PLEASE TAKE MY GOAT
Three years ago, after an 8 hour journey in the interiors of Rajasthan, we arrived at a girls school in Jhunjhunu. As the dust from our car settled, we saw an old haveli that had been converted into a school where 350 girls came from the neighbouring villages. At the entrance of the bygone haveli sat Banarasi Didi, who was surrounded by young girls buying candies and chips for the day ahead. Banarasi Didi had been coming to the school gate for the past decade and had become part of the school and girls daily lives.
We exchanged a warm greeting with her and moved ahead into the school to implement our plans for the day. We met her three years ago, but the last three months have made me think of Banarasi and many other women like her more than ever. Even as a well established and supported organisation, the second wave of the pandemic rocked the foundations of our work and goals. So imagine for women like Banarasi, with the persistence of the pandemic, and no schools and mobility, she has lost her livelihood and main source of income. Like her, lacs of women across the country have become silent sufferers by losing their sources of income and their bread-earning family members.
So, with our access to rural and remote parts of India, we spent the last month trying to find out the condition and plight of women like Banarasi across the country.
We picked seven states where we could connect with our on-ground partners to draw an understanding of the real picture and what support or programmes could be designed.
To give a blanket answer, the condition in India is like that of the blind men trying to describe the elephant. The information we gathered are simple accounts that were shared by Baala’s community of partners and beneficiaries and I hope to do the same with you.
To start off with the positive findings, it is heartening to witness that in most states, organisations and individuals have stepped up to support the public health system with medical equipment such as PPE’s, N95 masks and oxygen concentrators and are also providing ration, cash transfers to families in need. In states like Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Kerala, organisations have started usage of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and helplines to better connect people with the infrastructure to avail facilities. In Kashmir, it is wonderful to witness that young people employed in successful corporations across the country are supporting and driving relief efforts within their hometowns and local communities.
In major cities like Delhi, a majority of the women in the slums have left the city and migrated back to their villages with growing unemployment. Daily wage work has remained suspended for almost 15 months and in our communities in Bihar, SHGs have also become defunct. This has resulted in the women losing out on their sources of income.
Additionally, the need for awareness has become crucial, as in the state of Kerala where phone-based awareness is being amply generated by local NGOS and institutions. This is necessary because in rural India, people are facing a double ostracization of social taboos like untouchability and Covid-19 related difficulties. This is another reason for further unemployment as even a rumour of families being infected is enough for people to cut communication with them, let alone provide support. The social fabric and capital is disintegrating due to low awareness about the disease and is furthering a class-caste cross-cutting divide in the countryside.
Another major concern was highlighted in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh around vaccine hesitancy and the spread of misinformation regarding the vaccines and its side effects. Although measures are being taken by different organisations to demystify vaccines, a lot more is needed to encourage and create acceptance.
Over the last four years as I travelled to villages and towns across the country, I was overwhelmed by the resilience and generosity that our country holds. In Madhya Pradesh, a young girl in one of the lowest income districts got one of her goats to thank us for our work. In Rajasthan a family stayed up the whole night to prepare their warehouse for our workshop, because rains flooded the school next door. All of these with no expectations or asks!
The last six weeks have reinstated this very feeling of kindness as the country was run by the willpower and strength of its communities. As I share the above information, it is with the hope that all of our relief efforts can be directed to the avenues that need it the most.
As an organisation, we have launched the Baala Associate Model to skill and train women to sell sanitary pads and generate livelihood and have incorporated awareness around Covid-19 and vaccines into our outreach modules.
From the dire need of upskilling and employment of women who have lost livelihoods and generating awareness on vaccines and coronavirus myths to supporting young children who have lost their families — there is a lot that we can do.
Please reach out if you want to support the Baala Associate Programme, connect other organisations to the communities or directly connect us to organisations who can extend support!
About the Author — Soumya Dabriwal (Founder and CEO) — Soumya is an economics graduate from the University of Warwick and has rich entrepreneurial experience and business management knowledge as part of her skill set. Having worked at 3IE, an impact agency, her data-driven approach brings scalability to the organization.
Uttara Seshu (Strategy and Program Lead) — Uttara is the Strategy and Program Lead at Project Baala. She is a development practitioner with a Bachelors in Economics from Delhi University and a Masters in Sustainable Development Practice from The Energy Resource Institute (TERI). Having worked at grassroot organisations in different parts of the country, she has a research and implementation experience in Women’s Health issues.
