My Work Life In India druing 2003-05

Toure Report: Koya Project

Toure Report of Mr. S R Nalli to the Koya Field during 21st and 22nd November, 2004


The Koya Tribal development project was started in April 2002. The first two years 2002-04 was focused on IEM Capacity Building and Partnership development. A Koya Society was formed and registered under the Societies Registration Act.

From April 2004, development programs were initiated in the selected 1 villages with Local Governance and Literacy Components.

IEM Capacity Building:

· I had a meeting with North Koya field missionaries and discussed on various issues
· There is a high level of acceptance of EFICOR and its activities among IEM missionaries
· IEM looks EFICOR as both implementing and facilitating agency, and is very excited about partnership
· There were frequent meeting of EFICOR with IEM local leadership
· IEM highly appreciated the rapport between Koya people and the government, specially through the formation of Koya society
· IEM had already sent a missionary for EFICOR CDO training, who is coming back and working under the Program Coordinator of EFICOR.

Visit to IDP Village:

Village : Palagudem
Gram Panchayat : Kanaka Gudem
Mandal : Kunavaram

Palagudem hamlets (Revenue Village with 2 wards of 3 hamlets):
1. Mitta Ramavaram 25 families
2. Palagudem (Pai) 24 families
3. Palagudem (Kinda) 24 families

· 2 VDC’s are formed and fully functioning
· Met one ward member who is a CPM candidate, not literate but wants to study. He was taught on the role of a ward member, but cannot remember. He is confident that he can learn to read and write, and lead his village in the right direction
· Literacy programs were conducted for some villages using camp method, which is partially successful. Discussions are going on to find the right method for literacy
· The literates can read and write their own names, but not others names
· All children are now studying in the primary schools, which provides mid day meals by the government. The teachers are also coming regularly, else they give complaint to the government which attracts disciplinary action.
· Jowar is the staple food, where they crush and boil with water (ambali) and drink 3-6 times a day
· The tribe cultivates Jowar and tel in the high lands (mitta) through Jhum cultivation method (Podu). They cultivate rice in the low lands (pallam) which is rainfed.
· 25% of the families have low lands which lack Irrigation facility. They are badly in need of water for cultivation
· This year, there was a total crop failure, and villages are getting ready for migration in search of new Jobs
· A pulse polio campaign is undergoing in the villages by the government, where each and every household is being covered
· Drinking water is available in all the villages
· A tribe called “Konda Reddy” which is extremely poor and with just 10,000 populations is living in that area. IEM has plans to start the ministry there.

DMP Village Visit:

Village : M Kashinagaram
GP : Kashinagaram
Mandal : Dummugudem

Kashinagaram Villages (GP with 8 Wards):

Nakkaltippa 60 families (All Koya) 2 Wards
M Kashinagaram 60 families (58 SC) 2 Wards
K Kashinagaram 40 families (All Koya) 2 Wards
Kashinagaram 90 families (80 Koya) 2 Wards

· EFICOR is involving in M Kashinagaram and K Kashinagaram villages only
· EFICOR has trained them in Disaster Preparedness and other activities. Distributed seeds and fertilizers to the community
· Community needs fishing nets so that their livelihood can be secured
· Due to article 170 in force, people other than Koya community cannot own lands or immovable property, which causes much trouble to the SC community
· There was a flood in that area during 1986, after that till now no major flood happened
· There was a village “Sunnam batti” which is 1 KM away from the village, where the flooding occurs annually. But that village is not selected by EFICOR for various reasons
· There was savings group formed to make money accessible in times of emergencies. 11 people saved Rs 3900 till now.
· Contingency plan for Disaster Preparedness was made for the village and circulated to all the committee members. The District Collector has to formally approve the same.
· The DMP staff and the villagers are clear about the expected outcomes of the program as under
· A Taskforce which is capable and active in times of Disaster Emergencies
· Existence of emergency fund to meet the challenges faced during the times of disaster
· Village Disaster Contingency Plan which is approved by the government
· A network which will provide linkages between all the 9 DMP villages
· In order to achieve the above outcomes, the DMP team is considering an extension of the program for another 6- 12 months.
· On the basis of the proposal by the DMP team, the Working Committee will decide on the extension of the DMP project
· After the completion of the DMP project, the villages need to be continued with development programs, based on the feasibility of the IDP and IEM teams
· The Working Committee which consists of IEM, IDP and DMP will discuss and decide on which DMP villages to be continued.

Administrative Issues:

· Attendence Register is being maintained
· Log books for all the vehicles are being maintained
· The NOCs for two motor bikes are not still registered with the local government. It is advised to pursue the matter immideatly
· Asset/ Stock register is being maintained
· Incoming and outgoing register is being maintained
· Staff reporting system is not functional. It is decided that all the staff submit monthly reports to their respective seniors.
· Staff monthly meetings are being in an informal manner. It is decided to conduct the monthly meetings of both IDP and DMU staff and record the minutes of the same
· Though there is frequent interaction with IEM, the formal Working Committee meetings are conducted sparingly. The DMP team is not represented for quite some time. It was emphasized that the Working Committee is not a meeting of Information sharing, but its a decision making body. It was decided to have quarterly Working Committee meeting with the representation of all.

Other Issues:

· Mr. Vijay Wankhade will look after the accounts of both IDP and DMU. He will be sent to HQ finance for proper training on tally and book keeping
· After two years of successful implementation, the IEM capacity building program had a break during 2004-05 due to non availability of funds from TSD. It is requested that the TSD to pursue the matter seriously.

posted by SALATHIEL R NALLI @ 4:58 AM