Reaching out to earthquake ravaged Nepal

April 25th 2015 will be remembered vividly in Nepal for a long time to come. This was the day, one year ago, when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake jolted Nepal violently leaving nearly 9000 people killed and forcing more than a million out of their homes. Towns and historic monuments turned to mere rubble in a matter of seconds and the entire nation was devastated. 
Pragya has been working in the Nepal Himalayan region for 
nearly a decade. We have been addressing sustainable 
development of the mountain districts through our 
programmes on education & skill building, WASH, livelihoods 
and advocacy. The existing on ground presence helped us to promptly respond to the emergency and undertake rapid relief operations based on essential understanding of 
accessibility and procurement channels. 

Pragya Team in Kathmandu procured and transported relief material 
to the affected areas and ensured its prompt and effective 
distribution, at times amidst continuing aftershocks and incessant rains, to reach out to those in need. 
Here is a brief summary of our relief activities in Nepal:
Outreach: 5 districts; 7146 people 
Relief materials provided: 
5,789 kilograms of food grains; 1,266 hygiene items; 2,117 packs of baby food, glucose, ORS; 22 blankets, tarpaulins, ground sheets; 800 packs of ready to eat food; 5 consignments of medicines; and 1,332 Galvanized Iron Sheets for temporary shelter. 

From the onset of the relief operations, Pragya team had been involved in carrying out area specific need assessments for formulation of effective rehabilitation strategies. Once the activities for immediate relief provision were over, we have been focusing on rehabilitation activities in remote and impoverished settlements affected by the earthquake. 
These include work on WASH, healthcare and livelihoods related interventions focused on the long term rehabilitation needs of the people. There is still a long way to go but we are confident that ongoing efforts as well as the resilience of the people will ensure that the scars of this disaster fade away. 

Any support towards this effort would go a long way in aiding the earthquake survivors in rebuilding their lives.

Pragya to participate in the first ever World Humanitarian Summit at Istanbul, Turkey

Pragya has been invited to participate in the World Humanitarian Summit to be held at Istanbul, as well as to showcase its innovation on Disaster Management at the Innovation Marketplace at the event.

The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit is a global call to action by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The Secretary-General has called for a global response to address the suffering of millions of women, men and children affected by humanitarian crisis. The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit is an opportunity to confront these global challenges head-on and generate greater global leadership and political will to end conflict, alleviate suffering and reduce risk. The Summit will take place on 23-24 May 2016 at the Istanbul Congress Center (ICC) and the Lutfi Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Center (LKCC) in Istanbul, Turkey.

The main Summit programme will include High-Level Leaders' Roundtables on priority action areas outlined in the Secretary-General’s Report; Special Sessions on specific thematic areas; and a Summit Announcement Plenary for Member States and other stakeholders to announce action commitments. A number of side events will be available to different stakeholders to organize briefings, seminars, workshops and panel discussions, in parallel to the World Humanitarian Summit main proceedings. 

The World Humanitarian Summit Exhibition Fair, held in the ICC, is dedicated to showcasing the work, products, and programmes of governments, organizations, agencies, companies, and other institutions in support of humanitarian action. The Innovation Marketplace will showcase the practical applications of innovations, new or improved products, tools, services and processes that contribute to effective humanitarian action. Special emphasis will be placed on small-scale innovations with high-impact from under-represented communities. 

For more information on the Summit:
https://consultations.worldhumanitariansummit.org/

For more information on Pragya:
http://www.pragya.org

Pragya's Sashaktikaran Kendra to empower the tribal hinterlands of Rajasthan

Pragya, an NGO based in Gurgaon (Haryana), is implementing a 3-year project aimed at empowering the tribal communities in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam. The project aims to reach out to the rural population in 10 districts (2 districts in each state) and extend to these improved accesses to relevant services and provisions.

In Rajasthan, Pragya is working towards empowering the tribal communities in the districts of Dungarpur and Udaipur. As part of its efforts, an Information Center (IC) called Pragya Sashaktikaran Kendra would be set up in each of the two districts. The very first Pragya Sashaktikaran Kendra will be formally launched in Dungarpur. It would play a vital multi-faceted role in the empowerment of the tribal communities in the area. It would conduct trainings and awareness sessions and function as an information hub on legislations & schemes initiated by Union/State governments pertaining to health, nutrition, livelihoods, with a particular focus on STs and women. It would also operate a Helpline to address queries of community members on these issues and provide referral services by routing aid seekers towards relevant professionals like health service providers, technical experts, social workers, lawyers, CBOs. Center staff will also maintain a ‘development observatory’ on infrastructural lacunae, gaps in services, with special focus on health & nutrition and gender issues, in order to communicate community needs to concerned authorities. Pragya envisages that the activities of the Center would bring about reduced drudgery, violence and marginalization faced by the women as well as improved dietary intake and nutrition levels and health care for all members of tribal communities in the area; concurrently, there would be improved skill levels and diversified livelihood options for these communities.

Pragya was set up with a concern for last-mile communities neglected and marginalized in the development process. They have been carrying out programs in the areas of education, health, conservation and livelihoods for the benefit of vulnerable communities for over 20 years and have addressed the development needs of communities in the most remote and least developed regions in the country through their work.

The first Pragya Sashaktikaran Kendra will be formally launched in Dungarpur, Rajasthan in the month of April 2016.

  

Impact of water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in Kenya - A Case Study

Improved water, sanitation and hygiene practices are crucial to the improvement in the livelihood of any community. Pragya Kenya’s WASH project aimed to improve domestic water supplies as well as impact on the health of the community members within Laikipia and Samburu counties in Kenya. With the implementation of the WASH project, the interventions have effectively addressed some of the key issues thereby improving family health and livelihood among the community members. Appropriate interventions were made to improve domestic water supplies through revitalization and protection of water sources, construction of rainwater harvesting structures as well as construction of Eco-san toilets. The project also created awareness in schools and within the communities through training of water sanitation councils to promote practices that ensure reservation and proper conservation of water sources.


A Case Study




Mrs Lydia Kisersian,  a 36 year old mother of 2 children (Jesinoi, 13yrs old and  Kereiyo, 7yrs old) lives in Mkurian village in Laikipia north. She has benefitted greatly from the rain water harvesting structure that has been constructed a few meters from her homestead. This water source, though it’s not able to store water for the entire dry season, has still saved her form commuting the long distance of 4km in order to fetch water from Olkinyei seasonal river. These trips used to take her 3 to 4 hours every day and shows able to make only 2 trips in a day. Since this water would not be sufficient for use in the homestead therefore her two children would make another trip in the evening after they got back from school. She is now able to get both domestic and livestock water from that source which is 100m from her homestead. This has been of great benefit to her since now she is able to engage herself in other activities that bring extra income to her family. She has joined a beading group where they make beaded ornaments like necklaces and bangles and sell in the market at a profit. Her children also get more time to concentrate on learning and doing homework other than fetching water after school.

 [Lydia (seen below) who has benefited from Pragya’s WASH project, which has seen construction of rainwater harvesting structures.)

Improving access to quality education for pastoralist communities in Turkana county (northern Kenya)

Thomas Cook Children's Charity supported Pragya on a project establishing Education Resource Centres equipped with learning aids; audio visual and ICT equipment; in selected schools in Kenya. The project aimed at improving access to quality education for pastoralist communities in Turkana county (northern Kenya). The support received from TCCC was utilised for establishing 6 Education Resource Centres, equipped with quality educational material and equipment, to improve both teaching and learning in these disadvantaged areas, with a particular focus on girls.

Case Study - Canan Primary School

In 2011, Canan primary school was established to cater to the educational needs of the children from the growing IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) families. With 930 students and 14 teachers today, 95% of the school’s population (both teachers and pupils) comprise of IDPs. When Pragya Kenya visited the school, Mrs. Clementina Naita (shown addressing her pupils in the picture below) who is the head teacher termed the visit as “Timely and God sent”. 

She expressed how her school was deficient of basic amenities such as books and furniture. “I have no idea how to express my gratitude to both Thomas Cook Children’s Charity and Pragya Kenya for assisting Canan Primary school with materials that we’ve always wished to have but could not afford” said the head teacher. “My students now have an opportunity of getting exposed to a computer and learn how to use it at an early age” Mrs. Naita added. 


Students could not hide their excitement on receiving books, computer, a TV set and furniture. “Hiyo ni yangu!!  Hiyo ni yangu!!” (That one is mine! That one is mine!!), some younger children could be heard shouting while pointing at the computer and TV set.  Other teachers present also added that the material provided were very important to them as well because by watching, comprehension and retention capacity among the students would improve significantly. The teachers promised that they would make good use of the materials and take good care of them at all times.

Some of the happy moments...

You can make a difference

People in flood ravaged Jammu & Kashmir still need your help. You can make a difference.
Join our efforts: http://pragya.org/jammuAndKashmir-flood-relief-make-a-difference.php

Solar Wind Hybrid - embracing renewables for rural energy solution

Pragya has set up its third ‎Solar ‎Wind Hybrid System (‎SWHS) in Shyaso village, Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, as part of its efforts to enhance energy access in the Indian ‎Himalayas to improve quality of life in rural households. (View Photographs from the installation process) 

The jubilant Shyaso villagers inaugurated the facility in presence of the Block Development Officer. The combination of solar and wind ‎energy would ensure continual generation of power in this high altitude village - day-and-night, summer-or-winter.

The SWHS technology is ideal for stand alone systems for remote rural settlements. This innovation had won The Energy Globe Award (2005) for the pilot in the neighbouring district of Lahaul & Spiti, Himachal Pradesh.

View an update on IUCN quarterly newsletter.