culturally-appropriate livelihoods for those most desperately in need, with an emphasis on below-poverty-line and female-headed households. Our work in conservation will see neglected communities supported to conserve local biodiversity and protect habitats from anthropogenic pressures, through a combination of awareness-raising, community-led habitat monitoring, and advocacy. We will also support energy-deficient and under-electrified communities meet their energy needs by empowering communities to adopt and manage clean, off-grid energy technologies, which in turn will positively impact community education, healthcare and economic wellbeing.  

A flood affected Chars Community

2019 will also see the expansion of Pragya’s work in Bangladesh. Pragya has recently established its programme with the vulnerable communities of the Chars, or River Islands, in Bangladesh with the aims of enhancing disaster resilience, improving the standards of WASH and livelihood capacities, and empowering women and girls for their protection from trafficking and other gender-based violence.

This is just some of the vitally important work Pragya is committed to in 2019. Everything we do is only made possible through the generosity of our supporters. If you’d like to make a contribution to our work and join us on our journey, please visit https://www.pragya.org/donate.php - Thank you so much.

Safety gear distribution to migrant construction workers

The Himalayan district of Chamoli, Uttrankhand, India is a breathtakingly beautiful place. Over the years it has become a dwelling area for migrants hailing from states like Bihar, Jharkhand and the neighboring country of Nepal.  They carry a lot of hopes and expectations to live a better life for themselves and their family. But unfortunately, safe enabling living conditions to the workers here are limited. They live in shabby, cramped, unsafe homes in unhygienic conditions, and face painfully cold and harsh weather more often than not. To add to this, they often end up working in exploitative and hazardous working conditions.

Migrants working here face more than just the physical strain but are also plagued by a variety of health implications ranging from weakness, back and joint pain to concrete burns, cuts, as well as chronic illnesses such as COPD and TB. While working, they are exposed to dust and asphalt fumes without protective clothing, naturally leading to endemic health issues including eye, heart and lung diseases. The construction workers especially women suffer through skin diseases and infections. At times children are also present at the worksites, who are more vulnerable to catch common illnesses and infections compared to adults. Unfortunately, none of the authorities are interested to hear their health concerns and provide a solution. 

“We regularly face sliding rocks and mud. Many times we have suffocation and allied breathing problems due to sudden inhale of mud. To protect from mud we use homemade mask, mainly consisting of handkerchief or piece of cloth. This is insufficient as we feel suffocation after few minutes and remove them afterward. Some of us have reported coughing problems. Doctors at GREF has also advised us to wear the mask and protect from inhaling mud particles.” Says Gulu Marik, 25 years working in Malari Camp.

Pragya did a study of the hazardous work conditions and activities of the migrant workers in Chamoli. It was assessed that workers are not really provided with the necessary equipment while working in risky conditions which makes them vulnerable to various harmful health hazards as mentioned earlier. In view of that, the safety equipment distribution drive was planned, intended to reduce the mal-effects of occupational hazards and to ensure that they are able to protect themselves from other health hazards.

Pragya distributed safety kits and first aid kits to the migrant workers across six camps of migrant workers in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. The camps covered were in Birajkund, Birahi, Surai Tota, Long, Bhapkund and Malari. The workers were trained on health and hygiene, safety and first aid.

Reaching out to and training 578 migrant workers happened in an organized way. 600 safety kits and 12 first aid kits were distributed. Workers were provided with protective gear that includes vital protective and safety equipment like helmets, gloves, along with the relevant demonstration. The first-aid kit includes the necessary health equipment and medicines in case of an injury and burns. Through a session on health and hygiene workers were made aware of health risks and the role of personal hygiene in preventing certain illnesses. Since dwelling spaces in these areas are unhygienic and open where awareness on these issues becomes a necessity. Hence workers were also informed on the symptoms, preventive and protective measures for diseases like TB and HIV. The workers many a time know the safety rules at a workplace but they seldom adopt it further risking their bodies to injuries.28-year-old Sarita Devi from Biraj Kund camp exclaimed, “We are not provided with any safety instrument while working such as helmets and gloves etc. I work along with other co-workers to remove silts, stones etc. We needed gloves and mask for my husband to protect from dust particle. Special thanks to Pragya to address our concerns, especially for helmets, gloves and masks.”

Knowing that there is a persistent lack of knowledge among migrant workers on the importance of health and access to basic health facilities, a role-play exhibited to equip the workers to be able to use the first aid kits provided to them. They were instructed on ways to stop bleeding, using first aid kit to treat minor injuries, and identifying the injuries that need a medical practitioner’s attention. Injuries related to environment and conditions like frostbite and trench foot, arising from cold and high-altitude conditions, were also given attention. This has helped these migrant workers to be self-dependent in case of health emergencies and prevent in escalating minor health problems to serious health issues.

A positive impact of the training has been seen while people adopting health and safety measures on their own where using safety equipment has become a daily habit among migrant workers in their workplace. Workers were found to be arranging equipment on their own as a ripple effect of the habit created through the project on using safety equipment while working and adopting habits of good health and hygiene in day today life.

Women were seen relieved due to the provision of gloves since earlier they were quite bothered with cooking food with their dirty and contaminated hands. Using gloves in their daily work has ensured the cleanliness and hygiene along with protection of hands from dirt, itching and infections. In Sarita Devi’s words who is 30 years old from Long camp, “During our work, we face multiple issues such as dust, mist and mud from cutting rock. Many times our fingers cut while hammering on rocks. Also, our hands get rough by putting in mixing cement and Portland. We always felt the need of First aid kit to be provided. I would thank Pragya for giving us first aid kit, having more of dressing.”

Although migration is universally a basic human right, safe living and working conditions were just a dream for these people. Pragya made an effort where it was needed most, and enabled a safe and healthy work milieu to these workers in a land where no one knows them. 

Pragya's 3 yr project on 'Empowering the Hinterlands'

The persistence of violence against women and girls is one of the most pressing issues of our times. The issue of Violence Against Women (VAW) only enters the collective consciousness of the nation when a particularly gruesome act of violence has been perpetrated, only to then recede into the background.

What is less spoken about is the need to address the issue surrounding violence, which often has its basis in the collective attitude, and the mindset of a community. And when the communities in question are those at the margins of society – as is the case with Scheduled Tribes in the Dungarpur and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan – the issue of VAW is often compounded by social and economical marginalization. We, at Pragya, recognize that any long-term change in the attitude towards women cannot occur in isolation of the overall development of the community.

It is with this goal of holistic development in mind, that the first Empowerment Centre (EC) - the Pragya Sashaktikaran Kendra – was inaugurated in Dungarpur on 19 April 2016. The Sashaktikaran Kendra, handled by a trained caretaker, will act as a one-point information access system about local government schemes, information about lawyers, NGOs and CBOs. The establishment of Women’s Peer Groups and identification of local women leaders will engage with the local Panchayats and the stakeholders in the community with a view to sensitize them about issues of gender discrimination and violence in the community.

Besides this, regular awareness programs about hygiene, sanitation, nutrition and a Know Your Rights (KYRs) Campaign are also to be carried out to address the issues that surround VAW. The strengthening of access to basic health and nutritional services, along with economic empowerment of the women, can go a long way in PREVENTING Violence Against Women.

Our aim is not just the redressal of VAW; it is prevention, through sustained engagement and long-term change.

Pragya’s endeavour is supported by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, managed by UN Women, whose goals are addressing the needs of women and girls in communities across the world.