Community Ownership and Development - Towards Sustainable Livelihoods!

On 27 th Oct 2017 a meeting on action plan was held at Uttan Church. Seventeen members from the subcommittee and core committee participated to discuss on the issue of extra expenses incurred during festivals and celebrations. The occasions highlighted were Festivals like village feast, parish feast, and Christmas. They decided to have a common social gathering to celebrate these festivals at a village. Since it would be difficult to stabilize this initiative from the start, it was decided that few festivals like the parish feast or village feast can be started through each village and later taken up to a common level gathering. Mr. Jude, CC member who has applied this strategy in his zone, gave the example of Mothagoan a village nearby which has a common celebration for the last 3 years. There has been a good response from the villagers for the same and has resulted in a lot of savings. Mr. Dayanand Patil, CSA staff guided on how to go forward with the issue and convince th

The Bal Sansad children’s group named HOPE visited the ration shop at Chowk near Uttan on 27 th  October 2017. After a prior appointment with the officials of Chowk ration shop, the Bal Sansad met to understand the structure of the ration system and the rights of a ration card holder. There was a healthy interaction between the officials of the ration shop and the group of 50 children and a lot of questions were put forward. These questions were appreciated and were given satisfactory answers. The officers were amazed at the children’s initiative and interest in the subject matter.  Bal Sansad expressed their gratitude to the authority on behalf of Sahajeevan staff. With the help of this session, the children now understand the formation of ration and the rights of a ration cardholder in a clear and better way.

A meeting with subcommittee members on the issue of stray dogs and how it was affecting the people was held at Uttan church on 27 th October 2017 with 17 participants. The corporator was among the 17 present for this meeting and assured his full support. After much discussion it was decided that by the 4 th of Nov, they were to gather the detailed information about the number of dogs in the vicinity, the area m ost affected and actions that could be taken to reduce the number. A signature campaign on the 20 th Nov 2017 was proposed along with networking with the MBMC(Mira Bhayander Muncipal Corporation). All the members of Sub Committee took individual responsibilities of the work and decided to involve the others too.  The meeting was concluded with much relief and satisfaction.

On 23 rd October 2017, two hundred and twenty Bal sansad children attended an input session on Communal Harmony at Gorai. The objective of the session was to create awareness of peace and equality amongst children in the society. India is a land where all the major religions of the world is practiced by their respective followers. Nevertheless, it has also been the reason for the disunity and disharmony   in the country.   Communal Harmony is necessary for   the growth and peace of the country. The concept of religious equality was explained to the children.   Also, about the Indian constitution which states it an individual’s right to chose his/her own business & religion. And that everyone should respect all religions as humanity is the true religion . A follow up interaction session was held on the 26 th October 2017 at Gorai to ensure the children thoroughly understood the importance of communal harmony.

On 25 th October 2017, a session on information about the police and interaction with the Nagar Sevika was held at Church Hall for thirty-one balsansad children at Chowk. The Nagar Sevika  shared and explained her role and areas of work. Children happily interviewed and spoke freely with her. She was impressed at the keenness with which the many questions were asked. She advised the Balsansad to study hard and told some even had great chances of becoming a future Nagar Sevak / Sevika. The children were very excited. The second session was taken by the Police who explained to them about various weapons used by the policemen to train cops. He introduced the children to various services being provided by the police station for the fisher folks and how they could access these services. He said, a police force is a constituted body of people empowered by the state to enforce the law, protect property and limit civil disorder. Thereafter children put forward some questions, to the poli

The Bal Sansad Hope children’s group met on the afternoon of 27 th October 2017 at Bangladesh, Chowk to convey a message of harmony to people of various faiths through a street play enacted by children. The topic was set by CSA and the idea of street play was facilitated by CCO staff and through their guidance, the children themselves took the initiative and prepared a street play on the given topic. With a prior permission of the Bangladesh residential committee, the 50 children of Bal Sansad visited the Bastis. The Bal Sansad welcomed the people and children of Bastis and performed the street play on Communal Harmony. Thus creating an awareness on harmony with people of different faith. The street play gave an opportunity to the elders and children of various communities to come together and watch the Bal Sansad children’s performance. People felt good and appreciated the children for the thoughtful message through street play. The skit helped the people of differ

  A three-day Diwali camp was held at Manori Church Hall for 50 Balsansad children with sessions on Child Rights, Leadership Qualities and significance of the Preamble to the Constitution from 23rd October 2017 to 25th October 2017 under the guidance of CSA. The session began with a short prayer led by Sr.Nisha(CCO) thereafter welcoming the participants. A documentary of the National Award Winning short film on Child Sexual Abuse ‘KOMAL’ and  ‘Khushi’ based on Child Safety was shown. Based on the movie a question and answer session was held in terms of what did the kid understand and how awareness should be created for other children. Through this session, the children learnt the different aspects of Right to Protection, memorized helpline numbers and to whom should first-hand information be provided. The next day Ms. Suvarna (CCO) gave an introduction on Leadership and explained qualities of leaders, and teamwork. Games were conducted and every member participated active

On 18 th October 2017 an activity session on the importance of peace, unity and communal harmony was held at Uttan for 40 Bal Sansad children. The main objective of this session was to bring together the children of different faith as one community and teach them to respect each other. It also aimed at making them aware on the importance of Bal Sansad. An icebreaker session on overcoming indifferences was conducted by the CCO staff. The topic was introduced and based on it a documentary was shown. The children were asked a few questions related to the topic and they answered all of them with enthusiasm. The children were formed in groups to discuss on ways through which they could come together. They realized actions had to begin from one’s own self. They concluded that they would share their lunch, study, play together as well as participate in each other’s celebrations and at the same time strive to build each other for a better future. The children learnt it was wrong

On 17 th October 2017, a session on violence towards children was held at Uttan by the CCO staff for 41 Bal Sansad children. It emphasized on the various types of violence one could face at home or in school, its ill effects and how The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act ) could benefit them. The session began with an icebreaker to gain the attention of the children. The speaker briefed them on the topic of Child Abuse. They learnt to be alert in such situations and ways to overcome it. The children were provided with Child Helpline (1098) and Police Complaint (100) numbers. Two documentaries namely Kamal & Shruti, which were based on this topic, were shown, after which the children were asked questions to make sure they understood the topic. They answered them aptly. The children learnt 3 important things that they should do if faced a situation of child abuse that is, shout out loud, run to a crowded or safe place and inform someone with whom t

A three days diwali camp was held at Church hall, Pali for the Bal Sansad group from 16 th to 18 th October 2017. Forty nine children attended the session. The resource persons for the camp were Fr. Sandeep Borges, Br. Melborn, Ms. Sanjina Bhandari, Ms. Sneha Patil and Ms. Nasim Kasughar. On 16 th Oct. the first day of the camp Fr. Sandeep Borges highlighted on the topic called ‘Responsible leadership & Facilitation becoming Animators’ for thirty six  Bal Sansad  children. Through games & interactions he explained how one can be a responsible leaders or Facilitators and explained the roles, responsibilities and qualities needed for it. Good facilitators are a good communicator, respecting the views of other members in the group; he/she is a good planner, optimistic, sincere to the given task, approachable, good general knowledge, sense of humor, responsible etc. The children learnt that the good values imbibed during childhood is useful to take responsibility for gr

After a brief orientation on Recurring Account(RD), the trained members of Financial Empowerment program facilitated by CSA approached the CCO staff. They requested the CCO staff to accompany them to two of the well known nationalized banks in India so as to open a RD account for the interested women at Uttan in order to make them independent in future and be benefitted by the facilities these banks provide. On the 9 th of October 2017, the CCO and CSA staff approached the bank managers for both these banks and seven women have already opened their accounts individually which has helped them build self-confidence and feel proud about themselves. They are enthused about having their new RD passbook.

Every child has the right to reach their full potential, and gender inequality prevents this by limiting their aspiration. On 18 th  October, 2017, a session on gender equality, was held at Chowk with thirty balsansad children present. The speaker for the session was Ms. Suvidha Patil, CCO staff. The main objective was to encourage the development of positive identifications and promote the development of respectful relationship between boy and a girl. The children were enthused throughout the session. She highlighted various areas where discrimination takes place between a boy and a girl on the basis of economic, political, education, sports, toys etc.. During the explanation some children told that their mothers gave equal share to their children while others did not agree. Lastly the children said, “we will change the attitude, when we see any difference in our home, between our brothers and sisters”. It is the right of every individual, to get the same respect and receive equal

On 17 th October 2017, a session on Food Security was conducted by Ms. Nassim, CCO staff at Gorai. Food security basically means the availability of food and one’s access to all. Thirty-five children from the Bal Sansad was present for the session and were explained about food security, and its importance. Food is a basic requirement throughout life. Eating healthy and consistently with a balanced diet is very essential. Ms. Nasim explained to the children that its important to eat nutritional fruits and vegetables for one’s proper growth and development. Eating healthy benefits the body by stabilizing the energy, improving the mind and helping maintain a healthy weight. Children were engrossed right through the session, actively participating and eager to learn the Human right to Food. Ms. Nasim encouraged the children to adopt healthy eating habits and recognize the impotance of food security at home.

On 17 th October, 2017 a training session on  candle making skill was held at Our lady of Lourdes, Pali. The resource person Ms.Mahima Selvi led the session. The women who participated were earlier selling candles locally with simple and common shapes and sizes. Even the materials they used were too expensive for them. The training session organized by CSA at CCO level helped them learn six new, different and creative styles of candle making. They learnt how to make mini lamps(diyas) and candles with different molds. The resource person provided her own supply of raw materials required during the session and gave each women a chance to practice on their own. The techniques demonstrated in the session were simple, interesting and easy to grasp. She informed them of locations nearby where they could purchase the same materials at a much affordable price. This initiative will go a long way in making the women financially independent and improving their standard of living.

As regular pest control sessions were not taking place for the past two years at Pali Village, the villagers were facing the consequences of health issues and many other illnesses due to Uncleanliness. There was a need for regular pesticide sessions at every ward. The core committee took the responsibility to solve the issue with the cooperation of the Nagarsevak (Corporator). On 6 th October 2017 the committee that deals with uncleanliness issue took the initiative and had a meeting with three Nagar Sevaks. Prior to the meeting five core committee members volunteered and took an appointment for 12 th October 2017 at 7.30pm in the Church hall. The newly appointed Nagar Sevaks were present for the Core Committee (CC) & Subcommittee issues meeting. The meeting was conducted with the intention to make them aware of the unhealthy condition of the village and gain cooperation from them. A total of 65 members attended the meeting. The secretary of the subcommittee presented

On 9 th October 2017, the Lack of Information Committee held a follow up meeting along with 9 members discussing on two main subjects in relation to the issue of ration at Church Hall Pali. The first subject was behavioral attitude of Pali ration shopkeeper towards the women. And the second subject was to file a complaint letter to the superior about the shopkeeper for not following certain rules of rationing like mentioning the prices of basic ration commodities on display. Two Subcommittee members volunteered to draft the complaint letter. The members discussed the issue with the Chowk Ration office bearers. The official promised the subcommittee members that he would look upon the concern matter personally, visit the ration shop at Pali and reply back in 15 days. The meeting helped the people gain confidence in expressing their community issues and find a solution too.

The main objective of the program was to organize a cleanliness drives, to link National Level Cleanliness Campaign and create awareness among the people. On 30 th September 2017 the Balsansad group of children created an awareness rally in collaboration with CC & Ward sub leaders. According to the plan of action as discussed by the Cleanliness committee to organize a cleanliness drive, on 2 nd October 2017 all the 9 wards, assembled at 8.30 am in Pali with 200 villagers to begin the drive in their respected areas. The nine wards initially were dirty and filthy but soon after the drive, the place looks much neat and clean. The mindsets of people has changed positively and they now take personal initiatives to keep the areas clean. The Municipal Corporation of Mira- Bhayander has provided two Vehicles and staffs to collect the garbage. Thanks to the CC & Sub leaders of the ward for  leadership & ownership. They actively continue to monitor and remind the local p

Cleanliness Rally Rally Starting Point - School Basement A Cleanliness Rally was held in Gorai & Culvem village on the 2 nd Oct, 2017 from 10.00 am to 1.30pm with Bal Sansad Children and Youth. It started off with a gathering in the school basement in the presence of the BMC Officials,Corporator  BMC Garbage Department Officers; Fr. Edward, Fr. John, and Core Commitee Members along with Suryodaya Samaj Kendra Staff.  Cleanliness Drive - Gorai Beach Flagging off the Rally the Senior Inspector and the Corporator spoke a few words on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and the value of maintaining cleanliness, he encouraged the participants to continue to maintain the value and habits of Cleanliness and Hygiene. Cleanliness Drive - Gorai Beach Around 220 people participated in the Rally with Bal Sansad children leading the procession with slogans, placards, and banners on the benefits of maintaining cleanliness and hygiene. The route of the Rally covered each pak