2. Page | 2
CONTENTS PAGE NUMBER
Main Activities and Achievements 3
Introduction 4
Health
An Overview of Medical Activities 5
Access to Primary Healthcare in Urban Area: Shechen Medical
Centre in Bodhgaya, Bihar
10
Mobile Clinics 13
Malnutrition
15
Health Education Program (HEP)
16
Education
Strengthening Basic Education 19
Early Child Care and Development (ECCD) 20
Non-Formal Education (NFE) 21
Vocational Training 22
Environment
Bodhgaya Clean Environment, Hygiene and Sanitation Program
23
Solar Electricity 24
Social
small money BIG CHANGE 26
Other Important Information
Finances 32
Upcoming Activities 34
Our Partners 34
Annex- Success Stories
Solar Electricity- the Successful Endeavour of Village
Coordinators and Motivators
35
The Case of a young girl cured of Pulmonary Tuberculosis
through our DOT services
36
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MAIN ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Health
From early May our menstrual hygiene program commenced with the starting of distribution of
cheap sanitary napkins to poor girls and women in our 18 adopted villages and Bodhgaya town.
The second round of MUAC measurement was conducted in our 6 new villages for our upcoming
malnutrition program.
Total number of consultants in OPD (Outreach Patients Department) and Mobile Clinics was 8152 ,
where number of new consultants was 3879.
Education
Non-formal Education (NFE) was introduced in April 2013 in 10 new villages in addition to the 6
villages where it has been running since August 2011
Bright and enthusiastic women were recruited as faculty for the new NFE centres and as support
faculty for primary school in Dema.
A Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) has been formed in the village of Dema.
A yoga instructor has been hired to take Yoga and other exercises to the school-going children in
Chando village.
Environment
From April we started outsourcing our bio-medical wastes to Synergy Waste Management (Pvt)
Ltd. in order to ensure and support environment-friendly waste disposal.
Social
In Chando, leveling of agricultural land is being undertaken so that the villagers can avail proper
irrigation facilities and consequently crop production and productivity increases.
In Kadal a well, which is their primary source of water for drinking and other purposes, is being
repaired and its floor is being reconstructed. In addition, a bathroom exclusively for women is
being constructed near the well to provide them with a private bathing space. Besides, a pond will
also be dug near the well and Mango trees planted in that whole area.
In order to ensure the retention of surface water and the subsequent replenishment of the ground
water we are constructing 3 check dams in Barsuddi.
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With the objective to address as many dimensions of poverty and basic livelihood as possible
Karuna Shechen India is working towards a host of new programs this year and scaling-up some
of the existing ones. While some of the new projects like Clean Environment, Hygiene and
Sanitation Program in Bodhgaya, Menstrual Hygiene, Primary Education and small money BIG
CHANGE have already commenced in the first half of this year, rest of them are ready to take-off
soon.
Apart from launching several new projects we have added a fourth dimension (Social) to our
existing areas of interventions namely, Health, Education and Environment.
The programs that are currently running are classified according to the area of intervention:
INTRODUCTION
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AN OVERVIEW OF MEDICAL ACTIVITIES
OPD and Mobile Clinics
In the second quarter of 2013, the total number of Consultants who availed the healthcare
services of our OPD (Outreach Patients Department) in Bodhgaya and Mobile Clinic in 18
villages was 8152, wherein new consultants constituted 3879 people (47.58% of total number
of consultants).
Table 1: Total Number of Consultants at OPD and Mobile Clinics
Months OPD Mobile Clinics
April 1092 1425
May 1085 1360
June 1585 1605
Total 3762 4390
Compared to the first quarter where total number of consultants at OPD and Mobile clinics was
7358, the second quarter has registered a greater number, 8152. This was partly due to greater
number of people suffering from diseases during change of season from spring to scorching
summer. The increase in the number of patients in mobile clinics (4390 compared to 3524 in
first quarter) shows the increasing awareness among the people in and around the new villages
and their growing confidence in our services.
The number of patients refered to PHC & Government Hospitals was 23 ( 0.003% of
total consultants at OPD and Mobile Clinics ).
The total patients who were treated “Free of Cost” (Pregnant women, children and
aged people above 60 years) in the OPD Clinic and by our Doctors were 4858 (
59.59%).
Total money collected against registration charges was INR 79,785.
HEALTH
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Table 2: Total Number of Patients Referred to PHC and Government Hospitals
MONTH OPD MOBILE
April 0 0
May 8 2
June 11 2
Total 19 4
Table 3: Total Money Collected from Registration Charges
Month Amount
April 25625
May 22885
June 31275
Total 79785
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Direct Observed Therapy (DOT)
A TB patient taking medicines at the DOT centre in Shechen clinic
Out of 970 medical tests conducted in our pathology laboratory 81 were Sputum tests (for
Tuberculosis). Out of these the number of people who were diagnosed with TB was 2. Currently,
the total number of TB patients undergoing treatment is 25.
Table 4: Details of DOT program
April May June Total
Number of TB patient’s started medicine
3 5 2 10
Number of sputum tests conducted
24 26 31 81
Sputum Positive
1 1 0 2
Refer TB Patients 0 0 0 0
Completed TB Medicine
6 3 2 11
Undergoing Treatment in Mobile
7 1 4 12
Undergoing Treatment in OPD
16 24 21 61
Total Number of TB Patients currently
undergoing treatment (OPD and Mobile) 23 25 25 73
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Types of Diseases observed among Patients in OPD and Mobile Clinics
The following table gives us information about the various types of diseases observed among
the patients in our OPD and Mobile clinics.
Table 5: Types of Diseases
Types of Diseases Total
Diarrohea/children 34
Diarrhoea / dysentery adults 372
Amoebiasis 0
Typhoid 149
TB 153
Gynecological patient 495
Bone & joints patients 1423
Burn patient 17
Worm manifestation 40
Skin diseases of all kinds 591
Ophthalmologic infections 0
Number of identify malnourished children 0
Cardiac Infection 14
HTN 444
Diabetes 63
Asthma & COPD 428
Cough & Cold 1437
Epilepsy 31
ENT patient 816
Lymphadenopathy 12
I&D Dressing 35
Other Patients 786
Total 7340
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The table and graph show that the most common health problems observed among our OPD and
Mobile clinic patients were Bone and Joint problems, cough and cold and ENT.
Identity Cards for Medical Consultants
In order to keep track of the medical history of each patient identity cards are issued to every
individual seeking medical help from us. These cards cost a mere INR 5 and have to be brought
along in every visit to the OPD or Mobile clinics. The total number of identity cards issued in this
quarter is 3300.
Table 6: Number of Identity Cards Issued to Consultants at OPD and Mobile Clinics
Month OPD Mobile Clinics
April 513 564
May 486 388
June 735 614
Total 1734 1566
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ACCESS TO PRIMARY HEALTHCARE IN URBAN AREA: SHECHEN MEDICAL
CENTRE IN BODHGAYA, BIHAR
Outreach Patients Department (OPD)
The total number of people who came to the Medical centre in Bodhgaya for Consultations
in the second quarter of 2013 was 3762. Out of this total 1954 were new consultants,
representing 51.94 % of total consultations in OPD.
Table 6: Details of Consultants in OPD
OPD April May June Total
Total Number of
Consultants 1092 1085 1585 3762
Total Number of
New
Consultants 520 674 760 1954
Men 355 314 421 1090
Women 466 488 711 1665
Children 314 285 453 1052
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The number of patients has been maximum in the month of June probably due to the schorching heat
and soaring temperatures.
From the above graphs we can see that women and children form majority of the consultants at
OPD (72%).
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Women and children waiting for medical check-up by Doctors at OPD
Pathological Laboratory
Total number of patients who came in the second quarter of 2013 (April-June) for different
medical tests were 396 and total anaysis done was 970. The number of patients and tests are
different because one patient may go for several tests. Patients tested Free of Registration
Charges was 31. Total money collected from these tests was INR 12,040.
Table 7: Types of Medical Tests conducted in our Laboratory
MEDICAL TESTS NUMBER OF TESTS
TC/DC 184
ESR 142
HB% 82
BLOOD SUGAR 86
SERUM BLIRUBIN 18
AFB (SPUTUM TEST) 81
ECG 13
URINE/RE 89
OTHER 275
TOTAL 970
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The table and graph show that the highest number of medical tests conducted are TC/DC, ESR,
Urine and Blood Sugar.
MOBILE CLINICS
With the expansion of our outreach activities to 6 new villages in the first quarter services of
our Mobile Clinic was also extended.
In the second quarter of 2013 (April-June), the number of patients who came for
the consultations in mobile clinic from 18 village was 4390, out of which 1925
were new patients representing 43.85% .
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1687 consultants from 162 satellites villages around our 18 adopted villages who
sought medical help from our mobile clinic services.
The total patients who were treated for Free of Registration Charge (Pregnant
women, children and aged people above 60 years) in the Mobile Clinic was 3173
(72.28 % of the total consultants at mobile clinics).
Table 8 : Details of Consultants going to Mobile Clinics
Mobile Clinic April May June Total
Total Number
of Consultants 1425 1360 1605 4390
Total Number
of New
Consultants 618 659 648 1925
Men 377 386 377 1140
Women 725 671 803 2199
Children 323 303 425 1051
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Women and children constitute 74% of the total consultants at Mobile clinics, which is similar to
the trend in last quarter where they formed more than 70% of consultants at both OPD and
mobile clinics.
MALNUTRITION
We had undertaken a baseline survey for our program on malnutrition where we had measured
children below five years old in the 6 new villages with the help of MUAC (Mid-upper Arm
Circumference).
In June we conducted a second survey in the same villages where we measured MUAC of
children who were not present during our baseline survey. We also re-measured the MUAC of
children who were found to be already malnourished or at risk.
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MUAC measurement of a child
HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM (HEP)
Health Education Program (HEP), which was introduced in our 12 villages in 2010, continues to
run smoothly. Currently there are 87 health groups with 534 members under HEP.
Table 9: Some Important Data on HEP
Total
Total Number of Home Visits by Village Coordinators 417
Total Number of Home Visits by Motivators 2238
No. of Families who Received the Message regarding
Health & Hygiene
1533
Number of Hand pumps Repaired 22
Number of trainings on HEP given by Village Coordinators 55
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Table 10: Some Important Data on Reproductive and Child Health (RCH)
Total
Total Number of identified Pregnant Women 136
Total Pregnant Women immunized with T.T1 52
Total Pregnant Women immunized with T.T2 71
Total Pregnant Women not immunized 13
Total Deliveries 43
Delivery at PHC 26
Delivery at home 17
Total No of Miscarriages 4
Total Neo-natal Deaths 0
Maternal death at child birth 0
New born children Immunized 27
Number of Children below two years Immunized 391
Meetings on Mother and Child by Village Coordinators 45
No of Sanitary Napkins sold 607
A great achievement in this quarter is 0 maternal and neo-natal deaths in our 18 villages.
Another is the greater number of institutional deliveries compared to ones taking place at home.
These illustrate the success of our incessant efforts to sensitise the target population on health
and hygiene, including reproductive and child health.
Menstrual Health and Hygiene
Menstrual hygiene is one of the most important yet neglected issues in rural India. Only 12% of
total menstruating women in India use Sanitary Napkins and the remaining 88% use home-
grown alternatives like unsanitised cloth and ashes. The situation is particularly grim for rural
areas where only 2% of women have access to sanitary pads. In several parts of Bihar, the
percentage is worse than the national average. Bihar government’s initiative to provide sanitary
napkins to rural women at a nominal price of INR 6 per packet through its Accredited Social
Health Activists (ASHA) has not been successful in reaching large sections of the target
population. And where ASHA are present often the sanitary pads are sold at prices higher than
stipulated. Looking at the gravity of the problem we have introduced a new program, ‘Menstrual
Health and Hygiene’ in which Sanitary napkins, which are best designed and suited for
menstruation, are made available at affordable prices (INR 6/US $ 0.099 ) to women in our 18
adopted villages and the town of Bodhgaya where our health clinic is functional.
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We have started the program from June but its preparatory stage stretched through the month
of May when we got in touch with the nearest Primary Health Centre (PHC) and placed orders
for sanitary napkins to be distributed to women and girls in Bodhgaya and our 18 villages. Prior
to this we made a market survey to know the price of sanitary napkin packets produced by
different companies.
We are buying sanitary pads from the government at INR 6 per pack and selling them at INR 5
to our distributors, giving INR 1 subsidy. The various distribution channels are our village
motivators, majority of who are women; female school teachers and shopkeepers in villages and
nurses at OPD and Mobile clinics. The distributers are selling them at INR 6 although we had
initially planned to sell each packet at INR 5 to the target population and at INR 4 to the
distributors, thereby providing INR 2 as subsidy. But we do not want to interfere with and
disrupt government’s program of distributing the sanitary pads at INR 6 (although, often ASHA
sell each packet anywhere between INR 6 and INR 10). However, on several occasions, on
request of the buyers our nurses and other distributors have given away sanitary napkins at
INR 5 per packet.
This program took-off in June and within a month 607 packets have been sold through our OPD
and Mobile clinics.
A trend noticed by the distributors of sanitary napkins (our nurses, village motivators and
female faculty in schools in the villages) is that adolescent and young girls are much better
informed and aware about the importance and advantages of proper menstrual protection. This
clearly demonstrates the primacy of sensitisation of the target population on menstrual health
and hygiene and the overall importance of Health Education.
Women and young girls buy sanitary napkins from us
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STRENGTHENING BASIC EDUCATION
Bihar’s primary education is characterized by severe dearth of basic educational infrastructure
that has resulted in a higher ‘out of school rate’ (the percentage of school age children not
attending school) than the median state in India. Through our new program, ‘Strengthening
Basic Education’ we attempt to address this issue in an effort to ameliorate the basic
educational standards in Bihar and provide joyful learning environment
Having discussed the current primary education scenario with the principals, faculty members,
students and parents of school-going children of the villages we took several steps in the second
quarter to redress the problems.
We have recruited a responsible female teacher for the school in Dema village and now
we are in the process of hiring support faculty for schools in the other villages.
EDUCATION
Support faculty appointed by Karuna-Shechen
taking classes at Dema schoolPTA meeting at Dema school
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A Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) has been formed in Dema and a few meetings have
already been conducted. Our aim of forming a PTA is to sensitise the rural poor about
the various schemes and programs of the government regarding education. This
knowledge will make the children and parents aware of their right to a good education.
Having hired an efficient Yoga trainer we have started fitness classes in schools from
June. Looking at the importance of physical as well as mental health the Yoga classes
include trainings in both physical and breathing exercises. The villages which have been
covered so far are Chando, Dema and Bandha.
We have started supplying Teaching-Learning Materials (TLM) to schools in an effort to
fulfill the basic requirements of teachers and students and help ameliorate the education
standards in rural schools.
Yoga training in Chando school
EARLY CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT (ECCD)
We are holding informal meetings with the government officials working in various capacities
for the Central Government’s early child care and development program; the Integrated Child
Development Scheme (ICDS). We are also conducting an extensive baseline survey on ECCD in
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the villages based on a structured questionnaire through interviews with Anganwadi workers,
primary school faculty, children and parents.
These steps form the building blocks of our program on Early Child Care and Development.
NON-FORMAL EDUCATION (NFE)
Karuna-Shechen India introduced its Non-Formal Education (NFE) program in 2011 with the
intention to empower poor and under-served women (both illiterates and school dropouts) by
providing educational and skill enhancement services. Therefore, in August 2011 Non–Formal
Education (NFE) for women was started in six villages namely, Banahi, J.P Nagar, Karhara,
Trilokapur, Kharati and Gopalkhera, in response to their demands.
In response to the needs and demands of the women in rest of the villages the program has been
scaled-up to 16 villages in April 2013. We have hired 6 bright and enthusiatic NFE teachers for
the villages Kadal, Chando, Dema, Karhara, Lohjhara and Gopalkhera. In the remaining 10
villages our search for efficient and sincere NFE faculty continues. Till then our educated and
able motivators will be teaching the students.
488 women are currently enrolled in our NFE classes running in 18 centres across 16 villages.
The response to NFE has been quite good so far as can be seen from the following table.
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Table 11: Total Number of Students enrolled and Average Attendance in NFE classes
SERIAL
NUMBER
VILLAGE NUMBER OF STUDENTS
ENROLLED FOR NFE
AVERAGE ATTENDANCE IN
NFE CLASSES
1 Bhupnagar 25 22
2 Karhara 30 22
3 Trilokapur 21 12
4 Kadal 24 15
5 Mastibar 25 15
6 J.P. Nagar 28 14
7 Kharati 18 10
8 Gopalkhera 30 16
9 Chando 27 14
10 Bandha 32 24
11 Nawatari 32 25
12 Sripur 30 18
13 Manshidih 32 20
14 Dema
(Sarvarbigha)
36 20
15 Dema
(Bangalwapur)
17 08
16 Banahi 30 20
17 Lohjhara 20 14
18 Karhara 30 15
TOTAL 487 304
All the NFE centres have been provided with the required Teaching-Learning Materials (TLM).
VOCATIONAL TRAINING
In order to make our NFE students self-sufficient as well as to improve their livelihoods we will
be soon introducing Vocational Training/skill development as a component of NFE classes. As
the first and primary step towards our program we have arranged 3 Workshops in the month of
July which will be conducted by an eminent vocational trainer from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. The
workshops, which will be attended by our NFE students from all 18 centres and by our village
motivators, will teach the making of incense sticks, candles, popular snacks, Phenyl and chalk.
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BODHGAYA CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, HYGIENE AND SANITATION PROGRAM
In a bid to sensitize the locals about the importance of clean surroundings and to improve the
town’s image as a favoured tourist destination the Clean Environment, Hygiene and Sanitation
Program in Bodhgaya was introduced early this year. The initial steps towards gathering
information about the town’s current cleanliness scenario and level of local awareness
regarding the same that begun in the first quarter continued extensively through the second
quarters of this year. In June we sent out formal invitations to our potential stakeholders
(hospitality sector, Monks in various Buddhist monasteries in town and Non-governmental
Organisations) to attend meetings that we would organise in July in order to exchange ideas
regarding this program and to find potential partners for the same.
As a major initiative towards environmental sustainability we have adopted an eco-friendly
waste disposal method by outsourcing our bio-medical wastes to Synergy Waste Management
(Pvt) Ltd. from April 2013. They collect bio-medical waste that we segregate, pack and label in
colour coded bags provided by them from waste generation points.
ENVIRONMENT
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Demonstration of bio-medical waste disposal with a colour coded bag provided by Synergy
SOLAR ELECTRICITY
While our Solar electricity program continues to run in 3 of our villages, J.P. Nagar, Banahi and
Kharati, in lieu of demand from some of our newly adopted villages we will be scaling-up the
program to 3 more villages (Kadal, Barsuddi and Chando).
Through the month of April our Village Coordinators undertook an extensive survey by
conducting structured interviews with the population of the above-mentioned 6 villages. The
aim of the survey was impact evaluation of the existing solar program and a feasibility study for
the program in new villages.
In order to start the program in the new villages we have selected 4 women (three from Chando
and 1 from Kadal) who have been sent to Tilonia, Rajasthan’s Barefoot College to attain
intensive 6 month training in Solar Engineering. The selection process of these women was
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lengthy and difficult as our village coordinators and motivators had to undertake the arduous
task of convincing the villagers who are grounded in staunch patriarchy, to allow the women
greater mobility by sending them to a far-off land for 6 long months.
Four women sent to Tilonia to learn Solar Engineering
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SMALL MONEY BIG CHANGE
Keeping in tandem with Karuna-Shechen’s participatory approach towards its development
projects we have introduced the ‘small money BIG CHANGE’ program which aims to empower
the poor and marginalised people by effectively involving them in the their communities’
development planning and management.
We recognise that the key to building an empowered community is active participation of the
local communities in development projects targeted at them as it empowers them. Community
participation ensures effectiveness as communities bring understanding, knowledge and
experience integral to the development process. Besides, the community is best informed about
the needs, attitude and socio-economic conditions of its members.
Village Scan, which was conducted in our six new villages during the first quarter of this year
formed the building block of the program. These meetings with the villagers were followed-up
by several more in the second quarter. During the discussions the villagers prioritised their
needs and accordingly decided the development projects that need to be undertaken in the
‘small money BIG CHANGE’ program. Next project-wise committees were formed with the
community people as members (Chando-1, Kadal-1 and Barsuddi-1). In order to maintain
absolute financial transparency village-wise bank accounts for each project was opened with
two villagers (1 male and 1 female) and a village coordinator as account holders. Again our
project, through its participatory approach, has paved the way for economic earning of the
targeted communities. Instead of hiring professional wage-labourers for the projects we are
paying the community members for working towards the improvement of their own lives and
livelihoods.
Despite the scorching summer we have started working in the villages from early June.
The following progress has been made in less than a month’s time:
SOCIAL
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In Chando, agricultural land is undulating. This makes irrigation facilities practically
defunct and crop cultivation extremely difficult for the farmers, thereby adversely
affecting the primary means of livelihood of the villagers. The leveling of farm lands,
undertaken with the manual labour of the villagers and financial and other assistance
from Karuna-Shechen, will allow proper irrigation facilities to reach the cultivable lands
thereby increasing crop production and productivity. This, in turn, will increase the
farmers’ income and improve their livelihoods.
In Kadal a well, which is the villagers’ primary source of water for drinking, washing and
bathing purposes, is being reconstructed. The well was made in such an unhygienic way
that the water used for various purposes would flow back into it, polluting the water
inside the well and making it unfit for drinking. An outlet from the well is being made so
that the used water flows into a nearby agricultural land and irrigates the field. This will
better the agricultural productivity thereby increasing the earnings of the villagers. We
are making provision for the livestock and other animals to drink water by constructing
an outward extension of the well. Besides, a bathroom exclusively for women is being
constructed near the well to provide them with a private bathing space. The waste water
from the bathrooms will be channeled to a nearby unused land which is now being
turned into a Kitchen Garden. The Kitchen Garden will ensure inexpensive, regular and
handy supply of fresh vegetables. We are also digging a pond near the well where we
plan to develop pisciculture; another means of livelihood for the villagers. And around
the whole area we will be planting Mango trees which again will add to the sources of
income of the villagers. Thus, the development work undertaken in Kadal will provide
various sources of livelihoods, safe drinking water for the villagers and animals,
irrigation of the nearby farms and kitchen garden with the used water from the well and
bathroom, minimizing water wastage in the process.
We are constructing 3 check-dams in Barsuddi. The check-dams will not only store
surface water but will also replenish ground water of the whole area. The recharge of
ground water will, in turn, raise the water table ensuring a sustained water supply. The
availability of water will ensure increased agricultural yield and therefore, greater
income. Besides, the check-dam will also slow down the flow of water during storms
thereby reducing soil erosion.
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The well at Kadal village before the start of our project
The well, a month after the project began
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Meeting in Chando prior to start of project
Condition of the land before start of project
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Villagers are contributing labour for the benefit of their own land and village
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FINANCES
The budget and expenses for the second quarter of 2013 are presented below:
Table 12: Budget and Expenses
Budget in
USD($1=50 INR)
Expenses in
USD($1=50
INR)
Administration, transportation and
functioning cost
13,971 11,707.86
OPD direct benefit to population in
Bodhgaya town and close
surroundings
16,365 12,616.54
Mobile clinic benefit to population in
18 villages
21,880 12,195.2
Education direct benefit to
population in 18 villages
15,710 6,735.66
Environmental Program 3,655 812.42
Social Program 22,030 3,136.90
Program Support 4,500 52.14
Investment: Equipment 2,850 13.64
Contingencies 5,048 50.00
Total 1,06,010 47,320.68
OTHER IMPORTANT
INFORMATIONS
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The above graph and pie-diagram give a pictorial explanation of our Budget and Expenses for
the second quarter.
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UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Meeting with key stakeholders for the ‘Bodhgaya Clean Environment, Hygiene and
Sanitation’ project will be conducted in July.
Three workshops on different types of vocational training for our NFE students and
village motivators by an eminent trainer from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand in July.
Computer courses for the poor people from Bodhgaya town and our 18 adopted villages
will commence from July.
A Socio-economic household survey of the villages.
Training on Hygiene and Sanitation conducted by the Centre for Science and
Environment, New Delhi
Training and Refresher course of our staff on DOTs.
Chemical testing of drinking water in our villages in order to examine the safety of
drinking water in the target areas.
OUR PARTNERS
Current Partner: Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan
Prospective Partner: Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.
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1. Solar Electricity–the Successful Endeavour of Village
Coordinators and Motivators
Our Solar Electricity program has been running in three villages, namely Banahi, Kharati and J.P.
Nagar, since 2010. This year, with the extension of our outreach services to from 12 to 18
villages, we decided to scale-up the project. During the process of village scan in the new
villages, which was conducted in the last quarter 3 villages (Kadal, Barsuddi and Chando)
showed immense interest in our Solar electricity program. These villages, being located in the
interiors of Bihar, are some of the least developed among our 18 villages and are severely
deprived of the basic amenities like water, electricity and health.
Before starting the program in these villages we wanted to make sure that the villagers get a
clear idea about the usage and maintenance of solar lights. Therefore, we took 12 people from
Kadal to one of our solar villages, J.P.Nagar, where we made arrangements for them to stay the
night over. The villagers were very satisfied with this whole experience and expressed earnest
desire to implement the project in their villages. Problem cropped up when they configured that
they would have to send 1-2 women from the village to afar-off land, Rajasthan in order to get
training as Solar Engineers.
A huge challenge facing the village coordinators and motivators, was to convince the
communities and families of young illiterate women to send them for training about 1,400 km
away to Tilonia. This was primarily because the target villages, like other rural areas in Bihar,
have a staunchly patriarchal society where a woman’s social space is often confined to the
household and her mobility is severely restricted. And to make things worse several villagers
became sceptical about our intensions, fearing that the women might be trafficked. It took
several informal discussions and incessant patient counselling by the village coordinators and
motivators to convince the families to send their women for training. Finally, their hard work
paid off and 4 families, 1 from Kadal and 3 from Chando, agreed to undertake the challenge. In
an effort to alleviate their apprehensions we arranged for the family of these women to
accompany them to Tilonia in early June and stay there for a few days. The entire cost of the trip
was borne by Karuna-Shechen, India. The family members of these women have returned to
their villages with full satisfaction and contentment.
ANNEX -SUCCESS STORIES
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2. The case of a young girl cured of Pulmonary Tuberculosis
through our DOT services
Sulekha Kumari during her treatment After she was completely cured through our DOTS services
A 12 year old girl, Sulekha Kumari from Karhara village had approached Karuna-Shechen’s
mobile clinic for medical consultation. She had been suffering from cough and fever for 15 days
prior to her visit to the doctor and felt too weak to attend school or study. After undergoing
some medical examinations she was found to be suffering from Pulmonary Tuberculosis. She
immediately started her treatment at our DOT services in the village. Two months later she was
fit enough to attend school. In April 2013, after 6 months of dedicated treatment and care by our
DOTs team Sulekha was cured completely.
